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Adam nodded, feeling a bit of relief that
Keller mentioned his father, but also feeling a bit sad.

“Are you OK?” Keller asked, taking a seat
behind the giant desk, his voice softer than Adam had thought it would be, and
kinder than anything he’d heard from any grown-up at Chimney Rock, including
Miss Abby on her best day.

Adam nodded.

“That’s excellent,” Keller said. “You’ve
had a rough few months.” His smile was thin, but his words at least sounded
sincere. “My heart bleeds for you, Adam. Now, before we get started, is there
anything I can do for you? Anything at all?”

Adam shook his head, confused, but not
wanting to admit his confusion.

Keller waited a moment, parted his lips,
and sucked in his breath as though his next words were as painful for him as
they would be for Adam. “I know about the rations.”

Adam said nothing, but he wasn’t sure if
his face had hid the lie.

“Your friends,” he shrugged. “They ratted
you out.”

Adam wondered which of his friends Keller
meant. Morgan, Tommy, and Daniel were all with him when Miss Abby came to take
him, and had been since stashing the pillowcases. It had to be one of the
girls. He hoped it wasn’t Jayla.

“I propose we settle this,” Keller paused
for a second, dropping his voice like his words were secret, then said,
“without any of the difficulties that normally accompany such unfortunate
situations.” He sighed. “There are too many problems in this place already, no
need to add anything else to your difficult life.”

Keller smiled an apology, then fell into
a speech, with few pauses and not one interruption, detailing Chimney Rock’s
long and horrible history as a place where everyone was a victim of unfortunate
reality, and life’s odds are stacked so high against its residents, it takes
but one mistake for everything to crumble. According to Keller, the majority of
orphans wound up in the Dark Quarters.

“Do you know what happens in the Dark
Quarters, Adam?”

Adam swallowed, moving his head in an
awkward circle that turned in no particular direction. He’d heard hundreds of
stories, going back as early as he could remember, some true, most probably
not, and not a single one he would say out loud, especially to an elder.

“Sort of.”

“I know how you feel,” Keller smiled, his
face filled with understanding. “Most of the stuff that happens in the Dark
Quarters is too horrible for words — the stuff of nightmares, right?”

Adam nodded.

Keller tapped one of the schoolmaster’s
pens against the top of his desk, then leaned back in the chair. “Well, I don’t
want to burden you with bad dreams, but I would like to tell you a little
story. Is that OK?”

Adam nodded again, knowing that Keller
wasn’t really asking for permission.

Keller smiled. “This story’s about a kid
named Alex. It’s an older story, since Alex has been gone from us for a few
years now. But our tale starts when he was a boy about your age, give or take a
year. Alex was moved to the orphanage after his parents were killed, getting
involved in some things they shouldn't have been doing. You know how
that
goes. Eventually, Alex came of age and had to leave Chimney Rock. Without a
proper foundation, his situation went from bad to worse. He fell into the Dark
Quarters, then sure enough found himself in trouble with City Watch. He wound
up getting to play The Darwin Games for a chance at freedom in City 7, but of
course, he screwed that up, too, and wound up as a meal for a horde of starving
zombies. The real horror of the story, Adam, is that not a single thing that
happened to Alex was his fault. He was a good kid, fell in with some bad seeds,
and got screwed by life’s circumstances — a lot like you.”

“What did he do?” Adam whispered through
his trembling lips.

“What
didn’t
he do?” Keller
shrugged. “I don’t know how many of life’s atrocities you already know of, son,
and I don’t wish to put anything inside your head that doesn’t need to be there
or isn’t there already. My point in telling you Alex’s story is to make sure
you don’t end up like him.” Keller paused, then leaned forward from his chair
and said in a conspiratorial whisper, “You don’t want to end up in the Dark
Quarters like Alex, do you?”

Adam swallowed, shaking his head
furiously back and forth.

“Well, you don’t have to,” Keller
reassured. “You’re not like these other deviants and lowlifes wasting God’s
good air in the orphanage. You’re special. You weren’t born in Chimney Rock or
sent here as punishment. You’re an unfortunate victim of circumstance. Just
because your father committed an unconscionable act doesn’t mean you should
suffer. You, Adam, are not your father, and don’t deserve to end up in prison,
outside The Wall, or anywhere near the Dark Quarters.”

Keller let his words sink in. Adam wished
he could melt through the floor. Keller leaned back again, setting the flat of
his right foot on top of his left knee, quietly rocking.

“Before your father snapped, he was a
good man and an excellent Watcher, one of the best Watchers we had. I was proud
to have him serve my sector. He was a thorough officer, enforcing our laws
proudly. But more than anything, your father was a friend. I loved how he
always spoke of his family, like a schoolboy giddy for a pigtailed girl.”
Keller laughed. “His enthusiasm stayed fresh, even after many years. It was
you
he spoke of more than anyone, Adam. Of course Jonah went on and on about
all of you, always telling me how proud he was. As much as he loved Ana, his
firstborn, you were his
son
, and he had a special spot in his heart that
was only for you.”

Adam was doing his best to hold in his
tears.

Keller then said, “You know how much he
loved you, don’t you Adam?” which sent Adam into a flood. Keller didn’t seem
surprised by the tears or their heavy flow.

“You wouldn’t want to let your dad down,
would you, Adam?”

Adam shook his head, sobbing as he
repeated the word “no” over and over. He collected his breath, then spilled
every bean in one sentence:

“It was Daniel, Morgan, and Tommy,” he
said. “And Starla, Melissa, and Kim too.”

Adam gave up everyone but Jayla, which he
couldn’t bear to do.

Keller smiled. “You know your friends say
you’re slow, don’t you?”

Adam nodded, wishing Keller hadn’t said
that.

Keller waited for him to stop crying,
then said, “Are you slow, Adam?”

“No, sir. I’m not,” he shook his head.
“Just a little shy, and my mind wanders sometimes. But I’m not dumb; not at
all. I used to have trouble making friends, but my dad helped me through that.”

Keller patted the top of Adam’s hand. “I
don’t think you’re dumb, son. Hell, you’re already smarter than your sister and
father. Know why?”

“Why?” Adam said, trying not to fall into
any more tears, though it was hard once Keller started talking about his family
again, and insulting them, no less.

Keller leaned farther forward and pressed
his hand harder on Adam’s. “Because
you
told me the truth,” he said.
“Tell me, Adam, do you want to be my friend?”

Adam nodded nervously, unsure what Keller
was trying to say. He was scary looking, but then again, so were most adults,
especially at Chimney Rock. Keller was the Chief, the highest ranking of all
the Watchers — so surely he was one of the good guys, Adam figured.

Keller’s smile widened as he produced a
delicate box from nowhere, setting it on the desk, lifting the lid, and filling
Adam’s eyes with a small pile of gold-wrapped something or others. He smiled,
then whispered, “Chocolate, Adam. Would you like one?” Keller slid the box
forward across the huge desk. “I think you deserve it. Don’t you?”

Adam’s hand inched tentatively toward the
box, slightly shaking on its way. He reached inside, pulled one of the
chocolates out, then looked up at Keller, half expecting the man to snatch it
away.

“Go on,” Keller said, still smiling.

Adam unwrapped the chocolate, took a
nibble from the tiny ball, then started to chew as Keller spoke.

“You know what courage is, Adam?”

He nodded.

“I’m glad you think you do, but I’m going
to suggest that maybe you don’t. Not your fault, of course. The same can be
said for most children, though, since the schools are always teaching kids the
wrong things about fear. Courage doesn’t mean you’re not scared. It means
staring into the eyes of whatever terrifies you, then telling that thing to go
fuck itself. Does that make sense?”

Adam laughed, then nodded.

“True courage, well, no one’s born with
that. I’ve known leaders and soldiers, son, and not a one of them was ever what
you’d call fearless, and even if they were, that sure as hell wouldn’t make
them brave. If you’re fearless, well then, you’re probably reckless too, and
reckless kids often end up in the Dark Quarters, and we both know you don’t
want to ever wind up there, right?”

Adam wasn’t sure if he was supposed to
agree or not, but since it seemed like Keller was waiting, he swallowed his
nibble of chocolate and said, “Right,” then pulled more of the chocolate into
his mouth.

“Let’s look at the men of Fire Watch,
rushing into burning buildings to rescue people who need saving. Well, they’re
scared to death for most every second, but they run into the fire anyway
because regardless of their fear, being a hero is who they are. We’re making a
big mistake teaching our kids that bravery is the absence of fear, and that
being afraid is the same as being weak. Bury your fears, Adam, and they’ll bury
you right back. I say if you’re afraid of dogs, it’s time to get a puppy.”

Keller smiled then tapped the box of
chocolates, offering Adam another. “Do you think you can be brave?”

“Yes,” Adam nodded, taking one more chocolate
from the box.

“Good,” Keller said with a smile. “We’re
going to take a little walk, together, just the two of us, back into the TV
hall so you can show me everyone who was in the kitchen with you.”

Adam froze. “What? But they’ll be mad at
me,” Adam said, too whiny. He swallowed, then tried again. “I’m not afraid, but
if I tell on them, then they won’t be my friends anymore.”

Keller closed the lid, made his chocolate
box disappear, then leaned forward, closer than ever. For a moment his eyes
flared, and Adam was certain Keller was angry. But he wasn’t. He set his hand
over Adam’s, the one without the chocolate.

“They’ll get over it,” Keller said.
“Besides, as I said, it was one of them who ratted you out to one of your
counselors.”

Adam wanted to ask which friend it was,
but was afraid he’d anger Chief Keller.

“You and I are friends now, Adam, and
when you’re friends with me, people have no choice but to be nice to you.”

“Really?” Adam asked as he stood up from
the desk to join Keller at the door.

“Really.” Keller winked. “Now let’s take
that walk.”

**

Adam and Keller left the schoolmaster’s
office in silence, walking the corridor then taking the elevator back upstairs
before heading into the TV hall.

“Are you ready?” Keller asked, leaning
into Adam as they approached his only friends in the world.

They stopped in front of Morgan, who
turned to Keller with eyes so wide they looked like they would roll from their
sockets. Morgan looked from Keller to Adam, then back to Keller and swallowed.

“Are these the friends who were with you
in the kitchen?” Keller asked, turning from Morgan to Tommy, then over to
Daniel.

Adam nodded, avoiding eye contact with
any of them.

“Anyone else?” Keller asked, though he
knew the answer already. He wanted Adam to say it.

Adam slowly nodded, then pointed across
the room toward the trio of girls, grateful that Jayla wasn’t with them at the
moment.

“Just to be clear,” Keller asked, “these
are the thieves who helped you steal the rations?”

“Yes, sir,” Adam said.

“Fucking liar,” Morgan screamed.

“Silence!” Keller roared. Before Morgan
could take a step back, Keller’s hand tore across his face, sending his knees
crashing hard into the floor. His cheek was bright red, glowing from the
five-finger outline Keller left behind.

“Are you calling my friend, Adam, a
liar?” Keller loomed over Morgan, glaring, his face red and scary.

Morgan whimpered, “No.”

“No, what?” Keller said, backhanding
Morgan across the top of his head.

“No, sir!” Morgan yelped, putting a hand
over his newest bruise.

“I’d like you to apologize to my friend,”
Keller said, forcing Morgan to stand and say he was sorry right into Adam’s
eyes. Tommy and Daniel shifted on their feet.

Keller turned to Adam, his face and voice
suddenly calm, and said, “We’ll be speaking soon, Young Lovecraft. Thanks for
being such a fine little Watcher.”

Keller tousled Adam’s hair, then turned
to the group. “You will all be coming with me.”

Keller then led the pack over to the
girls, instructed them to follow, and led the six of them from the TV hall as
every accusing eye settled on the Chief Keller’s new friend, Adam.