The Union

by T. H. Hernandez

  Marcus’s calm reason breaks through my rising panic. “Your first instinct was to get the hell out of there. Trust your gut.”

  Fear envelopes his words, obscuring them, stifling rational thought.

  “Ev, listen to me,” Cyrus says. “You can’t go storming back there demanding answers. You need a plan.”

  “You can’t be serious, Cy,” Sonia says. “She can’t go back there, period.”

  He sighs and scratches the back of his head. “If you insist on doing this, I’m going with you.”

  “You can’t just waltz up, knock on the door, and start asking questions,” Marcus says.

  “Yeah, I realize that.” Now.

  Sonia shakes her head and mumbles, “You’re all crazy.”

  “That’s just it, Sonia, we’re not the crazy ones,” I say. “Something weird is going on. They were talking about massive weapons and blowing up the Union. It would be easy to dismiss it as just talk, because they were drunk. But you didn’t see their guns, and now that underground bunker…”

  “I’ve never seen anything like those rifles. They were…” Cyrus shakes his head and describes them to Sonia and Marcus.

  “The people of the Union are unarmed. If they’re attacked, it’ll be a slaughter,” I say.

  We’re all quiet for a few minutes before Sonia asks, “How many solar panels were there?”

  “I’m not sure. Ten or so. It was hard to tell, because they’re trying to hide them.”

  “Okay,” Sonia sighs, the stiffness in her shoulders releasing as she rolls her neck. “That’s not a big enough base to take down the Union, no matter how deep underground it goes. It might be one of many, or just the first step in early planning of something months or years away.”

  The logical part of my brain knows this makes sense, and it helps settle the irrational half.

  Cyrus takes my hand, his voice soft. “We need a plan, a good one. Nothing’s going to happen today. Let’s go back to the house and talk to Lucien and Draya. We’ll figure something out. Okay?”

  I nod and he lets out an audible sigh. Once again, the emotional Union girl acted without thinking, putting everyone on edge. By the time darkness falls, we’re still several hours from home. Cyrus doesn’t want to arrive at night, so Sonia and Marcus will go ahead of us in the morning to scope things out before I return to the house.

  We set up our tents in the woods about a two-hour walk from the house. Sonia and Marcus turn in as soon as they finish dinner. Cyrus and I stay by the fire, sipping tea as thunder in the distance reminds me monsoon season is still in full swing. I lean against his churning through the events of the past twenty-four hours in my head.

  “You’re going back, aren’t you?” He asks, and something about the tone in his voice rips through my heart.

  I don’t know that I’d come to that conclusion yet, but now that he’s voiced it, I know it’s true. “I have to. I can’t just let innocent people be massacred. I have to at least try to warn them,” I whisper, choking back the heartache shredding my soul as I realize this means I’m leaving him.

  My universe tips as pain and loss twist together, battling with fear and responsibility. And then words fall from my mouth before they have a chance to enter my brain. “Come with me.”

  His eyes rest on mine and time stops. Something flashes in his whiskey-colored eyes, giving me hope. As much as I want to persuade him, I need him to come with me for his own reasons.

  He sighs and pulls me to his chest, wrapping his arms around me. I inhale his scent, the natural, earthy smell mixed with sunshine that is his alone. Pressing his lips to my temple, he says quietly, “You’re my world, Ev. Where you go, I go.”

  31

  Where You Go, I Go

  Sonia and Marcus are gone when we wake. After a quick breakfast, we pack up and hike to the hideaway to wait for them. They arrive soon after and tell us the coast is clear.

  Butterflies scramble in my stomach as we near the house. I didn’t realize how much I missed my Ruins family. Everyone is out back waiting for us, and Ben runs up to hug me. Ty leaps into my arms the second Ben lets me go, while Lucien wraps his brother in a bear hug.

  “I love your hair!” Ally squeals. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”

  I’m floored when Draya embraces me. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually missed your ass.”

  After hauling our gear inside, we sit in the dining room to talk. Lucien glances across the table at me, his ebony eyes meeting mine. “A group came by looking for you, Evan.”

  A chill trickles down my spine. “What did they say?”

  “That you were a friend and they were concerned for your safety.”

  “At least they’re getting more creative,” Draya says. “They sent a bunch of teens this time, including a girl.”

  My head snaps around. “What did they look like?”

  “A black guy, a blond guy and his girlfriend, and a tall kid,” Will says.

  My pulse quickens. “Ummm…the black guy…”

  “Totally hot? Oh yeah,” Draya says before I can ask if he has gray eyes.

  “Wicked hot,” Ally says under her breath.

  “What about the girl?”

  “She was a little taller than you, blond, cute,” Will says.

  It’s gotta be my friends, and I get why Bryce and Jack are looking for me out here, but why are Lisa and with them? Maybe they kidnapped them and forced them to come.

  I’m vaguely aware of Cyrus filling the others in on what we overheard near the power station and about what I discovered. Wrapped up in a fog, trying to process my Union friends being out here, I don’t realize Lucien’s talking to me until he calls my name.

  I turn to him. “Huh? Sorry.”

  “Describe what you saw. What do you remember?”

  I tell him about the cord coming out of the ground and the solar panels, being as descriptive as possible, but I’m still preoccupied. “What did you tell them,” I ask.

  “Tell who what?” Lucien asks.

  “The group that came looking for me. What did you tell them?”

  “We told them the same story we told Walker. If they’re working together, the stories will match.”

  “What did they say?”

  Lucien locks eyes with me. “What’s going on, Evan?”

  “I think those were my friends, I think they were telling you the truth.”

  His gaze darts to Cyrus then back to me. “They seemed genuinely concerned for you. But they also seemed to believe us and left not long after.”

  “I don’t get what they’re doing out here,” I say. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “It makes sense to me,” Cyrus says, low enough that only I can hear, before he gets up and heads outside.

  The domed ceiling is bathed in moonlight and dark shadows reach across the walls like fingers. I let out a long sigh, missing Cyrus’s arms around me after spending the past week with him. My head rides a carousel of thoughts before I give up on sleep and make my way outside.

  Cyrus is sitting on the rock, and my mind calms at the sight of him. The rain stopped hours ago and the sky is crystal clear, making it appear as if the heavens are touching the ground. Cyrus scoots over to make room for me, but doesn’t offer me a hand up.

  I sit next to him, hugging my knees. “Can’t sleep?”

  “No. You?”

  I lean my head against his shoulder and close my eyes. A sudden thought of what might explain his recent aloofness sends unease skipping through me. “Are you having second thoughts about coming with me?”

  “No.” He takes a slow breath. “Are you having second thoughts about asking me to come?”

  I lift my head and gape at him “Of course not. How can you even ask that?”

  “Things are different now.”

  A mixture of confusion, anger, fear, and sadness blasts through me. I stiffen and try to calm my racing heart. I don’t know what to say in response. After a few minutes of thick sile
nce, I ask, “Different how?”

  He shifts next to me but doesn’t respond. We sit quietly for a long time as I refuse to give in to the impulse to go back in the house, slamming the door behind me. I’m trying to be the new me, the less impulsive me.

  “Different how?” I ask again, fighting the incredible hurt building inside me. His continued silence is deafening, until it’s too much. “Do you not want to be with me anymore?”

  He turns and takes my face in his hands, kissing me with a soft desperation. When he pulls back, he leans his forehead against mine. I can tell he wants to say something and the fact that he’s holding back is freaking me out.

  He cups my face, his thumbs gliding over my cheeks. “I’m barely hanging on here, Ev, waiting for you to disappear out of my life as suddenly as you landed in it.”

  His tone rips straight through me and my soul aches for him. I’m touched that he’s allowed me to see even this smallest hint of vulnerability. When I lift my eyes to meet his, I see my own fears reflected in his eyes, but I’m not sure how to respond. I want to reassure him, but I can’t because I’m going back with or without him.

  He kisses me again, harder this time, pouring all the emotion I just saw in his eyes into the kiss. When we go back inside, I pull him up the stairs and into my room, falling asleep in his arms, where I belong.

  We sit around the table after breakfast, sipping tea and brainstorming. We don’t have a plan for warning the residents of the Union without risking everyone in the Ruins, nor do we have any ideas for finding out more about an attack on the Union. Since we aren’t making any headway on those, I try to tackle one of the easier problems.

  “We need forged Union credentials for Cyrus. How do we get those?”

  Lucien looks up from the rim of his mug he’s been circling with his finger. “I hate to say it, but if your friend is a smuggler, he’s our best bet.”

  Cyrus bristles next to me. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  “What if someone out here wanted a Union ID and money was no object, who would they go to?”

  Marcus’s face lights up, a huge smile spreading across his face. He leans back in his chair and puts his hands behind his head. “Dag.”

  My stomach curdles. “I don’t trust him.”

  “No one trusts him, but if you want someone who’s connected, he’s your guy,” Marcus says.

  “I prefer Lucien’s idea. Plus, we need Bryce and Jack anyway.”

  Lucien’s gaze flicks from Cyrus back to me. “What for?”

  “I have to tell my family something when I go back. I have an idea, but I need my friends to be on board with it. I’m still not sure what’s going on there, though. Bryce and Jack need me back in the Union as much as Walker does, but I don’t get why they dragged Lisa and Colin along.”

  “I thought the blond guy and the girl were together,” Ally says, twisting the tag of her tea bag.

  “What do you mean ‘together’?”

  “Well, he was holding her hand when they first got here and had his arm around her later.” She shrugs. “I just assumed.”

  “I can’t believe my two best friends would willingly go along with a couple of smugglers. They must not know. Or maybe Jack and Bryce are using Lisa and Colin somehow.” I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter, I guess, since it doesn’t change what we need to do.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Lucien asks.

  “We could say I met Cyrus on the train and then went sailing off the Southeastern Peninsula.” I pause, realizing this plan has a big flaw, well, four actually. “My friends know that’s not true, though. I was with Bryce on the train, and since the four of them are still together…”

  “She’s got a point, Cy,” Marcus says.

  “Is this Bryce guy going to go all jealous boyfriend and rat Cyrus out?” Draya asks.

  “I…we weren’t involved all that long, but…” Tension rolls off Cyrus in waves next to me “I don’t really know him. I thought I did, but clearly I didn’t, so I have no idea what he will or won’t do.”

  “That’s not even our biggest problem,” Draya says. “I still don’t understand what you’re hoping to accomplish in the Union. You can’t warn the government. The only sure way to prevent an attack is to bomb us to hell and back. If you tell them, we’re as good as dead. So, what’s your plan?”

  “I don’t know.” I let out a long frustrated sigh. “Union citizens are unarmed and totally unprepared for any kind of an attack. You can’t make me choose between the people I love here and back home. That’s a choice I won’t make.”

  The smell of wet earth pervades the warm evening air and humidity hangs heavy around me. The stars blink to life as I stare up at the twilight sky, trying to figure out a way to make this all work without involving Bryce, but I’m coming up empty.

  On top of that, I need a way to warn the people of the Union without risking everyone in the Ruins. The situation is impossible, and I blow out a puff of air. I’m about to go to bed when an idea sparks inside, taking hold. While I can’t control any of this, maybe I can find a way to work within the natural order of things.

  Excitement builds and I want to talk it over with Cyrus, have him help me flesh it out, but he disappeared after dinner. His crappy attitude about Bryce is wearing thin and I’m not sure I want to deal with it anymore tonight.

  Disappointed and feeling more isolated than I have in a while, I go up to my room and climb into my bed, alone.

  32

  The Spark of an Idea

  This morning I’m more hopeful than last night, and after dressing, I head out in search of Cyrus. He’s not in the house, so I wander outside, checking the chicken coop before heading to the barn. Lucien’s finishing up milking as I enter.

  “Morning. Have you seen Cyrus?”

  Lucien glances up and smiles before picking up a rake. “He went to the trading post.”

  “Oh.” I pick up the other rake and work silently next to Lucien, grateful for a return to our normal routine. I didn’t realize how much I missed the rhythm of my days here.

  “He loves you, Evan, but he’s never been in love before.” He stops and directs his dark gaze my way. “Cy was only fourteen when the tornado ripped his life apart and turned it upside down. Then you landed in our lives out of nowhere and turned his world upside down again. His life tends to change suddenly — it’s what he knows but also what he fears.”

  I study Lucien’s handsome face that looks so much like his brother’s. “What can I do to convince him he’s not going to lose me?”

  Lucien places his hands atop the rake handle, resting his chin on them. “Give him some time, he’ll come around.”

  “We don’t have a lot of time.”

  He scratches the back of his neck and studies me with a thoughtful expression. “He’ll do what he needs to when it needs to be done. The rest will work itself out.” Lucien sets his rake against the side of the barn and puts his arm around my shoulder. “You’re a part of this family now, part of my family, and the people in my family work things out. No matter how long it takes.”

  “Thanks, Lucien. I’ll try to talk to him when he gets back.”

  He kisses the side of my head and we finish cleaning the barn before heading in for breakfast.

  After cleaning up the kitchen, I head back out to pick berries. It’s already beyond hot, and soon sweat is running into my eyes. I stand to swipe my forearm across my face, and someone grabs me from behind. Terror crawls up my spine as I look for something to fend off my attacker with.

  Before I can formulate a defensive plan, soft lips nuzzle my neck and rough stubble grazes my shoulder. Hot breath fanning my skin and firm hands on my waist do nothing to calm my pounding heart. I twist around and Cyrus’s mouth finds mine.

  He breaks the kiss and rests his forehead against mine. “I’m sorry.”

  Relieved that he’s not avoiding me anymore, I can’t wipe the dopey grin off my face. “You didn’t say goodbye this morning.�
��

  “I know. I left before you woke. I went to the trading post to put out the word that you’re back. Hopefully that’ll draw your friends back to us.”

  His resigned expression pulls at my heart and I want to reassure him. “I know you don’t like Bryce being here, but if it wasn’t for him, I never would’ve met you. He’s the one who convinced me to leave home and not to settle for a life I didn’t want. I’d still be in the Union working for my stepdad if he hadn’t. And if he didn’t care for me, Walker wouldn’t have kidnapped me.”

  He doesn’t respond, but his faraway gaze and clenched jaw tell me he’s processing my words. I return to picking, my fingers turning dark from the juices of the blackberries, forming burgundy rivers where it settles into scratches from the thorns.

  When my bucket is full, I turn to see Cyrus watching me, his eyes intense. “I’m sorry for everything you went through, Ev, but I’ll never be sorry I met you.”

  Something deep passes between us, an understanding of what we found in each other. I lean over and kiss his cheek. I’ve been through a lot in the past few months, but I found my second family, the boy I love, and quite possibly my purpose in life.

  Cyrus and I prepare for our trip to the Union while we wait for my friends to circle back around to us. A hole the size of a basketball bores its way through my chest whenever I think about leaving. Lucien, Draya, Marcus, and Sonia are trying to find out what they can about a planned attack on the Union, but details are sketchy. Rumors flourish at the trading post, but weeding the facts from the garden of myths is difficult, especially with the myths growing exponentially every day.

  “They’re looking for recruits,” Lucien says. “We might be able to get more info if we join up.”

  “What? No, you can’t. What if they discover what you’re up to?”

  “They won’t,” Lucien assures me. “No one out here loves the Union, if they don’t outright hate it, they’re at least indifferent.”