"Come on, Phillip, the path's just up ahead!"

I move after Cail as quickly as I can. He's always been fast, one of the things I really envy about him. He's built to move quickly. You can see it in his nervous tics: the always present foot-tapping, the twitching of his eyelid, his never ending chatter. Just the way that he's running off without me now, little nightmare...never seems to remember that I can't go that fast. I was never built like that... I've lost sight of him again, damn fool. One of these days he's really going to get us lost. Mother'll have to send out the Squadron to search for us. She will if they're not busy, anyway. I know how hard it is to get their attention. Many far more important people are getting lost all the time, I'll wager.

"Phillip? Where are you?"

See, now he realizes he's lost me. I'm waiting for the day he'll do this when I'm two miles behind him and can no longer hear. No, actually...I'm dreading it. It'll probably end up like that time when we were hunting ducks. I'd given up chasing them and gone home. He'd told me that he would follow as soon as he'd made a catch. By the time we found him it was long after dark. Mother was having fits, and I don't really blame her. We had to call in the Squadron and all...Cail knew we weren't supposed to be out after dark. No one is.

1 feel like a stick in the mud today. I guess it's because I started the day off confused. That always seems to kill my mood. I hate feeling as though I know what's going on, only to find out later that I'm dead wrong. I could have sworn Cail said we were going to be foraging for Mother today. Imagine my surprise when I found myself heading toward the caverns with Cail egging me on. I couldn't believe that I'd fallen for that one. I must have misheard him yesterday. I was so sure we were going out for Mother today. It almost feels as though we started heading the other way and then somehow ended up over here by the caverns. I wonder if Cail learned a new back route. It wouldn't be the first time he's led me astray. I like to daydream...wouldn't be the first time. At least I haven't fallen into any pits yet. I always have to keep a lookout for those now. I'd never really remembered just how many there were. Living in the city for a while really dulls you to the reality of life outside the immediate protection of the Squadron.

I used to want to be on the Squadron. I told mother that I wanted to at least attend the training board. Knowing she would laugh at me was one thing, but having her scorn me was another. Life on the Squadron just seems to give existence more meaning. I'd love to be able to rescue people from daily troubles, helping them with overturned deliveries and lost children. To be able to venture out on my own in the dark, looking for those who were helpless and alone... It always sounded so wonderful to me, so free. Maybe that's why Mother shot the idea down so fast.

"Phillip! I've found it! It's right here where I said it would be! Come have a look!” He's always so excited. I don't even remember what it was he wanted to show me out here, It's probably another animal of some sort that Mother won't allow us to keep; she says it's bad enough that we have Cail. I call to him that I'm coming, that I'll be there in a second. I can't run anymore. I was never built for that sort of thing.

There's an awful amount of wind here by the caverns. It makes me think of the stories Mother used to tell when I was small, makes me think of what she used to tell me lived in the caverns, before I found out that it was all a pack of fibs to keep me in bed. Still, I can't help it. After all these years, that chill still slides down my back at the idea of them, of how they live...

"Phillip?"

I climb over the last few rocks in my way and haul myself up onto a ledge. Cail grins at me from above, his hair hanging down over his face as he dangles a long stem in front of me.

"Phillip? What's this?"

I pull the stem from him and examine it. Greenish-gray...I wonder if that's natural, with a very fine tip and a thick, rough-edged end. It's as long as my arm and cold to the touch, clammy and soft. It feels as though it's covered in a fine layer of mucus, though my hands remain dry. Near the tip, it's covered in small, bluish buds, as though it is about to flower. It's like nothing I've ever seen, and I inform Cail that he has found something new. Things like this always excite him, and I can hear him darting into the depths of the cave mouth before I can even look back up to see his expression.

Cail's always been hard for me to deal with. Mother never really wanted to, and who could blame her? It's not as though she's obligated to, seeing as she wasn't assigned to him...and I was the one who insisted he stay. It's always fallen to me to make sure that he's in by twilight, that he eats well, and that he at least reads a little something on a day-to-day basis. I only just met him a year ago. He was a whimsical boy, twirling around in our backyard, looking as though he might be trying to dance with the laundry. Mother tried to shoo him away for a few days, but he just kept coming back. It finally fell to me to take care of him. After all, who else would? Cail's lifestyle is, of course, very different from Mother's and my own. Even the way that he says my name is different from the way that most people would pronounce it: Phillip Instead of Phyllis. I was always kind of worried that the Squadron would take him away from us, another reason that I desperately wanted to join. He certainly hadn't been issued to our family, and if they felt that they needed him for something, they could easily remove him from our home and use him however they wished. I never like to imagine horrible things like that, but I find that they sometimes play in my head anyway. I'm like a picture-book sometimes. All you'd have to do is stare. inside my head and you could find that anything and everything is always on my mind. Good or bad, fun or fact.

I remember when the Squadron stopped over at the Colton's farm. Their youngest son had fallen into the well behind the vineyard. The Squadron, four of them, had spent about twelve minutes extracting the boy. Once he was out they escorted the boy back to the house, then took Mr. Colton back with them. Mother told me later that he had been hoarding grapes from the vineyard for his family.

"Phillip! I've found more! Do you think we could get some money for turning these over to the Squadron?"

That's a good question. The Squadron's always on the lookout for anything that could become food, especially if there is an abundance of it. I tell him that I'll find a way up. I want to go and be with him regardless. I hate to think of what could happen to him, even though I think about it all the time. The Squadron can take anyone at any time, though if you're registered, they'd better have a good reason. If you're not, you may as well be offering yourself up for whatever they need, be it your employment, ideals, skills or life...they'll decide once they've picked you up. I don't want to think about what it is that they'd do to Cail, especially if they found him here. He'd probably end up as a test subject. Mother wouldn't mind too terribly, I know, and it hurts. They shouldn't find us here, though. The Squadron rarely comes out this far. They're too easily frightened by superstition, another reason I feel I would make an excellent addition. I'm not frightened at all.

"We can take it to them for analysis and see if they'll give us some money! Can you imagine Mother's face, Phillip?"

I smile at him as I clamber over the shale toward him. I tell him that it's a good idea. Mother would appreciate the extra money, and she would be really pleased with Cail when we tell her that he's the reason for the extra income. He beams when I tell him this. Mother rarely gives him any credit."

Do you think we'll find any of the Snatchers today?" Call calls to me as I climb. I smile and shake my head. He asks that every time we come here. Wit Snatchers, Mother calls them, creatures rumored to live in caverns and dark, unpleasant places. I stopped believing in them long ago. Mother still tells the stories to Cail, though. I think she does it just to see how long he'll believe in monsters that can devour your mind and use your body as a puppet. I never even understood why these supposed monsters would want to play at being human anyway.

"Phillip?"

I tell him no, we won't find any.

I approach Cail slowly. The climb seems to get harder every time I find myself here. I've always wondered why it is that I can't just leap the rocks like Cail does. Mother says that people like him are supposed to work like that. I think it's just because I'm somewhat blocky. I look around for Cail and spot him over a small crevice on the left. The light from the mouth of the cavern doesn't reach him completely, but I can make out his movements.

"Phillip?"

His voice echoes off the walls. I continue to make my way toward him. It's odd, the way echoes can fool you. It seems as though Cail is moving far more slowly than usual. Perhaps his foot is caught. I reach out to him so that he'll take my hand and help me over. I'm not built for leaping over holes.

His hand feels cold. I wonder if it's from the stone? He does loose heat faster than I do. Perhaps that's why he's—

I remember signing up to be in the Squadron. Mother was furious. Maybe I should have told her beforehand so that she could just have told me "no" instead of pulling me out. The Squadron wasn't what I had thought it would be, a few underfed and unhappy people, like myself, looking for a way to boost themselves through the crises of others. Not the grand heroes I had expected at all. I don't know why I had always envisioned them as more than they were. I guess it was because I had always dreamed that if I was allowed onto the Squadron, I might become like them.like I thought they were. That I would be able to rescue people like Cail and proceed through life without the fear of being taken from my family—

Cail? Where is Cail? I can't find him. I've asked Mother, and all she's done is give me odd looks and tell me to go play outside. I think it's because she doesn't want to see him. She knows what he is now. I couldn't hide it from her anymore. She needed to know so that we could properly take care of him. I think she hurt his feelings. She knew he wasn't like the rest of us, but I don't think she guessed it was that bad. The Squadron let the populace know that a few subjects of theirs had escaped a few years ago. Those who were located were probably killed, at least I assume they were... from what I saw of the actual "inside" of the Squadron. They were so much less than I had thought. I just wanted them to be—

Cail's always been able to spring around like that, though I learned that his ability decreases with certain foods. I once fed him some of my steak when Mother wasn't present, I should have known that food so heavy would affect him poorly, but—

My head's hurting. I haven't a clue why. I—

Mother's telling me that I have to go up to my room. The Squadron's landing out-side, and they've probably spotted something over in the neighbor's yard. I know they're illegally breeding something. I want to see! I want to go out and show them that I'm not afraid! I might even know some things that they don't, like the side door in the cellar. I found that when I was babysitting for their little girl—

My family used to be more involved with the Squadron. That's what happened to Father, at any rate. He would always regale me with tales of completed quests. In my eyes he could do no wrong, though now I can recognize some of his stories as pointless... sometimes even ridiculous. He always told me that their orders were dictated, and in return we were given better housing and food. It always seemed fine to me, but then...I was young. I guess that's why I thought the Squadron would be so wonderful. I wonder if he knew about Cail. I wonder if he created him—

Mother has always run a tight ship. I've never been allowed very far. She always kept me home, where I didn't want to be. She used fear to keep me home until I learned better, telling me about creatures who lived in the caverns, who mingled with our society. She always used to tell me that they would devour the parts of a person that made them themselves. Wit Snatchers ...even the name sounds ridiculous. I always just laughed it off, but it really did give me chills until I started coming here with Call. Then I saw for myself that there weren't—

I feel cold. Like that time I had a fever. Mother told me that it was my own fault for running around in the rain. I thought it was the meat from the night before. Why do I feel like my mind is running in cir—

I've always been strange. At least, as far as I'm concerned. I don't care about what Mother says people are supposed to care about. I'd rather be on the Squadron than be a normal girl and join the Association. Mother, of course, was one of the leaders of the Association, until she became too old. Then she was assigned me. I don't think she was pleased because she—

I've never really had a single favorite color. I like red, green, and violet. I've never really liked orange. It's—

I dislike the new processed food that the factories from the inner city have been producing. "Nutri-drive": even the name is utterly ridiculous. I'd much rather continue to eat actual meat and vegetables, but animal life in general is scarce now, and I think the remainder of most crops are being annexed for the state. I wish I could have an apple again. Those were my—

The Association's always scared me. Not the place itself, but the people it contained. Many of the women in the cities are a part of the Association. I really didn't want to be, it went against what I'd wanted to do. Who wants to sit around all day and watch tiny children? I can't imagine that being entertaining at all. Mother says it was interesting to teach them things and to watch their patterns of behavior, but I'd rather have been in the Squadron. The Squadron just seems so much more interesting, like the difference between feeding a dog and feeding a wolf, one just seems so much more—

Mother always told me that they were supposed to live in the caverns because they couldn't come out into sunlight. She said she had learned about them in the Association. She told me that the Squadron was working on something to keep them at bay, something that would make humans less susceptible. I think it's all just—

Mother says my birthday is November 20th, but I know that's just the date assigned to me through the Association—

My hair is unruly. I wish it would just stay where I want it to—

My favorite meal is turkey or chicken with rice, though I'm never likely to get it again, what with the new processed food that's being issued. I wanted to have it just once more, perhaps for my birthday—

I've never really liked be around people. Too many at once makes me feel as though I don't know what I'm thinking. I'd rather just stay home and study—

I like to listen to the rain hitting the roof—

I love to sit by the fire and listen to Mother tell Cail and me about what the Association used to be—

I miss the orange tree that we had out front. It was confiscated—

I like to listen to the wind while I study, so I'll often leave the window open—

I can't—

"Phillip?"

The boy hurtled over the uneven caver floor to the crumpled figure. He had watched as she appeared over the edge of the rock and he called out to her. She had begun heading in the opposite direction from him, confused by the echoes. Laughing quietly, he hid behind a ledge and waited for her to call to him again. He waited for her to yell to him in frustration, to tell him that he was being ridiculous.

Her calls never came.

He waited a few more minutes, in case she was sneaking up on him. He listened intently, twisting his head to the side to catch at the sounds of the cavern.

The thump caught his attention, and now he raced toward the shape on the floor as fast as he could over the uneven terrain. She slowly shook herself and started to rise as he approached.

"Phillip? Are you okay? Did you fall?”

She turned and looked at him, her eyes slowly focusing as she shook her head. She smiled and reached for his hand.

"Yes, I must have fallen. Sorry about that, Cail."

He laughed, relieved, and helped her back over the fissure. She ruffled his hair and smiled as she looked out over the landscape.

"See our house, Phillip?"

The girl's smile broadened as her eyes followed Cail's finger.

"Yes, Cail, I see it."

The boy laughed, fully reassured, and began bounding down the rocks toward the ground.

"Race you, Phillip!" he cried, moving faster.

The girl watched him for a few seconds, then leaped after, just as quickly as he.