The Only Ones Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Oh God, don’t tell me you’re like him.”
    “Like who?”
    “Never mind,” the boy said, shaking his head. “So if you never made it to Xibalba, then whatcha been doing since
the Day
?”
    “Which day?”
    “Which day? Very funny.
The Day!
”
    Martin shrugged sheepishly.
    “The day they all left us?” the boy said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
    “Who left us?” Martin asked.
    “What island you from, buddy?”
    Martin pointed east. “You can’t see it from here.”
    “Priceless.” The boy shook his head. “Glad there’s someone left with a sense of humor.”
    “I’m not being humorous,” Martin stated. “I
do
come from an island, and everything I know is on that island. I’ve read some books … but when you talk about the people who left us, I’m being honest when I say I don’t know who that is. Do you mean my dad? George and his family?”
    As the boy considered this, Martin noticed how dark the shadows were on his neck. It was like there were ridges in it. This boy was starving.
    “Sorry, kid,” the boy said. “I’m also not so good at talking … to people. Grandpa was a miner, and Marjorie thinks he left a bit of coal in our hearts. It’s been a while since I’ve even seen anyone. I thought they’d all made it to Xibalba.”
    “I’ve made it this far,” Martin said as he examined the sharp edge on his hunk of limestone.
    “Others came from a lot farther, that’s for sure.”
    “So who left us?” Martin wedged the fox between his knees and ran the stone carefully along its belly.
    “Our … our moms,” the boy said, turning away from the gore. “Our teachers. Our … classmates. Everyone. You knew other people on your island, didn’t you?”
    “I knew my father. I knew George.”
    “No mom?”
    “She doesn’t exist.”
    “Like she’s dead?”
    “I don’t know. I’m not sure if she ever existed. I guess that makes me an immaculate conception,” Martin said as hepeeled the fox’s skin up and over its head. He’d read the term but was a little foggy on the definition.
    The boy turned back and flashed his piano-tooth smile. “You—are—astounding. You do know what that means, I assume? Man, they’ll have a field day with you in Xibalba. Tell ’em you walk on water, they’ll dig you a pond and throw you in.”
    “Where’d everyone else go, everyone who left us?”
    “That’s the question, right?” the boy sighed. “Tons of theories, of course. When I saw the smoke from your fire, I thought maybe you were the kid with the answers.”
    Martin shrugged and gave the skin a last tug until it detached from the body in one solid piece.
    “But you’re just a fox-skinning messiah from the sea, now, aren’t you?” the boy went on.
    “My name is Martin.”
    The boy chuckled. “Good to know you, Marty. I’m Kelvin.”
    Martin and Kelvin roasted the fox and they ate it together. Martin insisted that Kelvin eat the lion’s share, but the boy could hardly finish his half. “My stomach’s gotten too small,” Kelvin sighed.
    After they ate, they sat in silence by the fire. Martin wanted to learn more from him, but Kelvin looked exhausted. His eyes were glazed over and all he did was stare at the flames. So Martin let him stare.
    When Kelvin finally wrapped himself up in his cloak and fell asleep, Martin found a perch on a nearby rock and watched him. It felt odd to be so close to another person. Kelvin looked a bit like George with his sharp blond eyebrowsand his dimpled chin, but George had never seemed so desperate. After several minutes, Martin walked a few paces away, laid himself down on a bed of pine needles, and closed his eyes. It took a while, but eventually, he fell asleep.
    Morning came and Martin felt a tap on his shoulder. He rolled over to see Kelvin hovering above him.
    “I’m leaving,” Kelvin said.
    “Where are you going?”
    Kelvin made a visor with his hand to his forehead. “Looking for something.”
    “I