Page 25

25. Monkey

Gemma

We heard constant noises on the other side of the garage door. Demons chittering. A few human voices. Foot traffic. Vehicles. We couldn’t see out any of the windows, though, and could only guess what was going on and where we were.

Since it was the biggest piece of furniture in the room, we used the workstation as a table and laid out all of the items we had in our pockets. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a phone among us. Those who had them on their person during the ambush came up empty-handed, and I was glad I’d left mine in my backpack.

The sum total of our assets came to a tin of mints, a packet of tissues and one of gum, three lip balms, Jax and Spin’s wallets and everyone’s watches, Chance’s pocket knife, three combs, some spare change, dental floss, and a few chocolate candies.

I crossed my arms as I surveyed our meager resources.

What I wouldn’t give for even a little duct tape . If I’d only had time to grab my pack. I should have it kept on!

“Gemma.” Spin broke into my thoughts and I looked over at him, then followed his line of sight.

Our stray was up and walking toward the bathroom, shedding the quilt from her shoulders as if unaware it was even there. Spin hadn’t moved from where he’d stationed himself on the stool, but he looked worried.

“It’s okay, Spin.” I absently noted the girl appeared to be about Gigi’s height. “It’s a good thing.”

He didn’t look reassured. He frowned and his eyes stayed glued to the bathroom door until the girl emerged. She walked past him and sat down on the quilt, pulled her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them. Her stare was as vague as ever.

I watched with amusement as Spin went over to a cot, grabbed another blanket, and hesitantly held it out to the girl.

“Here,” he half-growled. “Take it.”

The girl stayed still and I wasn’t surprised. Spin began to inch forward with a determined look on his face. He kept moving until he was close enough, then draped the blanket around the girl’s shoulders with awkward care.

Oh. He’s kind, this boy, and sweet. Like my Kerry, he has a good heart waiting for someone to help excavate it.

When the girl didn’t shrink away from him, he must have taken it as a positive sign. He smiled and knelt in front of her, his knees brushing her toes.

“Hello, in there.” He cocked his head to one side. “I’m Spin. I hope you can come back soon, but don’t worry. I’ll watch over you until you do.”

Then he covered the girl’s feet with the edge of her blanket, fetched another one for himself, and settled near her on the floor. He braced his back against the workstation and stretched his legs out in front of him, then crossed his arms over his chest.

“Try talking to her some more,” I suggested. “Coma victims who wake up often report that they could hear everything happening around them. And she might like the sound of your voice.”

“What should I talk about?”

“Anything.”

While the rest of us took turns in the shower, Spin spent the afternoon telling story after story. I listened as he told the girl about growing up in New Jersey, surrounded by his huge, close-knit family, most of whom seemed to be firefighters and police officers.

He had two older half-brothers who hadn’t treated him very nicely when he was little. While he laughed off their antics, I was incensed by them, especially when he spoke of the summer they’d broken both his arms.

I hope I meet up with his two brothers one day.

“Gemma.”

At Jax’s whisper, I glanced over at him. He jerked his head toward Spin and I swung around to see what was happening.

The girl was crawling toward Spin. He didn’t falter in his story, only watched her from the corner of his eye. When she reached his legs, she pulled herself into his lap and nestled her head over his heart, her hands clasped under her chin like a child praying. He brought his arms up and around her in slow motion, as if afraid to startle her, then laid his cheek on the top of her head. She shuddered once and closed her eyes.

“There, now,” he murmured into her tangled hair. “It’s all right. You’re not alone anymore.”

A solitary tear traced its way down her cheek.

#

As the early winter dusk darkened the sky, we finally admitted there wasn’t much more we could do. We’d investigated every inch of the place and found no helpful tools or equipment. There was a little place on the garage door windows where Jax had managed to scrape off the black paint, but the view wasn’t encouraging. Several demons milled about outside and he saw at least one human armed with a machine gun.

Even if we broke out, we’d be caught or killed in seconds. Nephilim were as vulnerable to bullets as any living creature.

Hungry, tired, and discouraged, we decided to try to sleep.

The cots weren’t bad. They were more like roll-away guest beds than the taut canvas cots I’d been expecting, and they were large. There were pillows and blankets, too, that all seemed in good, clean condition. We’d be sleeping more comfortably tonight than we had since we’d started hiking.

Then the girl refused to release her hold on Spin. He tried talking to her, I tried talking to her, but she wouldn’t budge.

“She’s like a little monkey,” Tara snickered.

“And Spin’s the mommy monkey?” Maddy laughed.

“Please!” Spin whined. “At least call me the daddy monkey.”

I giggled with the others.

With a sigh, he gave in. He picked up the girl, carried her to a bed, and laid her on it, then sat beside her to kick off his boots. She rolled over and curved around his back like a magnet to metal.

“Uh, I don’t feel right about this.” His face flushed. “You know, sleeping in a bed with her.”

“Dude, you’re both fully clothed and surrounded by other people,” Jax said. “Are you planning to feel her up in the dark?”

“ No! ”

“Then slide in there with her and be quiet so we can get some shut-eye!”

“Why me?” he moaned. “One of the girls should sleep with her.”

“Listen, Spin, you’re the one who coaxed her into latching onto you in the first place. Now that she has, you’ll have to man up and take one for the team.” Chance’s voice was rich with laughter.

I grinned as he continued to razz Spin, whose discomfort increased with the teasing.

It was the girl herself who finally settled matters. Still draped bonelessly around Spin as he perched on the edge of the bed, she started to make little hurt sounds in the back of her throat.

Spin panicked.

“Oh, no, don’t do that, little monkey! I’ll stay! Just don’t cry. I’ll stay with you!”

As he spoke, he twisted around and half-lifted, half-shoved the girl over, then crawled in with her.

“Monkey . ” Chance snorted. “I’m sure she’s gonna love that nickname.”

I listened to Spin murmuring to the girl in a tender tone, the words too soft to make out, until my conscience bit at me.

She may be too broken to fix. The mind is fragile, even a nephilim’s. And, for all we know, she’s a normal human. Their minds are far easier to break and much harder to heal. Chance knows it, too. Why hasn’t he said something? We have to warn Spin of that possibility.

I yawned, drowsy now.

But not until tomorrow . Tomorrow will be soon enough for a dose of reality.