Purple | Cole Stewart -VERSION DISCONTINUED

Chapter Fourteen: Enlightening Conversation

The rain had almost stopped by the time Liam started working on the back tire. I had offered to help, but he had just shaken his head, giving me a look that I was much too tired to try and decipher.
“Please just go back to sleep Carter, I really don’t like dealing with you when you’re sleep-deprived,” Chubs said before hopping out of the van with Zu in tow.
“Well when you put it that way,” I yawned before continuing. “I guess just a little more sleep won’t hurt.”
•••
I didn’t get to sleep for very long. I was woken up by the slamming shut of one of the vans sliding doors.
“Chubs-” Liam warned.
“Why,” Chubs began, “were you with the Childrens League?”
“Hey now,” Liam said. “This is a don’t-ask-don’t-tell operation. Green, you-”
I shook my head to help clear the sleepy fog from my head as Chubs interrupted him yet again.
“No,” Chubs said, “you decided that. You, and Suzume, and Carter. If we’re going to be stuck with her, I want to know who this person is and why we got chased down by gun-toting lunatics trying to get her back.”
Okay, so he kind of had a point.
Liam seemed to realize this as well, lifting his hands up in surrender.
“I…” Ruby started, blinking heavily. “I was…” I shifted my legs to get into a more comfortable position. “I was a runner in the Control Tower,” Ruby blurted. “I saw the access codes to the computer servers the League wants access to. I have a photographic memory, and I’m good with numbers and codes.”
It made sense, but Ruby looked too skittish for me to believe she was telling the truth.
“What about your friend? What’s his deal?”
“You mean Martin? Yesterday was the first time I had ever seen him. I don’t know what his story was. I didn’t ask.”
Chubs scoffed. “Don’t tell me you believe that, Lee. We knew everyone by the time we broke out.”
You didn’t need to be a detective to see the shock written all over Ruby's face. She was silent for a few moments before asking “Really? All three thousand of them?”
Liam and Chubs each took a step back at the same time. Her words didn’t have the same effect on me, seeing as I came from a camp that big originally. Speaking of Thurmond, we weren't all that far away from it- could she have escaped that hellhole too?
“You had three thousand kids at your camp?” Liam asked.
“Why?” Ruby asked, “how many were in your camp?”
“Three hundred at most,” Liam said. “Are you sure? Three thousand?”
“Well, it's not like they gave us an official number. There were thirty kids per cabin, and about a hundred of those. There used to be more, but they sent the Reds, Oranges, and Yellows away.”
She had all but confirmed my suspicions. After all, how many camps that large could there be?
Liam was speechless. “Damn.” I said. “What camp was it?”
“It’s none of your business. I’m not asking where you were.”
“We were in Caledonia, Ohio.” Chubs said, ignoring a sharp look from Liam. “They stuck us in an abandoned elementary school. We broke out. Your turn.”
“Why, so you can report me to the nearest PSF station?”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh yeah, clearly we’d be able to stroll on up and file a report.” the comment slipped out before I could stop it.
Ruby huffed. “Fine. I was in Thurmond.”
Holy shit.
“Are you serious? Crazy Thurmond with the FrankenKiddies?” Liam asked.
Yep. Hit me right where it hurts, why don’t you.
“They’ve stopped testing,” Ruby protested.
“No, I just- I just… I thought it was all filled up, you know? That's why they bused us to Ohio.” Liam said as he ran a hand through his hair.
Not if you got caught early enough, I thought.
“How old were you when you went into camp?” Chubs asked. “You were young, right?”
You didn’t have to be young to get sucked into that hell-hole.
“The day after my tenth birthday.”
Liam wistled.
“How long were you guys at Caledonia?”
When neither Chubs nor Liam answered, she looked to me. I sighed, moving to sit on the floor of the van. 
“Suzume was there for about two years, Chubs a year and a half. Lee and I went in together, and we were only there for a year or so.”
“Thats…” Ruby trailed off.
“And you’re what, sixteen, seventeen?” Liam asked.
Ruby shook her head. “I don’t know. What year is it?”
For a half a second,  I thought she might be joking- but no one could make a joke like that with a straight face. It made sense- days blended together at Thurmond- if you lost track, it was game over.
Chubs seemed to think she was joking for a little longer than I did, snorting and rolling his eyes.
I cleared my throat, sending him what I hoped was a look that told him to shut up.
“Sixteen then,” she clarified once we had told her the year. “They’re still creating new camps and sending kids to them?”
“Not so much anymore,” Liam said. “The younger set- Zu’s age- they were hit the hardest. People got scared, and the birthrate dropped off even before the government tried banning new births. Most of the kids that are still being sent to camps are like us. They escaped detection during collections or tried to run.”
I nodded, satisfied with his explanation. Ruby nodded too, but I doubt it was for the same reason.
“At Thurmond,” Chubs began, “did they really-”
“That's enough.” I interrupted. I had no need to remember that place for any longer than I already had.
“She answered your questions, we answered hers, and now we’ve gotta hit the road while the going is still good.”
I nodded, grateful that Liam had stepped in. I reached a hand out to help Zu back into the van, then sat back down in my own seat to finally catch up on my sleep.

Word count: 1030