First day of school.
Is it weird that Gwen’s actually kind of excited about this? There’s been this weird, fluttery energy inside her rib cage all summer. She hasn’t wanted to go to school this much since she was a little kid.
Not because of the classes; she’s still freaked out about those. But the club. Bringing other people into their secret.
Gwen smooths down her knee-length dark blue skirt. She adjusts the Academy-issued white blouse. She frowns at her hair in the mirror. It looks dirty and weird. Whatever. It’s too late to fix now, and if she keeps staring at it, she’s going to make herself late. She slips Miracle’s artifact into her bag and rushes out to the waiting car.
As the driver’s setting off, she reaches under the chair in front of her—yes! She pulls out her familiar, slightly beat-up green jacket. Coats are the one thing allowed with the H-Prep uniform. Mom said she didn’t want her wearing it to school, so she hid it in here the night before.
Gwen’s seen the campus in the distance before, but never been there in person. Now they’re coming up the rise and—Gwen’s breath catches. Oh yeah. The white buildings. The one with the big red clock face, that has to be the tower she’s always seeing.
The driver lets her out, and Gwen’s left to puzzle over her route as she enters the brightly-lit main hall.
Inside, a flood of students moves across the white-and-blue tile floors.
In the middle of them all stands Adrianna, beaming like the sun. She’s got a stack of papers in her arms, and she’s stopping everyone who walks by to hand one out. Like it isn’t a big deal at all.
Her hair looks incredible. Smooth, shiny, and silky. She’s bound the brown mass of it into a huge, flowy ponytail with a red ribbon. Two locks of hair come down in front. It’s a look Gwen has never been able to pull off herself. She can’t help but hate her a little for it. Oh well. Adrianna’s nice. She won’t hold it against her.
“Gwen!” Adrianna says, as Gwen comes closer. “It’s so good to see you! I’ve been excited about this!”
“Yeah,” Gwen says, hands in her coat pockets. “Me, too, actually.”
“Here!” Adrianna hands her what looks like a third of the papers. “I made some for you to hand out, too!”
Gwen scrambles to take them. In big, bold letters, the flyers all say:
Do you want to make a difference? Join the WORLD SAVERS CLUB!
Those three words are in bigger letters than anything else, rising over an image of the moon like a comic book title.
Are you concerned about our damaged environment? The growing Nightmare menace outside the High City? Do you want to do something to help? Then come to our tryout meeting in Classroom B-201 on the seventh. Club members must be willing to work hard, leap into action, and take direction while also thinking strategically. Intellectual achievement and athletic ability are both appreciated, but ultimately, we will decide on a candidate-by-candidate basis. You could have skills that would be useful and not even know it!
Most important of all is that candidates must CARE. We want people who want to make the world better than they found it. If that describes you, then please come to the first meeting!
Below, Gwen’s name and Adrianna’s are listed, along with their contact information.
“It looks really good,” Gwen says, and it’s true. The poster looks super professional. If Gwen had done it, it would have looked like a high schooler’s work.
Adrianna bounces on her feet. “Thank you! I got them done at my cousin’s print shop! It was a lot of fun. I’ve put some up on the event boards around campus, too.”
“They let you do that?” Gwen says.
“Oh, sure!” Adrianna says. “I talked with the school administrators. I didn’t go into details, of course, but I pitched it as ecology club, and they liked it. We’ll have a booth at the clubs fair tomorrow, too. Can you hand those out in your classes?”
“Uh, sure,” Gwen says, even though she hadn’t expected to do anything like that this morning.
“Is this your mysterious confidant, Adrianna?” purrs a voice, and all of a sudden Gwen realizes who’s coming towards them out of the crowd.
Oh crap, oh crap. It’s Becca Webster. The daughter of the freaking Purser. She’s been one of the three most popular people in school since they were like, five, and now she’s gorgeous with strong makeup that would be too much on anybody else and dark hair that sweeps over her shoulders with a subtle curve, and she’s talking to Adrianna right now.
Gwen knew at one point that Becca was one of Adrianna’s friends. Right. Crap. She’d forgotten how Adrianna seemed to know all the important people. Wish she’d remembered that before she signed up to do a club with her.
“Becca, this is Gwen Marlowe,” Adrianna says, smiling.
“I remember Gwen,” Becca says. “Used to make dinners out of leaves and sticks she found on the playground, if I recall.” Her eyes linger on Gwen’s green coat, and all of a sudden Gwen’s embarrassed she brought it.
“Hi,” Gwen says, waiting for Becca’s sword strike.
“Gwen’s the other founding member of the World Savers Club,” Adrianna says. “As a matter of fact, it was her idea.”
“Ah yes,” Becca says. “The World Savers Club. Your infuriatingly vague club name. Which you want me to be a part of, even though you won’t tell me a damn thing about it. The one where you keep saying, ‘come by and see for yourself.’”
It’s like she’s forgotten Gwen. She’s turned completely toward Adrianna now.
“That’s right,” Adrianna says. She has one hell of a poker face.
“Clearly,” Becca muses, “it must be something worth your time, because you won’t shut up about it. But at the same time, there’s something about it you don’t want people to know.”
“We want to make sure people are a good fit for the club,” Adrianna says. “Better not to give off wrong impressions.”
“So, based on this description, you want…what, athletes who care about literally everything and work hard all the time? Hon, I think this is the mini-Adrianna club. Don’t know if I’d be a good fit. Never been what you’d call athletic. You know that.”
“Well, maybe come and see why this Adrianna thinks you’d fit, athletic or no,” Adrianna says, nudging her with an elbow.
Becca’s smile is like a cat’s. “Fine, fine. If only because you’ve got me so darn curious.” She turns on a heel. “It was nice catching up with you, Gwen.” She strides off.
Gwen doesn’t know what the hell to think.
“She’s one of the smartest people I know,” Adrianna says. “She’d be a great number three.”
“Okay, but we talked about not giving this stuff to the wrong people,” Gwen hisses. “You don’t think she’s a little…” Gwen lowers her voice. “Superficial?”
Adrianna shakes her head. “She’s not. Just get to know her, Gwen. You’ll see.”
Gwen isn’t sure, but she nods.
“But we should invite lots of people to start, anyway,” Adrianna says. “Like I said, if you think any of your friends would be a good fit—”
“I know,” Gwen says. “I’ll try, okay? I’ll hand out the flyers, and I’ll try the one person I was thinking of.”
“Great,” Adrianna says. She looks at her watch. “Okay. I’m going to go talk to the track coach, I made an appointment with her—
“Right now? It’s orientation.”
“I’ll be quick. Figured it was better to do get it done today. See you soon, okay, Gwen?”
“Uh, sure!” Gwen says, to Adrianna’s departing back. “See you soon.”
Gwen heads into the auditorium, because she’s not going to meet with a coach or a teacher in the five minutes before an event starts. She’s nowhere near that nuts.
She finds her friends near the front so that they can actually hear, but off to the side so the teachers don’t actually look them in the eye. Charlie’s hunched up in her seat, looking through the textbook and chewing on her hair. Trisha’s lounging, looking at her sparkly makeup and curls in a compact mirror. Sparkles are everything with her these days. Gwen doesn’t get it. Trish dabs a bit of lip gloss, then sees Gwen.
“Hey! How was the rest of your summer?”
“Busy,” Gwen says.
“Me, too,” Charlie says. “I spent the first half freaking out about studying for the H-Prep exams, and then I spent the second half freaking out that it might be a fluke that I’d passed those, so I studied extra to catch up, and…whoof.” She closes the book dramatically, then slides down into her seat, looking even smaller than usual. “I think I was being stupid, studying so much, but I kept telling myself, I couldn’t take the risk. Bleah.”
Gwen hasn’t cracked open a book since passing the exams. “I feel you.”
“Hey, let’s take worries off the table for now, huh?” Trisha says, patting Charlie’s shoulder. “All three of us made it in! We should celebrate! Isn’t that something to be proud of?”
“Yeah,” Charlie admits.
“For sure,” Gwen says. “Wish that was true for everyone.”
“Yeah,” Trisha says, her face falling a little bit.
It would have been nice if Justine and Rachel had made it here, too. Gwen almost envies those two, because they don’t have to care anymore. But it’s not like the three of them can hang out with people at Durford High or wherever.
“What’s that you’ve got there, Gwen?” Trisha says, leaning over to look at the fliers.
Crap. She actually has to talk about this with them now. She promised. “It’s for a club. I promised I’d hand them out.” She coughs. “Actually, I’m kind of, um. One of the founders.”
“No way!” Trisha exclaims, delighted. “You’re starting a club? What kind of club?”
“It’s kind of a secret for now. Can’t give it away.”
“Wild. Who else is in it?”
“Um. Adrianna Middleton?”
Trisha’s eyes bug out. “Middleton? The president of the over-achievers? Gwen, I thought we figured out she was an alpha bitch years ago.”
“She scares me,” Charlie says, grimacing. “She’s like the kind of person who could slice you in half and not lose any sleep over it.”
“No, I get it, I thought so, too,” Gwen says. “But I ran into her over the summer and…I think she actually might be kind of nice?”
Trisha looks skeptical. “You sure it isn’t just an act to get you to lower your guard? They do that, you know.”
“No, she’s cool,” Gwen says. “She really went out of her way to help me.”
Trisha’s making a weird face. “Man. That’s hard to wrap my mind around. She must have really impressed you to make you want to join a club with her.”
“And I’m going to keep breaking your brain,” Gwen says. “I want you to join, too, Trish.”
Trish recoils. “Oh, no. No, no, you are not roping me into this. Hang out with the Captain-in-training if you want, Gwennie, but don’t make me do it, too.”
“I need you in it, Trish. You’d make it a million times better.”
“Could I join?” Charlie says. Gwen imagines slapping her own forehead. “I think I’d be okay working with Middleton.”
Gwen winces. “Charlie, I feel like this particular club might be… how do I put this…too high-stress for you?”
“Ah,” Trish cuts in. “Is it the scary movie-watching club?”
“I don’t want to watch scary movies!” Charlie blurts out. “Sorry!”
“I’m joking, Char.”
“Oh.”
“You’re not far off,” Gwen says. “It’s…” She thinks for a minute. “It’d be kind of a thing where you help deal with disasters. Like being a volunteer fire fighter. You’d be in danger a lot.”
“Oh,” Charlie says. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess not. Sorry, Gwen.”
“You’re not making this sound like a good deal for me, either, Gwen,” Trisha says. “You want me to risk my life? Pass. Are you sure Middleton hasn’t roped you into something really messed up?”
“No,” Gwen says, frustrated. “Look. I want to do this, okay? And I think you will, too.” She leans toward Trisha, thrusts the flyer in her face. “Look. See this right here? You know what it’s about? It’s about giving a shit. When nobody else, including our teachers or parents does.”
Trisha eyes her. “I’m listening.”
“The reason we’re keeping most of the details secret for now,” Gwen continues, “is that people would hear about it and think it looks flashy and cool, and want to join, and that’s not what we want. We want to weed out the posers and the people who are just doing it to get in good with their parents. We want people who see what the older generation is doing, the way they’re letting the Nightmares swallow up the towns, and say screw that, no, we’re taking matters into our own hands.”
“Through a volunteer fire department?” Trisha says, one eyebrow raised.
Gwen rolls her eyes. “It’s not that. It’s just something that’s kind of like that.”
“You really care a lot about this, huh?” Trisha says softly.
“Yeah,” Gwen says. She’s breathing hard. “Yeah, I really, really, do.”
“Okay,” Trisha says. “Then maybe I want to, too.” She looks over the stack of flyers. “I haven’t seen you this fired up in a long time. I’ll go to the first meeting, at least. Can’t promise any further than that.”
“Great!” Gwen says. “I think you’ll like it. I really do.”
“I can see if I know anyone who’s interested,” Charlie says. She takes a few of the flyers.
“Great!” Gwen says. Her heart’s pounding. She feels good. Really good. “Did you know, of all the people I know, you two suck the least?”
“Your non-suckitude is also noted,” Trisha says. She pats Gwen’s shoulder. “You’re good at this, you know. Even if I don’t join, it’s going to be a good club because you’re leading it.”
Gwen smiles.
Orientation starts, and she doesn’t even think about flyers for a while.
☾
Gwen joins Adrianna in an empty classroom. It’s a half hour before what’s supposed to be their first meeting.
The meeting feels like the scariest thing Gwen’s ever done in her life, which is stupid, because she literally fought an evil clown.
It’s only been a few days, and Gwen’s already got homework in every one of her classes, readings and surveys and projects to plan, but her mind feels like it’s moving through glue, because all she can think about is what’s about to happen.
She’s fidgeting like hell. Stuffing her hands into her coat pockets, taking them out again. Which is stupid, because she doesn’t even have to do anything.Just be here. Adrianna promised to handle the rest.
Twenty chairs and desks stand in perfect rows in front of them, like soldiers in formation.
Adrianna has a strange expression on her face. It takes Gwen a sec to realize she’s worried.
“Is something up?”
Adrianna shakes her head. “No, nothing. I was only thinking…wouldn’t it be something if nobody showed up?” She laughs. It’s a hollow laugh Gwen has never heard from her before.
“Someone’s going to show up,” Gwen says. “You went all in on advertising it.” Whether Trisha’s actually going to be here, she has no idea.
“Yes, you’re right,” Adrianna says, sounding a little better. “Still, I hope we like our options.”
Gwen shrugs. “We don’t have to let in anybody we don’t like.”
“That’s true.”
“Your…tests, I guess? They seem good.”
“Thank you. I hope so.” Adrianna stares into space. “I wish I’d had more time to prepare.”
Gwen doesn’t know what to say to that, so she just nods.
Ten minutes later, the door opens.
It’s a short girl with red hair that falls just above her shoulders. She looks around dubiously.
“Is this where the club meeting’s supposed to be?” she asks.
Adrianna’s smiling. “You made it!”
“I was going to come,” the girl says. “Mom would have been mad at me if I didn’t.”
“Still, it’s appreciated,” Adrianna says.
“Do you two…know each other?” Gwen asks.
“Gwen, this is Kate,” Adrianna says. “She’s my cousin on my dad’s side.”
“Ah,” Gwen says. “Nice to meet you.”
Kate frowns. “Am I really the only one here?”
“We’re starting in another fifteen minutes,” Gwen says, forcing a smile.
“Oh,” Kate says. She slouches into one of the chairs. Gwen’s not a fan of how she keeps staring at her.
Thankfully, the door opens again pretty soon after that. It’s Becca Webster, who takes a seat in the opposite corner from Kate. Moira Greene is with her.
Moira’s Sarish, like Trisha, with medium-brown skin. Only Trisha likes to wear bright colors, and Moira’s reserved, her black hair bound up in a bun. Gwen doesn’t know much about the Greene family. They’re supposed to be big in…manufacturing? Is that right?
More people start coming in. Gwen has to admit she’s relieved. One of them, to her surprise, is a tall blonde girl who looks like she works out.
The sleeves of Yvonne Chapman’s uniform are rolled up, and her hair’s up in a long ponytail. She winks, shoots Adrianna finger guns, then takes a seat near the front.
Huh. Gwen always thought Yvonne was just some meathead. Was she wrong?
The door opens again, and Gwen’s heart lifts.
Trisha. It’s Trisha!
Trisha’s talking with a small girl with brown braided pigtails. Trisha catches sight of Gwen and grins before they both take their seats.
More and more follow after them.
Gwen looks at the clock. It’s almost time to start. The other students are talking, or looking at their homework.
They’ve done pretty well. Only three seats are empty.
She glances at Adrianna. Adrianna catches the look she’s trying to give her. She holds up two fingers.
Two? Two minutes? Gwen watches the clock.
As soon as the hand hits two minutes past the hour, Adrianna clears her throat.
“Good afternoon, everyone!” she says, in a cheerful voice.
It’s like she’s transformed. She’s standing taller, she’s relaxed her shoulders, and she’s wearing this confident smile, like the Hull Speaker in front of the Captain. It doesn’t even look fake.
Her voice is loud, but not harsh. It gets everyone’s attention.
“Before anything else, I want to thank every one of you for being here. As you might have heard, this club only has a limited number of slots, so we’ll be interviewing you and getting to know you a little better today. But I want you to know that even if we don’t choose you, that doesn’t mean we think any less of you. You can be proud of the fact you showed up here today.”
“Showed up for what?” Kate says. She leans forward. “You haven’t even told us what the club is about yet.”
“Saving the world, of course,” Adrianna says. “I thought I put it on the flyers.” A few people laugh at that. Adrianna smiles. “I know, we’re being so cagey about it, and it’s super annoying, I totally get that. It has to do with recently-developed tech some authorities are letting us use—we can’t explain the details except to official group members. It’s weird, but we appreciate you all rolling with it.”
She says that so smoothly, and everyone just kind of nods along, like they accept it without getting it. Gwen can’t believe it.
“But, there’s a lot I can tell you,” Adrianna says. “If you volunteer with us, you’ll work to prevent environmental destruction in places outside the High City. This work will take place in dangerous areas, so you’ll need to be able to move fast and think fast. You will save lives. That’s kind of what we mean by saving the world. You’ll also need to be able to take instruction from your club leaders, Gwen and myself.”
She indicates Gwen. Gwen nods stiffly.
“Now,” Adrianna says seriously. “I do have an important announcement to make.”
She puts her hands together. “Attendance in this club will not count towards High City Preparatory Academy’s student rankings. Nor will it qualify you for any jobs, junior Captaincy rankings, or university degrees. If asked to write any letters of recommendation on your behalf, neither I nor any teacher will do so.”
Murmurs rush through the group. Gwen winces. This is the part she’s been dreading.
“What the hell?” Kate says incredulously. “Every other club counts for those things.”
“I know,” Adrianna says. “But this club is different. I specifically requested that it be ineligible.”
“Why?”
“Because this group is too important for anyone in it to have outside motives,” Adrianna says. “We need people who care about the club itself. Who care about saving the world.”
There it is. Their gamble. How Adrianna hopes to shake the people who only think of advancement and prestige, like Gwen’s parents do.
“If you’re here because you want to gain the patronage of someone in a position of authority, like the Consul or one of my family members, that’s totally understandable. But this club isn’t for you. No shame in it, but I recommend finding a different club instead.”
A long moment passes, and then a bunch of people get up and walk out. Gwen scans the remainder. Welp. Looks like they took all the boys with them.
Trisha’s still here.
As is Kate, weirdly.
“Okay,” Adrianna says warmly, even though it seems like half the room is gone. “That’s good. We’re getting closer to matching everyone to the right club for them. Let’s keep going. Now we’re going to be handing out some questions for you. Please try to answer as honestly as you can.”
Gwen passes papers and pencils to everyone. She watches them quietly fill out the first few questions.
Describe a class that you have done well in.
Do you do any athletic activities?
If you had to pick an animal or a symbol to represent you, what would it be?
It makes Gwen think of those “determine your personality” quizzes they have in magazines.
Frowns are crossing faces. They’ve reached the next question.
“What body part would I give up?” Kate demands. “You want us to chop something off to be in the club?”
Adrianna shakes her head. “No. To save the world. That’s how I tried to phrase the question: what body part would you sacrifice to save the world?”
“Bold move,” Becca Webster says dryly. “Intense.”
“It’s an intense club,” Adrianna says. “I want to make sure everyone understands that.”
“The next one,” Moira with her hair in a bun says, “is: would you be willing to sacrifice your life to keep someone you don’t know from dying?”
“Yes,” Adrianna says. “It’s possible that any one of us could die. I said it was dangerous. That’s the kind of work we’re going to be doing.”
Gwen feels a little chill run through her. Miracle hadn’t made it feel like that.
“Why would we join the club, then?” Kate demands. “If there’s a chance we’ll die?”
“Because you believe there are some things worth risking your life for,” Adrianna says. There’s a new heat in her voice. “Protecting people who can’t protect themselves. If you don’t think that fits you, then go. But if you think it does, then stay.”
Two more people get up and leave.
Kate doesn’t. She’s still making eye contact with Adrianna.
“The last question,” Moira says, “is: would you let the Captaincy die to save the world? Or the world die to save the Captaincy?”
“It’s a trick question,” Kate says. “She’s trying to get us in trouble.”
“Why, Adrianna,” Becca purrs. “Are you trying to turn us all into subversives?”
Adrianna doesn’t flinch. “I want your honest answer. No more, no less.”
“It’s not the Captaincy that matters,” Trisha says. “It’s the community they protect. If you pick the Captaincy, you’re loyal to specific people. Patrons. If you pick the world, then you’re loyal to everyone on New Luna.”
The remaining people seem to agree with that sentiment. Adrianna’s smiling. Gwen knows that was the right answer.
“Okay, everyone,” Adrianna says, once all the papers are handed in. “Gwen and I are going out in the hall. Talk amongst yourselves for a bit. We’ll be back shortly.”
They slip out, and Gwen shuts the door behind her. They look through the eight papers together. Most of these students have some athletic ability. One who doesn’t wrote a lot about her science class and made it sound interesting, which gets points with Gwen.
“What do you think?” Adrianna says.
“I like them all—” Gwen says. She’s surprised how much she’s turned around on some of them. Yvonne included.
“That’s what I was going to say, too!”
“Except Kate,” Gwen says. She hopes Kate can’t hear them through the door.
“Kate?” Adrianna says. “No, Kate’s cool. She’s incredibly smart, Gwen, and she runs fast.”
“She hates this whole thing! She’s going to stab us in the back!”
Adrianna shakes her head. “Her heart’s in the right place. You just have to know how to work with her.”
Gwen feels like Adrianna’s making a terrible mistake.
But Gwen’s not going to be able to talk her out of this, is she? Families, man. People get really dumb about them sometimes.
She can deal, if it makes Adrianna happy.
“Okay,” Gwen says.
“I like your friend,” Adrianna says. “Trisha. I think she’s going to have a knack for it.”
“Me, too. And I guess Becca’s all right.” Gwen frowns. “Still, even if we take all of them, that’s only eight. We’re still going to have two Signs left.”
“We can find more candidates after we get more practice running the club. It’s good to leave room to grow.”
“Guess so.”
“Want to go back in and do the final test?”
“Sure.”
They walk back inside. Everyone quiets down when they approach. It’s a feeling Gwen’s not used to.
“Hi, everyone!” Adrianna says. “So, we liked all of your interview answers a lot. Now we want to ask everyone one more question.” She looks at them all like an approving teacher. “Why did you want to come to this club today? We’ll go down the line, and each person will answer. Does that sound good to you guys?”
People nod.
“Why not just ask it on the paper?” Trisha asks.
“Yeah,” Kate says. “Why do we have to embarrass ourselves in front of everyone?”
“I think people would try to write whatever they thought we wanted to read. I want you guys to be honest.”
Kate frowns, but stays silent.
“Anyone want to start?”
“I’ll start,” Moira says.
“Oh, maybe say your name, too.”
Moira meets Gwen’s eye, then the other students’. “I’m Moira Greene. I came here today because I’ve been interested in Nightmare disaster relief for a long time, and this seemed like a way to get involved in that.” She looks at Adrianna. “I’m assuming that’s what we’re doing? Helping with disaster relief after Nightmares? You never came right out and said that, but it’s what your poster implied.”
“Oh yeah,” says the girl with pigtails. “I thought that was obvious, too.”
“Woah,” Yvonne says. “Nope, that totally went right over my head.”
Pigtail girl looks around. “Come on, nobody else picked up on it?”
Lots of people are shaking their heads. Trisha looks surprised. She frowns slightly.
“I won’t confirm or deny that just yet,” Adrianna says. “Let’s finish our process here, and then we can talk about it.”
“Okay!” pigtail girl says cheerfully. “I’m Penny Ford, and I want to be part of this club because you mentioned Nightmares on the poster, and Nightmares are super, super fascinating. I want to learn everything about them!”
Everyone sitting next to her gives Penny a weird look. Gwen’s pretty sure she’s giving her a weird look, too.
“They are!” the girl insists. “Xenobiology’s such a new science, it’s practically in its infancy, and these creatures give as an entirely different perspective on how life could arise! There are so many questions to investigate! Do Nightmares have a core or “brain” like Stoteli suggests, or are they just a chaotic system like a storm? What’s the mechanism by which they tap into human thought? The Star-Dragons of Falstaff are the only other life-form we’ve discovered that reaches similar size – could they possibly be related, despite the Star-Dragons being made of rock and plasma? I want to take all the classes I can on them. They’re so interesting!”
“They also kill people,” Becca says dryly.
“That’s exactly why we have to study them!” Penny says. “How do you deal with a creature you don’t know anything about? You don’t, that’s how! But if you know what they eat, where they live, stuff like that, you can take all sorts of defensive actions!”
Gwen sees Adrianna nod at that. Gwen kind of gets what Penny’s saying, too.
There’s a long silence in which no one speaks up. Like no one knows how to say anything after the subject of Nightmares has been raised.
Tall, fit Yvonne stands up. “Well,” she says, in an exaggerated way. “I don’t know anything about Nightmares. I’m just here because Adrianna said she needed good athletes. I like track, kickboxing, and judo. But Adri’s thing sounded cooler than all the sports on campus, so I’m here to kick ass.” There’s a couple laughs.
“Don’t forget to say your name, Vonnie,” Adrianna says.
The tall girl flashes everyone a grin. “Oh yeah. I’m Yvonne. Yvonne Chapman.”
Gwen relaxes a bit. Yvonne’s broken the tension.
A girl who hasn’t said much until now speaks up. She’s got a mass of sandy curls. She’s short and compact, with a broad frame. “I’m Bonnie Beaumont. I’m here because I like helping people. I’ve never done anything like search and rescue before, but I’ll try my best.”
“Lana Fletcher,” says a thin girl who’s cut her red hair as short as a boy’s. “I’m pretty similar to Bonnie. I want to make a difference. I don’t want to go to school and get some tedious Captaincy position and then work at it forever until I die. I want to matter to somebody along the way.”
“I guess it’s my turn,” Trisha says. She stands up. “I’m Trisha Jonson, and if I’m being honest, I came just because my friend was pestering me about it. But now I want to stay.” She smiles at Gwen. “See, she gave me this whole speech about people who actually give a crap. And now that I’ve been here, I think she was right.”
Gwen’s touched. She doesn’t know what to say.
“Interesting,” Becca says. She looks around the room through her long lashes. “Becca Webster, and I also had a friend insist I attend. The thing you all have to understand about Adrianna is that she’s ridiculous most of the time. But she’s ridiculous in a way that you can’t afford to ignore. Because the ideas she comes up with? Half of the time they lead to something very interesting. I’m liking what I see so far.”
Nine pairs of eyes turn toward the last person who hasn’t spoken. Kate.
Kate scowls. “Fine. I’m Kate Massinger, and I came because my mom made me go to support my cousin. I was thinking I’d skip out after the first meeting.” She crosses her arms. “But…I guess all the stuff you guys are talking about sounds important. So I want to be a part of it.”
“That works for me,” Adrianna says. She puts her hands together. “Great answers, everyone! Really good stuff. So, Gwen and I talked outside. Great news: you all did really, really well! At this point, I think we’d be happy for any of you to be part of the club.”
Except Kate, Gwen thinks, but doesn’t say it.
Trisha and Penny exchange a smile. Lots of people are smiling.
“But there’s one last thing. Secrecy.” Adrianna paces. “Like I said, we’re dealing with some top-secret stuff here. We need you to make a promise. What we’re about to tell you can’t leave this room. You can’t tell your teachers, or your friends, and you definitely can’t tell your parents. Not even if they pressure you about it.”
Adrianna pulls a paper from the folder on the teacher’s desk. “That’s a really big deal, I know. If you feel like you can’t do something like that, then feel free to walk away. If you do want to stay, I’d like you to sign this agreement. Swearing by the Lady, the Captaincy, and whatever you most care about that you’ll keep your silence.”
She hands the paper to Moira. Moira signs, and passes it on. Bonnie and Lana sign it next. No one’s walking away, Gwen thinks, with some surprise.
The paper gets to Kate.
“No,” Kate says.
Adrianna looks at her, surprised.
Of friggin’ course, Gwen thinks.
“No, I’m not going to promise to keep secrets before I know what it even is.” Kate says, folding her arms. “That’s so sketchy. For all I know, this could be some kind of cult. You’re asking us to walk in blind. How is anyone else okay with this?”
Some of the other girls shrug. Trisha looks like she’s rethinking her stance.
Adrianna looks confused. “I said you could walk away.”
“After you hook us by making it mysterious? That’s not fair. I want to know what’s up.” Kate tosses her head. “You want our help? Then you tell us what’s going on.”
Gwen wants to punch her. Instead she waits for Adrianna to kick Kate out of the room.
Adrianna nods. “Okay.”
Gwen frowns at her.
“Okay?” Kate asks, eyes still narrowed.
“I’m obviously not going to be able to convince you to trust us just yet. So I’ll tell you. Once you see for yourself what we’re up to, I think you’ll understand why it needs to be kept secret. At least, that’s my hope.”
“Maybe,” Kate says. She shifts, watching her cousin with attentive eyes.
Adrianna takes the paper. “The rest of you, I really appreciate your support. I think the time’s come to reveal the purpose of this club. Ready, Gwen?”
Gwen’s fuming, actually, thanks. Adrianna’s such an idiot. Doesn’t she see what she’s done? Opened up the club to someone who’s going to ruin it by blabbing to one of their parents or teachers? Just because she’s her stupid freaking cousin. Moonshit.
But she joins Adrianna at the front of the room anyway. She’s supposed to say her piece.
“Say hello to Miracle,” she says, trying to keep the edge out of her voice.
Miracle appears from Gwen’s backpack in a shimmer of pale blue light. She rises up over their heads.
Gwen makes the Sign. Four curved lines. Adrianna makes a shape like a V.
Like a wind blowing through the room, their armor overtakes them. Gwen feels the golden plates wash over her shoulders and the stockings rise up her legs. She watches the wisps of feathers appear on her wrists, like brushstrokes, and feels the weight of her sword settle at her hip.
Adrianna rolls her shoulders beneath her dark blue pauldrons, takes a step forward, and lifts her huge blade from her back. She lowers it into a battle stance.
“We’re the World Savers Club,” she says. “We kill Nightmares.”
Gwen wants to laugh. Everyone’s mouths have fallen open. They’re staring like little kids seeing a ship take off for the first time.
She guesses she can’t really blame them. She’d be doing the same.
“Wha—” Trisha says, not quite speaking
“You’re—” Kate says, eyes wide.
It’s Moira who’s the first to form a coherent thought. “You have magic powers?” she asks, still staring.
“Not magic,” Miracle says, flying closer. “But you may think of it that way, if you wish. In truth, it is manifestation technology, just as your Captaincy is accustomed to using in everyday life.”
“It’s a fairy!” Penny almost screams. “You have a fairy!”
“Technology…fairy?” Trisha asks.
Adrianna grins, lowering her sword. “Sorry, guys. I should explain. Miracle is a subroutine of the Lady. The Lunar Intelligence, I mean.”
“That is correct,” Miracle says, beaming. “I am here to help your species.”
“Specifically,” Adrianna says, “she’s given us weapons, armor and powers. We’d like to pass them on to you. If you’re willing to help us with our mission, that is.”
There’s a snort. And then a chuckle.
Yvonne stands. She’s laughing. Loud, hearty laughter.
“This is amazing!” she says. “Hell yes. Let’s be heroes. I’m all about this.”
“Gwen,” Trisha says. “You look gorgeous. So pretty, oh Moon. You learned how to turn into a magical warrior princess? And you didn’t tell me? Not cool!”
“Yes,” Becca says, standing up. “Adrianna, when did this happen? How long have you known?”
“A couple of months,” Adrianna says calmly. She sheathes the sword. “We decided it was in our best interest to keep it secret until we found the right people to trust.”
“Us,” Bonnie says, backing up from her chair. “You’re teaching us how to transform like that? That’s what this club was about? Auditioning us for magic powers?”
“Hoooooooooly stars,” Penny squeals, drawing out the word. “This is so cool, this is so cool! This is the coolest!”
“It’s a lot to take in,” Bonnie says, looking stunned.
“Yes,” Lana says, standing up. “You want to fight Nightmares? I’m here for it. Let’s do it.”
“My thoughts exactly!” Yvonne says.
“Fight Nightmares,” Trisha says, still looking dazed. “Right. That’s what you said. You—you guys really do that?”
“We’ve done it before,” Gwen says.
Adrianna nods. “That’s right.”
“I’d like to take a slower, more observational approach,” Penny says, as if she’s the one leading the group. “Study the habits of the creatures, before we bust out the lethal weapons. Bring those too, obviously. But work our way up to that. Take extensive notes on anatomy, behavioral patterns.”
“Nightmares aren’t going to let you do that,” Lana says. She snorts. “They’re made of psychic matter. They’ll throw monsters at you before you have time to write anything down.”
“The more information we have, the better,” Moira says. “Don’t ignore the value of being prepared.”
“Are you all insane?” Kate says, almost flinging her desk away. “You’re actually planning on doing this?”
“That’s the plan,” Adrianna says, testing the weight of her sword again. “Make the world safe again.”
“Why does it have to be us?” Kate says, looking scared. “Why not give this tech to the Sergeant-at-Arms? The Captain?”
“Kate,” Adrianna says softly. “Would you trust the Captaincy with this?”
Kate looks at her, eyes wide, body frozen in recoil.
“Kate, you’re always telling me about places where our leaders have failed. It’s one of the things I admire about you, actually. I don’t know about you, but Gwen and I decided that if we went to them with the technology, they’d just use it to shore up the High City defenses. And leave the other cities to be Nightmare-ravaged, just like they’ve done so far. So that means it’s on us.”
“Hoo,” Trisha says. “That’s a heavy thought.”
“Sounds about right, though,” Lana says darkly, folding her arms.
“I would have to agree,” Moira says. “Unfortunately.”
Becca smirks. “Oh, come on. Isn’t anyone going to speak up and say something like, you bad children you, speaking in such a disloyal way about the Captaincy? You’ve been seduced by delinquency?”
“People talk this way all the time,” Lana says. “It’s not a big deal, if you don’t let teachers hear you do it.”
“And if you don’t actually join up with a subversive movement,” Trisha echoes.
“Oh, but if you don’t, what’s the point?” Becca says, smiling. “You’ve missed your chance to drop out of school and explode in a spectacular mess. Or is it just that we all love to dunk on Mom and Dad? Because believe me, I’m there.”
“I—” Bonnie starts.
Everyone turns to look at her. She seems nervous. “I don’t think I’ve really thought about it. Not as much as I should. My family’s not as big as some of the others. I never really thought, is the Captaincy doing a good job or a bad job with the Nightmare situation. But if you think it’s better we keep it to ourselves, then I’ll follow your lead.”
“There’s a question in that, though,” Becca says. “This secrecy, is it something we can keep up forever? If we manage to kill any Nightmares, we’re going to find ourselves in the public eye.”
Adrianna nods. “What we want to do first is establish ourselves. Once it’s clear what we can do, and that it’s us who have the powers, then maybe the older generation will have to respect that we’re doing things differently.”
“Well, it’s encouraging that we all seem to be of the same mind about this,” Becca says. She leans her head back, over her shoulder. “Unless—”
Kate scowls, seeing the people looking at her. “Give me the damn paper,” she says stiffly. “I’ll sign.”
Adrianna hands it to her, with a pen clipped on. “You see what we mean now?”
“I trust you more than I trust them,” Kate says, scribbling on the paper. “That doesn’t mean I all the way trust you with it.”
“Understandable,” Adrianna says, infuriatingly. “In fact, I welcome your criticism. If my vice-president and I ever start doing a bad job, we need people like you, Kate, who’ll let us know.”
Gwen has the feeling she’s just been thrown under a bus. Or been politely asked to go under the wheels of a bus by an oblivious leader who’s decided to climb down under there with her and doesn’t get why it would be a big deal to get run over.
“Fine. Whatever,” Kate says. “I’m with you, I guess.”
“When do we get the awesome powers?” Yvonne asks, with her usual grin. “And does the armor come with?”
Adrianna smiles. “I was thinking right now. If you guys are ready. And yes, the armor’s part of it”
“We had some ideas,” Gwen says, glancing at Adrianna. “About what powers might suit some of you.”
“Right,” Adrianna says. She explains about the ten remaining Signs.
“So…we’re trying to match these things to our personalities?” Trisha asks, forehead wrinkled.
“Indeed,” Miracle says. She projects the wheel of colored glyphs again. Moira takes a step forward and touches one. Information flows out from it once again.
“You see,” Adrianna says, “there’s the cardinal, fixed, and mutable aspects, and the four elements, which correspond to emotional temperaments—” She begins to explain, while Moira and others flip through the database.
Becca holds up a hand. “Hon, I love you, but maybe just write down your ideas for each of us? We’re getting a bit lost in the weeds here.”
Gwen grabs a piece of paper. Beside her, people are looking through the symbols, or staring at Miracle as she flies around the wheel. It amuses Gwen that they’re not totally over their awe yet. Gwen and Adrianna quickly scribble down a list.
Everyone crowds around a table to look at it when it’s done.
“You don’t have ideas for all of us,” Bonnie says.
“Sorry,” Adrianna admits. “I don’t know everyone equally well. I didn’t want make any assumptions about you.”
“I could go for the Bull, I guess,” Bonnie says. “It’s one of the earth ones, you said. I like being down-to-earth.”
“Could definitely work for you.”
“Ughh,” Kate says. “You had me as the Fishes? I hate fish. They smell terrible.”
“It’s not that literal.”
“It doesn’t fit me.”
“I thought you might like it. It’s mystical, it’s powerful. The Fishes transcend time and space.”
“No, screw that. Mystic dreamy star people suck. What else is there?”
“There’s the Water-Carrier, the Scorpion—”
“Oooh. That. I want that.”
“You don’t even know anything about it,” Moira says.
“It sounds cool!”
“The Scorpion is associated with transformation, violence, and death,” Miracle says, flying over.
“Yes!” Kate crows. “Messed up and deadly! That’s what I want to be.”
“I guess it has elements in common with the Fishes,” Adrianna muses. “So it could work.”
“I’ll take the Goat,” Moira says. “Feels practical.”
“Lion!” Yvonne says. “I call dibs on Lion!”
“I wrote down the Archer for you, Trish,” Gwen says.
“That’s…a fire one?” Trish says. She brightens. “You’re saying I’m hot? Aw, Gwen, you flatterer.”
Gwen rolls her eyes. “Not that. Miracle says it has something to do with travel. Seeking new horizons. You’re always doing things like that. Taking new, weird classes and stuff.”
“Woah, cool,” Trisha says. “I guess that is me, kind of. Never thought of that before.” It’s clear that she likes the sound of it. “Huh.”
There’s not as much arguing over who gets what as Gwen feared. It’s like people already have a pretty good idea of what feels right to them. The debates are more like clarifications about what the symbolism really means.
“Who’s first?” Adrianna says, when they’ve decided.
“I’ll go first,” Lana says, stepping forward. She looks around. “If that would be okay?”
No one challenges her. Lana strides up to Miracle’s artifact.
This is it, Gwen thinks. This is what we’ve been waiting for.
Lana lifts her finger to a Sign, very careful not to pick the wrong one. “I solemnly swear,” she says. “I’ll be loyal to the club, and the ideal it stands for. I’ll keep its secrets, and obey its leaders, and never lose sight of our goal of fighting for justice.”
“Swearing isn’t really necessary,” Adrianna says, a little shyly.
“Well, it is for me,” Lana says. She shakes her head. “In the name of the Lunar Lady, I choose the Sign of the Crayfish!”
She jabs the symbol. Her hand whirls in spiral motions.
Wind blows the papers sitting on Adrianna’s desk to the corners. Pale blue light washes over Lana’s body, and her uniform vanishes. Then the light bursts like a spark from a flame, and Lana’s standing there in armor.
Her armor and cape are light blue, like a morning sky. She’s wearing a knight’s helmet with a huge red plume. It has two thin spikes at the front, like antennae. The overlapping plates look a bit like a shell, and there’s a crayfish on her breastplate. She’s carrying a long lance. Her other hand’s resting on a circular shield. It’s almost as tall as she is.
Lana looks down at herself. “Woah,” she says.
Everyone starts talking at once. Lana, distracted, takes the shield with her free hand. She lifts it easily.
“I’ll go, Adri,” Becca says loudly.
“Me next!” blurts Kate the next second. “Do me!”
“Becca’s got dibs,” Adrianna says. “Then you go, Kate.”
Becca steps forward.
“The Scales for me,” she says, tapping the wheel.
This time the light’s a soft purple. It moves over her body, lingering strangely at one arm. When it bursts, Becca’s standing there in purple armor. She doesn’t have a helmet, but a spiky crown. Her skirt’s made of white chains, and it hangs over one leg asymmetrically, showing off Becca’s long legs. Gwen tries not to be jealous, but Becca’s legs are really hot.
Becca twirls her spear in one hand. It also has white chains on it. “I like it,” she says.
“Me!” Kate says. “My turn!”
Adrianna motions forward, and Kate runs to the wheel. In moments she’s covered with fog that looks almost black, except at the edges where it glows.
Kate’s outfit looks less like armor, and more like the clothes a thief might wear in a game. She’s got a blue-black mask over her face, and a hood she could pull up, and wrappings that shroud her arms and legs.
Kate stares down at the dagger in her hands.
“What the hell?” she says. “I was supposed to have a cool weapon!”
“The scorpion’s power lies in its sting,” Miracle explains. “To use that sting, it must get close to its opponent unseen. But the poison it carries is very powerful.”
Kate scowls, but doesn’t say anything. She pokes the table with the dagger. It hisses, steam rising from the point of impact.
Penny’s next. “I’m gonna choose the Sign of the Twin Sisters,” she says. “Because I was thinking, you know, it’s an air Sign, which is associated with intellect, but it’s always changing, just like my thoughts are always all over the place, but it also lets me use my brain, which I really want to do. So it really seems perfect for me!”
A flash of white light comes down like a thunderbolt, and leaves Penny standing there in white armor. It’s a strange shape, long like a lab coat. She has white boots and gloves, and there’s a pair of goggles on her head.
“Oh!” Penny cries. “Yes! Yes!” She lifts her weapon.
It’s a gun. Or—
Penny shakes it, like a rug she’s trying to air out. Parts of the weapon slide into a different configuration. Now it has a sharp edge.
“Gunblade,” she says.
“That’s not a thing,” Becca says.
“It is now.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
Penny’s swaying on her feet. “No, no, you don’t understand. My head’s buzzing.” She stares at the weapon. “I can see how all the parts fit together,” she whispers. “I, I—I keep having ideas for things I can add on. I can make it better. More accurate. Make it fly. Holy crap.” She’s breathless with excitement. “The Lady did this. Mind stuff, just like I asked for. I’m a genius. A magical genius!”
“Is that possible, Miracle?” Adrianna asks.
“The Lady would not alter a sapient’s mind directly. But it is possible to augment one’s abilities by accessing a copy of her internal libraries, which contain blueprints for many of her technologies.”
“Paper,” Penny says. “I need to take notes! I need to write some stuff down!”
Gwen hands her some blank sheets and a pen. Penny starts scribbling away.
Yvonne’s suddenly in front of Adrianna. “I’m going next!”
Adrianna indicates the wheel.
“Right,” Yvonne says, squaring her stance and rolling her shoulders one by one. “So I do kickboxing, right? So I’m thinking this thing is going to give me something that works with that. That’s the way I want to fight.”
Moira lifts an eyebrow. “You want to punch Nightmares to death?”
“Kick, punch, something like that.”
“I don’t think you get to control what the Sign gives you,” Bonnie says.
“Sure you do,” Yvonne says. “It’s all based on what thoughts are in your head, right? All I’ve got to do is think hard about what I want. I picked the Lion. Because damn, who doesn’t want to be a lion, right? King of beasts, all ferocious and stuff? I’m there.” She touches the wheel and makes the Sign.
Yvonne reemerges from her glow in dark green armor. The pauldrons are huge, and her arms and legs look twice as thick with all the chainmail and plates on them. Her hair’s flying free.
Yvonne holds up a gauntlet. It’s glowing. Her boots are, too. She makes a fist. There’s a sound like the buzz of machinery, and three claws made of pale green light grow from her fingers.
“Hell yeah,” she says.
Yvonne takes a stance, then jabs at an imaginary opponent. She follows up with a kick. The claws on the boots leave streaks of light in Gwen’s vision.
Moira appears to be considering this. “Interesting.”
“I told you,” Yvonne says. “Lion.”
“Lion,” Moira agrees.
Trisha steps forward.
Gwen grins. Yes. Yes. “What are you picking?” she asks.
“Archer,” Trisha says, smiling. “You sold me on it, okay, Marlowe?”
“Yes,” Gwen says. “That’s perfect.”
Trisha touches the wheel. “If I’m going to do this, I’ve got to throw myself into it, all the way. Nothing in my life ever works for me if I don’t have passion. That’s fire. And that’s what the Archer is, moving fire.” She makes the Sign. “Lady, show me fire.”
Light opens up around her, reaching to the ceiling in tongues of orange, yellow and red. When it finally clears, Trisha appears, in bright red armor. There are little fancy touches, like the way the breastplate curves, the long white gloves and skirt, and the red paint on her upper eyelids.
Gwen’s heart swells. Her friend. Her friend looks so good.
Trisha lifts a bow that’s almost as big as she is. “Guess I really shouldn’t be surprised.” She raises three fingers to the string. An arrow of red light appears between them. She fires. A paper on Penny’s desk flies across the room, pinned to the opposite wall.
The arrow disappears, and the paper flutters to the floor, leaving no mark.
“I’ve never even held a bow before,” Trisha says. She smiles.
“I was writing on that!” Penny complains.
“Who still needs to go?” Adrianna says.
Eyes land on Bonnie and Moira.
“I didn’t want to make anyone feel left out,” Bonnie says. “I figured I could wait my turn.”
“Want to have your turn now?” Adrianna says.
“Sure.”
Bonnie steps forward. “The Bull, please.” She makes the Sign.
Her armor’s orange-brown, like sunset. She looks more imposing, somehow. Like in her armor, she’s not going to be moved by anything. Her helmet has two big horns on it.
Bonnie looks at her weapons. There’s one in each hand, two hammers with square mallets the size of her head. Each one has a curved hook on the other side, like an ice pick. She tests the weight of them. “Cool,” she says.
“And that leaves me,” Moira says, stepping forward. “As promised, I’ll take the Goat.”
She makes the Sign. Her breastplate shows a goat’s head, but she doesn’t have a horned helmet. Instead, it’s a black military cap. Actually, her armor looks kind of like the uniforms Mom and the others wear at big events. She touches the side of her head. A rectangle of glass flips down over one eye.
Moira looks down at her hip, where a length of rope is bound. “Interesting,” she says.
There’s a moment where they all look at each other in their armor. Someone laughs nervously. And then they’re all breaking into smiles. Like: what are we doing here, dressed up in costumes? Isn’t it absurd? We’re six inches of wall away from all our classmates and teachers. But also, isn’t this the absolute coolest?
“We should duel,” Kate says. “Can we duel?”
“We’d have to make sure it stays non-lethal,” Adrianna says, “and I’m not sure about that poison of yours. But I think we have a few things to figure out before we get to that point.”
“Yes,” Moira says, stepping forward. “I wanted to talk to you about finances. Where’s our income coming from?”
Adrianna nods. “We’re currently set up like any other club with a small monthly budget from the school.”
“Is that going to be enough? How far does a month’s club budget extend?”
“Not far,” Adrianna acknowledges. “Enough to pay for posters, and pencils and snacks three times a month, but not for what we’re planning. That said, I’m planning to dip into my personal funds as well.”
“Do we have a sponsor?”
“Yes. Mr. Marshton of the Sciences department. Fortunately, he’s been very hands-off. I gave him a rough outline of an ecological-science club, and he approved the whole thing.”
“You would lean on Uncle Max,” Kate says.
Moira nods. “Do you have someone in mind for treasurer? If not, I’d like to apply for the position.”
Adrianna looks interested. “You have experience?”
“I do. I was treasurer for the Sailing Club and the Library Club back in middle school. I’ve also assisted my mother a number of times in fundraising for charitable causes, such as the Nightmare Victims’ Relief Fund.”
“Excellent,” Adrianna says. “I’d love to have you. That is, unless anyone else is interested in the position?”
Heads shake on down the room.
“You’re hired,” Adrianna says. “Did you have any ideas you wanted to run by us to begin with?”
“Yes,” Moira says. “I’d like to get a sense, first of all, of how you see us dividing our money and time. What will we be doing? Attacking the Nightmares? When?
Something leaps up from inside Gwen’s stomach and takes hold of her. This feels fishy. Wrong.
“Wait— ” she cuts in.
They stop talking. Everyone looks at her.
“How do we know Moira isn’t spying on us for the Captaincy?” Gwen demands.
“Why would I do that?” Moira looks irritated.
“You’re asking a lot of questions about what we’re going to be doing.” Gwen says. She turns to the rest of the group. “Almost like she’s trying to keep a list so she can land us in trouble?”
“Or maybe because I actually want to help figure out how to pay for all this?” Moira says irritably. “I signed the paper about keeping secret. What more are you expecting?”
“Gwen,” Adrianna says. “I think you’re off base here. It’s not like the Captaincy knows what we’re doing here. They don’t have a reason to spy on us. Moira’s been nice.”
“But—” Gwen sputters. “The outfit—the aesthetics!” She gestures helplessly at Moira’s straight button coat and cap.
“Moon and stars,” Moira says, rolling her eyes. “I like military clothes. That doesn’t mean I’m secretly reporting to the Captaincy.”
Everyone’s looking at Gwen. Crap. Crap. People are turning against her. She’s sounding like a crazy person. She should shut up.
“Fine,” Gwen says. “But can you admit that you have some ulterior motive here? You came to this club with an agenda. I don’t know what’s making you want to be here, but it isn’t just ‘saving the world.’
Moira gives her a cool stare.
“My family’s been involved with the Nightmare Victims’ Relief Fund since I was eight,” Moira says. “Does that mean anything to you, Gwen? Can you think about some reasons I might want to be part of this club? I have seen the devastation these things dish out. I’ve looked into the eyes of people who’ve lost someone, over and over again. Yeah, I have my own reasons for wanting to do this. Sorry I’m not coming into this like a wide-eyed innocent like the rest of you. But don’t you dare say I’m faking.”
Gwen knows she’s lost the argument. “Okay,” she says. “Objection withdrawn.”
Adrianna gives her a tiny hand signal, a lowering of her hand, like, take it down a notch. Or is that a you’re dismissed, lieutenant? Great. Gwen’s shot her credibility to crap and made herself look like an idiot in front of the group. Just perfect. Exactly what she was wanting to do today.
“To answer your question, Moira,” Adrianna continues, “I think first we investigate one of the nearby Nightmares. See how much damage we can do. If that goes well, we return and finish the job.”
“We’ll need transportation,” Moira says.
“A chartered bus. Like the ones the tennis and track teams use. We can schedule an off-site event.”
“True,” Moira says. “We’ll be required to have a chaperone, though.”
“It’s true, that’s one annoying thing. But I think we can find a workaround.”
“Ditch the teacher?” Kate asks.
“Something like that.”
Moira nods. “I like your thinking so far. I’m concerned it’s unsustainable, though. On a club budget we can afford to charter a bus once, maybe twice. If it’s going to be a regular activity, I’m not sure even your savings will be enough.”
“As I said, I do want to go public with this eventually. I think we could get the Captaincy to support us financially—on our terms.”
Moon on a stick. Adrianna’s been thinking about this way more than her. Couldn’t she have talked to Gwen about it, though? Would that have killed her? Is Gwen the vice president of this stupid thing or not?
It’s like she never knows what she’s going to get with Adrianna: a polished professional who’s practicing for her Captaincy applications or someone she can talk to like an actual human being?
Except she’s starting to think the two might actually be the same person.
“Get the Captaincy to bankroll us,” Becca Webster says. “Clever, if you can pull it off.”
Moira shifts stance. “In that case, our first few fights are crucial. That’s where we’ll be making our case for our existence.”
“Agreed.”
“Adri,” Becca cuts in. “You said you and Gwen killed one of these things?”
Adrianna nods.
“Then maybe we should talk about how you did it, so we can figure out how we’re going to do it again?”
Gwen’s on this. She gets to scribbling. Soon they’re all looking down at a map—that’s right, her map— of the Nightmare hallway and the dark chamber with the carousel. She and Adrianna walk them through the fight with the horrible clown.
“It’s all about creativity,” Adrianna tells the group. “You have to follow your intuition. Think about a kind of power your Sign might grant, then draw it out. That’s what we did.”
“And slice the Nightmare with a big sword,” Becca remarks.
“That, too.”
“It’d be nice to get some practice using our powers before we get to that point,” Trisha says, craning to look over Gwen’s shoulder. She looks at Adrianna. “You are going to train us, right?”
“That was the plan,” Adrianna says. She looks a little embarrassed. “I have to admit, I didn’t think of any training for today, though.”
“How much time do we have?”
“I booked the room for two and a half hours,” Adrianna says. She takes a seat on the table. “I didn’t know how far we’d get, or how long it would take us.” She smiles. It’s a bit different from her usual smile. More fragile? “Honestly, I didn’t expect it to go this well. I’m really happy to have you all. If a bit lost for ideas.”
“Sure,” Trisha says, like she doesn’t know what else to say. “Hmmm. Um. We could do training next time?”
Adrianna straightens up. Returning to her usual stance. Business mode. “Yes. Great idea. Can everyone make it here the same time next week?”
Nods all around.
“Great. By then, I’ll have a training regimen for you all. And let’s think about when we want to schedule our big expedition.” She claps her hands. “You can turn your armor and weapons off by concentrating. Do that before you go out the door. But feel free to experiment with your powers at home. Just be careful not to let anyone see you do it. We want to keep our secret for now.”
Some murmurs of acknowledgement. Everyone stands around staring at each other awkwardly, because of course no one wants to be the first to stop wearing their cool magic armor. Finally, Moira switches back. Bonnie follows suit, and pretty soon, everyone’s drifting out. Trisha squeezes Gwen’s hand as she goes. Gwen starts to follow her.
“Oh,” Adrianna says, touching her arm. “Before you go, Gwen…I just wanted to say something.”
Gwen turns. Like what the heck is this about? Is she going to get yelled at? Adrianna really freaking tests her patience sometimes.
“I wanted to tell you how much I appreciated the points you brought up today. Your instincts are really good. I hope it didn’t feel too much like I was shutting you down. If so, I apologize.”
It takes Gwen a few minutes to work through her bafflement.
“You don’t have to do that,” she says through clenched teeth. “Lie and tell me you’re not mad. You can just say I screwed up with Moira and be done with it.”
“No,” Adrianna says earnestly. “You didn’t screw up. I’m glad you asked some hard questions. It brought the group closer together, overcoming those initial doubts. Now we know for sure we’re all on each other’s side.”
Gwen looks at Adrianna and her big, dopey smile.
Moon. She really believes what she’s saying, doesn’t she? She’s not just being nice. Or she’s talked herself into believing it enough that there’s no difference.
“That’s good, I guess,” she says. “See you next week?”
Adrianna nods. “See you next week.”
On her way out to the waiting Marlowe family car, Gwen passes by the football field.
Yvonne’s out there running laps. She’s huffing and puffing at a pace Gwen would never be able to keep up with. No one else is around.
Gwen walks on toward the car to knock on the chauffeur’s door. At the last second, there’s motion in the corner of her eye.
She turns and catches a glimpse of Yvonne running across the field, wearing her green armor.
As Yvonne reaches the end of the field, she leaps.
Gwen sees her catch the edge of the gymnasium and pull herself onto the roof. Three stories high.
Then she’s gone, vanished into the blue sky.