by Eve Langlais
The strange part was her conviction that the Enclave hated people with mutated genes. The truth was the opposite. Those with useful powers were prized. Who did she think lived in the cities? The less powerful, affiliated with the strongest families, served outside the city in the satellite locations, reporting back to the Enclave.
Those that weren’t Deviant, the normal citizens, where they ended up depended on need and skill. Some were shipped to factories. A few found themselves on farms. The truly useless ones were slated for destruction, but not by anything so pleasant as shooting them. They got the worst jobs. The most dangerous ones where the mortality rate was high.
Those were the ones who usually tried their hardest to escape and comprised many of the people in Hill Haven. What would they say if they knew what she could do?
Keep her or hand her over? Handing her over might result in her being used against them.
His gaze flicked to her. At the moment she was defenseless. He could remove the threat right now.
But he wasn’t that kind of monster, and he chose to recall the fact that she hadn’t killed him during that rampage with the ghouls. The power of her ire managed to split around him and keep him safe.
Did she realize what she could do? He had to wonder given the rawness of the power she wielded. It had an untamed feel to it.
And he was handing her over to the Enclave to use. Either she’d breed babies with the same Deviant gene or she’d become a weapon.
Worse, he was condemning her to never being free.
He sighed as he tapped the steering wheel. When had this become so complicated? He looked at her again, her features wan in the pale light. He had only a single headlight on to guide him, fearful of draining the buggy’s power too quickly. But a full energy pack wouldn’t mean shit if he crashed in the dark.
What to do? The deal for a gemminar was still a good one. Would he have asked for more if he’d known of her power sooner?
Probably. But too late to change the price now. Upping their demand might cause some friction with the buyer.
He’d also still yet to hear her mention she’d prefer to stay. On the contrary, she kept insisting she wanted to go back to a dome. Which seemed contrary to her pathetic attempts to escape.
What if, when she woke, she came to her senses and asked for sanctuary? Would he give it to her?
What if she didn’t? Could he truly hand her over? Hand over a woman he’d kissed?
A simple touching of lips shouldn’t weigh on his mind. A kiss shouldn’t consume him to the point he’d never discerned the approaching danger.
A kiss had never made him throw all caution and common sense to the wind.
Once more his glance turned her way. Still unconscious. She’d fainted, probably because of the energy she’d expended. So much of it. More than he’d ever seen at once.
It saved his life.
And he was going to hand her over.
Or not…
He’d yet to decide hours later when he parked under an overhang of jagged rock. She hadn’t stirred, but that didn’t stop him from wrapping rope around her hands and tethering her to him. If she moved, he’d know.
He fell into a light slumber, his ability to tune in to the world around rousing Axel at the slightest noise, checking each time to hear her soft breath before falling back asleep.
He judged it was at least an hour or two past dawn before she woke, stirring herself enough to ask groggily, “Where are we?”
“Napping in the buggy like you wanted.”
“Not my best idea.” She groaned as she stretched, her lashes fluttering before her gaze steadied. She lifted her knotted wrists. “You tied me up.”
“Thought I’d make sure you didn’t wander again.”
“I learned my lesson,” she grumbled.
“Maybe.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She was fully awake now and quite annoyed.
“Meaning you’re an idiot who needs a keeper.” Probably not smart of him to needle her given he knew now what she was capable of; however, he found it interesting to note she’d not used her powers before. That he knew of at any rate. Could be only extreme emotional distress triggered it.
“Don’t call me an idiot.” She glared hotly.
“Or what? You’ll turn me into chunks, too? Nice job with those ghouls.”
Her expression blanched. “That didn’t happen.”
“It did.”
She shook her head. “No, it didn’t. You were the one who exploded them.”
“With what?”
“Your gun.”
“Guns leave holes. They don’t act like a bomb went off inside a body.”
She closed her eyes tight, her expression pale.
“I take it you didn’t know you could do that.”
“It’s not possible,” she whispered.
“It is. And you should be glad you can protect yourself.”
For some reason his words roused her ire. “Protect myself? If I could protect myself, I wouldn’t have become your prisoner in the first place.”
“Don’t blame yourself for that happening. It’s because you were dazzled by my charm.” Channeling Gunner for a moment, Axel threw an outrageous flirt at her in the hopes of putting her off balance.
It worked.
She blinked at him. “You are not charming.”
“We both know I am. No point in fighting it.” He winked and rolled out of the buggy, working out the kinks in his body. She followed, stalking around to face him.
“You look better this morning,” he stated before she could harangue. “How do you feel?”
“You’re changing the subject.”
“Well yeah. Because I know how it will end.”
“And how is that?”
Rather than reply, he grinned. He knew it would drive her a little crazy, but he liked the spark in her eyes. The nice one, not the blow-it-the-fuck-up one. That expression was scary.
“My head hurts way too much to figure out what you just implied.” She closed her eyes.
“You overdid it.”
“I did nothing,” she muttered.
“Says the woman covered in the blood of her enemies,” he prodded.
“Are you indicating I need a bath?” She glanced down at herself and wrinkled her nose at the gore covering her. There was more splattering the inside of the buggy, too. He’d not dared take time to clean them off. She tugged at her shirt, holding it away from her body. “This is gross.”
“What would you say if I could fix that?”
“My head? You have medicine?” Her expression lit with hope.
“No.”
Her lips turned down.
“But I know a place we can wash up.”
That brought a huffed, “Don’t tease me.”
“How can I resist? You’re so easy to rile.” He winked. “Get back in the buggy and I promise, by midday we will stop somewhere we can both have a bath, get some sleep, and be ready for the last leg of our trip tomorrow.”
“I need a moment first.”
They both did. After they relieved themselves, they had some of the rations. He could see how the gory clothes she wore bothered her, so he pulled out a shirt from his pack, which she gladly swapped into. Fortunately her pants were not as badly dirtied as the top.
They resumed their trip, and he decided to prod more about what she’d done. “How long have you had your ability?”
She chose to play stupid. “I don’t know what you mean. All I did was scream.” She plucked at a loose thread on her pants.
“Don’t lie. We both know you did more than that.”
Laura slumped in her seat. “I’d rather I didn’t.”
“Was it the first time?”
A low sigh emerged. “No.”
“It’s happened before?”
“Not exactly. I mean I didn’t explode things. No one died. But I had to protect myself.”
“From who? Did someone attack you?”
“A strange spirit monster came after me and the children when I was at the Creche. It was Horatio’s creation. His monster.” She paused. “He attacked my mind somehow. And I fought back. Got the claws out of my head and then shoved Horatio without laying a hand on him.”
“Was there another incident?”
She shook her head.
“I’m going to guess and say this happened recently?”
A bob of her head. “It was right after that incident with Horatio that Merr declared I had to leave.”
“Making you into a Madre. They’re hoping to breed the gene,” he muttered.
“What are you talking about? What gene?” Only to grasp his meaning a moment later. “I am not a Deviant.”
“Think again. There are two kinds of people born in this world. Those with something special inside of them, an ability that can’t be explained, and those who don’t have it.”
She frowned. “You’re talking nonsense. They tested my blood. If I were Deviant, I would have been removed from the Creche well before now.”
“Exactly.” He waited.
The explosion came verbally. “I am not a Deviant. Becoming Madre is a promotion.”
Why did she still persist?
He changed tactics. “Before this Horatio attacked you, had you seen any of the children do anything odd before?”
She fidgeted and hesitated to answer.
“Well?”
“Nothing like what Horatio did. Just small things. Objects moving with no one touching them. Fires started without any source.”
“What happened to the children that exhibited this ability?”
“They disappeared.” Her voice dropped to a low whisper.
“Where?”
She glanced at him. “I don’t know. They leave the Creche before they’re ready for the Academy. I don’t know where they go. They never come back.”
“Do you think they kill them?”
Her shoulders rolled in a shrug. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t you ever question what happens?”
She wouldn’t meet his gaze as she muttered, “Asking questions results in correction.”
She didn’t elaborate. What had they done to her?
“What if I said the children who leave are alive? Sent to be trained in the cities by those who are like them.”
“How do you know?” she asked.
“Because the twins you’ve seen around Haven, Casey and Cam, they used to be those kids,” he stated.
“Why would they send those children away?”
“Because those you call Deviant are actually the ruling class. The invisible ones at least. Physical imperfections aren’t accepted. The Enclave only has a use for those with innate powers.”
“That is opposite to what we are taught. Deviants are monsters. Murderous mutants who are contagious and violent.”
“That describes the ghouls,” he agreed. “Those are the extreme variants of the gene, but there are others on that scale. People like Oliander with a gift to heal. And then there are people like you. Perfect in appearance, but inside…you’ve got abilities.”
The words dropped into the silence between them.
She spoke haltingly. “How is that possible? Why are Deviants different? Is this why they used to test our blood so much in the Academy?”
His turn to lift his shoulders. “I guess. I don’t know. I’ve never lived in a dome. All my info is cobbled secondhand from those who’ve escaped.”
“Stories from people who weren’t content,” she scoffed. “So not the entire truth.”
“What is the truth, then?” he asked. “And why are you so determined to give the Enclave a free pass?”
“You keep speaking of the Enclave as if they are some nebulous being with evil intent.”
“Because they are evil. They believe themselves elite and rule the domes, making slaves of its people. Deciding for them.”
“You make decisions for others as well.”
“There’s a difference. I don’t force them.”
“Says you.”
“Yes, says me,” he growled.
“You’re forcing me right now.” She held out her hands. The tether was loose and dragging but the wrists still bound.
“Oh no you don’t.” He shook his head. “You asked to be traded back to your precious Enclave. I’m just giving you what you want.”
“What if I changed my mind?”
He turned a shocked look on her. “Have you?”
Rather than look at him, she showed interest in the ground. “Maybe. For all that the world out here is frightening, it’s also been more interesting than I imagined.”
“Even though you almost died.”
Her lips boasted a faint smile. “In spite of, yes. There is an exhilaration to escaping death I’m discovering.”
“Getting a rush.”
“Is that normal?” She peeked at him through a honeyed hank of hair. The gold of it made him think of when they smoked the giant bumbles long enough to sneak into the hive and steal a huge chunk of honeycomb.
“Why do you think people do crazy stunts? It’s a thrill. The thing to be careful about is to not get addicted to the adrenaline.”
“If I return to a dome, I’ll be safe again. No more racing heart or blood in my hair.” She said it almost musingly.
“Yes. You’ll have a perfectly ordered life.” The very idea baffled. “No ghoulies or scrambled eggs. Just mush and broth the rest of your life.”
Her nose wrinkled. “I’m trying not to think about that. Even the road rations are tastier. Perhaps being a Madre will mean a better quality of food.”
“Doubtful.”
“I’ll have a real bed again.”
“Beds are overrated.” He grinned. “I can have fun anywhere.” He winked, taking his life in his hands, flirting with danger.
Her cheeks pinked. “You’re bad.”
“That’s what my uncle used to say.”
“Uncle?” She frowned. “Isn’t that similar to a tawnt?”
“It’s a family member. Someone who is the brother of either your mother or father.”
“I don’t know if I should believe you. Those kinds of things don’t happen. Babies are born in vats.” She shook her head.
For some reason that made him snort. “Do you really think that’s how it was done centuries ago?”
“I’ve heard about the history. I’m not sure I believe the babies emerged as they claimed.”
He tried not laugh at her indignant tone and red cheeks. “You met Sally.”
“How do I know she wasn’t infected with a parasite?”
“If you’d stuck around, you would have gotten to see that child born. Maybe then you’d believe.”
The reminder she was leaving hung in the air between them.
It took her a moment before she said softly, “If you were invited to live in a dome—”
“Never. I could never subject myself to that.”
“Even though you live constantly in danger. Is it worth it?”
Probably the most astute question she’d asked thus far. “For me? Yes.” He couldn’t list all the reasons why it felt right to him. Why he thought it might be the right thing for her. He turned away and grumbled. “Let’s get moving.”
It was midafternoon before he finally stopped the buggy. He pulled into a copse of trees, the trunks fat and knotted, the branches wide. Known as Seimor Forest on the maps, it had water that was better than passable, a lack of dangerous predators in the daytime, and provided a nice stopping place before their meeting tomorrow.
He couldn’t wait to get out of the vehicle and stretch. He rolled his arms behind his back, feeling the pull in his muscles, even as he expanded his senses. He looked, not with his eyes; those could be fooled. He listened to the rustle of branches, the whispering dry paper rub of the leaves. He felt the soft breeze. The pulse of the living forest and the few small creatures that lived within.
H
e noticed Laura had not gotten out of the car. He strolled over to her side and opened the door.
“You coming?”
“Aren’t you going to tie me up first?” She arched a brow.
“I’m starting to think you enjoy it when I tether you.” He reached in. “Come on and check this place out. I know you’ve never seen anything like it.”
She hesitated. “Is it safe?”
“Safer than the last place. Can you climb?” He grabbed hold of a branch and swung himself up. When he looked down it was to see her chewing her lower lip. “Well, are you coming?”
“I don’t know if I can.” She ducked her head.
“What are you talking about? I saw you climb that ladder last night.”
“I also fell,” she reminded. “That was the first time I’d climbed anything other than stairs.”
The admission made him blink in astonishment. “You’re joking, right?”
She shook her head.
He blew out a breath. “You really don’t know anything, do you?”
That brought an angry glare to her face. “Just because I don’t know how to climb doesn’t mean I’m stupid or useless.”
“Never said you were.”
“I know plenty of things,” she hotly declared.
“Do any of them help you right now?”
She deflated. “No.”
“The good news is it’s never too late to learn new stuff.”
“What’s the point if I return to a dome tomorrow?”
“The point is… Fuck the point. It’s time you learned to climb.” He jumped to the ground, landing with his knees bent, and held out a hand. “Come on. Give it a try.”
Her first step was hesitant. The second slow, and by the third, she strode to him and let him take her fingers.
“I just need to climb one branch,” she said, squinting at it.
“To start. We’ll be going higher than that.”
“I hope that wasn’t supposed to be encouraging.” She swallowed hard and hugged herself.
“It’s just climbing.”
“Says a person who’s always climbed. I know enough about gravity to realize I’ll get hurt if I fall.”
“Don’t be a baby. You’re not in a dome anymore. What if something wants to eat you and you have to get higher?”
“I thought you said these woods were safe.”