by S. J. West
“She and your mother had a falling out right after you were born. Your mother pretty much told her she was never allowed to see you again.”
“What happened to make her do something like that?”
“I’m not sure. I didn’t push her for an explanation because she seemed so distraught by whatever it was. Lucena was never in our lives that much anyway. She was always busy with her work. I just assumed your mother was frightened she might try to take you away from us one day, because even then, Lucena was rich and powerful. Plus, I don’t think your mother wanted you to know her sister was your biological mother. The possibility of you finding out the truth seemed to scare her more than anything.”
“So if Mom was Lucena’s sister and I’m her biological daughter, why did she keep us in a breeding camp?”
“I suppose Lucena thought keeping us in a camp was better than having us run around in the wilderness with you. In her way, she loved you and wanted to make sure you were looked after.”
I finally put into place pieces of my past I could never quite figure out. My family was the only one not required to have children for the Harvesters. Now I understood why. My mother was incapable of having children on her own. Ash’s family wasn’t as fortunate. While in the camp, I saw Ash’s mom give birth to two boys and two girls. As soon as they were born, they were each taken away to be raised by the Harvesters for spare parts.
“She told me I was supposed to go live with her the night Ash and I escaped. Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“I try not to think about that night,” I confessed. “But I dream about it a lot. I remember Mom hugging me so tight I couldn’t breathe. She kept saying over and over how much she loved me, and that she was sorry she couldn’t have brought me up in a better world.”
“She always blamed herself for how Lucena turned out.”
“Why?”
“Because she was Lucena’s big sister. She felt like she should have seen the person Lucena really was and stopped her before things got so out of control.”
I closed my eyes and let my mind replay that night.
“I remember all the houses being lit on fire and people screaming before Ash and I made it out. I tried to go back, but he wouldn’t let me. Right before we crawled through the hole you told us to look for in the fence, we heard machine gun fire.”
“Things didn’t turn out quite like we planned. A lot of people ended up dying that night instead of escaping.”
“How did you survive?”
My father snorted. “Lucena’s people shot me in the back, but it didn’t kill me. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I wished they had finished the job.”
I wanted to ask him what happened to Mom but couldn’t bring myself to voice the question. Did it really matter? She was dead. I didn’t need to know the gruesome details.
“How did you end up here, in the Southern Kingdom?”
“Lucena sent me here.”
I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“You work for her?” I whispered.
“It’s not like that, Skye. She just used me to bring a message to them.”
“What message?”
“That she would leave them alone as long as they didn’t try to invade the Eastern Kingdom.”
“But what about the nukes the south sends over to destroy the breeding camps?”
“They’re just nuisances to her. It’s not enough to cause her any real hardship.”
“Then why do it?”
“The council thinks it’s a morale booster for the people here. Most southerners want to help those in the east, but they’re not desperate enough to do anything substantial. The leaders believe sending the nukes to destroy some of the breeding camps makes everyone here feel like they’re doing their part to help.”
“So, it’s just a publicity stunt to them?”
“Yes. It appeases the masses enough to let them still feel good about living in paradise while everyone else in the world is scrounging around just trying to find a way to survive each day.”
My father hung his head and looked away from me, like he couldn’t meet my eyes anymore.
“You don’t know how often I thought about leaving here and going back across the barrier to find you.”
“You never would have found me,” I told him with certainty. “Ash and I kept on the move every day. It would have been worse than trying to find a needle in a haystack because the needle would have kept moving.”
“But at least I would have been doing something instead of living here safe and sound while the two of you were out there fighting for your lives. A father shouldn’t abandon his child.”
I reached out and touched my father’s arm, forcing him to look at me.
“You didn’t abandon me. It wasn’t your choice. Besides, you gave me Ash. He protected me more times than I can count.”
“When Ash first got here, I thought you were dead. I knew he would never leave you on his own. And then when he woke up and told me what happened the last time he saw you, I was sure you were dead.”
I squeezed my father’s arm. “Don’t think about that. I’m not dead.”
“I wanted to bash that Rose woman’s face in when she told me she left you in that library.”
“You and me both,” I admitted.
My father smiled over our shared dislike of Rose and placed his free hand over the one I had on his arm.
“If she hadn’t told me I would be seeing you soon, I’m not sure what I would have done to her I was so mad.”
“How did you know you could trust what she said?”
“Doc Riley seemed to trust her, and I’ve always trusted Doc Riley.”
I wanted to tell him what Rose proved to me the last time I saw her. I hadn’t shared her ability to time travel with anyone but Doc Riley because I suspected Doc Riley already knew the truth. To think my future self was responsible for sending Rose and Simon back to particular points in my life seemed ludicrous. But the facts were irrefutable. They helped when they were needed and only then. I couldn’t fault them for doing what my future self was telling them to do. And now I understood why Rose left me in that library and made me spend time with Jace. But I didn’t know why it was so important for me to fall in love with him. Or maybe that wasn’t the real reason. Maybe we were just supposed to make sure Ian made it to the Southern Kingdom to help us win the war against the Harvesters. There were so many possibilities for why Rose left me. Plus, there were, more than likely, things which hadn’t even happened yet that might be the real reason. I just didn’t know.
CHAPTER THREE
Because of the dance that night, we were given the rest of the afternoon off from work. Apparently, the dance was an annual event for the younger crowd living in the Southern Kingdom. I couldn’t imagine living beneath a mountain for all my life like most of the people my age here. Every time I thought about it too much, I suddenly became claustrophobic and yearned to feel the great expanse of the outside world again. The surface was a far cry from perfect, but at least it didn’t feel like a prison.
As soon as I arrived back home, Zoe practically ordered me to go take a shower before Kirk and Teegan were to arrive. I was just drying my hair with a towel when the duo entered my room.
“You’ll be the belles of the ball,” Kirk declared, a dreamy look on his face while he and Teegan set out their hair and makeup paraphernalia on the vanity.
“Did you bring the dresses we ordered?” Zoe asked, practically bubbling over with excitement.
Kirk pointed to my bed, and Zoe pounced, picking up her dress and twirling around with it against her body.
The royal blue color of Zoe’s dress accentuated the bright blue of her eyes. It had wide strips of chiffon hanging from the waist, spaghetti straps at the shoulders, and an ornate beaded top I assumed Teegan must have slaved over. I knew it would look perfect on her as she twirled around on the dance floor. I, on the other hand, chose something a bit more conservative. It was a shor
t and simple cap-sleeve black lace dress over ivory silk.
Just like when I was in Alliance, Kirk styled our hair and Teegan applied our makeup.
“Are you coming to the party?” I asked Teegan as she dabbed a little foundation across my cheekbones.
She nodded with a big grin.
“You don’t think I would let my girl be the only one not going to the biggest shindig on this side of the barrier, do you?” Kirk asked.
“Kale really does want to take you instead of me,” Zoe told Teegan.
“Pfft.” Kirk rolled his eyes and continued using a large barreled curling iron on Zoe’s hair. “That boy can’t seem to put two words together around Teegan, much less form a complete sentence to ever ask her out.”
Teegan threw the makeup brush in her hand at Kirk and hit him on the shoulder.
“Well, it’s true!” Kirk defended.
Zoe let out a small giggle.
“I’m sorry Teegan,” Zoe apologized. “Kale told me he can’t even think straight when he’s around you, much less get a coherent word out. But at least with me, you don’t have to worry about him being pawed all night by another girl. I’ll keep him safe for you.”
Teegan winked at Zoe, sealing their pact to keep Kale safely out of the arms of the other girls in the kingdom.
There was a soft tap, tap, tap against my bedroom door. I immediately knew who it was and asked Teegan to excuse me while I went to answer it.
Blue stood on the other side of the door, wagging his tail eagerly, looking up at me with his one good eye waiting to be let in.
“Come on boy,” I told him, reaching down and scratching him behind the ears. I knew my father must be back home since Blue was here. He had taken Blue out for a walk knowing how loud the four of us could get when we were together.
Blue walked in and jumped on my bed to find his regular spot. Even though we didn’t have to sleep close together anymore to keep warm, Blue still slept against my back each night. It was all he knew, and I wasn’t about to change things between us now.
Once Kirk and Teegan were through with their magic touches, Zoe and I surveyed ourselves in the full length mirror attached to the back of my bedroom door.
Zoe looked like an angel with her svelte figure and golden curls cascading down her back. Next to her, I felt like a piece of raw meat while she was a surf-and-turf meal for the eyes.
I didn’t look at myself much, just a glance to make sure things were in their proper place. I was scared I might see the girl I once saw in the mirror in Alliance. That girl wasn’t someone I ever wanted to see again.
“All right ladies, we’ll see you at the party,” Kirk said, gathering up his hair styling supplies while Teegan put away the makeup.
As Zoe and I walked them out of the apartment, I heard my father open the door of his study. When we turned to face him, the book he had in his hands slipped from his fingers onto the floor.
Zoe giggled. I think I must have just looked puzzled.
“Sorry,” my dad said, leaning down to pick the book back up. Blue walked into the living room and went to my dad as if he were making sure he was all right.
“You ok, Dad?”
“Yes,” he said, clearing his throat. “You just look so much like your mother. I thought you were her for a split second.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I mumbled, “Thanks, Dad.”
“Anyway,” he said, casting the ghost of my mother aside. “When are Ash and Kale arriving?”
“Any minute,” Zoe answered.
Just then, a knock came to the apartment door.
“Speak of the devils.” Zoe eagerly opened the door before I had a chance to compose myself.
“Hey guys,” Zoe chirped.
Ash was dressed in a black tuxedo with a matching bow tie. The suit made him look dapper, which was a word I had never associated with Ash before. His face was clean-shaven, bringing out the strong angular features of his chin and cheekbones. I had to wonder if Kirk snuck into the boy’s apartment, considering the neat style of Ash’s slicked back hair.
Kale looked like Kale, just washed up. He wore his usual Hawaiian shirt, except this one looked like it had actually met an iron and ironing board. He was wearing blue jeans instead of cargo shorts, but he still had on his signature pristine white tennis shoes. His curly brown, shoulder-length hair looked freshly washed, and an attempt to slick it back was made but natural curls will not be denied.
“Really, Kale?” Zoe whined, crossing her arms. “You couldn’t dress up just this once?”
Kale shook his head. “Women,” he nudged Ash with his elbow, “can’t even appreciate it when you make an effort. Am I right?”
But Ash wasn’t paying attention to Zoe and Kale’s tiff. He was staring straight at me, like I was the only person within a million miles.
Kale waved his fingers in front of Ash’s face. “Dude, snap out of it.”
Ash seemed to remember where he was and looked over at Kale.
“What?” Ash asked.
“You were just staring at Skye like some psycho,” Kale said in a low voice. “Thought I’d help a brother out and snap you out of it before you started giving off a stalker vibe, man.”
Ash looked back at me with a troubled frown. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
My father suddenly appeared at my side.
“So, I expect you both to have my girls back home by midnight.”
“Yes, sir,” Ash and Kale said in unison.
“All right, then.” My father turned to me and kissed me on the cheek. “Have a good time, sweetie. I’ll be waiting up.”
I had a feeling the last statement was more for Kale’s benefit than Ash’s. After all, my father had given Ash the responsibility of keeping me alive at one time. I felt pretty confident he trusted him enough to keep me safe at a dance for a few hours.
Zoe and Kale walked ahead of us cracking jokes and having a good time with one another. I could understand Kale’s behavior, since he basically grew up in the Southern Kingdom, but Zoe’s acceptance of everything around her troubled me. I felt at least twenty years older than the two walking in front of us and wished I could be what I was supposed to be: a carefree eighteen-year-old girl. But my life hadn’t been lived within a protective shield or inside a fortress that let you imagine life as being normal when it was anything but.
“What are you thinking about?” Ash asked me.
I looked up and saw the concern in his eyes before I let my attention wander back to Zoe and Kale. “Sometimes, I wish I could be more like her.”
“Zoe? Why?”
“She’s so … comfortable with it all. It’s like being here doesn’t faze her one bit. She wants to be here. She can enjoy everything they have to offer and not seem to care what’s happening outside.”
“You don’t like it here?”
I sighed. “It’s not that I don’t like it, but I can’t just forget what’s going on in the real world. Eventually, the people here are going to have to wake up and face the truth. The outside world is dying, and they’re not even trying to do anything about it. They’re acting like nothing exists outside of this place.”
“I guess they’ve just been here for so long they figure the rest of the world doesn’t matter to them anymore. Why face a nightmare if you don’t have to? It’s easier to ignore a problem than find a way to solve it.”
“I can’t do that, Ash. I can’t turn my back and pretend everything is all right, because it isn’t.”
Ash stopped walking, which made me stop and turn back to face him.
“Are you thinking about saving the world or just one person in it?” he asked.
“I don’t forget about the people who mean something to me,” I replied, hoping he would leave it at that.
Ash stared at me for what seemed like an hour but in reality was only a few fleeting seconds.
He walked up to me and laced our fingers together, sliding his skin against mine intimately.
“I know w
hat I’m about to ask might be impossible for you to do, but for tonight, can we pretend we’re like everyone else down here and forget about what’s outside of this place? We can figure out a way to save the world tomorrow. All I want is one night with you where I don’t have to think about anything or anyone except you. Can you give me that, Skye?”
The look of heartbreaking longing in Ash’s eyes made me suddenly feel guilty for being so caught up in my own worries. I wanted to give Ash what he asked for, but I wasn’t sure how long I would be able to pretend the outside world and all its horrors didn’t exist. He was one of only a few people who truly understood me and knew how hard it was for me to let things go. All I could do in response was nod my head, letting him know I would try my best to give him one night where I didn’t worry about anything but being with him.
The dance was held near an elaborate dolphin-inspired water fountain in the center of Central Park. White lights twinkled in the trees around us, giving the illusion of a million fireflies lighting the festivities. A band was set up on a stage playing songs that had been popular before the war. Everything looked perfect. Everything looked normal.
Zoe turned out to be a natural dancer. It didn’t seem to matter what song played, she knew exactly how to move her body to the beats. I felt like a fish out of water, flailing around on hot concrete, desperately trying to not make myself look like a complete fool. Ash was about as bad at dancing as I was, but I couldn’t quite tell if he was doing it on purpose just to match my own poorly timed steps or if it was real. I hoped for his sake he was just trying to not make me feel bad.
“Hey guys!”
Kirk and Teegan bounced over to us. I saw Kale’s mouth open slightly as his eyes went all googly at the sight of Teegan and wondered if he even realized he was doing it.
Kirk had worked his magic once again with Teegan. Her hair was perfectly straight, falling down to her waist. She had the barest hint of makeup on her face, but Teegan was someone who didn’t need the assistance of makeup to accentuate her natural beauty. She wore a white chiffon dress with a heart-shaped bodice, which set off the rich cinnamon brown color of her skin.