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There’s something wrong with Dunleavy’s kids. The students at Jackson Hole Secondary School don’t know what, but they can tell. It’s the way the kids’ eyes shift, how they always fall back onto one another.
1.
Maddie wasn’t blind, she knew that the kids in her class were weird. She just always chalked it up to them being homeschooled by some crazy parents; it was uncommon but not unheard of. Yet, she couldn’t help but be intrigued by these kids who laughed at the Boston Tea Party and seemed to know nothing about some things, but plenty about others.
Take Eli for example: he knows everything in Computer Science, but when it comes to history, he seems completely clueless. She sees him dutifully scribble notes on topics that should be basic knowledge, often with a look of bewilderment on his face.
Maddie could look past this if it wasn’t for one specific class period. The teacher is explaining the steps of an active shooter drill, all the standard information, when Maddie hears Eli’s breath get shorter. She assumed he was sheltered enough to not know what they were, so she leans over and says,
“Don’t worry man, they’re not real, just mandatory practices” in an attempt to calm him down. But rather than this helping, Eli just grabs his arm and mutters something about his ‘brother’ a grade below them.
Now, Maddie’s no psychologist — she can’t even take a psych class until 11th grade — but she is pretty sure that is not a typical response to shootings. She looks around and sees Malik glaring, so she backs off.
Eli and Malik exchange a glance, like they’re trying to decide what to do. Maddie is so confused. What is this response? Ultimately, Malik raises his hand and asks,
“So teach, whaddaya do when the shooter makes it in? Do you throw something at ‘em, cause that’s something I can get behind.”
The phrasing catches their teacher, Mr. Nord, off guard. The certainty that a shooter would break in, the implications of definite injury are jarring, but only halts Mr. Nord for a second. “Yes, if you are able to safely, you should fight if you cannot run or hide.”
Malik sends Eli a grin at this, like he’s won an argument that no one else was fighting. Eli sighs, looking resigned, before returning his attention to the teacher. Eventually, the awkwardness from Malik’s question fades, and class goes on like normal.
2.
After that, Maddie notices the small ways Malik comforts Amber or Eli in class. Yet, they do the same for him as well. She doesn’t have class with Ben, Robbie, Maggie, or Aldwin, but she hears they’re the same. Her friend Emily tells her that when they reach the modern unit of history, the four have an odd reaction to the changing of the FBI’s Most Wanted list.
If that wasn’t weird enough, Amber and Malik seem genuinely caught off guard when they learn about Gus Alabaster, as if he wasn’t the modern day Al Capone. Malik closes himself off and only talks to his family in school. His anger is palpable.
One day, Maddie overhears something she probably isn’t supposed to,
“I just miss him, y’know? Not to be all mushy and shit, but he was the closest thing to a dad I had, like for real”
“I know Malik, I know-”
“No you don’t Laska,” and Maddie sees Amber flinch at that, “sorry, but Amber you don’t. You never met or knew your’s, I did.”
Maddie turns away before she hears anything else because she’s not going to pry further into their lives. She knows there are 11 kids adopted by Tamara Dunleavy, it would make sense they talk about their lives before her.
From that small conversation, she seems to understand that Amber never knew her parents. But Malik did, sort of. Malik had a father figure who wasn’t around anymore. Maddie wonders if Alabaster killed him, and that small revelation keeps her from asking herself anymore questions.
3.
When she finally thinks she has Dunleavy’s wards figured out, another oddity pops up. Her brother, Jacob, is in class with Tori and Hector when the 8th grade starts their unit on National Parks. At some point, Carson National Forest is brought up, and the two share a conspiratorial glance before Tori raises her hand and asks,
“Do the lips of a god send wind through the park?” She thinks they’re serious but–
Hector and Tori break out into laughter, which surprises everyone, considering the two are typically very serious about their academics. The teacher clears her throat and the two sober up quickly.
Jacob tells Maddie that throughout class the pair make odd references to one another, and ask the teacher the most obscure questions about the park. Some highlights include,
“What were the ramifications of the railroad that goes through the park?” (The teacher did not know there was a railroad, and when looking it up, the class learns of some random stowaways that drank all the Gatorade and left.)
“The major fire at the edge of the park– what did they find in the remains?” (Jacob assumes the two have an interest in the macabre, but the teacher says there was nothing. He thinks the look on their faces is almost painful.)
“Did you know how easy it is to get lost in the park?” (Obviously– it’s a national park. The laughs from Hector are baffling.)
At some point, the teacher stops calling on them. They share giggles the entire class period, and when a classmate asks what’s so funny, the two just shake their heads and say it’s a Dunleavy thing.
4.
After hearing about that absurd class, Jacob takes an interest in the two. He makes it a mission to learn more about Hector and Tori; even if nothing weird is happening — sue him — they’re funny. Hector has a sense of dry sarcasm that goes unnoticed unless you really look for it, and Tori’s quick quips make him stifle a laugh so the teacher doesn’t hear.
He wants to hang out with them after school, though he knows it will be crazy with nine other kids plus the three of them. But still, Jacob works up the courage to ask them, and to his surprise, they say he can come over. The pair warns him though; things may be odd.
Tori and Hector don’t elaborate and Jacob is more confused than prepared.
“I mean, what do they mean, odd?! It just doesn’t make sense” he rants at his sister.
Maddie hums, thinking, “I mean… there are 11 kids in that house, plus Tamara Dunleavy. I have to imagine things are weird in the house.”
“Yeah, but like, everyone at school knows that, why would they bother to tell me?”
Maddie sighs at her brother’s questions, “I don’t know man, you’re gonna have to just go and find out.”
Jacob arrives at the house, and holy shit, wow, it’s much larger in person compared to photos he’s seen, blurry as they may be. For someone as private as Ms. Dunleavy, he is not too surprised he could not find any good photos of her house online.
When he knocks on the door, he expects Tori or Hector to open it, but instead a security guard at least twice his size stands in front of him. The man looks him up and down, which gives Jacob a mini-heart attack, and steps aside with a brief, “Welcome.”
He quickly scurries away, before sheepishly turning, realizing he has no clue where he’s going. The guard raises an eyebrow, before turning to yell—
All of a sudden, two pairs of feet are heard racing across the floor, with a cry of “Jacob! Hi!” from Tori. Both children slide to a stop, with Hector in the lead.
There’s a brief moment of bickering, before the guard clears his throat and both kids straighten up.
“Sorry about that Jacob” Hector says sheepishly. “We were telling our siblings to not bother you too much.”
“Yeah, they can be… intense, for lack of a better word,” Tori chimes in. She giggles a little bit, and wow, has Jacob ever mentioned how much the two laugh.
He brushes their apologies off, “No worries! I’m just glad you two said yes to hanging out.”
“Of course! Do you want a snack, or just wanna head to our room?” Tori asks him. Jacob thought that because of how rich Mrs. Dunleavy was, all the kids would have their own. Instead of mentioning it, he just says,
“Nah, I just ate. Let’s go to y’all’s room.”
5.
When he gets back, Maddie bombards her brother with questions, “What was Tamara like? Who else did you see? Were they weird?”
Jacob tells her how he saw Mrs. Dunleavy in passing, and that she gave him a small, awkward smile. He also saw Malik, Eli, and Amber in passing, since they all live in the same room. And no, other than five kids sharing one room, they were not that weird.
Maddie cannot comprehend that, “I don’t know man, that sounds pretty odd to me. I mean, why have five kids in one room when she has all that money?”
“I thought the same thing! But I didn’t ask, and now I wish I had.”
She does not understand her brother. Ugh, she’ll just have to ask the older three when she goes to class on Monday.
Maddie really does not know how to approach the topic. Who goes up to their classmates they barely talk to and ask why they share a room with four other people? Still, she perseveres and works up the courage to ask as they leave third period,
“Why do you all share a room with Hector and Tori?”
Three pairs of eyes turn in terrifying synchronicity to stare at her. Somehow, from her classmates the same age as her, she feels a shiver through her spine; why are they intimidating only now?
But in a second, Eli readjusts his look, and glares at the other two in a way that screams, “knock it off.”
He tells Maddie, “When we were fostered together, we all shared a room. Once Tamara adopted us out of the system, we tried sleeping separately, but found we sleep better near each other.”
Maddie’s cheeks burn in embarrassment, she hadn’t thought that it might be a trauma thing.
“I’m so sorry! My brother was over on Saturday and was too nervous to ask”
“Yeah, well it’s not anyone’s business, now is it?” Malik sneers, and Amber shoves him a little bit.
“Malik, you know she meant no harm by it.”
He shifts uncomfortably before sighing, “Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry for jumping on you like that Maddie.”
She stumbles at his authenticity since he always comes across as brash with anyone who isn’t Hector, “Oh— don’t worry, that was a really invasive thing to ask.”
Amber brightens up, “You should grab lunch with us! We’re still relatively new and looking for friends who don’t live with us.” She giggles, and Maddie remembers Jacob mentioning how much Tori laughs.
“I would love to, thanks for the invite! You all have lunch during fifth period, right?”
The three agree, all responding with the same tone and cadence. It brings more questions than answers, but lunch is fun all the same.
+1
At some point, Jacob and Maddie are both invited over to the Dunleavy household. They’re curious, yes, but just really want to be close with all of them. Over the past year, the siblings have come to love their weird friends and care for them.
As a result, they accept the offering. When they show up, it’s much more chaotic than Jacob’s last visit, somehow. All eleven kids are home, and loud. He sees Robbie and Ben playing video games and Amber and Tori are bickering over who gets to show Maddie around the house.
Malik sneaks around to Jacob and Maddie, and grabs their arms, before Amber huffs, and he seems to remember his manners.
“Sorry,” he says in that rough voice of his, “I forget not everyone is used to my manhandling tendencies.”
Maddie coughs, “It’s alright, just… maybe don’t do that without forewarning.”
“Sure, I get it,” is Malik’s awkward response. He just wants to show them around, not his fault the pussies, er, perfectly understandable people, were jumpy. “C’mon, let’s go, we’re gonna head to the basement. Eli and Hector are already down there.”
Amber leads the way, elbowing Malik out of her path. Tori inputs multiple codes and it feels like every other door is locked with a digital key. When they get downstairs, Hector has thrown his legs over Eli’s and Hector is giving him instructions,
“Remember, we were all adopted from the same home, and lived together when we were there–” and cuts himself off when they hear the door creak.
Jacob immediately asks, “Why are you telling him this? Shouldn’t he know?”
Tori shakes her head and tries to explain, “Eli has issues with memory loss,” because the best lies have hints of the truth in them. Technically, they all have memory issues from Bruder’s pills.
Who knows how many times they were drugged? Certainly not them.
Maddie is not convinced, “That doesn’t explain why he’s giving him such detailed info, shouldn’t that be something you remember after two years?”
She hears a sigh from Hector, and she sees his eyes gloss over for a second, before relenting. He’s been caught. “Alright, yeah. We weren’t fostered together, but we did live with each other.”
Malik, Amber, and Tori all shoot looks at him, a look that Jacob and Maddie can only interpret as “What the hell are you doing?”
Hector pushes on, “We got separated, and I was left behind for dead in a fire—”
“What?!”
“Why would you all leave him?”
“That’s horrible!”
“How could you?!”
Jacob and Maddie’s voices rise, confused, frustrated, and angry on Hector's behalf, before he cuts them off.
“And they had to for their own survival!” He just about yells.
Eli continues, “The police were after us because we escaped being wrongly imprisoned and we had to go. We called out for Hector and searched in the wreckage, but he was nowhere to be found.”
Malik tears up, “It was so stupid, those bastards found him and took him again. And it was my fault.”
Maddie protests, along with everyone else in the room.
“What do you mean, your fault?”
A hush falls over the room, the five Osiris children looking at one another.
“Well, what do you mean?” More shifty glances, before Eli sighs,
“What we’re about to say, you cannot repeat to anyone,”
The two siblings nod, a solemn look on their face.
“They were going to kill Malik” Immediately, Jacob and Maddie tense up, confused out of their minds.
“But… but you are only 15 now? What the hell did they think you did to warrant that?”
Amber growls, “It’s not his fault, it’s those goddamn adults and their stupid—”
“—Preconceived notions about us” Tori finishes.
“It makes me want to throw a brick at that building”, and holy shit, Amber is never this violent; it confuses Maddie.
She laughs uncomfortably, “Well I can imagine why, what a terrible place. How could you do such a thing to a child?”
Eli nods, “That’s not even half of it. But we got separated before, and we don’t like being apart for too long.”
“Isn’t that a little unhealthy, y’know?” Jacob grimaces. He’s read about co-dependency, and this feels like that. They shouldn’t need to sleep in the same room in order to sleep.
But the five shrug in synchronicity, “It might be, but we can’t help it,” Tori explains. “We had to share sleeping quarters while on the run, usually taking turns on who could sleep.”
Malik scoffs, “Speak for yourself, Amber and I could sleep at the same time.”
“Yeah, ‘cause “your guy” was a mob boss” Tori shoots back, and they all stop.
Eli turns bashfully, “Any chance you guys could disregard that comment?” and even though he asks kindly, there’s an edge to his tone and expression that makes the siblings wary.
“Uh, is that why you were talking about Gus Alabaster?” Maddie asks oh-so eloquently.
Amber shoots her a look, “Where did you hear that name?”, and it looks like she’s putting herself in front of Malik, which is funny, until Maddie remembers her comment about a brick earlier;
All of a sudden, Amber seems a lot more intimidating. “I- uh, I’msosorryIoverheardyouandMaliktalkingafewweeksago—”
Eli takes a deep breath, and just… sighs. It is the most tired sound Jacob’s ever heard someone make, and he’s been around Maddie after she pulled an all-nighter.
“All right, here’s what we’re going to do: You two are going to sit down and Hector is going to tell you all a story” Eli’s voice takes on a tone that does not fit his body, like he’s channeling someone else as he directs the group.
This, Maddie decides, is the voice of a leader who is tired of things going wrong. So, she motions for Jacob to sit next to her, and their friends cautiously move to take a spot beside their classmates.
“Here goes nothing,” Malik mutters.
“Look,” Hector starts, “We can’t tell you everything, unless you want to sign multiple NDAs and risk being under heavy monitoring your whole life.” His lips quirk up saying this, and Jacob hears a huff of a laugh next to him from Tori.
“When we were younger, the place we lived in was… less than ideal. I mean, it seemed great, but there was shady stuff going on under the surface.
We got roped into it and Eli was held captive first until they deemed him ‘stable.’ Little did our parents know that the rest of us, Me, Malik, Amber, and Tori were in on Eli’s plans,” solidifying Maddie in her idea that he was, at the very least, reflective of a leader.
Hector continues, “But our parents assumed we knew something, and we were closely watched. So, when we made a break for it during a festival, the ‘cops’ were called.
The car we were in was going to crash, so we had to jump out. But, I was too scared and got caught in the fire. The others searched for me, but they had to go, the cops were catching up—” Jacob starts putting together why Tori and Hector were messing around in class all those months ago; Maddie hears Malik’s breath hitch.
“It was my own damn fault, but we had to keep going. We were in a rush for me to get out, and we continued to find the active train tracks. Hector was captured, and given an ultimatum.”
“I could either give up my freedom, or I could help the ‘cops’ and be granted more mobility than the others,” Hector shrugs, “I don’t regret my decision, and the others don’t blame me, because survival was our priority.”
Jacob and Maddie startle at his confession, but more so, at the other four’s understanding. Their empathy was astounding, yet their morality lacking; a weird combination of traits for such a tight-knit group.
Hector presses on, “When they left, they met up with Eli’s old friend, someone whose parents were involved with the town’s crimes, but not him.
He kept them safe, until the ‘cops’ tracked them down, so they ran. CJ Rackhoff and Gus Alabaster understood our plight, because they too were in trouble with the law.”
Jacob can’t help it, “Alabaster and Rackhoff?! I’m sorry, you mean two of the most well known modern-day criminals? Those ones?!”
Eli just sighs again, “Yes those ones. I went and talked to the Crossword Killer at one point.”
Jacob just gapes, mouth open like a fish. Hector takes that as the cue to move on,
“Rackhoff and I betrayed everyone, and when the cops came, we split up. In search of someone who could help, Amber and Malik were taken in by Alabaster, but Eli and Tori were still running.
The only reason we were reunited was because Tamara tracked us down. We unknowingly ran into her months ago, and she took an interest in us. She saw kids in need and offered her house to us.”
But Maddie’s confused, “Then where did your adopted siblings come from?”
Hector takes the question in stride, “They were unwilling participants in the shady going-ons at home and were relocated by the adults in charge. It turns out they were bribing the cops, and the only reason we were targeted was because we figured out what they were doing, not our participation in it.
I was with the organization at that point, but the others snuck out of here, paid a pilot, stole a boat, and snuck onto the island the rest of us were on.”
Eli takes over at this point, “Eventually, we convince the others to come with us, that they were part of a criminal organization they didn’t even know about.
My– my…” he stutters, “my guardian was the one in charge, and had drugged me before, so we knew the adults were not above hurting the kids. He, ah, thought I was a failure, and so he shot at me.” There is a gasp between the siblings, Jacob and Maddie both horrified.
Malik starts talking before the other two can, “But Hector here, my best man, he pushed Eli out of the way, getting shot in the shoulder. Went clean through him, that bullet, but uh, as a result, the indoor aquarium burst.
The stingray fell on Felix, Eli’s shitbag of a guardian, and killed him. Tamara came and handled the clean-up, and took us home.”
Jacob and Maddie just stare, completely dumbfound. Amber tries a weak attempt at jazz hands, and Tori looks down, eyes watering some.
Eli, ever so gently, tells them, “I know this is a lot, but we trust you.”
“Yeah!” Tori chimes in, “We want to be friends, but think you guys should know everything that comes with it, because we know we’re a little weird compared to the other kids at school.”
Amber, cooling down from her anger regarding Hammerstrom, says, “It’d be nice to add you guys into our routine, talk to you more often.”
Malik and Hector both nod in agreement, with Malik hanging off of Hector a bit, not that he would ever admit it.
“That…” Maddie starts, “makes sense. And yeah, it was a lot, but we aren’t going anywhere.”
++
The five are quite content with their first friends from Jackson Hole. Jacob and Maddie are kind and considerate, but willing to crack jokes and don’t walk on eggshells around them.
For all that the group revolves around one another, those two have certainly wormed themselves into the hearts of Eli, Amber, Tori, Malik, and Hector.
The siblings can’t know the full truth, obviously, but damn does it feel good to let go of some of the secrets. And, Amber points out, it answers a lot of the questions that those around them ask, which means a more solid cover story.
They decide that it is… kind of nice to tell other people. To see the horrified reaction on their faces, to have the external validation. They’ve been so scared of being rejected for their otherness, that being embraced by outsiders is groundbreaking.
Yet, Maddie and Jacob stick around. They become people the five can lean onto, even if they don’t completely understand the horrors of their reality.
And slowly but surely, Jackson Hole, Wyoming becomes a safe place, a happy place, for the children that are intimately familiar with the horrors of humanity; a place they can safely call home.