Night of Never

by Megan O'Russell

  He stared into Nola’s eyes, fierce determination pushing past his pain.

  “Okay.” She laced her fingers through his. “We’ll get back to the caves.”

  Jeremy dropped the blue triangle onto the ground and downed the rest of the water.

  Nola let him set the pace back to the road, keeping right by his side and scanning the tress for more guards with gifts or men with revolvers.

  Jeremy tossed the bottle back onto the road.

  No point in risking more trackers.

  Nola opened her mouth to say something, anything to distract him from his pain. She couldn’t think of any words.

  She glanced behind.

  A group of survivors had reached the spot on the hill where they’d stopped. Jeremy had been right to make them keep moving.

  The caved in houses gaped at them as they passed, as though judging the world that had let safety deteriorate. The run down old buildings were the closest things to home the survivors would be able to find.

  They passed the house with the red front door.

  “They’re going to fight over the houses aren’t they?” Nola asked. “Even if they can find water and food, they’ll start fighting each other.”

  “Or the vampires and werewolves will come for them when the sun goes down. There might have been some hiding deep enough down that they survived. If they did, they’ll come out when the sun sets, furious and ready for a feast.”

  The incline of the road steepened as they neared the trees. Jeremy glanced behind then pushed himself to run faster.

  Nola looked back. The groups behind them were nearly out of sight. A little faster and no one would be able to see where the two first up the hill had disappeared.

  They stayed silent as they ran through the trees. The only sounds the thumping of their feet and the branches clawing at their clothes.

  The sun had begun to sink when they reached the field of brambles.

  How many sunsets since I’ve slept?

  A wave of unbearable fatigue swept through Nola, adding a hundred pounds to each of her limbs and sand to her eyes. But Jeremy kept running.

  All the color had faded from his face. Pink and gray had disappeared, replaced by sickly white.

  “Almost there.” Nola lifted her arms over her head, away from the thorns that clawed at her legs. “We’re almost there, and then Dr. Wynne will get the bullet out. We’ll sleep when we get there, and then you’ll feel better.”

  “Will you stay with me?” Jeremy’s forehead furrowed with pain. “You could have burned to death today, can you just stay where I can see you’re safe?”

  Nola coughed a laugh. “I’m fine, Jeremy.”

  “It’s hard to remember when I wake up.”

  They reached the stripped trees, and the path grew steeper still. Nola wrapped her arm around Jeremy’s waist, helping to propel him up the mountain.

  “I’ve almost lost you so many times,” Jeremy said. “When I wake up, it’s hard to believe you still being here isn’t just a dream. I always have this second of panic. I have to go through all of it, just to make sure I haven’t lied to myself. That you really are alive. I hate that second. It’s worse than any bullet.”

  Tears stung the corners of her eyes. “I’ll stay where you can see me. You won’t have to panic. I’ll be right there with you.”

  “Thank you.”

  Jeremy led them up the mountain, though Nola didn’t know how he could see the path through the sweat that dripped into his half-closed eyes.

  “Here,” he wheezed as the sun kissed the tops of the mountains.

  Nola searched the slopes around them. The moss-covered ledge peered out overhead.

  What had seemed like an impossible leap a short time ago looked easy now.

  “I’ll boost you up.” Nola made a step with her hands.

  “You just go.” Jeremy shook his head, stumbling at the movement. “I’ll be fine.”

  “You first then.” Nola took a step back. “I’m not jumping up there without you.”

  Jeremy turned in a slow circle, scanning the trees around them. He looked back at the ledge, squaring his shoulders, and pushed off.

  A moan escaped him as his fingers caught the ledge.

  “Let me help you.” Nola reached for his legs, but he had already begun to pull himself up.

  His arms shook, and his breath hissed through his teeth.

  Nola covered her mouth with her hand, biting back the urge to shout for help from above. Her palm smelled like smoke.

  With a feeble kick, Jeremy’s legs disappeared from view.

  “Come on up.” His voice sounded like he’d been sick for a week and the dome doctors had decided to ignore him.

  Nola bent her knees and aimed her weight for the ledge. Her palms landed on the soft moss. Pushing with her arms, she leveraged her weight up and over the edge. She stumbled on the stone ledge, but stayed on her feet.

  Jeremy sat, propped up against the tunnel wall. “You’re a pretty quick study.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Nola!” Kieran’s voice carried out of the tunnel. “Nola, are you hurt?”

  “I’m fine.” Nola looped an arm around Jeremy’s waist, hoisting him to his feet. “Jeremy’s hurt. He’s got a bullet stuck in his leg.”

  “Shit.” Footsteps ran up the tunnel. Kieran stopped in the shadows ten feet down the entrance. “Can you get him this far?”

  “We’ve gotten all the way up from the city,” Jeremy wheezed. “We can make it to Emanuel.”

  Jeremy leaned on Nola’s shoulder. The weight felt heavier than it should have. Whether from fatigue or knowledge of the horrible pain that weakened him, Nola didn’t know.

  “Lover boy got a bullet in the leg and you didn’t pull it out?” Raina appeared by Kieran’s side.

  “Didn’t have time,” Jeremy said. “It’s been a bad day out there.”

  One shuffling step at a time, they reached the shadows.

  “Let me see it.” Kieran knelt by Jeremy’s leg.

  “I’ll go to your father,” Jeremy said.

  “How long has it been in there?” Kieran asked.

  “Too long for a few more minutes to make a difference,” Jeremy said.

  “What’s going on in the city?” Raina asked.

  “I…” Nola searched for the words.

  “There is no more city,” Jeremy said. “We tried to find your sister. Bellevue is gone.”

  Raina nodded, her face betraying no grief at hearing of her sister’s end. “We need to get you to Emanuel.”

  Jeremy limped a step forward.

  Kieran raised a hand to stop Jeremy. “I’ll carry you. It’ll be faster.”

  “No chance in hell,” Jeremy coughed.

  “I’ll carry you.” Raina walked up to Jeremy and scooped him over her shoulder. “Don’t argue and don’t kick. I’m in a bad mood.”

  Jeremy mumbled a response as Raina ran down the tunnel.

  Say that you ran into the fire to look for Nettie. Say you tried but the flames were stronger. Tell them about the guards and the fire packs. Tell them about the beacons in the water bottles.

  Nola could only form thoughts as they ran up the tunnel. No speech would come.

  Raina slowed at each of the windows, carefully keeping her skin in the shadows.

  The sunset tinted the sky brilliant, lively colors, filled with the promise of a brand new tomorrow. But the smoke of the city stained the horizon, tainting its grandeur.

  Kieran ran in front of Raina, wrenching open the metal door to the sparring room.

  Every match stopped as Raina entered the room. A chorus of shouted questions echoed off the walls.

  “Are they coming for us?”

  “What have the Domers done?”

  “Were the wolves finally slaughtered?”

  “We have to talk to Emanuel first.” Raina didn’t slow her pace as she shouted over the crowd. “Once we’ve talked to Emanuel, he’ll let everyone know what’s going on
.”

  “Is the sun runner dying?”

  Nola spun toward the voice.

  The blond girl stared back at her.

  “He’s not dying,” Nola growled. “He’s going to be just fine.”

  “Good.” The blond winked.

  Nola curled her hands into fists as she chased after Raina.

  “He shouldn’t have left a bullet in this long,” Kieran said.

  A group of six women carrying mismatched baskets plastered themselves to the wall as Raina ran past. One dropped her load, sending clean sheets spilling onto the floor.

  “He can hear you,” Jeremy said, “and he didn’t really have many options.”

  Kieran reached the double door to Emanuel’s library first. He only managed to knock once before Raina shoved him aside and flung the door open.

  “Raina!” a little girl squeaked, running toward their group.

  Eden.

  Nola’s heart melted at the sight of the child.

  Black curls surrounded her round, rosy cheeks. Her big, dark eyes sparkled as she reached up for Raina.

  “Go get your father and Dr. Wynne,” Raina said.

  A flicker of hurt wrinkled the child’s forehead before she ran for the library door, calling, “Daddy! Doctor!”

  “What’s happened to Jeremy?” Julian stepped away from the bookshelf, a mug clasped in his hands.

  “Bullet,” Nola said.

  Raina eased Jeremy off her shoulder and laid him on the floor. “Take off your pants like a good boy.”

  Jeremy shook his head.

  “The world is ending,” Raina said. “It’s not like we’ve got pants to spare.”

  Planting a foot on Jeremy’s chest, Raina undid his pants. “Do you want the honors, or should I?” Raina winked at Nola.

  Heat flashed in Nola’s cheeks.

  “Oh for heaven’s sake.” Julian knelt by Jeremy’s feet and pulled his pants down in one swift tug.

  “I didn’t know your talents in this field were quiet so impressive,” Raina said.

  “Years of practice.” Julian untied Jeremy’s boots.

  Instinct told Nola to help him, but she couldn’t move. Couldn’t think beyond anything but Jeremy’s bare legs.

  He still wore his dome-issued briefs, but they only reached halfway down his thigh. Nothing covered the wound on his leg.

  Red streaks spread out like a spider’s web over his thigh, surrounding a bump that moved with each of Jeremy’s heartbeats, pulsing up as though fighting to break free.

  “We have to get that out of him.” Nola shook her head. Her body didn’t know what else to do. “It’s infected.”

  “If Graylock is as good as it’s supposed to be, he’ll be fine,” Kieran said.

  Emanuel came through the back door, a confused Dr. Wynne on his heels.

  “Nola, what’s happened?”

  “Jeremy needs help.” Nola pointed a shaking finger at Jeremy’s leg.

  “What did the two of you get into?” Dr. Wynne knelt by Jeremy.

  “He got shot, and the bullet—”

  “Leaving those sorts of things in there really isn’t a good idea, you know.” Dr. Wynne fished in his pockets, first pulling out a spray bottle, then a metal case.

  “I tried to convince him to let me try and get it out, but he didn’t think we had time.”

  Dr. Wynne popped open the metal case. Three scalpels waited inside.

  “What did you find out there, Nola?” Emanuel asked.

  “The domes dropped fire packs on the city,” Nola said. “They destroyed the whole thing. I don’t think there will be a building left standing when the fires go out.”

  The doctor sprayed foam onto the pulsing lump on Jeremy’s leg.

  “Why?” Julian asked. “That many fire packs so close to the domes, it seems like an unreasonable risk. With the bridge destroyed, the city is hardly a threat.”

  “They think it is,” Nola said. “There were Outer Guard in the city, and not just from the domes here.”

  “Salinger,” Jeremy groaned. “It was Salinger.”

  “What?” Nola knelt beside him, taking his hand.

  His eyes flickered open. “The man who spoke. I couldn’t remember why I recognized him. Salinger.”

  “This might sting.” The doctor sliced into Jeremy’s thigh.

  Jeremy clamped his mouth shut, swallowing his shout as white leaked from the wound.

  “You’re okay.” Nola squeezed his hand. “This’ll make it better. Soon it’ll feel better.”

  “Might need to go a bit deeper.” Dr. Wynne wrinkled his brow.

  “Who’s Salinger?” Kieran asked.

  “He’s from the Incorporation.” Julian pinched the bridge of his nose. “An evil man whom I had hoped to never hear of again.”

  “The Incorporation’s here?” Raina tipped her head, her mouth pinched as though trying to reason through why a joke might be funny.

  “Just a bit deeper and I should have it.” Dr. Wynne pressed the scalpel into Jeremy’s leg again.

  Jeremy shut his eyes. A groan rumbled in his chest.

  Blood trickled from the wound.

  “You’re okay.” Nola pressed her forehead to his. “Just breathe, you’re okay.”

  “The domes we have dealt with for so long are but one of many,” Julian said. “They were all incorporated under the same project. All meant to trade people, supplies, and knowledge as the world dwindled to nothing. And, of course, all spread out in an appropriate manner for repopulating the world once the planet has found a path back to sustainability.”

  “Salinger is from another set of domes?” Emanuel asked.

  “Yes,” Julian said, “but the more worrisome and deadly part of the equation is his place as head of the guards. All of the guards, in all of the domes.”

  “Just another moment.” Dr. Wynne tipped the scalpel into the wound.

  “Shh,” Nola hushed. “You’re okay.”

  “Why would the head of all the guards be here?” Raina asked. “They blocked themselves off. The fight is over.”

  “They want Nightland,” Nola said.

  “Gah!” Jeremy shouted as Dr. Wynne pulled the bullet free.

  “There you are.” Dr. Wynne held the hunk of metal up to the light. “Such a tiny thing to cause so much pain. I would offer to stich you up, but a nice lie down and you’ll be fine.”

  “What do you mean they want Nightland?” Emanuel pressed.

  “Salinger wasn’t there shooting people,” Nola said. “They were waiting for survivors and giving out water bottles complete with filters that will make anything but the river water drinkable.”

  Julian whistled. “That is a gift I had never thought the domes would consider giving.”

  “They had beacons hidden in the bottoms,” Nola said. “They’re tracking where all the bottles go. They destroyed the city and are making the survivors lead them anywhere people might be hiding and surviving. People like Nightland.”

  “Damn,” Julian whispered.

  “Raina,” Emanuel said, “double the guards at every entrance. There is to be absolutely no one entering or leaving Nightland. If anyone has any qualms with my ruling, send them directly to me.”

  “Yes, Emanuel.” With a nod, Raina ran out the door.

  “Julian, check the gardening tiers and the air shafts. Make sure we can’t be seen from below.”

  “Or above.” Nola looked to Kieran. “They had a big helicopter, big enough to fly over the mountain. If they see the garden, they’ll know we’re here.”

  Kieran’s black eyes widened in fear. “We have to take all the sun disks down. We can pull brush to cover the tiers.”

  “Do it.”

  Kieran and Julian were out the door before Emanuel could speak again.

  “Is there anything else we need to know?” Emanuel stood with his hands behind his back, his shoulders relaxed even as terror filled those around him.

  “I don’t think so. It’s going to be bad out
there. None of the survivors have anything, and…”

  “And you can’t believe the domes would do such a thing?” Dr. Wynne patted Nola’s shoulder, leaving behind smudges of Jeremy’s blood. “I can believe it. Each dome is a part of a greater plan. Our dome has been struggling with the city for some time. If the Incorporation had to become involved, there is nothing they would consider unreasonable for the protection of the domes.”

  “So they fly in on their fancy helicopter and fix the problem? Captain Ridgeway couldn’t control the city so just kill everyone to clean up the mess?” Nola looked from Emanuel to Dr. Wynne, waiting for one of them to tell her how wrong she was.

  “The Incorporation believe their mission is the only hope for the world,” Dr. Wynne said, “and only those chosen to save the world can truly matter. Everyone else is already doomed and none of their concern.”

  “The domes are monsters.” Nola’s hands shook.

  Jeremy pressed them to his chest, his eyes still closed.

  “I’m afraid so.” Dr. Wynne stood. “I saw it many years ago. A simple vaccine could have stopped so much illness in the city. I was reprimanded for wasting my time in saving those outside the glass. For years I sat in the sterile domes, pretending the children out in the world who were suffering and dying had nothing to do with me. But they did. I failed to serve them when I had the knowledge and resources. I let them die because I didn’t know their names. When I couldn’t stand it any longer and found a way to help the outsiders, the domes found out and left me and my son out to die. They are kind only to those they need and killers to everyone else. I can think of no better definition of monster.”

  “You hated us for breaking into the domes.” Emanuel knelt in front of Nola.

  Tears streamed down her face as she looked into his black eyes.

  “To the Nola Kent who lived safely in the domes, we were monsters seeking destruction,” Emanuel said. “To the Nola Kent I see now, the monsters surrounded her the whole time. I led freedom fighters into the demons’ lair to protect children the domes would gladly burn.”

  Nola coughed a sob.

  “I ask your forgiveness for the blood we’ve shed to build our home,” Emanuel said. “The path to salvation has led us through many dark and terrible places. I never wanted to fight the monsters. I only wanted my child to survive.”