The glow of her candle in the far corner was inviting. Dylan paused for a moment on the stairs. She didn’t yet notice him and was humming to herself while reading. Her soft voice was honey to his ears. He had never heard someone hum before, yet he felt that if he walked in on someone else doing it, that it just wouldn’t have been the same. There was something enchanting about Zee.
She stopped and swirled around to face Dylan. “Sorry,” she said, looking down apologetically.
“Don’t be. That was beautiful. Besides, I’m the only one here to hear it.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “What song is that?”
Her brows knit in concentration. Finally, she just shrugged in defeat. “I am not sure, but I think it used to be important,” she said with a triumphant smile, even though the details were vague. “But I have great news.” Her smile grew even wider. Dylan could have sworn that her candle burned brighter when she smiled.
“What?” Dylan asked, sitting down on the dusty ground next to Zee. His breath hitched in his chest from being so close to her. He tried to ignore the butterflies in his stomach; Zee was trying to piece her life back together and didn’t need him hanging around her like a love-sick puppy.
“I remember some stuff. Since I had some time to…relax down here alone, some things have been coming back to me.” Zee furrowed her brow. “I think actually, it was the inspection that helped jog my memory. I remember Knox’s voice. He was an enforcer at the facility I was kept at.”
“Wait…” Dylan put up a hand to stop Zee from continuing. “You were kept where Knox lives?”
“I think so. He was there an awful lot. He must have lived close by.”
“You’re from the Hub then.” This was bad. Dylan might have to one day face that he wouldn’t be able to protect Zee. If she was from the Hub, where Pierce, the owner and manager of the steam wagons lived, then he would never stop until he got his property back. If Zee was kept at the facility, she was Peirce’s property. And Pierce never parted with anything willfully.
“What?” Noting his change in demeanor, Zee put a comforting hand on Dylan’s. He felt electricity run up his arm from her touch. It vibrated deep into his soul and he wished that she would never let go. He doubted she felt it too, because she quickly removed her hand from his. The heat from her skin faded too quickly. Dylan wanted to wrap her in his arms so that he could absorb all of the energy that seemed to stir inside of her from his touch.
He sighed. Dylan didn’t want to make Zee paranoid, but if she didn’t know the truth about the Hub, then he needed to tell her. “It’s where the people who run the steam wagons live. They are the ones who control us. They have the power to stop our supplies if we revolt or don’t reach their quotas.”
To Dylan’s disbelief, Zee didn’t look at all surprised. “I figured as much,” was all she said. Gently, she closed the book she had been reading. Fahrenheit 451. Dylan had to smile. Of course she would choose that book.
“So…do you remember what you did there?” Dylan watched the flickering flames dance across Zee’s face. She was beautiful. Dylan imagined that in another time, Zee could have been a movie star. She looked like the women in the black and white posters that were hung on the walls of the secret basement, with her perfectly arched eyebrows and full lips. Dylan hoped that he could be the refuge that she needed, not just to hide her from the corrupt world of the Hub that sought to keep her hidden, but to give her the freedom that she needed to be herself without fear of repercussions.
“I remember…” Zee started. The somber look on her face pulled at Dylan’s heart. He could feel the pain etched on her face at the memory of her captivity.
“Zee, you don’t have to tell me about what happened to you,” he said, instantly wishing he could take back asking her about it after seeing her change in demeanor. “I don’t want you reliving that. What matters is that you are safe now. I won’t let them take you back,” Dylan vowed. She smiled in the darkness and her eyes sparkled in the candlelight. “How do you like that book so far?” He asked, nodding at the book in her hands.
Her face broke into a toothy grin. “I love it. I haven’t read it in years!” As the wood above them creaked from the intensity of the wind from the raging storm, they talked about all the little things that made them individuals. The more they talked, the more that seemed to come back to Zee. It was fragmented at first, but she slowly started to divulge more about her past life in captivity. As the night wore on, Dylan could feel his soul weaving into hers.
Zee couldn’t remember ever having anyone take an interest in her like Dylan has. In her former life, she was just given orders or threats. She never knew that a person could care. All of the people at the facility were either cold and detached, or mean. Zee always read in her books about the compassion of others, but until she met Alice and Dylan she had never experienced it firsthand. But even though Alice was nice, Dylan ignited something inside of Zee that she never dreamed existed. He had awoken a deep tingling feeling inside of her. She never wanted to lose him. Zee hoped that the storm outside would never end so that she could remain in this basement with him forever. She feared that once they were back in the real world, that Dylan wouldn’t take as much of an interest in her as he did right now, since it was just the two of them.
As the sun they couldn’t see sunk below the horizon, ushering in the chill of the night, Zee started to feel a bit sleepy. Her body was probably still recovering from the effects the desert. Slowly, as if asking silently for permission, Zee leaned into Dylan and rested her head on his shoulder. Gently, he put his arm on her shoulder, careful not to press too hard on her burnt skin. Zee drifted into the comfort of his body, feeling his muscles beneath her face from years of loading and unloading the steam wagons. She had never drifted off to sleep this quickly in her entire life, for she had never felt truly safe and at home.
5
Dylan listened to the music of Zee’s breathing into the quiet of the night. After a few hours, the storm let up. Not long after that, he heard a ruckus outside. Shouting broke the once silent night. Dylan’s heart hammered in his chest. He didn’t want to wake Zee, but had to know what was going on. He couldn’t risk not knowing and having her safety at risk.
She stirred slightly as he shifted out from underneath her, gently leaning her head on the ground. He wished he had a pillow for her, but she didn’t seem to feel any sudden discomfort. Silently he crept up the stairs with his candle. It was almost burned down to a nub, but still had an hour of light left. Zee’s candle burned out an hour ago.
Panic rose quickly in her chest, chaining her to the ground. She couldn’t move; could hardly breathe. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep on Dylan’s shoulder. But now darkness had her in its shackles. How did they get me? She thought. It felt like she was back in solitary. Then a worst thought occurred: What happened to Dylan? Zee would never be able to forgive herself if she caused Dylan to be captured by Knox or Peirce. She didn’t even want to think about the type of torture that they would put Dylan through. Zee hugged herself as a shiver erupted down her spine.
Zee tried to get a hold of herself. She focused on her breathing, letting it slow down and calm her racing heart. Once her breathing was back under control, Zee began to feel around. Her hand settled on the book she was reading. Breathing a sigh of relief, she stood up realizing that she was still in the basement. Slowly, she shuffled her feet across the floor in the pitch black towards where she knew the stairs were.
Zee wondered where Dylan was, but assumed that he must have just gone upstairs to check on the bar. He’s safe, she kept reassuring herself but was not convinced. There was a trail of energy above in the bar. She could feel it, just like earlier. Zee tried to push the thought from her mind, blaming paranoia.
Finally, she found the stairs and slowly ventured up them. The wood was dry and smooth under her bare feet. Zee kept an arm over her head, knowing that at some point she would reach the boards above. As soon as her hand reached the barrie
r, Zee paused and listened for any noise above her. Nothing but the dead of night answered in an eerie whisper, signaling that Dylan was gone. Zee knew that Dylan would not want to leave her alone without first saying anything. Something was most definitely wrong. Her heart hammered in her chest as she slowly pushed open the trapdoor.
A soft glow on the other side of the bar did little to usher in some sort of solace. Zee didn’t need to be in the darkness to know that no one was with her. She could feel that the building was empty. There were no other life energies echoing off of the wooden walls.
Gently, Zee set down the floorboards and adjusted the rug so that it completely covered the secret entrance. She glanced over at the lone candle perched on the table in the far corner. Something yellow and flat was lying on the surface in front of it, but she couldn’t quite tell what it was.
The wood floor moaned under her feet as she closed the distance between her and the candle. Its eerie glow sent ghastly shadows around the room. Zee felt her pulse beat wildly in her ears, blocking out any other noise. The bitter taste of bile rose in her throat. She was terrified at the thought of Dylan being captured. How did they know to capture him? If Knox knew that Zee was in the basement, wouldn’t he have just sprung open the trapdoor and grabbed her while she was sleeping? They must not have found out about the basement. That was a small blessing at least. Dylan and probably Alice would both be dead by now if anyone else knew about the basement and all of the forbidden things it held.
Zee glared at what turned out to be a note dancing in the light from the small flame. She knew that it was left for her, especially since it wasn’t probably known that Dylan and Alice could read and write. She wouldn’t be surprised if they were the only ones aside from her in town who knew how. Pierce and Knox knew that Zee could read. They let her when she obeyed or used it as a tantalizing treat to entice her to want to listen to their commands.
Zee stopped before the small, wooden table, feeling the vibrations of the small heat issuing from the candle flame. They rippled off of the candle like rings in water after something is tossed into it. She stared at the yellowed paper, bracing herself for what it might say, what horrors would be waiting for her. Or worse, what horrors have befallen Dylan.
But it was time. Time for her to stop hiding, or pretending to be something else…someone else. But she was Zee. A whole alphabet of warriors were bred and felled before her. None of them made the cut until Pierce engineered Zee. She had fought what she was for her entire young life, for the weapon he wanted her to be. But the strength that was genetically engineered inside of her did not mesh with her soul. It was amazing that Zee had a soul. She was parentless, raised by soldiers, but had a soul that was her own. A soul that no one could bend to their will. Zee was no one’s weapon. Zee was still human, capable of making her own choices.
She picked up the note, her fear submitting to not anger, but passion; passion to free those who were oppressed not just in this town, but every desert town owned by those at the Hub. And passion to live her own life, and to hopefully make a new one with Dylan.
Follow your nose to your friends, was all the note said. The harsh lines and drastic angles of the font told her that it was written by Pierce himself. And judging by the word choice of friends, it was clear that they had Alice, too.
Feeling her eyes narrow, Zee held the note over the flame. The vibrations of the heat radiated up her arm and through her body. She slowly awakened the force slumbering inside of her that she had tried to keep secret. She knew that Knox and Pierce didn’t know how much power she possessed. They knew she was far more honed than their earlier failures, but she was stubborn to show them what she really could do. But tonight was the night they would learn that they should have feared Zee long ago. The only thing she wondered as she stepped out into the chill of the desert night, sensing the vibrations off in the distance that she was told to follow, was What took me so long?
“You said you wouldn’t hurt him!” Alice screamed, tugging on the iron shackles that held her to the hitching post. Her arms were shaking as the fear rumbled up inside of her, nipping at her sanity.
“We won’t hurt him as long as your little friend plays nice.” Knox growled, as he fastened the manacle on Dylan. The other end of the chain was attached behind a steam engine. White steam puffed out of the smoke stack, lit by the eerie ruddy glow of the lanterns around the platform. “And you shouldn’t question my authority.” Knox stepped towards Alice, kicking sand in her direction menacingly. The lanterns shown red in his eyes, making him look like the demon of a man that he really was. “I have half a mind to whore you out on the steam wagons.”
Alice didn’t reply, but hung her head in defeat. Dylan merely played dead. He had gained consciousness a few moments ago, but remained laying on the tracks as if he didn’t. If he was to get them all out of this, he would have to formulate a plan. But he had a hard time figuring out how to get out of the iron grips of the manacles. And after he performed that miracle, he would have to rescue Alice and probably Zee. He just wished he knew why they wanted her so bad.
Dylan knew what he saw in Zee, but he doubted Knox or Peirce valued the same virtues that he did. It was amazing they were never able to corrupt Zee to their twisted way of thinking. Knox and Pierce used people only for what resources they could give them. They didn’t want the townspeople thinking for themselves, beyond figuring out how to make their quotas each month. Zee liked to ask questions, and it seemed that she also believed that people shouldn’t be punished for wanting a better life. It seemed to Dylan that aside from her venture out into the desert, Zee had never left the facility where she was kept in the Hub. The men there must have been the only men she had ever come to know. But what of her parents? Surely she must have had a family at some point.
The cold night sand swirled at her feet as Zee trudged on to the station just outside of Brimstone. It wasn’t the station that the town used and was probably once inside a city that was probably destroyed from the war. Pierce must have built the station back up for his own purposes. Zee could sense both him and Knox there, their negative energies swirling with the steam heat of the engine. She could also feel the frightened pulses of Dylan and Alice. She let out a sigh of relief knowing that they were both still alive.
Knox’s growling voice could barely be heard over the waiting steam engine. Its fire was stoked and ready for something. Zee was positive it was something terrible that Knox and Pierce had planned. Their evil knew no bounds. That was why she was so resistive to them. Their negative energy always came in quick and sudden bursts, but they never understood that goodness was a well that could never dry up. Their selfishness was what created this dismal world that Dylan and Alice lived in. Pierce couldn’t see beyond his own thirst for power and his endless need of luxuries. Knox was just attached to Pierce because he was a bully and enjoyed throwing his strength around. He loved the fear in others as if he fed off of it. Zee could see it in his black eyes.
She emerged from the darkness, letting the light from the lanterns bathe her pink skin in a dancing glow. There was no reason for her to hide. Steam released from the stack on the locomotive next to her, its fire stoked and ready. It was a horse chomping at the bit, ready to run. Zee drew in the energy of its fire, draining it. She let it churn in the pit of her core, amplifying into a deep well of power. Pierce and Knox were in for a surprise. She had never let them know how successful their experiment was, or where she got her energy reserves from. They seemed to think she created it herself, but she siphoned it off of somewhere else, storing it inside. But this was the first time she had ever been next to an energy reserve as large as the locomotive.
“There you are,” Pierce said, his soft voice. His black boots sunk into the sand as he got out of his steam powered automobile that he parked next to the tracks. Steam lazily swirled out of its small smoke stack. “Now…” Peirce started as he slowly removed the black leather gloves from his hands, tugging on one finger at a time until he remov
ed them. He tossed them onto the seat of his automobile as if he was bored, but Zee knew better. “If you climb into the car, I will let your friends go.”
Zee glanced around. She could see Alice chained to the hitching post by the hut that probably acted as a storage building. Dylan was nowhere to be found, but she could feel that he was near. Zee would have to be careful, as she did not know yet what trap they had planned for her. She knew that Peirce didn’t like to lose, so whatever situation he invented to sway her was not in her favor.
“No,” was all Zee said. Alice looked up at her with wide, frightened eyes that were glassy in the orange glow of the lanterns. Zee tried giving Alice a reassuring smile, but Alice was clearly afraid of something. Dylan, something whispered in the back of her mind. Zee followed Alice’s stare to the steam locomotive. Is he inside the cab? Zee wondered.
Pierce quickly interrupted her thoughts. “Don’t you care for the safety of your friends?”
Zee didn’t like the tone he was using. He sounded like she was a child and he was trying to reason with her simple mind. She narrowed her eyes at him in disgust. “I care for them more than I ever would for you. That is why I am staying.” She tried to keep her voice even. Zee didn’t want to give Pierce an edge.
Pierce gave a wicked smile. “You fancy the young man I bet. I must admit, I tried to engineer a soldier without feelings, but something must have gone wrong.” He tilted his head as if he was pondering the mysteries of the universe. “There’s always the Greek alphabet,” Pierce said, rubbing his chin in thought. He waved his hand dismissively as if having a conversation in his head that he was ending. “Anyways…Knox, why don’t you come out here and tell our Zee why she should come with us?”
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