by S. J. West
“No way,” she said with a big grin on her face. “I was born August 2, 2030 in Syracuse. So I’m actually older than you by three days!” She giggled, finding the thought hilarious. “Does that mean I get to boss you around?”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “No. We may have been born at almost the same time, but I haven’t been the one trapped inside a bubble for the last ten years. I’ve had a lot more life experiences than you.”
Zoe rolled her eyes at me. “You make yourself sound ancient.”
“I feel like I’m a hundred sometimes,” I admitted, hearing the tiredness in my own voice.
“Has it been that hard on you?” Jace asked.
“It could have been worse,” I replied. “Honestly, I was probably one of the lucky ones. At least I had Ash and Blue with me. A lot of the people you come across are loners. They act like they’re afraid to care about someone and would just rather live out their lives by themselves.”
“Oh yeah, the guy that lady took to the Southern Kingdom. So is Ash your boyfriend?” Zoe asked me.
“No. We were just best friends.”
“How come? Didn’t you love each other?”
I was becoming increasingly uneasy with Zoe’s personal questions, especially with Jace walking right beside me, listening intently to my answers.
“We loved each other but that doesn’t always mean you have to be in love,” I said, remembering Makena’s words from the night before.
“So, you weren’t in love with this Ash guy? Was he ugly? Did he have a snaggle tooth or a wandering eye or something?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “No,” I said. “He’s handsome.”
“Then, why weren’t you in love with him?”
I could tell Zoe wasn’t going to let the subject rest until she heard an answer that made sense to her. The truth seemed the quickest way to cease her questioning.
“I was in love with him, but he never seemed to have the same feelings for me.”
Zoe’s pink lips puckered into a silent, “Oh.”
Even at her tender age, Zoe knew when a subject suddenly became taboo.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Jace staring straight ahead down the road, acting as if he hadn’t heard my admission of love for Ash. He remained silent as Zoe continued her innocent interrogation.
“So, what happened to your family? Did they die in the war?”
“My family and I were sent to a breeding camp when I was six years old. The war had been lost by then. That’s where I met Ash. We were paired together.”
“Paired?” Jace asked.
“Each boy and girl in a breeding camp is paired to be breeding partners. Ash’s family and mine arrived at the same breeding camp on the same day, so we were put together. Each paired family has to live inside the same house. My dad said the Harvester’s thought if they made us spend time together we would develop feelings for one another. It was supposed to raise our productivity in having children for them.”
“How did you escape your breeding camp?” Zoe asked. “My parents tried but never figured out a way to get us out alive.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk about the last time I saw my parents. It was a memory that haunted my worst nightmares and seemed better left buried in the past before they opened fresh wounds in my heart.
Blue stopped in the middle of the road ahead of us and gave a single yelp before dashing into the dense woods to the side. Without even thinking about it, I grabbed Zoe’s and Jace’s arms, pulling them toward the woods to hide.
“What’s wrong?” Jace asked.
“We have to get off the road. Someone’s coming.”
We crouched down behind some bushes in the thick of the forest and watched the road for the people Blue had sensed. I heard a rumbling noise come from the direction of Fairview. It took me a few seconds to recognize the noise because it had been so long since I last heard the roar of a working engine.
Within minutes, a line of black Harvester SUVs came barreling down the road. I counted ten of them before a black limousine with a silver infinity symbol embossed on the side passed by us.
I gasped, my hand involuntarily covering my mouth. Jace looked over at me but said nothing until the last of the SUVs following the limousine went by. We waited a few minutes more until the sound of the caravan receded into the distance.
“What did you see that scared you?” Jace finally asked me.
“The Queen was in that limousine,” I said, my body feeling numb with shock.
“How do you know that?”
“Anything she rides in has her symbol on the side of it. It had to be her.”
“Why do you think she would be way out here in the middle of nowhere?”
“Makena said she stays on the move. Maybe she has a home close by. Unless…” I looked at Jace, trying to decide whether or not I should tell him what I had heard the Harvesters who had tortured him say.
“Unless what?” Jace asked apprehensively. “What aren’t you telling me?”
He had a right to know all the facts. His life might still be in danger.
“After the two Harvesters brought you into the library, they started talking about the Queen wanting them to get some sort of information out of you, but for whatever reason you wouldn’t tell them what she wanted to know. I know they sounded scared, so whatever it is you know must be important to her.”
Jace stared at me for a long time, not saying a word.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before now?” he finally asked.
I shrugged. “Honestly, I forgot about it. I’m sorry. I should have mentioned it sooner.”
I felt Zoe take hold of my hand. When I looked down at her, she shifted her gaze up toward Jace’s face with an uneasy look in her eyes, like maybe Jace wasn’t as trustworthy as she had once thought.
Jace noticed and looked away from Zoe’s newfound uncertainty in him.
“I wish I could remember who I am,” he said, closing his eyes in frustration. “For all I know, I could be placing you and Zoe in danger.”
“If you weren’t cooperating with the Queen, then you had to be someone who was fighting against her,” I told Jace, hoping to wipe away some of the doubt he was having about himself.
Jace opened his eyes and looked at me as though his sanity relied on my words.
“I know you’re a good person, Jace. And I’m always right, which is something you should try to remember.”
Jace smiled at my attempt at humor. He inhaled deeply and slowly let it out. “I just wish I could remember who I am.”
“It’ll come back to you in time,” I said, wondering if Jace’s memory loss was a blessing in disguise. Perhaps there were things in his past his mind was protecting him from. Either way, I knew what I was saying was true.
The tension of the moment was suddenly broken by the loud growl of Zoe’s stomach.
I looked down at Zoe. She had a hand on her belly as if to quiet the physical presence of her hunger.
“You’re hungry again?” I asked in disbelief. “We just ate a couple of hours ago.”
Zoe looked up at me somewhat embarrassed. “I know, but I can’t help it,” she whined. “I feel like my stomach’s gonna eat me alive!”
I just shook my head at her and instructed Jace to look in his backpack for a snack to satiate Zoe’s hunger. Jace found some leftover beef jerky from Makena and gave Zoe three pieces of the long strips of meat. It didn’t take long for Zoe to finish eating. For someone so small, it was a wonder to watch how fast she could devour a piece of food. Even on days when I was starving, I could never manage to eat so quickly without choking to death. Where all the food was going within her slim frame, I had no way of knowing. It made me wonder why Simon didn’t explain his cryptic message about Zoe’s ravenous appetite. What was really going on with her?
CHAPTER TEN
After Zoe’s hunger was sated, at least for the moment, we decided to walk our way to Fairview through the woods instead of on the
road. None of us wanted to take a chance on running into the Queen’s caravan again. We had been lucky the first time. Tempting fate didn’t seem wise.
Our turnoff southward was actually a couple of miles before we reached Fairview, but I decided we should walk the short distance into town and search for supplies. Small towns were the best places to look for things, since they were the first locations emptied of people by the Harvesters.
When the Harvesters first started their breeding camps, only the larger cities were guarded by what remained of the military, which left small towns defenseless against the unnatural strength of the Harvesters. With only a small group of Harvesters, the people of an average town could be gathered up in just a couple of hours. That’s why small towns were good places to look for supplies. No one had time to take much of anything with them.
It took searching through a few homes before we found everything we needed. The highest priority for me was finding Jace shirts and pants that actually fit his muscular frame. The home we finally found Jace some clothes in was a modest ranch style house with olive green siding and a one car garage.
When we stepped inside the house, we entered a small living room. There was an old big screen TV against the far wall with stereo and video equipment flanking it, stored in black plywood and glass fronted cabinets. Two faded blue suede couches butted against the two sidewalls, leaving a decent walking space in between. When I saw the family picture hanging on the wall over the TV, I felt hopeful we would find Jace some clothing that would fit. A man and a woman stood behind a young girl and boy. It was one of those nondescript pictures you know must have been taken at some photography studio because of the generic blue background and stiff posture of those in the picture. The man in the photo seemed similar in size to Jace, which made me guess we would find better fitting clothes for him than Ash’s outfit.
As we looked around the home, the eeriness of normality struck me. It was obvious the people who lived here had left in a hurry, either being taken prisoner by Harvesters or trying their best to escape capture. From the scattering of crusty old dirty dishes on the kitchen table and pans on the stove, I had to guess they were eating a meal when their world had been shattered. I searched through the cabinets and found a good selection of canned vegetables, Vienna sausages, and even a bag of Hershey’s Kisses. I stuffed what I could in my backpack and made a mental note to tell Jace to gather what was left when he was through searching the couple’s bedroom for clothes.
After stuffing my backpack with rations, I heard a rhythmic squeaking noise come from down the hallway. I went to investigate and found Zoe in the little girl’s room jumping on the bed. My immediate reaction was to tell Zoe to stop before she broke the bed, but then I realized it didn’t matter. The child who had decorated her room with a frilly pink comforter and hanging butterflies would never return. Even if Zoe broke the bed, who would care?
Blue lay on the floor of the bedroom, his head bobbing in time with Zoe’s jumps as he watched her play. It was something totally new to him: watching a child play. I never played, even when I was a child. Who had time for such frivolity when you were just trying to survive?
Zoe caught sight of me standing in the doorway and smiled, causing her face to light up the room like the first rays of sunshine.
“Come play with me!” she urged, holding out one of her hands toward me.
I shook my head. “I’m too old to be jumping on beds.”
Zoe rolled her eyes in exasperation and stopped jumping. She crossed her arms and tilted her chin down toward her chest as she looked straight at me.
“I’m older than you, remember? Come jump with me. I promise it’ll make you feel tons better.” Zoe’s lower lip puckered out as she let out a drawn out, “Please.”
I knew the action was meant to coerce me into doing what she wanted and fell victim to the plea of a cute kid.
I sat my backpack on the floor against the bedroom door. As I looked up, I saw a small white painted wooden sign with colorful butterflies and the name April spelled out in a curly hot pink font. I stared at the sign, realizing this was the name of the little red headed girl in the family picture, someone who had been anonymous only moments before. For some reason, putting a name with the face made her come alive for me. Would she mind Zoe and me jumping on her bed, trying to find a little joy in a desolate world? Was April even still alive or had she been slaughtered for parts by the Harvesters by now? Or, worse, had she been selected to breed children for the monsters, praying for the day she could finally die?
When I looked back at Zoe waiting for me, I made a silent promise to myself to make sure Zoe had reason to smile at least once every day we were able to remain together. I knew it was only a matter of time before my luck ran out and I was either captured or killed by a Harvester. The last five years traveling with Ash had basically been us trying to run from the inevitable. Lady Luck had guided our path and shielded us from our doomed fate. But I knew if we didn’t find a way through the barrier to the Southern Kingdom, none of us would be able to hide much longer.
“Come on, Skye,” Zoe urged, dragging me out of my maudlin reverie.
I slipped off my tennis shoes and climbed up on the bed. Zoe took my hands and said, “Ready…set…go!”
As we jumped in unison, Zoe’s bubbly laughter became infectious. In only a matter of seconds, she had me laughing harder than I ever had in my life. After a few minutes, I couldn’t jump anymore and fell down on the bed, lying on my back, staring at the sequined butterflies hanging from the ceiling by clear nylon threads.
Zoe plopped down next to me and did the same.
We were silent for a moment, each of us trying to catch our breaths.
“Do you think she’s all right?” Zoe asked unexpectedly.
I knew who she was talking about. It hadn’t occurred to me Zoe would consider the reason why this room no longer had an occupant.
“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully. I saw no reason to lie to Zoe in hopes of making her feel better about April’s fate. She understood the world we lived in. What was the point of trying to protect her from the truth?
“I hope she is,” Zoe said, meaning it with all her heart.
“I think you should be more worried about yourself.” I turned on my side and propped my head on a hand.
Zoe looked at me, puzzled by my statement. “What do you mean?”
“You should never let your guard down, especially when there’s a tickle monster in town.”
I tickled Zoe until tears slid from the corners of her eyes and she begged me breathlessly to stop. When I did, she immediately jumped off the bed and ran to the door where Jace stood, watching us.
Jace was dressed in a black and blue plaid shirt and dark blue jeans.
“Those clothes fit you much better,” I said approvingly, standing from the bed.
Jace put his hands on Zoe’s shoulders as they both faced me.
“They’re a lot more comfortable.”
It was only then I noticed how short Zoe’s pants looked. I could clearly see her sock-covered ankles. Why hadn’t I noticed that before?
“We should probably see if there are any clothes here for Zoe. She’s already getting a little too big for her britches.”
Both Jace and Zoe looked down at her jeans and both held a confused look on their faces.
“When did that happen?” Zoe asked perplexed.
I shrugged. “Must’ve had a growth spurt.”
While Zoe and I looked through April’s clothes, Jace went to the kitchen and bagged up what he could from what I had left in the kitchen cabinets.
Apparently, April had been one of those little girls who liked to dress up as a princess. When Zoe found the fanciful dresses, she insisted on taking them all. I talked her down into taking just one, and she chose the standard by which all other princess dresses are judged, the Cinderella gown. Fortunately, we also found her more practical items such as a backpack of her own, pink with stitched on multicol
ored butterflies, and a couple pairs of jeans, long-sleeved shirts, and tennis shoes she could grow into. We also found her a navy blue parka, which fit better than the jacket I had given her, and a multicolored earflap knit cap with dangling pink pompoms.
I decided to leave my jacket behind in the house and keep wearing Ash’s. There wasn’t any way to carry both coats comfortably, and I wasn’t about to leave Ash’s father’s jacket behind. Ash would want his keepsake back. Plus, it helped to have a small piece of him with me.
On the way to Farmington, Zoe decided she wanted us all to play I Spy. She would try her hardest to find something with color in the gray world around us, which made guessing what she spied with her little eye easy, and in turn, I would always say I spotted something brown. Zoe got so frustrated with me at one point she fell into complete silence. I think she meant for her refusal to speak to annoy me, but it ended up having the complete opposite effect. I guiltily treasured the quiet.
I loved Zoe, but she could talk more than any person I had ever met, before or after the war. I wasn’t used to so much chatter. Ash and I had run out of things to say to each other over the years and usually traveled in mutual silence. It was what I was used to.
It wasn’t until we neared Farmington that Zoe snapped out of her pout. We had chosen to keep walking through the woods, not daring to venture onto the road again until after we passed Farmington. I became thankful for that decision as we came face to face with a twenty-foot tall chain-link fence with barbed wire looped around the top. The sight of the fence made my heart race as my earlier worries threatened to become real.
Zoe grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly. I looked down at her and knew she realized the significance of what we were seeing.
“Breeding camp?” Zoe asked in a whisper, but the answer to her own question was written in her eyes.
I nodded my head to confirm what she already knew and looked over at Jace.
“We need to find another way around,” I said to him, keeping my voice soft and low, since I had no way of knowing if there was a Harvester within hearing distance.