by Coralee June
After a while, Lilly ventured back into the meadow to collect more Kava root as well as another leaf I'd never heard of. My plant identifying skills were basic, and Lilly somehow always managed to find the rare medicinal herbs with ease.
Mia let out a moan, and Jules quickly grabbed a cloth to wipe her brow. "That pain relieving root doesn't seem to be working," she murmured, teeth clenched.
"It's not foolproof, unfortunately. We need a real clinic. A healing pod. They don't have the same technology as Dormas, but they make do." I was pretty impressed with how the Scavengers managed to survive. Despite every disadvantage, the Scavengers still persevered. Little to no food, no electricity, and no clean water made them resilient, but it also made them defenseless.
"Is she safe for transport? We could be at Dormas within a day." Jules stood up to pace the floors of the medic tent once more. My eyes watched her pacing, and I found myself smiling a little. There was a time that she criticized me for pacing and worrying about my men; it made me happy to see that she’d found people she cared enough to worry about.
"I shouldn't risk it until her fever has gone down, and even so, Dormas is taken over by Ethros guards. It's not safe to go there."
Jules let out a throaty humorless laugh. "It's not safe to go anywhere, Walker." I took in her bloody clothes and tight-lipped grimace and knew she was right.
"I have clothes. Would you like to change into something less...bloody?" I asked, still unable to comprehend that Jules had killed someone. She'd managed to defend herself.
"I'd prefer to wait until her fever is down," Jules replied. It was odd seeing her so vulnerable and frazzled. She'd always seemed unaffected before. Mia had become someone that meant a lot to her over the last five months.
"You might be waiting a while. Where is Tallis?" I asked. Last I'd seen them, they were in the beginning stages of a relationship.
"He's in the Walker Zone." Jules' voice had a dreamy quality to it that made me think that they were still together.
"Why is he there?"
Jules turned her attention towards me before answering, "He's joining the Resistance. We're going to fight Cavil."
Absorbing her words, I finished smashing the Kava plant into the paste and made my way back over to Mia. I felt Jules' eyes on me as I lifted Mia's dressings to look at the stitches covering her torso. Using my gloved hand, I slathered it over her. Mia bucked when my hand touched her, and she moaned at the contact, her teeth gritted in pain.
"I thought that was for pain management," Jules said, crossing her thin arms over her chest and eyeing me with scrutiny. "It doesn't seem to be helping with any of her pain."
"If ingested, it can relieve pain, but when applied topically it prevents infection. It'll sting, but it's keeping it clean." Mia let out a moan, and I went to check her temperature once more, worried that an infection would set in.
"So why are you here?" I finally asked, working up the courage to know how Cyler, Jacob, and Maverick were. Did I want to know? Many nights I spent wondering if they'd moved on. If they were happier without me. It seemed silly now. Everyone's lives were at stake, and I was worried about unrequited love.
"I'm here because, even from across the empire, you're proving to be a gigantic pain in my ass."
The tent was dark despite the morning sun peeking through the entrance. But it wasn't dark enough to hide her angry brown-eyed stare directed right at me. "How are you even alive?" I asked, not taking the bait for her argument. I knew that she wanted a fight, but I wasn't going to give it to her. Jules was so stubborn, her heart seeking each and every opportunity to argue in order to avoid the pain it was feeling with each beat.
"I guess I have you to thank for that." In the corner of the tent was a bucket of Deadlands water and a small mirror propped up on a shelf. She made her way over to it and began washing her face, wincing when the acidic water touched a cut on her lip. "I was about a breath away from death. In fact, I did die. For two minutes to be exact. When you crossed the boundary, it activated my fetter, and the electric shock activated the rejection cure."
Jules turned around and began rolling up her stained sleeves, showing me her arm. There, where her fetter once was, was a purple scar wrapped around her bony wrist. How was that even possible? "Did you know that when a host dies, the fetter is programmed to detach itself?" She then nodded at my wrist where the reminder of my time at Ethros still sat proudly. "That fetter of yours has probably had dozens of owners before you."
"How...economical," I said with a shiver. It bothered me to think of how nonchalant she was about it all.
"So I guess since you fled to this little vacation of yours, nearly killing me, I should thank you. Your selfish little stunt saved my life. I escaped Ethros in a coffin. My brothers asked Cavil to bury me in Dormas. Maverick gave me some medicine that put me in a deep sleep, then I woke up in the Zone to Tallis and Mia."
There was so much in that statement that had me stuttering, but I clung to one part. "Selfish? I had no choice. You have no idea what happened to me," I growled while stomping towards her. "I woke up in the very same bed Mia is in. It wasn't until I was in the transport that I realized what was happening. I would have stayed, Jules."
"You had to have known, anyone with half a brain would have questioned things," Jules retorted.
"I didn't have time to question things. I was fighting for my life!" Jules simply smiled in response. Maybe it was my pent up anger at how everything happened. Or maybe I was angry because she was right. I should have known that Cyler would have planned something like this.
I wound back my arm and smacked Jules across the cheek. All earlier joy at having her and Mia back, safe and sound, was gone. Now, all I wanted was to hurt her. I needed to hurt someone.
I expected her eyes to water. I wanted the gratification of seeing her reaction, but what I got instead was like a knife twisting deep in my chest. Jules smiled. A wide, genuine smile full of promise and happiness.
"Look at you," she began while turning to inspect the red mark I left on her cheek in the mirror above the washbasin. "You got some bark now. I think you're ready."
"Ready for what?" I asked, my earlier anger fizzling out into nothing. What was happening? Had Jules completely lost her mind during her time away?
"Tallis and I made some friends in the Walker Zone. Friends that want to help us get my brothers back."
"Okay, well, let's do this, then," I said. Adrenaline flooded my veins. I'd been waiting five months to act, five months for the opportunity to claim my revenge.
Jules shuffled closer to me until we were nose to nose. "Are you willing to do anything?" she asked, her voice soft now. "’Cause I'm about to do something that many wouldn't approve of."
I cocked my eyebrow, unsure of what she meant. Jules was speaking in riddles. I watched as she dug inside the pocket of her pants, lifting a pill up so that it was eye level with me. "What are you going to do?" I asked. Jules seemed unstable yet determined. Her movements were planned like it was something she'd dreamed about for a while.
"You're only good to me dead, Walker. I'm going to kill you."
Before I could react, before I could stop her, Jules shoved me to the ground. Pinning my arms to my sides with her knees, she smiled with a grunt before shoving the pill in my mouth and clamping it shut. The pill was bitter and dissolved on my tongue the moment it hit.
She kept her hand over my mouth, and I fought my fading energy, bucking beneath Jules. I was dying to break free from her hold on the dirt floor of the medic tent. Behind her, the door to the tent opened and a shadowy figure entered. My vision began to fade as yells erupted, and Jules was pulled off of me.
"Enjoy death, little Walker," she screamed. The last thing I saw was a tall man picking her up off the floor and hauling Jules outside. A hand touched my cheek.
"Stay with me, Ash! Don't go! Please, don't go."
Chapter Four
"Ash, come on! Tag—you're it!"
I blinked, for
cing away the hazy blur that filled my eyes. I tried to focus on the blond-haired little boy in front of me, but it was like I had tunnel vision, the edges of my gaze were white and milky with smoke.
"Payne?" I asked with a frown. From my limited view, I gathered that we were in Stonewell Manor, hiding beneath the dining room table, to be exact. I held my hands out in front of me, taking in the soot and grime that covered them.
"I'm not Payne, silly. I'm Josiah," he said. My eyes shot back to the little boy in front of me. His slick blond hair was swept to the side, peach lips framing a wide grin covered in chocolate.
"Josiah?" I asked in confusion. It was like I was wading through my thoughts. My limbs felt slow and heavy. My thoughts delayed as I processed each distorted moment. The lights flickered.
"Shh," he said, holding a small finger up to my lips while shifting further under the dining room table. "Mother is coming!"
I crouched lower, feeling dazed and disoriented. It was like I couldn't hold on to my body, my memories. While I tried to grasp hold of my surroundings, heels stepping on the tile made their way towards us. "Lackley, why must you go back to the capital so soon? You only just got here, and my husband isn't expected back for a week!"
Mistress Stonewell's voice echoed around us, and my eyes flashed to Josiah. His gaze was wide as he silently giggled, shoulders shaking with amusement. "I have business to attend to at the capital. One of my scientists has made an important discovery that I must deal with."
"Everything is always more important to you than I am," Mistress Stonewell cried out. All I could see from beneath the table was her pale pink heel stomping on the tile to accentuate her words. I tried to shift closer, to look at their faces, but Josiah’s hand jetted out to stop me.
"Don't be so dramatic, Linda. Some things are more important than your need for validation, you know. I'm an important man."
Mistress Stonewell heaved a long, steady sigh before responding. "Of course I know, Lackley. It's all you ever remind me of."
My brow shot up, and I looked to Josiah. He was tracing lines in the fibers of the rug beneath us, no longer listening and looking wildly sad. "I suggest you tread carefully," Lackley replied, drawing my attention back to them. "Remember who you're speaking to, darling."
"I know exactly who I'm speaking to," Mistress Stonewell replied, her tone dark and foreboding. "I also know that you're sleeping with this scientist you're always raving about. You're putting a lot of faith in Dominique. I don't think her views align with ours."
A hand slammed down on the dining table, making Josiah and me flinch. "She's the brightest scientist in the empire. I have to protect her. Don't think you control me. Don't think you have any say in who I see or who I fuck. This thing between us is nothing, so next time you want to tell me who to see—don't."
From under the table, I watched as Lackley left, leaving Mistress Stonewell in a stupor. His polished dress shoes clacked against the tile, and once he was out of sight, Linda collapsed on the floor in a heap of sobs, cradling her head in her hands. Josiah then laughed at his mother's defeated posture. The chuckles erupting from his mouth cruel and uncaring. Mistress Stonewell snapped her attention towards us with a ferocious scowl.
"Were you spying on me, Walker?" she asked while crawling towards me.
"No—" I choked out. With one swift movement, she swiped the dining chair aside, leaving me vulnerable. When it crashed to the wall, I jumped. Her bony fingers wrapped around my ankle as she yanked me out from beneath the table and towards her. I lay on the floor staring up at her as she lifted her arm.
"I'll show you what happens to little Walkers that eavesdrop," she screamed before backhanding me. My vision went black, but I clung to the memory as I felt a hand grasp mine.
"Remember, Ash. Save them, Ash," Josiah's voice said, no longer sounding boyish. "Save them. Save them all."
When I woke up, my chest felt tight, but my limbs light. "What happened?" I croaked as memories of Jules pinning me to the ground and forcing a pill down my throat assaulted me. Looking around, I gathered that I was still in the Scavenger medic tent. I wasn't sure how long I'd been lying there, but my growling stomach made me think that it had, at the very least, been a day since I'd eaten.
The door to the tent opened, flooding the room with bright sunlight. I winced as my head and eyes burned from the intrusion. Throwing my arm over my face to block my vision, I froze when I didn't feel the familiar metal of a fetter on my wrist.
"Ash?" a familiar voice called out to me, and I moved my arm to see Payne.
He had dirt on his cheek, and the back of his hair stood straight up. I imagined that he hadn't seen Mistress Stonewell recently, because if he had, she'd not let him walk around in "such a condition."
"Hey, kid," I smiled.
“I'm glad you're okay," he replied. "Huxley is mean when you're not around," Payne pouted as he climbed up onto my legs. I looked towards the far side of the tent where Lilly was messing with herbs on a table and giving me sideways glances.
"What happened?" I asked her.
She took a while to respond, shuffling various plants around before turning to face me. "That treli skyla, Jules, is what happened," Lilly finally said. "She shoved some empire medicine down your throat. You died. That thing popped off your wrist, and then you were back. You've been asleep for a couple hours."
I shook my head then ran my finger along the purple scar where my fetter once was. "It's really gone?" I asked. Somehow, this felt like a trick. Like the empire was playing one giant joke on me, and Cavil would pop out from under my bed to clamp a new one right back on.
"She's insane!" Lilly added, throwing her hands up. "Chief took her to the solitude cage for review, and she didn't even bat an eye. In fact, she almost looked pleased to be punished for killing you!"
I turned to look at the bed beside me and smiled when I saw Mia shuffling beneath her blankets. "Agapimenos has some balls," Mia said, her voice hoarse, and the moment sound escaped her lips, Lilly fluttered over towards her, bending over to check her wound and fever.
"Hey there, Agrio, long time no see," Mia finally said once Lilly mumbled to herself something about “crazy visitors” and went back to mixing another one of her concoctions.
"Mia," I cooed while sitting up. Payne got off of my lap, and I shifted to place my feet on the floor of the tent. "How are you?"
She flashed me her signature sharp-toothed smile, but it looked weak and half-hearted. "I've been better. But that sexy Chief you've got is making me feel much better," she replied while throwing her hand up to her face in mock-swoon.
"Glad to hear you're making new friends and not throwing knives at the locals," I joked, thinking back to her aptitude with weapons.
"No, it would seem that Jules is the one angering the locals. I'm pretty impressed that she killed you. I thought for sure she'd at least talk to you first. But no! She went for the sneak attack." Mia then wiped away a tear that hadn't fallen. "I'm so proud."
Payne giggled at Mia, and she flashed him a teasing smile and a wink. I was about to ask where she got that medicine to temporarily kill someone, but the tent door opened, interrupting us.
"Ash?" Kemper asked, slumping with relief once he saw me. "Jules is damn lucky you woke up." Kemper made his way over to me and sat down on the cot. Wrapping his arm around my shoulder, he gave me a side hug before kissing my forehead.
"I could have done without the theatrics, but look," I said, holding up my bare wrist. "I'm fetter free!" It felt like I was significantly lighter. I didn't realize how much of a weight the fetter was. It was an invisible cage, reminding me of my time in Ethros. Reminding me of all I'd lost. I’d accepted that the fetter was just another consequence of Cavil. I even learned to avoid staring at the shiny metal wrapped tightly around my wrist. But now that it was gone, I noticed it more than when I’d actually worn it.
"Jules knew your bodyguards would never risk letting you take medicine that could potentially kill you," Mia said wi
th a wave of her hand. "I was the one that suggested she just shove it in your mouth. I just didn't expect her to actually do it." Mia chuckled before coughing and gripping her chest. Lilly gave her a scowl, as if daring her to laugh again on her watch. The strict healer was not docile. She was crazy passionate and devoted to her patients.
Kemper went rigid beside me. "You're lucky you're still recovering, Mia," Kemper said, his voice carrying a hard edge that I hadn't expected from him. "I respect you and your brother, but I'd lock you in with Jules for this stunt."
"And I'd gladly accept my punishment. Sometimes it's better to ask forgiveness than permission, huh? There are much bigger problems at stake. The risk was worth it."
I stared at Mia, looking into her deep brown eyes for a moment as her playful grin turned serious. She was always wild, but there was a maturity about her. What had happened these last five months?
Kemper spoke again while rubbing circles on my shoulder with his fingers. "We have a meeting in three hours with Aarav and the tribe elders. They want to discuss why you're here and the safety of the camp. I'm happy to see you, but it's brought up some concerns about us being here."
"We won't be here long," Mia replied cryptically.
"You're not going anywhere," Lilly interrupted. Payne had moved to the floor, and she had him stripping the leaves off a plant. "You're in no condition to be walking around—at least not until your fever is down." Lilly crossed her tattooed arms over her chest. Long, grey hair with frizzy ends covered her shoulders.
"That might not be an option, Lilly," Kemper said.
"Bah! I am the council. What I say goes. It doesn't take a title to make decisions. It just takes having the power to kill or save anyone," Lilly said while gesturing towards her work station. Wasn’t that the problem, though? I didn’t tell Lilly how much her views reminded me of Cavil, but I couldn’t help but shiver at her seemingly harmless comment.