by Coralee June
"They went back to Dormas to look for a few more supplies. I had a small fever last night, probably from all this Deadlands water. He thinks there might be a fever-reducing serum at the abandoned clinic still.”
Memories of my time at the camp with Lilly filtered through my mind. I quickly started scrounging the wooded area we were staying in, looking for the plant I knew would be just as effective. “What are you looking for?” Kemper asked.
“Willow, meadowsweet, or cramp bark. It helps with fevers and inflammation,” I answered distractedly. From the corner of my eye, I saw a proud grin cover his expression as he searched with me. Soon, I found a cluster of meadowsweet and brought it back towards the fire. It was abundant in the area.
I pulled the boiling water from the fire and poured some into a cup, then I removed the makeshift tea strainer I found from an abandoned home a week ago and put the herb in it before pouring the boiling water over it. “Let it cool, then drink it all. If you need more, let me know,” I said before handing the cup to Thurst with a small smile.
Jacob had been watching me, and his mindspeak spoke up. “Damn, I love this woman.”
My eyes flickered to Jules, and I half expected her to roll her eyes or make a quip about my abilities, but she looked introspective. “Could you teach me about that?” she finally asked while getting up to get a better look at the leftover herbs in my hands. “Could be good to know.”
“Yeah,” I replied in shock. Jules and I had slowly become friends, but she’d never outright asked for my help with anything. It made me bloom with an appreciation for Lilly once more. She had taught me a lot during my time in the Deadlands, and I desperately wanted to know how she was doing.
“Don’t look so surprised. I like learning,” Jules replied while rolling her eyes before heading back to her seat beside Tallis.
Once we were all settled around the campfire, I watched Thurst with trepidation. I was dying to know what had happened to Hope. I could feel my concern for her burning in the back of my throat, but instead of asking, I went a different direction.
“Do you know anyone from the Water Scavengers? I asked while sliding forward on my seat. Jacob was sitting beside me, rubbing little circles of reassurance on my lower back. “That’s actually where I learned how to do that. A woman named Lilly was a healer there and taught me.”
I knew I was clutching for whatever lead I could get. Thurst gave me a quizzical stare before glancing at Tallis like this conversation was unexpected. "I'm very familiar with that tribe. We were on a supply run last week, and some of them had been captured."
At that, Tallis jerked his head up to stare at Thurst. "What do you mean captured?"
Thurst frowned. "I don't know what they're doing with them, but the last of Cavil's guards have been rounding up Scavengers and taking them. It’s...it’s what happened to Hope. Rumor has it that they're searching for someone. We were camped by the Dormas river when five of them overtook Bowden and me. They’re targeting children and anyone that’s a Water tribe. They...they beat us within an inch of our life. We passed out, and when we woke up, she was gone."
Jacob’s mindspeak immediately blurted out Payne’s name. Word must have gotten out that Payne was the answer to the cure and that he was staying with Chief Aarav in the Water tribe. Did that mean they had Payne already? Despair clawed at my chest when I thought of a helpless Hope and Payne being poked and prodded by Cavil’s men.
"Thurst,” I began as tears filled my eyes. “I’m so sorry about Hope. We have to get her back. Did you see Chief Aarav?" I asked.
"I can't remember his name, but I did see a chief taken into custody a few days ago while we were hunting in the woods. There were women with him, but I didn't recognize Mia in the group. It was crowded though, and we were trying to get out of there as quickly as possible, so there's a chance she was with them, too." Jules immediately stood up in action, locking her knife into the waistband of her pants before grabbing Tallis’ hand.
"Where did you see them?" Jules asked. Once again, I admired the friendship she and Mia had developed during our time here. One moment Jules was trying to ignore us, and the next she was on a mission. I also stood, wordlessly providing her solidarity as I moved beside her. Tallis simply shook his head, like he wouldn't allow himself to hope. Luckily for him, Jules had enough determination for all of us.
"It was just outside of Lythe. They’re holding all of them there."
"We were just in Lythe. Passed through it to get here. It's nothing," I replied. I felt like what little lead we were holding onto had just disappeared. Kemper was standing outside the circle, all calm serenity from our morning together had fled his rigid stance. I looked at his lean figure, watching as he worked through the problem.
"Not many people know this," Thurst began, "but Lythe has an entire underground city. You can only access it through one point, but hundreds of people have been living there for years. That's where we saw the Scavengers taken."
"Could you take us to this underground city?" The moment my question left my lips, Jules yanked Tallis into a standing position. I watched her stroke his chest before looking at Thurst.
"I could," Thurst replied before coughing, "but it would be a mission that would certainly end in death. We can’t go, Ash.”
I would've laughed, but Jules beat me to it. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're all going to die. We need to get there, we're looking for the same person Cavil's men were looking for. And if they have the Eastern chief? Then I'm willing to bet they have Mia, too. Or she's nearby. From what little I saw, that chief wouldn't let her out of his sight for a moment. We need you to take us." Tallis winced at Jules’ little speech, and I felt bad that Tallis was struggling so much with his self-worth. He had this lost look in his eyes as he stared about the empty empire. A few weeks ago, I’d accidentally walked in on Jules whispering frantically to Tallis that he hadn’t failed his people. It was ruining him to know his people were gone, and I knew that this was the only way to get them back.
Bowden and Thurst exchanged uneasy glances. "I don’t feel comfortable with you going. I’ve already lost...Hope..." Bowden said as he choked on his words.
“If Hope is there, we can bring her back,” I replied. I felt it in my gut that they were there, and I wanted nothing more than to storm this so-called underground city and get my people back. The two Scavengers exchanged one more glance, unconvinced that we would be successful. Finally, it was Tallis who spoke up.
“We’re going to get our people back,” he said, an air of finality that forced all the authority he had left through us all. “That’s an order.”
Bowden and Thurst let out sighs before responding, “Yes, Chief.” Despite it all, their loyalty ran deep.
Chapter Six
Once the others got back from Dormas without the fever-reducing medicine Thurst needed, we made quick work of explaining to them what the plan was. Both Thurst and Bowden did their best to describe to us what the underground city of Lythe was like, as well as explain how the entry worked, but there were still many unknowns. The most significant complication was that their information was obsolete if the people of Lythe were under a new rule.
At the edge, the upper portion of Lythe was a tunnel system. According to Bowden, you had to pay a hefty price to get in. We didn't have much, and the Dormas gold mines had been completely stripped bare of all resources in the short time that Cavil was in charge. Luckily, Jules had some of her mother's jewelry buried in the backyard of the old Black estate. She admitted that she put it there to hide it from me.
I loved her like a sister, but she was an odd girl.
It wasn't much, but desperate times meant that people were more desperate to take what they could. Jules assured us that it would get us in. I didn’t know much about jewelry, but I trusted she did.
I passed the time in the late afternoon with Huxley. We went off in the thick of the Deadlands to spar a bit and warm up my tired muscles. It almost felt like before. When lif
e was a waiting game, and I was using Huxley as a human punching bag to work through my frustrations. But it wasn’t the same. There wasn’t as much anger in my punches. The enemy was dead, I supposed. And now the threat lingering over me was no longer a breathing, living thing. It was a disease. It was destruction.
“Your form has gotten better,” Huxley gritted out. The moment we mentioned storming Lythe to save his ex-girlfriend, Mia, I expected him to go into one of his overprotective moods and try to keep me here. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was wary of him. I wouldn’t put it past Huxley to tie me to a tree while the others did all the work. He was determined to keep me safe.
“I’ve been practicing,” I replied before jabbing at him once more. He was angry, yes. Furious beads of sweat still traveled down his skin as he dove from my hits and blocked his face. But he didn’t shut down like before. He didn’t slip into his manic need to protect us all, and I wasn’t sure what that meant. “You gonna freak out on me, Hux?” I asked before lifting my foot up to connect it with his side. I was too slow, though. He caught it mid-air and held me there.
“What do you mean?” he asked before sliding his hands up my calf as he moved closer. And when the tips of his fingers connected with my thigh, I bent at the knee to wrap my leg around him all while he held me steady.
“Lythe will be dangerous. I’m just curious if I should worry about you doing something reckless. Or if you’re going to have an episode.” I kept my voice light so it didn’t sound like an insult. I genuinely did want to know how he was handling it.
Huxley let out a sigh before using his free hand to cup my cheek. His rough thumb brushed along my plump lip. “I haven’t had an episode in a while, Ash.”
“Why is that?”
“I like seeing you like this more than I don’t like the thought of you being in trouble, I suppose.”
He leaned down to hover his mouth above mine. I breathed in his minty breath. “Seeing me like what?” I asked.
“Seeing you grab life by the balls, little Walker.” Huxley closed the distance between us in a sweet kiss, molding his lips to mine with longing strokes that held an edge of desperation. The sweeping movements of his tongue made me want to drink him in, completely give in to the all-consuming fire that was Huxley.
With my leg still wrapped around his waist, I moved my body like the waves on the beaches of Ethros, crashing into him, pulling back just to give in to his pull again. My heart was still racing from our sparring, and my tired muscles heightened the entire experience. It was like we were working on our reserves, giving one another the last bits of ourselves as we fought with our kiss.
His dick was hard and thick, pulsing against his pants while grinding against me as I ached to wrap my other leg around him. He held me steady, using one hand to clutch my thigh firmly against his waist and the other at my neck. He was keeping me stable as he sucked on my bottom lip. Pride surged within me, and I liked that this was Huxley’s new way of coping with his incessant need to protect those that he loved.
I’d happily let him use me up till there was nothing left.
I groaned when his hand snaked up to grab my ass. My trousers were too restricting. I wanted to be bare to him. “You keep making noises like that, I’ll have to take you right here, little Walker,” he said before bending over to bite my shoulder, marking me with his sharp teeth as I groaned once more, this time with more enthusiasm. I wanted him to follow through on his threat.
“How long do we have before we leave?” he asked before letting my leg down, only to swoop me up into his arms to cradle me in his chest.
“An hour. Maybe a little longer,” I replied as he went deeper into the woods, keeping his eyes, the color of juniper, on me.
“Good. I think I could use the distraction.”
He found an area with soft grass, hidden by the lush, white forest. He laid me down before slipping his fingers through the loops of my pants and tugging them over my hips. “Now,” he began before pausing to stare at my creamy skin and trembling legs. I was shaky with my need for him. His eyes flashed to mine before he continued, “Just because I’m not going to fight it, doesn’t mean I’m not going to have some rules for you.” I quickly removed my shirt and bra then lifted up on my elbows to look at him as he tossed my pants off to the side.
“Rules?” I asked. He reached behind his head to tug his grey, cotton shirt off then frantically removed his pants before lying down beside me.
“Rule one.” He wrapped his leg around me before drawing me closer. I could feel his hardness. “You stay by my side at all times. And if you can’t be at my side, then you stick to one of the other guys. I want eyes always on you.” He peered deep into my hooded gaze to punctuate his point, and I saw a hint of fear there. I knew he was pushing his demons away.
“I can do that,” I said before jetting my hips forward and placing one of my legs between his, our bodies like a complex knot.
“Rule two,” he then said before kissing me. This time, his kiss was harsher. We were a mess of colliding intentions, teeth nipping for blood and assurance that everything would be okay. I gasped while pouring my faith into him. He abruptly pulled me away. “You better tell me if you feel scared or uncertain at any time. I need you to be honest with me. I need you to tell me what’s on your mind, even if it means looking weak.”
That would be a hard rule to follow. Last night was evidence of how difficult I found speaking my piece. I couldn’t tell him everything because the truth was that I was scared. Everything about this mission was terrifying. But fear was a healthy emotion. It didn’t help to speak about it or dwell on it.
Instead of answering, I wrapped my hand around his neck and pulled him even closer. I looked him in the eye before kissing him once more. But this time, he didn’t respond. He forced his lips into a firm line, refusing to part at my attempt at distracting him.
I pulled back. “I’m scared, Hux. But it doesn’t do me any good. I was scared when I killed Cavil. I was scared when I left Stonewell Manor. Fear is normal, but I’m scared that if I tell you when I’m feeling it, it’ll just make you spiral.”
He rewarded me with another smoldering kiss. “As long as you’re honest about what’s going on in that beautiful mind of yours, I can keep my demons away. I’d rather know you’re feeling scared than have to worry about you being reckless.”
Huxley then removed his leg from around me and pushed me onto my back. He straddled my hips before grabbing my hands and pressing them into the grass at my head. “What’s the next rule?” I asked as heat flooded me. I could feel wetness painting my inner thighs as he leaned forward to once again nip at my lips.
“The final rule,” Huxley growled over my skin before positioning himself at my entrance. I felt him bump against me, teasing me with that fullness I knew he could deliver, without fully granting me the pleasure I desired. I watched him pause. I knew he was trying to work through the words. Before, everything was hot but playful. Speaking out loud about his fears and desires was never Huxley’s strong suit. I wanted to beg him to fuck me here in the Deadlands. I was aching for him. Aching for his body, for his words. But Huxley was the type to get spooked easily. And since Patrick wasn’t here to do the talking for him, I’d have to wait.
I merely stared at him, watching each conflicting feeling cross his features. I watched in patient silence, allowing him to come to terms with his needs in his own time.
Finally, he spoke. “You have to survive, Ash. ’Cause I have lots of plans for us. Lots of time to make up for. I want a lifetime of this,” he said, and I had to stop the moisture gathering in my eyelids from spilling over. I didn’t want him to see me cry.
“I will,” I whispered, for once feeling like the speechless one in the relationship. At my promise, he rocked into me, and we spent the rest of the hour kissing the edge of eternity.
Chapter Seven
“We should probably park outside of the city,” Cyler said. We all had loaded up into our transport at s
unset and were headed towards Lythe. A somber mood had taken over us. I quietly watched the sky turn a deep navy blue, and shimmers of the Deadlands’ green toxic wave were kissing the air with their bright hue. I was surprised to find that, somehow, the world looked beautiful just then. The swirls of colors, showing our land in a swirl of stillness and color.
I glanced down at my black cargo pants while pinching my thigh. Cyler was sitting beside me, his shoulders tense with authority over what we were about to do. He grabbed my hand to stop me from clenching myself. After offering me a reassuring squeeze, he turned his attention to the conversation going on in the transport.
“Why?” Jules asked.
“Transports are rare right now. It’ll draw too much attention to us,” Maverick explained. He wasn’t wrong. People were hoarding resources and fighting each other for food, which meant that a working transport wouldn’t last five minutes in a populated city, especially unattended. It was why we rarely stopped when we were checking for survivors.
“Remember,” Bowden began. He wore an uneasy expression. Thurst had stayed behind because his fever kept coming back. I made him more tea before we left him to rest in his tent. “The entrance to underground Lythe is at the clinic. Whatever you do, don’t introduce yourself as the Dormas Leadership Council. You’ll be eaten alive. Just say you’re coming to town to shop. They’ll probably pat you down and ask you some questions.”
Kemper bristled. “So I’m guessing I should leave the explosive device I made in the car?”
Bowden rolled his eyes, obviously unamused. “Probably would be a good idea.” His voice was dripping with sarcasm.
“So what if what’s left of Cavil’s guard has taken over?” I asked. “What’s the protocol then?”
Bowden gave me a frown. “If they’ve taken over, then we’ll be captured. End of protocol.”