“The bruise should show by the time we get to the tracks. She won’t look so innocent anymore,” Aaron says.
Shock vibrates through me. I can’t believe Aaron hit me. I’ve never even had a hiding in my life! No one has ever hit me and now, on the first day that a guy touches me, he hits me? I don’t know how to process that.
I glance up at Chance, and for a moment it feels as if he’s waiting for me to cry. I bite back the tears. He grinds his teeth, and then he lets go of me.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this. You better do everything I say or I’m leaving you behind,” he snaps at me.
I didn’t miss that. I’ve been upgraded from being shot, to being left behind – that’s a good thing, right?
~*~
Chance throws the bag over his shoulder and shoves at Ethan. “It’s good having you by my side again, Eth.”
“I told you we’d make it. Mom sends her love.”
Ethan smiles at Chance, and Aaron falls in next to them.
I feel alone. My only purpose now is staying alive and finding Mom. Dad was only right about one thing; I have to look for Mom.
I walk a few paces behind Aaron, Ethan and Chance. “How stupid are these Dissolute people that they don’t know Virtuous names when they hear them?”
They all stop and turn slowly to me. Chance takes a step towards me and it’s then I realize I asked the question out loud.
He holds up a finger. “One, these Dissolute people aren’t stupid.” Another finger joins the first. “Two, your Virtuous people were more than happy to sacrifice you to them.” A third finger goes up. “Three, you are now a Dissolute and you better start thinking like one.” He starts walking, but stops after a few steps and turns back to me. “Since when did they start sending out teenagers?” he snaps. “They are going to have a field day with her.”
My eyebrow shoots up and I know I should keep quiet, but I’m really tired of being treated like a child.
“I’m not a teenager,” I say. I meant to snap, but let’s face it … I don’t have enough courage for that. “I’ll be turning twenty in a few months. I would’ve gotten married. I would’ve started working.” I snap my mouth shut. Where did that come from? Am I losing it?
Chance walks over to me and I shrink back into the darkness when he reaches for me. His fingers are firm around the back of my neck. He pulls me closer and I take two stumbling steps, until I feel the heat of his breath on my face. I try to swallow my fear down.
“You need to keep quiet. That’s all you need to do.” His face looks grimmer than ever. “They are expecting Ethan and Aaron, not you. They know where I’m from. I’ve paid my dues to get in. I’d like to keep my brother from paying the same dues, understand?” I swallow the dusty lump down. I don’t want to know what he had to pay. “Now keep quiet. Just do what I say and you might just make it.”
Might? My thoughts get stuck on the one word. I don’t like the sound of it. I’d like to hear a firm ‘will’.
Chance takes hold of my ponytail and in one swift movement he pulls the tie out, along with some hair. I rub the back of my head where it’s stinging.
“Put this away. The rebels don’t have these,” he growls as if he’s using the last bit of his patience with me.
I gulp down the words Rebels. What rebels? A breath shudders through me. No one mentioned any rebels to me. I put the tie in my back pocket with the photo of my mom. Only then do I remember the clips – I forgot them in the jacket! I know they won’t wait for me to go and get it. Now I only have my mom’s photo. A pang of sadness overwhelms me at the loss of the clips.
They start towards the dark metropolis in the distance. I suppress the urge to smooth my hair out and follow close behind them, my eyes jumping from their backs to the buildings looming in the distance.
There are no lights, only shadows of the towering buildings that once were a great Ecocity. We’re crossing an overgrown road no longer in use when popping sounds echo in the distance. Of course I shriek, only proving once again that I’m a coward, and I run to catch up to the men.
I’ve never heard those sounds before but instinct tells me it’s nothing good. I keep glancing over my shoulder, searching in the darkness for whatever made that sound. I’m too busy looking over my shoulder to look where I’m going and I smack hard into Aaron’s back. He looks as nervous as me. He must’ve put up a good act this morning. There is no sign of the formal metropolis official that came to fetch me at my house. He can’t be much older than Ethan, or myself for that matter.
“That’s a pity.” Chance says, but he doesn’t stop walking. I have to run to catch up to him.
I notice Ethan counting on his fingers as more pops echo into the night. I can only count nine, but there were those in the beginning. Four, it could’ve been six.
“It sounded like seventeen sho-“
“Don’t” Chance stops Ethan from finishing his sentence.
I can’t hold it back. I have to know. “Seventeen what?” I whisper, daring a look in Chance’s direction.
“Seventeen shots, okay. Seventeen are dead! Ethan, you have to learn to shut your mouth!” He snaps at him, but I stopped listening when he said the word dead.
I could have been one of them. I immediately feel guilty for thinking of myself first and not of the people who just lost their lives. Ruth can be lying dead out there and no one will know. My lips start to tremble and I try to square my shoulders. I can’t cry, not now. I didn’t even know them all that well. But still, I saw some of those people every day. They didn’t deserve to die like that.
“We need to move faster.” Chance’s voice isn’t as harsh. I wish it was though, because for some reason, now I want to cry even more.
I stay next to Chance as we walk, my eyes burning with tears. I miss Dad. I miss my glofish. I miss my bed. I’m tired to the bone. I’m hoping it’s all a nightmare and I’ll wake up soon.
But I don’t, and the buildings grow taller as we cross a bridge. I can’t see what’s below the bridge, there’s only a massive gaping hole. I quicken my pace to keep up with the men. Chance doesn’t look as scary after hearing those shots and knowing what happened to the others.
Wild grass pushed its way through the concrete on some places, and as we step off the bridge I trip over something and fall hard to my knees. I grab hold of the very thing I trip over. As I pull myself up I take in the full view of a woman’s concrete face. Spikes dart out around her head, forming a crown. Some have been broken off though. She’s massive!
I yank my hand away from the tip of her nose and I take a stumbling step back. I’ve never seen a face so big. Her nose alone is bigger than I am.
“She used to stand for freedom, before the wars.” Chance’s face is drawn as he looks at the woman for a moment. Then his eyes flash to mine. “She’s here to warn the Virtuous that we won’t go down without a fight. We’ll always fight for our freedom.”
I swallow hard at his words. I take a last look at the fallen face that means so much to Chance and the Dissolute, before I have to run to catch up to them. Freedom, a word that belongs with faith and hope, words we were never allowed to say.
~*~
Chapter Three
Windows have been broken out and it must’ve happened a while ago, because there are no shards of glass on the ground, as we walk past the buildings. I stumble over a hole in the ground where bricks have been lifted out. We pass overturned bins, metal ones, not the plastic ones the Virtuous use for trash.
“We have to go up. We are easy targets down here,” Chance says, but it doesn’t make sense. Up where? Then he pulls down a warped ladder, one that’s seen better days. “Every second step is loose, don’t step on it.”
My shoulders slump at this bit of news. Today is just not turning out to be my day. Chance continues, “Let’s do this as quiet as possible. I’d like to get to the tracks without a bullet in my back.”
I scan our surroundings for whatever threat he’s referring to, but see
nothing in the dark backstreet we’re standing in. Chance reaches high up and pulls himself up with ease. I stare, my mouth dropping open. There is just no way I’m going to be able to reach that high. I know I should stop staring but I’ve never seen someone do something like that. Chance steps onto the third step, and I swallow hard. It’s too high. There’s just no way of me making that step.
“Jasper,” Chance’s voice is a low murmur and my eyes dart back to him. He holds his right hand out to me. It’s the last thing I expected from him, “come on.”
I move closer waiting for him to tell me what to do. My body is tense. I wipe my hands on the back of my pants to make sure they’re dry. I don’t want to slip halfway up.
“Take hold of my wrist.” My fingers don’t even wrap halfway around his wrist. His fingers wrap tightly around my wrist. “I’m going to pull you up until you’re next to me. Just put your feet next to mine.” He sounds different now, calm, not so upset any more.
As he pulls me up, heat flushes through me. I concentrate on putting my feet next to his and I grab hold of the ladder. He lets go of my arm, and grabbing hold of the pole next to my head he moves in behind me.
With a racing heart I press closer to the ladder. I stiffen even more when his breath stirs the hair at the very top of my head, and I tell myself to breathe slower. I don’t want him to notice how nervous I am. From Ethan holding my hand, to Aaron hitting me, to Chance practically pressing his whole body against mine – there’s just too much touching!
“You’re small.” I roll my eyes, like I haven’t heard that before. But he’s helping me, so I concentrate hard on evening out my breaths and listening to him instead. “Just climb ahead of me. Count every second step from our hands. Skip the others.”
“Okay,” I say, and climb up to the first step. The metal is cold beneath my hands and I have to really stretch my body to skip the loose ones.
I don’t know why he let me go first, it’s nerve wracking to say the least. With three men behind me, it’s not helping my already fragile nerves, and now I’m self-aware, too. I know I shouldn’t think of such things, but I really hope I look okay from behind. Gosh! I hope they don’t look up!
The next step I’m supposed to reach for is missing. Does that mean I have to reach for the one above it? I hesitate, that would be the loose one, wouldn’t it?
“Is there a problem?” Chance asks from below, sending a flurry of nervous tension streaking through my body.
I feel the step move beneath my feet as Chance takes hold of it. I have to move! I test the step with my right hand, and it feels solid enough. Taking hold with both my hands I lift my right foot to the next step.
“Let go now!” Chance suddenly hisses in my ear.
His arm circles my waist, his hand pressing hard over my ribs. My fingers spring lose from the step and I yank my arms back to my chest. I feel the warmth of his body as he holds me tightly to him. His chest is hard and tense. Only, his heart isn’t racing as fast as mine. I can feel the slow rhythmic beat of his.
“I said every second one is loose. Listen!” he snaps. My ear heats up as his breath rushes over it.
“It was gone,” I whimper, and I start to tremble which is not good. I need to calm down. He’s going to leave me behind.
“Okay.” I hear him take a deep breath. “There’s nowhere for you to put your feet, so I’m going to lift you to the next one. Grab hold and hang tight,” he says, his voice is much calmer.
My mind freezes the second his fingers fan out over my ribs. It’s for better grip I tell myself. I’ve never been held so tightly by another person, a man – not even my father, when he hugged me goodbye this morning.
“Jasper!” I snap out of my thoughts. “Hands by my hand. Dammit, woman, concentrate!”
A blush heats my cheeks. I grab hold of the step and our fingers touch. His chest presses into my back, and we’re so close I’m scared he’s going to feel my heart racing.
“Concentrate. I’m not doing this alone,” he hisses.
I have to swallow in order to create some form of moistness in my dry throat.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, and wipe my hands on my chest the moment he takes hold of me again.
“It’s easy,” he says. I’m glad he thinks so! He takes a breath and wisps of hair tickle my cheek. “Just put your hands where mine are. I’ll lift you to the next one again. It looks as if you can climb further from there on out.” His fingers fan over my side again, and he lifts me. I grab and hold, my feet dangling for a split-second, before I feel his breath on my ear and his arm around my waist.
“Okay, we’re almost there.”
I glance down. I don’t see the street below – I see his arm around my waist. I see how firm it is. I shake my head and focus. No thinking of arms around my waist, no firmness, no muscles, no nothing!
I step up and he lets go of me. We climb in silence the rest of the way. I concentrate hard on the next step. I try to ignore these mixed emotions I have never felt before, as they make a mushy mess of my insides.
My arms are burning and my fingers are numb by the time I reach the rooftop. A smile spreads across my face as I pull myself over the edge. I scramble to get out of the way. I did something hard for the first time in my life, and although Chance helped, I still did it! It feels good.
I rub my arms as I watch first Chance, then Ethan and Aaron, climb onto the rooftop. Not once did I think of Ethan and Aaron, and whether they were okay. A pang of guilt stabs at my heart for a moment.
“Thank you, Chance,” I say, when it looks like we’re about to get going again. He just nods before walking away. Just because he helped me climb a ladder doesn’t mean we’re friends.
~*~
I have another thing coming if I think the ladder was hard to climb. It pales in comparison with what lies ahead.
“Watch me, Jasper. Just do what I do,” Chance says. He walks to the middle point of the rooftop and glances at me over his shoulder. “You can do it.” The words barely register when he breaks out into a sprint and my breath sticks in my throat the moment his body goes airborne – for a moment he flies, his arms wide at his side, then he pulls his legs in and disappears.
My heart drops. I run to the edge of the building and see him straightening out on the rooftop of the next building.
“I’ll never make it.” The words rush from my lungs.
I watch Aaron go next and wonder if there is a way for me to go down the ladder I just came up with.
“We’ll catch you on the other side,” Ethan says, and then he breaks out into a sprint, and I watch him leap into the air. They’re all insane, crazy-insane! How can they just jump?
My throat closes up and I walk back to where they started sprinting from. My feet feel glued to the rooftop, refusing to move. I can already imagine my body splatting on the road beneath.
I take a deep breath, in and out, through my teeth. “Come on, Jasper, you can do this. If they can, you can.” I try to encourage myself, but it’s not working. My voice is trembling as much as my body. “Just do it,” I squeal and break out in a sprint.
Halfway to the edge I stop, shrieking and covering my face. Cold prickles run over my body. I’m going to die! I’m going to fall and it’s going to hurt so bad when I hit the ground.
“Jai!” I hear Chance call. I walk a few steps closer until I can see him. “Listen to me,” he says. I start nodding, my whole body trembling. “Are you listening to me?”
“Y-yes,” I sputter the word out.
“Jai, you’re going to be just fine. Run as fast as you can and just jump. I’ll catch you. I won’t let you fall. You’ll be fine.” He sounds pretty sure of himself. It’s not him I’m worried about. It’s the me jumping part in this whole equation. He hasn’t seen me jump yet. At school I always went under the poles instead of over them. I suck so bad at sports. “Go back and run. I’m waiting for you.”
I walk back and take a few breaths. It doesn’t help at all, I’m still breathl
ess. I close my eyes and try to imagine a straight road in front of me, and I start to run. I pump my legs fast and hard. The edge comes closer and my heart pounds loudly in my ears as I leap into the night. I shriek so loud I’m pretty sure everyone in this city now knows where we are.
A cold wind rushes over my heated skin. I don’t stay up as long as they did. I drop fast. I stretch my body out as far as I can, trying to give myself more length. My arms slam hard into the side of the building, and pain streaks up into my shoulders. Prickles of fear spread through my body, when I start to slide back into the dark night. There’s nothing to take hold of.
“Chance.” I whimper desperately.
Fingers dig hard into my arms, right above my elbows. The hold is firm as I’m pulled up and over the rooftop to safety. I grab hold of the first thing I can, a shirt – Chance’s shirt. To further my embarrassment, I can’t stop myself from plummeting right into him. His hands move to my shoulders and it might be my overactive and terrified brain, but they rest there for a heartbeat, or two, before he helps me to stand on my very unstable feet.
“The next one won’t be as bad. Come on.”
I straighten out my shirt and watch them get ready.
“Why do we have to do this? Why can’t we walk on the streets?” I ask the question because my nerves are tattered threads after the jump and now they expect me to do it again. I need to catch my breath before having to attempt the next jump. My legs feel too numb to move.
“Trackers. They know you come through the gate on the seventh day of the seventh month. They’ll come looking for you. It’s what they are trained to do. There’s no reward if they don’t deliver.”
“Deliver what?” I ask, but Chance is already running again.
“They need to deliver every single one of us,” Ethan says.
First rebels and now trackers? What kind of world have I been sent into where a Dissolute has to keep me from being killed by people who calls themselves rebels and trackers?
~*~
Footprints In The Sand Page 16