by S. J. West
“What are you doing?” I asked a bit harsher than I had intended.
“I’m cold,” Jace answered, like the reason for his action should have been obvious to me. “I didn’t see any other jacket around. Is there something wrong with me wearing this one?”
“No,” I told him reluctantly, even though I felt like I was betraying my best friend in some way by letting Jace wear the one thing Ash had to remember his father by.
It would be foolish for me to not let Jace wear it. It was the only other jacket we had. Ash would understand.
I walked up to Jace and handed him the Harvester’s shoes. He took them without asking where they came from and slipped them over the red socks on his feet.
“So, where’s the guy these clothes belong to anyway?” Jace asked, standing up straight and shuffling his feet around to test the fit of the shoes. They seemed a bit tight, but at least he’d been able to squeeze into them, like everything else he was wearing.
“And why is there so much blood everywhere?”
“The clothes belong to my best friend, Ash. The blood’s on the floor because he had to sever the heads of the two Harvesters who tortured you before they could regenerate and kill us.”
Jace folded his arms over his chest causing the jacket to bunch at his shoulders, since it was too small to accommodate his bulging muscles.
“I suppose I owe this Ash a debt of gratitude. Where is he?”
“In the Southern Kingdom. That’s why we’re going there.”
“I thought you said the Southern Kingdom was a long ways from here,” Jace said, clearly confused. “Why didn’t he take you with him?”
I briefly told Jace what transpired with Rose’s sudden appearance and even more sudden disappearance.
“They vanished?” he asked, as though he was sure he had misunderstood.
“Yeah,” I said, heading over to Ash’s backpack. “Don’t ask me to explain it because I can’t. I just know what I saw.”
“I’m not questioning your word,” Jace said. “I’m just curious to know how it was done.”
From Ash’s backpack, I pulled out our old, worn map of what used to be the United States and located the spot where we were: Morgantown, West Virginia. We always tried to stay on what was left of the main roads to keep track of where we were. We’d been a lot of places in the past five years, always trying to find a way to get through the barrier along the Southern Kingdom’s border but never finding a safe way across.
I felt Jace’s hulking presence behind me as he looked over my shoulder at the map.
I hurriedly folded the map and put it back in Ash’s bag.
“We’ll need to head west to find the interstate. I think we can make it to a town called Fairmont before nightfall,” I told him, closing the plastic latches on the front of Ash’s pack. Ash always kept a few days’ worth of canned food and bottled water in his backpack, making it too heavy for me to carry.
Jace bent down and slung it onto his shoulder like it was empty.
I bent down and gathered my wool blanket, carefully folding it into a small roll and stuffing it into my backpack. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ash’s gun lying just a few feet away. I walked over and picked it up, carefully placing it inside the top fold of my blanket.
“Are you sure you feel well enough for some walking?” I asked Jace, feeling badly for not asking the question earlier. My mind was so focused on getting to Ash, I hadn’t even thought about Jace needing time to recover from his wounds.
“I’m fine,” he said, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Thanks for caring enough to ask, though.”
As the three of us left the crumbling remains of the library, I couldn’t help but wonder who Jace really was and if I could trust him. What part did he have to play in my life? And why was he so certain he knew me?
CHAPTER FOUR
Blue took the lead as our scout. It was a job he appointed himself to the very first day he had traveled with Ash and me. Though, as a puppy he more or less just ran around smelling everything in sight, learning to distinguish between what was a good smell and what wasn’t. The nose of a dog is an incredible defense mechanism. More often than not, Blue kept Ash and I out of danger from the ravenous beasts that roamed the Eastern Kingdom—human and animal. The distinction between the two was difficult to separate sometimes.
Jace kept up with my normally quick pace and stayed close by my side. It took us less than half an hour to find the interstate and make our way southward on what would be the first leg of our journey to the Southern Kingdom.
There was no real scenery along our trek to make it more interesting. Most of the Eastern Kingdom looked the same, a barren wasteland of spindly trees and brown grass, which never seemed to know it was supposed to be green. Nature felt dormant, like it was sleeping, waiting for the day when it was safe to awaken again. The only natural dangers Ash and I had faced on the open road were falling trees and rockslides when we were near mountainous terrain. For the most part, we didn’t run into other people and chose to avoid them when we did. The only time either of us felt safe enough to be around other humans was when we came across one of the traveling trading posts, like the one where we got Blue. The traders kept on the move, never daring to stay long in one place for fear the Harvesters would find them. Any large gathering of humans was dangerous.
“Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”
I looked over at Jace and shrugged. “Sure, ask away.”
His gaze lifted to the sky.
“What happened to everything? Where’s the sun?”
“Oh, it’s up there,” I said, looking up at the clouds. Even though it was midmorning, the small amount of sunlight that was able to penetrate through the gray clouds made it look closer to twilight. “This is about as bright as it ever gets, though.”
“Why?”
“You honestly don’t know what’s going on, do you?” I asked, looking over at him. I didn’t really need him to answer. It was clear from the expression on his face that Jace didn’t remember anything about the war.
“Would you mind filling me in?”
It wasn’t a story I wanted to tell, but the eager look on Jace’s face made me realize he didn’t just want to know what had happened to the world around him, he needed to know. I couldn’t imagine waking up and finding myself thrust into a reality where nothing was as it should be.
“Well, it really all started before I was even born,” I began. “From what I’ve been told, there was a female scientist who came up with a shot to prevent anyone from ever getting sick again. Her name was Lucena Day.”
Jace stopped walking. I turned to look back at him to make sure he was all right.
“That name sounds familiar,” he said, a look of startlement on his face. “Keep talking. Maybe it’ll trigger some of my memories.” He started walking again, this time with a small bit of excitement to his gait. We continued down the road.
“Apparently, everyone wanted this miracle shot, and the government was pressured into preparing it for mass distribution before it had been fully tested. Even babies were given it almost as soon as they were born. It was actually what happened to the babies that made people start to question whether or not the shot was safe.”
“What was in the shot? What happened to the babies?”
“The shots contained nanites,” I looked over at Jace to see if he understood what I was talking about. From his expression, I knew he didn’t. “Nanites are like microscopic robots,” I explained. “These particular nanites were programmed to attack anything foreign inside someone’s body, like viruses and bacteria. They were even able to identify the beginnings of cancer cells and remove them before they could spread. It wasn’t until babies started dying for no apparent reason that people finally asked the government to stop distribution of the serum, at least until it could be thoroughly tested, which would end up taking years.”
“Did they ever find out why the babies were dying?”
>
I shrugged. “Not that I know of. I don’t actually think they had enough time to figure it out. A year after the serum was taken off the market, Dr. Day came back offering the world immortality.”
“How?”
“It was another set of nanites she invented. Supposedly, they were programmed to stop the aging process. But this time, the procedure was a little more invasive. Everyone who wanted it had to have a computer chip surgically implanted into the middle of their brain. The nanites ended up giving people powers, like increased strength and agility. Their senses became enhanced too, like smelling and hearing.
“About five years after the first people were injected with the nanites, they discovered that their internal organs were aging at an expedited rate.”
“So, they weren’t actually immortal. It shortened their life?”
“Their insides were degrading but their skin, muscles, and bones weren’t. That’s why we call them Harvesters because they harvest the organs of healthy humans, who didn’t have the procedure done, and replace whatever needs replacing inside their own bodies.”
“So, that’s what caused the war and this,” he said, nodding to our surroundings, “to happen?”
I nodded. “The remaining humans weren’t about to go down without a fight, but there was never really any chance of them defeating the Harvesters. They were too strong, and plus, they outnumbered us. Even though it was a hopeless fight, what was left of the human race still tried to fight back. They fought with everything at their disposal but nothing seemed to work. At first, what remained of the world’s governments and their military deployed electromagnetic pulse bombs in all the major cities. Since the Harvesters had computer chips embedded into their brains, the governments thought it would fry the chips and restore the people to the way they were, instead of the soulless creatures they had become. But the EMPs didn’t work for some reason. Eventually, full on war broke out and the humans discovered large doses of radiation could kill the Harvesters. So, they started using nukes. They nuked all the major cities without even warning the humans left there it was going to happen.”
“Why?”
“They didn’t want to tip off the Harvesters, but it didn’t matter. There were so many Harvesters by that point there wasn’t any way to kill enough of them to make a difference. So, with so many Harvesters left alive and in need of fresh organs, they built breeding camps, forcing people to have babies to meet their organ demand.”
“So, did this happen all over the world?”
“Yes, as far as I know it did. After all the EMPs and nukes, long distance communication doesn’t actually exist anymore.”
“So, what’s so special about the Southern Kingdom, besides your friend being there? I get the feeling you think it’s a safe place.”
I let out a troubled sigh. “Honestly, I don’t know if it will be or not. Ash and I just always assumed it would be. During the war, the higher ranking government officials secretly came up with a plan to save a portion of the human race. They transported as many people as they could without drawing too much attention and sent them all somewhere down south. Then, they built the barrier.”
“What’s the barrier?”
“It’s a ten mile wide radioactive field that encircles the Southern Kingdom. It keeps the Harvesters from reaching them.”
“Who’s the queen?”
“Dr. Day, the one who invented the nanites. She proclaimed herself the Queen of the Eastern Kingdom. Actually, I think she’s the one who made up that name. That’s why we call the Southern Kingdom the Southern Kingdom. They probably don’t even call it that down there.”
“So, these people in the Southern Kingdom, they haven’t tried to rescue the humans on this side of the barrier?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
It was a question Ash and I had asked often in the last five years.
“I don’t know. Either they just don’t care what happens to us or they’re waiting for something.”
We walked for a couple of more hours before I called for us to stop. I pulled out a bottle of water for each of us and poured half of mine in a white plastic bowl I kept in my pack for Blue.
“Are you doing ok with all this walking?” I asked Jace as we sat down on a fallen tree trunk that blocked half the road.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he answered.
I got the feeling he wasn’t being entirely honest. He looked paler than when we had started our trip, and his eyelids sagged like they desperately wanted to close for some sleep. But as long as he could move, I wasn’t going to say anything. I knew I was being selfish, but either he was able to keep up with me or I would have to leave him behind.
“Can you remember anything more about yourself yet?” I asked.
Jace shook his head and looked almost embarrassed by his admission.
“I’m sure it’ll all come back to you eventually,” I told him, trying to sound more reassuring than I felt. “Don’t stress over it or it’ll just drive you crazy.”
Jace was silent for a moment. He looked like he wanted to ask me something but was hesitant to lend his voice to the question.
“Can I ask you something, just to see if I am crazy?” he finally blurted out.
“I guess,” I said cautiously, narrowing my eyes on him. “But I reserve the right not to answer,” I amended, more as a joke than a true threat to withhold information.
Jace smiled, looking down at the water bottle in his hands, slowly rolling it between his palms causing the plastic to make popping sounds. When he looked back up at me, he seemed almost shy, like he wasn’t certain how I would react to his question.
“Is your name…Skye?”
I immediately felt a defensive wall go up. I hadn’t told Jace my name. He had never asked. I suppose he never asked because he already knew.
“Yeah,” I answered reluctantly. “My father named me.”
“It’s a pretty name,” Jace said, his shoulders relaxing, either because he was relieved I wasn’t going to make a big deal out of him inexplicably knowing my name or because he was right, verifying that he wasn’t totally insane.
“You probably heard my name said while you were unconscious,” I tried to reason. “In fact, I’ve been thinking about it. You know, I was the last person you saw before you passed out. Do you think maybe those memories you say you have about me might just be dreams you had while you were unconscious?”
“I know you want a simple explanation to why I have memories of you,” he said. “And your suggestion seems reasonable, but something inside me tells me I know you and that the memories are real, not just a dream.”
“What kind of memories do you have about me? Could you describe one to me?” I asked, worried I might be opening Pandora’s box with my question.
Jace’s cheeks flushed red.
“You didn’t have a sex dream about me, did you?” I asked, feeling my own cheeks flame with righteous indignation.
“No!” Jace was quick to answer, taken off guard by my question.
“Then, why are you turning so red? What could be more embarrassing than having a mental picture of someone naked?” I leaned toward him slightly, waiting intently for his answer.
I wasn’t absolutely sure he was going to say anything else to me. He remained silent for a long while before quietly saying, “I have memories of being in love with you.”
I sat up straight and couldn’t think of anything better to say than a lame “Oh.”
What was I supposed to say to a confession like that? No wonder he had turned red.
“Well, you’re not in love with me,” I told him matter-of-factly, taking one last swig from my water bottle before dumping the rest of the contents into Blue’s bowl. But Blue seemed more interested in watching our conversation than drinking water, like he knew what was being said.
“You can’t love someone you’ve never met before,” I told Jace, feeling somewhat superior in my logic.
Jace didn’t answer, b
ut I could feel him staring at me. I plucked up my courage and looked back over at him.
I wasn’t prepared for his expression. He looked…hurt. Had I hurt his feelings because he thought I was calling him a liar?
“Listen,” I said, trying to tread lightly over his tender emotional state. “I understand you feel like your memories of me are real. I actually sort of get that part. But you need to face the fact that they aren’t real. You are not in love with me. You don’t even know who you are, much less know me well enough to have those kind of feelings for me.”
Jace let out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry if knowing how I feel about you makes you uncomfortable, but I can’t help it. I don’t know how to stop feeling like I’m in love with you, and even if I could,” he said with a penetrating gaze, “I’m not sure I would want to stop feeling this way.”
I looked away from him. We both lapsed into mutual silence, each considering Jace’s predicament from two separate points of view.
“Do you think if I started being a complete bitch to you, your feelings would change?” I asked.
Jace chuckled with a shake of his head.
“You can try,” he said, obviously amused by my offer, “but I would know it wasn’t who you really are.”
I shrugged, having no more ideas on a cure for imaginary love. “Just thought I would offer.”
Blue walked up to me with a certain look in his eye. I knew what he wanted.
“Come on, you big softy,” I told him, giving him permission to perch his front paws on my thighs and lick my face while I rubbed behind his ears.
“He loves you,” Jace said, watching us.
“I’ve had him since he was a puppy. Ash got him for me.”
“What happened to his eye?”
“Lost it protecting me.”
“Do you do that to everyone you meet?”
I looked over at Jace as Blue continued to moisten my cheek with his warm, rough tongue.
“Do what?” I asked, perplexed by the question.
“Do you make everyone you meet want to keep you safe?”
I’m not sure how I knew it, but the earnest expression on Jace’s face told me he would protect me with his life if it came down to that. Knowing this fact disturbed me more than him thinking he was in love with me. I was a stranger to him, yet I knew without a shadow of a doubt he would die for me.