Colony East by Scott Cramer Page A

and a flagpole were all that remained standing. A charred flag dangled at half-mast from a rope.
    Jordan climbed off the motorcycle. He half expected Mandy to leave straightaway, but she dismounted too.
    When he spotted the five boats at moorings, his spirits revived. The hulls appeared to be in good shape; at least from this distance.
    Then his spirits truly soared. Several boats had broken free of their moorings and had formed a boat graveyard along the shore, where they were stuck in the mud. It was a goldmine of spare parts. There had to be a set of sails in at least one of them. A mainsail would be nice, but he could make do with a jib. From all the boats available, he felt confident he could cobble together a single boat that would take them to Castine Island.
    “Mandy, let me have the pills.” He had nothing to lose.
    She reached into her pocket, took out the bag, and held it out to him. He stared in disbelief. With one hand Mandy placed the bag in his hand, and with her other she curled his fingers around it. “They’re safer with you. There are twenty-three pills left. I’m keeping one of them.”
    He started to speak, but the first words broke into stutter and he stopped in the middle of the unintelligible sentence.
    She narrowed her eyes. “Count them if you don’t believe me.”
    “Why?” he asked.
    “Why did I keep a pill for myself?” She looked away. “In case Timmy comes with me. He’ll reach puberty in a couple of years. Who knows what things will be like then?”
    That wasn’t his question. Ever since Abby had told him that Mandy had abandoned her brother, the question of how anyone could do that burned in his mind. He was just as curious about her sudden change of heart.
    “Aren’t you coming with us?”
    Mandy pursed her lips and shook her head — a tense jiggle. “My grandparents lived on a lake in Northern Maine. They had a little cabin, nothing special. My mom used to take my brother and me there for Thanksgiving and Christmas. You have to go two miles down a logging road to reach the place. I don’t think any survivors will be there. Timmy and I can fish, hunt and trap. Nobody will bother us.” She looked away. “I hope Timmy wants to go.”
    Jordan stared at her, not knowing what to say.
    “You and the others will always think of me as the girl who abandoned her little brother. Everyone will find out. And everyone will hate me.”
    “No, they won’t hate…” His voice trailed off. “Mandy, how could you do it?” His voice was barely a whisper. “How…”
    She looked right through him. “This is going to sound like an excuse.” She spoke in a halting voice. “It’s not. I take full responsibility. The morning after the moon turned purple, my mom wasn’t in her room. She worked as a waitress at a fish restaurant, and she usually got home around midnight. That night, her restaurant was offering a special dinner on the terrace in honor of the comet. She told me she might be home later than normal. Sammy—my brother—was still sleeping. So I rode my bicycle to the restaurant. I don’t have to tell you what it was like. The clouds were purple. The sunlight was purple. I came across cars in the road with the drivers slumped over the wheels. At the restaurant…”
    Mandy paused to collect herself.
    “I don’t even remember riding home. Sammy and I stayed inside for the next two weeks. I had never been so scared in my life. We heard gunshots. Cars raced by. Some of the drivers were fifth and sixth graders. Then the house across the street burned down. At first I thought it was an accident. One morning I looked outside and saw some kids setting fires. I learned later that they were doing it because they thought it was cool to see a giant purple bonfire. I knew our house was next, so I grabbed Sammy’s hand, and we ran to Jerry’s house. Kenny was there.”
    A rancid mix of anger and hatred rose in Jordan’s throat at the mention of the gang leader.
    “Kenny was the