Watch of Nightingales

by Honor Gable

  With Paris free, it's only a matter of time before others follow. It's only a matter of time until I have Audrey back. Maybe I'll even go with her America. For the first time in my life, I see a future that isn't filled with drudgery and chafing under responsibility.

  It's time I lived and finally stood on my own. I'm free at last and Sebastian has been without me this long, I think he can handle it.

  Maybe we both just needed a chance to prove we're strong. Something Audrey, Rivka, and Lois all showed me I could be.

  I want to live like I'm not scared. I want to live free. I want to stand tall. I want never to return to my cage.

  Bread and other odds and ends bought and filling my arms with their warmth, I race to Jade's. Reveling in the wind and stomp of my feet against cobblestone and the steady drum of my pulse. My powers have become a part of me and being able to keep them without the meteorite is a gift I swear I won't squander.

  Music and laughter trickle from Jade's flat, my body relaxing and chest tightening before I even walk through the door. Rivka bounds over to me and relieves me of the bread and I'm enveloped into the glitter and sparkle of Jade's real life. She's finally free to be herself again. For the most part.

  The Fournier sisters are here. The greet me and their eyes fill when I tell them of Lois and Audrey. My own tears fall as we sit in a corner with Rivka and exchange news and stories while the party rages around us. With them, it's like I'm finally able to let go. To remember them well with others who loved them too. If even only for a short time. We have a memorial for them.

  And it's beautiful.

  Bottles pop and champagne flows and glasses slosh and cigarette smoke swirls. Dancing begins and our feet shout out our joy. I jump from partner to partner, man or woman, I don't care and neither does anyone else. Tomorrow, life and reality will come slamming down on each of us. But tonight, we dance. We sing. We rejoice.

  On and on into the night.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

  AUDREY

  The wait until everyone has been asleep for hours is torture. Snores and coughs and groans are the only sounds. No more whispered conversations. Lore and Gisele don't stir as I slip from our bunk and I keep my feet bare so I make no noise as I leave our block. Every little noise makes me jerk, but I make it, mind barely intact. Snow covers the ground and my feet throb. I should've carried my shoes to put on once I made it outside. I'll remember it for next time.

  The night is dark and the moon is hidden by clouds, but the snow still brightens the night. I hop from shadow to building, trying hard to stay out of sight. I'm dead if they catch me. But I've been practicing for this for months. Every night I slip through our block, healing wounds and illness. We have the healthiest block in the camp.

  Tonight, is my biggest mission yet.

  The Cemetery.

  Too late for Lore's mum, but not for tons of others.

  I hug the wall of one of the buildings, keeping my breaths quiet as two sleepy guards turn the corner. It's tempting to close my eyes. The whole, if you can't see them, they can't see you thing. But I keep them wide and focused. The guards pass without even looking around. I knew this time of night would be best. It's close enough to morning they're exhausted, but dark enough it's easy to hide.

  I wait for the crunch of their boots to disappear, and continue on, my nerves on fire. My feet have gone numb. At least my powers will heal any frostbite I end up with. Almost there. A couple yards across a moonlit and snow glowing clearing.

  I pause a beat, searching, searching. I'm the only person in the world.

  Throwing off my fear, I run. My heart tries to jump from my chest and my lungs burn, but I make it. I leave melted snow prints behind me as I slide through the block. The smell is awful. There's no kapos or guards here. Everyone is too sick to try anything, escape or otherwise. They wait to die.

  With my nose crinkled against the rotten stench, I reach out with hands, pushing my power out through my fingers into each body. After the fourth, I bend over at the waist, trying to keep the hacking coughs quiet as the TB burns through me, filling my lungs with fluid. I'm drowning.

  I've never tried something this big before.

  Continuing on, I heal three more and I'm forced to my hands and knees, black edging in. I will not faint like some irritating girl from those Gothic novels. I crawl on, determined to finish. Not dwelling too hard on the nasty wet coating my palms and soaking into my clothes, I reach up from the floor. I grab for hands, legs, any skin I can reach. My body shakes so hard my teeth rattle and I'm soaked with sweat. It rolls down my face and stings my eyes.

  Clenching my jaw tight, I get through two more before I collapse face first into the muck. I have nothing left. I can't finish. Tears of frustration rise in my eyes, but I don't have the energy to let them fall.

  I thought I could do this. Something massive and amazing. Something to make my time here worth it. Something I'll be able to look back on with pride. I can't let them break me. Because one day I'll get out of here and I want to run wild and live big and love hard and not be imprisoned by my past.

  With almost a scream, I reach one hand up, my fingers gripping into the bottom bunk, and yank myself up. My steps are slow and more shuffles than steps, but I continue on. Even if this kills me and I die tonight, I can't regret this. Even if no one ever knows it was me.

  I started down this path because I wanted adventure and to be a hero. My idea of what that is has changed and morphed into something I wouldn't have recognized six months ago. Being a hero isn't loud and out in the open for everyone to see and celebrate. It's the quiet hidden moments where you still do the right thing. The brave thing. The scary thing.

  Understanding this pours energy and strength into me.

  And it lasts until the end, when I somehow make it back to my block without being seen, and pass out in my bunk beside Lore.

  BY MORNING, THE HEALED Cemetery is noticed. At our morning appel, the plonkers run about, trying to figure out if someone stole and smuggled them medicine. The hardest thing I've ever done is keep my face blank instead of giving in to the smile trying to spread across my face.

  We're forced to stand for an extra two hours, but I can't be bothered to care. Even for the others who struggle in the cold. The SS were waiting for those people to die. Experimenting on them. And now they're healed and walking around.

  Maybe I didn't really do them a favor. The experiments may get worse. But they have a chance. And I can't be sorry for that. I won't be. I don't know why out of all the powers I could have been given, I became a healer. But it's a gift I will no longer keep to myself.

  When we're finally released, Lore looks up at me with suspicion in her eyes, but doesn't ask.

  She's good about that.

  I hug her tiny body to me and grin down in her face. "Have I ever told you about Wonder Woman?"

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

  VIOLA

  It ends tonight.

  No more super powers.

  We can't chance telling them we kept ours, we're too selfish. But we can't allow a new race of people to be born. I'm not even certain if we should be trusted with them.

  We waited this long, so we wouldn't be as high on the suspect list. We've pretended to go back to being good little girls, back in our places. Instead, we've been planning and training at my house. We're stronger than ever, even with the bracelets turned in.

  Somehow, Xavier falsified papers saying we left the country two days ago when we're actually flying out tomorrow morning.

  Now is the time.

  I expected to feel guilt as I zoom through London's streets with Rivka on my back, cutting off my air, but I don't. I'm too furious. As soon as our boots hit the ground, we were spirited away and put under watch for two weeks. It was easy to pretend our powers were gone, but boring. And invasive.

  Once the scientists and doctors were satisfied we posed no threat to the nation or world, we were given papers to sign. The Official Secrets Act. And kicked out o
f our flat, our pension gone, and set adrift. They'd found better specimens and more worthy people to bestow the powers on.

  Tomorrow, they're strapping the bracelets onto new people.

  And those people will go wrap up the war real quick for them, and mop up the mess left by a world ravaged by fighting.

  Except, we can't allow it. Because these men will be more loyal and our lies will be discovered. The war will be won with or without super powers. And maybe it should be. Or maybe we're selfish cowards.

  Either way, it's too late to back out now.

  Praying Xavier's intel was right this time, I skid to a halt by the building holding everything we need and Rivka slides from my back. I barely notice the difference. Our training has made us strong. We spent hours in the woods, me carrying her long distances so she could turn large things into ash. We experimented over and over, learning every side of our powers. Our weaknesses and strengths.

  We peek around the corner, searching for any guards. None in sight. With a few hand signals, we hurry to the door at regular speed. The lock disintegrates under Rivka's yellow touch and we're in.

  We follow the maps we memorized from Xavier, and turn down three different halls before making it the room we need. A few disintegrated locks later, Rivka holds the bracelets in her hands. Black and silver glint at us, swamping us in memories.

  She bites her lip. "Last chance to change your mind."

  "Do it." I keep my voice hard, the doubts buried deep.

  She closes her hands around them and drops all that remains on the floor. Nothing but ash.

  We scurry through the rest of the room, piling anything to do with the experiments on the middle of the floor. My breath catches in a sob at the discovery of a file filled with photographs. Of the four of us. Our wrecked bodies and our powers in action. One photograph stands out from the rest. It's the four of us taking a break and laughing, Audrey and Lois both holding cigarettes. I shove it in my bodice.

  Hoping we found everything, I stand back while Rivka destroys the pile, the yellow light blinding me and continuing to flash in my eyes even after she's done.

  Rivka glances around. "Time to go."

  We race from the building and I keep going a couple yards after Rivka stops. She raises her hands and I clench mine against my chest. The yellow streaks start out small, but they grow and grow until the building is shimmering and sparkling with her energy. It's strangely pretty.

  My breath catches in awe even though I've seen her do this half a dozen times.

  The building breaks into minuscule pieces and crumbles, turning into ash as they hit the ground. The yellow shine remains for a few more moments before it's nothing but dust.

  My turn.

  Rivka's hair flies into the air as I race by her, and run and run and run in circles around the pile of ash. Faster and faster until the ash rises and swirls in a tornado. I spin and go the other way, and confused, the dust goes off in different directions, coating the buildings on either side, floating even farther carried along by the breeze.

  Nothing remains of the building. Of the meteorite. Of the experiments.

  XAVIER IS BACK IN EUROPE, but he gave us the keys to his flat before he left yesterday. He's the one who came to us, bursting with the determination to put a stop to the experiments after another set of men died. We'd already begun planning, but his help was invaluable because he was able to find out details we had no access to.

  The flight to Germany Xavier arranged for us leaves in a few hours, and we should sleep, but we're flying high on our win. It was wonderful being on a mission again. Feeling like I was doing something important.

  I take a sip of the drink Rivka hands me and grin at her. "Are you ready to go find your sister?"

  Her face lights with hope. "I am. I'm glad we did this, but I hated waiting so long. I have to find her and find out what happened to my family."

  I finger Audrey's Eiffel tower necklace I still keep around my neck. "I know. And we will. And after that, we'll find the other stashes of meteorite and get rid of those too."

  "Yes. And hopefully by then we'll have Audrey back with us." Audrey should be back with us in a manner of days.

  Jade told me before we left she had found out where Audrey was. We came back to London so we wouldn’t be branded as deserters or traitors, but finding a way into Germany has always been our plan. And from there, getting answers about Rivka’s family.

  It took longer than Xavier expected to get us there under the radar. But now it’s finally happening. I hope we aren’t too late.

  The thought of the three of us traipsing around the world, righting wrongs makes me smile. Maybe it's naive or ridiculous, but it keeps me going. I haven't decided what I want to do with my life yet, but I know I can't stay at home doing nothing. The cracked China doll Lois found and fixed so long ago grins at me from atop my bag. I want to do something to honor her.

  I will do something to honor her.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

  AUDREY

  More women have been sent to the Cemetery and more miraculous recoveries have kept the guards in a constant confused panic. Lore helps me back into our bunk when I return frozen and shaking with exhaustion as my body expels the illness. I’m getting better at healing, but it still takes a lot out of me. Especially with the lack of nourishment in this fine establishment.

  It’s one of those still and silent nights where it feels like Lore and I are the only people in the world. It’s my favorite time now. I never used to like being alone, but now I crave it.

  “Are you all right?” Lore’s face hovers above mine, her brows puckered.

  I close my eyes. “I just need a minute.”

  “You don’t have a minute.”

  Terror spikes me through the chest. Have I finally gone mad? That hissed whisper sounded just like Viola.

  I squint my eyes open and almost fall off my bunk when Viola’s smiling face fills my vision. “Are you really here?”

  “We came to rescue you. Now, let’s go.”

  I throw my arms around her, biting back sobs. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

  She hugs me so hard it hurts. “Me too.” She pulls back and checks her watch. “We have to go. Now. Before anyone sees the giant hole Rivka melted into the fence.”

  “I’m not going anywhere without Lore.” I gesture behind me where Lore has backed up against the window, knees tucked under her chin, confused terror shining from her eyes.

  “It’s all right. We’re getting out of here.” I turn to Viola. “Take her first.”

  Viola nods and holds her arms out to Lore with a smile.

  While they’re gone I gather what few things I’m interested in bringing. Henri’s book, I tuck down into my clothes. The few rags we have, I leave behind. They’re infested with infection, fleas, and lice. I stare around at the women moaning, snoring, crying in their sleep. Can I really leave them behind?

  Viola appears at my shoulder. “Come on.”

  “I don’t know if I can leave them.”

  “We can’t save them all. Not tonight. But maybe, soon, we can try. And Lore needs you.”

  Lore.

  I brush the tears from my cheeks. “Fine. Let’s go. But we start planning a mission to bring this place down right away.”

  Viola slings me onto her back like a knapsack. That’s not humiliating at all. “Right after we travel to Italy to find Rivka’s sister.”

  “What?”

  Everything blurs together as she speeds through the chilled air. I don’t get a last glance as she frees me from hell. I mouth a silent promise to those I’m leaving behind. I’ll be back for you.

  The End

 

 

 
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