by Jason Letts
“Vern’ll come back, but Aoi is already a long ways away” Mary said, stretching the truth. “We might never see her again. If you ask my opinion, she got what she deserved.”
Cringing, Will covered his eyes. Mary could sense Vern had already started to return to them, and she hoped Will would say something so she could rub it in his face. Covertly glancing to the side, she could see traces of her love emerging from amongst the dunes. Maybe he’d finally told Aoi what was in his heart and ended it for good. Something made her twist further around, preventing her from holding onto any positive feelings about how things might turn out.
“Just my luck!” she groaned, catching the others’ attention.
“What, what is it?” Chucky asked.
A pair of slow-moving nearly lifeless figures crawled over the top of a small hill back the way they had come. They looked like stray dogs wandering haphazardly in search for a place to die. One had black hair and the other had bright red hair contrasting the gray clouds rolling overhead.
“I called it,” Will said, showing neither enthusiasm nor satisfaction.
Recognizing Jeremy and Gloria made Chucky collapse onto his back. No one did anything but watch them lurch closer on their hands and knees. Vern came up alongside them, though no one paid him much attention either.
“What’s everybody looking at? Oh! Gimme a break!”
The hungry and desperate groans of the two itinerants stung their ears. Jeremy mustered a cackle when he raised his head and recognized the group before him.
“You have to help us. Please!” he wheezed.
Though Gloria appeared equally depleted and helpless, she took a much different tact in begging for assistance.
“Isn’t this where the party is?” she slurred through a goofy grin. “Is somebody missing? What’s the problem?”
“What are you doing here?” Vern asked.
“I know what it is!” Gloria rambled. “You just ate Aoi and now you’re already hungry again. What a shame!”
Mary covered her mouth, not wanting to let her friends see her laugh at Gloria’s joke. It made her feel good though to have someone there who despised Aoi as much as she did, even if Gloria probably hated her just as much. No one else so much as grinned, and Jeremy reached out to push the redhead onto her side.
“Shut up!” he said and then uttered another round of entreaties. “Don’t listen to her. We’re sorry, so sorry for everything. Please give us another chance.”
He looked gaunt for lack of food, the skin on his face stretching over his cheekbones. Eating fire had left Mary consistently hungry, but it was obvious those two hadn’t eaten anything since they entered the desert.
“OK, fine, let’s start a fire and get you something to eat,” Mira said, grabbing one of the shirts from the pile. Her willingness to help was immediately met with resistance from the boys.
“Wait a second,” Vern began. “We can’t really be taking them in. After all they did, all they tried to do, and everything they wanted to do, the last thing they have left is another chance.”
“What do they really deserve?” Will asked over Jeremy’s begging.
Mira dropped the shirt and rose to confront them.
“If we don’t help them, they’re going to die out here, and that’s not what we’re about. I know we don’t have much left, but I think we’ll have something to give them. No one deserves to be cut off from the basic requirements of living.”
“This is a big mistake, Mira,” Will went on. “I know them, and they’re going to take advantage of our help until they’re strong enough to destroy us. Do you want that to happen?”
“No, we would never!” mocked Gloria, rolling onto her back.
Mira looked over at the pathetic pair who had managed to catch them as their progress slowed. Mary didn’t care much either way. She was inclined to keep her head on her shoulders if at all possible. Agreeing with Vern proved a tempting option too, though she wasn’t sure how the argument would play out. Being on the winning side was the only thing that mattered most.
“This is what we’ve been fighting against this whole time,” Mira argued. “Arent fought so hard to take what he could and hold it away from everyone else. He thought he deserved to be superior to all, and that’s what made people like us squirm through the cracks to topple him. We could cast them out, but it would only come back to haunt us. We’d keep making that decision to close ourselves off and push others away and in the end nothing would have changed at all.”
“But how could it come back to bite us?” Vern asked. “They’ve always wanted to do things their own way, so let’s keep letting them do that. We don’t have to get involved, they’d be gone, and then we could all move on without them.”
Chucky got up and joined the circle of deliberators.
“Mira’s right,” he said. “We’ve known Jeremy forever. He’s always been a pain, but I’m not going to be the one who gives up on him.”
“Your vote shouldn’t even count. You’re just saying that to agree with Mira!” Will said, inciting a disgusted scowl from Roselyn. “Now you agree with them too? I can’t believe this!”
Something hit Mary, rumbling in the pit of her stomach as though she had a stomachache. If Aoi came back, she might be in even more danger than before. Mary doubted she could be restrained if she had her heart set on fighting unless every single one of them joined in to stop her. It seemed much better to side with those in favor of mercy, since it might not be long before she had to beg for it herself.
“Let’s give them another chance!” she cheered, constantly checking the little sense telling her where Aoi was. “I don’t mind giving up some of my things to feed them. We’re all in this together after all, and that even includes those of us who have been trying to derail it from the start.”
Mira flinched, but her surprised expression grew into a smile.
“It’s decided then. I’ll start the fire and you tie their hands to the back of their heads. Just because we’re letting them in doesn’t mean we’re going to allow them to harm us. Gloria’s hands look almost dry. Starvation seems as effective as the carafe.”
Jeremy submitted immediately, placing his hands behind his back. He didn’t even look at Will as the rough twine string firmly wrapped around his skin. Gloria attempted to resist, but her weak condition reduced her fervent slaps to sluggish waves. Her fingers only had the slightest hint of green. Vern grabbed her by the wrist, twisted her around, and bound her just the same. Lying on their sides, they watched the glucose flame bubble and rise from the smoldering cloth.
“Open up, and don’t spit it out,” Mira ordered. “You might not like the taste.”
She snapped off bite-sized pieces and popped them into their mouths. The sour taste hit them, but they chewed and swallowed without any verbal complaint. Soon Mary and the others grabbed their fair share.
“I never would’ve guessed,” Jeremy said.
“You should’ve paid more attention in class. Fortst taught us this,” Chucky chided him.
“So what do we do now?” Will asked. “There’s still a few more hours of daylight.”
Rather than getting up, Mira stretched out to make herself more comfortable.
“We’re not all here yet, so we’re not going anywhere. We’re not turning anyone away, and that includes Aoi.”
“But there’s no telling if she’ll ever come back,” Mary interjected, adding as much hopeless resignation to her voice as she could.
“I think she stopped behind that far dune. Or at least that’s where she was when I left her,” Vern said.
“Is she still there?” Mira asked Mary directly.
“Well, you know, sometimes it’s a little hard…”
“Is she or isn’t she?” Mira barked, making Mary flinch.
“Yes, she’s still there,” she replied. Vern and Will settled down into the soft sand, Roselyn slowly following suit. It had been decided; they would stay and wait for Aoi, leaving Mary with no way
to escape her.
Those last hours of daylight passed. Jeremy and Gloria attempted to argue their way out of the shackles numerous times, becoming almost as bad as the boredom of their bland environment. Clara appeared, describing her journey through the desert with her parents. They had encountered some kind of flying creature, but Fortst had warded it off. It shocked Jeremy to learn that Fortst had somehow become involved in all of this. Clara vanished as the sun disappeared, leaving them to make camp and prepare to spend the night.
Mary huddled alone under the bag she propped over her head. Will had volunteered to keep watch first, a task even more important now both because of their two hostile wards and the previously unknown threat of flying creatures. Neither of those dangers worried Mary as much as Aoi returning in the middle of the night to finish her off.
She had to listen while Mira and Chucky huddled together and commiserated over their deteriorating situation. Hearing him support her was almost as bad as seeing them kiss. She had considered inviting Vern to sleep next to her because he too was alone, but she had decided not to press her luck. It would be better for him to feel lonely and unwanted. At least if he had to suffer through those feelings he would understand what she went through.
Chapter 8: Lines in the Sand
Roselyn had volunteered for the last watch of the night, those early hours when it hurt most to be awake. But she had not been still for a minute of them, choosing instead to keep herself busy by pouring the contents of her mind onto the loose and malleable sand. The clouds had been sparse enough to allow the light of the web to bathe the ground.
Though she tried to stay strong and retain her composure, the turmoil and the enmity between her friends sliced through her like a knife. She depended on them for support and inspiration, and she trusted them to do the right thing, so there wasn’t a moment when the bickering and the aggression dividing them didn’t pain her.
Seeing so much of the conflict stem from her best friend made it particularly torturous for Roselyn. Mary was like a sister, and Roselyn owed it to her to stand behind her no matter how wrong she was. But Roselyn couldn’t say she was wrong. She knew the power of the heart to overtake the mind, and in her silent conjectures she often considered people to be hopeless to fight against their own emotions. It wasn’t Mary who chose to grind her face against the impossible, but the longings of the human spirit instead.
Roselyn had struggled to accept her condition, and there were so many times when she wanted to shout out and be heard. She hummed her mother’s song in her head, a song that would never be heard again, which helped to soothe her and remind her to conduct herself with grace and dignity. Often she accepted that things would work out for the best and agreed to the decisions of the group, but now she feared there would be irreparable damage and they would never reconstruct the carafe in time to secure themselves against the evils that had taken her voice. So she drew.
The first light of morning caused her friends to stir. Roselyn sat near the fire pit, calm and without expectation. She watched Will slowly rouse and roll onto her space in their tent. Mira and Chucky shared a few words, and Knoll emerged from inside. Gloria and Jeremy groaned and wiped the dirt away from their faces. Vern sat up and stretched his arms, almost collapsing his tarp.
It only took one look outside at their campsite to see that something unusual had happened. They rubbed their eyes, and stared blankly at the ground. Will’s jaw hung open a little, pleasing her to no end.
“Roselyn, what did you do?” he gasped.
All around them, the most intricate designs had been drawn into the fine sand at their feet. A beautiful tapestry with enough flowers to fill a garden, countless stars and hearts, and a number of smiling faces appeared at their feet. There were narrow walkways between elaborate images representing Corey Outpost, their old schoolhouse, and the Dustfalls.
Roselyn had drawn the spy made of water and sand, Shadow Mountain, and Shade Base Camp. She’d added the forge and the shipwreck. Along the outsides, some of the faces were of people they’d known who had died. Yannick, Dot, Kurt, Rowland, Corey, Natalie, Cybil, Westley, and the rancher all looked up at them. The sympathy on those simple visages was masterful and unmistakable. Even Jeremy and Gloria didn’t dare disturb the faintest line.
But along the outside was the most striking creation of all. Roselyn’s words stretched in a complete circle around the entire design. As she kept herself still by the fire pit, everyone else encircled their space to read them.
“There will be no fighting today. There will be no expression of hate. There will only be what there always was, ourselves.”
Roselyn wanted to put them in a state of deep reflection. If they could look into her drawings and see who they were and what it all meant, she believed that would put an end to the conflict and the confusion. But she couldn’t tell them that. She had to trust that her power would help her friends realize it for themselves.
“This is beautiful!” Mira gasped.
Vern kneeled down in front of the image of Westley’s round face. It captured his high cheekbones and deep eyes perfectly.
“I’ll never forget what it was like to watch them kill him. I was so close, but I couldn’t do anything. He wasn’t a fighter, just a simple man who wanted nothing more than to help me get a foothold in the world. It’s too bad the only step led right to war, and he was made the victim of it. I’ve been so sorry I wasn’t strong enough to save him. He told me I could change things, and I’ve never given up trying.”
Will patted him on the back and scanned the other faces. He put his head down and closed his eyes for a moment when he saw Cybil’s.
“We all lost our mentors to the war, but they fought with us right to the end. It seems like every time I’ve tried to do something good, bad things come of it. Cybil should still be alive today. They all should be. That’s why I’m out here doing this, to find an answer to this unnecessary bloodshed.”
Chucky sat down by the fire pit, setting Knoll down beside him to play in the unmolded sand at the center of their camp. Biting his lip, he looked up to Roselyn, who sat on a bag.
“Why did you do this?” he asked. They shared a long gaze, which made Roselyn feel how open he was to her. It was working. “Was it to make us remember what we’ve been through? Are these things the reason why we’ve come all this way? Is it to make us think about what we’re all a part of?”
It would’ve been easy for Roselyn to nod or shake her head, but she refrained from doing either. Poised, she kept her back straight and matched his gaze, hoping he would decide for himself. Mira sat down beside her before he could do so.
“It’s all of those things,” she said, “and more. So many of these details have faded away into the past, but the pain they caused stays with me. All we have to look back on are death, loss, and hardship. We can’t let it be in vain.”
Mira lowered her voice then, so low Chucky had to lean in, but even Roselyn had trouble making out the words. Brushing the hair out of her eyes, Mira looked sad, regretful.
“I wish I’d thought to do this, Roselyn. If only I’d been smart enough to think of it, or had the talent to create it. I’m glad you did though. You deserve much better than you’ve gotten too.”
Roselyn found Mira’s words touching. Not that Mira ever seemed proud, but Roselyn thought she put so much pressure on herself that it prevented her from admitting her faults. She fought so hard, but all the weight on her shoulders took something out of her. It was comforting to know Mira still valued her company. Nodding sympathetically, Roselyn touched her on the shoulder. Voices rose behind her, and she turned her head to look.
“So this is where you came from?” Gloria asked Jeremy. Her hands were still bound, and she dripped green ooze behind her. She appeared exhausted, though Roselyn guessed it had more to do with her own guilt than her physical condition.
“Yeah, this is the outpost. It’s gone now, completely,” Jeremy replied.
“My town was much bigger, th
ough not nearly as big as Darmen. There were gobs of kids in my class, making it easy to blend into the group. But I never let that happen to me. I always preferred to scare people and be the best rather than hang out and make friends.”
“Oh,” Jeremy uttered, making Roselyn wonder if he realized how easily Gloria’s words applied to himself.
Swiveling her neck the other way, Roselyn caught sight of Mary sitting by herself near the drawing of Shade Base Camp. A large, round plot of sand had been dug out above it to represent the giant shield blocking out the sun. Right next to it was the forge from their old slave camp. It had been the only thing she could think of from there to draw. The other buildings had been so shoddy and dreary, and it wouldn’t have made much sense to draw the cave where they found Clara.
She wanted to join Mary’s side to see if she were crying, but Roselyn thought it better to give her space to think. Vern and Will maneuvered along the walking paths to the center, kneeling down. They had long, contemplative faces, staring into the empty fire pit.
“I’m sorry,” Mira spoke up. “We never should’ve made you watch us. It was foolish and arrogant of us to think we could be any kind example for anything. I just wanted everything to be OK so badly, so I didn’t spend enough time weighing how best to get there.”
“No, Mira, I’m the one who’s sorry,” Chucky said, breathing heavily and breaking down. “In my heart, having us speak publicly about our feelings didn’t have anything to do with helping anybody else. It was about making me feel better. I wanted proof you really cared, and it was selfish of me to twist it out of you and make you display it this way. Can you ever forgive me?”
He wiped a tear from his eye, and everyone seemed taken aback. Roselyn only thought of Chucky as sweet and well-intentioned despite his fumbling ways, but even he had his own demons to work through.
“None of you have anything to apologize for,” Vern said. “I’m the reason all of this is happening. I didn’t know what to do, and even if I did I don’t think I could’ve made myself do it. It was fun and flattering to have all that attention, but at the same time it was brutal and revolting to be the cause of so much anguish. I’m sorry. I’ve been so terribly unfair to everyone. To think I’ve let this drag on for my own vanity. I haven’t learned a thing since we left home.”