THE CALL OF THE WILD
chance to do anything for herself was out, and so her whole focus suddenly switched to the pitiful life form that stood, crumpled and sniveling, before her. Alana cleared the kitchen floor in one leap and threw her arms awkwardly around her mother’s back. She felt the woman stiffen and try to pull away, but Alana held her fast. Her weight-lifting days had not been in vain. “What do you want from me?” her mother whispered. “I want you to tell me that you love me,” Alana said, and the words shocked her as much as they did her mother. The woman broke free of Alana’s grasp and spun around to face her. “Was that you?” she said. “Was someone else just standing here?” Alana couldn’t help but smile. “That was me, Ma, though I can’t think why I said that. No, I take that back. I’ll be darned if I know what’s happening to me, but maybe this is the whole ‘power of love’ thing those guys keep talking about. It’s real, you know? He’s real—Jesus. Love. All that stuff. I’ve had some experiences since I’ve been hooked up with this crowd that would make your hair stand on end. But I love it. It’s my life.” She shrugged. “I wish I could have had more time to tell you about it.” “Oh!” Her mother’s eyes grew wide, as if she was just now realizing what she’d done. “What did I do? I called the police, didn’t I? It’s okay. I’ll tell them it was a mistake. They’ll let you go. You’ll see!” “Yeah, yeah,” Alana said. “You just take care of yourself, okay?” She flicked her ma’s right hand where she saw the tiny scar mark left by the registration-chip implant. “You gotta get yourself rid of that. It’s a truckload of garbage—it’ll ruin your life. You never know what it’ll make you do.” At that moment there was a loud shouting 169