“It was all my fault.” Deke sounds exhausted, and pleading. “I admit it, okay? Untie me, please. I’ll leave you alone, I promise.”

He sounds like he means it, but can we trust him with our lives?

33. What Should I Do?

“What happens next is really important,” Mia says to me and Imani, keeping her voice low. “What we decide could make a difference in whether or not we survive. Or Deke survives. If we let him go and he messes with us, we might not make it. Tony made one wrong move and it cost him his life. And if we leave Deke tied to the tree …” Her voice trails off.

“Critters with big teeth,” I say. “Mountain lions, bears.”

“Wolves,” Imani says. “I’m pretty sure they have wolves in Montana.”

“I can hear you!” Deke shouts, his voice cracking.

Mia marches out to where he’s lashed to the tree. “Okay, fine. Your turn. Convince us we should let you go.”

He looks up at her, his expression puzzled. “You want me to beg? Okay, I’ll beg.”

“No begging! Explain why we can trust you.”

“Because Tony’s dead and I should have saved him and I’m sick of this. Fighting with you guys.” He looks angry, but not with us. He’s angry at himself.

Mia turns to me and Imani. “Do you believe him?”

I shrug. Imani shakes her head.

“See?” Mia turns back to Deke. “You have to convince us you’re not lying. What’s changed that will make us believe you?”

“Probably nothing, because you’ve already decided.” He sounds dejected.

“Remember, the verdict has to be unanimous. Convince one of us that you’ll stop attacking and we’ll set you free.”

He stammers, hesitating. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You told us you enjoyed being a bully. Bullies lie. Bullies can’t be trusted.”

Deke’s head comes up, chin out. “That’s what you wanted me to say, so I said it. We were just horsing around, okay? I’m not as bad as you think. I never hit anyone, not hard. Never beat anybody up.”

Mia is getting soaked in the drizzling rain, but she pays it no attention. “You called us losers. And that was before the flood. You sneered at all of us. You sneered at the grown-ups who died trying to save us. Every word out of your mouth was dripping with scorn. Like you’re the only one in the world who isn’t stupid and worthless and beneath your contempt. You threaten us and insist on having everything your way. You use your size and strength to intimidate. That’s a bully, Deke, look it up.”

“Okay. I was a jerk, I did mean things, but I never wanted anybody to die.”

Mia nods, as if maybe she believes him. “Explain why you did what you did, and why you won’t do it again.”