by Moira Murphy
“Okay then , let’s stop talking about it.” He took a large bite of bread.
“Right… Mooney,” Niko searched his mind, “Tell us more about Nathayre.”
“Well… Nathayre became King about two years ago, but…” Mooney swallowed the food in his mouth, “He didn’t start taking the water until,” he searched his mind. “two or so months ago.”
“When did the wall go up?” Tessa asked.
“About the same time.”
“And that’s when Cami disappeared?” Tessa asked.
“Not right away. At first, she tried to stop everything. She tried to bring water to the people.”
“What changed?”
“Well, when he couldn’t find Cami… he designated Crawford and some others solely to search for her… it wasn’t safe with anyone anymore.” Mooney zipped his pack up. “She had to hide.”
“So, none of you have seen her?”
“Not for awhile.”
“And you think she’ll be in the city?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t that the opposite of… where she should be hiding?”
“Exactly.” Mooney stood. “Nathayre is searching the forest, the desert, everywhere but the city.”
“Are we going somewhere?” Tessa asked, commenting on Mooney’s packing up.
“Time to move on.” He stuck his thumb up toward the hill. An audible groan followed his statement.
“My guess is she’s hiding in plain sight. She’s found somewhere to stay, and she’s waiting for something… to change. To tell her it’s okay to come out. Let’s go.”
***
The carriage came to an abrupt stop. Sully fell out of his chair.
“We’re here.” Palmer said in a sing song voice. He pulled Sully up by the arm as the carriage slowly lowered to the ground. He kicked open the door. Massive gray bricks were messily stacked atop one another. A great wall, at least three hundred feet high, stood before them. Palmer jumped from the carriage and held a hand out for Bindy. She gracefully hopped from the step and landed on her feet. Sullivan stared up at the wall, mouth open.
“Come on, kid.”
“Yeah.” Sully said slowly, throwing his bag to Palmer, “Coming.”
“Pretty big, huh?” Palmer clicked his tongue.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” He looked down at the ground. “I mean… the hatred… and pure resentment he must feel to build such a thing.” Sully shook his head. He looked up at the wall, “To let so many people die.”
“Now you see… we have to stop him.” Bindy forced him to look in her eyes.
“Let’s get going.” Palmer urged them. “We have to find the way in.”
“Right. Right.” Sullivan walked ahead. Palmer was quickly behind him, and Bindy came to his side. The ground was covered in dead grass and twigs. And the dry trees were not good for shading. The wall blocked two of the three suns, but the third was directly above them. The carriage rose into the air and sped away; headed to the Queens. The faint scent of smoke floated around their noses. Sully wondered where it came from, but ultimately decided it was most likely a wildfire.
Their hike was easy enough; the land surrounding the wall was flat. As they came around the first curve in the wall, they saw something small. Bindy was the first to go to it; an empty water bottle lay in the grass, lidless. They continued walking and saw another and another and another. Until they came around another curve and saw something different: a red shoe. Its laces were undone. Sully thought this was odd. He hadn’t seen any Wiklowians since they’d been here, besides Bindy. And he highly doubted that any would come this close to the wall. Bindy picked up the shoe and continued, but was quickly stopped by another shoe; blue. Then another; green. And another. And another. And another. Bindy’s arms were full of mismatched shoes, she could barely keep them within her grasp.
She turned another corner, expecting to see a continuation in the trail of shoes, but instead found something much more grave. She dropped the shoes. Sullivan cake to her side, he slowly peered around the corner. Bile crept up his throat, his palms became sweaty, and his legs felt weak.
“What is it?” Palmer asked as he jogged up to their side. He, too felt nauseated as he looked around the corner. Hundreds of shoes were stacked upon one another, a great pile of them. However, these shoes, unlike the other were not empty. Vibrant colored hair lie atop the lifeless bodies of hundreds of Wiklow’s people. The murdered bodies of those who had attempted to get to water; people trying to save their own lives, the lives of their children, their brothers, their sisters and mothers. They were all dead at the hands of an insipid selfish man.
“Dear God,” Palmer whispered.
Bindy’s knees buckled under the weight of her grief. She saw the pale faces and cloudy eyes of her friends piled on top of one another, tossed carelessly away. She stuttered, trying to form the words that crowded her mind. There were no words for those thoughts.
“I—I…” She gasped. “He—He…”
“Bindy.” Sully held her as she wept. Palmer put his hand over his chest and said a silent prayer. He then walked over to the grey wall and pulled the blue paint from his bag. He squeezed some onto his palm and smeared it on the rock.
“We’ll get him, Bindy,”he said under his breath.
He turned and saw that a fourth party had joined them. He had his large hat over his heart, his eyes were shut tight and his face was turned to the sun. Sullivan and Bindy had yet to see him, and his two friends who were now approaching. Their faces dropped and they, too, put their hands to their hearts. Palmer remained calm and yet ready to jump at a second’s notice. The first man opened his eyes: they scanned Palmer. He gave a gentle smile at the blue paint dripping from his hand, and the symbol he had drawn. He knew who Palmer was, and he knew what the symbol meant. The man nodded to Palmer, and Palmer nodded back. The man allowed Bindy to mourn for a few minutes, and didn’t make his presence known until Bindy was on her feet.
“Hello there.” His voice was deep and raspy. It startled Sullivan and Bindy. But, Palmer didn’t move. “Me name is Cutthroat Theo.” He bowed.
“A pirate,” Palmer replied.
“A pirate,” Theo confirmed. “But, a pirate that be fighting the same fight.”
***
It was becoming dark in the forest, when Mooney mentioned stopping for the evening. As they set up for the night, Mooney lit a fire for dinner. Tuck was out walking the grounds to ensure safety. Tessa and Niko sat together against a large tree trunk.
“Can you believe all this?” Niko asked.
“No and yes.” She answered, eyes closed.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know—all this is crazy and I can’t believe it’s all happening, but at the same time it feels… comfortable. Ya know?” She looked at him.
“Yeah.”
“Like home.” She reiterated. Niko snorted. “What?” Tessa bulged her eyes.
“That was so cheesy.” He laughed.
“Shut up.” She smacked his shoulder and laid her head back again.
“No. I know what you mean,” he said, seriously.
“Hmm?”
“Yeah. It’s like when I moved to Riverport.” He followed suit and laid his head back. “Sure, my foster father was an ass, but I had you guys.”
“Aww… Nikolas.” Tessa smiled.
“I’m serious.” He laughed. “You guys were my… are my family.”
“Now that was cheesy.” Tessa giggled. “But, I love you.” Mooney threw a log onto the fire, sending small sparks into the air like fireflies in summer evenings.
“I think you’ve found your muse for the rest of your painting career.” Niko watched the ashes fall. “After all we’ve seen.”
“That’s very true. I’ll never struggle for a subject again.”
“You didn’t struggle on that billboard in Riverport.” Niko chuckled. Tessa knew exactly what he was referring to. In high school the two had vandalized
a billboard for Cami’s birthday. The advertisement had originally been for an upcoming movie, but well after dark Niko made a plan for Cami. He had Tessa paint an authentic salsa dancer swinging her hips with a big ‘Happy Birthday, C!’ next to her.
“Well, I was just kind of told what to paint.” She pointed out.
“Yes, by a genius.”
“She did love it.”
“Yes, she did.” Niko nodded.
“She’s fine, Niko.”Tessa put her hand on his shoulder. “She’s holed up somewhere… salsa dancing.”
Niko snuffed in reply. Tuck arrived back at the fire and was helping Mooney with the preparation of food. Although he had no idea what the food was or how to prepare it, he was starving and eager to eat.
“So… the boat…” Niko raised his eyebrows to Tessa. He was dying to see her blush at the thought of her and Tuck’s kiss on the boat.
“No.” She was not going to talk about it.
“Did I see?” he smiled.
“Nope.”
“I think I did.”
“You didn’t.”
“But, I did.” Niko sat up straight.
“Stop it.”
“Alright. Alright.” Niko surrendered, putting his hands in the air. Tessa sighed and relaxed. “… But, I did.” Tessa rolled her eyes.
A rustling came from behind their tree trunk. In an instant, Mooney stood up, kicked dirt over the fire, and had Tessa, Niko and Tucker pinned against the tree. The rustling came closer. In the pale light, a man with blood red hair emerged from the dark.
“Mooney, I see you’ve found Sherlock.”
Chapter 18
“Sir. I found them.” Mooney stood up straight. “I was bringing them to the city now.”
“Good job, Mooney.” Crawford grinned. “However, there is no need for the long trek to the city. My home is just near here.” He motioned to the forest. “We can take them there.”
“What are you doing?” Tessa asked.
“Shut your mouth, human!” Mooney shouted.
“Hey!” Tucker jumped forward.
“Unruly these ones.” Crawford sighed. “We’ll fix that.”
Mooney shoved Tucker back into the tree.
“Come. Come.” Crawford turned and walked into the forest leaving Mooney to deal with the three.
“What the hell?” Tucker shoved Mooney backward. “You are supposed to help us!”
“I can’t let him know,” Mooney pleaded. “He can’t know I’m with the Renegades. He can’t know.”
“What do you think is going to happen at this house?” Tessa angrily whispered.
“I won’t let him hurt you!” Mooney promised.
“How can you promise that? Without letting him know who you are?”She asked.
“If it comes down to it,” Mooney guided them into the forest. “I’ll let it be known. Please, trust me,” he said quietly. He pushed them to follow Crawford.
Crawford’s home was huge; the size of the Taj Mahal. It was dark green with black trim and only a few dimly lit windows. A long cement staircase led to the front door, which had an endless amount of locks. Crawford used nine different keys before the door opened. Dark black wood floors and dusty red toile wallpaper greeted them. Crawford directed them to a room on the top floor where he slammed the door shut and locked it. He and Mooney made polite chatter as they returned downstairs.
“What are we going to do?” Tessa asked.
“I thought Mooney was good. Do we trust him?” Niko slammed his fist into the door.
“We did,” Tessa replied. Tucker looked about the room. “Tuck!” she shouted.”What do we do?” Tuck continued examining the ceiling, the walls, and the floor, “Tucker!”
“I don’t know!” he clenched his fists. “I don’t know.” He went to the door and jiggled the doorknob. It turned. Mooney re-entered the room with a slam of the door.
“Come with me,” he said sternly.
“Mooney! What the hell?” Tucker got close to his face.
“Crawford would like to talk to you,” he remained calm.
“No! I’m not going anywhere!” Tucker shoved his chest. “What are you doing?”
“Not you.” Mooney turned his attention to Tessa.
“Me?” she asked.
“Yes. You.”
“What? Why does he want her?” Tucker blocked Tessa from leaving.
“To talk to her about Camila.” Mooney moved his eyes rapidly to the left, implying that they were not in this conversation alone.
“We don’t know anything about Cami.” Niko tried to diffuse the room.
“Come. Now.”
“Mooney, please,” Tucker whispered. “You know what he’ll do to her.” His eyes pleaded. “Please.” Mooney grabbed Tessa by the upper arm and flung her into the hallway. Another man in a white suit grabbed her by the neck and pushed her toward the stairs.
“Mooney!” Tucker leaned his face in, “Now is that time!” Mooney looked into the hallway, to be sure they were alone.
“Her hair is blue and pink.” He raised his eyebrows. “They don’t know she’s human. That…” he paused, “will not happen.” He turned and left the room, locking the door behind him.
***
The third sun had finally fallen behind the wall, causing the temperature to drop. Theo had led the way toward the opening; he had found it a few days earlier. He mentioned that while he could see the water behind the wall, there was no way to get to it. When asked about the ongoing threat of lurking Lavocs, he said that with more than half the population dead, the king was not worried about people trying to overcome the wall. The Lavocs stopped guarding the wall when Cami disappeared and they were assigned, first and foremost, to find her.
“And how did you know Cami?” Sullivan asked. Theo looked up to the darkening sky,
“We stop here for the night.” He ignored Sullivan. “It’s not good after dark here.”
“What does that mean?” Sullivan asked.
“Tis about two more hours til we the opening.” He, again, ignored Sully.
“What isn’t safe?” Sully repeated himself.
Theo squatted to the ground, his companions followed. They carried no possessions, no bags, no food. Theo took his belt, with sword attached, from his waist and laid it on the ground. After lying down, he removed his hat and placed it beneath his head as a pillow. He sighed. “She said you would talk,” he grumbled.
“Cami?” Sully asked.
“Yeah, she said you would talk,” he yawned, “a lot.”
“So, how did you know her?” he repeated again.
“If you’d close your mouth, I’d tell ya.” Theo practically shouted. Bindy smiled, and sat next to Theo. Palmer dug a small hole in the dirt, and started a fire. Theo’s companions were already asleep when he began his story.
A few months ago Theo, Shamus, and Morris, his companions, left their ship to find supplies. They went to the city as they had done once a month since they began their lives at sea. At the same time, Nathayre had reached the peak of his chase. All at once, he pulled the water from every lake, river, and water fountain in Wiklow and drained them into Alerden Ocean. By the time they returned to the sea, the wall was up and the water was blocked. No way to get to it. Theo’s boat, Penny Lane, was sailing the seas, captainless. And ever since, they had been stranded on land; fish out of water.
“Oh my Penny Lane.” Theo moaned. “Where ye’ be?”
“In your ears and eyes.” Sully chuckled to himself.
For over a month, Cami would load a Renegade carriage with water and fly it to everyone she could reach. One day, she stumbled upon Theo, Shamus, and Morris; while most run from pirates, she stayed. She charmed them with gallons of water and smiles; she made allies of them. Over a few weeks, she asked if they’d be willing to help. They, of course, agreed. Most pirates are known for their thieving and violence. But, these pirates’ only desire was to be on the sea. Therefore, they wanted to get back to it, and they knew they had to h
elp Cami. So, they did. So, they stood guard at the entrance to the cave, per Cami’s request.
“She told us about all of you. She told us you’d be comin’.” Theo yawned again. “She told us you’d help.” He replaced his hat with his arm, and put the hat over his face. “I need sleep.” His hat muffled his words. He yawned again. “Look out for kloogers.”
“What?” Sullivan became alarmed. “Kloogers? What is kloogers?” Theo snored in reply. Palmer was now asleep, Bindy leaned on his shoulder; tired. “What’s a klooger?” he asked her. She sighed, breathily.
“A little bug.”
“Oh.” Sully was relieved.
“They burrow under your skin and turn into trees and grow branches and leaves out of your ears.”
“What?” Sully exclaimed.
“They hate fire.” She rubbed her eyes. “Just keep the fire going.”
“What?” Sully jumped up and threw a heap of logs onto the fire. A cloud of glowing ashes flew into the air. “Bindy?” She was asleep.
***
“Tessa… my dear.” Crawford paced the large living room, “How did you come to know Cami?” Tessa was in an old wooden chair; held there by fear and thin black rope.
“We… uh… grew up together.” She was eager to get out of the room.
“So, you’ve been to where she lived before here?” he stopped pacing.
“Uh…no. We grew up here together.”
“Ha.” He laughed to himself, “You, like me, are fully aware that Camila is not from here. So, you couldn’t have grown up together.” He smirked.
“She came and went.” Tessa answered.
“Where?”
“I don’t know.” Tessa felt sweat drip down her back. “I don’t know.”
“Where did you meet her?” he came closer. “When she came, where did you meet?”
“I don’t remember.”
“What do you mean? You don’t remember? Did you meet her or not?”
“Yes.”
“Then where?”
“I don’t remember. I was a kid!” Tessa’s voice cracked. She wondered where Mooney was. Crawford remained quiet for a moment while he thought of his next step. He touched his hand to his chin and then ran it through his hair.