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Time is short, and we cannot delay.
Credit: Disney Publishing
However, even I cannot break the terms of our contract.
So if you find yourself still foolish enough to follow, there are three thingsthree thingsyou must know.
Three lessons that must be heard, obeyed, remembered.
Disney-Hyperion
These may one day prove crucial to your survival, human.
Whether you choose to pay attention is entirely up to you.
Ive never had time to suffer fools.
The first is that you’re able to never trust a Redding.
The family will whistle lies between their teeth and beg for mercy until their wagging tongues tire.
Do not give in.
Cover your ears, your eyes, and block out their cowardly stench.
These are the humans that broke a contract written in blood the moment they feared for their fortune.
Their tradition is one of foolishness.
They are no family of yours.
Mind me well, for the light grows dim and our hour approaches.
The Reddings will tell you they were wronged, misunderstood.
They will tell you I am a liar, a cheat, and a scoundrel.
But do not forget that even as I slept, they feared me.
For the second thing you must understand is that my tradition is one of revenge.
And the third: anything I give you, I canand willdelight in taking back.
Which, in the case of the Reddings, is everything.
CHAPTER ONE
Founders Day
See, heres the thing.
In the big scheme of life and planet Earth, the town of Redhood is a tiny speck.
An itty-bitty speck of a speck.
Dont even bother pulling out a map, because the town isnt on most of them.
To most people, the only interesting thing about Redhood is the family that founded it.
Well, you might be interested to know that there is nothing interesting about us Reddings.
Which, sorry, is just about the lamest way a guy could go.
I dont think he should get points for almost signing.
Anyway, the point is, my family has been around forever and doesnt seem to be going anywhere.
The walls of the Cottage are stuffed with portraits of frowning ancestors in black coats and bonnets.
Every day is like a bad -Thanksgiving play over there.
Just below those are pictures of a few dozen four-star generals, important congressmen, and some CEOs.
The faces of my family changed with each generation, but you couldnt say the same about Redhood.
It never changes, not really.
Probably because it takes years of town meetings and vote after vote to get anything done.
Before that day, I dont think Grandmother had ever touched a computer in her life.
It was still around collecting dust, but if you werent looking for it, youd never find it.
Families came and went, but they always seemed to return eventually.
And the worst was that everyone was constantly all up in each others businessespecially my familys.
The place felt smaller every year.
Which was why it was so weird that no one else noticed when a stranger came to town.
Most of the time, I would do just about anything to get out of this place.
Founders Day is the exception.
Its when the town wakes up from summers sweaty sleep and exhales some strange magic stirring inside it.
In the dark midnight hours of October, the trees of Main Street set themselves ablaze with color.
They lean over the streets and create a canopy of dazzling gold when the sunlight hits them just right.
I still havent found the right blend of paint to capture it, and maybe I never will.
A chilly breeze suddenly slipped up beneath my school uniform blazer, ruffling the edges of my notebook.
I slammed my fist down to keep it from flying away with the fluttering leaves.
I should have sharpened my pencil before I left school.
I think thats why I noticed him then.
He wasnt standing in one of the parental unit clusters, sipping hot cider.
He was dressed like a Pilgrim, but sad as it was, that wasnt actually weird.
A lot of people in Redhood got dressed up for Founders Day, especially the old people.
Old people love those big black buckle hats and billowy white shirts, I guess.
I glanced at the wide-brim straw hat he wore, then down at his shoes.
Unpolished and missing buckles.
He was lucky Grandmother wasnt around.
Thats what Grandmother says.
I think most people just came to make their smores.
He must have felt me staring, because he turned with a crooked grin and a wink.
A whole hours work, reduced to use as a napkin to wipe away sticky pumpkin leaf crumbs.
Some towns get caramel apples.
Others get a special chocolate treat as their claim to fame.
We got fried pumpkin leaves.
The bong, bong, bong of the bell in the clock tower tolled.
I looked up, frantic, checking the timehow was it already five oclock?
Butthere they were, by the haystack maze.
I leaped down, charging through the line of tourists waiting for their chance to paint pumpkins.
Just as they finished and people began to applaud, the black iron streetlamps flickered on.
I tripped over one of the jack-o-lanterns lining the sidewalk.
Wed have to run.
One whiff was all I needed to know who the hand belonged to.
Mr. Wickworth smelled like lemons and dry-erase markers.
My stomach turned into a knot of wriggling worms.
Would you care to explain this excessively rude behavior?
Did you know that human beings can, in fact, cluck?
Yeah, detention on the first day of school.
Detention every day for the entire first week of school, actually.
So far, Id written papers on disrespect, inconsiderateness, and honor.
Pay attention in class.Ernest Hemingway).
he said, fingers pinching my shoulders.
What do you have to say for yourself, Prosperity?
Sometimes I wished I could be reprogrammed to think before I opened my mouth.
Since when do I have to say anything to you outside of class?
There you are, Prosper!
she said, brightly.
Her friends trailed behind her, glaring at me over her shoulder.
Oh, hi, Mr. Wickworth!
Are you enjoying the festival?
-Grandmother asked me to pass along a hello and to thank you for all your hard work.
Mr. Wickworths hand lifted off me.
I turned just in time to see the amazing change come over his face.
Forgive me, I didnt see you there.
He, along with everyone else standing nearby, created a path for her.
Clearly we werent identical.
But I remembered how it used to be.
I remembered all the hospital rooms.
I remembered the way my blood turned cold each time she looked pale, or her breathing became labored.
To double-check her heart was still beating.
