It was about midnight when I started shivering. Ethan suggested that we go back inside, but I didn’t want to. For some reason, I felt that being out in the open air was safer. I don’t know if it made any sense, but it worked out anyway. Ethan sat close to me and let me rest in his arms for the remainder of the night. It was warmer and it was nice to feel some security. When dawn broke, I didn’t even know I had fallen asleep, and when I moved my head, I think I woke Ethan.
I look over the ledge and can see Shadowface’s men camped out in the streets, guards ready to take down any resistance. No doubt Stephen and the others are planning a final wave of attacks, and I’m sure Samuel is expecting as much. The rockets and guns that Mitch and Ashley brought have served Elkhorn well, but I’m afraid it’s not going to be enough.
“How many of Shadowface’s soldiers do you think are down there?” I ask whenever Ethan crouches beside me.
“I’d say at least two hundred or more.”
It will do me no good to rehash how angry it makes me that we are concentrating on fighting each other rather than trying to kill off all the greyskins. However, the idea rushes through me anyway, and I try to shake it away. My rumbling stomach breaks into my thoughts and I remember seeing a small kitchen in an office just below us.
“What would you say to a warm cup of coffee?” I ask him.
“I’ve never been much of a coffee drinker,” he says, “but right now I can think of nothing better. Why? You know where some is?”
“I saw a kitchen on our way up here yesterday. It’s just one floor down. Office buildings always have coffee.”
“Is there a way to make it?” he asks. “This place doesn’t seem to have electricity.”
I shrug. “There was a gas stove and I think the water runs fine in Elkhorn. I can’t promise it will be the best coffee if I happen to find some.”
“I’ll come with you,” he says.
“No,” I say. “You keep a watch and make sure no one comes into the building. I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry.”
He looks over the side for a moment and nods. “Try not to take too long. I don’t want to have to come looking for you because you got lost looking for coffee.”
I smile and squeeze his hand as I start walking toward the door leading down into the building. I don’t know why, but ever since we kissed, I’ve been able to touch Ethan without seeing a vision of the future. For the first time, I’m starting to feel some control over this power, and it’s refreshing.
The hallways and rooms are dark and dusty. This building obviously hasn’t been used for a long time, so I’m starting to rethink my decision to come down here at all. But the warmth of the drink will be nice. It’s stuff like coffee that lets us forget the world we currently live in, if even for just a few minutes. I guess right now isn’t the time to forget, given there are deadly soldiers and greyskins crawling through the city, but I feel good this morning. The futures that I want to happen are happening. And for the first time, I’m starting to enjoy the gift of being a Starborn. To know a part of the future and be able to choose which I prefer is…nice.
Though I’m not glad I had to do it, I shot Ashley, so there isn’t a chance that she’s going to take us to Samuel and let him kill her. Perhaps I’m still happy about my time with Ethan, because I know I’m not taking into account all the other futures that I don’t know about—like my sister’s. I want to know why she was crying about giving up Evie to a stranger. My sister and Evie barely know each other from what I understand.
I finally make my way to the kitchen. I rummage through the cabinets for a few minutes and smile when I find an unopened can of coffee grounds. When I pull off the lid and peel back the seal, the rich aroma hits my nostrils, and memories of Hattie fill my mind. One of the first things she always did when she came over to my house was fix a pot of coffee. Sometimes, she’d pour me a cup. Of course, back then my mug would be filled with cream and sugar, which, I can’t find in here. Black it is, but it will do.
I turn on the faucet at the sink and it comes out slowly. I have no idea if the water is still safe to drink, but surely boiling it will be fine. I find a pot in a cabinet underneath and fill it with the water in question. I then set it on the gas stove and begin the slow boil. I let out a sigh and watch the blue flame as it heats the pot. It feels good to be doing something normal like making coffee. Of course, boiling water and pouring coffee grounds into a pot isn’t quite the normal way, but it will have to do.
I can’t help but wonder if this small conflict will be the end of it. Whether Shadowface wins or not, I don’t think it really matters for me. All I really have to do is get away and keep traveling until I am beyond Shadowface’s reach. We are such a small dot on a very large map. Somewhere out there is a place for all of us to start over. I want to go there. With Ethan. With my sister. With anyone that only wishes to be free.
My thoughts are interrupted by a clicking noise behind me. My muscles freeze and I’m almost too afraid to turn around, though I do quickly anyway. But I’m not quite ready for what I see. Leaning in the doorway is Ashley. Her face is drained of blood. With one arm, she holds the bloody, bandaged wound that I gave her. With the other, she holds too tightly to a rifle that points directly at my head. I can feel my mouth hanging open, unsure of what to say.
“Thought you killed me, didn’t you?” she asks, her voice just above a whisper. “What’s the story? Did Shadowface send you?”
“You’re the one working for Shadowface,” I say. “I knew what you were planning.”
She shakes her head slowly. “How? How do you know anything about me?”
“I’m a Starborn,” I say. “I can see futures.”
Ashley starts to laugh, but it quickly turns into labored coughs. “So that’s why you came in being awkward—shaking my hand the way you did.”
“I was just trying to put together a puzzle,” I say.
“So, what did you see?”
“I’m not going to tell you,” I say. My hands begin to tremble.
“I’m the one holding a gun, Waverly. Might be best for you to tell me what I want to know.”
“How did you know I was here?” I ask.
“I followed you. I’ve been here the whole night, waiting for you to come down.”
“For revenge?” I ask.
“For the Starborn blood,” she says.
“Why do you want it?”
“You’re the one that can tell the future,” she says with a snarl.
“You’re planning to betray us,” I say. “You’re going to hand the vial over to Samuel.”
“To Shadowface,” she says, shaking her head. “I’m not giving it to Samuel.”
“That’s not the future I saw.”
Her eyes narrow at me, but not before another coughing fit hits her. “I’m not really sure why you came after me, but I don’t much care. I’ve got a job to do. Give me the blood.”
“I don’t have it,” I say. “It’s in my room.”
Ashley grits her teeth. “Don’t lie to me.”
I can feel my pulse pounding. I look past her, wishing Ethan would come down and take her out before she can fulfill the rest of the vision that I’ve seen. My confidence in seeing two possible lines of futures is shaken now that I see Ashley alive in front of me. I thought I had ended everything involving her. This also brings into question my vision of Ethan. I saw us kissing together on the roof, but I’ve also seen him alone in the street, shot down. Is that still going to happen?
I think I might throw up.
“Give me whatever weapon you’ve got,” she says, holding out a bloodied hand.
I slowly reach for the gun tucked at my belt. For a brief second, I think about pulling it out quickly and taking another shot at her, but then I remember that it’s out of bullets. I toss the pistol to her and she lets it clank to the floor.
“You’re going to lead the way to your room,” she says. “And you’re going to get me that blood.”
; “But it’s in the war zone,” I say.
“I don’t care if there are greyskins in there,” she says, “we’re going.”
She takes a step back, allowing me to pass through the doorway. I can’t help but glance up at the roof, wondering when Ethan will finally decide to come looking for me. Everything in me doesn’t want him to. For him to be alone, traveling the streets, will mean certain death. I can’t bear the thought.
I walk quickly through one of the side streets with Ashley’s gun to my back. My mind races as I try to think of what I could do to get away from her. I could run out into the middle of the war zone, but I would either be shot by one of Shadowface’s men or get attacked by ravenous greyskins. I could turn around and try to tackle Ashley, but I know she will shoot me.
Rocket fire from the main street sounds the beginning of the next round of assaults and it feels like the ground is shaking. Ashley and I stumble into the building where my room is. The walls are crumbling and it looks like the building could collapse at any moment.
The first hallway is dark and dust falls from the ceiling as we walk. I move quickly and Ashley tells me to slow down. When I look back at her, I can tell that she’s not too far from passing out. “We don’t have to do this,” I tell her, stopping in the middle of the hallway.
“Keep walking!” she says.
I obey her command, but I don’t know why she insists. She’s needs medical attention, not the Starborn blood. “The future that you’re taking us to is going to get you killed,” I say as I stagger forward. “There’s no point in going after the blood. It won’t end well for you.”
“It’s not going to end well for me anyway, thanks to you.”
“You can still live,” I say. Another explosion nearly sends me to my knees. The sounds are deafening and we have to nearly scream to be able to hear each other. “All we have to do is patch you up and let you rest.”
“Shut up!” she yells.
My head jerks up when I hear screaming from around the corner. “Where is she? She was with me and now she’s gone!” The voice comes from a woman. Her cries are beyond hysterical.
“Calm down,” a man says to her, “we can find her. When did you last see her?”
When I make it around the corner, my heart sinks into my stomach. Stephen and Lydia. The vision is about to play out the way I saw it. Everything will play out the way I saw it. I want to stop and turn around. I want to warn the two of them that if they don’t run now, it will end badly for them.
Stephen looks up at me and his eyes go wide. “Waverly!”
I can feel my lips trembling now.
Lydia looks at me too, but when the two of them notice that Ashley is walking behind me with a rifle pointed at my back, they look confused. Ashley points the gun closer to my head when she sees the two of them. She walks to my side, staring down Stephen and Lydia, almost waiting for them to try something, but the two stand frozen in place.
“What are you doing?” Stephen hisses.
Ashley swallows, looking back and forth between me and the other two. Sweat drips down the side of her face, and her bangs stick to her forehead. She points the gun to a room across the hallway. “I don’t want to kill anybody,” she says. “Get in there. Go!”
Stephen and Lydia do as they ask, and I follow behind them while Ashley brings up the rear. If I wanted to stop what was about to happen, wouldn’t I scream for them to run away? Wouldn’t I try to run from Ashley as well? But I know what the future holds at least for the next few minutes. If I decide to go against it now, we could all die right here. Besides, I don’t really know what is supposed to happen to me. The feeling of happiness I had about the usefulness of my ability is now out the window as confusion sets in. Now I’m not so sure what is real or what isn’t. What conditions set the future in motion?
The four of us are stuffed into the small room. Three of us huddle together, facing Ashley as she shuts the door behind her. Only the faint light of a covered window allows us to see anything. She holds the gun up at us, ready to fire. Lydia clutches Stephen’s shirt as he holds her close. Ashley’s eyes glare at me as she hones her aim on Stephen’s head.
“The three of us are going to take a little trip upstairs,” she says. “It’s unfortunate that the two of you got caught up in this.”
“Why don’t you just let them go?” I ask her. “They have nothing to do with this.”
“Shut up,” Ashley shouts.
Another rumble of explosions outside this building shakes the floor, another cloud of dust falls around us.
“What does she want?” Stephen asks.
“The vial of blood,” I say.
“Don’t do it, Waverly,” he says.
“You’re the one that will die if she doesn’t take me to it,” Ashley says.
“Why do you need me?” I ask. “You know where it is.”
“Because if it’s not there, I’m going to kill all of you.”
I look at Stephen and Lydia. Stephen looks defiant, but scared. Lydia looks like she’s about to pass out from fear.
“Just take me,” I plead. “You don’t need them.”
Ashley grips the gun desperately, and pulls the door open behind her. “All of you, now.”
Of course, I’ve seen how this plays out. I know she won’t just let the others go, but I feel compelled to ask anyway. The three of us leave the room with Ashley pointing the gun to our backs. We walk the dark halls. We climb the bleak stairs. Apart from the fighting outside, the only sounds I hear is heavy breathing and soft, echoing footsteps. As I look up and down the walls, I can see that they are cracked and crumbling. There isn’t much time before this place is completely obliterated. I try to keep my eyes fixed ahead every time we walk past a dead body. Though I have not been here very long, I can tell that Elkhorn has changed a lot since the fighting began. I’m not sure the place will ever recover: the disintegrating buildings, the dead bodies, the reeking smell of death in the air.
We eventually get to my room and Ashley tells Stephen and Lydia to stand in the corner. She looks at me and commands me to get the vial of blood.
I get on my hands and knees and reach for the box under my bed. When I grab it, I can’t help but notice that it’s damaged. I think at first that maybe it’s from the blasts against the building, but my room is mostly untouched.
Someone has already been here.
I open the tin box and find the canister. It feels a little lighter in my hands and I’m too afraid to unscrew it to pull out the vial.
“Give it to me,” Ashley says.
I walk up to her and set it in her palm gently.
“You’re nothing but a traitor,” Stephen says to Ashley through clenched teeth. “You’re just Shadowface’s puppet.”
I know I should do something here. I should step in and try to stop her from hitting Stephen, but my legs are glued to the floor, and my thoughts race as I think about Mitch and the vision I saw of him. It’s after Ashley and Lydia are dead. He comes in and stops Samuel. Mitch is in control of him somehow. But what does all this mean in the end? I remember that Ethan will show up and do as Mitch asks, too. I’ve got to—
Ashley’s slam against Stephen’s head interrupts my thoughts.
“Why did you do that?” Lydia asks as she shakes uncontrollably, kneeling next to Stephen.
“Shut up, I’m running out of time thanks to you,” she says. She lifts her jacket to show that her wound is bleeding almost freely now. The bandage she wears is no longer helping her. “Get off the floor!” she shouts at Lydia. She lifts her wrist up, looking at her watch and curses. “It’s time.”
Ashley orders us out of the room and directs us back down the stairs. She tells us to be quiet as we walk through the building the way we came. Eventually, we make our way outside. We try to be as silent as possible because to our left there is a small group of greyskins walking through the streets, but they take no notice of us as we dart through the alleys. We walk until we’re about a full block a
way from the building where Stephen was hit in the head. We go into a building I’ve never noticed before and make our way up another flight of stairs, and this time we march until we reach the top floor.
As we walk, I try to recount the events that happened in the vision. I wish I had my journal with me so I can read it all in detail, but even that wouldn’t give me the answers that I need. I know the basics. I see Lydia die. I see Ashley die.
But I don’t die yet.
I almost feel guilty going along with all this, knowing how it will turn out. Lydia doesn’t deserve to die, but what am I supposed to do? Ashley always stays far enough back that I wouldn’t get near her before she shot me through the head. And if I try something upstairs, Samuel will kill me and Lydia. My hands are tied. I can only hope that an opportunity that I haven’t noticed in the vision will present itself.
We take each step upward until we reach the top floor. Just as I remember, the entire room is nearly empty but for one person standing on the other side. The windows allow in plenty of light, and I can almost see the entire city of Elkhorn.
Samuel turns to face us and smiles widely at Ashley as we approach.
“I’ve got it, Samuel,” Ashley says, holding up the canister.
“You’re late,” Samuel says. “You were supposed to meet me here twenty minutes ago. I was about to leave.”
“I’m sorry, I got held up,” she says, glaring at me. She turns back to Samuel. “But I’ve got the blood.”
“Shadowface will reward you for your hard work,” he says.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Ashley says. “When I show you the canister, you’re supposed to call Shadowface here. That’s the agreement. I want to meet the person I’m working for.”
“Give me the canister,” Samuel says, holding a hand out.
Ashley’s eyes narrow. “That’s not the deal.”
“It’s what Shadowface wants,” he says. He nods toward me and Lydia. “Who are these two?”
“This one is Waverly,” Ashley says, pointing at me with her rifle. “She is the one that stole the blood in the first place.” She then points the gun at Lydia. “I’m using Lydia to make sure Waverly does as we ask.”
Away From the Sun Page 22