Two rooms along the hallway we found Maya and Richy tied together, Richy with a swollen purplish right eye.
Braven began cutting away their bindings and soon they were free too.
“Guess you pissed Slitter off,” said Braven looking over Richy.
“He was being creepy and Richy called him some unsavoury names. Cronk punched him in the face for it,” said Maya.
Richy shot us a sheepish grin.
“And you're still alive? I think you should count your lucky stars,” replied Seth, Ebony attached to his side. “Guys, this is great and all. But we need to keep moving. Who knows where Cronk went.”
“Let's try to find our things,” suggested Braven, wrapping Vega's hand in his.
“Why isn't Seth wearing a shirt?” Maya asked.
“It's a long story. Let's go find our things. I'm sick of walking around half naked,” said Seth.
I looked at Braven and Fletcher, waiting for a joke or innuendo to break the heaviness settling over our group. But they were either too exhausted or had lost their senses of humour for the time being.
Back in the hallway, we followed it further along, passing a few empty rooms until we reached a small office at the back. Inside we found our backpacks, utility belts, weapons, water canisters and food.
Vega picked up my utility belt and passed it to me. “This belongs to you.”
I clipped it around my waste, enjoying having its weight back around me. I patted my knife, still resting in its pouch. “Although they didn't help back up in the alleyway.”
“I'm just happy you found us.” Vega nudged her arm against mine.
“And please, Seth put on a shirt. You're distracting the ladies.” Braven threw me a dark green singlet and I happily slid Seth's oversized one off throwing it to him before, replacing it with my own and feeling a little more human again.
Seth pulled his shirt back on and we packed our bags in silence, ensuring we had everything they'd taken from us.
“I can't find my stun gun,” whined Braven.
“Is this it?” asked Seth, holding out the stun gun he'd taken from Cronk.
Braven's shoulders relaxed, taking it from Seth and hugging it to his chest. “Thanks, Seth. It wouldn't be the same without my stun gun.”
I shook my head as I lifted my backpack onto my shoulders. As I did I spotted a pile of papers sitting on the desk. Walking over I ran my eyes over them.
“What are they?” asked Fletcher.
“It looks like some sort of contract.” I read a little further down the page. “Someone was going to pay Slitter to use us as slaves. I think this paperwork was for us.”
“And I didn't think he could get any more vile,” said Ebony.
“Who'd be buying slaves?” asked Richy.
“I don't know, but I'm grateful we won't find out,” I said.
“Looks like we have everything,” announce Braven, taking one last scan of the office.
“Not everything,” my hand found the nape of my neck.
“The pendant,” Braven, Vega, Fletcher and Maya said in unison.
“You mean this?” A deep voice made each of us jump in fright, and I spun around to find the huge mass of Cronk filling the doorway. Hanging from his fingertips was my pendant.
I gripped the hilt of my knife, sliding it from my belt and pointing it towards Cronk as Lark had taught me.
Cronk grinned, showing half of his teeth missing and the rest brown and black. He took a step forward wrapping the pendant back in his fist. A boom filled the room as Richy fired his gun, Cronk stumbled back a little, dropping the pendant and gripping his left arm with his right hand. As the initial shock wore off he growled and lunged for Richy before falling flat on his face. Knocked out cold.
I jumped back as he landed with a thud that vibrated through the floor, the absence of his body in the doorway revealing the presence of someone else. A thin young man stepped towards us, his hand raised in the air gripping onto something resembling Braven's stun gun.
Richy reset his gun and held it at chest height.
“Who are you?” demanded Braven.
He was scrawny looking, a little shorter than me, and he wore long cream pants and a dark green singlet at least a size too big.
His voice wavered between excitement and fear as he spoke. “My names Baxter, and you have no idea how happy I am to see you. Geoffrey sent me, Geoffrey Grant.”
Chapter Eleven
Baxter shifted uncomfortably under our stares and rubbed the back of his neck. Had Geoffrey Grant really been looking for us the whole time we were on our way to find him?
“Is he your dads' friend?” asked Fletcher.
Everyone's eyes fell on me.
“You're Aurora aren't you? Benjamin's daughter?” Baxter asked, taking another eager step forward.
“Back it up buddy,” said Seth, happy to have his own firearm back in his hands.
“How can I trust you're really working for Geoffrey?” I asked. “How do I know you aren't one of Officer Banks' lackeys?”
At the mention of Officer Banks' name, Baxter's face drained of colour. “I promise you, I don't and never will work for that horrible man. What he did to Kylie…” He swallowed hard. “I'm Geoffrey's apprentice on Arcadia, he's training me to be a scientist like him and your father. But he sent me down here to try and find you after he heard about what happened on Eden.”
“You knew Kylie?” Kylie had been scared to see my father and me. She understood what giving us her piece of the pendant could mean, but she did it anyway. Moments before Officer Banks shot her. She was one of the many reasons we had to complete what we'd set out to do. To repay the people who'd lost their lives and more to expose the truth.
Baxter shuffled forward. “She was incredibly smart and kind. But Officer Banks was her weakness.”
The shock and heartbreak in her eyes as she fell to the ground were burned into my memory forever. My friends knew the story, but they couldn't understand what it was like to see someone murdered before your eyes.
“How did you find us?” Braven questioned.
Baxter's eyes lit up. “Well, it's funny you should ask. Do you have the pendant?”
His question made me realise I'd completely forgotten about it at the sight of him. I rushed towards Cronk's large mass lying on the floor and found my pendant lying beside him. Lifting it from the floor I promptly clasped it around my neck, once again enjoying the coolness and weight of it resting on my chest.
“It's how I found you. Geoffrey is rather clever. He found a way to track the pendant. We could see you were headed towards the city. When it sat in the same place for the past twenty-four hours…”
“Twenty-four hours. We were here that long?” asked Maya.
“I'm afraid so. Although it seemed you had things under control. A little blast from my little friend here,” he patted his weapon, “knocked him out cold. You won't have to worry about him for a long while.”
“Does anyone else know you can track the pendant?” I questioned.
“Not a soul. Just Geoffrey and me.” He looked deep into my eyes, a genuine sympathy behind them.
“And you want us to believe he sent you to find us?” asked Braven. “No offence, but you aren't exactly a soldier.”
“That was the point. I'm small, quiet and there's just me. It was easy to sneak around the city and find you all. Although I hadn't imagined it was such a large group,” said Baxter. “There's no way all of you can come up to Arcadia.”
“Look, Baxter, it's been great to meet you. But we need to get going before any other city freaks find us in here,” said Braven.
“Not to mention I stunned Slitter and when he wakes up and finds we've locked him in a room he's not going to be happy,” added Seth.
“No need to worry about him. I heard him banging on the door and thought it must've been Aurora. He met the same fate as this big fella.” Baxter gestured towards the floor where Cronk lay.
“What do you want
to do Aurora?” Braven's words had everyone turning their attention to me once again.
I looked over Baxter once more. His small frame and geeky demeanour were disarming, but it didn't mean we could trust the guy. Despite my uncertainty, my friends were relying on me to know what to do with the pendant, and the one person who could give me answers was Geoffrey Grant.
“Dad said we needed to find Geoffrey Grant, and it seems he was trying to find us too. I think we follow Baxter and hope he leads us to Arcadia. If he ends up being someone other than he's saying we'll make him wish he hadn't lied to the rebels from Utopia.” I eyed him, letting him know my warning wasn't for show.
“Right,” he replied shifting from one foot to the other. “We need to get you lot out of the city and to the military camp near Arcadia. We'll be able to take an airship up to Arcadia from there.”
Braven followed Baxter as he turned to head back down the hallway where he'd come from, and we all filed through, anxious to leave the damp smells and terrible memories of the building. Out in the street, I breathed in deeply, enjoying the fresh cool air and spreading my arms wide.
Seth placed a hand on my shoulder. “It's great to be out. But the city is still a dangerous place.”
I nodded in reply, bringing my arms promptly back to my sides.
“You okay with him?” Fletcher arrived at my side as Seth followed Ebony and the others around the side of the building.
“Yeah, he's not as bad as I thought,” I replied.
Before long Baxter had led us weaving through the buildings until we snuck through the streets of the suburbs and broken dwellings and back into the safety and cover of the trees of the bushland outside of the city. It was nightfall when we arrived at a shallow river and we all crunched across in our boots before deciding to take a break and have a rest on the opposite side beneath some tall trees. I never would've thought the place I would feel safest would be sleeping under the canopy of the trees with stars overhead.
With the cool breeze brushing against my warm skin I inhaled deeply and dropped my backpack before laying on my back in the thick grass. Above us, stars had begun sprinkling themselves between the streaks of cloud in the sky. Fletcher lay down beside me, wrapping my hand in his without speaking a word, and soon Maya appeared on my other side, resting her head on my shoulder.
Vega settled in beside her, then Braven beside Vega and we all lay staring up at the sky, thankful to be back together yet again.
“It'll only take a few more hours to get back to the airship I came here in,” said Baxter. He wasn't exactly excited about sleeping out in the wilderness.
Vega sat up as did the rest of us. “I don't know about you guys but after everything we've been through I'd like to have an eventless night out here before we have to deal with the military again. No offence Richy.”
“None taken,” replied Richy.
“I agree. A chance to relax and breathe would be nice. We can get to the airship tomorrow,” I said.
Baxter sighed. “If you wish.”
Braven piped up, “tonight we pretend we aren't searching for pendants or uncovering secrets. Tonight we're a bunch of friends camping out under the stars by a warm fire.”
“What warm fire?” asked Maya.
“Yes, best get onto that,” said Richy.
The boys got themselves together and took off in search of wood and with the hope of finding something for dinner, leaving Baxter behind.
I took the opportunity to head back to the nearby creek to wash myself off. Pulling off my damp shoes and socks, I unbound my aching calf and scrunched the dirty bandage in my hand. Dipping it in the cool water I rang it out a few times until it looked cleaner and used it to wash off the dried blood around my small wound. The skin was still warm to touch, but the cool water soothed the dull ache. Satisfied it was clean, I knelt down to splash the icy water on my face, scrubbing away at my neck and cheek, thankful to erase the greasiness Slitter had left behind. Goosebumps raced over my skin but the chill was worth being clean again. I returned to the camp relief relaxing my shoulders and pulled my jacket from my bag, sliding it on to keep warm.
“You okay?” asked Maya.
“Yeah, that creep touched me and I wanted to wash it away,” I said.
She wrapped her arm around my shoulders and rested her head against me. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“I'd prefer to forget the whole ordeal ever happened,” I replied.
“How's your leg looking?” asked Vega.
“Much better. Now stop fussing over me. Should we set up the beds?” It was hard to pretend everything was okay when they kept bringing up my wounds and what'd happened.
“Of course, women are supposed to make house while the men collect wood aren't they?” groaned Vega.
“What's with them going off without us anyway?” asked Maya.
“It makes them feel manlier like they're doing something important. We know we're important. We don't feel like we have to prove ourselves,” I replied.
“I thought it was just Seth and the guys from Freedom Camp until I met your lot,” added Ebony.
“I'll never understand the male race. Flexing their muscles, trying to impress each other…” Vega picked up a bedroll. “Well, are we doing this?”
I picked up Fletcher's bedroll to roll it out. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Baxter shuffle back and forth looking lost.
“Baxter, have you been to earth before?” I asked him, stopping him in his tracks.
He rubbed his forehead. “Yes. Well, kind of. I've been to the military camp but I haven't had to camp out in the wild like this.”
“It's not bad,” said Vega.
“Yeah, you actually get used to it,” added Maya.
“I liked going out on scouts. Was nice to get away for a while.” Ebony stared up at the sky.
“I'll deal with it tonight, but tomorrow I'll be happy to be back in my comfortable bed,” he said.
“If you haven't been in the wild before, why did Geoffrey send you to find us? Surely, he had someone with more… experience,” I questioned.
“I'm not sure what you know of the state of the floating cities at the moment, but tensions are high with the guard cracking down hard and having a stronger presence than usual. Everyone is on high alert and Geoffrey didn't want to send anyone he didn't trust. He trusts me. It's why he entrusted me with this delicate mission.”
“Delicate? Aurora's anything but delicate,” laughed Vega.
A shirt had fallen from my backpack, so I picked it up and threw it at her. She threw it back, and I caught it poking my tongue at her.
“Delicate as in the balance of the floating cities. Officer Banks is looking for you and won't stop until he has Aurora and her pendant,” he continued, ignoring our childish behaviour. “I think he's angry a teenager has been able to escape his clutches twice now.”
“Yeah well, let him keep trying. There's no way we're letting him have her or the pendant,” said Vega.
A grin tugged at the corner of my mouth. It was reassuring to have people looking out for me.
“Why is the damned pendant so important to him?” Maya asked.
“That is a question for Geoffrey Grant I'm afraid,” said Baxter.
Fletcher and Richy appeared, their arms laden with wood and sticks. The sight of them made my skin yearn for the relaxing crackle and warmth of a fire to fight off the cool breeze creeping in. I hugged my jacket around me. Maybe a night in a real bed wouldn't have been so bad. But Vega was right. A bit of peace and rest would do us good before we went through the interrogation which was bound to happen when we arrived at the military camp.
I watched as Richy showed Fletcher how to place the sticks and logs before showing him how to use the flint. He passed it to Fletcher who flicked it a few times before smoke puffed into the air followed by flames.
His eyes widened and he fist pumped into the air before turning towards me. “Did you see what I did?”
“You'r
e so clever,” I replied giving him a round of applause.
“Don't teach him too much Richy, we won't need you anymore,” said Vega.
“Lieutenant Marks ordered me to take you as far as Arcadias compound. Once we arrive I'm to return to Eden as soon as possible. At least now you'll be able to keep warm at night,” Richy replied. He hadn't mentioned he wouldn't be going all the way to Elysium with us before. The thought made my stomach ache.
“Look what we've got,” called Braven as he approached our camp carrying a small filthy pig, followed by a proud looking Seth.
“I have to admit Seth, having you around is handy,” said Maya.
“Can't say much for Braven though,” added Vega. “What did you contribute to this evenings hunt?”
“Moral support,” he replied, dropping the pig to the ground near the fire. “And muscle power.” He flexed his biceps.
“Loud moral support, he scared off the first one with his voice,” added Seth.
“Hey, whose side are you on?” said Braven.
“The one who gets to eat pig tonight,” replied Seth.
Seth showed Braven how to butcher the pig a little way from us, and I was grateful because even the thought made me gag. Sure I'd eat it, but cutting it up and getting all bloody would make me vomit.
As the moon made its way high above us we all enjoyed our freedom as we sat around the warmth of the fire, enjoying the meat from Seth and Braven's hunt. Across from me, a smile rested on Seth's lips and Ebony leant against his shoulder. Despite everything he'd put me through, he was my twin brother. And when it had come down to the wire he'd saved me and in turn, helped save my friends. I couldn't say I trusted him completely, but for the first time, I didn't hate him. Didn't want him to screw up so my friends would send him away. I wanted him to prove us all wrong. I wanted him to be a real brother.
Chapter Twelve
Early the following morning we packed up our camp after a restful night of sleep. Loaded with my heavy backpack we started on our journey towards the airship Baxter promised would take us to the military camp beneath Arcadia. Both Richy and Baxter assured us if we kept a good pace we'd be there just after nightfall and the idea of having a cot to sleep on put an extra spring in my step.
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