"You know, you don’t have to eat all of that now," I said, breaking the silence after we both had finished our sandwiches and split an entire cucumber, as Harper started stacking together another. "We’ve got more food for tomorrow. And we’ll find more after that.”
"Are you sure?" Harper said with a pointed look that ensured I knew the question was rhetorical. "Anything could happen tonight, anything could happen tomorrow. It never hurts to make sure you have enough fuel to get you through whatever’s coming."
I couldn’t argue, though I didn’t see our situation as quite so bleak as Harper did, at least not anymore. So, I changed the subject. "My last memory from before all of this was pretty much at this same time yesterday, when I was about to go to bed. Everything was awful, or at least what I'd thought was awful back then. Back then, damn, it feels like so long ago."
I could still picture my room, the song I'd had playing in the background—some pop hit that was way too cheerful for the moment at hand—and the glow of the streetlights outside my window.
How had my life unraveled so quickly?
And more importantly, how could I get a handle on it again?
"A lifetime ago," Harper said, not looking at me. Her voice was soft, and I was almost certain that she hadn't realized she'd spoken out loud.
"I mean, is there any way you could have ever imagined that this was where you'd be today?"
Harper shook her head. "Actually, I wasn't sure I'd be anywhere today." A long silence hung between us, but I knew better than to speak up. "Before I got here, I was in the basement of this long-abandoned skyscraper. It was close to the one my boss, Elaine, used as her headquarters, and I was supposed to get her a package. I was running late; my sister had just fled the city, and I didn't know where she'd gone. It knocked me off my game somehow. Alayna–the Underlord of Manhattan–was less than pleased with my performance. The last thing I remember is one of her flunkies running me through with a broadsword."
My mouth dropped open a little, but I snapped it back up again, trying to keep my expression neutral. Inside, I was horrified, and a little afraid that my reaction to Harper’s story was obvious. But what do you even say to something like that?
"When I got here, I was pretty sure it was heaven. Either that or the blow hadn't killed me, and I was hallucinating somewhere in a coma. But that thing damn well felt like it had killed me. And I didn't know what I'd done to deserve this afterlife, but I was convinced. I guess it's easier to believe that than the fact that my entire life had just been a story someone was telling. A story where they didn't see fit to keep me alive."
"God, Harper. That's tough. I'm sorry." As far as condolences went it was pathetic, but it was the best I could manage.
"Not your fault. I just hope my sister fared better, that she managed to get away. Though, I guess in the end it doesn't really matter. She's here somewhere too. Although I guess that means Elaine is as well. Same with Jonas, the bastard who killed me."
"Well, this seems like a pretty big place. Maybe you can find your sister and the two of you can start over here, avoiding any assholes from your life before. Like the letter said, this is your chance at a new life, to create something for yourself. You don't have to work for anyone you don't want to, or deal with any crap." I said the last part while remembering vividly how no one had run to help me when the man in black grabbed me. Maybe people here just sucked, but I wasn’t about to say that Harper. "Your life here can be better than it was before. I promise." That much at least I was confident in. Even if there were no guarantees in the After, I’d already seen so many incredible things in one day that a better life had to be at least possible. Anything seemed to be possible in this place. "But first, we are probably going to have to get some sleep."
"I don't even know what time it is," Harper admitted. "The sun hasn't been down that long, so it's probably not that late, but I am so beyond ready to sleep."
"We’re pretty well tucked away here. No one will see us, and, with luck, tomorrow will go a little more smoothly since we won’t start it off waking up in a strange place, with no idea how we got there. There must be help somewhere; there must be more than this. So tomorrow we’ll find it. Even if we just get ourselves to the nearest police station, making sure the uniform there isn't long black coats and red sunglasses, then we’ll see if anyone there can help us."
"Or, we can go to that big white building. Like you said, it looks official."
"See, we’ve got options. So many options."
"But first, sleep."
"Sleep," I agreed. Harper set about putting everything back in our bag and then propped it up at the trunk of the tree as a pillow. I only had my new shoes to keep me comfortable, and I would’ve been better off with just my arm to cushion my head from the ground, but didn't want to risk someone finding us in the middle of the night and sneaking off with my unprotected new shoes. If anything, Harper was the one who owned them, but they had quickly become my most important possession.
I tried to imagine what my parents might have been wearing when they'd arrived in the After, or if they had anything on them that would serve as a reminder of home when I found them.
But it wasn’t my parents, or Darren, or my friends, or anyone else I'd known in my life before that I thought about as I drifted off to sleep that night. Instead, the last image I could remember circulating through my head as my eyes got heavy and my thoughts slowed down was a large brown bird, feathers soft and elegant. It watched me from overhead before swooping down to save the day.
Soon after, I fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
At least a few hours must've passed before I woke up again, jostled slightly as Harper stood up beside me. The sky overhead was still dark and filled with stars, with no signs of morning.
"Sorry," Harper grumbled. "Just need to pee in the bushes like the classy lady that I am."
My mind barely registered what she said. Everything was fine, and I could go back to sleep.
I must've been out again seconds later, but the next thing my mind registered was the sound of someone screaming in the distance.
Harper!
I was completely awake all at once, sitting up before I even realized that I'd moved. My eyes adjusted quickly to the dark around me, but I still couldn't see much of anything. It was why we’d chosen that spot. We didn't want anyone to see us, but our ‘oh, so brilliant plan’ had quickly backfired.
I considered calling out to her, but in the end kept my mouth shut. I knew it was what Harper would've told me to do, and my own mind didn’t have a clue about what to do.
I rushed to put my shoes on knowing that every second I wasted was one that could cost Harper everything, but I had no choice. Stuffing my feet back into their confinement was painful, but I knew the alternative would be worse.
The park wasn't large, just poorly lit. I didn't let any thoughts of staying hidden hold me back as I sprinted in the direction I thought the scream had come from. Nothing, nothing. No one. I could see the streetlights in the distance, but not much else. At least, until a flash of movement caught my eye. And there they were, Harper struggling against the grip of a lean, beanpole of a man who towered over her. I couldn't make out any of his features, but Harper's hair was unmistakable, as was the long sweeping cut of the man's black jacket. He was pulling her away from me, and she was fighting with everything she had…but she was losing.
I put all my remaining strength into pumping my legs and getting to them, but too quickly they reached the edge of the park. One moment, they stood on the grass, struggling against one another. The next, they had disappeared. Completely and totally gone in what looked to be a puff of ash.
I kept running, pushing myself to get there as quickly as possible. It took me ten seconds, but I knew already that I was far too late.
Right away, even in an empty street lit by stars and a few streetlamps, it was obvious that both Harper and her attacker were long gone. It was only once I looked down that I realized Har
per had left something behind, losing it in the struggle. Her bracelet, the same leather band I’d noticed when we’d met in the pub, was sitting on the sidewalk.
Picking it up may have saved me from giving up entirely because as soon as I leaned down I noticed a faint trace of residue, particulate and gray, on the ground. More than likely, it was the same ash I’d seen in the air only seconds before. There was a trail of it bleeding from the edge of the park and down the street in a straight line. The path was hazy, but there.
Harper was gone, but either she or the man who had grabbed her had somehow left a trail behind. Something I could follow.
It wasn't much, but it was something. And I latched onto that something with every part of myself. I couldn't accept that Harper might just be gone.
Dammit, dammit, dammit, I thought, pacing in place for a moment. There was no choice but to follow. I couldn't say how fast they were moving, where they were going, or how any of what had just happened was possible, but I needed to go.
At first, I tried to run, tried to give it everything I had to catch up and make up for lost time. But the faster I moved the harder it was to see the ash on the ground. Finally, I forced myself to slow down and follow as close to the ash as I could, knowing one misstep or wrong turn would mean I’d be far too late to do anything at all.
CHAPTER SIX
The trail got a little easier to follow as I learned what to look for, continuing through the labyrinthine streets of the city. I tried to stay focused as I moved, not letting myself wonder if I was already too late. Few other people were out this late at night, but those that were seemed intent on staying out of my way and avoiding anyone's notice, ducking into the shadows of nearby buildings as I moved toward them. No one spoke to me or offered to help. Although, I guess it's not all that fair to put the burden of helping me on people who only saw me as a crazy person following a dust trail through the city in the middle of the night.
Really, I was just glad to be wearing shoes.
I tried to keep track of my surroundings as I went and soon began to recognize a few of the buildings I passed. I didn't have enough energy to truly focus on specifics, but I was sure I was getting closer to the docks where Harper and I had been only hours before. As I moved, the streetlights were my only allies. On some streets, electric lights stood three stories high and made what I was looking for easy to spot. On others, only gas lamps illuminated my way, making it harder to focus on much of anything without straining my eyes.
Soon, the now unmistakable smell of the ocean, if that's what it even was, assaulted my nose.
Eventually, I reached the docks themselves and the endless blackness of water on the edge of the city during the night. There weren’t many other people around, and those I spotted managed to keep themselves scarce. A blue sign glowed in the distance… Reclamation Center.
Glancing down to confirm I was still standing on top of a thinning line of ash, I gulped down the bile rising in my throat. The trail extended off into the distance, heading straight for the Reclamation Center, which was the last place I wanted to go.
I was already wheezing from the effort of keeping up my pace. Even with slowing down to follow the trail, my body had had enough. Enough running, enough hiding, and not nearly enough water. Despite being beyond exhausted, both physically and mentally, I forced myself to keep moving.
There.
Right on the steps of the Reclamation Center, Harper and her attacker reappeared in a fresh puff of ash that looked like a hazy blur from where I was standing. After having known Harper for only a day, I already felt like I could spot her anywhere.
She was still fighting as her attacker pulled her farther away from me.
Once again, for what I hoped would be the last time for a while, I ran as hard as I could, promising myself that if I just moved faster it would all be over soon. Unwillingly, my body continued to slow. I was moving at a pace that was barely a jog. At least Harper and the man beside her weren’t going much faster, but I wasn’t catching up either.
Even if I managed to make it to Harper, I’d have almost no fight left in me.
But I had to try. Harper had given me so much in that one day, and I couldn't let myself stop moving, or stop trying.
My pulse quickened when Harper broke free from the man holding her. She got a few feet away and already I was hoping for a happy ending. A happy ending that never came. He had her again a few seconds later. By then, I was close enough to hear her frustrated yell but not nearly close enough to do anything about it.
This time, Harper's assailant wasn’t taking any chances. He hoisted her tiny body up and over his shoulder, moving her in a fireman's carry as he took the steps up to the Reclamation Center two at a time.
No!
Mentally, I tried to prepare my body for what I knew I had to do next—move faster than I ever had in my life. This was going to take everything I had. Whatever was about to happen to Harper behind the doors of that elegant stone building couldn’t be good. Whatever was coming, she didn't want it. And that was all I needed to know.
I passed a row of darkened stone buildings as I shifted my weight for one final sprint. But instead of propelling myself forward, something grabbed me from behind and forced me back. I recognized the feeling of strong hands at once.
They have me too. It was all I could think, repeatedly, as I struggled against an impossibly strong grip. It was right when I realized that screaming was my only option that a second hand reached up and grasped around my mouth, silencing me.
I fought with every ounce of strength I had, trying to remember every defense lesson I’d had, but it wasn’t enough. As I struggled to wriggle loose and to clench my teeth around a stray finger of whoever was holding me, Harper disappeared behind the front doors of the Reclamation Center.
Gone.
She was gone, and whatever was coming for her would be my fate shortly after.
The grip on my arms and mouth only tightened, holding me against a firm chest so that I could barely move at all.
As my heart continued to race, whoever stood behind me turned my body so I was facing them, doing their best to keep total control over me as I shifted. Instead of coming face-to-face with one of the black jackets, as I was starting to call them in my head, I found someone I recognized. It was the man from earlier who had shifted from a bird into a human before attacking a black jacket—hopefully, on my behalf.
Or, was he attacking the other guy so he could get to me first? My mind spun, thoughts going everywhere and nowhere at once.
Either way, he was right there, inches from my face and glaring down at me. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said, voice firm and steady. "If I take my hand off your mouth will you stay quiet? The last thing we need is to attract any more attention."
I thought about it, and nodded. Worst case, I could always go back on my promise. At least by agreeing to this, I’d get his hand off my mouth.
As soon as I moved to bob my head, his grip on every part of me loosened until I was standing up of my own free will, staring at him in disbelief.
But there was no time for formal introductions, Harper needed my attention far more than he ever could. I turned back to continue my race toward the Reclamation Center, but right away the man's hand tugged against my wrist, not hard but enough to keep me from going too far. "You can’t go in there."
"What are you waiting for? She needs my help. And let's face it, we could both probably use your help." I didn’t want to assume he’d jump to our rescue but wasn’t about to turn down an extra pair of hands either.
The guy shook his head, as though apologizing for something. "I'm sorry. It's too late."
"You don't know that. She could be in there bleeding to death, or worse…" I didn't let myself finish my mental list of things that could be happening to Harper in that moment.
"She'll have been forced back into her origin story already. There's nothing we can do."
I blinked. "What?"
"You s
aw where he took her. All that’s in there are receptionists and portals that take people back to the books they came from. And once that happens, there's no undoing it. Going in there now will only cause a fight, and one I'm not ready for. I need to figure out who it is I'm fighting, and why. And having you forced back into your story too isn't going to help anything."
I started to fumble out an argument, a desperate plea to get him to change his mind as I recapped the chase through the city, but before long, no words came out—only stuttering and then silence.
"We have to get you out of here." It sounded like he already thought the discussion was over.
"Please," I said at last. "She's my friend and they took her. That guy grabbed her and then just disappeared… there was this blue line on the ground and as soon as they passed it, they were just gone. I couldn’t catch up."
"He is a member of the Order of Pheneus, so he almost certainly has abilities that let him travel faster than normal. Blue aeon-lines deflect magic within them in certain parts of the city, but once he had your friend beyond the line, he would have been impossible to catch for most people." His voice softened a little. "There was nothing you could have done. I really am sorry. But it's too late. She's gone…"
I looked back over at the Reclamation Center. I wanted to go inside, to know for sure or to help if I could. I didn't want Harper to have to be alone. But at the same time, I was afraid to do anything at all. Afraid for my own life. For whatever was going to come next. And still, my body seemed to be pulled toward the Reclamation Center like a magnet.
I felt pulled in both directions, toward the last place I knew my friend had been, and toward this guy who had stopped me from saving her. Instead, I stayed in place. Both options were equally appealing and terrifying. I needed both, and neither.
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