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Preface

 

She hadn’t wanted to make the choice that had forced her to be brought before the Prime, to face her judgment. She knew the punishment for breaking the law was death. She knew that these moments were the last she was going to have.

 

At the time, she hadn’t cared about what the punishment would be. Now, looking back on it all, she still wouldn’t change anything that she had done. She had done what she felt was necessary at the time, what she still believed was necessary now. She was willing to face her judgment, to take whatever punishment the Prime handed out to her. She straightened her shoulders, her hands tied in front of her, and let the guards lead her into the arena, her jeans and blouse torn and tattered from the escape that she had made, trying to outrun those that couldn’t be outrun. Her hair was dirty and tangled, falling down her back in a dirty matted mess. She hadn’t expected to see her Prime like this, but she couldn’t change that now. She kept her eyes straight ahead, and tried not to be afraid.

 

 

 

Chapter 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He sat in the front seat of the old truck as it flew down the highway, staring out the window and contemplating what would happen to his body if he opened this door right now and threw himself out onto the pavement.

 

He figured his mom was driving about 75 miles per hour, and he was wearing a pair of old jeans and a black t-shirt, his thick maroon fleece hoodie pulled over that, the hood over his head. So, his clothes probably wouldn’t be much protection against the road rash, and with only the hood covering his head, he would probably be decapitated as soon as his head came in contact with the road. So the odds weren’t looking good. If he thought he just might get out of it with a little bit of road rash, no broken bones, and some torn clothes, he would have jumped out of the truck by now.

 

Lincoln reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, not caring that his mother was sitting right beside him, not caring that at the age of 17, he was not legally allowed to smoke, not caring about anything except the desire to light the end of the cigarette on fire and breathe in the nicotine that would hopefully keep him from wanting to throw himself out of the truck.

 

He pulled a cigarette out of the pack, closing the hard top and putting it back into his pocket. He reached into the pockets of his hoodie for his lighter, flicking the flint and sparking the fumes of the lighter fluid and lighting the end of his cigarette, taking in a deep breath and letting the smoke settle into his lungs before exhaling. He held the cigarette in his right hand, looking at the lit end and wishing that he was anywhere but here. He took another drag and pondered his life up to this point.

 

He had been kind of happy in Milwaukee. His friends had been there, and sure, they got into a lot of trouble, but who didn’t? He was a teenager; he was supposed to get into trouble. So what was some criminal mischief, some fighting, boosting a car? Apparently to the law, those were misdemeanors, the car theft a felony, and he was now a criminal. He was just bored, that was all.

 

The car had been there for months, sparkling in the sun and just asking for someone to take it out and drive it. When his supposed best friend had suggested hot wiring it and taking it for a spin, he didn’t think anyone would notice that it was gone, they certainly didn’t notice that it was there, so what was the harm in it? The cops who had arrested them in the stolen car had apparently thought it was a big deal. As for the rest of it, some kids were just asking to be beaten up, to be taught a lesson, to be shown who the real big dog in the neighborhood was.

 

He smoked the cigarette down to the filter, rolling the window the rest of the way down and throwing the butt out the window, where it hit the pavement, sparks flying, until it came to rest in the dirt on the shoulder. His mom looked over at him as he rolled the window up. “I really wish you wouldn’t smoke.”

 

“Well, I really wish that we could go back to Wisconsin, but some things are just not meant to be aren’t they?”

 

His mom gripped the steering wheel harder, her knuckles turning white and looked back out to the road. “You know, you really need to do something about that smart mouth you have. No one likes a porky mouth.”

 

“You forget Mom, I don’t care what people like.” Besides, he thought, you didn’t care what I thought when you decided to divorce Dad and move out here to this godforsaken town in Idaho.

 

Two weeks prior, she had told him to pack up whatever was important to him and get ready to move, because they were going to live with his Aunt Jackie for a few months in Kaleidoscope, Idaho. She hadn’t given him a choice, she hadn’t asked his opinions, she had just told him to get ready, and then thrown the little that he thought was important enough to take into the back of her old pickup truck and had hit the road.

 

When Lincoln had looked at a map of Idaho, he couldn’t even find Kaleidoscope on it, but his mom assured him that it was a nice little town, quiet, a place they could both start over. He didn’t want to start over; he wanted to continue his life the way it was.

 

He thought part of the reason they had to move was because the judge had told his mom he would have to go to jail this time instead of juvenile detention because he had committed a felony and he was 17.

 

She had begged the judge to give her a chance to fix things, to give him a new start, where he wouldn’t be able to get into so much trouble, and the judge had agreed to it, saying that if Lincoln got into trouble with the law again, no matter where they went, he would be sent to jail, and no amount of fines would get him out. He had told Lincoln to take advantage of a chance to get away from the bad influences, the friends that he thought had his back, and try doing the right thing for a change. He knew the other reason they had left was because his parents couldn’t get along anymore.

 

Lincoln stared out the window at the road passing by in a blur. His dad was a cool guy, he just drank too much. He wasn’t a bad guy when he drank, he just did it so often that sometimes the electricity would get turned off, or they would eat cereal for two weeks, or they would have to dodge the landlord coming to collect the rent.

 

Lincoln didn’t see anything wrong with that, he figured that most people lived that way, but his mom had thought other things, and his parents had fought often because there was never enough money, no matter how many shifts his mother took at the hospital, where she was a CNA. His father worked, when he was sober, but when he drank, he stopped going to work, and he would eventually get fired, which made the fighting even worse. But Lincoln still didn’t see what the problem was. At least his dad didn’t hit his mom, like some of friends’ dads did, and he didn’t do drugs, like some of the other dads did too. He just liked to drink, and he liked to drink expensive alcohol. That should have been forgivable.

 

Now, after his mom had filed for the divorce, she had said that they both needed to go somewhere where people didn’t know who they were, a place where they could just be themselves, and try to find a new direction in life. His mom wanted to go to nursing school, and apparently Kaleidoscope was close to the community college where she could do that. She wanted to give him a future; she wanted him to think about life after high school, to think about college and a career.

 

He just wanted to think about getting done with it all. If he was lucky, he would end up in some menial job making minimum wage, living out of a car or something. If he wasn’t lucky, he would end up in jail. He didn’t see any other choices, and those choices were okay with him. He just didn’t want to go to this little town where he knew no one, where no one knew him. He would be starting over alright, and he would have to carve a new niche here that would keep him out of trouble.

 

His mom pulled the truck onto an off ramp and into a truck stop. She drove up to the pump, turning off the engine and opening the car door. Lincoln opened his door and dropped his hood, walking into the convenience store and heading to the bathroom in the back. After washing his hands, he went back out into the store, looking over the candy bars when his mom came in to pay for the gas. She saw him and walked over, picking up and Snickers bar. “Do you want anything?”

 

He didn’t say anything, just picked up a package of M&M’s, handing it to her and walking back out to the truck, slamming the car door as he sat in the cab. His mom came back to the truck, tossing the M&M’s into Lincoln’s lap, starting the car and pulling away, back to the on ramp and on the highway. They didn’t talk for a long time, Lincoln pulling his hood back up, popping the candy into his mouth and chewing, letting the chocolate explode on his tongue.

 

“You know, your aunt registered you for school, starting next week.”

 

“Yeah so?”

 

“Lincoln, I know this is hard for you, but try to think of the bright side.”

 

“What bright side?” He slumped down in the seat, staring out the window.

 

“It might not be so bad. You can meet new kids, you can make new friends, and you can live up to the potential that I know is in there somewhere.”

 

“She didn’t register me for advanced classes did she?”

 

“With your grades at your last school? No. But you can take the tests, see if that could change.”

 

“Doubtful Mom.”

 

She sighed and focused on the road. “It will be great.”

 

“Is there anything to do in Kaleidoscope? A movie theater, an arcade, anything?”

 

“You used to have a lot of fun when we would visit when you were little.”

 

“That was when I liked burning ants with magnifying glasses.”

 

“It won’t be so bad. The town has grown in the last few years. They even have a Walmart now.”

 

Lincoln feigned excitement, clapping his hands in front of him. “Ooh a Walmart. That makes my life complete.”

 

They drove the rest of the way in silence, Lincoln putting his ear buds in and turning on his off brand MP3 player, the sounds of rock music filling his ears. He didn’t remember closing his eyes, but he must have because when the truck slowed down, he opened them again, looking back out the window.

 

She was right, the town had grown a bit, they had 4 stoplights instead of 1, and there was a small movie theater in the downtown area. Otherwise, the sleepy little town seemed the same, the same mom and pop diners, the appliance store, the salon that his aunt owned. As they passed the high school, he had to admit to himself that it had changed for the better, no longer looking like a run down mental hospital, but actually looking like a school, the red brick building with lots of windows. Maybe she was right, this wouldn’t be so bad.

 

As the buildings passed one by one, he saw a bunch of kids walking out of a place called The Spot. That hadn’t been there before. They drove through town, turning left at the last stoplight and taking the street all the way down until the houses spaced out a little bit more, the trees filling in the gaps. As they turned into the driveway of his aunt’s house, he laughed softly to himself. While some things may change, others stayed the same.

 

Lincoln’s Aunt Jackie lived in a two story farmhouse with a wraparound porch and fenced in backyard. The siding was still the same pale yellow color it had been all throughout his childhood, the shutters on the windows still white. She even still had the rickety old wooden porch swing he had spent lazy summer afternoons in when he had been a kid, reading comic books and drinking green Kool-Aid. His mom pulled the truck into the space beside Jackie’s shiny lime green VW bug, killing the engine and looking over at him. She tugged his hood down, pulling the ear buds from his ears. “Well, we’re here.”

 

“Yeah, I gathered that.”

 

She leaned away from him, opening her door and getting out. “Come on. We need to get things settled, then we can see if Jackie is up for dinner.”

 

Lincoln opened the door and got out, looking around him again. Jackie’s house was surrounded by trees, the only open side was facing the road. The rocks of her gravel driveway crunched under his shoes. He put his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, walking up the wooden stairs by the driveway that led up to the porch.

 

Jackie was standing at the storm door, her arms folded over her chest, smiling. She came out and wrapped him in a fierce bear hug, so tight that Lincoln thought she might crack his ribs. “Oh, I am so happy you made it. I was just about to drive out looking.” She released him, looking him over. “Well Lincoln, look at you. Do you flash gang signs and have prison tattoos under there somewhere?”

 

He smiled, laughing. “Funny Aunt Jackie. Did you get cable or anything yet or Is it the digital converter box that only gets two channels?”

 

“I’m getting the satellite installed next week. Does that meet with your approval, oh extremely bored one?”

 

Lincoln rolled his eyes. “Do you at least have internet?”

 

“Sure. Dial up all the way. I might think about DSL if you ask me nicely.”

 

He stepped around her and went into the house. Jackie watched after him, then turned to her sister.

 

“So Marie, how is he taking it all?”

 

“I think he is still angry with me over this whole thing.”

 

“He didn’t want to leave his father huh?”

 

“He doesn’t know Jason like I do.”

 

Jackie sighed and opened the back of the truck, pulling out a box and walking up the stairs, her sister following after her. They dropped the boxes in the living room, where Lincoln had perched himself on the couch, flipping through the channels on the TV. Jackie stood in the doorway. “Hey kiddo, you want to give us old ladies a hand with the heavy lifting?”

 

He sighed and turned the TV off, standing back up and walking out to the doorway. “Not really,” he said as he passed her and walked back outside, picking up a box from the back of the truck and carrying it in. They kept at the work until everything was inside and dark had fallen. They had thrown together a dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, watching the news after eating. Lincoln stretched after awhile, yawning. “So, Aunt Jackie, do I still have the same room?”

 

“Yeah kiddo. Only door on the left, facing out to the backyard and the trees.”

 

“Okay. If you ladies don’t mind, I think I’m going to turn in.” He kissed his mom on the cheek, then his aunt, before heading upstairs to his room, slamming the door behind him. Jackie turned to Marie.

 

“I couldn’t get him in advanced classes. The principal laughed at me when I suggested it after looking at his grades.”

 

Marie shook her head. “It’s okay. If he gets bored, he will take the tests to get the placement.”

 

“What has happened to that kid since I saw him last?”

 

Marie looked up the stairs that Lincoln had just ascended. “He’s rebelling. He’s a teenager, they do that.”

 

“God Marie, stealing a car? Getting into fights? Vandalism? That’s more than rebellion if you ask me.”

 

“It’s been hard for Lincoln. He went to juvenile detention for the fighting. The car was a mistake.”

 

“He didn’t know it was stolen when he got into it?”

 

Marie sighed and looked down at the floor. “No, he helped hot wire it. But he isn’t a bad kid Jackie, he really isn’t. He just doesn’t know where he fits in.”

 

“Well, at least he won’t be able to get into a lot of trouble out here.”

 

Marie smiled. “That was part of the reason we came. We will try not to stay here too long.”

 

Jackie snorted, waving a hand over her head. “You will stay here for as long as it takes, for as long as you want to. I really don’t mind the company, as long as Lincoln doesn’t steal my silver.”

 

Marie laughed. “You don’t have any silver.”

 

“Someday I might, and I don’t want him to steal it.”

 

Marie got up, stretching. “I’m pretty wiped out myself. That was a long drive from Milwaukee.”

 

“Sure hon. Your bedroom is on the right, down the hallway, facing the front yard. I thought you would like the quiet if you are going to be heading to nursing school and all that.”

 

Marie gave her sister a hug. “You are a lifesaver, I mean that. If you hadn’t offered to take us in…”

 

“Don’t worry about it. You are my sister, you are always welcome here. Never forget that. Besides, you needed to get away and make something of yourself, I can respect that. Now get up to bed, you’ve had a long day. I’ll be going up myself in a bit.”

 

Marie went to the stairs, going up a couple of steps then turning around. “Jackie, school starts in a week?”

 

“Yeah, that’s what they told me. Why?”

 

She shook her head. “Nothing. I was just hoping I had heard you wrong. The sooner he gets going in a new routine, the better he will be.”

 

“Stop worrying. This is Kaleidoscope. There isn’t much here for him to get into trouble doing.”

 

 

 

Chapter 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The week passed too quickly for Lincoln. He had spent most of it unpacking, sneaking cigarettes behind Jackie’s house, lying around watching TV after the satellite had been installed. He felt like he had just arrived in this sleepy burg when his mom was waking him up before the sun came up, telling him he had to get ready for school. He rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, groaning.

 

School, great.

 

He rolled out of bed, pulling on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved army green t-shirt. He stumbled into the bathroom that was over by his room, closing the door quietly so he didn’t wake his aunt, and looking at himself in the mirror. His short brown hair was standing up in spikes all over his head, he needed to shave, and his eyes were red and bloodshot.

 

This was just the first impression he wanted to make. He splashed hot water on his face before lathering up, drawing the razor over his face slowly. He didn’t want to show up on the first day of school with razor cuts all over his throat. When he finished shaving, rinsing his face and patting on some after shave, he wet his hair down and pulled out his hair gel, making the spikes more defined. After he had primped, he looked back in the mirror, nodding at the guy looking back at him. That was better.

 

He ran down the stairs, smelling the bacon frying in the kitchen. Jackie was scrambling eggs in a bowl next to the stove, the bacon grease popping in the skillet, dressed in a terry cloth robe that flowed all the way to the floor, her pajama bottoms peaking out the front. He leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, then poured himself some coffee from the coffee pot, adding a little bit of sugar, then chugging it down quickly, reaching for the pot to pour another cup. Jackie poured the eggs into another skillet she had waiting, then looked over at him. “Aren’t you a little young for coffee?”

 

He put the cup down on the counter, extending his arms casually from his sides. “Aunt Jackie, look at me. I’m over 6 feet tall, I don’t think we need to worry about the caffeine stunting my growth or anything.” He picked up his mug again, leaning against the counter. “Thanks for making breakfast, I’m starving.”

 

“You’re a teenage boy, of course you’re starving,” she said, stirring the eggs with a fork then flipping the bacon. Toast popped out of the toaster behind Lincoln. “Could you butter that for me Lincoln? This is almost ready to go. Pop a couple more pieces in there too, unless you don’t want any toast.”

 

He buttered the bread quickly, throwing the pieces on top of the other four pieces she had already made, then popped two more pieces into the toaster, pushing the lever down. “So, what is your plan for today Aunt Jackie?”

 

She poured herself a mug of coffee, adding more water and turning the pot on again. “I am going to work dear, like a regular person. Dye Job doesn’t run itself you know.”

 

He laughed, bringing his mug up to finish the last of his coffee. “Only you would name your business Dye Job Aunt Jackie.”

 

She laughed too. “It was the only thing that fit. Curl up and dye was already taken.”

 

He shook his head, pulling out the toast when it popped up and buttering it, putting the pieces with the others on the plate, then taking the plate to the kitchen table. Jackie threw the bacon slices onto two plates, scooping eggs onto the plates and bringing them over, sitting down across from Lincoln’s plate. He refilled his coffee mug then sat down to join her. He looked at the two plates and then to her. “Mom is not joining us?”

 

“She woke you up, then she took off. She has to register for classes herself you know.”

 

He nodded. “I forgot about that.”

 

They both ate in silence, finishing up their coffee when Lincoln looked at the clock. “When does school start anyway?”

 

She looked at the clock then too. “You have about a half hour. Grab your stuff and put your shoes on. I just need to throw some clothes on.” She ran up the stairs while Lincoln grabbed his socks and shoes from the mat by the door off the driveway and threw them on, grabbing his coat and his bag. She was down in a couple of minutes, dressed now in black pants and a pink t-shirt, her nylon smock thrown over her arm. She grabbed her keys, threw them to Lincoln, and headed out the door.

 

She stood at the passenger side of the VW as he got in the driver’s side, unlocking her door so she could get in. “I’m driving today?” he said once she was settled in, buckling her seat belt. He had noticed that the truck was gone.

 

“Yeah. You can drop me off on your way in. It’s a little farther down the road from the school, but I figured it would be easier for you to take the car your first day.”

 

He nodded, starting the engine and backing out of the driveway, turning down the road and into town. He passed the school, looking out the window at the kids walking in, laughing and smiling at each other. He sighed. This was going to be hell.

 

As he pulled over in front of the salon, Jackie jumped out, walking around the front of the car. She leaned into the window Lincoln had rolled down when he saw her get out. “Don’t worry, the kids don’t bite, at least they don’t bite hard. I’ll be finished here at about 5:30, so don’t forget to pick me up. Have a good day kiddo.” She kissed his cheek and stepped up the curb, walking into the salon without a backward glance.

 

Lincoln shook his head and put the car into gear, pulling into traffic before turning around at the parking lot on the next block. “Have a good day. Who is she kidding?” He reached over and turned the radio up, letting “Numb” from Linkin Park roll over his head.

 

He found his way to the school parking lot and was surprised by all of the older, beat up cars that were parked there. It was actually a relief, not to see anything exotic parked there. The only nice car there was a newer Mustang, painted a dazzling shade of electric blue with black racing stripes over the hood and roof.

 

He parked the Bug and locked the doors after pulling his book bag out of the car and, trying to avoid the curious stares he was already getting from the kids in the parking lot, headed inside, following the signs that led him to the guidance office. The kids loitering in the hallways stared at him. Obviously they didn’t get many new students here.