by Ann Aguirre
I looked around the room, caught the pale, avid faces and the huge eyes. They were creepy, but harmless. I didn’t think they’d resist if I tried to leave. The idea of going back into the dark alone, however, paralyzed me.
Then I thought of Fade, out there on his own, and searching for me. He wouldn’t just keep heading for the enclave. I felt sure of it. After the loss of his first partner, they’d kill him if he came back alone. I could no longer doubt it, after the way the elders had treated the stray brat.
“If you’re willing, I’ll accept your hospitality in offering a place to rest, but that’s all. And only after I find my partner. We need a new place to trade.” I didn’t know much about supply and demand, but I knew one thing we had that others always coveted. “We have fish pools. Maybe your people would be willing to barter goods?”
They conferred briefly, and then the one that had snagged me nodded. “Deal. We share our fire til da Eaters pass. But you find da other one and bring him.”
I could do that. Nodding, I turned and slid back out the way we’d come. I stepped into the inky darkness of the tunnel. For a moment I stood still and tried to orient myself. I listened for any breathing or hint of movement, but I could only hear the thundering of my own heart.
Which way would he have gone? Not back the way we’d come, surely. I turned left and crept along, listening every few feet for some sign of him. As I came to a fork in the tunnels, I paused again, sensing … something.
“Fade?” I whispered.
Movement. I didn’t see him until he was almost on top of me. He curled his hands around my forearms, sounding considerably less panicked than I would have in the same situation. “Are you all right? Where were you?”
“Come on. No time to explain.”
My skin prickled as I retraced my steps. Despite my concentration, I doubt I would’ve found the crack in the tunnel, if my benefactor hadn’t grabbed me again. This time I kept ahold of Fade and dragged him in with me. He had to turn sideways to ease through the gap. The side shaft was just wide enough for his shoulders.
The small man began fitting loose stones into the gap, a smart measure, even if it made me feel trapped. But it should confuse Freaks — even the smart ones — if they happened to track us this far. I didn’t speak until we were well away from the opening.
Fade gazed around in surprise. “What is this place?”
“Home,” one of them said. That time, I caught a look in his mouth as he spoke, and was relieved to see normal teeth, teeth for chewing, not tearing flesh.
“We need a place to rest before the last leg of our journey,” I told Fade. “They’ve volunteered. In return, we’ll try to set up some trade.” I paused, lowering my voice. “Freaks are following us.”
He grasped the problem at once. “Instead of attacking, they’re looking for the bigger prize.”
“They want to see where we live.” That definitely indicated a level of intelligence we’d never encountered in them before.
“We have to lose them before heading back to enclave.”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
He leaned in to whisper, “You’re sure we’re safe here?”
I pitched my voice low. “Relatively. We’re bigger and stronger, and I do think they want to trade. They wanted me for breeding at first, but I convinced them it wasn’t an option.”
His teeth flashed white in the smoky torchlight. “And no bodies? Impressive.”
Wearily, I sank down onto the stone floor. Around us, they went about their business. There were more of them than I’d first realized, though few in comparison with us. Considering their relative proximity, it was more impressive that we hadn’t known of their existence before. Silk would probably want to kill them.
They brought us a thin gruel that appeared to have been made from mushrooms and stuff best not inquired about. I forced myself to eat it and thanked them for the meal. Fade sat close beside me, practically keeping a hand on me at all times in case I disappeared again. His subtle concern warmed me.
I was starting to be able to tell the Burrowers apart. Though they shared a certain resemblance, the one who’d rescued me first was a touch taller than the rest. He gave me a little bow and said, “Am Jengu.”
“Deuce.” I pointed at my partner and said, “Fade. You want to tell us what you have to trade?”
“Why doan I show you?”
I figured that was a good idea; I could tell the elders specifically what the Burrowers had to offer. With Fade close behind, I followed Jengu down another tunnel. We negotiated some twists and turns. The fatty torches made the air taste as bitter as burned meat. I tried to breathe only through my nose.
We emerged on a platform like the one where we’d rested. There appeared to be no other access, due to a collapse and heavy tons of rock. Despite the blockage, this area was brighter and better ventilated. But that wasn’t even the most remarkable part — I’d never seen such a collection of old stuff. They had piles and piles of it, just sitting on the platforms. Most of it, I had no idea what it was or what it did, but this was the kind of treasure trove that would make the Wordkeeper run all the way here in person, just to examine the artifacts.
“Worth a few fish?” Jengu asked.
“And then some.”
I didn’t look through the stacks of stuff, although I longed to. But time was ticking away for Fade and me. We needed to rest and then get moving. Surely the Freaks would’ve lost our trail by the time we woke.
“Do you mind if we sleep here?” Fade asked. “You can search our bags now to see what we have, and then again before we go. We won’t take anything.”
“You wan sleep in storage?” Jengu seemed puzzled.
I understood Fade’s request, at least. The ceilings were higher, and it smelled a little better in here. Good-hearted they might be, I didn’t think our Burrower friends practiced much in the way of cleaning.
“If you don’t mind.” I held out my pack so he could rifle through it.
“Got dis where?” he asked, pulling out one of the slim books.
“On the way back from Nassau. There was a room up some stairs—”
“Ah,” he said. “Up near Topside?”
I nodded. “I guess.”
“Anything else?”
“Sure,” Fade answered. “We didn’t take it all. Couldn’t carry it.”
Jengu seemed pleased. It was more for them to collect when it came time to trade. Once he was satisfied as to what belonged to us, he shuffled off toward the smaller tunnels. I guessed he felt more at home in the darkness with the coziness of low ceilings. It made me feel trapped.
“You’re all right?” Fade asked, once he’d gone. “They didn’t hurt you?”
I shook my head. “They’re harmless. It would do the enclave good to make friends of them, I think. Look at this place.”
“It’s amazing. They must’ve been scrounging for generations.”
“Thanks for waiting for me. But it was a big risk. Anything could’ve happened to you.”
He touched my cheek very lightly. “I have your back. I didn’t mean only when it’s easy. All the time.”
Wow. Warmth blossomed within me. Even if nobody else liked him, even if the rest of them never accepted me, I couldn’t have done better for a partner. I doubted the other Hunters would’ve acted the same. They would’ve followed orders to the letter and gone back to the enclave, leaving me to fend for myself. Silently, I thanked Silk.
“This should be our last stop. Tomorrow, we make it home.” I got out my blanket and wrapped up in it.
A gap in the piles offered us the perfect place to curl up. We went to sleep a whisper apart and when I woke, he lay on his side, facing me. He always seemed different with his eyes shut. The contrast of his pale skin and sooty lashes made me want to brush my fingertips across the dark and light of it. My heart thumped inside my chest as his eyes opened and met mine.
Fade grinned. “Still tired?”
I groaned and roll
ed to my feet. Lying on rock had taken its toll. I felt like I could sleep for a week. Not like that would happen. As payment for our survival, Silk would probably assign us double shifts.
We got our things and went into the smaller tunnels. The Burrowers were already awake, and Jengu checked our bags to make sure we’d kept our word. I don’t think he had any doubt, but it reassured the others.
After saying good-bye, we felt strong enough to handle the last leg of the journey. It would be a tough run, and there were Freaks to dodge, but we’d make it. We were Hunters, and the enclave needed the news we carried.
Homecoming
A day later, Fade and I staggered toward the barricades. We’d been forced to fight a group of Freaks when we could least afford to expend the energy, and we had very little left now. The guards broke from their posts to help us. I guessed they could see we were in a bad way. My lips burned with thirst.
Someone fetched Silk, who demanded, “Get them food and drink. They can barely move, let alone give a report.”
She was kind enough to let us sit down in the kitchen area. I collapsed on a crate and thought I might never rise again. Gratefully I took the water and emptied the cup in careful sips. I remembered my lessons about how too much on an empty stomach could make me sick. Then I accepted a tiny bowl of stew and ate it with my fingers. It was lukewarm, which made it easier to rake it into my mouth.
As Fade and I ate, we gathered an audience. Not just Silk and the elders — Copper, Twist, and Whitewall — but Builders, Breeders, and brats too. I guessed they didn’t think we were coming back. Everyone waited to hear what we had to say. As senior Hunter, it was only right Fade take the floor. I put down the remnants of my meal and a wee brat scurried off with it.
“Well?” Silk demanded.
“Nassau has fallen. It’s Freak occupied now.” Fade put the problem more bluntly than I would have.
Disbelief whispered through the crowd. Whitewall motioned them to silence. “No survivors?”
“Not one,” he said. “They’re living where the Nassau citizens used to and feeding on the bodies.”
“And why is that?” Silk asked. “Were there signs of disease?”
I wasn’t about to say we didn’t get close enough to check things out in detail. Hopefully Fade wouldn’t either. “No, they died fighting. Sickness didn’t do this.” He outlined the theory he’d given me in the little hidden room. “Therefore, we need to change our tactics. Lay more traps. We also need a battle plan in case they hit us in numbers, like they did Nassau.”
Silk laughed. “You make it sound like Freaks are a force to be feared, a thinking enemy, rather than just vermin.”
Oh, no. She doesn’t believe him.
“It’s true,” I said. “We fought a number of them on the way to Nassau, and I think—” I almost couldn’t speak the words because I knew what disagreeing with her in public, siding with Fade would mean. “He’s right. They almost seemed to understand us at times.”
Her jaw tightened. “We’ll take your ideas into account at the next meeting.”
“Thank you, sir.” I ducked my head, exhausted.
We’d done everything we could, completed the mission, and delivered the requested information. If they chose to ignore us, we couldn’t help it. Dread crawled up my spine nonetheless.
“Move along,” Silk snapped at the gawkers. “There’s work to be done.”
There always was. I heard murmurs as people dispersed.
“What do you think?”
“Nassau never kept as clean as they should. They probably died of the dirty disease and then the Freaks ate them.”
Someone laughed. “It’ll serve them right when they die of it.”
Great. They thought we were insane. That we’d cracked out there in the dark and were imagining threats where none existed. But they hadn’t seen what we had. They didn’t know. I sat miserably on my crate, head bowed, until I recognized Silk’s boots.
“Because you completed your mission in the time allotted, I’m giving you tomorrow off patrol to rest and regain your strength. I don’t want to hear you talking about your crazy ideas, do you understand? There’s no reason to get people worked up, if they happen to believe you.”
I understood the bribe/threat combo perfectly. “I won’t talk to anyone about it.”
“Good. Dismissed.”
It took all my energy to drag my tired body to the bath area. I still had my clean clothes, at least. There had seemed no point in putting them on out there; I’d never smelled this bad in my life. I washed up longer than usual and then dried and dressed. A few other girls watched me, whispered and giggled, but they didn’t address me directly.
Afterward, I started on my clothes. Though I hadn’t noticed her arrival, Thimble came and took them from me. She went to work with silent efficiency. I leaned against the wall. My shoulder had scabbed over, and the salve Fade had used on me seemed to have warded off infection. But I’d always bear the scars as a reminder.
“How bad was it?” she asked softly.
“I promised not to talk about it.”
Her eyes shone with hurt, as she held my wet clothes. Blood trickled from the fabric and down the drain. “I’m your best friend.”
“I know. And you are. But I promised. I don’t want to get in trouble. Silk already has it in for me.”
“I wouldn’t repeat anything you tell me.”
Maybe not. But what if she yielded to the impulse to tell just one person, maybe Banner, who also told just one person? And pretty soon it got back to Silk. I couldn’t take the chance.
“I can’t. I’m sorry.”
She slammed my half-washed clothes back into my arms. I worked on them until my fingers were raw. Back in my living space, I hung the clothing up to dry. I almost flopped down on my pallet before I remembered that would sentence me to exile. My bag bulged with important relics; before I could rest I had to see the Wordkeeper. Shouldering my pack, I picked a path through the warren.
To my surprise, I found him in the common area. He was twenty-two, but he looked older, older even than Whitewall. He had wispy hair, so fair it looked white, and a face folded into a perpetual frown, as if he knew the day would disappoint him.
“Sir,” I said, and waited for him to acknowledge me.
“You have something to report, Huntress?”
Exhausted as I was, the title still thrilled me. “I do. On the way back from Nassau, we took shelter in a room filled with things that will interest you. I have them here.”
“Permission granted to make your offering.”
Before him, I laid out all the glossy, colorful books, the yellowed papers, every last trinket I’d collected, including some unknown items from the desk drawer. The Wordkeeper stared at it all with the sort of dawning wonder I’d felt. For the first time, I felt a glimmer of liking for him.
I checked my bag three times to make sure nothing got stuck in the crevices. “That’s everything.”
“Magnificent, the greatest find of our generation. It will enrich our culture in countless ways.” The Wordkeeper was already reading, murmuring to himself. “Repair switch in blue line … I wonder what that means.”
Well, “repair” spoke for itself. The rest I couldn’t help with. I stood quiet until he remembered me. “Ah, yes. You’ve distinguished yourself among all citizens. For your contribution, I will see you rewarded. What would you like?”
For Silk to take me seriously. I almost said it. At the last moment, I bit my tongue to keep the words back. She would not take it well if a reprimand came from the Wordkeeper; she would see it as me going outside the chain of command for preferential treatment. Such behavior was weak and soft, and she’d be right to name it so.
“Any reward you think suitable will please me,” I said.
He smiled. I didn’t think I’d ever seen the Wordkeeper smile. “Very good.”
“That’s not all.”
“Oh?”
“There’s a small se
ttlement only a day from here. They’re not Freaks, but they don’t look like us, either. I’d never seen anything like them.” Strictly speaking, Whitewall should be here as well, but I was too tired to care about protocol.
“Friendly?”
“Yes. They gave us food and shelter, or I doubt Fade and I would’ve made it. Our water wasn’t adequate for the journey, and it wasn’t safe to get supplies at Nassau.”
“Good news,” he said neutrally.
“It gets better. They had the most artifacts I’ve ever seen in a storeroom there. It could take years to go through everything.”
“Books?” he demanded.
“I think so. But there’s old technology, relics, things I didn’t even recognize. The Burrowers don’t seem to value it. They want some fish in exchange.”
“Fish?” The Wordkeeper laughed. “They can’t be very smart.”
That term was relative, I thought. You could eat a fish; you couldn’t eat the stuff the Burrowers had stacked up. Wisely, I said nothing of the kind.
“That’s all, sir. May I go?”
“Before you sleep, give Silk the location of these Burrowers. I’ll make sure she sends a team. And then rest, Huntress. You’ve earned it.”
I certainly had. My legs barely carried me to find Silk. She was watching a crop of likely brats when I stumbled up to her. I relayed the location as close as I could, per the Wordkeeper’s instructions. Silk seemed scornful, but she agreed to talk to him. I was glad I was out of that business now.
Had anyone ever gone to Nassau and back so quickly before? I didn’t think so. Generally, they stayed to visit, share news, and replenish supplies. Fade and I hadn’t had that option, and without the Burrowers, we would’ve died. Maybe Jengu knew that too — and that was why he grabbed me.
So tired. It took everything I had to make it to my living space. The rag pallet seemed the height of comfort compared with what we had been sleeping on. It felt a little strange to be alone, after so many days with Fade. Like me, he’d probably showered and gone to bed. He had to be exhausted too.
Unlike other days when I lay there, unable to rest for the buzzing of my head, I winked out as soon as I closed my eyes.