Witch and Wizard - James Patterson [40]
I couldn’t begin to describe being one with Celia… and then watching her go away again.
Chapter 64
Wisty
“WHAT DO PEOPLE MEAN by ‘this week’s leader’?” I asked Janine. It was one of many questions I would be asking in the next few days. Right now, while Whit was talking—or whatever—with Celia, I was trying to find out more about life at Garfunkel’s.
“The grown-ups have amply demonstrated that power corrupts,” Janine said, sounding like somebody who was running for office but was actually worthy of the job. “But you do need one person in charge, a final decision-maker, or else everything gets crazy. So we have a leader, but it changes every week. This is my week.”
Sasha explained, “The incoming leader spends a day learning the ropes from the previous leader.” He leaned against Janine’s desk. “And then during the last day they’ll train the next person. It works pretty well, actually. The week of September twenty-second was incredible.”
Janine rolled her eyes.
“You were the leader,” I said to Sasha. “I got it.”
He grinned. “It was a glorious time for the revolution. My decree about voluntary toilet flushing is still talked about in intellectual circles.”
Janine looked at him for a second, then turned to me. “We’re very lucky you and Whit are here with us,” she said. “We’re in need of your skills.”
“Skills? Like changing creeps into weasels?” I said.
“In a sense, yes,” Janine said matter-of-factly. “It sounds like you’re much stronger than the other witches and wizards we’ve discovered.”
“You’ve got others?” I asked, stunned.
“Sort of. But it sounds to me like you’re in a totally different category. Not garden-variety cantrip stuff. Of course,” she said, ignoring my puzzled look, “I guess we’ll see for sure during tomorrow night’s raid. We’re breaking a bunch of kids out of the Overworld Prison.”
I shook my head. “Sorry, Janine. We already told Sasha. We’re going to look for our parents.”
Janine suddenly grabbed my arm. “You have to help us, Wisty. This is the New Order Reformatory, the same place you were taken after you were kidnapped. In Freeland, we call it the Overworld Prison because it’s an evil place. You know that kids’ lives depend on it, don’t you?”
“Look, I’ve been there. I know how bad it is. But you have to understand what comes first for us. We’ve got to find our parents. Period.”
Janine was still holding my arm. “You say you do, but you don’t know how bad Overworld really is. You have no idea.” She looked over at Sasha. “Take them to see Michael Clancy.”
Chapter 65
Wisty
WHIT HAD COME BACK from seeing Celia off, and he didn’t look too good. No, actually, he looked terrible—for him anyway. Frazzled and scuffed up.
“Who’s Michael Clancy?” he wanted to know.
“No idea. Somebody they want us to see about a prison break.” I raised my voice for Sasha to hear. He was leading the way. “Who’s Michael Clancy?” I called.
“He’s right in here,” Sasha said, and opened the door to a small, dark room. There was a single mattress on the floor.
“I’m Michael,” a soft voice said. “What do you want with me?”
“Tell them your story,” said Sasha. He turned to us. “Sit down with Michael, and listen. You can sit there on his mattress. There’s plenty of room.”
There was room, because Michael was one of the skinniest kids I’d ever met. He reminded me of pictures of famine victims and people in refugee camps I’d seen… and that brought back images of Overworld Prison and the time we’d spent there.
“Hello, Michael,” I said.
“Hey, Mike,” said Whit.
Not only was the boy nearly wasted away but his eyes looked dead to me. Still, there was something intense about him.
He never asked our names, just went right into his story.
“Memory is a liar, you know that, don’t you?” he began. “But I’m sure what I’m going to tell you captures the truth anyway, even if all the details are wrong, which I don’t think they are. But maybe so.”