Summer Wishes (Desire #1.5) Read Online Free PDF Page B

District.  They treated her just as fairly as they had always treated all of my friends. I was stunned… positively stunned by their reaction. They practically treated her like a stranger. I don’t think it had anything to do with which district she was from, either, but something else.”
    “I think they knew something had gone wrong.  I think they know something and they don’t want to tell me about it.”
    “Have they ever told you what happens to those who are banished and return to Arcadia?  Do you know what happens if they’re caught?”
    She shrugged. “Not really. I know it’s a serious crime, and if caught, they would be known as criminals. I mean, my parents used to tell me stories when I was younger… when I’d threaten to ignore my Life’s Plan, but I think it was just meant to keep me in line.”  She stopped suddenly and reached out to grab Matthew’s arm.  “Why?  Did someone get caught?”
    “I think so.”
    “Who?” Terror widened her eyes.
    “Jacob, Jocelyn’s brother.”
    “Oh my,” she gasped as she clutched at her heart.  Her face contorted into a grimace.”
    “What do you think they’ll do to him?”
    “Enforcers,” she muttered.
    “Yes,” Matthew said softly. “They’ve already rifled through Jocelyn’s place and they’ve combed through the Ruby District. We think they’re looking for Melanie.”
    “He came back with her?  That’s so incredibly risky.  For one person to sneak back in… but two…”
    Matthew considered telling her about the others that Jacob had led back into Arcadia, but thought otherwise.
    Sarah shook her head as she backed away, her face white and her eyes filling with tears. “Mom used to tell me how angry Enforcers could be. Some of them were crazy, insanely unhinged. They didn’t know the meaning of mercy, of leniency. They laid down the law and enforced it to the fullest degree. The moment a banished citizen was even suspected of returning to Arcadia, they went into action, following every trail, questioning every family member, friend, colleague and acquaintance. It was as though they saved all their pent up hate and anger to be unleashed on anyone who disobeyed the Committee.”
    “And when banished criminals were caught?”
    She met his gaze and inhaled deeply, holding her breath for a troubled moment before letting it seep out through tense lips. “They take them to the Old Coliseum; at least that’s what she used to tell me. She said some of them were used to entertain Enforcers, others were sent out to work, you know, chain gang type of thing. She mentioned that some of them were transported, but she never specified where they were transported to…”
    “I’ve never even heard of a Coliseum.”
    “Few Arcadians have. I probably know about it because my parents are on the Committee and they speak freely about their work… or they used to.”
    “How do I get there?”

 
    Chapter 7
     
    S arah glanced up at the light that had turned on in her parents’ bedroom window. “I wish I could bring you there, but I can’t. It’s getting late and my parents would ask too many questions.” She backed away. “Go to the Granite Strip,” she said hurriedly.
    Matthew was horrified by the notion. The Granite Strip was the one place no self-respecting Arcadian ventured to. “That’s almost as bad as going to the outside.”
    “I know.  It’s not like Arcadia to have a place like the Granite Strip, but that’s where they take all prisoners. Once on the Strip, head north past the last of the residential neighborhoods. You’ll notice the Old Coliseum right away. Can’t miss it, as though it’s a reminder of where you can end up if you commit a crime in Arcadia. Looming above all the industries and manufactures you’ll see that great behemoth of a building, the Old Coliseum. It’s huge.  Dad brought me years ago when he had some papers to drop off there and I’ve never forgotten the sight of that imposing structure, nor