“What’s your name?” I ask.
He opens his mouth, then closes it. “Will you open the window?” he asks, motioning to the one nearest his cot. His voice is subdued, slow, drowsy.
I don’t move, waiting for an answer to my question first.
He sighs. “Iyin.”
I nod, then stand and open the window.
“Thank you, Drex,” he says.
Did one of the nurses mention my name? I pretend not to notice. “You’re welcome. Do you just like the breeze, Iyin, or do you spend most of your time outdoors?”
He smiles, staring out the window looking at everything or nothing at all. “Why not both?”
“Why are you here?” I ask, immediately doubting my judgment when his eyes flick instantly to mine, alert. He was playing at a character and now knows for certain that I was aware.
Minutes pass in silence, neither one of us backing down. Finally, he looks again to the window. Is he ignoring me or waiting for something? I wonder.
“I guess I’ll leave you to sleep,” I say, standing, accepting that I won’t get any information out of him willingly.
“No,” he says, calm, eyes never leaving the window. “It won’t be long now. You might as well stay so that she doesn’t have to come find you.”
My eyebrows scrunch together at the middle, confused.
Do I stay and follow the directions this talist spy has given me? What won’t be long? Who wants to find me?
“See?” he states before I can decide, nodding to the window.
I look as a form steps into the room. A quick glance confirms Randall is still asleep across the room.
“Hello, Drex,” Barley says, stepping into the moonlight. She has a black cape pulled around her clothes—a mismatch of different leathers—no doubt to help her stay hidden outside.
I don’t respond, though I’m unsure if my silence is by choice or not.
“With a lot of work, Mo and I discovered that you were assigned here when you were taken,” she says.
“Why?”
She smiles. “To break you out, so that you can come back with us. We followed the plan. We’re safe.”
I hear Randall stirring to my right, grunting at the pain in his arm.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I state, firmer and louder than I thought I could manage.
“What’s going on, Doc?” Randall asks, groggy.
Barley looks from me to my patient and back. “Your family is waiting for you at Haven, Drex.”
Iyin sits up, staring at me intently for my reaction.
What does Barley mean by my family? Her and Mo? My father would not be there. Is she really here to take me back with her? Does she think I’ve been a prisoner for two years; that I wouldn’t have made a life for myself?
I am important here.
“Drex, let’s go!”
“Why would Doc leave out the window with you in the middle of the night?” Randall asks, incredulous. In one swift motion, Barley pulls the breeze in strong from the window and hurls it at the wounded man.
“Drex?” she asks.
I take a step back. “Guard!”
Iyin jumps from his cot, lifting me up as the guard rushes in. Barley pulls her cape tight around her and jumps from the window.
-
I wake up on the cot next to Randall, Commander Franklin sitting patiently on a chair between us.
“Could you give us the room, please, Dr. Bosco?” he asks. Bosco and Leanna step out.
“Why were you here late last night, Drex?”
“I wanted to make sure the spy was fully supervised.”
“You didn’t trust my guard to handle it? You didn’t approve of my decision to have him posted outside?”
“That’s not it, sir. I know that the guard was outside to not raise suspicion. I am a doctor here; it would not be strange for me to be here watching my patients.”
“And it’s a damn good thing, too!” Randall scoffs. “A woman broke in and attacked me without the guard even noticing. Who knows what would have happened to me if Drex hadn’t been here to stop things.”
“Who was the woman?” Commander Franklin asks me.
I take a breath and calm my nerves. “I’m not sure, Commander.” I chose to stay here; she cannot ruin things for me now. “I think she might have been working with the spy. She was an Aer Talist.”
“She pulled the wind in here and knocked me right down!” Randall adds.
Commander Franklin nods once, then studies me carefully much like Iyin did last night. “What do you think I should do with the spy, Drex?”
“I’m just a doctor, Commander. That’s not for me to decide and I know that you’ll make the right decision.”
“I would like your opinion.”
Both The Commander and Randall watch me silently, awaiting my words. I look up and meet Franklin’s eyes. The easy answer would be to send Iyin to The Compound. It is what I recommended originally. However, I almost feel like I am up on trial here, too, and that whatever I say will determine my fate.
If I want to distance myself from the spy and the strange woman, I can have no mercy.
I raise my chin. “He’s already proven himself a liability. You shouldn’t risk sending him to The Compound; just execute him now.”
“So be it,” Commander Franklin says, then stands. “I’ll send for you when it is time.”
-
The next morning, a guard is waiting for me when I arrive at the clinic. He escorts me through the maze of hallways to the front entrance of Rockwall. Iyin stands there, hands tied together behind him, with two guards at his sides.
Commander Franklin stands to the left. When I stop a few feet away from Iyin, he begins to speak for the crowd congregating around us.
“Dr. Drex Calder is to be commended this day for discovering a Talist spy in his clinic.” The crowd around us cheers, but Iyin stares me down. How much does he know?
“This spy will be executed today and hung at the gates as a warning to those without. They must know that Trinity is not an enemy one wishes to engage!” I wonder if Barley will return—if she’s out there watching now. Will she see her friend’s corpse? Will she infer my part in his death?
“Any last words, talist?” Commander Franklin asks.
Iyin looks from The Commander to me and back again. Is he going to speak what he knows?
“You are not worthy.”
As soon as the words leave his lips, the guards pull him to the entrance, walk back to where he stood, and aim their guns. My pulse quickens, pounding in my ears.
“Three!” the guards shout, together.
My breaths come quicker. Am I going to let this happen? Am I strong enough? I’ve seen animals die at the clinic, but never people. Never like this.
“Two!” Iyin doesn’t flinch, doesn’t run, and his eyes never leave mine. My palms, sweaty, open and close.
I am not worthy.
“One!”
Bullets shoot out of their guns together, riddling his chest until he falls forward. I watch, almost waiting for him to move, stand… something.
I close my eyes and focus inward, calming myself and my breathing. I only realize when I’m done that I used my element to do so.
I am not worthy.
I open my eyes and see Commander Franklin watching me. He approaches as the guards tie Iyin up onto a post at the front gates.
“I appreciate your loyalty, Drex. I can see that you are strong enough to make the hard choices and resilient enough to handle the reality of their consequences.”
I look to him. “Thank you, sir.”
“I would like to transfer you to The Compound. We need a head doctor there with your strengths. This is the next big step in your career with Trinity, a bigger step than you would make staying here in Rockwall’s clinic.”
I nod, a smile quickly pushing my fear aside. I am important here. This is where I belong.
“Thank you, sir.”
&nb
sp; 11
Gray
We file into our lines, at attention as my twenty-second sunrise here begins to shine rays over the walls and into the courtyard. It is getting a later start every day lately, as autumn creeps nearer. Sir, who I learned soon after I began training is named Cabo Jones, enters through the door to our right. Ten border guards—I recognize the dark green uniform—follow him in, taking position in a line behind him.
“At ease,” Sir directs and, as one, we all widen our stances and clasp our hands behind our backs. He continues. “It has been my pleasure to train each and every one of you for the last month. However, your training will now continue at Trinity’s borders.”
Sir motions to the soldiers behind him. “Each sergeant will choose an escuadra to return with them to their stations. Once you are chosen, you’ll pack your things and meet your sergeant out front.”
Quiet as a light breeze, Eliza steps outside. I watch her movements out of the corner of my eye. The door closes without a sound, unlike when the precession of border guards entered.
—Are you alright with this?
I nod slightly, just enough for her to catch my answer. What other choice do I have, really?
One of the border guards steps in front of Catt, claiming our escuadra. He’s taller than I am and just as thin, with red hair cut short. He seems friendly enough, but that’s not something I want to rely on.
—Stay for a minute, Gray.
When the others head to the bunk, Eliza approaches him and holds out her hand. “My name is Eliza Blackhaw and I am Dr. Crow’s assistant,” she tells the man.
He takes her hand, shakes it once, firm, and offers his name in return. “Sgt. Smallwood.”
She motions for me to step forward. “Dr. Crow has taken an interest in one of your soldiers and asked that I speak to you on his behalf. He would appreciate it if you reached out to either of us if there was any need.”
Sgt. Smallwood immediately looks to my wrist for confirmation. “Is the boy trouble?” he asks.
“No, sir. Dr. Crow would not have chosen him for this position if that were the case,” Eliza responds smoothly.
Smallwood nods. Crow must have a reputation throughout the Guardia.
“Thank you, sir,” Eliza nods to both of us, then turns and walks back into the building.
“What is your name?” he asks me. I wonder if he is one of the officials that barely tolerates Talists in the Guardia or one that welcomes us for our use. Sir was the latter and made sure to keep Jasper in line, as much as he was able to. If Smallwood is the opposite, I have no hope.
“Gray Haven,” I answer, accustomed to adding my chosen last name.
“Go get packed, Haven,” he directs and returns back to conversation with the other sergeants.
-
Jasper and Welorian are packing their last few things when I get to our bunks. I take the simple pack I was issued and fill it with the two changes of clothes I was given. The others all have plenty of things they brought with them. I wonder what happened to my things after the Guardia destroyed Haven.
Welorian leaves first, so Jasper makes sure to plow into me on his way out. If I wasn’t always on guard around him, it might have done some damage. As things are, my skin instinctually hardened enough to absorb the blow. I follow him out the door and down the long hall of dormitories to the front. Halfway down, Catt and Emi leave their room and follow us.
Sgt. Smallwood nods at us when we line up at attention in front of him. “My name is Sgt. Smallwood. I appreciate the formality, but save your energy for the trek. Our station, Caddo, is about as far north as Trinity goes and this trip wasn’t important enough to warrant horses. If there aren’t any questions, let’s head out.” He turns before anyone can ask anything.
At the gates, a guard hands each of us a filled canteen and a small bag of rations. We thank him and continue on.
We walk north along the path in silence, keeping the large lake not far off to our left. There are three major lakes in Trinity. Lewisville Lake is out west a few miles south of The Compound and there are two out here: Lake Ray Hubbard separating Rockwall from the rest of Trinity and Lavon Lake farther north.
Despite how it may seem, Trinity wasn’t named for the number of lakes, but for the Trinity River: the lifeblood of the republic.
In Haven, we were taught the geography, history, and government of Trinity. Aunt Barley said it was important for us to understand our enemies’ infrastructure as well as they did. So, even though she never allowed me this far south, I know exactly where I am.
Around mid-morning, we get to the turn off where the well-worn path turns left through the strip of land between Lake Ray Hubbard and Lavon Lake, but Sgt. Smallwood continues north instead.
When the sun is at its highest, we eat our rations sitting on the shore of the lake. The others share stories of visiting one of the lakes in their childhood, but I stay silent.
Finally, in late afternoon, we reach a small border station along the northern shore of Lavon Lake. Sgt. Smallwood nods at the guards at the door, then shows us around.
“Down that hall we have some cells for anyone we need to take prisoner,” he says, motioning to a closed door on our right. “When we do, we station a guard here.”
He turns back to the main hall and continues walking. “Everything else is down this hall.” He quickly shows us where we eat and socialize, but doesn’t stop. There are four dormitories and two washrooms. He shows Emi and Catt theirs on the right and then directs Jasper, Welorian, and I to ours on the left.
“You’ll be training with the day shift. When night shift leaves the bunks to trade with them, it’s your turn to eat.” We all thank him and go in to choose bunks and unpack.
-
In the morning, we wake and follow the same routines as we did in Rockwall: make our bunks, get cleaned up, dress in our (now dark green) uniform, eat, and report for duty outside with Sgt. Smallwood. He waves away our formal stances, exasperated.
“As you would expect,” he begins, “it is our duty to protect Trinity’s borders. This job has gotten easier over time as the surrounding communities and fledgling governments have tested and learned our strength.”
Welorian slowly lifts his hand, unsure if he’s allowed to interrupt or ask questions. “Yes, Parker?” Smallwood prompts.
“If everyone knows we’re strong enough to beat them and nobody tries to push our borders, what do we do here?” he asks.
It’s a very enlightened observation, I note. Growing up, I was taught to easily skirt border patrols without detection even before I sparked. Haven never wanted to attack, but we needed access to rivers and lakes that Trinity controlled. Regardless, we were never noticed. I used to think the guards highly unskilled; were they just complacent?
“Our job is still very important, soldado,” Smallwood responds. “Sometimes our rivals still test our resolve, but lately our work has been controlling rebel talists. We found a village on the outskirts not far from here not long ago—”
Haven.
“—and, since The Compound was destroyed, it has also been our duty to keep the rebels in.”
My jaw clenches and I’m glad that Smallwood didn’t even think to look at me. I feel Jasper’s gaze, though.
“The Compound is so far from here, though,” Emi notes.
“The rebels are running away in every direction. The ones running east come just north of Lavon Lake, right to us,” he responds, pointing towards the lake.
“Wouldn’t it be smarter to go north?” Catt scoffs.
“Our Old Celina and Massey Stations have been busy, yes,” he answers and then, cutting the questioning short, motions for us to follow.
Smallwood walks us south, showing us the wooden stakes in the shape of a T every half mile to mark the border. He tells us that each station is responsible for a fifteen mile stretch of the border. We have about ten miles south and five miles north of Caddo Station. As we walk, he talks about the natural beauty of the
land, animals he’s encountered, and landmarks to keep track of distance.
“Sir, what do we look for or do other than walk?” Catt asks, yearning for procedures and guidelines to follow.
He stops. “Most of the time, there’s nothing to discover. The best thing you can do, Walry, is to observe. Get to know the environment and what you can expect from it. That way when there is a disturbance, you’ll notice it right away.”
She sighs, and continues to follow him.
I hesitate, my eyes fixed on a ripple in the water of the lake that has gone still. As Smallwood answered her question, a boy a year or so younger than I am heard us and slid into the water to hide.
“Plotting your escape, Talist?” Jasper sneers.
He hasn’t come up to breathe, so he has to be an Aer Talist. None of the others noticed his existence, proving that Smallwood’s method to know your environment is useless because we’re already a part of it. I wonder if he’s from The Compound or Haven; I didn’t get a good look.
“It’s beautiful. Just like Smallwood said,” I comment to Jasper without looking at him, then turn and catch up to the others without a backwards glance.
12
Peony
The walk from our base to Haven took three days and I didn’t speak a word the entire trip. The others stopped talking to me before we even left the edges of the arch line as the sun rose the first morning, talking and laughing amongst themselves instead, except for Barley.
The first thing she said, around midmorning, was to ask if I was alright. We had been walking north through a strip of land free of the small ruins that used to be homes. The sun rose higher to our right, its unhindered rays stripping me of my energy bit by bit. Despite focusing the water in my body on countering it, I could feel the flush color on my face, the nausea in my stomach, and the pounding in my forehead.
I didn’t answer, but the thin clouds above us still coalesced into one to block the sun and the wind picked up, soothing me as it blew past the sweat coating my scalp.
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