Hunting by Stars

For the final test, French’s targets are a young woman, a little girl, and a man in his mid-fifties. French must extract them and bring them to the school. He is sickened at the prospect of such a mission but knows that he must comply for the sake of the longer game he is playing. After a briefing with Recruiters, French and Mitch are deposited by a black van at the drop-off point. Being in the wild makes French feel alive, but he hides his excitement from Mitch, who thinks the wild is “terrible” (223). They find the camp and spot the man, who goes by the name of JP. French and Mitch tell him that they are runaways just passing through. The man seems quick to believe the explanation, but the young woman who joins him, Therese, is warier and brandishes a knife. The man asks Therese to lower her knife, and a storm forces everyone to take cover in JP’s tent. The other inhabitant is Sunny, Therese’s seven-year-old daughter. Mitch suggests that everyone move close to the road since the camp is now too wet, so JP orders Sunny and Therese to start packing. French finds JP unbearable and wonders how he has managed to last this long in the wild with his loud