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women and children. Then I looked at Sonnet, who was smirking, Mother who had clapped her perfectly manicured fingers over her gaping mouth and Father, whose skin had turned a bright, mottled red.
    So.
    Worth.
    It.

 
Sur · prise
    / sə (r )ˈ prīz/
     
    verb (used with object),  surprised, surprising.
to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness:
to come upon or discover suddenly and unexpectedly:
to make an unexpected assault on.
to elicit or bring out suddenly and without warning:
to lead or bring unawares, as into doing something not intended:
     
    noun
an act or instance of  surprising  or being surprised.
something that surprises someone; a completely unexpected occurrence, appearance, or statement:
an assault, as on an army or a fort, made without warning.
a coming upon unexpectedly; detecting in the act; taking unawares.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
    MARKET DAY. CASON and I set up early in the morning, when the best stalls—those closest to the wall—were still open. Scrubs had built the market from materials on hand. Each stall had three walls, were open in the front, and made from old scrap barn wood or whatever they had handy. Each had canvas or hides stretched over top them in case of rain or too much sun, like makeshift roofs.
    Case and I had killed two gators, one each. The privileged Elites shopped first, and we sold both gators before midday. We sent the money from the sales to the simples back to Case’s family via Uma, who had brought in a few fox furs. When she asked why we weren’t taking it ourselves, we ignored her, kept our heads down and packed our things up. She rolled her dark eyes, tucked strands of dark hair into her messy pony tail and held her hand out for the silver. Uma was nosey but she was honest.
    It was none of her business and Cason wanted to make sure that his family didn’t catch wind of what we were doing. They would come unglued if they knew he’d signed up for the companion program. I’d tried to talk him out of it. But he was stubborn as a mule. The fact that he was standing beside me told me more than words ever could. It also brought with it a hefty dose of guilt. I didn’t want him here. But I wanted him here. It was crazy. I was going crazy.
    The companion program was “voluntary.” Applicants were simply required to sign a document that stated that we were volunteering for the program and would pledge our allegiance to Confidence and our new companion. Companionship was for life. There was no revoking it, no backing out if you found it didn’t suit.
    It was a risk I was willing to take. I had a mission. But Cason? It bugged me that he was coming along for the ride. He’d made me his mission, but in doing so, had forfeited his freedom. I’d have to show him the way out of the city. The swamps were thick. Even Confidence’s half-manged hounds wouldn’t be able to track him far.
    We were stopped at the city gates, patted down, even after we told them our intentions. Untrusting eyes followed our every movement; flinching fingers were reassured that weapons were close at hand. The pair of us was ushered into an unpainted cinder block building just inside the wall. The walls were painted white, and there were no windows. The only decoration was a single fluorescent light hanging overhead, casting a blue glow over the room. Despite the heat of the day, in that room it was cool. From the ceiling, a fan was blowing artificially cooled air into the room.
    Felt. Like. Heaven.
    My skin cooled immediately, and I sent up a prayer that the jerk who bought me would at least have air conditioning.
    A heavy-set guard pushed two pieces of paper across his metal desk, one toward Cason and one toward me. He handed us each an ink pen. I didn’t bother to read the contract itself. It was amazing that with four short paragraphs, one could relinquish