A Parthan Summer - Julie Steimle (large ebook reader TXT) 📗

wanted to be rid of that stupid gun.”

She then took her fist full and threw the clip into the lake.

“Wait!” Maya yelled, reaching out for it as if she could catch it. But the clip dropped far of the shore. “That’s federal property!”

 “Then jump in and get them.” Zormna threw the handful of bullets next, each bullet landing with tiny ripples like raindrops on the water.  

Maya felt likely to do it, if only for a moment. Her second impulse was to grab Zormna and make her fetch her things. But even as Zormna turned to walk up the hill, Maya stopped herself, remembering too well that Zormna could kill her without a weapon if she wanted to.

If she wanted to….

That last thought echoed in Agent Maya Brown’s head as the crunch of Zormna’s feet continued up the hill. The girl had stolen her gun and could have shot her. And Maya wondered if the girl’s aim was good also. But Zormna was right. She was in no position to move offensively against those who followed her—yet. Maya shuddered, wondering what Zormna was waiting for.

Of course, if Maya had asked her, Zormna would have said (with a snicker that she was waiting for dinner). Her stomach had started to growl as she returned to her cabin, and her mind rested a little with the assurance that one of the agents sent to watch her was now unarmed. No one had seen her steal the gun, and no one but Maya saw her throw it away. And though she was sure Maya would tell her partner of the incident, what could they do to her in retribution? They were just watching her, waiting for something. That made Zormna shudder with wonder at what they were waiting for.

*

The bonfire after dinner was especially bright. The fire danced on the logs and pinecones tossed in the pit. It cracked and sparked and popped, sending minor ashes into the sky above the forest lake. The ashes in the air melded with campfire songs such as The German Doctor and Skit-a-ma-rink. After five rounds of different versions of Row, Row, Row Your Boat, they passed around marshmallows with the boxes of graham crackers and chocolate candy bars. Jeff and his friends practically led the songs, ukulele in hand and strumming like a superstar. Everyone was now calling him Elvis.

Zormna had even joined in singing the new verses—off key, much to Joy’s accurate prediction. But everyone was laughing and having a good time.

For once, among the stars and campfire smoke, Zormna felt part of the comradery of students. And it was comforting. Not since she had left the Surface Patrol and Arras had she felt like one of the crowd. Zormna’s face glowed in the firelight, smiling and singing, keeping up with the foreign customs and songs. And though it was so strange to her, it was so good. She rocked side to side with the sway of Joy, Jennifer, and surrounding friends glad to be fourteen and a kid, for once. The campfire glow could be seen for miles. It was as if Zormna had been granted one hour of peace.

Amy Fields stood up from her friends and raised her hands, trying to speak over the laughing crowd. “Ok! Last batch of marshmallows are going around. If you have had your second S’more then make sure everyone has had theirs before getting thirds. Okay?” 

The girl giggled and smiled when she received a general positive reaction from the crowd, though Zormna rolled her eyes at her.

Someone from Jeff’s group started singing, and Mark joined in with Jonathan, who nudged Jeff and Brian. “Come follow, follow, follow, follow, follow, follow me. Whither shall I follow, follow, follow, whither shall I follow, follow thee? To the red wood….”

Zormna mimicked the hand and arm motions and soon caught on to the round. And she laughed when she messed up, which was so different from Home—as error always seemed to carry weighty consequences. But here, no one cared. It didn’t matter. It was just a song. In fact, as the song finished and another round started, she jumped into it with the others, no longer feeling self-conscious that she couldn’t sing. Uncompetitive. She was able to just have fun.

Then a Billsburg track team member stood up and waved his hands to quiet the singers for another announcement—but Jeff kept laughing at Mark’s twisted version of the last song. Others still sang and jabbered out loud. The boy patiently shushed them, but no one was listening. Zormna thought that perhaps he just wasn’t as cute as Amy to get attention. But soon his teammate stood up and cupped his hands around his mouth. “Quiet down! Jeremy has a cool idea!”

He then stepped back and presented the first boy again before sitting down to listen. 

Jeremy cleared his throat and smiled with private pleasure. “Who here hasn’t gone snipe hunting?”

Glancing around at the others, slowly Zormna raised her hand, not exactly sure what a snipe was or whether it was worth it to hunt them at all. Then Jeff’s hand shot up with flippant wave, though there was skepticism in his eyes.

His friends burst out laughing. A few others raised their hands also, though Zormna and Jeff glanced at one another as Jeremy’s eager eyes welcomed them.

“I’m planning a snipe hunting trip right after the bonfire. Just bring a brown paper bag and a flashlight.” Jeremy smiled and stepped down the log seating and onto the sand of the pit. “We’ll meet back here at the bonfire at ten o’clock.”

Zormna stood up and raised her hand again, waving. Jeremy barely saw her as he continued to leave the fire pit for the hunt. Calling out, she asked, “Excuse me, but isn’t hunting illegal in the Pennington forest?”

Jeremy scanned the crowd for the voice. His eyes stopped on Zormna’s waving hand. He grinned when he saw whom it was then started to walk towards her. But the other would-be snipe hunters also approached him. 

Zormna climbed over the split log bench and down the other split logs to where the runner was fielding questions from others. “Isn’t hunting illegal—?”

Jeremy laughed. “We are only going to catch them. We aren’t going to kill them.”

Jeff came down from his group, which followed him. They were still teasing him about snipe hunting, elbowing each other in the ribs with snickers. He faced Jeremy. “What’s a snipe? They won’t tell me.”

Jeremy turned to face the well-known wrestler. He smirked with a glance at Brian and the others who winked back at him. “You’ve never been snipe hunting?”

Jeff took a breath and said flatly, “I’m a city boy. I’ve never been hunting, nor do I exactly believe in it, unless we plan on eating the animal.”

“I’d have to agree,” Zormna chimed in.

Raising his hands to calm the two. He stared at them with a rising smile, Jeremy said, “I already told you we aren’t going to kill them. Just catch them.” Watching Jeff’s skeptical stare, he added, “Snipes are little white birds. They are nocturnal animals, so you won’t ever see them in the day time. And they love to come out on a full moon, like tonight.”

Zormna’s puzzled face turned toward Jeff’s. He stared back at her and sighed, knowing his friends would harass him until he went.

“Alright. Let’s go,” Jeff said.

His friends cheered, still laughing as if something diabolical was going on behind their backs—but then they were always like that. Even Brian.

Zormna sighed and nodded.

The others in the crowd followed the pair’s example and departed for their bags and flashlights, some eagerly rushing to their cabins.

When the group returned to the fire pit, Jeremy and a few of his friends led the way up a backwoods trail near the edge of camp. They whispered as they walked, explaining how they can find a snipe, what it looked like, how it existed—something Zormna listened to only mildly because she found it difficult to walk on the dark path where there were so many tree roots and pinecones in the way. Jeff walked with the group also, but not watching for snipes like the others. He looked around and nodded to himself, recognizing the trail from an earlier hike. There were several trails that branched off of it. Half of them led back to the camp.

Zormna walked a few paces in front of Jeff, but kept glancing back to make sure he was still there.

The crowd giggled and shushed each other and then giggled more as they walked on.

“There goes a snipe!” Jeremy called out. 

The others could hear the rustle of leaves, like small feet running beneath the brush. Jeremy flashed his light around, darting in search of the creatures.

“There’s another one! See it? See it?” He excitedly whispered, calling back.

“I see it! It ran under that bush!” One of people in the crowd shouted. 

One of Jeremy’s friends pointed the animal out in the darkness. Jeff nodded to himself. He continued to follow the group, though his eyes kept track of things he had passed.

The forest was different in the dark. The path was almost obscure. Thinking, Jeff picked up a pebble from off the path and lightly tossed it in the leaves. It crunched and rolled, making sounds like an animal running in the brush.

The group’s flashlights flickered over the spot where he tossed the rock. Jeff took a breath then sighed.

“I caught one! Oh my gosh! I got one!” A cheerleader screamed. She held her bag gently in her hands as she petted the lump through the brown paper. “It’s so soft.”

Stepping forward, “Let me see it,” said Zormna, pushing her way through the line.

The girl clutched the bag protectively. “No! You’ll frighten it, and it will get away.”

The Billsburg cheerleader cooed at it, occasionally tapping the bag on the underside to make it shake, like it was running around.

Zormna stepped back and joined Jeff near the edge of the group. “This is bogus.”

“I see you noticed.” Leaning closer to her ear, Jeff whispered, “Wait a while. Soon Jeremy and his friends will distract the rest and ditch us.”

Zormna looked up at him, gaping. “That’s mean.”

Jeff pulled Zormna down behind a bush not far from the path. “Just watch.”

Sure as Jeff had said, within three minutes, Jeremy found a way to get the others so enthralled in searching for snipes that he and his buddies were gone. The group didn’t even notice their absence until one girl from Monroe stood up and called out, “Jeremy, I think we scared the snipes away.” 

Others had joined in. By then they realized their group had shrunk by five.

Jeff had himself and Zormna stand up from their hiding place.

“We’ve been had, guys,” he said for the others to hear. 

The mob of students groaned, realizing how naïve they had been. Several muttered angrily at themselves for believing in snipes.  

“I know where a path back to camp is,” Jeff continued, gesturing behind him.

The others continued to groan. But in relief, they followed him back down the forest path.

As Jeff walked with Zormna up the hill, he whispered to her. “See, this scenario is awfully familiar. In the undercity, we used to play a prank on the younger kids, telling them that in the mechanics district there was this colony of mutant bugs with bright wings—kind of like luna moths. We would lead them on wild hunts and abandon them there until they cried for their moms. Then we’d fetch them and tell them they were crybabies.”

“That’s cruel, Jafarr.” Zormna frowned at him, listening though.

“It gets worse. The groupie gangs used to do this a lot, except they would send the kids to the metro tunnels.” Jeff gave Zormna a knowing look.

“But they could….” she started to say.

Nodding, he replied, “I know, guts everywhere, squished dead.”

“So why did you agree to go now on this crazy hunt?” Zormna stared at him.

With a laugh Jeff shrugged. It did seem stupid to let himself be duped into snipe hunting. “I figure those other guys need