Part 51 (2/2)
”I'm not going to hurt you,” sera said very calmly. ”But Catlin will break your arm if you don't stand still and talk to me.”
There were tears on sera Carnath's face. Florian felt a little sick, she was so scared. Even if she was the Target.
”I want to know,” sera said, ”where Valery Schwartz is.”
”I don't know where he is,” sera Carnath cried, biting her lip and trying to calm down. ”He's at Fargone, that's all I know.”
”I want to know where Sam Whitely is.”
”He's down at the mechanics school! Let me go, let me go-” go-”
”Florian has a knife,” sera said. ”Do you want to see it? Shut up and answer me. What do you know about my maman?”
”I don't know anything about your maman! I swear I don't!”
”Stop sniveling. You tell me what I ask or I'll have Florian cut you up. Hear me?”
”I don't know anything, I don't know.”
”Why am I poison?”
”I don't know!”
”You know, Amy Carnath, you know, and if you don't start talking we're going to go down deep in the tunnels and Catlin and Florian are going to ask you, you hear me? And you can scream and n.o.body's going to hear you.”
”I don't know. Ari, I don't know, I swear I don't.”
Sera Carnath was crying and hiccuping, and Ari said: ”Florian, -”
”I can't tell you!” sera Carnath screamed. ”I can't, I can't, I can't!”
”Can't tell me what?”
Sera Carnath gulped for air, and sera pulled sera Carnath's blouse loose and started unb.u.t.toning it, one-handed.
”They'll send us away!” sera Carnath cried, flinching away; but Catlin grabbed her from behind. ”They'll send us away!”
Sera stopped and said: ”Are you going to tell me everything?”
Sera Carnath nodded and gulped and hiccuped.
”All right. Let her go, Catlin. Amy's going to tell us.”
Catlin let sera Carnath go, and sera Carnath backed up to a bundle of pipes and stood with her back against that. Florian kept the light on her.
”Well?” sera asked.
”They send you away,” sera Carnath said. Her teeth were chattering. ”If anybody gets in trouble with you, they can send them to Fargone.”
”Who does?” does?”
”Your uncles.”
”Giraud,” sera said.
Sera Carnath nodded. There was sweat on her face, even if it was cold in the tunnels. She was crying, tears pouring down her cheeks, and her nose was running.
”All the kids?” sera asked.
Sera Carnath nodded again.
Sera came closer and took sera Carnath by the shoulder, not rough. Sera Carnath thought sera was going to hit her, but sera patted her shoulder then and had her sit down on the steps. Sera got down on one knee and put her hand on sera Carnath's knee.
”Amy, I'm not going to hit you now. I'm not going to tell you told. I want to know if you know anything about why my maman got sent away.”
Sera Carnath shook her head.
”Who sent her?” sent her?”
”Ser Nye. I guess it was ser Nye.”
”Giraud?”
Sera Carnath nodded, and bit her lips.
”Amy, I'm not mad at you. I'm not going to be mad. Tell me what the other kids say about me.”
”They just say-” Sera Carnath gulped. ”-They just say let you have your way, because everybody knows what happens if you fight back and we don't want to get sent to Fargone and never come back-”
Sera just sat there a moment. Then: ”Like Valery Schwartz?”
”Sometimes you just get moved to another wing. Sometimes they take you and put you on a plane and you just have to go, that's all, like Valery and his mama.” Sera Carnath's teeth started chattering again, and she hugged her arms around her. ”I don't want to get sent away. Don't tell I told.”
”I won't. Dammit, Amy! Who said that?”
”My mama said. My mama said-no matter what, don't hit you, don't talk back to you.” Sera Carnath started sobbing again, and covered her face with her hand. ”I don't want to get my mama s.h.i.+pped to Fargone-”
Sera stood up, out of the light. Maman Maman and and Fargone Fargone were touchy words with her. Florian felt them too, but he kept the light steady. were touchy words with her. Florian felt them too, but he kept the light steady.
”Amy,” sera said after a little while, ”I won't tell on you. I'll keep it secret if you will. I'll be your friend.”
Sera Carnath wiped her face and looked up at her.
”I will,” sera said. ”So will Florian and Catlin. And they're good friends to have. All you have to do is be friends with us.”
Sera Carnath wiped her nose and b.u.t.toned her blouse.
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