Shymers

by Jen Naumann

  Once the morning light encompasses us, we carry on. Again, I am plagued by my thoughts. Where do we go now? What will we do? I wonder if I have been leading us in circles by the way everything is starting to look familiar. Bree either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care. Between the two of us, all hope seems to be lost. I begin to question why I’m even continuing on anymore. Maybe I should turn back and hope Bree will somehow find her own way to safety.

  Our moods quickly change, however, when we stumble upon the shimmering of a narrow creek in the sunlight. Both of us run to it, eagerly drinking in the tepid water. Bree slips her feet in first, then her entire body. She breaks the surface with a big grin, her hair hanging in clumps and her wet clothing clinging to her skin.

  “You should try it!” she calls out to me. “It is refreshing in a way you can’t imagine!”

  I smile and run to her, my legs splashing the water up onto both of us. Laughing happily, we splash each other until we are soaked down to the bone. I completely submerge myself into the liquid as she had, savoring the relief from the afternoon heat.

  When finished, we sit together on the edge of the creek to rest and share the very last scoop of cold potatoes given to me by the Rebels. My stomach rumbles for more. How much longer until we can find food? I don’t know anything about killing animals in the wild. I don’t know if any of the plants are poisonous. Without finding the Rebels, our chances of surviving out here may completely vanish.

  “Do you think they found your cousin because they heard me yelling out to you?” Bree asks. Her voice is strained from all the crying she did the previous day.

  I shake my head. “No.”

  “But still…”

  I touch her arm. She looks up at me, her lips shaking. “It’s time for me to be honest…to both of us. Nothing is going as planned. I thought I could keep Olive and Tayrn safe, but I was wrong. My father told me to run away to the Free Lands on my own. All of this is my fault—I should have listened to him. I want more than anything to keep you safe, Bree, but I don’t know if I can. I thought there would be more shelter here. I don’t know what we should do next or where we will go. Olive was supposed to be with me, she knew her way around the forest and—” I stop and shut my eyes when my breath hitches. I can’t talk about Olive. “Everything is different now. I’m thinking of going back.”

  Bree’s dark eyes widen. “What? You can’t go back! They’ll kill you!”

  “It doesn’t matter. I have to try to find her. I can’t walk around here pretending nothing is wrong when she is locked up somewhere, wondering why I left her. I can’t let it end this way.”

  A slight smile tugs at Bree’s lips. “Olive wouldn’t want you to go back. She hated the way we were treated there. The only thing that’s probably keeping her going right now is hope that the rest of us are okay and made it safely over. You can’t go back now. You have to stay and be strong for her.”

  I chuckle, only a little. She’s right. It does sound like Olive’s way of thinking.

  “You can’t give up hope, Harrison,” she whispers. “Not now. We’ve made it this far.”

  Not many words are passed between us as we find our way through the thick forest, keeping to the shadows and taking care not to make too much noise. Later in the afternoon when I am considering finding a spot for us to settle in for the night, a salty yet sour fragrance is carried to us with the breeze.

  A giant smile crosses Bree’s face as she holds her arm out, stopping me from going any farther. “Do you smell that?”

  I nod, inhaling deeply. From my grandfather’s stories, I think I know what it has to be. “It’s the ocean.”

  “The ocean!” she yells out joyfully.

  We grin at each other before scrambling up the steep hill ahead with some difficulty. Once we make it over, the amazing blue water is revealed to us, sparkling in the sunlight. Waves roll together in large swells, riding into the rocky cliffs below and making soft noises as they splash. I never imagined the ocean would be this massive. It appears to go on forever, to the ends of the earth.

  “It’s lovely,” Bree whispers.

  So much emotion slams into me that I only nod in agreement. The thrill of seeing the ocean for the first time still isn’t as grand as it should be. Olive should have been here by my side. Bree’s hand curls around mine as we stand together, taking the enormous body of water in. Holding her hand is not nearly as exciting as holding Olive’s, but I appreciate the contact. It makes me feel less alone.

  After a few moments of gazing at our new discovery, Bree turns to me. “I have to go to the bathroom. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  I shake my head. “I’m not letting you leave my side. That’s exactly how I lost Tayrn.”

  She sighs deeply before nodding. Together, we scamper back down the hill. Bree drops my hand when we reach the thick of the forest and frowns. “You can at least turn around.”

  I chuckle and do as she says, listening as her feet shuffle across the ground.

  Suddenly, there is a loud, piercing scream.

  Olive

  21 – There Are So Many People

  After jabbing my sleeping brother with my foot, his eyes open. Immediately he bolts upright, sensing danger. I spin around to face whoever is wearing the boots.

  “Zeke!” I yell out in surprise.

  A wide smile spreads across Zeke’s blotchy face. “I told you I’d find you.”

  He wears a soldier’s uniform of white pants and a white shirt, complete with the white beret on his head. In his hands he also holds a very large gun like the soldiers carry. My pulse quickens. Is he here to turn us in? Kendall told me the government would be interested in finding me as the Rebel’s daughter. Had Zeke’s father allowed him to join the soldiers with the threat of the Rebels uprising?

  My brother turns to me with a look of confusion and anger. “Youknow this guy?”

  Arlandria is awake now and staring at Zeke with her arms crossed over her chest and a look of total irritation growing on her face.

  “Who are these people?” Zeke asks, pointing the gun at Kendall.

  I lean over to shield my brother with my hands held up. “Put that down! They’re friends,” I insist. “Their names are Kendall and Arlandria. Guys, this is my friend Zeke.”

  The two guys glare at each other suspiciously.

  “Are they Rebels?” Zeke asks.

  Is it safe to tell him? Just days ago he was so adamant in following the ways of the government, yet he was easily persuaded to help me. Can I trust him? He could be unstable. And dangerous.

  I look to Kendall for help. His head dips slightly, encouraging me to tell the truth.

  “Yes,” I finally answer Zeke. Kiki begins to move around next to me. I stroke her hair, more out of nervousness than anything.

  Finally, Zeke lowers his gun. “You can’t stay here. There will be soldiers coming out in full force today.”

  I exhale, relieved. “You mean you’re not here to turn us in?”

  Zeke glances down at the uniform he wears. “Oh yeah, sorry. I forgot. I stole it from my father’s base. I figured it could come in handy if I were caught. Your disappearance caused quite the stir back in Society, Olive. They’re saying your mother is some kind of Rebel leader.”

  I nod. “So I hear.”

  Zeke’s eyes grow wide in surprise. “You mean it’s true?”

  “Hold on,” Kendall blurts. “What do you mean byyour father’s base? Does he work for the government?”

  “He’s a commander,” Zeke answers.

  Kendall lowers his gaze. “What else do you know? Did your father say anything to you about the government’s plan to stop the Rebels?”

  Zeke’s lips reshape into a smirk. “My father and I aren’t exactly on good terms. He left me in an orphanage. Obviously it would have been too disgraceful for a soldier to have a Shymer living with him.”

  “I’m sorry,” Kendall says to him.

  Zeke shrugs again. “I did find out from the R
ebels who helped me cross that there has been a lot of activity back at our orphanage. Director Mahr started pulling people in for questioning, asking everyone what they knew about Olive and Harrison.”

  “What have I done?” I groan. The Shymers are already treated like worthless animals, and now they’ll be subjected to Director Mahr’s cruelty, all because I wanted to run away from there. Now more than ever, I am almost blinded by the need to help the Rebels.

  “It’s notall because of you, Olive,” Zeke tells me. “Director Mahr has been trying for years to please the government and get into their good graces. He only has a few more years until his DOD, so he’s on a mission to prove himself worthy to them.”

  Maybe that’s why Director Mahr has been against me from the day I walked into his office. He knew I was living in the Free Lands with my family, which is considered to be an act of the utmost rebellion by Society. If he is trying to win over the government’s approval, punishing me would have been looked at as a valiant act.

  “You’re not going to pass as a solider with your hair that long,” Arlandria tells Zeke sharply. “They’ll know on first glance that you’re not one of them.”

  Zeke throws a hand up to the skies. “I really don’t have anything to lose at this point. There are only a few weeks left before my DOD. They are probably trying to track me down for not reporting back to the orphanage.” His eyes dart to mine. “Where’s Harrison?”

  I shake my head, trying to hold back the overwhelming grief that strikes me. “He never showed up at the meeting point. But we found a communicator in the forest. I think it has to be from him or his cousin.”

  “We don’t know that for sure,” Kendall reminds me.

  “Itcould be,” I snap.

  Kiki rubs her eyes with both of her little fists and becomes a blur of motion until she is sitting up at my side. “A soldj’a!” she screams, her wide eyes frozen on Zeke.

  I wrap my arms around her. “No, he’s just pretending. He’s a friend. It’s okay.” Kiki continues watching him with wide eyes, unsure if she wants to believe me.

  “Who is this?” Zeke asks, scowling. “Dragging a little kid around the forest is only going to slow us down.”

  Kendall turns to Zeke, his gaze hard and protective. “She’s my sister.”

  Kiki struggles free from my hold to run to our brother. She sits as close as she can without touching him. Quite suddenly, I am extremely jealous of her. Kiki isn’t even his real sister and they already seem to be much closer than the two of us will ever be. Although I wasn’t old enough to remember the time we spent together, Kendall ismybrother. He was never there to comfortmewhenI was afraid. My life would have been so different having a sibling around.

  I tell myself I shouldn’t be jealous—Kiki’s parents must not be good people, or Kendall wouldn’t have taken her away from them. Do they know about Kendall being the other child of the Rebel leader? Are they supporters of the government? There are still so many unanswered questions, none of which I will probably be able to ask Kendall as long as Zeke and Arlandria are near.

  “She’s a good kid,” I tell Zeke. “She won’t slow us down.”

  He snorts. “If you say so. Either way, we need to move along before the helicopters get here.”

  Everyone gathers their sparse belongings and stands to leave. Taking the lead, I turn back in the direction I know the familiar creeks to be.

  “This way,” Kendall says behind me.

  Turning to him, I frown. “The only things you’ll find that way are a bunch of cliffs and the ocean.”

  He nods. “Exactly. Cliffs with a lot ofhiding places.”

  Arlandria raises one of her eyebrows. “Sounds promising.”

  As Zeke warned, we run into hoards of soldiers. There are so many that I fear we will surely be discovered. For a while we are able to hide from them. A few hours later, however, the thickness of the forest begins to narrow down and the safety of the bushes and trees vanishes. As two male soldiers approach, we realize there is nowhere to go.

  “Here we go,” Zeke whispers.

  “Take your hair down,” Kendall says to me under his breath. “Don’t look them in the eye. Act like you don’t know what’s going on.”

  “That part will be easy,” I mutter, pulling the ribbon from my hair that holds it away from my face. With my heavy blanket of hair now covering my neck, I suddenly feel as if I will pass out. At least my Shymer mark is hidden.

  “Don’t tell them who she is,” Kendall warns Zeke under his breath. “They may not recognize her.”

  While they may not recognize me, won’t they know who really I am the minute they run an eye scan? The closer the soldiers become, the more I fear my heart will explode. Kiki clutches my hand. Can she feel how badly I shake?

  The two soldiers are tall and broad, their blond hair nearly styled in identical short cuts. When they see our group approaching, their heads perk up in interest. They hold their guns taut against their chests. The fear inside me swells.

  “Afternoon, soldier,” the taller of the two greets Zeke in a deep voice. “What is going on here?”

  “I recruited some volunteers,” Zeke answers. “The commander ordered as many people as possible to search the Free Lands for the Rebel’s daughter.”

  The men’s eyes sweep over us, one by one. I don’t quite pass as a Future with my less than perfectly shaped face and duller blond hair. After spending so many days on the run with no showers or change of clothing, I probably look a mess. Then there is little Kiki, who would have no business out helping in such a search in the first place.

  Arlandria is quite obviously a Rebel with her colored hair and Zeke probably looks the most suspicious of all with his bad teeth and long hair. Kai once told me that although it’s not completely unheard of for a Shymer to be a soldier, it is considered quite unusual. We would have been better off giving the uniform to Kendall.

  “What’s with the little girl?” the shorter of the two soldiers asks, frowning at Kiki.

  I tremble, fearing this is the end for us.

  Kendall strides forward to stand just inches from the men. “She’s with me.” He suddenly jerks the gun away from the taller soldier. In a flash that seems too quick for my eyes, he then hits the soldier in the forehead with the fat end of the gun and does the same to the other soldier. They both fall down to the ground like sacks of flour. Kendall calmly straps the gun to his body before collecting the long black weapon from the shorter man’s still hands. I stand watching in amazement, my jaw dropped. Is my brother dangerous? Where did he learn such things?

  “I can’t believe you just knocked those two out like that!” Zeke hollers. “That was amazing!”

  “They were on to us,” Kendall says. “I had no other choice.” He holds the gun out to me. “Don’t use it unless your life depends on it.”

  I back away from him. “I don’t…I wouldn’t know how to use that.”

  “You point it at your enemy and pull the trigger,” he answers impatiently. When I still refuse to take it, he grumbles and hands it to Arlandria instead. She throws it over her shoulder with such ease, it’s like she’s done it a thousand times before.

  Just how much training have these Rebels been given in preparation for the uprising? Do they all know how to use a gun? Do they all know how to fight like Kendall? Is our mother well trained like he is?

  Kendall tilts his head toward the cliffs. “It won’t be long before someone either finds them or wonders why they aren’t answering to orders. We need to move.”

  The rest of us scurry behind him, finding no reason to argue.

  * * *

  The afternoon sun feels even more brutal than usual without any kind of shade. Kendall wraps his shirt over Kiki’s head to protect her face. No one says anything about the rest of us using some kind of covering, although we really don’t have any other options. Just how much direct sun exposure does it take to kill a person?

  The cliffs under our feet are alarmingly high. T
he view of the ocean would be amazing if we weren’t so fearful for our lives. Down below there is nothing other than jagged rocks and the vast swells of the ocean that continues on as far as the eye can see. Waves crash against the cliffs, splashing white droplets into the air. When the wind picks up, the lightest of mists sprays up toward us. Still, it’s not enough for us to feel any kind of relief. A sour smell drifts up off of it, filling my lungs and making my eyes water.

  We stop to look in every cove along the path and taking a break every so often to fill ourselves with water. Kendall is careful to keep Kiki on the other side of him, away from the ledge.

  I try not to look down to where we would most likely fall to our deaths were we to take a wrong step. Although I had so often played in the creeks, they were never very deep and it was unnecessary to know how to swim. If I were to fall now, I would sink like a rock to the bottom and drown, unless I broke my head open against the rocks on the way down.

  “Why aren’t there any soldiers monitoring these cliffs?” I ask.

  “Because it’s too hot for them,” Zeke groans. “No one could survive more than a few hours in this direct exposure. We have to turn around.”

  “He’s right,” Kendall agrees, stopping short. He wipes the beads of sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm and turns to face me. “There isn’t any sign of them down here. We really need to get out of this sun.”

  “Just a little farther,” Arlandria pleads. “They could be hiding in any one of these caverns.”

  While I’m glad she said exactly what I am thinking, deep down I know Kendall is right. Our chances of finding Harrison and Tayrn here are pretty low. Still, I can’t give up. Harrison wouldn’t ever give up on me.

  “Please, just a little farther,” I beg my brother.

  He points at Kiki. “She needs to get out of the direct sun, Olive. You know it isn’t safe. It’s not safe for any of us to be out here like this.”