Monsters of Men (67 page)

      Todd–

               Todd–

That’s me–

      (I think–)

            (Yes–)

                  And that voice, that voice saying those words–

“
. . . say ‘ain’t’ all you like, Todd, I promise not to correct you . . .”

         Is that Viola’s voice?

Is it?

(Is it you?)

Because I’m hearing it more often lately, more often as the days pass, as I’m flying thru these memories and spaces and darknesses–

      I’m hearing it more often among all the other millions–

“. . .
Yer calling for me, and I will answer . . .”

      I will answer–

Todd will answer–

Viola?

         Are you calling for me?

               
Keep
calling for me–

                     Keep doing it, keep coming to save me–

      Cuz every day yer closer–

               I can almost hear you–

I can almost–

Is that you?

            Is that
us
?

Is that what we did?

Viola?

            Keep calling for me–

                     And I’ll keep searching for you–

And I’ll find you–

            You bet yer life on it–

I’ll find you–

Keep calling for me, Viola–

Cuz here I come.

PATRICK NESS
is the author of the Chaos Walking trilogy, which includes
The Knife of Never Letting Go,
winner of the
Guardian
Children’s Fiction Prize;
The Ask and the Answer,
winner of the Costa Children’s Book Award; and
Monsters of Men.
He has written two books for adults and is a literary critic for the
Guardian.
He says, “Even in a society where we’re constantly being told to ‘be ourselves,’ the pressure to conform is terrible, especially for the young. If the Chaos Walking trilogy is about anything, it’s about identity, finding out who you are. How do you stay an individual when the pressure to conform, to change who you are, is actually life-threatening?” Born in Virginia, Patrick Ness lives in London.