Page 91 of The Sixth Spring

“The store?” Adrián’s brows furrowed, then he nodded. “Someone you can trust?”

“Completely,” Will said. “I–I won’t be coming back.”

“Good,” Adrián said. “You’ve outgrown this place anyway.”

“Hey! Hey! Stop him!” Came a shout from their right. Automatically, both of them swung their attention in that direction.

And there was Gary. He was maybe two yards off in the crowd, baton raised like he was going to use it. Except on either side of him were men who looked like they were just waiting for an excuse to toss him on his ass. They had eyes on him, but at his shouting, they flickered up to Will.

“This way!” Adrián shouted, yanking Will away. “Don’t let the pigs through!” He shouted to the crowd around them as they went. “They want a scapegoat! Don’t let them through!”

It happened as automatically as it had at the Town Hall meeting last time. The crowd suddenly moved together even tighter, closing ranks behind them as they pushed through.

He heard Adrián’s words whispering among them. Heard it zip through the crowd.

Somewhere behind them, Gary shouted and cursed, but Will couldn’t turn back to look. The crowd moved like a wave or a living creature. It parted for them and then closed the way behind them. Guided them through and protected them.

They were almost to the other edge now, to the side of the Town Hall building, when Will heard the whispers make it to the front. To Becky and her megaphone.

“The pigs are here!” She shouted to a chorus of booing. “They won’t lift a finger to help us, but they’ll take any opportunity to arrest us! I don’t know about you, but I thought I still lived in a free country!”

There was a roar of agreement.

“Don’t let those fuckers take your fellow man! That’s your neighbor, your friend! We are united, aren’t we?”

Another chorus of cheers.

Then Adrián was breaching the other side, pulling Will out of the mass along with him.

He turned to Will, yanking off his black ball cap and putting it on Will’s head, brim pulled low. “If your ride don’t work, you come find me, pano.”

“I will,” Will said, breathless with the disbelief that they were through and he was free. “Thank you, for–for everything. Really.”

“You’re a good kid,” Adrián said with a smile, “And we take care of our own here. Now go, before they see where you’ve gone.”

Will bobbed his head, unable to find any more words. He turned, running down the dark alley of the Town Hall building, and heading back toward the spring.

Behind him the shouting kept going, but now it was starting to coalesce. One chant rising above the rest, pulling all the voices together.

Our land is not for profit!

Chapter 18

It took a while to get back to the spring. Will had to take the long way, avoiding major roads and cutting through backyards to avoid detection. He didn’t see any cop cars around, but the risk was too high not to be cautious. If he got caught again, there was no way he’d get so lucky.

Fear cluttered in his chest with every step, with every passing minute. It was dark, very dark, and well past the time he said he’d be at the spring.

Would Itori have left already?

What would he do if that were the case? If, after all of this, he was too late.

The thought wasn’t helping him, so Will tried to shove it off. Tried to focus on just getting there.

It still trailed him like smoke, filling his lungs until it was hard to breathe.

By the time Will was at the orange grove, his body was exhausted from the adrenaline burning through him. He kept pushing, trudging through the dead trees and the drying mud.

The fence came into view, daunting in its height.