Under My Skin (Wildlings) by Charles de Lint Page B

didn't bother to comb it when he got up. I've seen his type on the beach before, but there's something off about him. I can't quite put my finger on it.
    "Don't look," I say quietly, "but I think we're being spied on."
    Of course, she looks.
    "Oh, don't worry," she says. "That's just Danny. He's with me."
    So she does have a boyfriend. I mean, I know why she's really talking to me—she's on some sort of a recruitment drive, just like Cory warned me about—but until she said that, I could pretend otherwise.
    "He doesn't have to stand way over there," I say.
    She smiles. "He kind of does. The Feds have ID'd him, so I don't want him close. But he kept insisting that I shouldn't meet you by myself. I guess he followed me here."
    "Why? Do I look dangerous?"
    Her smile fades. "You should know by now that our bodies can hide any kind of Wildling."
    "Sure," I say.
    I haven't been thinking any such thing. Mostly, I've been trying to figure out how to get my life back. I know it's not going to happen, but it's kind of like when I hit that ball through our front window. There's that moment when you know it's happening, but you still have this impossible hope that it's only going to bounce off the glass. Of course, it just smashes right through.
    I want to believe that I'm in that moment where things aren't completely screwed up yet. I know they are, but that doesn't stop me from wishing I could still wake up from all of this.
    "So you and Danny," I start.
    But then I don't know where I'm going with this—or rather, I do, but I think better of it and end up just letting the words hang there.
    She looks at me, the smile is back. "Are you asking if he's my boyfriend?"
    "I guess."
     "I don't have time for boyfriends."
    "Right. Of course not. You're too busy trying to round up Wildlings for some cause or other."
    "Why would you think that? Wait, why do I even ask? That coyote sticks his nose into everybody's business. What did he tell you about us?"
    "That depends on who 'us' is," I tell her. "But you in particular? Nothing."
    "I'm surprised."
    "I take it you don't much like Cory."
    "Nah, he's a good guy in his own way. He just doesn't see the big picture."
    "I don't think I do, either."
    "He didn't mention the ferals?"
    My stomach does a little flip. Ferals? I don't like the sound of that. I shake my head.
    "Do I really want to know this?" I ask.
    "Sure," she replies. "It's one of the good things about the change. We—the ferals that is—think this is happening so that the world can revert back to what it was like before people came along. We're working toward helping that process. There aren't a lot of us yet, but I hope we can get more Wildlings involved. It's important."
    "The environment is pretty messed up," I say. "But tearing everything down and starting at scratch isn't really a solution. Unless you don't care about a lot of people getting hurt."
    "Oh, it's not going to happen all at once, of course. But really, you have to admit that people have messed up this planet pretty bad and it's only going to get worse if we let things go on this way."
    "Well, sure. We need to do something—all of us, not just Wildlings. But I love my mom and my friends too much to let them die just to make it happen."
    "Who says anybody has to die?"
    "Kind of goes hand in hand with the whole getting rid of all the people part of your plan."
    "I ..."
    "Tell me you thought about that."
    "It's people who are the problem."
    "Maybe they can be the solution, too," I say.
    "Don't be so naive."
    "Yeah? And what about your family and friends? Are you willing to sacrifice them as well?"
    "They all turned their backs on me."
    "Even your brother?"
    Her eyes flash. "Screw you, Saunders."
    She gets up, her back stiff with anger.
    "Wait," I say before she can go.
    She shakes her head. "I don't think we have anything more to—"
    I cut her off. "No, it's your friend."
    She turns and sees what I see. Danny has wandered down to the end of the pier. But as soon as he