by C. S. Nelson
“May we all live long, and happy lives,” Summer continued, riding on the high of the applause. “I hope you hold onto each other very tightly tonight. We have made it, people of Earth. We have survived through the impossible. We are strong, we are beautiful, and we persevere.”
Applause so loud that the sounds echoed within the Shield. Voices buzzing all around Annie. She walked away from Zed, making her way through the crowd, taking in the energy. She saw people she knew, that she had gone to school with only months before. She saw Dougie and Ethan, who lifted her up into the air. She didn’t have the heart to tell them that they were going to be ordered to kill her as soon as they went back to camp. Everyone was officially finished their careers, but before the night was over, she knew there would be a witch-hunt for her.
Annie saw Dustan out of the corner of her eye. She found herself walking towards him. She was still angry with him, but she knew if there was anyone that she could trust, it would be Dustan. He was smiling and shaking people’s hands, but didn’t seem nearly as excited as the breeders around him. “Dustan,” she said, grabbing his arm.
He turned and his eyes widened. “Annie?” He seemed surprised that she had initiated a conversation. “Nice makeup." He smiled sadly, referring to her ace stripes. "How are you?” Tears had begun welling up in his eyes.
Annie had never seen Dustan cry. “Are you okay?” she asked.
He hugged her with all of his might, and although it made Annie uncomfortable, she didn’t let go. “They made Rebecca abort her baby this morning,” Dustan sobbed into her shoulder. “I didn’t know it would bother me this much, you know? It's just my job. But that’s my baby that they murdered.”
Annie couldn’t imagine how much pain Dustan must have been feeling. “How is she?” Annie asked.
“She’s resting in her room. She was so upset. She had told me that she would have rather gone on the other ship. She was willing to give up her life for that baby.” His eyes closed as tears streamed down his face. “I made her do it.”
Annie nodded. The thought of losing a life made her heart hurt. He truly cared for his partner, and the baby he had just lost. He had a new life now, with new priorities and new needs. “I know it was hard,” she said, trying to sound strong. “But you saved her life.”
Dustan sniffled, nodding with his eyes to the ground. “Are you excited?” he asked, trying to change the subject.
Annie looked up at the stage where Summer still was, bending down to shake people’s hands. If she really scanned the crowd, she would have spotted Annie easily. But Annie didn’t feel threatened. She knew that Summer wasn’t stupid enough to try anything here.
Annie sighed. Why bother telling Dustan anything? He would find out as soon as he went home and Summer made the announcement. But in this moment she felt safe with him. For the first time since he joined the breeders, he was the same boy that she had loved. “Dustan, I’m a wanted girl.”
He laughed. “Wanted? By who? Every man in the Shield?”
Annie tried to force a smile but she couldn’t. “No…wanted, dead or alive style.”
Dustan’s eyes widened. He looked around to make sure no one was listening. “What did you do, Annie?”
“I made the wrong enemy.” Annie motioned with her eyes to the woman on the stage.
“Summer?”
“She wants me killed.”
“And who is she getting to do that?”
Annie shrugged. “I overheard her say that she would announce it to all of the breeders after this town center meeting.”
Dustan shook his head. “That doesn’t make any sense. Everyone’s careers are finished now. What incentive could she possibly offer us that would persuade us to kill you?”
“I don’t know, Dustan, I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
“What are you going to do? Where are you going to go?”
“I don’t know that, either. But I have a friend looking out for me. This will be the last time you will see me before the ships arrive. I’m not taking any chances.”
Dustan looked disheartened at the thought of not seeing her for a month. “What if we planned a meeting time, so I could help you? Get you whatever supplies you need?”
Annie stared into his eyes. “That would be amazing,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief. Even after all that they had been through, it was nice to know that he was there for her.
“I’ll meet you every second night at midnight, right here. I’ll give you whatever you need, Annie.”
“You may just save my life,” she said.
Dustan smiled warmly. “Once we get on that ship, Annie, life will be simple again.”
Annie gave Dustan an awkward hug, feeling tears well up in her eyes. It didn’t matter what his intentions were, whether to prove to her that he still loved her, or to just be there for someone he cared about. She had an ally now, someone that she knew she could trust. Annie pushed her way back through the crowd to find Zed, who had somehow made friends with a group of cooks that worked in the high school kitchen. “Zed,” she said, abruptly.
Zed took one look at Annie and raised his eyebrows. “Excuse me,” he said to the people surrounding him. He pulled Annie to the side. “Are you alright?” he asked.
Annie nodded. “Just…emotional. Scared.”
“Tears will make your ace lines run. Aces do not cry.” Annie bit her lip. He was right. There was no room anymore for Annie to be a child. The moment she put on that ranger jacket she had needed to grow up. Her childhood had been robbed from her the moment the administrators had stepped into the school. And now, more than ever, she needed to be strong.
“Annie…” Zed whispered, squeezing her arm a little harder. He was looking past her. “Summer is staring right at us.”
Annie wiped the tears away from her eyes, until Zed gave her an affirming nod. She looked about as intimidating as she ever would. Annie spun around, locking eyes with Summer Henderson. Summer didn’t smile, nor did she frown. She merely held her gaze, and Annie could see in her eyes, she was wondering how much Annie knew.
Annie held one finger up to her throat and slid it across her neck. Just like that, Summer understood. Annie knew everything.
Chapter 20: Tawa
Zed and Annie ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She knew that he could easily outrun her, with his alien muscles trapped in that human body, but he kept pace with her. Soon, if not already, Summer would make her announcement to everyone that she trusted. She wanted Annie dead.
They ran from the celebration happening in the town center, and Annie realized it was the last time that she could see the community without being a wanted woman. It was bittersweet. The next time she saw this many people she would be safely getting onto a ship to go home. But most of them wouldn’t. Annie so badly wanted to turn back and tell them. But what would that accomplish? A lot of panic. A lot of violence. Now was not the time.
“Did I do the right thing?” Annie asked as they sprinted away.
“What? Make Summer aware that you know?” Zed chuckled as though all they were doing was lightly jogging, meanwhile Annie was already short of breath. “Of course it was! If you have to constantly watch your back, make sure she has to do the same.”
Annie felt better just knowing that Zed was on her side. “Zed…will you help me kill her?” She didn’t know if she was strong enough to kill a person on her own. An alien was hard enough, especially since she had understood the intent behind their violent decisions. But killing another person, who just like Annie, was trying to make it only twenty-seven more days to get home, was an entirely different story.
This time Annie didn’t feel reassured, as Zed was silent for a long time. “I can’t do that.” Annie skidded to a stop, and Zed followed. “What are you doing?” he demanded, walking back to her and trying to pull her with him.
Annie yanked her arm from him and glared angrily, while simultaneously trying to catch her breath. “You convince me to make promises to end Sum
mer, and now you’re telling me you can’t help me?”
Zed’s face filled with rage. “I don’t know what you think I owe you. I told you that I decided a long time ago that I wouldn’t ever kill another human.”
“You don’t owe me anything, Zed. But don’t back me up on every decision I make, don’t make me think that I need to kill someone if you don’t feel that you can be there for me.”
“I have gone out of my way to put my life on hold to support you. And I believe that you should do everything that you can in order to ensure your own survival. But I am never going to kill another human again unless my life is directly at risk. I’m sorry I can’t stand next to you during that. But I want you to know that I will never judge you for it.”
Annie sighed deeply. He was right; she knew that he was right. But she was scared. How had it come to this? “I don’t want to be in the Shield tonight. Everyone will be out looking for me.” They had stopped in the farming fields in the east of the Shield. She looked back towards the town center longingly. She could hear the distant chatter as people celebrated. If she had only done slightly better on some of her tests, she would have ended up in a different career. She would have been as unaware and as happy as everyone else was in that moment. She had forgotten what it felt like, to feel truly happy.
“Where do you want to go?” Zed asked. His tensed face had relaxed. He had already forgiven her. Annie wished that she had that ability, to forgive so quickly. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be a human trait. Holding grudges and getting revenge were what the people of Earth were good at.
She knew where she wanted to go, the one place that had always cleared Annie’s mind. “Will you come with me to the tree house?”
◆◆◆
“I really wish I had stolen a couple of coats and gloves before leaving the Shield,” Annie mumbled through chattering teeth.
The sun had begun setting over the woods, and the temperature had dropped rapidly. Annie could see her breath hover in the air in front of her. She had tucked her fingers up into her armpits, trying to gain some feeling back. Her toes had gone completely numb inside of her boots. She imagined Summer in a warm bed, and it filled her with rage.
Zed took off his light jacket and stood up, draping it over her shoulders. “I wish I had more to give you,” he said.
The jacket didn’t make her feel any warmer, but it had been a nice thought. Her teeth chattered a little less than before. She watched him as he slowly lowered himself back onto the tree house floor across from her. Annie couldn’t help herself from eyeing his naked chest. It had been a long time since she had seen a shirtless man in this way, since she had been with Dustan in fact, and she was only human. The setting sun cast an orange light across his muscles. “Aren’t you cold?” She asked. Kevin's face flashed in her mind, and she felt immediate guilt for the thoughts she was having. She needed to remember that the muscles didn’t belong to him. He was an alien inside of a human body.
“We don’t really get cold. Have you ever seen one of us in clothes?”
No, of course she hadn’t. Every time she had seen one of them slip in and out of the darkness, or tackle a human to the ground, they were completely naked. Their legs were so long and gangly, it was hard to believe that they ran as fast as they did. It was impossible for humans to determine the sex of the suckers based on their external appearance, not that it was ever of great concern. As far as Annie could tell, both male and female suckers could end their life in a matter of seconds. Their bodies looked similar to an extremely malnourished human, which was why their incredible strength was so surprising.
“Must be nice.”
“It is nice, being one with the earth.”
“Well it wouldn’t matter how ‘one’ humans felt with the earth,” Annie said, pulling his jacket closer around her body. She was finally starting to feel warm. “We would still freeze in the winters.”
“Another sign that you don’t belong here.” Zed shrugged.
Annie nodded. She was done with arguing with Zed about what humans deserved or didn’t deserve. At this point, her only want was to stay alive until the ship's arrival. But with the chill she felt across her face, she wasn’t entirely sure that she would make it through the night out here. “I don’t know why you’d be here, when you could be in the tropics, avoiding winter.”
Zed chuckled softly. "I like the snow."
“Zed.” There was a call from below the tree house. Annie and Zed both went quiet. It was a confident call, out in the middle of the soul sucker-ridden forest. Annie knew exactly what that meant.
They both peered over the edge of the tree house, to see a sucker staring back at them. Orange light shone on its terrifying face. It wasn’t grinning like they so often did when they went in for the kill. It looked annoyed. His jaw was more defined than she had ever seen in a sucker. His ears stuck out, his dark eyes were wide-set. It was eerie to Annie that she was beginning to be able to differentiate between them.
“Tawa,” Zed responded. Annie wasn’t sure if this was a word in their native language or the name of the sucker below them.
“I could hear your voice from across the forest,” the sucker chuckled. “This is what you’ve been doing with your time? Fraternizing with dinner?”
“Leave, Tawa. This doesn’t concern you.”
“Mother sent me. She wanted to know where you’ve been staying all of these weeks, months. You never visit her anymore. You missed an evening with your family to do this? You know how disgusted she will be when I tell her you’ve been camping out with a filthy human.” Tawa spit.
The way the soul sucker was eyeing Annie made her stomach turn. She was more thankful now than ever that they were incapable of climbing with their long, pointed fingers. She would have already been dead if this thing had been able to get to her.
Annie could feel Zed trembling next to her. “Please, brother, do not tell her.” He spoke with formality when speaking to his own kind, in comparison to how he spoke to her. He had adapted so well to the humans that he had learned their slang and sayings.
Tawa laughed. “Do not tell her? Brother, I will tell everyone in sight. A classic tale of the wolf falling for the lamb. The entire tribe will know. You’ve always been an embarrassment to our family. Finally, you will be exiled.”
Zed stood up. He brushed off his pants slowly, unsure of what he was going to do or say. Annie offered him his jacket back by trying to pass it to him, but he didn’t acknowledge her. She sunk down, not wanting to look at Zed’s brother for another moment. Finally, as Annie waited with baited breath, Zed cleared his throat. “Tawa, you know how much I love you. You know how I feel about our family. However, if you do not take back your words, I am going to have to stop you.”
A threat. Annie peaked back over the edge to look for the sucker’s reaction. Tawa and Zed stared into each other’s eyes for a long time; Annie could feel the tension between them even though their faces revealed nothing. Zed, in his human body, was attempting to dominate Tawa. But the soul sucker standing below them was in charge, and even Annie could sense it.
Tawa eventually laughed to break the tension. “Stop me? Brother? Need I remind you who gave you that scar on your back? Is that why you hide in your pathetic human form? So nobody can see it?”
Tawa concentrated, and Annie watched him change right before her eyes. His body morphed, his torso got thicker, his fingers shrunk. In a matter of seconds Annie found herself looking at a middle-aged man, with a beard that had grown seemingly out of nowhere, and muscles that bulged where paper-thin grey skin had just been. He even had a human twinkle in his eye.
“Come down here then, Zed, and stop me.” His voice was deeper now, booming. It echoed through the forest and Annie was sure it could have been heard for miles.
Zed began to throw one leg over the side of the tree house. “Zed, don’t,” Annie begged, pulling on his other leg. If she lost him, she had no idea what she was going to do. She would die out here, or die i
n the Shield.
He looked down, then back at her, his eyes wild with anger. “What am I supposed to do, Annie? Let him go back and destroy my life?”
“If you go down there, you won’t be able to climb back up.” She didn’t understand how such strong powerful beings were unable to do something as simple as climb a tree or swim. But it had been the only thing that had kept the humans alive for so long. That, and whatever genius had realized that they needed to put something solid under the dirt within the Shield to ensure that the soul suckers couldn’t dig underneath. Annie had often thought about the poor people that had initially been murdered by the aliens coming up through the dirt. She knew first-hand how terrifying it was to watch monsters rise beneath her feet.
“I need to do this.” He tried to pull his leg away again but Annie wouldn’t budge. “Annie…”
Tawa called from below the trees, laughing at Zed, mocking him. “Letting your meal call the shots, are you? I don’t have all day,” he bellowed.
Zed leaned back towards her, grabbing Annie’s face with both his hands. “I am not leaving you, Annie. I am going to be here for you until you get on that ship and you go home. But this is my life on the line. I will come back for you.” She could hear the pain in his voice. She knew he wouldn’t have been doing this if he had any other option.
Annie tentatively let go. Zed immediately jumped, and she heard a shallow thump on the snowy forest floor. Annie looked over the edge to see that he had already changed. Zed wasn’t in his human form anymore. He was a sucker. Tawa's eyebrows raised and he also returned to his natural form. Annie eyed Zed's back, realizing she hadn’t noticed the scar that ran down it before. It stretched all the way from his left shoulder down to the base of his spine. There were three long scratch marks that closely resembled the scars on Annie’s arms. They radiated with pain whenever Annie thought about them. The two brothers walked in a slow circle for a moment without saying anything, and Annie could see in Zed’s eyes that he wasn’t the same gentle silver person that she had previously seen. He was angry; he was out for blood.