Chapter 3

Dana Whitfield and her camera operator, Russ Kemper, were outside filming the carefully constructed image of an impoverished mountain town.

I floated beside my parents and watched them rehearse lines with Elliot in a corner.

"When Caleb comes out, we must make it seem as though Elliot searched desperately and finally found him. Then Caleb will feel indebted and grateful to his brother for the rest of his life."

Elliot nodded with an obedient expression.

I couldn't stand another second of it. I clenched both fists and lunged for his collar.

"Why? Why would you do all this to me? Was I never kind enough to you?"

No one knew Elliot wasn't my biological brother. He had been an orphan assigned to our home through a one-on-one kindergarten mentoring program.

He was supposed to leave when the program ended, but I felt sorry for him and begged my parents to let him stay.

Elliot worked hard. Within a month, he had become the son my mother always wanted.

"This is wonderful. We can be brothers forever."

I had been that happy for him back then. Now I wanted to tear off the false face he showed everyone just as badly.

But my voice couldn't cross the air, and my hands passed through every living person.

Elliot lowered his eyes. "I'm still afraid. What if Caleb comes home, bullies me again, and tries to throw me out of the family?"

My mother immediately embraced him with tenderness. "Caleb should be hauling manure at this hour. Before he returns, we'll make sure the public knows exactly what kind of person he is. Even if he comes home, he'll be too ashamed to compete with you."

My throat closed up. Mom, you always did know how to solve a problem.

Dana began questioning my parents. "Will you pursue charges against the people who kept your son here?"

My mother arranged her face into grief. "Caleb created this situation through his own behavior. We can't blame everyone else. We investigated and learned that he has been treated well."

My father pointed toward the only large room in the courtyard that received direct sunlight.

"Look. The largest and best room belongs to our son. Red Willow Hollow is a close-knit place. Everyone here has cared for him."

Dana's eyes welled up. "There's still good in this world. Caleb may have been rebellious and irresponsible, yet so many people still loved him. You must thank everyone who protected him."

I screamed in fury. "They're lying. Every one of them is lying."

My fingers shook as I pointed toward the whip scars on my back, the brand across my chest, and the right leg that would never work properly again.

"Look at me. These people are monsters."

"Look at this, Ms. Whitfield. Elliot got it while searching for his younger brother. Whenever he heard even the smallest lead, he risked everything to find Caleb."

The tiny red mark had been made only moments earlier, when my mother closed her eyes and struck him with a trembling hand.

I laughed until tears streamed down my face. If only Mara had shown half that much reluctance each time she hurt me.

"That's beautiful. If Caleb knew how deeply his brother loved him, he'd break down crying."

Dana asked Russ for a close shot of Elliot so the footage could support his nomination for Everden Citizen of the Year.

Rage tightened my chest. Then, without warning, I felt the faintest trace of physical sensation.

Something pulled at my awareness and returned it briefly to my body.

Scrap, the stray kitten I rescued the previous year, was licking my chest, where an almost imperceptible rise and fall remained.

The hogs crowded around me and opened their mouths near my face.

Scrap arched his back and tried to drive away animals more than ten times his size.

Tears blurred everything. I knelt beside him and reached out, grieving even harder because I didn't know what would happen to him after I was gone.

Scrap seemed to sense me. He paused and looked directly toward my spirit.

Then he darted through the opening in the hog pen.

My heart clenched, and I nearly screamed. "Don't go. Come back."

Elliot was allergic to cats and hated them more than anything.