Page 236 of Everything Under the Sun

“We would love to,” Thais said.

Ona hugged Thais and then left her standing with me so she could help her grandfather.

“So, today is the day.” I felt incredibly nervous.

Thais nodded, inhaled and exhaled. “Today is the day.” She looked nervous, too.

After a moment she said, “It almost…doesn’t feel real.”

“Yeah, but it is.”

“Hey, Atticus!” I heard Ossie call out, and saw him waving from the back of the carriage.

“I’ll be right back,” I told Thais.

“Okay.” I kissed her forehead and headed toward Ossie.

(I watched him go, the smile growing on my face. That’s my husband, I thought, happier than ever in my whole life.)

Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat-Tat-Tat-Tat-Tat-Tat!

I froze when the shots rang out; then I saw the dirt kick up in front of me, to my left, and to my right, as bullets sprayed the camp. Around me everything moved in fast-forward, but for two seconds too long I stood motionless, a heavy feeling weighing in my stomach. Instinctively, I reached behind me for my gun, but it wasn’t there, and it hadn’t been for a long time.

Panic manipulating my movements, I whirled around and ran for Thais. Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat-Tat-Tat-Tat-Tat-Tat! More dirt and grass kicked up around me as I ran the short distance toward her.

“THAIS! GET DOWN! GET DOWN!”

I made it to her a second later, and my arms went around her, my body shielded her from the bullets, and we fell onto the ground.

I scrambled to drag her underneath a nearby carriage; the horse still attached to the front; it kicked up on its hind legs and swatted furiously at the air with the front legs, made a frightful noise and then took off running; the carriage veered left and right in a precarious motion like a rollercoaster out of control. I pulled Thais to my chest and fell backward against the ground just in time before we were sideswiped by the carriage’s back wheels.

“Atticus…”

Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat-Tat-Tat-Tat-Tat-Tat!

Bullets stung the trees and the remaining tents and pinged against the side of a metal truck. Screams rose over the noise, bodies fell in every angle of my vision; horses cried and reared up and bolted into the forest. More gunfire, this time it was coming from the gypsies. They came out in every direction, guns raised, triggers repeatedly pulled; the smell of gun smoke filled the air.

“Atticus,” Thais said again; she coiled her fingers around the back of my neck.

But there was no time for anything right now except getting out of the crossfire, and so I picked Thais up into my arms, and I zigzagged through the camp, ducking behind trees and trucks and carriages without horses, past dozens of gypsies with shotguns and handguns and rifles moving aggressively in the opposite direction toward those raiding the camp. When I stopped behind another truck, and looked back to gauge the situation, to figure out how in the hell to get us out of it, I saw Ossie fall. And I saw Edith fall after him. I gripped Thais even tighter and turned my back away from the scene, hoping she didn’t see what had happened.

“KILL THE BROWNS! KILL ALL THE BROWNS! AND ROUND UP THE PALES!”

I froze again, only this time the voice I’d heard remained stuck in my head; the voice, not the spray of bullets, was keeping me grounded.

“Marion…” I said, my voice and my mind working against the other—I hadn’t meant to say it aloud.

Lexington City raiders had come. They had finally come. But had Marion found us? Did he know Thais and I were part of the camp?

I wasn’t going to hang around to find out.

“We have to go,” I told Thais, and finally looked down at her. “It’s Marion’s party; we have to get out of here. Listen to me”—I grabbed her hand, looked into her eyes intently—“we have to make a run for it before he sees us. I want you to hold my hand and don’t let go—”

“Atticus…I can’t run.” Her voice was weak; the look in her eyes, tired, sickly.

My gaze fell downward until I saw the dark crimson stain on the midsection of her blouse.

I sucked in a sharp breath; my hand, the one holding hers, raised involuntarily in front of my face, covered in blood. “Thais…No…” No. No, no, no, no, no…

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