The Swarm Descends. Jacob Grey

Caw. “Her name’s Selina. She’s homeless, like I was. I’m going to teach her to scavenge.”

      “That’s … that’s cool, Caw,” said Lydia. “Maybe I can come too?”

      Caw hadn’t been expecting that. “Why would you want to scavenge? You’ve got proper food, y’know – on a plate.”

      “Because it’s fun,” said Lydia. “When are you heading out?”

      “Er … I don’t know,” said Caw. “Look, Lydia, maybe it’s best if you don’t. It might not be safe.”

      She frowned. “I can look after myself.”

      “Last time you got mixed up with me, I almost got you killed,” said Caw.

      The stone weighed heavy in his pocket. The dangers of the past might be behind him, but new ones lingered in waiting, he was sure. Until he knew what the stone was, and why Quaker was so scared of it, he couldn’t risk letting Lydia get close again.

      The car window opened, and Mrs Strickham’s face appeared. “We need to go now, Lydia. Your father will get suspicious if we’re out shopping much longer.”

      “I’m sorry,” said Caw. “I just don’t want to get you into trouble.”

      “Come on, sweetheart,” said her mother.

      Lydia bit her bottom lip. “Caw, I thought we were friends,” she said.

      He blinked at her sudden fierce tone. They’d certainly been through a lot together, but he’d never really had friends, apart from the crows. “We … we are,” he said.

      She turned away and opened the car door, climbing inside. As she fastened her seatbelt she shook her head sadly. “Then why don’t you act like it?”

      The door slammed before Caw could answer and the car sped off, leaving him standing alone at the edge of the graveyard.

      

      aw was glad he’d told his crows to wait at the end of the street, because Selina was standing outside the house that night when he arrived. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off by chatting to birds.

      She looked taller tonight, maybe even taller than him, but then he realised she was wearing stacked boots, made of leather and laced up to her ankles. The rest of her clothes were black too, with a knee-length skirt over dark tights and a fitted black jacket zipped up to her chin. He wondered what Lydia would have made of her. She had headphones in her ears and took them out as he approached.

      “You’re late,” she said.

      Caw pulled out his watch and checked. It was ten past ten. “Sorry,” he said. “There were a ton of police patrols about tonight. I had to come the long way.”

      “You’re supposed to put that round your wrist, you know,” she said, pointing at the watch. “Anyway, what’s wrong with the police? You in trouble or something?”

      Caw blushed. “It’s not that. I just …” he didn’t know how to finish.

      “It’s fine,” she said quickly. “Actually, I wasn’t sure you’d come at all.” She blew into her hands, which were encased in fingerless gloves.

      “I said I would. Ready to go?”

      “Sure,” she said. “Where d’you take a girl for dinner round here?”

      Caw tried not to blush even deeper, but from the heat rising behind his cheeks he knew he had failed miserably. Surely she wasn’t expecting a restaurant. “We’re just scavenging,” he said.

      “And I was only joking,” she said. “Tell you what, you show me where to find a good meal, and I’ll work on your sense of humour radar.”

      Caw grinned. He knew she was mocking him, but he didn’t mind. “Are you hungry?”

      “Always,” said Selina.

      “I know a good Chinese place,” said Caw. “They have a really nice table out back by the bins.”

      Selina frowned.

      “That was a joke too,” said Caw.

      Selina clapped. “Oh, right! You’re learning. It sounds divine!”

      They set off down the street. Out of habit, Caw stuck to the shadows where he could, but Selina didn’t look worried. She moved with a spring in her step, sometimes straying into the middle of the deserted roads or kicking cans along the street. While Caw’s head jerked at every sound the city made – a far-off dog barking, the revving of a motorbike engine – Selina didn’t even seem to notice them.

      They soon reached an area littered with building machinery and cranes. It had been a forgotten construction site for as long as Caw could remember, probably abandoned in the aftermath of the Dark Summer. Caw took off his jacket and laid it over the barbed wire at the top of a fence.

      “This is the quickest way into the city centre,” he said, hoisting himself to the top. Straddling the fence, he reached down to Selina.

      He needn’t have bothered. “I’m fine, thanks,” she said, ignoring the hand and scampering up. She swung her body over the top, then dropped into a crouch on the other side. “So where did you say you lived again?” she asked.

      Caw climbed down as well. “Er … I didn’t,” he said. “I move around.”

      Caw didn’t want to keep secrets from her – but he still wasn’t ready to tell her about the church. And he was grateful that Selina didn’t push it. He remembered when he’d first met Lydia, and she’d bombarded him with questions.

      “I used to live in a tree-house,” he said.

      “No way!” she replied. “Where?”

      “In the old park, north of here,” said Caw.

      “That place is creepy!” said Selina.

      “I kind of liked it.” Caw remembered the place fondly now, but in the winter it had sometimes got so cold there was frost on his blanket in the morning. “How are you with heights?” he asked. “The safest way is over the rooftops from here.”

      Selina swatted an insect off her shoulder, looking up at the buildings ahead. “I’ll give it a try,” she said.

      Caw went first, placing his feet and hands in the cracked mortar and climbing up to a broken first-floor window. This place had been a military barracks, Crumb had told him. Selina made it up easily. Caw was glad he hadn’t invited Lydia – she would have slowed them down. They crossed a long room littered with old papers, then climbed two sets of stairs to the roof fire escape. As they came through, the city spread out beyond.

      “Oh, wow!” said Selina.

      Caw saw the wonder in her face and felt a rush of pride. This was one of his favourite views as well. He set off at a light jog and Selina followed.

      “There’s a jump coming up,” he said. “Not big, but follow my lead.”

      He reached the edge of the building and launched himself over the two-metre gap. Then he turned to watch Selina, but she had already jumped, landing neatly beside him.

      “You’re a natural,” he said, impressed.

      “I take – I took – gymnastics at school,” she said, “before I ran away. It’s cool up here! It’s like being a bird, looking down on everything.”

      Caw instinctively checked the sky, surprised that until then he hadn’t