Summer Ruins Read Online Free PDF

conversation here and there. I can’t defeat that many at once, not alone. Not in my current half-starved state, at least. Instead of trying, I listen for a few more minutes and then return to my stinky little hovel.
    I eat a turkey sandwich and an apple, then allow myself one more cup of water. With nothing else to do, but more comfort than I had this morning, I let my eyes drop closed.
     
    ***
     
    More time passes that I can’t keep track of, and three more trips to my sinum reveal the same problem. Wardens are stationed there, and though the first voices are swapped for new ones, it looks as though I’m stuck. I make the second sandwich and apple last as long as possible, and the water ran out just recently.
    With a little food and drink the past couple of days I’ve begun to feel better, but the idea of taking on five or six Wardens alone still doesn’t seem feasible. Even so, I’ve decided I’ll at least try in a few hours. There’s nothing to lose. The Prime wants to kill me himself, so the Wardens won’t dare do it for him. If I can get past them and to Pax, great. If not, I’m no worse off than I am now.
    The sound of footsteps wakes me from a nap, though, and when a face melts from the darkness it belongs to Deshi. Not only that, he’s got some kind of flat contraption decorated by a few buttons under one arm. The other holds a fresh pitcher of water, and I gulp down a glass while eyeing the small black plastic rectangle.
    Deshi avoids my gaze, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “I still think you’re lying. About my mother.”
    “Okay. So why did you come back?”
    “Because I don’t think you’re doing it to be mean. I think you believe that’s what happened.” He pauses, settling his burden on the dirt floor. “And I said I would take you to say good-bye.”
    My heart skips a beat. If he’s come, then it can only mean one thing. “The Prime is returning?”
    “Tomorrow. He was delayed due to a small issue in Danbury.”
    Breath stales in my chest. Something else happened in Danbury? Did it have to do with the last time we were there or any of the kids we unveiled? “What happened in Danbury?”
    Deshi meets my eyes now, narrowing his a little and making me want to squirm. “We’ve had an unusual number of humans Break in that Sanctioned City since last autumn. But this time a girl has gone missing. No one can find her.”
    “That’s strange,” I manage to choke out, swallowing another sip of water to cover up the tremble in my voice. Brittany’s parents reported her missing, but they didn’t find her.
    They will never find her.
    “You could ask Pamant to tell you the truth about your mom. You think he might?” I’m not trying to make him angry, only to divert attention from my reaction to the search for Brittany.
    “He has told me the truth.” The strange, flitting emotion, the one I couldn’t pin down on Deshi’s face the night we were captured, shifts across his face again. This time I think it’s uncertainty, but it’s gone before I can be sure. “But I can’t ask him about what you said. I’m not supposed to be down here.”
    It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask him why he’s taking such a big chance just to talk to me and bring me turkey sandwiches and water, but instead I catch his eye and smile at him. “Thank you for taking care of me. I’d be pretty bad off without your help.”
    Deshi shrugs, and in the firelight dancing from my hands I see a blush pinch his cheeks red. The silence grows uncomfortable, which makes me impatient, so instead of waiting for him to say you’re welcome like a normal person I nod at the piece of equipment he brought. “What’s that?”
    “It plays DVDs. I thought we could watch my movie. The one that had my note in it.”
    Surprise raises my eyebrows, but my immediate reaction is a curious pleasure. “I’d love that! I’ve never seen a movie that the Others didn’t make.”
    “Obviously.”
    “If the Others don’t