Clandestine

By Kristen Larsen Spere

Clandestine lives up to its name—it’s all about secrets. The children who grew up in the tiny mountain town have a limited understanding of life before the war. Kate Morgan’s brother, however, uncovers a family secret and their lives are suddenly sent spinning out of control. Not only is Kate forced to deal with bullies, rumors, and everyday challenges of life, now she must find a way to protect her family from threats she never knew existed.

Everyone in Clandestine is affected by the choices of Kate’s grandfather, especially the Bucannans. And when Riley Bucannan leaves Clandestine for the big city, he finds that the repercussions are even felt there.

Together with their families, Kate and Riley will discover a lot about family and freedom and what they may be required to sacrifice for both.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638851493

Book preview

Chapter 1

A thunderstorm, the wind, wild animals outside her window, even her brothers loud laughing when they stayed up until 2:00 am playing their stupid games: these were things she could sleep through. But the muted arrhythmic thud on the front door was too much for her. Finally, the second hand on the wall clock clicked into line with the zero. Five minutes. Kate flipped off her flashlight and whipped the blankets away from her, leaving them in a heap on the floor.

I’ve had it! she exclaimed and stormed out of her bedroom.

Kate! James growled from his bed.

Ignoring his warning, she rushed through the living room and out the front door without even stopping to put on her boots. Even through her thick woolen socks, her skin burned with the cold, but she couldn’t reenter the house now.

From the porch, Kate counted twelve figures standing in the dark street. She stood with her arms folded, daring them to hit her with the eggs they held in their gloved hands. Several more eggs were thrown from the group. Kate closed her eyes and held still as they crashed into the window next to her. One landed on the door behind, splattering onto her cheek. In the frosty winter air, the raw egg didn’t drip but became instantly cold on her skin. Another was thrown, this time connecting with her shoulder.

Hey! James yelled, joining her on the porch. He was two inches taller and thicker, a much more imposing figure. But he didn’t stop them.

Even before she could see it, Kate heard the rock whiz through the air. She dropped to the ground and covered her head as it hit its mark and the window shattered.

James jumped out into the dark, shouting again. By now, Tommy had joined them as well. He helped Kate stand and stood with his arm protectively around her shoulder.

As one, the group from the street made their way on foot toward the canyon road. They moved slowly, communicating that James had not scared them, they were simply done with what they had come to do.

Learn your place, Morgan! one shouted over his shoulder, and then the last stragglers moved out of sight.

James Morgan stood in the dark, his boots buried in snow. Kate ran into the house and held her aching feet. Tommy stood in the doorway, not seeing a need to close the door against the bitter winter air now that the window was gone.

They threw a rock this time, James! Kate said as her oldest brother joined them in the house. How many times are they going to come back? she whined and pulled a blanket to cover herself.

Well, every time you go out there, it riles them up. Maybe if you’d leave them alone, they’d go away! Tommy said, pulling the blanket away.

Maybe if we’d do something other than standing on the doorstep, they’d go away! she shouted back, her breath forming a cloud in front of her face.

Maybe James should stop sneaking into the city!

He’s working on a project!

He can do it here!

Kate yanked the blanket from Tommy’s hands and secured it around and beneath her. We don’t have the resources!

It’s going to be okay, James interrupted, his voice calm and soothing.

Tommy fumed, pointing at the window. "It is not okay! It’s below freezing in here now! What are we supposed to do for the rest of the night? Curl up in a blanket?"

The sun will come up soon, James said.

It’s one in the morning! Tommy paced around the room while James pulled on his coat and gloves.

Where are you going? Tommy snapped.

James sighed. To pull the tarp off the rose bushes.

What? Those are moms!

I’ll cover them up as soon as we fix the window.

No one moved for a moment.

Care to help a little? James asked, tossing a coat at his brother.

Tommy grunted and put his coat on, as well as his boots. I’ll get some more wood and get the fire going again, he said, walking through the house.

Kate, James called from the kitchen. Grab more blankets out of the closet.

I’ll just take the one off Tommy’s bed, she quipped.

Her brother poked his head back into the room. You do and I’ll pack your sheets with snow. They pulled faces at each other, and Tommy followed James out the back door.

In less than half an hour, they had nailed the tarp and blankets into the window frame.

Tommy stoked the wood in the fireplace of his large room. He crawled up onto his bed and slept while Kate and James slept on mattresses they had dragged in from their own respective rooms. It was cozy and warm, but Kate couldn’t sleep.

Her mind could not forget the sounds of the shattering window and laughing group from the city. More than anything, the thoughts marred her plans for the morning and filled her with fear.

Chapter 2

Kate picked up a magazine and pretended to read. James’s words from months ago repeated in her mind. If you’re going to sneak into Babeck, go as one of them.

As her eyes darted over the magazine, one hand absently pulled at the sides of her cap, making sure every curl was covered. The people on the bus seemed oblivious to the fact that she shouldn’t be sitting with them. She sat up straighter and pretended that she, too, was oblivious. When the bus came to a stop, she placed the magazine down on the empty seat next to her and stood. Then, after exiting the bus, she made a conscious effort to keep her head up and her eyes straight forward.

I know exactly where I’m going, Kate thought to herself. I belong here.

So far, her journey into the city had been uneventful. The cement sidewalk beneath her feet was covered with a light dusting of wet snow. It was cold enough to just barely stay on the grass, speckling the huge lawns of the university with flecks of white. It was not cold enough here for her homemade woolen hat, but she checked that it was fully covering once again.

Right at the first corner, left after building number three, immediately right again and straight up the road. She repeated the directions over and over in her head and on her lips. Finally, she entered the dormitory. Up three flights of stairs and to room 327. She knocked and held her breath.

The door opened, and Kate nearly screamed. It was not Riley. Before her stood a blond, shirtless boy taller than her. At six feet, two inches, Kate wasn’t used to having people taller than her.

It’s for you, the blond said over his shoulder and ducked behind the door.

There was a soft grunt from another boy sitting at a desk that was placed against the window and wedged between two twin bunk beds.

Kate swallowed. I must have the wrong room. I was looking for Ri Daniels.

Pulling a shirt on, the tall blond appeared again. He’ll be right back, he said and then opened the door wider and gestured at the room. You’re welcome to come in and wait.

The beds were unmade and cluttered with papers and books. The floor was covered in clothes and shoes. Kate instantly declined.

I…could I just leave a message?

The blond smiled gently and nodded. But no message was needed as Riley was just then approaching her, walking with a strikingly beautiful girl.

Katie? he called. What are you doing here?

Kate finally breathed and with that breath of relief came the threat of tears. But she shoved it aside, angry at herself. Still, Kate’s chin quivered slightly as she answered, It’s your dad.

Instantly, Riley’s eyes darkened with worry. He took her arm and led her down the hall a ways, leaving his roommate and the pretty girl watching them from the doorway. What’s wrong? he whispered.

With his concern so present, Kate steeled herself, stood straight, looked in his eyes, and spoke with care. He had a heart attack. She watched as his face fell. It was two days ago. He’s fine. Phil was with him when it happened.

Two days ago!

I thought you would want to know, she added.

Riley let out a dramatic sigh and walked into his dorm room.

Kate’s jaw dropped. I guess I’ll just excuse myself, she mumbled.

Alone again in the hall, Kate glanced around to see if anyone was watching her. She saw no one but wanted to return to the safety of home. As she walked past Riley’s room to the stairs, one strand of hair escaped and coiled in front of her eyes. Quickly, she pushed it back into her hat, checking to be sure the rest was hidden as well.

Katie, Riley called from the doorway, hold on, I’m coming with you. He threw his backpack over his shoulder and joined her.

Down three flights of stairs, out the front door, straight three buildings. Turn left and then right, three buildings, left at the corner. A sigh escaped her as they stopped at the bus stop. Only then did Riley speak.

How did you get here?

I drove to South Side and took a bus.

You can drive?

Kate looked at him, jealous that he didn’t have to cover his hair. It was the perfect shade of chocolate brown, but much shorter than he’d ever kept it at home. I’m sixteen. Of course, I can drive!

Then I won’t call my car.

Kate frowned. Of course, Riley would have a car in Babeck. It wasn’t just living here that he wanted; it was their lifestyle.

Taking her frown as a sign that she didn’t understand, Riley explained, They can’t dirty up the streets of Beautiful Babeck with a bunch of parked cars and parking lots. The lots are outside the city. And the cars have an auto drive.

I know, Kate said, having gotten this information from her brother James years ago.

I can send it wherever I want, and when I need it again, I just call it.

I know, she said again and turned away from him.

Riley followed Kate up the steps and onto the bus. When she pulled out her card and went to swipe it, Riley reached around and pushed her hand away. He swiped his own twice.

Thanks, Kate said and sat next to the window, readjusting her cap. Riley silently sat next to her and placed his incredibly full backpack on the floor.

The bus ride was long and awkward in the silence, but Kate had just sprung news on Riley he didn’t want to hear.

I didn’t know you didn’t know, Kate whispered.

Riley rolled his eyes. I would have been home if I knew, he whispered back.

Really? she asked, unconvinced.

I’m coming home now, aren’t I?

What about class?

I can figure that out. Then he added under his breath so Kate could barely hear him, It’s not my fault the phone lines don’t reach across the mountain.

Finally, the bus stopped at South Side, Kate and Riley got off, the bus turned in a roundabout, and left. There was no grass for the snow to stick to here. Kate could feel her boots squishing through the mud.

A huge cement wall separated South Side from the rest of Babeck. Just outside the wall hundreds of cars sat, waiting to be called.

Upon recognizing the car, Riley stepped in front of her and slid his card across the beam that was leaning over the hood at a ninety-degree angle. The beam beeped and lifted. Out of habit, he stood by the driver’s door. Kate dangled her keys in front of him, and he moved aside, letting her in, and letting her drive.

Once they were out of the city and on their way up the canyon, Riley spoke again. You need to get your own card.

She shrugged. I don’t plan on frequenting the city. I just borrowed James’s. It’s not a big deal.

You don’t borrow a card, Katie, Riley said, clenching his fists in frustration. People go to jail in the city for borrowing a card. Everything is on here: personal information, banking information, medical information. You might as well just steal everything he is except his body.

Kate laughed. I didn’t steal anything. James is my brother. I just borrowed his card. And don’t call me Katie. It’s Kate or Katelyn.

Why?

Kate braked at the stop sign and sent Riley a look he understood. When they were younger, Riley and Kate’s brother Tommy followed her around, saying, Here, Katie, Katie, Katie, Katie, Katie. Here, Katie, Katie, meow.

Riley made the sound of a cat. Kate rolled her eyes and made a sharp right off the paved canyon road. As she drove, Kate told Riley about the group from Babeck breaking their window. They have no right to even come into Clandestine, let alone destroy our property.

Riley watched out the window as they followed the frozen dirt road deeper into the mountain and around a bend until the canyon was out of view. The snow here reached the bottom of the windows, though they kept the road clear.

Finally, Riley responded, James finished his degree. He’s got to stop coming into the city.

He’s working on a project. He needs the computers.

Riley frowned. There’s a computer at Center House.

It doesn’t have any of the files he needs. He’s compiling a complete history of Clandestine. She glanced at him with an excited smile.

Riley’s expression didn’t change, until he spoke with a teasing smirk. That won’t take very long.

You’re hilarious, Riley, Kate said, her eyes on the road.

Oh, lighten up. Honestly, you used to be more fun.

Kate’s tone was flat when she replied, You used to be one of us.

Finally, after driving in silence for half an hour, the way opened into a small valley.

Riley clucked his tongue. It looks the same.

What’s that supposed to mean?

He shrugged. Kate drove around until she came to Center House and then parked next to the other cars.

In midwinter, snow would pile up around the houses, sometimes blocking them in. On really heavy snow days, it reached the bottom windows of the homes and piled even higher. But today, the snow was not quite so high.

Riley didn’t get out. Couldn’t you drop me off at home?

You are such a baby! Kate said and stepped out of the car into the snow.

It’s cold! Riley whined when he joined her. He pulled his coat up to his ears and held it closed around his neck.

You whine like a baby. I thought you came home to see your dad, not to be comfortable and cared for.

The walking path they dug around the town was only one person wide, so Riley had to stay a few paces behind Kate. Doing so, he had the urge to throw her in the snow and shove handfuls into her face. But the last time he’d done that, he was lectured by her brothers and his dad. So he settled for throwing a snowball at the back of her head.

Stoppit, Riley, she murmured without turning around.

He tried again.

Kate stopped and turned. Please. Knock it off!

What happened to fun Katie? he teased when they started walking again.

Kate remained silent the rest of the way to their street.

At the front door of his father’s house, Riley turned. Are you coming in?

She shook her head. I was with him all day yesterday. It looks like Tommy and James are back home anyway. She gestured at her house across the street. I’ll go return James’s existence now. She fingered the card in her pocket.

That’s not funny, Katie, Riley called.

It’s Kate! she corrected.

Riley grunted and disappeared into the house.

The smell of cooking potatoes and rabbit greeted Kate at her own front door. She stepped inside and found her brothers dishing up bowls of stew they had put on the stove to cook that morning.

The window looks nice, Kate said.

Don’t touch it! Tommy shouted and stood, reaching out to stop her but relaxed when he realized she had no intention of touching the new window. I worked on that all day.

Where have you been? James asked and gave her a bowl of stew.

Kate took the bowl and gave him his card. James understood. Did he come home with you?

She nodded.

Kate, I told you not to go.

Somebody had to tell him, James, she said, shedding her outer layers and moving to sit by the warm fire.

Phil told him.

Kate shook her head. Riley didn’t know.

You’re lucky you didn’t get caught, Tommy commented.

Yah, you’d like that wouldn’t you? Kate stuck her tongue out at him.

James, ignoring the interchange between the other two, said, Don’t do it again. If you got caught with my card…

I know, Riley told me, she answered and fell onto the couch. In less than a minute, Kate was asleep, exhausted by the worries and stresses she had hidden all day.

Chapter 3

Riley’s father, Dan, bounced back incredibly fast, as usual. And as usual, he shooed Doc away when he was told to slow down. "This is me slowing down," he said.

Doc was not humored, and neither were Dan’s sons. Riley and his older brother Phil would not leave their father’s side. If he turned over in his sleep, they immediately assessed the situation. Their lack of sleep and over worry caused them both to be impatient, and Dan to grow tired of their company.

Saturday morning, Dan sent his boys to get Kate, explaining that he needed to speak to her alone. After seeing the look of concern on their faces, she ran across the street to Dan’s bedside.

Good morning, princess, he greeted calmly, his eyes twinkling with some punchline known only to him.

She stood in the doorway. Good morning. Did I say something?

Dan winked. "No, no. It’s just that your smiling face is so much more pleasant to see than my boys."

Taking the chair next to him, Kate grinned dramatically. You seem to be feeling better.

Dan sat up straight and stretched his arms as wide as he could and then reached up over his head. Ready to run!

Kate’s smile faltered slightly, he laughed and took her hand. Kate had never grown accustomed to this type of teasing; it always made her sad. Dan couldn’t run. The fever that swept through Clandestine twelve years ago took the use of his legs, as well as his wife. It was that same fever that had taken Kate’s parents and baby sisters.

Dan bragged that he was too stubborn for the fever to beat him. And stubborn he was. He was also optimistic enough to keep the whole of Clandestine smiling. And he was strong. Even propped up in bed days after a heart attack, his shoulder and arm muscles were taught and waiting for manual labor. I need you to do me a favor, he said. Get my boys out of the house for a little bit.

Kate narrowed her eyes. You seem to do that just fine…you tricked them out.

And the second you go home they will be right back. Katelyn, they’re driving me crazy. All four of them act like I’m going to die at any moment, and they can’t stand to leave my side. Now he referred to not only his two sons, but Kate’s two brothers as well.

Kate relaxed. We’re just worried about you.

"All five of you then, Dan said with a smirk. I need a little rest to get better. I can’t sleep with eyes on me all the time. He scratched at his graying beard in thought. I’m serious, Katelyn. I’ll never get out of this bed if those boys don’t leave me alone!"

Kate’s mixed emotions must have shone in her gray eyes, and he read them perfectly. I will be fine, he persuaded. But only, if the five of you go have a little fun.

They’re not just going to go with me, she said, glancing out the window at the snow-covered peaks.

Dan reached out and took her hand. Katelyn, he said, pulling her face close to his. His eyes were kind but determined. "Take them snowshoeing. If anyone enters this house before dark, I will send you all to the farm for the day!"

Now, despite her best efforts, Kate smiled.

Don’t smile at me, Katelyn. I’m serious.

She nodded and bit the inside of her lips. For a price.

Name it.

Convince James to shave and Tommy to let me cut his hair for the wedding.

After some overly serious thought, Dan nodded.

We’ll bring back some dinner then, said Kate.

Dan clucked his tongue and winked. That’s my girl.

She leaned forward and hugged him quickly. You’re a stubborn man, Daddy Dan.

Kate left the house and snuck to her own, slipping through a tiny crack in the kitchen door out back so as not to make it squeak. She called Doc to watch after Dan for the day before breaking the news to the four boys who waited impatiently in the living room.

Chapter 4

The sun shone clear and unobscured in the bright blue sky as Kate and the boys reached the summit by Secret Lake. They stopped here and pulled out their lunches. There wasn’t much conversation as they ate the sandwiches, hastily put together before they had left the house. And that was fine. Kate knew these boys weren’t so much into talking as doing. As a group, they stared out over the frozen and snow-covered lake to the peaks on the other side. The light snow from last night had stopped, but it was early enough in the morning that crystallized flakes still clung to the pine boughs.

After a while, Phil and James took their guns and hiked up the ridge a little farther. Kate, her brother Tommy, and Riley only waited ten minutes before following them. Sure enough, as they walked, the sharp tongues were loosed. Before long, Kate could hear the two behind her meowing. She ignored them as long as she could, but finally, after uselessly gathering snow into her hands and dropping it behind her, she kept some and molded two balls until they were packed