Page 153 of Blue Arrow Island
“I can’t imagine. I’ll go see him soon.”
“He’s pretty down. He thinks his life is basically over because of the amputation.”
We’ve reached the front of the line, Vadim turning his bright smile on us. “Eggs?”
Amira gives him a grateful look. “Please. This looks and smells incredible.”
He tells us about his egg scrambling method—combine the eggs, but don’t make them frothy—and his recipe for cooking them in butter with salt and pepper, chives sprinkled in at the end.
We’ve both gotten eggs and bacon on our plates, and Amira is about to get a big pancake piled onto her plate by a kitchen server when a woman comes running into the kitchen.
“One of the prisoners came back!”
Chatter buzzes through the line of people waiting for breakfast. I step out of line, Amira following. Just in case shit’s about to get bad again, I shove a piece of bacon in my mouth so at least I get something to eat.
“Should we barricade the Hub entrance?” Amira asks, reaching for the bow at her back.
“Let’s see if we can get a look at what’s going on.”
We walk out of the Hub, our plates still in hand. I squint to see who’s gathered in a cluster by the front gates to camp, my chin dropping when I see him.
“It’s McClain,” I murmur, walking toward him.
Marcus and Niran are standing by him, Marcus glancing at me as I approach.
“You came back,” I say to McClain.
There’s a ghost of a smile on his lips. “I want to help.”
Marcus says to Niran, “Go help Nova get us back online so we can see if it’s fixed.” He glances at me then and says, “McClain says he fixed our solar panels.”
Relief floods through me. If it’s true, it’s the first good thing that’s happened here in a while.
“It’s not my specialty, but I think I did it right,” McClain says.
A sheen of sweat covers his skin, his gray hair hanging on both sides of his face in frizzy strings. He’s so fragile looking, hisface too lean and his shoulders slighter than most anyone in our camp, including the women.
“Eat this.” I offer him a piece of bacon from my plate.
His smile grows slightly. “Thank you, but it’s okay.”
I push it closer to him. “Just eat it. You need it.”
He gives Marcus a questioning look and says, “I may be going back to my cell.”
Marcus shifts, scowling slightly. A few seconds of silence pass and then a voice sounds over the radio.
“Athena to Ares, we are up and running. Fully online.”
Nova’s happiness comes through in her rich, warm voice. Marcus sighs deeply, looking like a weight has been lifted.
“Thanks,” he says to McClain.
A thought occurs to me. I face McClain. “If you feel like it, can we talk? Maybe over breakfast?”
Marcus frowns, disapproval etched into his expression. “We need to get back out and search.”
I’m not letting him call all the shots anymore. He’s used to everyone doing what he says all the time, but this conversation with McClain is important to me, and I’m not letting him put me off.
