Girl of Glass, #1

by Megan O'Russell

  “I never saw my dad with this.” She tried to push the cup away, but Jeremy lifted it back to her mouth.

  “He would have had it in the barracks, not at home. Drink up.”

  Grimacing, Nola took another sip.

  “You’ll be having this for meals for a few days.”

  “Lucky me.” Nola took a gulp and regretted it instantly.

  “You are very lucky.” Jeremy took her face in his hands, leaning in so his forehead touched hers. “And I am very lucky to have you home.”

  “Jeremy.”

  “I thought, when the raid didn’t get you”—Jeremy’s hands shook—“I thought we’d lost you for sure.”

  “The Outer Guard,” Nola said, freezing with the cup halfway to her mouth, “were they sent down to the tunnels to get me? Only to get me? Emanuel had already made a deal.”

  “We didn’t think they’d show at the bridge, and we couldn’t leave you with the blood suckers.”

  “But the guards. Six guards died.” The air vanished from the room. From the domes. “And vampires. Vampires died, too. Because of me.”

  Her glass shattered as it hit the floor.

  “No. Because of the Vampers that took you,” Jeremy said. “They took a citizen of the domes. We had to get you back. Those guards knew what they were getting into.”

  “Dead.” The line of guards, their bodies torn and twisted, flashed through Nola’s mind. “Bloody and dead because of me.”

  Sobs broke over her words. Gasping breaths racked her lungs, sending pain shooting into her heart. She had tried to help, and now there was blood on her hands.

  Jeremy bundled her into his arms. Hushing softly, he lay back on the bed, cradling her to his chest. “It’s all right, Nola. It’s over now. I’ll keep you safe. I love you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  It took two days for the doctors to allow Nola to go home. Two days of smiling sweetly and hoping no one looked too close. Jeremy stayed with her all the time, only leaving when Lenora came by for a few hours here and there.

  Three times the doctors had retested her blood, making sure the level of Vamp had decreased. Making sure she hadn’t been turned.

  A full set of guards came to escort Nola home. Lenora held onto Nola’s arm the whole way to Bright Dome, as though terrified Nola might crumble and fall. What Lenora should have been afraid of was the voice in the back of Nola’s mind screaming, Run!

  But how could Nola run when she was flanked by guards?

  Nola could sense Jeremy’s eyes on her back as they walked. He hadn’t said anything about her breakdown in the hospital. Only sat with her as she stared at the ceiling, wondering if the bodies of the guards had been returned to the domes or dumped into the river. He’d made small talk about the planting and had given regards from classmates. But mostly he had just held Nola tight as though he feared she would shatter into a thousand irreparable pieces. He didn’t know how right he was.

  “Here we are,” Lenora said when they approached the house, as though Nola might have forgotten what her home looked like in a week.

  “Thanks for walking me,” Nola said to the guards, looking at their boots instead of their faces.

  “You’re welcome, Miss Kent,” one of the guards said.

  Nola glanced up to the man’s face. He was broadly built with a square jaw and bright blond hair.

  “Your brother,” Nola forced the question out. “He was at Nightland?”

  “He was a brave man, miss,” the guard said, the sudden crease between his eyes his only show of grief. “He died a hero’s death.”

  “He did,” Lenora said, taking the guard’s hand. “And we are so very thankful.”

  The guard nodded to Lenora and looked back to Nola. “Welcome home.”

  Lenora kept her hand on Nola’s back as she guided her into the house.

  “Well,” Lenora said as soon as she had closed the kitchen door, leaving only herself, Nola, and Jeremy in the house, “I guess I should make dinner. A nice welcome home meal.”

  “You don’t have to,” Nola said. “You can go back to the lab.”

  “No.” Lenora shook her head, straightening Nola’s braid over her shoulder. “I want to make you a welcome home dinner. Jeremy, you’ll stay of course.”

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Jeremy said.

  “I think I’ll go to my room for awhile,” Nola said.

  The clanging of the pots and pans drilled into her ears as she climbed the steps.

  Nothing should be this normal. This calm.

  Jeremy’s footsteps followed her up the stairs.

  “I’m fine,” Nola said as she opened the door to her room. “I can find my…” but her words trailed off as she stared at her desk. A beautiful orchid waited for her.

  “Do you like it?” Jeremy asked. “It’s an old tradition. To bring your girl flowers.”

  “Where did you get it?”

  Bright purple speckled the white petals.

  “I have an in with the head of Plant Preservation,” Jeremy said.

  “It’s beautiful.” Nola turned to face Jeremy, feeling a genuine smile flicker across her face.

  “Not as beautiful as you.” Jeremy pressed his lips to the top of Nola’s head. “I love you.”

  He had said it a dozen times since Nola came back. She still didn’t know how to answer.

  “Jeremy, I—” How could she begin to break his heart?

  “Don’t,” Jeremy said, wrapping his arms around Nola. “I don’t need you to say it back. I don’t need you to tell me you want to spend the rest of your life with me.”

  Nola’s heart stopped as Jeremy tipped her chin up to meet his gaze.

  “But I need you to know that I love you. I’ve loved you for years, Nola, and if I hadn’t told you before they took you, if you hadn’t come back…”

  “But I did,” Nola whispered.

  “And now I have the chance to tell you every day,” Jeremy said. “I won’t lose that.”

  Nola pulled her gaze away, looking back at the flower. The bloom seemed so strong, so sturdy, but a fierce wind could break its stem. Damage it beyond repair.

  “I know you need time,” Jeremy said. “You need time to sort through everything that happened. But I’ll be here. I’ll help you any way I can. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  Nola’s heart skipped. For a moment, she wasn’t sure it would start beating again. For a moment, she didn’t want it to.

  “I’ll wait for you, Nola. As long as it takes.”

  “But what if I’m not here?” Nola said.

  Better to make a break. A clean break.

  Jeremy froze his arms still around Nola’s waist. “What you do mean not here?”

  “I can’t stay here. I can’t stay in the domes.” Now that she’d begun, the words tumbled out. “Eleven people died because of me. I can’t stay locked in here and pretend it didn’t happen. If I go out there, I could help people. There are gardens, ways to grow food out there. I could help people have food to eat. I could save lives. And then maybe those eleven deaths would mean something.”

  “They do mean something,” Jeremy said. “Those guards who went down after you were trained. They were doing their jobs.”

  “They should have left me!” Nola clamped her hands over her mouth. “But they didn’t. I’m here, and they’re dead. And the only way I can live with that is to make my life worth it.”

  “You can do that here,” Jeremy said, taking Nola’s hands in his larger ones, making her newly healed skin disappear beneath his grasp. “You are brilliant, like your mother. You can join botany, help with the work of the domes.”

  “That’s not good enough.” Tears stung her eyes. “There are people dying out there right now, and I can’t just pretend it isn’t happening. I’ve seen it. I can’t ignore it.”

  Jeremy studied Nola for a minute as though searching for a crack. “Fine. We’ll leave the domes.”

  “We’ll? Jeremy, no
you don’t understand.”

  “I lost you out there once. I won’t do it again. I love you, Nola, and love means finding a way to stay together. You go out there, I go, too.”

  “Jere—”

  “But not yet. You say you want to help people, and I understand that. But you haven’t even finished school yet. You finish school and do your apprenticeship, then we’ll go.”

  “An apprenticeship takes a couple of years. I can’t stay here that long. There are people out there who need help now.”

  “There will always be people who need help, Nola. But how much more good will you be able to do when you’re fully trained?”

  Nola buried her face in Jeremy’s shirt, shutting her eyes as tightly as she could bear.

  “Once your training’s done, we’ll ask to be released from the domes.” Jeremy held her tight, his broad shoulders surrounding her, blocking out everything else in the world. “I’ll have a few years as a guard by then. I’ll be able to protect you.”

  “Jeremy,” Nola said, not taking her face from his chest. “I can’t let you do that.”

  “You’re not letting me do anything,” Jeremy said.

  “And when we get sick?”

  Jeremy stepped back so Nola had to look at him. “I won’t let that happen.”

  He meant it.

  He would leave the domes for me. Leave everything he knows to follow me.

  “I should go down,” Jeremy said. “I don’t want your mother to get worried about my being up here. She made a whole list of rules for me.”

  “She did?”

  “Yep,” Jeremy said. “And I’ll follow them to a T. I don’t want to lose my ‘Nola privileges.’”

  Nola took Jeremy’s hand before he could leave. “How are you so good?”

  “Because”—Jeremy leaned down, brushing his lips against Nola’s—“I’ve spent a long time trying to become the kind of man you deserve.” He smiled and disappeared through the door.

  Nola went to the head of her bed, sinking down onto the floor. She took deep breaths, staring down at her perfect hands, trying not to let panic take her.

  Jeremy loved her. He was perfect and good. He would do anything to keep her safe.

  Kieran.

  They had said their goodbyes. She should leave him alone. He didn’t want her to be a part of Nightland, didn’t want to make her a vampire.

  Nola dug her fists into her eyes. Being a citizen of the domes meant making sacrifices to build a better world.

  The figures of the dead eleven swam into her mind. The people who would morn for them, the days they would never get to live.

  Nola reached into the desk drawer for a piece of paper. Her fingers closed around the tiny wooden tree Kieran had left for her.

  Her hand shook as she found a pen and began to write.

  * * *

  Dear Jeremy,

  I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m not the girl you need me to be. I have to go now. I can’t wait. I can’t survive it. Please don’t try to find me. More people will get hurt, and I can’t survive that either.

  Thank you. Thank you for being there even before I knew it was you holding me up. Please find another girl to love. Someone who can give you the life you deserve.

  I love you, Jeremy. You are good, and brave, and everything wonderful. I will always love you.

  Please forgive me,

  Nola

  * * *

  She folded up the paper and tucked it under the orchid. He would find it first. He would tear apart the domes searching for her. Nola tugged on her work boots and pulled her thick coat from the closet, hiding the tree charm in her pocket. She could sneak out now while they thought she was resting. She would go to the atrium. Sneak onto a truck and find a way out from there.

  Nola’s mother’s laugh rang up the stairs. She hadn’t heard her mother laugh like that in years. The urge to run to her mother and hold her close froze Nola in place. But if she went down the stairs, she might never find the courage to leave.

  Nola slipped the note back out from under the flower pot.

  Please explain to my mother. And tell her I’m sorry.

  She scrawled the words quickly and tucked the note back in place.

  Taking the I-Vent from her drawer, she slipped it into her pocket. Eden might need it. Sitting on the windowsill, she swung one leg out the window.

  BANG!

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The sound shook the glass of the dome as brilliant orange flames lit the night. Nola tumbled backwards into the room, hitting her head on the floor. The ceiling spun as shouts shot up from the kitchen.

  “Nola!” Jeremy shouted.

  “What’s happening?” Lenora screamed.

  Jeremy threw open Nola’s door.

  “Are you hurt?” he knelt by her side.

  “I fell,” Nola said, shaking her head and sending her vision spinning again, “but I’m fine.”

  Flashing red light poured through Nola’s window as the emergency siren blared to life.

  “Is she all right?” Lenora ran into the room.

  A piercing beep, beep, beep cut in between the siren’s wails.

  “We’re under attack.” The color drained from Lenora’s face. “The domes are under attack. I have to secure the seedlings.” Lenora looked down at Nola.

  “I’ll get her to the bunker,” Jeremy said, yanking Nola to her feet. “You go.”

  Lenora nodded and ran out the door.

  “Who’s attacking us?” Nola screamed as another explosion shook the house. A fresh burst of orange lit the night, coming from the direction of the atrium.

  “I don’t know,” Jeremy said, pulling Nola’s arm. “But we have to go.”

  He ran down the stairs and out into the night, half-carrying Nola as she struggled to keep up.

  Other figures dashed through the dark, heading for the tunnel. Nola couldn’t recognize the people in the flickering shadows of the fire that blazed in front of the atrium. There were two bunkers for catastrophes in the domes. Nola had always thought they were for natural disasters—a hurricane strong enough to destroy their home—but now the Domers ran from monsters in the dark.

  Tiny pops and bangs pounded through the glass as the guards added their weapons to the cacophony. At the base of the stairs Jeremy turned right, away from the atrium. The entrance to A bunker was there, under the vehicle site. But all the Domers ran away from the fighting, fleeing to the same hope of safety: the B bunker under the seed storage area.

  Nola sprinted next to Jeremy, her feet pounding as quickly as they could. She stepped on something soft and tumbled to the ground.

  “Nola!” Jeremy screamed, lifting her to her feet before she could see what she had tripped over. A man lay face down on the ground, blood pooling around him.

  Jeremy pushed Nola against the wall as another group came running by, barely missing trampling the man.

  “He’s breathing.” Jeremy hoisted the man over his shoulder. “We can’t leave him here.”

  A pop sounded in the hall behind them.

  “Go!” Jeremy pushed Nola in front of him.

  Down more stairs and past the Dome Guard’s quarters. The doors to the empty barracks sat open. All of them had gone to the atrium.

  Nola ran flat-out, Jeremy keeping up even with the added weight of the man.

  They sprinted down another hall. A knot of people ran toward them. Nola moved to the side, letting them pass on their way to the atrium. The red lights flashed overhead, lighting the corridor and glinting off a head of scarlet and purple hair sliding out from under a hat.

  “Raina!” Nola screamed.

  Raina glanced back then picked up speed, running to the head of the knot of vampires, each wearing a heavily sagging pack.

  “Stop!” Nola turned and tore back up the hall after the vampires.

  “Nola, no!”

  She heard Jeremy’s shout but didn’t slow down.

  She sprinted up the stairs, ignoring the pain in her
lungs, reaching the top just in time to see the last of the vampire pack round a corner toward the atrium. Nola pounded after them. People fled from the fight up ahead. Wounded guards were being carried into the hall, but there were still sounds of fighting coming from the atrium.

  “Stop them!” Nola shouted to a group of guards that ran past her down to the tunnels Nola had just run out of, but the guards kept moving, their eyes focused front. Just before the atrium, the vampires turned left into the entrance for the small Grassland Dome.

  Nola followed, barely hearing the shout of “Nola!” behind her.

  The Grassland Dome had always been quiet and peaceful, filled with the rustling of grass. But tonight, screams rent the air. The explosion that had shattered the atrium had broken apart the glass here as well. A wide swath of the dome wall had shattered.

  The vampires ran toward the break in the glass. In a moment, they would be outside. Nola couldn’t catch them.

  A group of guards ran in from the night, weapons raised high, blocking the way out.

  Something hit Nola hard in the back, knocking her to the ground before a series of pops blasted over the bedlam.

  “Stay down.” Jeremy pinned Nola to the ground.

  “Their bags.” Nola shoved Jeremy off of her, trying to stand. “Their bags are full. They stole from us!”

  Nola looked around wildly, half-expecting Emanuel to appear out of the dark and explain what was happening.

  “I’ll warn the guards.” Jeremy leapt to his feet and charged toward the fight.

  The guards battled hand-to-hand with the vampires now. Knifes and clubs flashed in the night.

  “Jeremy!” Nola screamed after him. The vampires would tear him apart. “Jeremy.”

  Nola ran after him, ignoring the sting as the tall grass tore at her legs. More vampires and guards had joined the fight, with more appearing from the darkness every moment. Jeremy charged toward the middle of it.

  Nola ducked as a pipe flew from the hand of a fighter, whizzing only a breath away from her skull. A cold hand grabbed Nola’s wrist, jerking her back.

  Before Nola could look at the face of the man who had grabbed her, he knocked her to the ground, planting a knee in her stomach. The man smiled and bared his glistening white fangs that were already stained red with blood.