Venom and Earth

by Turnbull, Jessica

  “We are the Aislados. We live in a small community not far from the city and we take in any kid that comes our way. You stay with us until you turn nineteen and go to the city while your Year graduates. Everyone assumes that you failed your exams. You can get menial work then, nothing special.”

  “I’m glad we had that introduction,” Marco huffs impatiently. “Can you untie us now?”

  “Only if you promise not to cause trouble,” Freya’s face twists into a dark scowl. “I’m allowing you to stay if you want; the least you can do is act grateful.”

  “Can we have a minute to go over this?” I ask.

  The intimidating girl shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly. “You can, but your other option is us dumping you in the city to be found by the police.”

  I flinch at her sudden change of attitude. I don’t want to get on this girl’s bad side, but I’m not sure if I want to stay here either. We still haven’t figured out how to stop the Wyrms, or what Draca wants us to do. Getting found by the police and returned to Aria wouldn’t help us find out more about either of those things.

  “Guess we’re all staying then,” Braith grumbles.

  Freya crosses her arms, looking satisfied. “Cut them loose.”

  The man with the knife slices through the ropes binding me roughly, leaving small cuts in my skin. I rub the burns on my wrist in an effort to stop them throbbing, but it seems to make it worse. Marco grabs my hand as some of the Aislados file out of the room, making it feel less claustrophobic.

  “Welcome to your new home. It’s not much, but we’ve managed to inhabit some old buildings on the outskirts that no-one cares about. Hope you enjoy your stay. Don’t make me regret letting you people in. We could easily just use you as a bargaining chip,” Freya warns.

  “Bargaining chip?” Braith asks.

  “Sometimes, if someone important enough comes along, a few can bargain with the police for some qualifications for better life chances.”

  “Sounds dodgy.”

  “It is, but some people are desperate. So, don’t go pissing people off. I’ll show you to your quarters. Does anyone want to room together?”

  “Uh, us, I guess?” Marco raises our entwined hands.

  “Aww, how come you get Hazy?” Braith whines childishly.

  “Because she’s my girlfriend.”

  “Shut up and come with me,” Freya growls, taking the lead outside.

  “Where are our companions?” Braith grabs Freya’s arm, to which Freya responds by punching her roughly in the shoulder.

  My friend staggers slightly, but doesn’t break her stare with Freya. For a few moments, the girls glare at each other until Freya composes herself.

  “They’re fine. We just keep any dragons in the warehouse. Most of us don’t have them; we don’t like the constant reminder.”

  “Can we see them?” My lip quivers as I speak, imagining Aqueous scared and confused in a new place without me.

  The girl shrugs in response. “You’ll have to befriend Javier to do that. He’s in charge of the dragons, and is my second-in-command. He came up with the idea of the Aislados.” Her lips begin to curl into a dark smile as she speaks. “He doesn’t like many people, so good luck with getting past him.”

  The three of us swap worried glances as we follow Freya outside. Adjusting to the harsh sunlight makes my eyes burn, but once my vision returns my mouth hangs open in shock at the town before me. There are stalls and people everywhere, chatting and buying goods. Most of the stalls sell food and clothing, but one of them jumps out at me. It’s a small wooden table covered in string and various colourful stones and objects. The string looks like the kind that Rayna was wearing, so maybe they do custom dragon jewellery. Instinctively I toy with the bracelet on my wrist, fondly remembering how I used to be scared of it because it wouldn’t come off. Now it’s more a comfort than anything.

  “This is the town centre,” Freya explains. “If you’re nice enough to people, you can exchange goods for food and water mostly. Some of these shop owners knit their own clothes and make their own furniture and cutlery.”

  “Quite the mix ya got here,” Braith comments.

  Freya shoots her a dark glance before continuing. “In order to get stuff around here you have to make money. That means you have to get jobs. I can either assign you to jobs or you can set up a stall.”

  Looking around at the number of stalls already there, I can see that setting up a new one would be a lost cause, especially since we’re new. A lot of people don’t seem too happy with our presence either; they seem to resent us. Freya starts to speak again, but I don’t listen; all I can do is look at the people around me of various ages who seem to be eyeing us up.

  I don’t like this. I’m not sure we should stay. Especially with Aqueous not being around, I feel uncomfortable here. The fact that I can’t have him with me makes me nervous. I don’t even know if these people are telling the truth about keeping him away.

  “Ah, Javier, come say hello to our newcomers.” My attention turns back to Freya as she waves the man running the jewellery stall over.

  He’s tall and thin with tanned skin and a mop of dark hair sweeping over his forehead. He approaches us with a smile, but it’s fake. The way his dark eyes seem to look through us makes me uneasy.

  “Hello, welcome.” He raises a hand in greeting, his sharp gaze landing on each of us in turn. I shiver when he stares at me for a second too long. “Will one of these help with my stall?”

  “Yep. Pick one.” Freya flashes him a flirtatious smile.

  “Who owns the black dragon?”

  Marco and Braith look at me, which makes Javier grin. “Aqueous is my companion,” I argue. “I don’t own him.”

  The tall boy shrugs. “He’s quite the dragon. I’ve never seen a black common before; never thought I would, to be honest. It’s astonishing, really. What happened to their horns?”

  Thinking back to Aqueous going missing makes me ball my hands into fists. We never found out why that horn farm was created, and all the horns are still missing.

  “Horn farmers,” Braith shrugs.

  “Ah, I see. Well, once you get settled into your rooms, come find me. What’s your name?”

  His probing makes my skin prickle. “Hazel.”

  “Hazel.” He rolls his tongue, as if tasting the word. “Pretty name.”

  Marco bristles beside me, and his grip on my hand tightens. Javier’s eyes drop to our entwined hand, but he says nothing as he flashes me another fake smile and walks away.

  “Follow me. You’ll be staying in building C; it’s for our newcomers. Luckily for you three, there’s one room left. You can all share.” Freya begins leading us down a dirty path towards a small grey building. Some of the windows are smashed and the walls are cracked.

  “Then why did you ask if we wanted separate rooms?” Marco cuts in.

  “So we could identify any siblings or couples. Relationships are allowed here, but we’re quite strict as to who goes with who.”

  “What does that mean?” My words come out angrier than I expected, but Freya doesn’t flinch.

  “It means that in order for you two to stay together, you’ll need to get the permission of the council.”

  This is fucking ridiculous.

  “And who are the council?”

  “Me, Javier and Isaac, who you haven’t met yet. I run this joint, but I need a council to make decisions with.”

  Marco and I swap a disgusted glance. Even if they vote against us, they can’t split us up.

  “So, what jobs do Marco and I have?” Braith asks, but she’s also frustrated with the way things are run.

  “Rayna needs help for her stall, so you two will work with her. She runs the bakery here, making bread and sometimes, if we’re lucky, pastries.” She pauses in front of the rotting wooden door. “Here you are. Second floor, apartment four.” She hands Braith a set of keys. “Please enjoy your stay,” she snickers.

  I breathe a sigh of reli
ef when she walks away. Marco and Braith look relieved as well. We all agree that this place is beyond weird.

  “What a shithole this place is,” Braith murmurs.

  “Agreed. I don’t like it here.” My boyfriend squeezes my hand softly. “I don’t think we should stay.”

  “Absolutely not,” I agree.

  “They’re definitely not splitting you two up either; that Javier guy looked far too keen for my liking,” Braith shivers.

  “Be careful with him, okay?” Marco tilts my face up to look him in the eye. “I don’t trust him.”

  “I don’t either.” It makes my skin crawl to think about his fake smile and beady eyes.

  “If he gives you any trouble, don’t be afraid to hurt him, okay?”

  “But I don’t want to kill him too.”

  “You won’t. Just defend yourself, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Promise?” He holds up his pinky finger, making me roll my eyes.

  I wrap my pinky finger round his and kiss his nose. “Promise.”

  “Come on then,” Braith sighs, the door creaking unhealthily as she pushes it open. “Let’s see what they’ve given us.”

  Inside the building isn’t much better than the outside. Mould is growing over the walls, and all of the lightbulbs have been smashed. To our right are three doors with numbers on them, and to our left is a grubby-looking staircase.

  “Floor two, apartment four,” Braith repeats.

  One of the doors to our right creaks open, and a girl with long, fiery ginger hair pokes her head out. “Oh, hi! You must be the new escapees.”

  She steps out the door fully. She’s extremely thin, as if she hasn’t eaten well for months. A black man follows her out, a few inches shorter than her and also skinny.

  “Um, hi,” I say, though I don’t fully trust these people either.

  “Don’t worry,” the man says, wrapping an arm lovingly around the ginger girl’s waist. “We’re not weird like them. We’re recent escapees too.”

  “But I thought they said they haven’t had anyone new for months.”

  The ginger girl rolls her eyes. “They always say that, unless they get someone ‘better’.” She uses hand gestures for the word ‘better’ as if she doesn’t believe in it either.

  “What are your names?” Braith’s mood has picked up at the sight of some friendly faces.

  “My name is Annalise,” the girl smiles warmly. “And this is my boyfriend, Dejen. And you are?”

  “My name is Braith. And these two lovebirds are Hazel and Marco.”

  “Oh, are you two together too?” Annalise asks excitedly.

  “Uh, yeah.” Marco looks uncomfortable with the sudden shift in attention.

  “The council rejected our application for a relationship,” Annalise scoffs. “But they can’t stop us, right, Dej?”

  “As if you’d let ’em,” Dejen grins lovingly at his girlfriend.

  “So, what’s going on around here? Why is everybody so weird?” Braith changes the subject as the two of them begin to nuzzle each other.

  “Those guys out there are the self-proclaimed elite,” Dejen explains. “You’ve got to work up to reach that status. Once you become a member of the elite, you get more food rations and a better place to live than this dump.”

  “What about our companions? Why did they take them away?”

  Annalise’s face darkens. “I dunno; Javier takes any dragon that comes in. I don’t know what happens to them, but I know they’re alive.” Her gaze drops to the floor sadly. “I miss having my companion around. It’s shit that they won’t let me see her.”

  My chest tightens at the thought of Aqueous being injured, but I’m glad that he’s still alive. I don’t want to feel our bond break.

  “Anyway, you should go to your room. Javier will patrol this area soon. If he sees you outside of you room, well… Let’s say the result isn’t pretty,” Dejen warns.

  “Thanks for your help,” I say, as the two of them smile and shut their door.

  “Come on, let’s go see this dump. Then we’ll figure out a plan to get out.” Braith rushes up the stairs, careful not to touch the grimy banister.

  “I won’t let anyone hurt you, you know that, right?” Marco squeezes my hand, his expression turning into one of concern.

  “I know. And I won’t let anyone hurt you either.”

  He grins and kisses me softly. “We’ll get through this.”

  * * *

  “Oi, wake up! It’s time to work!”

  The new voice wakes me up with a start. As soon as I open my eyes I already feel like shit. I didn’t sleep well last night, and this early wake-up call isn’t helping. Marco shuffles beside me, his mouth opening in a wide yawn before burying his face in my neck.

  “I said, up!”

  My whole body convulses as a hot electrical current sweeps through me. Pained gurgling from Marco and Braith echoes from the walls as we’re all electrocuted by this new person. As quickly as it came, it stops, leaving all three of us panting and sweating in our beds.

  “Rayna, what-” Marco breathes.

  “Shut up! You’re all late. You were supposed to start work ten minutes ago! Now get up and move!” Rayna orders.

  “What time is it?” I glance out the shattered window, surprised to see that it’s still dark outside.

  “That doesn’t matter. You have five minutes to look presentable and then head to the centre for work.”

  Before we can ask any more questions, Rayna storms out the room, muttering to herself. Not wanting to anger her further, the three of us cram into the tiny bathroom and brush our teeth and get dressed.

  The three of us trudge outside into the cold night air, shivering in the wind. I wish they would let us have our bags; at least we could get our jackets or something. My stomach growls at the thought of the food we had stored as well. I haven’t eaten since the chocolate bar yesterday. When we reach the centre Javier and Rayan are waiting for us with their arms crossed.

  “You finally made it,” Rayna growls.

  “You didn’t tell us when we were supposed to start working,” Braith argues.

  “Shut up! You’ll never become an elite member with that attitude.”

  “Come on, Hazel. We’ve got to set up our stall.” Javier flashes a plastered-on smile, making me shiver.

  “Love you,” Marco mutters, squeezing my hand.

  “Love you too.”

  “Unless you get your relationship approved, that’s enough of that,” Javier grins at Marco, making my boyfriend bristle. “Come on, Hazel.”

  Begrudgingly, I follow Javier to his stall, which is now empty apart from the table. He flashes another smile at me and points to a trunk underneath the table.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “All of our products are underneath the table. Set them out in a way you deem appropriate. I will watch and grade you at the end. Do not touch the red box. Those are my most expensive pieces; I don’t want any of them damaged.”

  I feel like I’m back in school. In a far creepier school, that is.

  Uncomfortable with his sharp eyes on me, I pull out the trunk and start unloading his products. Most of it is pre-made necklaces and bracelets, but there are also a few empty strings and stones. I decide to move all of the finished products to the front, my hands shaking with discomfort at being observed.

  “Hold on; do it like this.”

  Before I can sidestep out of the way, he’s come up behind me, squashing me against the table with his body. His breath is hot on my neck, and I can feel a hard bulge in his shorts on my back, which makes me want to vomit. He re-sorts the products painfully slowly, enjoying every moment of having me pressed against the table.

  “There.”

  He finally pulls away, making me breathe a sigh of relief.

  “Don’t do that again,” I growl, sweating profusely.

  “Why not?”

  “I’m taken and not interested.”

/>   “You’re not taken here, Hazel. If I wanted to submit an application for us to have a relationship, it would be approved. You and that other guy, though? No.”

  “I wouldn’t go out with you if you were the last man on Earth.”

  He chuckles slightly, making my stomach churn. “Your permission is not needed for this, Hazel. I’m trying to be nice and see that you pick the right option.” He brushes my fringe over the scarred side of my face. “Much better.”

  Nostrils flaring, I reply: “I already picked the right option.”

  He crosses his arms and grins at me. “Not here, you haven’t.”

  “I have.”

  For a few seconds he says nothing, but then he sighs and shakes his head. “Now that you’ve done that I want you to count the change in the box. We shouldn’t have more than twenty pounds of it.”

  I reluctantly do as he says, feeling his eyes burning into me, wandering up and down my body as if I’m a chunk of meat to a wolf.

  We are definitely not staying here. I don’t care what it takes; we’re finding our companions and leaving this shitshow behind. And I won’t let Javier get to me.

  “Do you want to become a member of the elite?”

  Javier’s question throws me off guard.

  “Why would I?”

  He shrugs, crossing his arms. “You get more privileges. More food, better shelter… I can help you become a member.”

  “I’ll pass, thanks.”

  “It’s pretty easy to get in.”

  “Still passing.”

  As I finish counting the change I feel him against me once more, pressing his cheek against mine. “All you need to do is spend one night with me…”

  Jaw clenched, I spit: “No.”

  His hands travel down my waist, despite me slapping them away. He continues. “You can see your companion.”

  Although I miss Aqueous desperately, fucking Javier is not on my list of priorities. I would rather gnaw off my own foot than go to bed with him.

  “The answer is still no. Get off.” I wriggle out of his grip, but he laughs.

  “You’ll change your mind.”

  “You can bet your ass I won’t.”

  17

  Chapter Seventeen