Alone

by Holly Hook

  “Bring her back here!”

  I keep the axe in my hand and shove my free hand into my pocket, almost tripping as I run. There's just a tiny bit of battery left on my phone. I have to hold them back. I can't fight against the swarm without light. I produce the phone and Pit growls, ready to attack. We might not make it. The fires burn so far away. My feet hammer against grass and I bolt past a huge, hulking form lying on the ground. It makes a snorting sound as we pass. The cows. We're getting closer.

  The skittering starts again.

  And becomes muffled as the army of Dwellers move through the grass.

  They're on us. I don't dare let go of the axe. I can't stop. I can only hope that the grass slows the Dwellers down enough so we can get away. What if the people in the settlement think we're leading the Dwellers towards them? They might try to kill us. But going with Garrett means abandoning Shawn and Travis and Talia to a horrible fate, and dooming others to work in the mines. It means I must remain silent for the rest of my life...if Garrett even decides to let me live.

  “Elaine!” he shouts.

  I struggle with the phone. I slow just a second to rub my finger across the screen. It's still on the flashlight app. I turn towards the Dwellers and look towards the sky, turning it on at the same time.

  Light explodes and squeaks and squeals sound off. Pit leaps. There's a crunch as he nabs one. Tiny feet and claws scatter. I've bought myself a little more time. I back away, holding the phone with one hand and my axe in the other.

  From far behind me, someone else shouts. Yes. The people in the settlement must be human. They can see me out here. They see the light. I hope they see the fact that I'm fighting the Dwellers.

  I hope they can help.

  “Elaine!”

  Garrett seizes my hand from the side.

  I jump and pull against him. I drop the axe and he reaches down and takes it. He tosses it to the side. It lands with a thump. The light from my phone bounces and dies. It's gone. That's the last of it. The batteries have depleted and I'm never going to use it again.

  “What is your problem?” Garrett roars in my ears. I've never heard him near this angry. “The Dwellers are not our enemies."

  I think of Shawn and Travis and Talia in darkness. People like Garrett are what's wrong with the regular world...and with this one.

  The Dwellers stop squealing. They're gathering again. Pit growls and snaps his jaws on Garrett's pants. He cries out and his grip loosens. I fall back. Land on the ground, reaching for my axe. It's nowhere. Pit and Garrett struggle on the ground feet away. Pit whimpers in pain and Garrett pushes him off. Tiny shapes swarm in the dark. I can't make out the green of their eyes. It's the only reason I'm still conscious right now.

  Then Garrett looms over me.

  “We're going to have to take you by force,” he says. “When you wake, you'll be back on Earth. I promise.”

  I reach again for the axe. It's gone. Behind Garrett, Pit struggles against the Dwellers. There are too many of them for him to take down. There's a crunch and another one goes flying. My hand closes on grass. I rip it from the ground and throw it in Garrett's face. He turns his head and spits. Then he raises one hand like he wants to swing at me. Instead, he holds it in the air.

  “I never would have thunk, Elaine. I thought you were a nice, kind girl. I was happy to call you my own.” Hate and bewilderment burns in his eyes. “You're so ungrateful. I trek across this land through dangerous environments and risk facing things that could have killed me, and this is the thank you I get. You swing a dangerous weapon in my face. Those kids were right about you. You really are like your father.”

  Something runs over my legs. A Dweller. Its claws tear into my flesh and I bite in a cry. Garrett has betrayed me and Mom in the worst way possible. She doesn't know she married a monster. She has no idea of the horrors going on underground. I close my eyes. Even in the dim light, if one of the Dwellers gets into my face, it's over. I pass out and wake up with one of those tattoos on my arm, a silent guard that will kill me if I dare fight back.

  “Open your eyes!”

  I can't. I won't. One of the Dwellers runs onto my chest and stands there. I bat it away. It flies and squeals. They're all around me. The breeze from their movements assaults my face. Garrett seizes my arm and tries to pull me up. I stay limp. I'm so close to help. I can't give up now, but my weapon is gone.

  Pit growls as if he's trying to tell me something. Garrett grunts and pulls me to my feet. My backpack hangs heavy on my back and Pit pulls at it. The straps dig into my shoulders. He's trying to pull me away. There's another shout from the settlement behind me, but no footfalls. The people there won't dare come out and face the Dwellers. They're behind the wall for a reason.

  I flail and kick at Garrett. It's no use. He's much bigger than me.

  Come on, Elaine. That centipede was bigger than you, too. Shawn yells at me from the back of my mind. Do something.

  “What would your mother think?"

  “Stop bringing up my mother!” I swing my fist but it lands on his arm, useless. I keep my eyes shut. I'll believe Garrett will risk letting three workers go when the sky turns yellow with purple stripes.

  Pit pulls at my backpack again.

  The jaw.

  I still have it in the back pocket.

  Garrett's voice is full of disgust. “I can't believe you. Rejecting all the things I've given you since your mother and I got married.”

  I reach back.

  Sink my hand into the back pocket.

  The jaw's facing down. I grab onto the wide edge and pull it out.

  “Elaine?” Garrett asks.

  Keeping my eyes squeezed shut, I stab.

  The jaw meets flesh. Sinks in. Garrett gasps and lets go of me. I pull the jaw back. There's another squishing sound as I do. The Dwellers go silent and Pit stops pulling at my backpack as if he can't believe what I've done. As if the world can't believe what I've done.

  I just stabbed my stepfather.

  I dare to open my eyes, keeping my gaze away from the ground.

  Garrett backs into another boulder and sits down, one hand over a dark, wet spot in his shoulder. The spot expands and Garrett seethes, casting his gaze to the sky as if asking for help. But there's none out here unless his Dwellers can heal him.

  He might die.

  I might have killed him.

  “Garrett,” I manage.

  He glares at me. “I should have never taken you in,” he growls. “You're worthless, just like your father.” His features close in pain. “I know where you belong."

  Fury rises in me. This is the real Garrett.

  Not the man I spoke to before I left home.

  “Dwellers!” he shouts.

  Pit pulls at my pant leg.

  The settlement.

  The thunder of tiny feet starts up again. They're out of their shock now.

  So am I.

  “Take her to the lowest mine you have!”

  I run.

  I tear across the grass. Pit runs behind me, trying to shield me from the living wave. The settlement grows closer. I can make out each log now that makes up the gate. There are two people peeking over the wall, waving me closer. They're silhouettes against the flames of the bonfire. If I get close enough, the light will repel the Dwellers.

  There's movement. More light.

  A narrow gate's falling out like a drawbridge. The two guards stand on either side, lowering ropes. They're letting me in.

  “Come on!” a young man shouts. “Don't look behind you!” He's looking up at the sky.

  I pump my legs faster. Pit growls. Tiny hands grasp at my pant legs. I can't trip. Not when I'm so close.

  I run into the light. Grass turns from black to green around me. Dwellers squeal. The sound makes me want to cover my ears.

  “Come on!” the man repeats.

  “Elaine!” Garrett calls from far behind.

  I'm done listening to him.

  I drop my phone.
>
  I'm done caring what he thinks and what everyone else thinks.

  Clutching the centipede jaw tight, I jump onto the drawbridge. Bolt across the logs. I catch a glimpse of log cabins. Someone standing by the bonfire. The guy above me grunts and the gate under me starts to rise. I stumble onto packed dirt and Pit lands next to me. The Dwellers' squeaks are farther away. Outside. They can't come into the light.

  The gate behind me rises and closes with a grinding sound. Another guard lets out her breath.

  I let myself fall to the ground and catch my breath. Pit rubs against me, as if saying that it's going to be okay now.

  I hug him from the side. I'm out of breath. Sobbing. I can't even thank him. He got me to safety and I can't even muster the breath to tell him I love him.

  Garrett must still be out there, injured. Bleeding. These people won't let him in.

  If I'm now everything he hates, I'm proud.

  People gather around me. I hear them. Voices. Footsteps. Moccasins come into view.

  “The closest mine entrance is forty miles away.”

  “You're telling me she came that far?”

  “She must have come up the Valley River.”

  “Well, it looks like she had some help.” Someone pets Pit. “I'm shocked. They haven't brought anyone back in over a year now.”

  My hair hands in my face and someone steps forward. I recognize the voice of the guard who shouted at me. He's astounded.

  “Girl, how did you survive out there?”

  I sit up and everything comes crashing down. My vision blurs with tears. I'm finally safe. I can sleep tonight and know I'll wake up in the morning.

  And then I can get help in rescuing Talia, Shawn, and Travis. I won't abandon them. I won't, no matter what Garrett says.

  “I'll tell you,” I say. “But first I need something to eat and a bed.”

  THE STORY WILL CONTINUE IN THE NEXT BOOK OF THIS TRILOGY:

  FOUND (#2 FLAMESTONE TRILOGY)

  OUT FEB. 15, 2016

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