“I do. It takes a lot of discipline, but the reward is great.”
“And what about family? Do you have children?” I asked. Jin-Sook appeared a little uncomfortable with my question. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“No, it’s fine,” she said. Her features suddenly looked fragile. Perhaps I had touched on a subject I shouldn’t have. “I was promised to someone I thought was an honest man.” She tried to smile, but a tear slipped down her cheek. Angrily, she rubbed it away. I scolded myself for my stupidity for bringing up a touchy subject. “But there’s always next year’s tournament, right?”
“Um, right,” I said. I had no idea what she was talking about.
“I talk as if you know us,” she said apologetically. “Getting permission to marry isn’t easy. We’re encouraged to marry outside of our barangay because it strengthens ties between our villages. So the spring tournament is very important to us. It’s not only a chance to become a Protector, but it’s the time to find a mate. Once two people decide to marry, their family history is charted to ensure genetic diversity and then they must wait for the approval of the council. Diego and I went through all of that and later I discovered he was in love with someone else. Someone from his own barangay.”
“Diego?” I asked. “He was the man that led Jack and me here?”
Jin-Sook nodded. “His little brother was one of the ones taken by the bourge.”
“That explains why he was so upset.”
“They shouldn’t have allowed him to go.” She rubbed the moisture from her cheeks. “And I didn’t need to see him again.”
I didn’t know why I felt so bad for this woman who was my guard, but I did.
“I think you’re a good person. You didn’t deserve that.”
She tried to smile, but her lips curved down instead. “So are you, Sunny. I really wish there was something I could do to help you.”
“Maybe you can. When I’m gone, convince your nation to free my people. If I know they stand a chance, I won’t feel as bad when I’m executed.”
“Will the slavers hunt us too?”
I looked thoughtfully at Jin-Sook, wondering how she would take the news. President Holt would annihilate them all for the same reason he was planning to kill everyone from the Pit: to keep the bloodlines clean.
I nodded. “Yes. They think of you as heathens.”
So many truths had been laid bare between us, but this one truth seemed to have the most impact on Jin-Sook. She dropped her face into her hands. I understood how she felt. I was well acquainted with the heaviness of the load I had just given her.
She raised a tear-stained face to look at me. “I swear I’ll do whatever I can.”
Maria and Will came back into the room, their bickering interrupting the somber mood that had settled on us. Jin-Sook and I both wiped the tears away from our eyes.
“Your husband’s okay. He’s…um…” Will hesitated.
“Sleeping. He’s sleeping,” Maria interjected.
I eyed them suspiciously. “You mean he was darted.”
Maria shrugged. “It’s just a mild sedative. He’ll be all rested up for the hike tomorrow.”
I bit my tongue against the angry comment I wanted to spit out. How dare they touch Jack!
“Speaking of tomorrow, you better get some rest,” Jin-Sook said. “We’ll stay with you tonight.”
“I’ll take first watch,” Will said.
“Willow!” Jin-Sook admonished.
My lip twitched with the urge to curl into a sneer. “It’s okay. I’m a prisoner.”
They all looked a little guilty as I got up from the table. I returned to the dark corner where the bed was located and lay flat on my back. Staring at the wooden ceiling, I started counting the number of knots in each plank…anything to keep my mind off tomorrow. But thoughts of failing the Pit crashed through the emotional barriers I had erected and I was consumed with hopelessness.
“Good night, Sunny,” Jin-Sook said.
Rolling over onto my side, I turned my back on the trio. Perhaps I should have fought them instead of making friends. Maybe they would have darted me, too.
Chapter Twenty
The smell of food brought me back to the present. I hadn’t really slept, but at some point I had become mesmerized by the wall in front of me. I rolled onto my back. Maria was the only other occupant in the room.
“I was about to wake you. They’re waiting.” She held a bowl out to me.
I got off the bed and accepted the bowl, knowing it was probably my last meal. It didn’t taste bad, but the food dropped into my stomach like a stone and set it roiling with nausea.
“I’m not hungry,” I said, setting the bowl down.
Maria nodded. “We should go, then.”
Jack was already in the courtyard flanked on either side by guards. It was all I could do to restrain myself from running to him. The scowl on his face melted into an apology when his eyes came to rest on me. I suspected he felt bad because he couldn’t fight our way out of this one.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “Just worried about you.”
A lot of people had gathered to watch us leave. Many of them were armed with bow and arrows, spears, and knives sheathed in their belts. I assumed they were the Protectors Dena had ordered to oversee the trade.
As the Elders emerged from a cave, the throng parted to let them through. Jin-Sook walked beside Dena but broke away from the troop to stand beside me. She gave me an encouraging smile.
Dena stepped forward, a look of respect in her eyes.
“Jin-Sook has told me much about you and your people. Please believe me when I say I wish there was another way.”
I gave a curt nod of acknowledgement. Her sentiments were not going to save the Pit any more than they were going to save Jack or me.
“General Powell doesn’t really care about her,” Jack said. “It’s me he wants. I’m the one who shot him. Please, let her stay here with you.”
I appreciated what Jack was trying to do. Really I did. But if he actually thought I was going to stay behind even if his request was granted, he didn’t know me very well.
“The general asked for both of you. I’m sorry,” Amini said.
“At least let me say goodbye to him,” I said.
Amini turned to the other Elders. They gave a nod of approval. The guards let go of Jack.
I ran and threw my arms around his neck. He hugged me so close my feet left the ground.
“We’re going to find a way out of this. We always do,” Jack whispered.
A shaky laugh escaped my lips. “You mean you don’t have a plan?”
“They drugged me last night. I didn’t have time to come up with one.”
“It’s looking pretty bad, though.”
“Keep your eyes on me today. If I see an opportunity to break free, be ready to follow my lead.” I nodded against his shoulder.
“Time to go,” someone said, pulling Jack’s arm.
Reluctantly, I dropped my arms and took a step back. Two guards urged him forward. Jin-Sook came up beside me, laying a comforting hand on my shoulder. Even though she was my guard, I was relieved to have a familiar presence escort me to my end.
We all filed out of the courtyard and descended the rocky path to the ground below. Jack was forced to maintain his frontline position and I followed a short distance behind. Glancing back, I was amazed by the steady flow of armed Protectors still coming out of the barangay. As they reached the ground they spread out around us and vanished into the woodland.
For the better part of our hike, we stayed in dense forest. Walking was treacherous—tree roo
ts and rocks jutting up everywhere—yet our captors glided through the forest effortlessly. More than once I stumbled, and every time I did, Jack stopped to look back at me. They always urged him to keep moving.
“He’s concerned for you,” Jin-Sook said in a whisper.
“I’m concerned for him too,” I whispered back.
“Naoki won’t hurt him.”
I assumed Jin-Sook was referring to the man beside Jack. He wasn’t as tall as Jack, but he was wiry and looked mean. A bow was slung across his back and knives were sheathed on either side of his legs. I stole a look at Jin-Sook’s pants and saw she carried knives too.
As we neared our final destination, our captors slowed. They seemed to hug the trees, stopping every so often to stand stock-still and listen to the sounds around them. Birds chirped, a nearby stream babbled and somewhere in the distance came a caw. A member of our group paused and repeated the call. This was the sound I had heard when Jack and I ventured out of the cave, just before we were caught.
Silently, we continued to move through the forest. Naoki gave a signal and we all moved to hug the trees again. Standing still we listened—only this time there were no birds chirping. Jin-Sook and Naoki pushed Jack and me into a thick bush, while the rest of our group blended into the trees.
Within moments we heard the sound of feet crunching across the forest floor. The sound wasn’t far away and it was getting closer. Jack looked worried. He moved to get a better view and Naoki shot him a warning look. Jack pointed two fingers at his eyes and then turned the fingers toward the sound. Naoki nodded.
From my vantage point, it was hard to see the intruder, but whoever he was, he was oblivious to our presence. We waited until he was long gone before Naoki chanced a whispered conversation.
“That was one of your soldiers,” he said to Jack.
“Do we need to go over this again, Naoki? I am not one of them,” Jack said angrily. “That was a sharpshooter. He’ll go to high ground where he has an open view and train a rifle on us during the trade. My guess is there’s more than one shooter. You should find them and put them out of commission before the trade.”
Naoki’s expression was hard. I remembered Jin-Sook said they only used violence in self-defense.
“At least have someone watch them,” Jin-Sook said to Naoki.
“I don’t like this,” Naoki said. “Maybe we should go back.”
“The Elders won’t be pleased if we return with these two instead of our own people,” Jin-Sook said.
“I don’t trust them,” Naoki said.
“That’s the smartest thing I’ve heard you say,” Jack said.
“You don’t get a vote in this,” Naoki snapped at him.
“I know how they think,” Jack replied.
“Please listen to him,” I said. “He can help.”
“I’m not taking orders from the prisoners!” Naoki said. He shifted uncomfortably, obviously agitated. Ignoring us, he looked directly at Jin-Sook. “We’ll do it your way, Jin. I’ll send someone to keep an eye on the shooters.”
We left the bushes, and Naoki sent someone to relay his message to the unseen army of Protectors.
“How far are we from the meeting place?” asked Jack.
“The other side of that ridge,” he said. He motioned for us to keep moving.
Jack looked around. I knew him well enough to know that he was sizing up our situation to see if there was a way out. There wasn’t. Ten guards walked with us and at least forty more were soundlessly gliding through the forest armed with arrows, knives and darts.
As we approached the forest edge, I could see three jeeps parked in a clearing. There were at least a dozen heavily armed soldiers. Two officers stood by one of the vehicles while the other soldiers patrolled the area, rifles at the ready.
“There are more somewhere,” Jack whispered. “There’s no way only twelve would come to this show.”
“Where are the hostages?” Naoki asked.
“There,” Jack said, pointing to two people sitting in the back of a jeep.
“That’s only two,” Jin-Sook said.
“I don’t like this,” Jack said. “Let me go down there on my own and negotiate the trade.”
“No!” I almost screamed. “You are not going down there alone.”
“Sunny, they’re not going to kill me. I’m betting they already sent someone into the Dome to tell Holt that I shot Powell, so by now they know I’m a traitor. The president will want me alive to face the tribunal. He needs to indict me in order to charge my family with being sympathizers. I’m a crucial piece of his plan to influence the other families to take action against the Pit.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“No, I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I am ninety-nine percent sure.” I shook my head and Jack grabbed me by my shoulders. “You’re not important to them, Sunny. They won’t hesitate to kill you. You can’t go down there.” He turned to Naoki. “Don’t let this happen.”
“I’ll keep her with me,” Jin-Sook told Naoki. “There are only two of our people visible. We should only give them half of the promised trade, too.”
Naoki flexed his hands into fists, turning his knuckles white. A sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead. Biting his lower lip, he looked from me to Jack thoughtfully, and then turned his attention on Jin-Sook.
“I’ll take only Jack and you stay with her. I don’t know where the other two are, but I’ll negotiate for them. When they bring them out, you come with Sunny.”
I shook my head again. “No, it’s not happening that way. I stay with Jack.”
“It’s not your decision to make,” Naoki said in a hard voice.
“If you think I’ll just sit here, you are—”
“Can I have a minute with her?” Jack asked Naoki.
Reluctantly, he gave his consent.
Jack led me a few steps away from the group, but one of the guards gave us a warning with his spear and we went no farther. Jack put his hands on my shoulders and rested his forehead against mine. “It’s not me I’m worried about,” he said in a hushed voice. “They won’t hesitate to kill you, Naoki or Jin. But I know they’ll take me into custody and turn me over to Holt. Let them take me. It might even be the opportunity we need to get back inside the Dome.”
I wasn’t ready to admit defeat. I couldn’t sit here and watch him risk his life alone. I didn’t want to be in this world without him.
“Holt wants me, too. I heard Leisel tell her boyfriend she wants to give her father the matching set. They’ll hand us both over and then we can both go back inside.” I shifted so I could look into his eyes. “We’re partners—we stay together.”
His weak smile told me he understood. “This time I have to do it on my own.”
That wasn’t what I expected to hear. “Jack, no,” I said. “I can do this too. The most important thing is for us to stay together. If we get separated—”
“We need to go,” Naoki interrupted. He was standing right next to us.
“I’ll come back to you as soon as I can,” Jack promised. He hugged me close.
“No!” I cried.
Without giving me a chance to say anything else, Jack turned and left the safety of the forest. Naoki was right behind him and the other Protectors in our group scrambled to get into position with their bows.
The soldiers saw them as soon as they stepped into the clearing. They stopped their pacing and trained their weapons on the two approaching figures. My heart migrated to my throat. The whole scene was too surreal to comprehend. Fear urged me to take action, but my brain still wasn’t sure what action to take. I eyed Jin-Sook’s bow, even though I didn’t know how to use it.
“Be ready. They’ll double-cross us. They always do,” I said.
“If anything happens, stay with me. We picked this location because we have an escape route.”
“I’m not going anywhere without Jack.” I ran behind a boulder at the forest edge.
Jin ran after me. “It’s not safe here,” she said, crouching down beside me.
“Safer than where they are.” I motioned to Jack and Naoki.
Two armed soldiers walked out to meet the pair while the rest of the small army surveyed the forest edge through the scopes on their rifles. I tucked in tighter behind the boulder. Jack’s voice called out to one of them and I peeked at what was happening. The two soldiers marched Jack and Naoki to stand in front of the officers. The negotiations had begun.
Jack seemed to be doing a lot of the talking and I wished I were close enough to hear what he was saying. The officers seemed upset. The tallest one of the two vigorously shook his head no and motioned one of the soldiers over to the two hostages. The soldier took out a pistol and pointed it at the captives.
“I’m going down there.”
“Sunny!” Jin-Sook grabbed my hand. “They haven’t given a signal.”
“I’d say that soldier pulling a gun on the hostages is a pretty big signal.”
Jin chewed her lower lip, looking from me to the scene playing out before us.
“You know I’m right.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
As I approached them, the scowl on Jack’s face told me exactly what he thought of my heroics. The two hostages were let out of the back of the jeep and brought forward. They stood, hands tied behind their backs, looking terrified. The other two were nowhere to be seen.
“That’s a good little urchin. You know who’s boss,” the tallest officer said. “It’s a lesson the heathens need to learn.”
“Leave them alone, Anderson,” Jack said. “They weren’t hiding us. They just did your work for you after you captured four of their children. You owe them.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Jack. They’re in our valley seeking protection from our mountain. The way I see it, they owe us, but do they understand that?” Anderson cocked an eyebrow at Naoki.
Worlds Collide: Sunset Rising, Book Two Page 21