by Jen Naumann
“C’mon,” I whisper to Harrison and Bree. “Kendall is here.”
“What?” Harrison asks a little too loudly. “Where?”
A middle-aged man close to us turns to stare. He is covered in ink with intricate designs and the piercings in his ears are stretched out to hold little metal spikes that poke out from underneath his long brown hair. His eyes narrow as he takes the three of us in, like he is wondering why he doesn’t recognize any of us.
On impulse, I pull Harrison to me roughly and begin kissing him the way the couples at the edge of crowd had been. He resists at first, as if he is wondering why I would kiss him in this moment. Before long, however, he becomes more wrapped up in it than I am and pushes his body against mine.
I open my eyes for a moment to see if the man is still staring. His attention has returned to Thaddeous. I have to push Harrison back to get him to stop. “Let’s go,” I whisper, my lips brushing up against his ear.
It’s hard to ignore the tingling raging through me from our kiss as we continue to where Kendall stands. Once I am standing next to my brother, he leans in slightly. “Don’t make any sudden movements. We’re being watched.”
He tips his head to the cliffs above. More hooded men stand watch with their arms crossed, gazing at the crowd below. Although their eyes still sweep over us on occasion, they aren’t showing any added attention to our small gathering.
Suddenly, Thaddeous’s voice cuts through the crowd. “It’s time we deal with our uninvited guests.”
Fear trickles through me, thinking he has discovered us. But when I turn, he is not looking in our direction. He has a strange, twisted smile on his face as he continues on. “If we want to continue living in peace without Society discovering us and making us their slaves, we cannot let people intrude into our home! It will not be tolerated! When the sun rises, we will make sure these intruders don’t destroy the peaceful world we have created!”
More applause follows, this set sounding a bit too excited, too eager.
Harrison wraps his free hand around my waist to pull me closer. His eyes dart around the crowd nervously. Bree is staring down my brother, probably deciding if we should really trust him.
Thaddeous says a few more words and the applause turns wild. The music starts back up, sounding more like the angry and harsh tunes Kai’s Rebel friends had been playing. The crowd begins to thrash around once again.
Kendall tips his head for us follow him through the crowd. Harrison wobbles at my side and Bree follows close behind, holding tight to the back of my shirt. We don’t make it far when I spot another hooded man walking directly toward us from the side of the cavern.
“Someone is coming,” I whisper to Harrison. Although I struggle to help him walk and keep up with my brother’s much faster pace, the sight of the other man gives me the determination to quicken my steps.
“Just keep walking,” Harrison whispers back.
We weave our way through the crowd. They are so wrapped into the music that they merely move aside with the disturbance. The large mouth of a tunnel at ground level comes into view.
Kendall falls back to my side. “This opening isn’t very steep or high. You should be able to crawl through it without feeling too much pain.”
“Harrison’s leg may be broken,” I tell him with wide eyes. “I don’t know if he will be able to crawl at all.”
Kendall glares over at Harrison, still limping along my other side. “He’s going to have to try. We have no other choice.”
I glance over my shoulder in search of the hooded man, only to find him standing directly behind Bree. When I whirl around and open my mouth to yell her name in warning, the man shakes his head, drawing a finger to his lips.
My brother and Harrison have both turned alongside me and stare at him also.
My eyes sweep over the man’s features underneath the hood. He looks all too familiar. All at once, my head becomes light and the city begins to swirl around me. I grab Harrison to keep from fainting.
Harrison
25 – I Know What I Must Do
I hold Olive tightly. She stares at the man, frozen. “Father?” she whispers.
Confused, I look down on her. She said her father had died. Who is this man?
He removes the hood from his head, the corners of his mouth spreading into a wide grin. “Olive. It reallyis you.”
Olive trembles in my arms. I bring her to rest in the crook of my arm and see her eyes brimming with tears. All color in her face has drained away.
“Are you okay? Who is he?” I whisper to her. But her watery stare is vacant and unresponsive. She continues to tremble.
“What are you doing?” Kendall yells at the man, stepping closer to him.
“I had to see her for myself!” the man snaps back. “I can’t just sit back and let it happen to her!”
My eyes dart to the clocked man, furious. “Olive told me her father died. Who are you? Letwhat happen to her?”
“This was not a part of the plan,” Kendall says to him, as if I didn’t just demand any kind of answers. Apparently, they have decided to leave me out of this completely messed up conversation.
“Youknewhe was alive?” Olive yells. “Why didn’t youtell me? How many secrets and lies does this family have?” Her glossy stare has turned into a look of total outrage.
Glancing back to the city, Kendall seems unable to look her in the eye. If he has the answers to all of her questions, he is too much of a coward to give them to her. “We can’t have this conversation here. We need to leave before someone sees us.”
Olive shakes her head stubbornly, her hair whipping around her face. “No! I won’t leave until you tell me the truth! Why would my mother tell me he died? Did she think he was?”
My stomach roils with her continued questions. Who is this Kendall guy to Olive, and why do they speak to each other like there is more going on between them than I know about?
“He’s right, Olive,” I tell her. “We need to get out of here before someone discovers we’re missing. We’ll have more time to figure everything out once we get you somewhere safe.”
Tears roll down her face as she glares at the man claiming to be her father. “First I’m told I have a brother I know nothing about, and now I discover you didn’treally die. Why did you all lie to me? What else should I know? How will I ever be able to trust anyone ever again?”
The anguish pouring from her breaks my heart. She didn’t say anything about a brother until now. Why didn’t she tell me everything? I wipe the tears from her face with my hand. “Olive, tell me what is going on. Let me help you.”
“I’m sorry, Olive,” the man claiming to be her father pleads. “We didn’t want to lie to you, but we had to. It was the only way to protect you. Please, you must understand.”
Olive finally pivots to face me, but her eyes—filled with pain—look away. “Get me out of here,” she whispers. “Please.”
Closing my eyes, I kiss the top of her head. “Okay.”
Bree rushes to Olive’s other side and slips her arm behind her waist. We turn back to the tunnel that promises our escape from this city. Olive is still too choked up to speak and I can feel the energy draining from her—she can barely support my weight as I hobble at her side.
“Olive, wait!” her father calls after her.
We don’t stop or turn back. When we reach the mouth of the tunnel, I glance behind me to discover Olive’s father—or whoever the man really is—did not follow us. He disappeared, as if the moment never really happened. I’m glad for his distance from Olive. She is so upset I worry he has broken something inside her.
Kendall crawls into the dark tunnel first, closely followed by Bree. I send Olive in behind her and follow through last. Crawling turns out to be difficult for both myself and Olive. I have to pull my body along with my arms, dragging my bad leg behind me.
Olive winces loudly with every movement, probably a mixture of grief and pain to her ribs. We aren’t very far when she
collapses to the side of the tunnel and sobs. The light from the city has faded from within the tunnel, making it difficult to see much of anything. Still, I can see where Bree and Kendall stop up ahead by the whites of their eyes.
“I’m sorry your father lied to you,” Bree whispers. “I don’t understand why he would do such a thing either. But we can’t stop now. We have to keep going.”
“She’s right, Olive,” Kendall agrees. “We don’t have far to go, but we have to hurry.”
“You haveno right to talk to me,” Olive warns him sharply. “By not telling me the truth, you were lying to me. I don’t care who you claim to be. I don’t want anything to do with you.”
Kendall’s head drops. He looks at each of us before turning back and continuing on. Bree pauses for a moment to lock eyes with me before following him.
“Was that really your father back there?” I ask her.
“I don’t know,” she cries. “It looked like him and sounded like him, but my mother told me he was dead. I don’t know what to believe is real anymore.”
All I can do is rub her leg and watch while she sobs, her hands covering her face. Why won’t she tell me what is going on with her and Kendall? It sounds like there are more secrets between them. Did they form some kind of relationship in the days they were alone? Does she feel something for him?
Suddenly I feel a massive stab of guilt. How can I have these ridiculous thoughts while she is going through all of this? Her happiness should be my only worry. I can’t stand to see her in this much pain. “I know this must be hard, Olive, but we have to get out of here before it’s too late. You can do this. I know you can.”
Suddenly, a hand clamps around my broken leg. Before I can say anything more, I am yanked backwards. I yell out instead, grasping for something to hold on to. My body is pulled from the mouth of the tunnel so forcefully that I fall to the ground with a bone crunching thud. My leg burns with so much pain that everything fades out around me. The last thing I see is a pair of legs going back to the opening.
As the darkness swallows me, I hear Olive screaming my name.
* * *
The room comes into focus with little bursts of bright light. Olive has wedged herself inside my arms, and we sit alone on the floor of a different cavern. At least I thought we were alone, until the hairless man’s voice barks at us to stand up.
“Harrison, can you hear me?” Olive asks, her dry lips brushing against my ear. “We have to get up. Thaddeous is coming.” Her voice brings warm waves through my chest. I become fully aware of our surroundings and stand with a great amount of her help.
Once on our feet again, I hold her face in my hands. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
A sad smile appears on her lips. “I’m fine. They just pulled me out of the tunnel. I was so afraid…when I saw you lying on the ground...” She sobs.
Holding her tight, I cover her face with kisses. “I’m okay. We’re both okay. We’re going to make it through this, Olive.”
Voices drift in from outside the cavern. I position myself in front of Olive just as Thaddeous steps into view. From the hazy look in his eyes, I wonder if they had pulled him from a deep sleep to tell him of our attempted escape. His lips curl at the sight of us. He steps close, hovering over my shoulder to leer at Olive. “So the two of you decided you could just leave my city without saying goodbye?”
Anger seeps through me. I want to push the dreadful man away from Olive, but I know if I do anything, it will only put her in danger. After the speech we heard him give to the members of the city, this may not end well for us. I grip Olive’s hand tightly, willing her to be strong. Her eyes flash to mine, full of fear.
“The accommodations you provided us with were becoming uncomfortable,” I tell Thaddeous, my voice brave.
His eyes grow hard as he takes a step backwards. A moment later, he forces a laugh, a horrible sound that I’ve come to despise. The hairless man stands beside him with arms crossed, smile wide. He seems to enjoy anything that involves pain or cruelty. I fear what this means for Olive.
Thaddeous shuffles to the side, facing me. “You mean to say you weren’t happy with the way your little girlfriend here was being treated?”
“No,” I answer coldly. My jaw clenches as the leader of the city stares me down. Every muscle in my body has tensed up from the silent threat emanating from his hard eyes.
He strides away. pacing back and forth, tapping the tips of his fingers together. His jittery movements make me all the more afraid. His mind may very likely be gone. “What do you suppose someone in my position has to do in a situation like this? Do you think the people in this city will have any respect for me if I were to just let the two of you go?”
“Your people probably don’t even know that you found us sneaking out,” Olive blurts. “You could tell them that you took us out in the forest and killed us. Then you would still look powerful and in control to them.”
Thaddeous stops pacing to glare at her. There is a glimmer of amusement in the pools of his eyes. “Nowthere’s an idea—killing you in the forest!”
Olive huffs. “That’s not what I meant.”
He steps close to her again. “Oh, Iknow what you meant. I know everything about you, Olive. It only takes the touch of your skin…” He lifts his hand to her face, but I slap his arm away before he can make contact.
“Don’t. Touch. Her.” The edge to my voice is murderous. Whatever this man’s touch does to Olive, I know it frightens her and I won’t let him do it again.
Thaddeous whirls around to me and clutches his hand around my windpipe. A warm buzz passes through me from where our skin makes contact. I suddenly know what Olive was saying about his touch. It feels dark, empty. Unnatural. Yet the fear of his touch pales in comparison to the urgent need to breath. My eyes begin to bulge as I desperately try to pry his grip from my throat.
“Let go of him!” Olive yells. She beats on him with her fist, but her efforts are for nothing. Thaddeous is much stronger. Blood pounds through my head and there is a ringing in my ears. I try desperately to move Thaddeous’s fingers away with no luck. I am too weak after falling from the tunnel and reinjuring my leg.
“Stop!” Olive shrieks. “Please!”
Thaddeous’s eyes burn into mine like he is looking deep into my soul. He cocks his head to the side and laughs. “You’re not even worth the effort.”
Finally, his hand falls from my throat. Olive holds on to me, sobbing. I rub my neck with one hand and cling to Olive’s shoulder with the other. Wheezing and coughing, I fight for air to return to my lungs.
“Don’t ever try to stop me from doing anything again,” Thaddeous warns me.
“Kill me…if you want,” I tell him between gulps of air. “I don’t…have much longer anyway. But I won’t…let you…hurt her.”
Thaddeous laughs loudly again. “That’s sweet of you, but I think I prefer to kill you both.” He turns to the hairless man. “Keep an eye on themyourselfthis time. Don’t let them leave. You canshootthem if they try to get away, but don’tkill them yet. The entire city is going to want to watch.”
With that, Thaddeous leaves us alone again with the hairless man. He stands rigid at the entrance, staring off into the distance. If I weren’t so weak, I would try to take him down on my own. Now that Thaddeous is on a mission, our lives are in more danger than before. I need to get Olive somewhere safe.
My weight buckles. Using the wall for support, Olive helps to slide me back down to the ground. We sit for countless minutes, cradling each other.
“I’m sorry you didn’t get to see the Free Lands,” she whispers. “I hope you know just how much I love you, Harrison. My life wouldn’t have been complete without you. I don’t care if they kill me, as long as we’re together when it happens. Whatever you do, don’t let go of me.”
I rub my thumb across a patch of freckles on her soft, warm cheek. She is so beautiful, so innocent. Her big green eyes are not only filled with tears, but an unco
nditional love for me. Of all the guys she could have wanted to be with, she chose me. Luck was something that I never had before, never knew. Not until I met her. I failed my cousin and I failed Bree, but I won’t fail Olive. I won’t let anything happen to her. I will die trying to keep her alive.
“I love you, Olive,” I tell her. “But this isn’t the end for you. Not like this.”
Leaning in, I brush my lips against hers. She trembles against my mouth, yet her lips move against mine, soft and warm. Her fingers tug at my hair and she pulls me closer. The taste of her sweet tears on her tongue is another cruel reminder that this is most likely our last kiss. I will never get to hold her again. I will never get to run my fingers over her soft hair and smell her wonderful scent.
She doesn’t deserve to die like this. She deserves to be happy.
I know what I must do to keep her safe. Sacrificing myself will be worth it. I can’t live in a world where I will never hear her laugh or see the way her eyes light up when she says my name.
Our kiss is suddenly interrupted when someone enters the cavern.
Olive
26 – This is the End
My father moves in behind Joshua, once again hidden underneath the cloak. He takes on the unyielding pose the other guards all use as he stands before us. I had hoped since my brother got away with Bree, they would come up with another plan to save us. Not once had I thought of my estranged father coming to our rescue.
After all, he’s dead to me.
The fact that he is truly alive is still too much to absorb. Looking at him now makes me feel like I’m stuck in a dream. Could he really be the same man who told me stories and sang to me? He looks just the same as I remember him, only with a few more gray hairs sprouting at his temples. Yet the way he peers down on me with a solemn expression is different. It feels wrong. His appearance may not have changed much, but he couldn’t feel like any more of a stranger.