One Wish, One Choice

by Abby Hope Patrick

  Kano stared after his friend, “He’s batshit crazy.”

  Anja nudged him, “Faye’s gone inside. Do we follow?”

  He nodded.

  By the time they entered the apartment building, Faye was already disappearing up the long flight of stairs. They found her on the third floor, catching her breath outside an apartment. The door lay smashed on the ground before her, police tape slung across the gap where the door used to be. Beyond it, the apartment was demolished.

  They pushed the tape aside and slowly crept in.

  The living room was almost bare. Anja noticed a few framed paintings on the wall to her right. One of the paintings was of a man, his hands outstretched, light radiating off them. She looked closer and saw that the painted man’s eyes were glowing. He was a Sorcerer. Beneath the painting were pools of blood. Across the painting was freshly sprayed graffiti that said, “Sorcerers are scum.”

  Faye stormed into each room, dashing out after she discovered all of them to be empty. She emerged from the second to last room, with tears streaming down her sharp cheekbones. She dashed past them and out the door.

  “Faye!” Anja shouted at her retreating back. She tried to follow her but Kano grabbed her hand, pulling her back.

  “Leave her,” he whispered, letting go and looking back at the room Faye had left mere seconds before. Anja walked behind him as they entered the room. She gagged at what she saw.

  Two dark red pools stained the cream carpet, with more blood dotted on the ceiling and splattering the walls.

  Kano began backing out of the room, but Anja couldn’t move. Her legs were frozen. Kano paused in the doorway. She felt his hand in hers, slowly pulling her into the corridor.

  Her heart was pounding in her ears. Faye’s parents will never breathe again, never speak again, never laugh again. All because another human decided to take that away from them.

  They rushed out of the building, expecting to find Faye waiting for them. But only Miles was by the car, catching his breath.

  “Where is she?” Anja looked up and down the street, but there was no sign of her.

  “She came… running out… saw me and… ran off.” Miles panted.

  Kano walked towards the car. “We should leave too. If we’re not careful, we’ll be recognised. Faye can look after herself. She knows the way, when she’s ready she’ll come back to the barn.”

  They rushed into the car and headed back.

  * * *

  When Anja entered through the barn doors she was immediately confronted by Rufus.

  “You should’ve let me go!” he yelled.

  “I don’t care if you start shooting light out of your butt,” Anja shouted back, “I am still your older sister and I’m trying to keep you safe.”

  “I want to keep you safe too and I can do that better if I’m there!”

  “That isn’t your job Rufus! I am the oldest, it’s mine!”

  “Don’t you think it’s weird that I never told you about the article?” He snapped. “It’s because I knew you’d do this. You’d stop me, tell me it was too dangerous. I can make my own choices, sis.”

  Anja could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She fixed her eyes on his and lowered her voice so he couldn’t hear the shake in it, “Faye’s parents were just murdered. They were killed merely for supporting Sorcerers. I will not let the same happen to you.”

  Kano, who had been quietly observing the whole argument, cut in, “Your sister did the right thing. This wasn’t something that you should’ve been there for.”

  “But you guys were!” Rufus protested. “It’s always you guys. You get to do everything! Meanwhile, I’m left behind. Maybe if I’d been there, I could’ve helped.” He stormed off to rant to Miles.

  Saskia skipped over and looped her arm around Anja’s, “He’ll get over it.” She gave her a pitying smile.

  “Yeah, but before or after he does something stupid?” She paused. “Why did you choose to stay behind? If I’d been worried about him doing something reckless, I would’ve stayed.”

  Saskia let go of Anja’s arm and hopped onto the back of the old sofa. “Sometimes I don’t want to be the hero.” Anja went to sit next to her, “To be completely honest I used Rufus as an excuse not to go. I don’t enjoy running blindly into danger like the rest of you do. After everything that happened with my dad, I just want to be free to do what I want. I’m not as brave as the rest of you and I’m okay with that. It’s just hard to keep up sometimes.”

  The girls sat without talking until Anja broke the silence. “You’re brave,” she said.

  Saskia huffed, blowing out her cheeks, “What is bravery? Because you guys seem to be under the impression it’s running into crazy situations without understanding the consequences.”

  “I think bravery is different for everyone. For some, it’s keeping their mouth closed when it would be easier not to. For others, it’s speaking out when the world tells you to stay silent.” She stopped, taking a second to think. “Bravery is stepping up when it would be easier to stay hidden. To do something that scares you shitless because it’s what you believe is right.”

  “You’ve lost me,” she said. “Sometimes I think I’m the dumbest one here.” Her smile faded but quickly returned. “But then I talk to Miles.”

  The two girls sat there giggling together. Saskia leaned over to hug her. “Don’t let yourself get too caught up on revenge. You need to decide if it’s braver to fight or step away.” Saskia pulled back and left to go sit with Miles, who had been out of earshot for the whole conversation, listening to Rufus complain.

  Anja kept going over what Saskia had said. Would it be braver to forgive everyone who had a part in Rufus’s capture, or would it be braver to do something to get back at them?

  The group discussed going out to look for Faye but it was too big a risk and Kano was adamant that she could look after herself.

  That night Faye was left to fend for herself. Anja tried to stay up and wait for her, but in the end, she couldn’t wait any longer and fell asleep on the sofa.

  * * *

  The barn door screeched open, waking Anja from her light sleep. She pushed herself up from the sofa and watched as Faye crept into the bathroom that was attached to the main room. The sound of the shower turning on gave her time to wake up Saskia and tell her Faye was back.

  She was eating a stale protein bar when the bathroom door opened and Faye slipped into the room. She glanced at Anja, then strode out of the barn. Anja rushed after her.

  The sun was rising and the air was humid. Faye was wearing a tank top that had a lowered back. Anja caught a glimpse of lines of black ink covering Faye’s back.

  “What happened to you last night?”

  Faye pretended she couldn’t hear.

  Anja ran up to her and examined the tattoo more closely. The design was of two mountains with a river surrounding them. The tattoo was simple, drawn in thin black lines. The skin around it was red, irritated, and slightly swollen.

  “What is that?”

  Saskia stood next to Anja, looking at the tattoo.

  “A river. It’s the translation of my family’s surname,” Faye explained.

  “Why did you get a tattoo?” Saskia asked.

  “The pain helps me think.” She glared at them. “Stop looking at me like I’m a lost puppy.”

  She turned and marched away.

  “Should we say something to her about her parents?” Anja asked Saskia.

  “Better if we let her grieve by herself. Knowing Faye, she wouldn’t want us to mention it. But I’ll chat with her later. You definitely shouldn’t talk to her about personal matters, unless you want to lose a hand.”

  The two girls went back inside, leaving Faye to do whatever it was Faye did to grieve.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Inside the barn, Kano was talking to Jabez on the burner phone while the others had breakfast. Anja sat down at the table next to Rufus. She leaned in to quietly ask him what the call was a
bout.

  “They’re sorting out safety for their families. Kano won’t let what happened to Faye’s parents happen again.”

  Kano spoke into the phone, “I don’t care that it wasn’t your fault, you should’ve told us the second you knew about what was taking place.”

  He was on the phone for some time. His deep voice sometimes argued with Jabez about certain security measures and then the next was agreeing with whatever was being said.

  Anja hadn’t realised that she was staring at him until Rufus knocked her arms out from under her chin and she fell forward onto the table.

  “If you’re going to stare,” he said loudly, “be less obvious about it.”

  Anja glared at her brother, then up at Kano, whose mouth was drawn into a small smile as he continued to talk on the phone, his eyes looking everywhere but at Anja.

  He heard, she thought, mortified.

  Kano finished the call and placed the phone on the table. Then he joined the group and went back over the floor plans of the Husington Tower to make sure everyone knew what door they’d be using to get in. The security cameras wouldn’t be a problem as long as Anja did her job right.

  Miles was busy getting their bags packed. He wasn’t very good at this and kept going to Saskia to double-check everything. She would nod, kiss him on the cheek and then send him back, only for him to return a few minutes later with more questions.

  They left Faye alone for the rest of the day. She spent most of her time either in her room or out in the woods. Anja had locked eyes with her on one of her few trips out and had regretted it almost straight away. Faye seemed to crumble the second their eyes locked. Her eyes weren’t red, and there was no indication that she’d been crying. But Anja recognised the loss, she’d experienced it herself. It took time to learn how to carry it. It never completely went away. Instead, you just learned how to bare it.

  * * *

  Later in the day, Rufus finally called Willow to update her on all that had happened. Kano had checked with Jabez that the phone would be secure talking to her, as they didn’t want it being traced. But he’d assured them that it was fine. No one would pay attention to a random number calling a random girl.

  On the second attempt, she picked up.

  “Hey little W, it’s Rufus. Yeah I know, it’s been a while.” His voice cracked and he wiped his nose on the sleeve of his top. “I’m so sorry. A lot has happened since I left.” Anja knew not to interrupt him. “I’ll explain everything, you just need to listen.”

  He told her about how he was taken on the train and held captive. He skipped describing the details of his imprisonment and went straight to the part where Anja broke him out. “It was insane! She was like some sort of superhero that day, holding guards at gunpoint and stealing ID cards.” He spoke like an excited child as he explained how they’d been shot at and escaped. He also included something about a high-speed car chase, which Anja knew he’d added for embellishment.

  After Rufus had finished on the phone with Willow, Miles called his family.

  Anja noticed Faye heading out of the barn and rose to follow her.

  “Faye, wait!” she called, “I need to talk to you about something.”

  Faye spun around, huffing, but she didn’t walk away.

  Anja didn’t know how to start. She’d been thinking about this conversation all day but now, in the moment, her brain had decided to freeze.

  “When we were at your parents’ house,” she said at last. Faye glared. “I saw the paintings on the wall.”

  “What do you want me to say?” Faye snapped. She looked into the distance. “My parents are Sorcerer supporters, that’s why they were killed,” A moment’s silence as she breathed in. “But they don’t just support them. They worship them.”

  “Oh.” Anja began fiddling with her sleeves, unsure of what to say next. She hadn’t thought about a Sorcerer religion before. But it seemed plausible, people are drawn to power and those who hold it. “Is that why you moved out?”

  “They wanted me to join the religion. I love my parents but I wanted a choice in my life and the only way I could get that freedom was to move out.”

  “How old were you?”

  “Fifteen.” Anja had a sudden urge to hug Faye. Her voice was scarily steady as she continued, “I’ve made my own decisions in life and I don’t want to be judged for the choices my parents made.”

  Anja nodded.

  Something changed in Faye’s face. “I know you have questions about what’s happening with your brother. I don’t know how the fuck his powers work. But I do know a few things about Sorcerers.” She took a slow breath in, obviously not wanting to finish the sentence. “So, if you have questions, I might know a few answers.”

  “Thank you.”

  * * *

  The next morning, they woke up before the sun had fully risen to give them time to pack up the last few things in the barn before leaving.

  “Goodbye you very useful, broken down, piece of rubbish,” Miles said as he shut the doors.

  The journey was worse than the trip to the Information Centre because Miles and Rufus kept trying to harmonise with each other’s bad singing. When Faye finally snapped, she spun around from the front seat and yelled over the singing, “If you two idiots don’t shut up, I will cut out your tongues.”

  Miles got a mischievous glint in his eyes and sang, “Howwww are you going to do tha-at?”

  In one swift movement, Faye pulled a small knife from her boot and jabbed in their direction. Instantly the two boys fell silent, and that was how they remained for the rest of the journey.

  The plan that Jabez had helped them form, was to take the train to Mooran, a small town some way outside Okland. It was full of government offices and was where the Husington Tower stood. Waiting for them there would be a safe house, owned by one of Jabez’s trusted guards.

  They parked the car in a quiet alley and headed towards the station. They couldn’t risk having the stolen car’s plates tracked to Mooran. They’d weighed up the dangers against the positives of taking the train, but in the end, it was the quickest option.

  As a precaution, they were going to split into groups to decrease the chance of being recognised. They had appeared in lots of news reports recently and didn’t want to risk it. Anja and Rufus set off towards the station first, followed by Faye and Saskia, then the two boys.

  The train journey had a huge number of stops on the way. With each change of passengers, Anja grew even more anxious about being recognised.

  An old lady caught Anja’s eye on the last stop and wouldn’t break it until Anja got up to leave. The lady followed them off the train but disappeared into the crowd quickly.

  They were going to meet the others near a post office, a ten-minute walk away.

  They began moving, quickly making their way towards the exit. Occasionally Anja would glimpse the others through the crowd. She had tuned the burner phone into the platform’s police radio. She had earphones in so she could hear any chatter. The police radio picked up when they were in sight of the door. “The fugitives have been spotted. All patrols head to the door.”

  Anja shouted as loud as she could.

  “Run!”

  They bolted for the door. The others heard her and began sprinting.

  Out of the corner of her eye she could see police shoving their way through the crowd to get to them. They exited the station through the doors within seconds of each other, Anja and Rufus running in a different direction to the others.

  Shouts could be heard following them as they ran. The officers were yelling through their radios, their breathing ragged. People stood and stared as they ran through the streets. They were slowly losing them, but before they could turn into a backstreet the police began shooting. The bullets hit the wall above their heads and lumps of brick rained down as they skidded to the right and carried on running.

  Rufus led the way. Anja didn’t dare look over her shoulder. The bullets had stopped but she could
hear shots being fired in the distance.

  They hadn’t lost the police completely, but they had put some distance between them.

  Anja’s heart was pumping. Her feet were moving too fast underneath her. Her foot skidded on the ground, pulling the other with it.

  She buckled forward, slamming into the ground.

  Rufus spun around, grabbing his sister’s hand and pulling her to her feet.

  They kept going until they saw the small post office and the side alley where they would meet the others. They entered the alley, which was completely deserted.

  “Anja, stop it, I’m fine,” Rufus protested as Anja searched him for injuries. “You’re the one that nose-dived into the ground.” She pulled Rufus’s arm out and checked his watch.

  “They should be here by now!”

  “Well, being shot at does tend to make people late.” He sucked in a breath. “Who do you think recognised us?”

  “There was this lady on the train who wouldn’t stop staring. She got off at the same stop as us, so I’m guessing it was her.”

  Rufus eyed her. “Are you referring to the sweet old granny who was sat across from you?”

  “Yeah… what a bitch,” Anja spat.

  Suddenly Faye appeared at the end of the alley. She was quickly followed by Saskia, her face clouded with exhaustion.

  “I need to get fitter,” she panted, fanning out her t-shirt as she leant against the wall.

  Another set of gunshots rang out a few streets away. Everyone jumped, all of them refusing to say what was running through their minds. They waited quietly for the others to appear.

  Finally, Kano ran into the alley panting hard. Anja rushed towards him and wrapped her arms around him.

  “You’re okay,” she sighed into his shoulder.

  “Are you?” Anja nodded at his question, not that he could see.

  They slowly pulled apart. Kano stared around the small alley. “I lost Miles a few minutes ago.”

  Saskia pushed away from the wall abruptly, “You what?” She ran her fingers through her curly hair.