فصل بیست و سوم

Chapter 23: Final Salute

That night we ate a hot dinner of pork-and-bean burritos and some kind of soup with chicken claws in it. Everyone ate except for Jack and Ian, who claimed not to be hungry. A while after dinner Jack and I put Wade’s wrapped body in the back of the blue truck to keep it from animals, then we all found a place to sleep in the other truck bed, or inside the trucks, except for Jack, who slept outside on the ground.

The next morning I woke to the sound of digging. Jack had found a shovel in the truck and was digging a grave. I walked over to him. He had washed the blood off his face and arms, but his shirt was stained. He was soaked in sweat and he looked as if he hadn’t slept at all.

“Need any help?”

He shook his head.

“You don’t want to take him with us?”

“It doesn’t matter where he’s buried. No one in America cares.”

I just looked down. After a few minutes I said, “We were planning on leaving around noon. We’re going to take the trucks and drive to Cuzco.” I looked at Jack, then said, “After we have a service for Wade.” He looked up, then said, “Would you say something? I don’t know how to. He respected you.” “I’d be honored,” I said.

Shortly after Jack finished digging, Zeus and Jack laid Wade’s wrapped body in the grave, and we all gathered around. McKenna and Ostin had fashioned a small cross from tree branches, and Abigail and Taylor had gathered dozens of brightly colored jungle flowers, enough to completely cover the grave. I stood at the head of the grave next to the cross. It seemed as if even the jungle had quieted for my eulogy.

“To be honest, when I first met Wade I didn’t like him very much. I only knew him as a bully. In school, there’s a lot said about bullies. We hear about what bad people they are. Adults act as if bullying only takes place in school. But adults bully one another all the time. Some married people bully each other. Some bosses bully their employees. Businesses bully businesses. Countries bully countries. It’s like the no-bullying rule changes after you’re an adult.

“Still, they tell us to hate bullies. But maybe that’s the exact opposite of what we should do. Maybe if they were treated well, they wouldn’t bully. Wade wasn’t born a bully; he was taught it by those who should have taken care of him.

“After he became my friend, he showed me what kind of person he really was. He was loyal and brave. He had the chance to go home and the Elgen probably would have left him alone, but he wouldn’t do it. He wouldn’t leave his friends. And that makes him a hero. I know we’re all going to miss him. I’m going to miss him. But most of all, Jack will miss him.” I looked at Jack. His face was streaked with tears.

“Wade’s last words were to Jack. He thanked him for being his friend. His only friend. Then he said he was sorry. But Wade had nothing to be sorry about. He showed his true self. He always wanted to be a warrior like Jack. And in the end, he was.” I took a deep breath. “That’s all I have to say.” Taylor sidled up to me and took my hand.

“Thank you,” Jack said.

Everyone stood around quietly to see what Jack would do. He looked down for a moment, then he saluted. After a few more minutes Zeus began shoveling the dirt back into the grave. When he was done, Taylor, McKenna, and Abigail covered the mound with flowers.