“It’s okay, baby. I’m a Watcher,” he said, smirking. “Sometimes, a Watcher can select a farmer to share a drink with. I’m choosing you.” He bopped me on the nose with his fingertip. “That makes you lucky.”
I didn’t feel lucky. “I’m sorry. I don’t drink.”
“Have you ever tried it before?” Watcher Milton asked.
I shook my head. I had no desire to start either.
“It’ll help you sleep.” He took a step closer. “Nightshine will help the day go faster.”
“I don’t think the drink will help the day go faster.”
“You want dreem? I can probably get my hands on that if you prefer,” Watcher Milton said, raising a brow.
I shook my head. No one could make me ingest that toxic drug. Dreem was a poison that ate people from the inside out until they were a shell of themselves.
“No,” I said firmly. “I don’t want any of that either.”
My voice had been overly harsh. His eyebrows slanted at my words.
“You think you’re too good for me?” Watcher Milton asked, taking a step closer.
He wasn’t more than a few inches away. He coughed, and my entire body jerked when a glob of his saliva smacked into the side of my head.
“You’re the farmer. I’m the Watcher. You should be grateful. Down on your fucking knees, grateful that I chose you,” Watcher Milton said. “You’re disgusting.”
“It isn’t allowed,” I said, as if that was my best excuse. Even if things were different, he was the last person, besides Commander Godfrey, I’d spend time with.
“You’re fucking pathetic, but I suppose you already knew that,” Watcher Milton said as he looked around. He took a quick swig from his bottle before tucking it back into his waistband under his shirt. “I can’t believe I even asked someone as nasty as you.”
We both turned sharply at the sound of someone clearing their throat. Ivy was standing there, with her hands clasped together and her head down.
“Keeper Marie sent me,” she said.
“Get out of here,” Watcher Milton said, gesturing toward the cabins. “Both of you.”
I dashed to Ivy and squeezed her hand as I dragged her away from the Watcher. If he changed his mind about letting us go, we could both end up in trouble.
“Keeper Marie sent you?” I asked.
“No,” Ivy said. “I saw the worried look on your face.”
“You came to check on me,” I asked.
She nodded. “Don’t get all weird about it. What did he want?”
“I don’t even want to tell you,” I said.
“You owe me that much, don’t you think? After all, I did help you,” Ivy said.
“He wanted me to drink nightshine with him. I declined,” I said, feeling a touch of relief when I spotted our cabin.
Ivy looked back over her shoulder. I pulled her along. I wouldn’t be able to take in a full breath until we were back inside our cabin.
“Why did he ask you?” she wondered as I pulled open the door.
My eyes narrowed. “Because I didn’t keep up with you. I guess I learned my lesson.”
“Why didn’t you come with us?” she asked.
“I just wanted some time alone,” I said, stepping up to the window. I wanted to make sure we hadn’t been followed. There wasn’t anything that would stop Watcher Milton if he wanted to come inside our cabin.
Farmer Watson sat up on her bed, looking back and forth between us. She looked like she was trying to decipher what we were discussing.
I probably should have explained, but I didn’t feel like it. I especially didn’t feel like it when I saw Steph’s empty bed. A bed that wouldn’t be empty for much longer.
“I’m tired,” I said. “It’s been a long day.”
“Sure has,” Ivy said, dropping down on her mattress.
I kicked off my boots and rested my head on my pillow. When I closed my eyes, I could still smell a faint reminder of Watcher Brody’s soap.
“Can’t believe she’s really gone,” Ivy said.
My eyes popped open, and my body stiffened. I didn’t want to talk about Steph, and it showed on my face.
“Sorry,” Ivy said, picking at her fingernails. “It’s just really sad.”
“Yes, goodnight,” I said, closing my eyes.
I attempted to find a hint of the calming soapy scent so I could pretend I was back at Watcher Brody’s home and not stuck in my cabin. My reality was hell, but that didn’t mean my dreams had to be.
I woke abruptly. My fingers dug into the mattress, feeling completely out of breath. I couldn’t remember my dream, but I’d probably been running away from Watcher Milton.
I swung my legs over the side of my bed and wiped the sweat from my forehead. My arms and legs tingled. I got to my feet, shaking my arms as I walked to the window.
The paths were lit, but the sky was nearly pitch black. It would have been a good night to look at the stars hanging in the sky. I was too afraid to even take a step outside of the cabin. Watch Milton could be stumbling around drunk on his nightshine, and I didn’t want to run into him… ever.
I exhaled and turned back to my bed. I didn’t take more than a few steps before noticing Ivy’s bed was empty.
My eyes darted around as if I’d find her hiding in the corner. Of course, she wasn’t there. Ivy was gone.
28
I opened the door and peeked out my head. The paths were empty.
“Ivy,” I whispered into the darkness. “Where are you?”
I didn’t feel comfortable stepping outside of the cabin. Even if I did, I wouldn’t know where to go.
I went back inside and sat down on my bed. My nerves made me pop back up to check out the window. I paced, wondering if I should go wake Keeper Marie.
What if Ivy had made a friend and sneaked out? She’d hate me for getting Keeper Marie involved. Of course, Ivy hadn’t ever gone out at night, and it was pretty unlikely that she would start.
I sat back down, combing my fingers nervously through my hair. It was so quiet I could hear my fingernails scraping against my scalp. It sounded like feet against the pebbles of the path.
My hands stopped, but the sounds continued. I was actually hearing footsteps, and they were coming closer.
I dashed to the window, but the door opened before I got there. Ivy spilled into the room and dropped to the floor.
Her dirt-covered face was streaked with tears. The bottom of her smock had been torn several inches.
“Ivy!” I said, falling to my knees. “What happened? Are you okay?”
I saw the fresh blood that had soaked into the front of her smock. Quickly, I crawled to the door and slammed it shut.
“Farmer Watson,” I hissed.
She rolled over and looked at me through half-closed eyelids. It took a few seconds for the annoyance to wash away and for her to see something was wrong.
“Help me get her to bed,” I said.
Farmer Watson rolled out of bed and grabbed Ivy’s other arm. It was a massive effort, but we got Ivy onto her bed.
Farmer Watson aggressively poked her finger into my arm. Her eyes were wide.
“I don’t know what happened. She just came in like that,” I said. “She needs a new smock.”
Farmer Watson pointed at the door.
“Keeper Marie?” I shook my head. “I don’t think she needs that.”
Farmer Watson’s gaze quickly shifted down. I glanced over my shoulder at slow footsteps tapping the wooden floor.
“What is going on in here, ladies?” Keeper Marie barked as she crossed her arms. “There have been numerous reports to the Keepers about noises and I thought, surely it can’t be my ladies. Yet here I am. Made to look like a fool yet again.”
“Sorry,” I said, folding my hands together.
My head was down. The only things I could see were our feet and Ivy lying on the bed.
Ivy started sobbing. I watched as the front of her smock turned dark and a sma
ll puddle collected on top of her mattress before soaking in.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Keeper Marie said, yanking her off the bed.
Ivy crashed to the ground with a heavy thud. At first, I thought she was crying, but it quickly turned into laughter. Her eyes opened and rolled around.
“I feel better,” Ivy slurred.
“You feel better?” Keeper Marie shouted. “You’ve made me the laughingstock of the entire farms, but at least you feel better after wetting yourself like an infant.”
Keeper Marie kicked her with the top of her boot so hard Ivy rolled onto her back. It didn’t seem to bother her as she looked at the ceiling and laughed.
“Is this your doing?” Keeper Marie asked inches from my face. Our noses nearly touched.
“No!” I said, but I did have an idea who was responsible.
“He shouldn’t have done that to me,” Ivy said. Her head rolled back and forth on the ground as she tried to focus on me.
I pressed my lips together. “Are you okay?”
“No,” Ivy said. “Am I still alive?”
My eyes stung. I didn’t want to cry with Keeper Marie there.
“You’re going to be okay,” I said.
“Shut up!” Keeper Marie said, slapping me across the face.
My sadness dissipated instantly. A raging fire seared my veins. My hand clenched into a fist, but before I could throw it into Keeper Marie’s face, Farmer Watson grabbed it.
I almost thought I’d heard her whisper the word ‘no,’ but that wasn’t possible.
“Clean up her mess and get to sleep,” Keeper Marie said, turning her back to me. “I’m the only one that can’t keep her farmers under control. The laughingstock. I hope you girls are happy.”
Farmer Watson grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back. She was worried I would do something that would get me killed. Maybe I almost had.
Keeper Marie grabbed Ivy’s arms and pulled her out of the cabin. They weren’t more than ten feet away when Ivy started crying for help.
It wasn’t long before I couldn’t hear her voice. Farmer Watson and I stood there in the silence.
“Did you speak?” I asked.
Farmer Watson’s eyes narrowed as she shook her head. She turned, exhaling as she pressed her fingers to her forehead. Her eyes were on the puddle on the mattress.
I watched as she pulled the sheet off the bed and rolled it into a ball. She bravely touched the mattress, but quickly pulled back her hand.
“Wet?” I asked.
She nodded.
“How do we clean that?”
Farmer Watson held up a finger. She grabbed one side of the mattress and gestured at the other side. I grabbed the edges, and we flipped it to the other side.
She touched the mattress and shrugged. I looked over at Steph's bed.
“Maybe we should switch them?”
Farmer Watson smiled.
After we swapped the mattresses, we walked together to drop off the soiled linens for washing and collected new ones. I was constantly looking over my shoulder, afraid of who might be lurking in the shadows behind us.
We made it back to the cabin, and Farmer Watson fixed the bed for Ivy while I cleaned the floor. At least when she returned, she’d have clean sheets to go along with her new mattress.
I laid down and stared at the wall. I should have told Farmer Watson what had happened to Ivy, but the truth was, I didn’t know. My guess as to what had happened, however, was probably pretty accurate.
Why would she have willingly gone to Watcher Milton? How much of our conversation had she heard?
Ivy probably wouldn’t want me to say anything to anyone. If it resulted in Watcher Milton getting punished, though, she wouldn’t have been able to stop me. Of course, he wasn’t the one that would get in trouble.
At some point, my eyes closed. It hadn’t been long before they popped open to what sounded like horrified cries and screams.
I thought it must have been more bad dreams, but when I saw the look on Farmer Watson’s face, I knew the sounds weren’t in my head. They were real.
29
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Farmer Watson shook her head as she placed her feet on the floor. She rubbed her eyes and stared at the floor. I watched her expressions change as we listened to the sounds outside our cabin.
I pulled on my boots. I thought Farmer Watson was going to stop me, but she put on her boots and followed me to the door.
“Wait here,” I said.
She shook her head. I could see in her glassy eyes she didn’t want to be left alone.
I opened the door to the chaos. Farmers were running down the paths, flailing their arms as they cried and shouted for help.
“Get Commander Godfrey to the park!” one of the Keepers squawked in a high-pitched voice.
“I think he’s aware of the situation,” another Keeper called back.
Farmer Watson grabbed my sleeve, holding tightly as we walked down the path. We shouldn’t have left the cabin without Keeper Marie’s permission from Keeper Marie, but she wasn’t around. I was almost certain that no one would bother to question us with everything that was going on around us.
Someone had mentioned the park. It seemed as though everyone was desperately trying to flee from something. I was the only one walking toward the park.
A farmer across the path looked at me. She placed her hands on her cheeks and screamed at the top of her lungs. Her eyes rolled back into her, and she collapsed to the ground.
The woman behind her called for her Keeper. I stared at the much calmer woman on her knees next to the woman who had fainted.
“What’s going on?” I asked softly.
“A man’s been hung in the park. A Watcher,” she said, sucking in a sharp breath. “Everyone is panicked. Don’t go that way. You don’t want to see him. It’s awful.”
The Keeper appeared, glancing at me as she dropped down next to the woman. I turned and quickly walked away before he had a chance to stop us.
Farmer Watson pulled on my smock. She was trying to stop me from going toward the park.
“You can go back to the cabin and wait for me there,” I said. “I’ll come back and update you. I don’t want you to get in any kind of trouble.”
Farmer Watson shook her head. She held onto me as if her life depended on it. Sadly, it was more likely the opposite was true. Staying with me would put her life in danger.
I cautiously approached the park. My eyes darted in every direction as I tried to take everything in.
The area was empty except for Commander Godfrey and a few Watchers near the tree. They looked at the Watcher in the tree as he sways side to side.
The acidic taste on my tongue made it hard to swallow. Farmer Watson pressed her face into my back.
“It’s okay,” I said softly. I was trying to soothe her, but I had no idea if it really was okay. Nothing seemed okay.
I took another step but stopped when the face of the man in the tree turned toward us. Red streaks ran down his cheeks as though he’d cried blood. His mouth hung open as if he were releasing a soundless scream.
I didn’t need to get any closer. I knew who was hanging from the tree, even though his face was swollen. It turned my stomach, but I didn’t feel bad for Watcher Milton. Not even a little.
I wasn’t exactly sure what he’d done to Ivy, but I had a feeling he deserved to be in the tree for his actions. She’d been drunk, bruised, and whatever he’d done had caused her to bleed. He was guilty.
“Okay, let’s go back,” I said.
Farmer Watson’s head bobbed frantically. We walked quickly back to the cabin and closed the door behind us.
She sat down on her bed and covered her ears to block out the screams that had only slightly eased. I exhaled as I stared at Ivy’s bed.
“Why isn’t she back?” I asked. Farmer Watson hadn’t heard me. “And where is Keeper Marie?”
Farmer Watson’s knee b
ounced as she turned to me. Confusion leaked from her eyes.
“I think Ivy was with that Watcher who was in the tree,” I whispered.
Farmer Watson held out her hands and shook them. She wanted to know more.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m not even sure if that’s what happened. When he talked to me last night, he was trying to get me to go with him and drink nightshine. Ivy was standing there… I think she heard.”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know why she would have gone to him,” I said, feeling the tightness in my brows. “Curiosity? Sick of feeling trapped.”
Farmer Watson nodded.
We both got to our feet when we heard sounds on the other side of the door. I lowered my head as the doorknob jiggled.
The door opened slowly. Each step on the floor was slow but familiar.
“Morning ladies,” Keeper Marie said.
My eyes flicked up just enough to see her bruised cheek. She closed the door and released a painful sounding exhale.
“Morning Blessings,” I said quickly.
“Enough,” she said, rubbing her palms together. Her body was slightly turned toward me. “I don’t know what you know about last night, but I can’t help but think you’re somehow responsible.”
“Responsible for what?” I said, grinding my teeth together to stop myself from lunging at her.
She snorted. “That Watcher you were talking to is dead. He brought that illegal substance onto the farms, and as you saw last night, he gave it to Farmer Sterling. We won’t be seeing her around here again.”
“What?” I said, shifting my eyes upward.
I didn’t give a shit what the awful woman would do to me. Waltzing in here and blaming me because Ivy sneaked away to drink with a potential rapist.
I gasped when my eyes landed on her face. Each eye was black and blue. Keeper Marie’s bottom lip had been busted near the center. There were red marks around her neck, as if she’d been choked.
“What did they do to you?” I asked, covering my mouth with my hand.
“I tried to help her,” Keeper Marie said. “I should have gone straight to Commander Godfrey. Lucky for me, I’ve been given a second chance. Farmer Ripley was not so lucky.”
After The Fires | Book 2 | The Trials Ahead Page 15