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  She stepped forward, pushing her way through the crowd, past the terrified and shocked people of Rook Mountain, until she was at the street. A hush fell over the crowd as he drew close enough for the people to realize who it was walking toward them.

  Becky’s throat clenched as the emotions ran through her, and she fell to her knees.

  Zed smiled at her and held out his hand. She took it and rose to her feet.

  His eyes were a familiar deep gray and his smile was as warm as ever. He squeezed her hand and then released it.

  Then he turned away from her and spoke to the crowd. Though he didn’t yell, his voice carried easily and echoed off the buildings.

  “My friends,” he said, “I am so sorry for what you’ve been through these last seven days. I’m so sorry that I was not here to protect you.”

  Becky scanned the crowd. Their eyes looked hungry and pleading. They needed an explanation. They needed to know why their hero failed them.

  “You’ve all lost so much,” Zed said, “and you deserve to know why.”

  A murmur of approval rolled through the crowd.

  “Eight years ago I made a box. The box had one purpose—keep the Unfeathered away. The fact that we are all alive today is evidence that it did its job. I locked the box away in a room in City Hall, and I secured it with a lock I designed myself. I was confident that the box was safe. I was wrong. Seven days ago, the box was destroyed.”

  Zed held up his hands to the crowd as if to calm them. “I take full responsibility for what happened. I was overconfident. I was too trusting. Things had been so good for so long that I forgot there are people who don’t share our dedication to the common good. I forgot that some people break things and start fires and hurt people for no good reason. It’s always been that way and it always will be. I can’t change that. But I should have done a better job protecting you from those people.

  “Unfortunately the box I made wasn’t easy to replace. The construction materials were, well, let’s just say you can’t get them around here. I didn’t know if I would ever be able to rebuild the box, but I had no choice. I had to try. Time was of the essence. As soon as the box was destroyed, I left without a word to anyone. I went to some places and did some things I hoped I would never have to do again. The cost was high, but in the end I was successful.”

  Zed reached into his coat. With a flourish, he pulled out a box identical to the one he had presented on Regulation Day eight years ago. The crowd gasped. Then it began to cheer.

  The people clapped, stomped their feet and screamed with joy and relief. Becky felt her own eyes fill with tears. It was so beautiful. Zed had done it again. He’d saved the town.

  Zed held the box aloft as the people cheered. He smiled and nodded at the crowd, a look of wonder on his face, as if he too couldn’t believe this happy occurrence. After a long while, he held up a hand to silence the crowd.

  “We are safe,” Zed said, “But we have so much work to do. First, we have a lot of homes that need rebuilding. A lot of you lost everything, and I won’t rest until you have everything you had before and more. We also need to take time to grieve. That is no less hard and no less important than the rebuilding. After that, the real work begins.”

  Becky watched the crowd watching Zed. He had them now like he never had before. They would make him king if he asked.

  “We have to make sure this never happens again. And that starts today. There’s a man here who doesn’t have the same values that we hold so dear. He’s repaid this town’s kindness with betrayal. And for the last seven days he has laughed while the rest of you have suffered.”

  Zed looked back and forth across the crowd. “Frank Hinkle! Come forward and answer for your crimes!”

  Becky gasped, and much of the crowd did with her. There was a disturbance back near the High School. The crowd parted and two men pulled Frank Hinkle forward. Becky recognized one of the men as Henry Strauss.

  The two men dragged Frank in front of Zed, one man holding each arm.

  “Come back to mess with us some more?” Frank asked. His voice sounded weak and hollow compared to Zed’s.

  “Frank Hinkle,” Zed said, his voice booming through the street. “Seven nights ago, you broke into City Hall and destroyed the box, bringing death and destruction to Rook Mountain. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

  There was something in Frank’s eyes that reminded Becky of a wild animal. “I’ve been fighting those flying bastards every night. I’ve been trying to protect the town. What have you been doing?”

  Zed smiled. “While you have been trying to save the town, I have actually been doing it.” He turned toward the crowd. “You see, my friends? You see how our enemies act? They will do anything to deflect responsibility for their actions. Frank Hinkle is no friend of mine, he’s no friend of the Regulations, and he is no friend of Rook Mountain. And, sadly, he is not alone. But I have hope.

  “That’s why on this day I propose a new law—and a new phase for Rook Mountain. If we really want to provide a future for our children, this is the one and only path. My friends, let me tell you about Regulation 19.”

  THE UNREGULATED (PART 1)

  They met in Will’s cabin because it was the smallest of their homes. They crowded in a loose circle in the living room. Jake and Christine sat close together on the couch with an uncomfortable Sean wedged in on the far end. Wendy was in the green recliner. Will sat on a dining room chair he had dragged into the living room for this little meeting. Todd was on the floor, his back against the arm of the couch.

  Their seating positions might have seemed casual, but all of their lines of sight were carefully planned. The doors to the lone bedroom and bathroom were wide open and mirrors had been strategically placed near them. Every corner of the cabin that could be seen by at least one of the members of the group. Wendy had told them that Zed and his Zed Heads—the leaders of the town now—wouldn’t appear in a spot where they could be seen. They always appeared behind a closed door.

  Was the information accurate? Like so much else these days, the group had no idea. Better safe than sorry. In this little band of Rook Mountain subversives, trust was definitely not a must.

  It had been almost a year since Regulation Day, and the town had fallen into new patterns. There had been a number of incidents. People had broken Regulations, and those people had been punished according to the new laws of Zed. For the most part, people behaved as if their lives had always been this way. They went to their jobs - many of the jobs newly created by the Zed Heads - and they went shopping and they spent time outdoors (but never across the town line). The lack of resistance or even questions was disturbing to those gathered in the room. As far as they knew, no one else was all that bothered by the Regulations.

  Over the past nine months, they had acquired the cane, the knife, the coin, and the lighter. Last night, Will and Sean had found another item.

  Will glanced at the bathroom to make sure it was still empty, and then he turned his attention back to the object on the table.

  “What’s the story, Will?” asked Todd. Todd was the most outspoken member of the group. He had been the first to suggest they keep the cane, even before they had discovered its power to find other Tools. He was the most public about his feelings on the Zed Heads. In a way, it was great to have an extroverted natural leader like Todd in the group. On the other hand, it made Will nervous. If anyone was going to accidentally expose their group, it would probably be Todd.

  “We found it in a field off Lakeland Drive,” Will said. “We were driving around and the cane started going crazy. It led us right to it.”

  “And you haven’t tried it?” Wendy asked.

  Will shook his head. “We stuck to the agreement. It’s been hard, though. The curiosity’s been killing me. So if no one objects…” He leaned forward to pick up the object on the table.

  “Wait,” Jake said. “We have to do the other thing first.”

  “Come on,” Will said. “
We all know the score.”

  “Jake’s right,” Todd said. “People are forgetting. They are starting to see all of this as normal. I see it every day at work. Somebody new gets detained, and my co-workers are joking about playing dice for their clothes. We have to keep reminding ourselves.”

  “Yeah, but we aren’t like that,” Will said. “We’re here, aren’t we?”

  “They deserve to be remembered,” Jake said.

  Will looked at Jake for a long moment, and then he gave a little nod.

  Christine grabbed a thin three-ring binder off the arm of the couch and opened it to the last page. “We have three new entries this week. On Wednesday, September 25th, Tyra Underwell was caught breaking Regulation 6 outside her home. Her sentence was carried out immediately by three of her neighbors who removed her left hand.” Christine looked up from the paper. “And if I may editorialize for a moment, her lovely and talented doctor missed dinner in order to save the rest of her arm. Moving on, on Thursday, September 26th, Fran Cantor was caught breaking Regulation 1 and her sentence was carried out immediately by the Rook Mountain police officer who caught her trying to cross the town line.” She glanced at Sean.

  “That would have been Eli Jennings,” Sean said.

  “Okay. On Saturday, September 28th, thirteen-year-old Gracie Holden broke Regulation 16. Her biology teacher carried out her sentence in front of the class, branding her with the number sixteen on her cheek.”

  “You’re kidding,” Wendy said. “I didn’t know about that one. I taught Gracie last year. How did I not hear about this?”

  “That’s what I’m saying,” Todd said. “It’s barely even news anymore.”

  “With one death this week, that brings the total to seventy-four executions since Regulation Day.” Christine closed the book with a sigh.

  “That was uplifting,” Will said. “Now, if I may?”

  Jake nodded.

  Will picked up the hand-held mirror and studied it for a moment. He ran his fingers over the broken clock symbol.

  It was Wendy who had told the group about Zed’s obsession with the Tools. After her breakup with Frank, she had dabbled in becoming a Zed Head. She’d spent enough time with them that Zed had gone beyond the usual peace and wisdom talk he pitched to the dabblers and moved on to some of the real stuff. Wendy had heard him talk about Regulation Day in intricate detail long before it happened. He talked about the powers he would give to his followers. He had also talked to her about the ten Tools. He had the pocket watch already, but he intended to find the other nine.

  All the talk of monster birds and magic pocket watches had seemed like nonsense at the time, but it had been enough to frighten her off. She had left the group only a few months before Regulation Day. If she’d only waited a bit longer, she might be sitting on the board of selectmen today.

  Will took a deep breath, and then he pushed the broken clock on the mirror.

  The group waited. Will was listening, waiting for the mirror to tell him what it wanted. When it did, he stood up, shuffled to the kitchen, and took out a paring knife.

  “What are you doing?” Sean asked. He stood up and eased his way toward Will.

  Will sliced open the palm of his left hand. He squeezed the hand shut. He saw a drop of blood fall from his fist and land on the face of the mirror. When the blood hit the mirror, it didn’t stop. It kept falling into the silvery surface and Will felt himself being pulled along after it. Powerless to stop, Will fell downward, head first.

  A shimmering liquid surrounded him, and all sound disappeared. In the distance, he saw something, and he knew it was his destination. He felt something pulling on his legs, and he was back in the kitchen. His friends stood around him, their faces drawn with concern. Will put a shaky hand to his face, expecting to feel the wet residue of the shimmering liquid, but his had came away dry.

  “What the hell, man?” Todd asked. “You all right?”

  “It…” Will wasn’t sure how to describe what had happened. “It wanted to pull me in.”

  “Yeah, it did a pretty good job, too,” Christine said. “Sean grabbed your legs before you disappeared into that thing.”

  “It was trying to take me somewhere,” Will said. “I could see it in the distance. There were trees, but not like we have around here. These were huge. Redwoods maybe.”

  “Wait,” Jake said. “You’re saying that mirror is a door to another place?”

  The group was quiet for a long moment while everyone digested the news. Then Todd grinned. “Will, you did it. You found our ticket out of Rook Mountain. We can go there and bring back help for the town.”

  Will shook his head. “I’m not so sure. That place looked… different. We don’t even know if you could get back here. Could be a one-way ride.”

  “One way or not,” Todd said, “Five minutes ago we were trapped in this town. You’ve just found our escape pod.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN: REGULATION 19

  1.

  Trevor sat in the back of the minivan hoping they couldn’t see his hands shaking.

  The guys in the front of the van were Ned Elwood and Carlos Serrano. He had never talked to them before this morning, but he had seen them around town and watched them with awe. They were Resource Expansion Specialists. RESpys. Trevor had dreamed of being a RESpy since he was five years old. RESpys were cool. They could leave town, and they did so every day.

  And today Trevor was leaving town with them.

  It had been four days since Zed returned to town and once again stopped the Unfeathered. Four days since Regulation 19 was passed into law. Four days since Uncle Frank had been the first person found guilty under Regulation 19.

  Trevor was still reeling. He couldn’t quite get his mind around it. It didn’t seem real. He felt angry and sad about what had happened to Uncle Frank. At the same time, he felt angry and ashamed at what Uncle Frank had done. Uncle Frank had seemed like a good guy. He had been a hero during the fighting against the Unfeathered. But in the end he had turned out to be a terrorist, just like Dad.

  Trevor had stayed in bed that whole next day wanting nothing more than to curl up and die. Hinkles were terrorists. Hinkles betrayed the town. He had asked Will if it would be all right to change his last name to Osmond. It had been a tough decision for Trevor. He was the last Hinkle, after all. But maybe the Hinkle name didn’t deserve to live on. Will was kind of a dick sometimes, but at least he wasn’t a traitor. He’d proven that by shooting that Regulation breaker up on Rook Mountain.

  When Trevor asked him, he had expected Will to be happy. Instead, it was like a dark cloud had crossed over Will’s face. “I’d be proud and honored to have you take my name,” Will said. “But I don’t think it would be right. Your dad and your uncle left you that name. They left you a lot to live up to.”

  “Yeah, maybe if I go on a shooting spree I’ll live up to their legacy,” Trevor said. He couldn’t help it; he was hurt by Will’s reaction.

  Will opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, then closed it again. He went back to the book he had been reading. Trevor had wanted to talk to his mom about it, but she had been gone for almost every waking hour the past few days. She was still taking care of those injured by the Unfeathered.

  School started again the following day. There was an assembly in the morning and Ms. Janet, the principal, talked about bravery and heroism and blah, blah, blah. It all washed over Trevor. He had been there for part of it and he had fought against the Unfeathered with all his might, but it seemed like a dream now.

  People were looking at him funny. Not only was he the son of Jake Hinkle, he was also the nephew of Frank Hinkle. No one mentioned it, but he could tell that everyone was thinking it. Trevor did his best to pay attention and concentrate on his lessons. It was difficult, though. It all seemed pointless.

  After lunch, an announcement came over the PA calling Trevor Hinkle to the office. The hot ball of worry that had been growing in his stomach for the last two days suddenly erupt
ed into a flame of panic.

  At the office, the lady working the desk showed him into a room and told him to wait. After a few minutes, Zed walked in. He smiled at Trevor and shook his hand. Zed looked into Trevor’s eyes a little too long, but Trevor looked right back, meeting his gaze. He wouldn’t be intimidated, no matter what happened next. Zed was the first to look away.

  “Trevor, I wanted to let you know that I’m very impressed with the things I’m hearing about you. You really made a difference last week. You fought the Unfeathered and did a great job of it from what I hear.”

  Trevor didn’t say anything.

  “Something on your mind?” Zed asked. “Go ahead and say it.”

  Trevor hesitated, not sure if he should say what he was thinking. But what did it matter? It was probably going to be his last day at Beyond Academy anyway. He'd be shocked if the meeting didn’t end with him getting expelled.

  “My uncle Frank fought the Unfeathered too, but no one’s thanking him.”

  Zed waved his hand dismissively. “That’s not really the same thing, is it? If a man burns down a house, you don’t thank him for pouring a bucket of water on the fire. Anyway, I’m impressed. You’ve been through a lot, and this week you had to suffer another family member letting you down. But I think you are a special young man, Trevor. I’d like to offer you a unique opportunity.”

  And now, one day later, Trevor was sitting in a van with two legendary RESpys, driving toward the edge of town with no intention of stopping when they got there.

  Ride alongs with RESpys were a Beyond Academy tradition. The teachers and the students all talked about it. But it was usually an honor reserved for upperclassmen, not freshmen a couple of weeks into their first semester.

  Trevor wasn’t about to complain. True, he didn’t understand exactly why he had been selected, but he was living his dream. He was about to see what really lay beyond the city limits of Rook Mountain.