The Vigilante's Handbook (Misfits #1)

Twenty Two: No Grey Relationships

I followed her outside, wrapping my coat and a blanket around my shoulders. The blanket seemed like overkill. We had only been here for two weeks, but the chill that had pervaded those two weeks was beginning to lift. If we were here much longer the trees might turn fully green and the forest carpet might come to life. I hadn't considered the possibility of staying in the RV for the summer. I hadn't considered that the academy would let us stay out here this long.

Lucia quietly shut the door behind the two of us before she walked to the back of the RV where a rusted and less than trustworthy ladder led up to the top of our home.

"Oh, you're staying out here too." Then she started shimmying up the ladder, which cut off my surprise. "I'm not climbing up that."

"It provides the best vantage point if we're going to keep watch. And it's close enough to the others that we'll be forced to keep our voices down."

"Are you planning on starting a shouting match?"

"It seems like all of our conversations turn into shouting matches."

I tried to look indignant. "I'm always perfectly civil." But it was true. Putting Lucia and I together never ended quietly.

An almost smile played on her lips, the same kind of smile Miguel occasionally offered. The "definitely not a frown but calling it a smile might be a stretch" kind of smile.

It took me a moment to remind myself that we weren't friends. But it was moments like this where she seemed to blur the line between hating my guts and tolerating them. I preferred to stay in the black or white territory, not this middle ground gray. I jumped back to hostile territory. At least the rules are well established there. She hates me, I hate her. It's worked for us for twelve years, so why get rid of a good thing now?

"Why am I here when I could be sleeping?"

"I realized that keeping you three off guard duty wasn't a punishment but a reward. You get more sleep than the rest of us."

"But no one trusts us. Which is what you wanted. By waking me up you're giving everyone a big sign that Miguel, Stitch, and I are a part of the team again. That's a pretty big commitment."

She didn't comment on that. Instead, she scowled like I had figured out her master plan and leaned back on her elbows to watch the sky lighten above us. The stars were starting to fade as the first signs of morning peek up from the east. It was still too early for the sun to show its face, but the deep blues and purples of midnight were fading ever so slightly into the gray of predawn.

Since she was suddenly so focused on the sky, I was left to watch the trees, what we were meant to be keeping an eye on.

The only enemy who could come from the sky was Diego with his nasty fleshy wings unfurled. Or rain. She could keep on the lookout for both.

There was nothing interesting about the trees. They were spread out enough that they didn't cause any significant visibility impairment. Though the area looked untouched by humans, most of the trees were still relatively young. Their trunks were thinner than I was used to. The trees on campus may not have been ancient, but they had been around before the academy was the academy, before it had been the local college too.

I also noticed that the trees surrounded us completely. Lucia was right that the view from the top of the RV provided the best vantage point available. Anywhere else and the RV would have obscured the view of more trees.

They grew like the RV had been dropped in the middle of a grove. There was no road leading in, no path the driver could have taken, and no gap between the wildlife large enough to fit the motorhome through. It had to be put here for a reason, and probably by the school board or whoever at the academy was running these games.