STACEY LEVINE IllustrationbyDavid Lasky The Castaways (excerpt) The stories inbooks are real MelListden, age 6 1. Therewasa groupofpeopleknownastheCastaways becausethat waswhattheywere.Theyweremoreorlessa loose groupoffivewho stayed together inan enormous grassy fieldnearLlewelyn Lane. They neverhad strayed fromthisfield, whichlaybetweentwo grassy slopes.Atop theslopesstoodtwogigantic electrical towerslike high, watchful giants withhandson hips,runsofwiresslopingbetween them, andthough thetowers werepartoftheland,no one evernoticed orspokeofthem. The fiveCastawayslookedlikeotherpeople.Theywereneither oldnoryoung. Theyusually layinthesoft, tamped-down field, examiningtheroot -topsofweedsor individual crumbsofdirtthathad been wrested from theground byants. Eachdayhada sameness, a soothing constancy toparallelthedisinterest oftheearth. Summerwas easiestforthe Castaways,but theystayedin the grassy field allyear, eventhrough thebrutality ofspring. Inthemornings, sometimes children from thenearby homes, passingon thewaytotheschoolbusstop,pointedandaskedtheirmothers, "Thosepeoplesitting inthegrassoverthereallday- howdo they live>" "Theyarecastaways. Theyjustlive," thechildrens' mothers always said. The Castaways werenotkintoeachother, butthey werenearly all thesame.Theyhad thin, wheatenhair. Acrossthedrygrass, theyoften 73 wavedtiredly atone another, palefaced, facesempty; they werenotinclinedtofinish their sentences. Neverhadthey spokentotheneighbors wholivedinthehomeson Llewelyn Lane.No oneknewtheir origins or howtheyhad grown, and theirnameswere:Mobley, MareadySnuflin, Ma Bean,and SusanWright. The Castaways werenotdeterminers. Hardy, they wererarely sick, though Ma Beanusually worea bandagemadeofflesh sewntoherstomachdue toa sorethatwassimply ongoing. In thespring, twoneighborhood women,each bustling deep insideherrespective home,glimpsed eachotherthrough theirbathroom windows-forallhomesinthisneighborhood hadthesamelayout, and all bathroom windowsfacedthegrassy field.Stoppingtheirwork,the womencalledoutan exchange. "Don'ttheCastaways haveanyresponsibilities?" thefirst neighbor said. 74 "NonethatI knowof," calledbacktheother. "Well,don'tyou thinktheyshouldhave some?"the first asked crossly "Whatcouldtheybe responsible for?Theyarenotconnectedto anything!" saidtheother. "Youknow, maybeit'sjustsomepeople'srole inlifetodo nothing." Eyesglowingwithangerthroughthe window screen,the first woman said: "Everyonein lifemustwork!Horses work,don't they? Chickens work.So whyshouldn't thesepeoplewhoarepartofourneighborhood -work, goddammit?" Sheflung an openhanddownward. "Do you thinkthere'ssome mentalretardation there?"said the second. "Shutup!"saidthefirst, slamming herwindow, thoughherwords carried through theglass:"Stopmaking excusesforthem!" Upon overhearing thisconversation, theCastaways, lying ata distanceinthegrass , droppedtheir headsanddozed. Formany neighbors, thegroupoffive raisedanunspoken question thatranas ifa weakcurrent belowthestreets' roughened cement:Do somepeoplearrive intothisworldlost,unknowing, orincomplete? Atthefaredgeofthefield, a creekslithered. Nothinghappenedformany years.ButinMarch,a womanwitha suitcasesteppedofftheinterstate bus at dusk.Wearingan all-' weather coat,shestoodinLlewelyn Lane'splum-colored shadows.Oak branches boredown. Overthetall, dry grass blades,theCastaways peekedatthisstrangerwarily , forno one everhad roamedtheneighborhood so freely, orin sucha bluntfashion. The womanpacedalonga curb, setting downher suitcaserather close thehidingCastaways; theyglimpseditsfluttering handle-tag withthenamedarkly inked:"CarolF." Earlythenextmorning, Carol F. ambledthrough theneighborhoodstill , surveying theyards andstamping outcigarette-ends withher shoe.She crossedto thefarside ofthefieldnearthecreek,theCastaways observed, and,kneeling there, shesippedwaterfrom herhandand otherwise refreshed herself. "I don'tlikeher," Ma Beanwhispered. 75 "Me neither," saidMobley. "Whyisshehere>" "Shemight be sometypeofauthority" saidSnuflin. "Whywouldanauthority carry a suitcase?" saidMaready. Carol F.s suddenappearanceforced theCastaways tospeakmore candidly thanusual. "Maybeshe grewup in theseparts,and has returned to revisit memories andseehowthings havechanged," saidSusanWright. "Baloney"saidMa Bean."Look,she'sfacing ourwaynow." Towardthefarhillsand rising sun,Carol F.,at a shortdistance, squinted. "I saywe leavetheslope fora while,"Ma Bean continued."Go elsewhere. You knowtheold saying-'Don't givea newfacea thingto judge.'" "I'veneverheardofthatsaying," saidSnuflin. "Then I knowmorethanyou,"answeredMa Bean."Let'sgo,everyone ." "Sure,"said Maready. "We don'tknowwhatconsequencescould happentomorrow orevena yearfrom now- allbecauseofthishorrible womanwalking aroundtoday!" "That'sright!" they allsaidvariously. "I go whereyou go,"said Susan Wright, gazingvaguelyat the ground. So thefive movedoff ina line,eachholding a handupontheshoulderofthenext ."Faster!" saidMaready, and theothers, anxioustomove farfrom CarolF.'ssight, obeyed. Mosquitoesclungto thebendofthestream, and as theycrossed, thecoldwaterachedtheirankles.The Castawaysreachedthebase of thebutte, winding aroundit,their presence so familiar inthisplacethat cloudsofiridescent-green dragonflies sawno pointinavoiding them. The hiking pathled themto thebutte'shighest ridge, whichwas plentifully strewn withflint thatglittered as ifsilver; yetthiswasa trick ofthesun,forthemineral wasactually blackwitha highluster. Lastinline,Snuflin andMobleykicked attheflint, whichscattered andhunglikea netoffthebutte, thendropped. "Ah," saidSusanWright withedgyterror, forheights upsether. 76 The Castaways hadlongknownofSusanWrights manyfears, including snakesandofbeingtheworstpersonon earth, andoccasionally, thegrouphadchuckled lightly overthese.Yetthey knewSusanWrights fearswouldneverrecedeordiminish, forthey weresimply partofher personality "Ah,"SusanWright saidagain,louder, buttheCastaways did not respond, becauseitjustwasn'tworthit. The groupmadea goodpace.A fewhourslater, arriving ata little concavity inthesheer, pink-hued rockface, they allsatona ledgetorest, swinging theirlegs,exceptforSusanWright, whoclungtoa smallbush growing from a crackintherock. "It'sa viewingspot,"Mobleyquietly declaredoftheplace,gazing outto thefieldsand neighborhoods below."I thinkI've evenheardof thisplace." "You'veneverheardofit,"saidMa Bean. "It'stoo highup fortreesto growhere,"observedMaready. "We mustbe twothousandfeetabovethefield." Quietly, SusanWright moaned. "I'dsaywewereabout-" thenMaready stopped."Look,everyone! See thatdoorintherockoverthere>" Theyall did.Just offthepath,a largedoorwas neatly fitted right intotherockface. "That'sa jail,"saidMa Bean. "Itsureis,"explainedMobley. "Townsheriffs blewtherockoutto builda buttejail- itwasa fewyearsback.I heardallaboutitintheair, comingfrom somebody's radio." "Theytooktherockout withdynamite," Ma Bean added,"becausetheyneededa satellite jailhousein theseparts.The chargewent offstronger thanexpected, so they gotmuchmorespacethanthey bargainedfor .Theybuiltthejail,all...