The Eagle

"There are only seventeen lifejackets; there should be nineteen," Lydia whispered desperately in Spanish to Maria Elena.

"Who will get to use the lifejackets?" Maria Elena whispered back. What had happened to Lydia? It registered then. They were all lost; it was the end. She could see it in Lydia's blood splattered face, in her runny nose from the hot spices she had covered herself with. "Where is Salina?"

"She's unconscious. I hid her with my friend. He is also unconscious and badly wounded. Everyone else who fought outside is dead. There is no time to explain. Choose eight children that you know can run fast." Lydia broke off the conversation. She hurried through the doorway into the English-speaking hold.

When Lydia returned with the seven Anglo and two Asian-American children three minutes later, Maria Elena was waiting with a tightly packed group of eight Latino children. Lydia ordered each of the seventeen children to choose partners and then commanded them to follow her up the metal ladder. Maria Elena ran over to Lydia, seizing her arm before she started climbing.

"What are the rest of us to do?" Maria Elena whispered.

"When I return we will reinforce the doors," Lydia spoke softly so only Maria Elena heard. "We will try to hold them back until help comes. If they break through we will surrender. If we stop fighting then maybe some of us will be taken prisoner."

Twelve-year-old Roscoe Diamond followed Lydia up the ladder. He was the oldest boy left. It was about time they let him fight. Surely his mother would be up top and he would be joining her. Were there even any monsters left? But something made him and the other children keep quiet. Lydia's face told him they were in deep trouble.