“Eighteen.”
At least she was legal. “River’s a pretty name, for a pretty girl.”
She rolled her eyes at him, but the corners of her mouth twitched up. “Are you trying to impress me?”
Jonathan kept his stump behind his back as he walked and tried to fake the confidence and cockiness that used to come so naturally. “I’ve got a ton of cheesy pickup lines. How about—”
“What’s a pickup line?”
Seriously? “You know…what guys say to girls to let them know they’re interested.”
“Interested in what?”
She was either teasing him or incredibly naive. He decided to go with naive. “It’s a way for a guy to let a girl know he likes her and wants to spend time with her.”
River’s lips twitched again, but this time she wasn’t able to hold back her smile. “You like me?”
“What’s not to like? Any girl that can shoot a bow is sexy as hell.”
River’s smile disappeared. She stepped sideways, away from Jonathan. “I’m not going to mate with you.”
“Whoa!” Jonathan stopped and held his hand up, palm out. “I wasn’t implying—”
“Sex is the same as mating.”
“Sexy just means attractive.”
“I’m not trying to attract you.”
“I was just trying to be nice.” Jonathan rubbed his face with his hand. The tips of his fingers were completely numb. So was his nose. Not good. He pulled his prosthetic out from under his elbow and dropped it on the ground. It pained him to lose it, even though it was broken, but his real hand was more valuable. He tucked his numb fingers under his left armpit and prayed it would be enough. “How long until we get there?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never made the journey on foot.”
River
Even though it would make her life easier, River didn’t want Jonathan to die. She pulled her felt mask out of her pack and tossed it to him. “Your nose is turning white.”
He managed to catch it and put it on, but just barely. His reflexes were obviously slowing down. She lost count of the number of times he stumbled and fell. Each time, it took longer for him to get up. And each time, she had to resist the urge to help him. He never complained, not once. She couldn’t help but admire his tenacity. She nudged his shoulder with her boot. “Get up.”
Jonathan staggered to his feet. By journey’s end, he was weaving and slurring his words like a drunk. He was no longer shivering, but that was a bad sign. His lips were as blue as his eyes—also a bad sign. But the cleansing station was deserted when they got there and that was a very good sign.
The cleansing station wasn’t off limits to the general population of New Eden, but since enforcers were the only ones allowed to cross the borders, no one else ever needed to use it. So, although River knew where the station was, she had no idea what to do when she got there. Luckily, someone had carved detailed instructions into the wooden door of the pre-cleanse hut:
WARNING! Do not enter the post-cleanse hut until after completing the first cleanse unless given clearance by a commanding officer. Follow all instructions exactly. Failure to do so is punishable by death.
River’s heart skipped a beat then hammered her chest. What had she gotten herself into?
1. Use the outside access door to build a fire in the post-cleanse hut’s stove prior to cleansing during freezing weather. Failure to do so may result in death due to hypothermia.
River sent Jonathan into the pre-cleanse hut to get him out of the wind then jogged over to the post-cleanse hut to build the fire. She brushed the snow off the tinder box and raised the lid. Not only did she find lint, wood shavings and a striker; there was a bundle of tallow-dipped twigs. Enforcers spared no expense. She’d have a roaring fire in no time.
When the kindling caught, River double checked the flue then closed the access door. She waited until smoke flowed out of the chimney in an unbroken stream for three seconds then deemed it safe to leave the fire and go check on Jonathan.
It was much warmer inside the pre-cleanse hut, but Jonathan didn’t look any better. He’d managed to prop himself up by sitting in a corner with his back against the wall, but he was barely conscious.
River built a fire in the stove then poked at his legs with the toe of her boot until he opened his eyes.
Jonathan
Jonathan woke up with a start. “Stop kicking me.”
“Then stay awake.” River pointed at a stack of wooden boxes on the opposite wall. “I need you to take off your clothes and put them in Reuben’s trunk.”
“Whoa, don’t you think we should get better acquainted before we get naked?”
River whipped her bow off her back and had an arrow aimed at Jonathan’s heart in less time than it took to blink. “I’m not going to mate with you!”
Jonathan tucked his knees against his chest, guarding his vital organs. “You’re the one demanding I take off all my clothes.”
River lowered her bow and eased the tension on the string, but she kept the arrow in place.
Jonathan glanced at the boxes. They each had an old-fashioned biblical name carved into the hinged front.
“Why do you want me to put my clothes in a box?”
“So the omegas can…” River closed her eyes and took a noisy breath then opened them and glared at Jonathan. “Just…do as you’re told.”
“Why do you want me naked?”
“Do you bathe with your clothes on?”
“I don’t see a bathtub.” The only thing in the one room shack, besides the pot-bellied stove, was the stack of boxes.
“The cleansing pool is outside.”
“Outside? I’ll freeze to death.”
“It’s a hot mineral spring.” River took the arrow off the string and slid it into the leather quiver on her back.
“Are you going to join me?” Jonathan rubbed the back of his neck and plastered a bored expression on his face, hoping that would counter the eagerness in his voice.
“I haven’t touched you, so there’s no need.” She set her bow on top of the box with the name ‘Eli’ carved on the front.
“Ah, back to that again. You still think I’m carrying some horrible disease?”
River crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s a precaution. There are certain protocols that must be followed.”
“Sounds serious.”
“It is. Now, please, take off your clothes, put them in the box and get in the cleansing pool.” She turned on her heel and stomped outside, slamming the door behind her.
Jonathan managed to unzip his jeans, but the button gave his frostbitten fingers all sorts of trouble. His stomach clenched as he examined his hand. The frostbite might blister, but it wasn’t severe enough to require amputation.
He stripped down as fast as he could, but he left his boxers on. Jonathan wasn’t exactly modest. He’d showered with the guys in his unit everyday for months, but River wasn’t a guy and she’d already made it clear she had no interest in anything physical with him.
He couldn’t see the hot spring, but a cloud of steam rising out of the ground marked the spot. Jonathan yelled as he ran. It was the fastest—and most miserable—ten-yard dash he’d ever run. He didn’t know which was more painful; the arctic blasts driving pinpricks of snow and sleet into his bare chest, or the hot water on his frozen skin when he plunged into the rock-lined pool.
The water smelled like rotten eggs, but that was a small price to pay for the pure bliss of finally being warm again. He gave in to his exhaustion and closed his eyes. He was almost asleep when he heard River scream.
River
River returned to the post-cleanse hut and used the stove’s outside access door to add another log to the fire then went back around to the front to read the next steps of the cleansing protocol.
2. Enter the pre-cleanse hut. Remove all clothing, weapons and gear. Place in your assigned cedar box.
“That’s done. What’s next?”
3. Proceed directly to the first cleansing pool. Soak for forty-five minutes. Douse with clean water twenty times immediately prior to exiting. (If you did not have direct physical contact with an outsider or spend more than three days in their world, you may skip steps one through three.
“Now they tell me.” She could have built the fire from inside the hut. Oh well.
4. Enter the post-cleanse hut. Dress in purified clothing.
5. If you’ve consumed any outsider food or liquid, an eight hour purge followed by a three day fast is mandatory.
River opened the door and frowned when a sour, musty odor assaulted her nose. At least it was warm inside. The stove had only been going for about ten minutes, but the hut was small and easy to heat. She propped the door open, hoping to air out the stench before it was time to go get Jonathan.
What was causing that smell? Three bunk beds lined the right wall. She checked each one and while none of them smelled especially good, they weren’t the culprit.
She checked the six cedar chests on the opposite wall, but the purified clothing inside smelled wonderful; lavender, sage, cedar and smoke. She saved Reuben’s box for last.
River hated it when Reuben had to leave the safety of New Eden and venture into the outside world on a mission. She was so afraid she’d never see him again. That he’d get sick and die before completing quarantine, like Father. But when Reuben returned he always smelled clean, pure and safe. She closed her eyes and drank in the scent before closing the lid.
There was a smaller, unmarked cedar box next to the door. River lifted the lid and found the source of the odor—a pile of vomit-stained rags.
River slammed the lid and backed away from the box. Why hadn’t the omegas cleaned this up?
A chill raced down her spine. It wouldn’t be the first time disease wiped out the entire omega camp assigned to the cleansing station.
River’s pulse roared behind her ears. A gray fog tunneled her vision. She dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands. Her bare hands that had touched the contaminated box. River screamed and ran out of the hut, shedding her coat, vest and tunic as she flew towards the cleansing pool.
Jonathan
Jonathan jumped to his feet, sloshing water onto the stone border. “River? Are you okay?”
She barreled toward him at a dead run, peeling her clothes off.
Jonathan scanned the area, looking for a threat but found none. Just because he didn’t see it; didn’t mean there wasn’t one. He vaulted out of the pool and ran towards River.
Her wide, glassy eyes had the battle-shocked look he’d seen on the faces of so many people in Afghanistan. She veered around him without a word.
“Hey! What’s going on?”
She didn’t answer. She sat down in the snow next to the hot spring and yanked her boots off, tossing them over her shoulders. She shimmied out of her pants then plunged down the steps and ducked under the surface of the hot water.
Jonathan ran back to the pool and jumped in.
When she resurfaced, she had her fingers tangled in her braid.
“What the hell is going on? Is someone chasing you? Are you in danger?”
She ducked back underwater and didn’t come up until her hair was completely undone. “I’m contaminated!”
“I haven’t even touched you.” The girl wasn’t just a germaphobe. She was a complete nutcase.
“Not you.” She stood up and held her hands in front of her body. “I touched a sick man’s box.”
“Okay…” Jonathan tried to avert his gaze away from her chest, but his eyes seemed to have a mind of their own. Her hair covered her breasts, but not the edge of a tribal tattoo over her heart. “I don’t know what that means, but I’m sure we can figure something out.”
“I’m gonna die!”
“What kind of sickness did this guy have?”
“I don’t know, but the box was full of filthy rags that had been used to clean up vomit!” She turned around and grabbed a nearby bucket then doused herself with water from the pool.
Jonathan waited for her to catch her breath then pointed to the hand carved message on the wooden sign behind her. “According to those instructions, part of this cleansing ritual is purging. Doesn’t that mean making yourself puke?”
River slumped forward and grabbed the stone border. “You’re right.”
She had her back turned, so Jonathan didn’t feel quite as pervy as he probably should have for checking her out. She was petite, about five feet, three inches tall, but with the arms and shoulders of a swimmer. At first he’d thought her thick, dark brown hair was wavy, but that must have been from the braid. It flowed down her back then floated on the surface of the water like a sheet of melted chocolate. Jonathan tucked his hand under his elbow to keep from reaching out to touch it.
River doused herself another nine times then sat down, submerging her breasts. This gave him a chance to study her tattoo. The design looked like a dog, or maybe a wolf with an arrow through its neck. He wanted to ask her what it meant, but tattoos could be really personal.
He’d thought about getting one after Franklin’s funeral, but Frankie would’ve hated that. He believed the human body was a sacred temple and tattoos were nothing but sacrilegious graffiti. Jonathan ran his fingers over the back of his medallion. Brothers forever.
River sniffed, snapping Jonathan out of his sentimental trance. Tears leaked out of the corners of her closed eyes, but it was her trembling lower lip that tugged at his heart.
He reached out and wiped the tears from her cheek.
All hell broke loose.
~***~
The water churned as River thrashed around, obviously trying to get away from Jonathan.
“River? What’s wrong?”
“You touched me.”
Seriously? “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. But I’m not sick. I haven’t had so much as a cold for over a year. You’re not going to catch anything from me.”
“It’s forbidden for a man to touch a woman in the cleansing pool.”
“But it’s okay for you to prance around in front of me buck naked? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It’s a rule. It doesn’t have to make sense.” River closed her eyes and sighed, then opened them.
“I take it there’re a lot of rules?”
She nodded.
“What happens if the rules are broken?”
“The offenders are punished.”
“Okay.” Jonathan figured as much. “What’s the punishment for touching a woman in a cleansing pool?”
“I’m not going to report the incident since you didn’t know the rules.”
“But if I had?”
“If you could not convince the council that the touch was an accident, they would cut off one finger for the first offense.”
Jonathan’s stomach clenched. This was bad. Afghanistan bad.
River leaned forward and narrowed her eyes. “How did you lose your hand?”
He tucked his wrist under his elbow and hugged it to his chest. “It wasn’t a punishment.”
“Then why won’t you tell me?”
“Because I don’t like to talk about it!” Jonathan didn’t mean to yell, but River’s questions were stirring up too many painful memories.
She gasped and blinked her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” Jonathan stretched his hand out to brush the fresh tears off her cheek.
“Don’t touch me!”
“Shit!” Jonathan jerked his hand back. “I’m sort of programmed to comfort girls when they cry and that usually involves quite a bit of touching.”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” River swiped at her eyes then wrinkled her nose and stared at her fingertips; as if they were smeared with blood instead of tears. “I don’t cry. Ever.”
“Everybody cries.”
“Not me.” River stood up without warning. “The post-cleanse hut may not be contaminated, but there’s n
o way of knowing for certain. I think we better skip it and go straight to the quarantine cabin.”
Jonathan averted his gaze, but not quick enough. The girl was a nut job, no doubt about it, but she was sexy as hell. “Um…you go ahead. I’ll join you in a few minutes.”
~***~
The quarantine cabin was less than fifty yards from the hot spring, but Jonathan’s hair crackled with ice before he reached the porch. He yanked the door open and hurried inside.
River stood in front of the stove, buck naked. What kind of game was she playing? She’d had plenty of time to get dressed. At least she had her back to him.
She turned around and arched her eyebrows then pointed at his boxers. “What are those?”
Jonathan blushed like a school girl. “What? You’ve never heard of underwear?”
“I told you to take off all your clothes.”
“What difference does it make?”
“You can’t keep anything that came from the outside world. Except maybe that chain and medallion around your neck. Is that solid gold?”
“Twenty-four karat.” He resisted the urge to reach up and touch the medallion that held Franklin’s feather. It was twisted around so all that showed was the solid gold back. That resin-encased feather was worth more to Jonathan than a mountain of gold. The only way anyone was taking it, was out of his cold, dead fist. “Why can’t I wear my own clothes?”
“They’re not allowed.”
“I could wash them in the hot springs.”
“That’s not the problem.”
“Then what is?”
“You leave everything behind when you join us. It’s like being reborn.”
“I’m not joining you. This is temporary.” Jonathan cupped his hand over the front of his boxers to hide the effect River’s naked body was having on his.
She wrinkled her nose and snarled at him. “Stop playing with yourself. What are you? A toddler?”
“I’m not playing with myself! And I’m certainly not a toddler. I’m a man. And seeing a woman’s naked body does things to a man.”
River's Recruit (The Sanctuary Series) Page 8