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“No,” she said. “That can’t be right. How do you know they’re Changelings?”
“Because of the telltale signs,” I said.
“Like what? Maybe you only think they’re Changelings.”
“Take a look at them,” I said. “Look at their wrists. See that bunch of skin like a bracelet? That shows you it’s them. When they take the shape of a creature, the excess skin has to bunch up somewhere, and for them, it’s around their joints. No doubt about it. If I had to guess, I would say they’re trackers like our horned friend earlier.”
“Then why did they help me? They could have killed us easily. They would never get an easier kill than that!”
I shrugged.
“There could be many reasons,” I said. “Maybe the show’s controllers are suffering bad ratings and they don’t want us to die too quickly. Maybe they want to design a more exciting finale. Or maybe these guys are cruel and want to play with us before they kill us.”
Maddy stamped her foot on the floor in agitation.
“I’m such an idiot!” she said.
I raised my hands to signal for her not to stamp her foot again.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “If I knew what they were, what they really were…”
“You would be dead,” I said. “And so would I. It might not seem like it now but your ignorance could be the best thing to happen to us. You got the help you needed. I was unconscious and unable to recognize them for what they are.”
“So what do you suggest we do?”
“We have to get out of here.”
“How do we do that? We can’t just walk down there! They’ll know something is up and kill us if we try to leave!”
I thought through our situation. We were trapped in the barn’s attic with a pair of killers downstairs. What were our advantages?
“They think I’m still unconscious,” I said. “So what you’re going to do is go down there and tell them you want to get some fresh air or feed the arjath or something. Then you’ll bring that arjath over here, to this hole in the roof. I’ll throw down a rope and climb down it. We’ll be done before they notice anything’s up.”
Maddy gnawed on her bottom lip.
“I don’t know…” she said. “What if they notice something’s up?”
“Then you can shout for help. I’ll come down and fight.”
She ran a hand over my shoulder.
“You can’t do that,” she said. “You’re not fully healed yet.”
“You’re going to have to try your best,” I said. “It’s the easiest, safest way.”
And you’ll be outside in case anything goes wrong. You can escape to safety if I can’t reach you.
I checked the device at my waist. It blinked with the signal.
“It’s not much further,” I said. “If we ride the arjath toward the horizon at a steady pace for an hour or two, we can make it to the shuttlecraft and get out of here.”
I grabbed Maddy by the shoulders.
“Do you think you can do it?” I said.
She looked a little hesitant.
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, I can do it.”
