Page 138 of Last Man Standing

43

SCARLETT

OLD FRIENDS

For the first time since I’ve been here, the expansive grass outside Sebastion’s bedroom window remains all but empty. Men roam the grounds and keep the royal family safe, but beyond the occasional walk-by, the dozens of soldiers who make up most of my daily viewing are simply… not here.

But I hear the chatter through Sebastion’s abandoned radio. I hear discussions about the sensors surrounding the house. About the wires they’re fixing, and the slick of ice on the road just on the other side of the walls. On a near-constant rotation, I hear updates about where each of the Jamesons are.

Paul is with his men amongst the tree-lined portion of the property, fixing the sensors.

I’m pretty sure there are explosives buried underground out there.

La Bruja is in the medical wing with Bas.

Koda is in the rec room.

Koda is by the pool, but not near the edge.

Koda is nearing the trees; someone was ordered to bring him back.

Koda is in the kitchen, sneaking his third full-sized candy bar of the day; someone was ordered to confiscate it.

Koda is in the rec room again.

Maverick is patrolling the western perimeter of the property.

Sebastion is not even on the property.

And then there are the updates that include my name. Except, my name is not my name. It’s Adelita.

Adelita is in the main house.

Adelita is in the main house.

Adelita is in the main house.

Now, as I step outside and gasp at the icy wind that whips my hair back, I hear Adelita is exiting the main house. Which, naturally, leads to another update: La Bruja is still in the medical wing.

Helpful, really, to know where the woman is when I can’t stand to sit inside Sebastion’s room for a minute longer.

I regret not grabbing a thicker jacket before coming outside, but I don’t intend to stay out for too long anyway, so I fold my arms and pretend the radio clasped in my left hand is totally something I’m allowed to have. Ducking my head low, I fake a pleasant smile for the soldier whose voice is probably the one I hear when we get Adelita updates, then I start along the smooth tiles framing the side of the pool and ignore the tall security tower spearing into the sky in the distance.

The pool appears perfectly still, perhaps even a little frozen on the top, though I don’t intend to dip my feet in to check, and noise bounces from the rec room a little further up. The television blares with playful music I’ve only ever heard come from a Super Mario game, proving, one, Koda’s still tucked away out of the cold, and two, someone is likely headed that way soon to confiscate the TV or, at the very least, turn it down.

Have they always given these updates?

Have men been hearing “Adelita is in the main house” thirty-six times a day, every single day, since I arrived here?

Geez. They’ll shoot me dead just to make it stop.

Maverick is patrolling and veering north.

La Bruja remains in the medical wing.

Paul is still in the trees.

Koda is still in the rec room.