by Kirby Howell
Grey, perfectly calm, said to him, “Savez-vous qui nous sommes?”2 Then he turned to me and said, “Il ne sait pas qui nous sommes?”3
I stared at him. What was he doing? The man with the gun shook his head to show he didn’t understand.
Grey furrowed his brow as if he were trying to think, then in a heavy French accent said, “I apologize. You must not know who we are. We were summoned by Karl. We are from Paris. Surely, you have heard we were coming?”
The man lowered his gun, recognition in his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard something about Paris, but Karl never tells me nothing. How did you even get here from France? You got some kind of plane?”
Grey shook his head. “I am sorry, monsieur, but that is confidential information.”
The man looked disappointed. “I’m from Brooklyn. Was out here on business when The Plague hit, and I got stuck. My sister is in New York City. Was hoping to find a way home one day.”
With a glint in his eye, Grey continued in a friendly voice, “Perhaps something can be arranged. Our return trip home might be more enjoyable with a stop in the Big Apple.”
I did my best to nod, and then for good measure, I murmured, “Oui.”
The man holstered his gun, and Grey moved forward to talk to him. On the pretence of stooping to tie my shoelace, I stayed by the door. I was relieved Grey had guessed Paris, France. If it had been up to me, I would have chosen Perris, California, only because it made more sense.
Karl’s voice was low and muffled behind the door, but I could hear him clearly as I slowly tightened my shoelaces and retied the knot. “Well, alert me as soon as you hear. I want to go soon. You know how patient a man I am, don’t you?” There was a bark of laughter, followed by nervous laughter, obviously from whomever Karl was talking to.
I wanted to listen more, but there was a lengthy silence from inside, and I didn’t want to appear suspicious to the man talking to Grey, so I stood and made my way to them.
“This man has a very interesting job,” Grey said to me, his French accent as steady and convincing as before. “He is in charge of all of the newcomers to The Reconstruction Front. Like our own Etienne at home, non?”
I nodded and said, “Oui, Etienne.”
“You must be acquainted with everyone, non?”
“Pretty much. Sounds like Karl has Paris set up just like Los Angeles. It’s rumored he’s got Air Force One to travel on.” The man chuckled, but looked at Grey as if hoping he might validate the rumor.
Grey just laughed along with him. “You may be right, monsieur.”
“Really? Wow, ain’t that crazy,” he said, then leaned in closer to Grey. “Karl keeps telling me he’ll be able to let me go soon, so I can get back to New York to find my sis, but I dunno if I believe him.”
Grey looked at him evenly, no emotion on his face. The man drew in a breath quickly and began to backtrack.
“Look, don’t get me wrong, Karl’s the boss, and I’m grateful to him and everything. But family’s family, you know? I’d be really grateful if you could work out some kind of arrangement with him, so I could hitch a ride, you know? I’ll do anything for ya, in exchange, you know, anything reasonable, of course.” The man’s eyes turned desperate, and I suddenly felt a profound regret for him. He wanted to leave, but he was scared. I wondered if we could help him.
“Of course,” Grey said, his tone understanding. “Maybe you can help us find someone who we think might be here? A girl named Sarah, about her age.” Grey motioned to me.
My hands grew clammy as I waited for his answer. But a strange look came into his eyes, and he looked from me to Grey and back, as if putting a puzzle together.
“Maybe, uh... maybe we should go somewhere else to talk?” he asked, his eyes fluttering to the door marked “Manager.”
“Why is that necessary?” Grey said, his voice still amicable.
A slight sheen of sweat appeared on the man’s forehead. My stomach seized. Something was wrong. The man swallowed and glanced again at the door down the hall. He turned to usher us down the hall. “Please, let’s go somewhere else,” he said desperately. “Follow me, and I’ll tell you everything. I promise.”
“A promise is a very serious thing, Arnett,” a familiar cool voice said from behind us.
I knew who it was before I looked over my shoulder. Karl stood in the hallway, tall and strangely handsome with his brown hair falling casually across his forehead.
“Karl, I was just coming to get you,” Arnett said, his hand straying to the holstered gun at his hip.
“Were you now?” Karl shook his head slightly. “That’s not what it sounded like to me.”
Before another breath could be taken, Karl pulled a gun from the back of his belt. The blast of gunfire shook the hallway and lifted Arnett off his feet. In the same moment, Grey jerked me backward, slamming me against the wall so hard my breath whooshed out of me.
Grey started to pull me close to him to take us away, but Karl reacted first, and in one lightning fast motion, advanced on Grey and punched him squarely in the gut. Grey doubled over, breathless.
“No!” I yelled. Grey looked back at me, trying to suck in a breath.
“Run,” he wheezed between labored gasps. As I turned, Grey reared up, surprising Karl, and slamming him roughly against the wall. I threw a glance down at Arnett as I jumped over his body and was shocked to find his eyes open. I screamed as something caught my foot, and I fell, smashing an elbow and kneecap on the floor.
I tried to scramble to my feet, but my foot was caught on something. Arnett’s hand was wrapped around my foot, the pool of red beneath him spreading quickly across the cement floor.
“Please, take me with you,” he whispered, slowly pulling me back to him, dragging me into his pool of blood. Gasping, I tried to grab on to anything to stop myself, but couldn’t find anything. The warm liquid soaked the leg of my jeans. The thickness of its smell filled my head, and I felt faint.
“Please,” he repeated, his other hand reaching above the first to clasp my calf, and dragged me closer still. The warmth spread to my side, and suddenly I was face to face with him. Tears wobbled in his blue eyes. Blue eyes almost as light as Grey’s.
“I just want to go home,” he whimpered. His red fingers touched my cheek.
“Autumn!”
I looked back at Grey. One of Karl’s men had Grey’s arms pinned behind his back, and Karl turned toward me.
“Get out of here, Autumn!” Grey urged me. I looked down at Arnett, but his eyes were closed. I pulled myself easily from his now limp grasp.
“I’m sorry,” I cried at Arnett as I stood. With one last look at Grey, I turned and sprinted back to the storeroom. I flew through the swinging door as two shots rang out behind me. One opened a small pit in the door; the other splintered the Plexiglas window above me.
I shoved a large box in front of the swinging door, flew to the dark corner of the room, and began climbing the ladder. Everything in me screamed to go back for Grey, but I knew it took less concentration for him to project himself to safety if I wasn’t with him. Right now, I needed to find a place to hide.
I made it to the top of the ladder, when someone grabbed my foot. I looked back, astonished to see Karl clinging to the ladder beneath me. How had he gotten so close so fast? And what happened to Grey? I kicked at him hard, but he didn’t let go of my foot.
“What’s your hurry?” he sneered. “Didn’t you come here to rescue your BFF? Are you going to abandon her so quickly just to save yourself?”
“What have you done with her?” I yelled, desperately kicking to free my foot.
“Calm down. Come with me, and I’ll take you to her.”
“If you’ve hurt her, I’ll kill you!”
“Of course I haven’t hurt Sarah. She’s waiting for you.” His grip loosened. It didn’t feel right. He was manipulating me, like he did everyone else.
“You’re lying!” I hooked my arm over the top rung of the ladder to support m
yself and, aiming for the nose I’d already broken once, briskly brought down my free foot into his face.
My heel connected solidly, and he reared back, dropping my foot to clutch his nose while still clinging to the metal ladder. I pulled myself up onto the walkway.
I thundered down the catwalk and up the short set of stairs, and burst through the door into the bright sunlight. I ran across the hot white roof and looked around, hoping Grey might have managed to get away to meet me here. But the roof was empty, and there was no way down. I was trapped.
The door slammed open again, and I turned to find Karl. I was too apprehensive about how I was going to escape to be proud of the bloody mess I made of his face. I ran to the ledge and looked down. The parking lot looked like it was a mile down, even though it was only a few stories. I knew if I jumped, I might live, but I’d probably break my legs. I spun around, looking for other options.
“Autumn!” Karl called, walking toward me. His brown hair waved in the wind, and his blood-speckled shirt fluttered around him like a flag in the breeze. My feet itched to back up, but I knew the low wall was less than a foot behind me. I had nowhere to go.
“You know, my nose is still sore from our last encounter,” he said, chuckling. “I really wish you’d chosen another part of my body to maim this time. Though, a crooked nose could make me appear more ruggedly handsome. What do you think?” He smiled, his teeth tinged with blood.
I looked beyond Karl at the open door leading inside. It remained empty. Where was Grey? Why hadn’t he been able to get away? What were they doing to him?
“Aw, don’t look away. Is it really that bad?” Karl wiped his mouth with his hand and shook his fingers at the ground. Specks of blood appeared on the white roof.
Three people suddenly came out of the darkness of the doorway. Two of Karl’s men and Grey. The men held Grey between them, his feet dragging the ground beneath him. The two men dropped him on the hot surface of the roof. He was still.
“Did he bring you?” Karl asked, pointing to Grey.
“Where’s Sarah?” I demanded, nausea swirling in my stomach.
“Did he bring you?” Karl stepped closer, his voice raised.
“Where’s Sarah?!” I shrieked at Karl, hot tears pooling in my eyes.
“Where do you think?” he yelled back, his calm demeanor abandoned. “Rotting away up at UCLA Med Center, unless she was in the wing that burned to the ground in the chaos after The Plague. Then I’d say she’s a bit more toasty now than when you guys got matching sunburns on your last trip to Palm Springs.”
My stomach turned over. It was all a setup. Sarah had been dead since The Plague. My best friend was dead... had been for a very long time. I swallowed several times to keep from throwing up. How did he know about that trip? Had he used Sarah to get to me? To get to us? I looked up at Grey, but he still seemed unconscious.
“Why?” I asked quietly, a tear slipping down my cheek.
“Because, one day, you and your boyfriend will want to be friends with me,” Karl said, his voice quiet and composed again.
“I’d rather die than be anything with you,” I said.
He paused, then said, “That’s a shame.” He turned to the men standing above Grey. “Throw him off the roof, and let’s see if Autumn has a change of heart.”
The two men picked Grey up and dragged him to the edge.
“Grey!” I screamed. I was certain I saw his head come up a fraction of an inch. He was conscious, barely.
The men held him close to the edge, taunting me, and that’s when I saw his ocean blue eyes open, staring at me. Something about them beckoned to me, giving me strength, and I knew what he wanted me to do. I broke into a sprint. I flew past Karl, arms pumping back and forth. I saw the two men’s eyes widen when they saw me charging toward them. One of them dropped his hold on Grey, and he swayed dangerously over the edge. Both men reached for their guns, but it was too late. I was nearly on them. Fortiter.4
I slammed into Grey, my momentum carrying us over the low edge. I briefly heard Karl shout, before the wind filled my ears. We were falling fast, and the pavement rushed up at us at an alarming speed. Suddenly, everything shifted and we hit something solid.
My hands protected Grey’s head from hitting the ground, and my knuckles and elbows rapped hard against a cold floor. I breathed heavily, my face buried in his shoulder, and I clutched him, my muscles refusing to relax. Then I heard someone clear his throat above us, and I opened my eyes.
Shad was standing three feet from us, holding a tray loaded with food in his hands, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. He looked at us, lying on the floor, and then up at the pantry we’d just fallen out of. Then he grinned and began to nod in appreciation as he stepped around us.
“Glad to see you kids finally made up,” he said, leaving the kitchen.
I looked down at Grey. He was conscious and staring up at me. He brushed the hair back from my face and tucked it behind my ear. Without thinking, I leaned down and kissed him deeply. He kissed me back, his arms tightening around me. I felt as though I’d been underwater for the past several weeks without him, and kissing him again was like coming up for air. I wanted to breathe him in, fill my lungs with him.
“I never want to go back there again,” I mumbled.
He nodded. “I’ll never make you go back. I swear.”
I rested my forehead against Grey’s collarbone, until I remembered he’d been hurt. I hurriedly pulled myself off him and helped him up. He groaned as he got to his feet, one hand clutching his stomach, but fell silent when he noticed my blood-encrusted clothes.
“Is any of that yours?” he asked quietly, and began to reach for me.
I shook my head. “It’s that guy’s blood, the guy Karl shot... Arnett,” I said, shuddering at the horrific memory of him begging me to take him with us, his blood draining from his body in front of my eyes.
“Are you okay?” I lightly touched Grey’s stomach, and he winced. He motioned for me to follow him, and we left the kitchen and entered a vacant room. He leaned against one of the hospital beds and began to unbutton his sweater.
“Let me,” I said, as I took his hands gently away from the worn wooden buttons. He seemed content to let me help and watched me as I removed his sweater. I pushed up the t-shirt beneath and locked eyes with him. Before I could comment on the redness blossoming across his stomach and chest, he reached for me, wrapping a hand around the back of my neck and pulling me toward him. His mouth found mine, and I savored the taste of his sweet lips and the softness of his tongue. I wanted to melt into him. My hands moved up his sides and locked around his back as his kiss dropped from my lips and traced the line of my jaw and then found my neck.
I pulled back suddenly. “I’m sorry about everything. Not letting you explain, ignoring you, being rude to you. I’m so sorry,” I said, desperately needing him to understand. “I was terrified about what you’d told me, and all I could think about was that you’d kept it from me. It made me feel apart from you, like you’d kept me in the dark, and that just reminded me there was so much I didn’t know about you and where you come from and the entire universe. It scared me, you scared me. I was so stupid, though. I know you’d never...” I paused for a breath.
He held my face close to his and tenderly stroked my cheek. “It’s okay,” he began.
“It’s not okay,” I interrupted. “You gave me no reason not to trust you. You saved my life more than once, and you trusted me with your secret.” My voice grew sad. “And then I just walked away from you.”
He shook his head. “You had every right to. You were scared. I understand. The important thing is you’ve come back to me now.” He leaned in to kiss me again, but I spoke before his lips touched mine.
“Please don’t go,” I whispered.
“Where would I go?” he asked.
“The University ship. Back home. I can’t lose anyone else, especially you.”
“I am home,” he said. “And I’m not going any
where. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you, Autumn.”
It was okay. It was all okay. Grey was staying here with me. We were together again. I knew I should be happy, and part of me was, but the rest of me screamed for Sarah. She was really dead and had been for a year. The idea of her being alive had given me hope and motivation and a joy I’d held inside me like a candle. The warring emotions of grief over losing Sarah yet again and the happiness from being back in Grey’s arms tore at my insides. I swallowed hard to keep from crying.
Grey pulled me against him and held me firmly against his chest. I began to cry, about Sarah really being gone, about Grey, about Karl, about The Plague, everything. The harder I cried, the more release I felt. It was as if I was squeezing the sadness out. Tears rolled down my cheeks, streaking through the dried blood left from Arnett’s fingertips, washing it away.
It was as if the last several weeks of separation never happened. Grey and I were one again. He sat down on the bed and pulled me into his lap. He held me until I quieted. He looked happy and sad all at the same time.
“Can you take us somewhere?” I whispered.
“Of course.” He pulled his sweater back onto his shoulders and slipped his hand up from my back and into my hair, pulling my head back down to his chest. I closed my eyes.
A rush of cool air gusted through my hair, and when I opened my eyes, we were very high up and I could see the desert mountains all around us with no obstruction. My gaze widened with surprise, and I slowly broke away from Grey to look at the peak of the Eiffel Tower above us.
“Paris?” I guessed.
“Well, sort of,” he said. “It’s the best I can do right now. I figured we should stay close, just in case.”
We walked to the railing and looked down onto the tops of the hotels clustered around the base of the tower. We were still in Las Vegas. This wasn’t the real Eiffel Tower. This was a replica, built by one of the hotels to simulate the grandeur of the City of Lights.
I saw his hand on the railing near mine and took it. He stepped behind me and wrapped the open ends of his sweater around me, so I was inside it with him. I leaned back and let my head rest on his shoulder. The air felt crisp up here, and constant. I closed my eyes and let myself feel every contour of his warm body pressed against mine.