by Valerie Puri
She might not even like the forest. Sure, she was good at climbing the ladder to her hayloft, but she might not enjoy living off the ground in the trees. They were still young and had time to figure out their future, whether it be together or apart. He hoped it was together… assuming they lived that long. First, they had to figure out a way to destroy the lemeron hoard.
He took Jennie by the hand. Her fingers were icy, and her palm clammy. Leaving her home was obviously hard on her. Bringing her hand to his lips, he kissed it. He felt her fingers intertwined with his relax.
They rounded the corner of a building, and there it was. The south wall. He didn’t have to live here to know which direction they were headed. He was a ranger trained by his father. Navigating unfamiliar landscapes was what he did.
The only time he ever got disoriented was after the lemeron attacked him in the terrible storm. That was the night that changed his life. That was when he found the Commune and what lead him to Jennie.
“Do we climb over?” Ethan asked.
“Goodness, no. That would be too hard.”
“What? I did it once before, and that was with a bad arm.”
Jennie nudged him with her shoulder. “You don’t have to brag,” she teased. “Why climb when you can go through?”
“I don’t see a door.”
“It’s hidden behind those bushes.”
Jennie pointed to a cluster of thorny shrubs climbing up the wall.
“I’ll admit, it’s definitely easier than climbing over,” Ethan said.
They edged through a narrow gap between two of the bushes. Ethan wriggled like a worm to avoid being jabbed by the thorns. Despite his efforts, he didn’t make it through without being snagged and poked a few times. Jennie was petite and didn’t seem to be bothered at all by the pesky bushes.
The arched door was nearly as tiny as she was. Metal straps reinforced the planks. The metal had rusted from the weather, leaving orange streaks running down the grey wood.
Jennie fumbled with the rusty metal barring the door shut.
As tall and sturdy as their wall was, it had its weaknesses. This disintegrating piece of wood was one of them.
Finally wriggling the bar loose, she slid it back and pushed the door. She stepped through the narrow crevice. Ethan followed, passing under the massive structure. The wall was at least three times as thick as the door was wide. When they both passed through, Jennie shoved the door shut. A metallic clank followed.
“There,” Jennie said. “The old lock still works.”
“It locks automatically behind you? How do you get back inside?”
Jennie dusted off her hands. “We used to have people stand guard at the doors. But now that no one ever leaves, we don’t need anyone waiting around to open them back up.”
“How many of these entrances to the Commune do you have?” Ethan asked.
“Four. One for each direction.”
“Let’s hope the lemerons don’t find the north one.”
Jennie shot him a worried look.
Damn it. I should be more careful with my words.
She was risking a lot coming with him. He didn’t want to add to her worry about everyone she was leaving behind.
Beyond the wall, this was a strange land for her. He was at home amongst the trees that crept right up to the wall.
Ethan took a deep breath, filling his nostrils with the scent of pine needles and damp underbrush. It smelled like home.
“Oh, that smell,” he said. “You can’t pick up the lemeron’s odor from here.”
Jennie’s chest rose as she took a deep breath.
“That’s good, it means we’re safe, at least for now.”
“At least for now.” Ethan agreed. “We should get moving. We want to put as much distance between us and the wall before it gets dark.”
Ethan took the lead, heading southwest to put distance between them and the wall. They would continue in that direction for about a mile, then circle around until they were heading north towards his home.
The leaves on the trees had turned bright yellow, orange, and red. They blended together to create a tapestry of warm colors. When the wind blew, the branches looked like the flickering flames of a fire. The carpet of freshly fallen leaves cushioned their path.
Without debris covering the ground, he could easily spot protruding roots and fallen branches. They were now camouflaged. He was sure-footed and accustomed to walking on uneven terrain, but Jennie wasn’t. By taking the lead, he would let her know of any dangers - his toe bumped into a protruding root - like that.
“Watch your step,” he said over his shoulder.
He glanced back, making sure Jennie missed the root. Stepping cautiously, she avoided it.
When Ethan focused again on the path in front of him, he froze, his breath catching in his throat. Instinctively, his hand snapped to the dagger on his belt. He ripped it free of its sheath, brandishing it in front of him.
A lone lemeron in tattered rags shambled toward them. Its mouth hung open, exposing blackened teeth.
The lemeron noticed their presence and released a crackly growl. The sound sent an icy chill through Ethan’s entire body.
Jennie gasped. He was more afraid for her than he was for himself. He had to protect her, no matter the cost.
“Stay behind me. No matter what, don’t let it bite you.”
Seven
Jennie
Jennie fished in her bag for something, anything, that she could use as a weapon. Her fingers wrapped around a little metal rod with a bent tip. A hoof pick.
The lemeron’s crackling shriek sent shivers through her body. The creature advanced with startling speed. It stumbled over the roots snaking across the forest floor. For a shambling corpse, it was agile.
Its yellow eyes locked on to her. That rabid stare made her shudder. The last time she laid eyes upon a lemeron was when a few of them killed her mother. That was something she never wanted to remember.
Now this one was out to kill her, too.
Trembling, she brandished the hoof pick in front of her. The lemeron reached out and slashed the air as it charged.
Her fingers turned to pudding. The metal pick fell to the ground with a soft thump. She staggered back, her heel catching on a root. She fell to the ground, her body cracking against the rock-laden earth. Pain seared through her, but fear drowned out the sensation.
She scrambled away, kicking leaves up with the effort.
The lemeron craned its head in a stiff circle and leapt at her with bared teeth.
Jennie screamed. She threw her arms up to cover her head, just as her mother had done.
“I told you to stay behind me!”
Ethan ran into the lemeron, smashing into its side while it was still airborne. The creature’s arms flailed as it crashed into a nearby tree. Ethan rushed it before it could recover. With his knife, he sliced through its neck. Jennie cringed at the sound of metal scraping against bone. She looked away as Ethan continued to saw through the lemeron’s neck.
It screeched again, then let out a gurgling sound. She heard two distinct thuds on the leaf-covered dirt.
Looking back over at the tree, Jennie saw the lemeron’s body lying motionless on the ground, its head a few feet away.
Ethan’s back was to her. His shoulders rose and fell rapidly as he panted from the effort of the attack. He turned to face her.
Jennie’s hands shot to her mouth.
He was covered in the creature's brown blood. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought he was covered in mud. But she knew better. He was dripping wet with lemeron gore. He wiped his knife clean on his sleeve and sheathed it in his belt.
His nose scrunched in disgust as he examined his hands. He wiped them on his pants.
“Why didn’t you stay behind me?”
The harshness in his voice startled Jennie. His green eyes bored into her.
“I…” her voice trailed off.
She felt sick to her stomach. She f
altered. She almost died… or worse. She couldn’t even protect herself.
Jennie didn’t know what to say. It all happened so fast. After everything she’d been through and how she always fought to survive, she froze. Everything she was melted away until all that was left was fear. The lemeron almost killed her. If Ethan hadn’t been with her…
Her hands shook. She looked at her trembling fingers, the fingers that betrayed her. When it mattered most, she dropped the only thing she had that could be called a weapon.
“Hey, it’s all right.” Ethan’s voice softened.
He crouched beside her. His emerald eyes filled with concern.
“I’m sorry if I came off too harsh. I was just worried. If anything happens to you out here…” He shook his head. “I could never forgive myself. I’m angry with myself, not you. I almost failed you.”
Jennie furrowed her brow.
“What do you mean?”
“I swore I would protect you and that lemeron nearly got you. I almost failed.”
Jennie looked back at her hands. They were still shaking. She barely made it a hundred feet from the wall, and at the first real danger, she became a coward.
“No, you saved me. I failed myself,” she choked out.
Ethan took her hands in his. His skin was sticky with the lemeron’s clumpy blood.
He helped her up to her feet. She brushed the dead leaves off her pants as she tried to steady her nerves.
You can do this. Don’t give in to the fear.
Ethan brushed a strand of hair from her face. “You don’t have to come with me, you can still go back inside your wall where it's safe.”
“It’s not safe for me anywhere. Better I go with you than stay behind for Sash to attack me again.”
“Then stay close. We need to move faster than originally planned. The last thing we want is to run into more of those.” He gestured with his thumb to the dead lemeron.
He trotted into the woods. Jennie took a deep breath.
You can do this.
She jogged after Ethan, going deeper into the woods than she ever had before.
Eight
Marlene
The lemerons were fast, but she was faster. Marlene escaped the hoard at the wall, but some gave chase. Her back stung from the deep scratches their claws left. Her skin would heal, and her leather armor could be mended, but it would never be as strong again.
The shredded leather hung like ribbons trailing behind her as she leapt from branch to branch. Lemerons couldn’t climb, so she was safe as long as she remained in the tree canopy. Beneath her, the grey creatures followed like a rushing river snaking along the ground.
She had to lose them. If they continued their pursuit, she risked leading them right to the other’s settlement, Arborville. To her son. She gave him up to keep him safe. She would be damned if she knowingly brought more lemerons to him.
With the growing number of monsters approaching the Commune, many had to pass right by Arborville. The lemerons may have already attacked them. For all she knew, he could be dead already.
Marlene leapt to another branch. The impact of her landing causing it to shudder. It cracked beneath her feet. She tried to grab hold of another limb to brace herself, but the one she stood on gave way. It was falling, and she with it. Plummeting to the ground would mean certain death. The lemerons swarmed beneath her, hungry for her flesh.
For nearly two hundred years, she had evaded them. This was not the end. Not for her. Not today. She jumped from the falling limb. Reaching out, she grabbed at the tree. Her hands gripped the stub of the broken branch. Her body slammed into the trunk of the tree, knocking the breath out of her. Her back stung as she strained to hang on.
The tree limb crashed to the ground, crushing a lemeron beneath it.
Good. One less to worry about.
Hanging with her hands above her head was excruciating. The skin on her back stretched, pulling the fresh gashes open. She cringed and pulled herself up. Pain surged across her skin as the cuts threatened to tear further.
She kicked her foot out, trying to find purchase. Finally, her toe caught hold of a low branch. Using it as leverage to push herself up, she climbed the trunk of the tree like a four-legged spider. Each movement sent more pain shooting through her back.
It was too much. She needed to rest or she wouldn’t heal. Her injuries would only get worse. Exhaling, she eased herself onto a sturdy branch. She gingerly reclined against the tree. She needed rest.
She slowed her breathing. Marlene’s heart beat in time with her throbbing pain. Low moans from the lemerons rose from the ground. She was high enough now that they would lose her scent. They were growing placid. Soon they would disperse, seeking others of their kind.
Is it wrong to wish for them to go to the Commune and leave me alone?
As an Elder, it was Marlene’s job to lead and protect her people. She gave up everything for the sake of the Commune. Her self-serving thoughts were justified. For once, she would do something for herself. She would put herself first and find her son. Only then would she help the others.
She closed her eyes, letting the low groans of the lemerons lull her to sleep.
When she opened her eyes again, she felt like a new person. Stretching out her arms, she shrugged the sleep from her shoulders like a loose cloak. Moving didn’t hurt any longer. It felt good. The new patches of skin on her back itched. She enjoyed the scratch as she rubbed her back against the tree trunk.
Completely healed and rested, she was ready to continue her journey. The lemerons were gone. Having grown idle and forgetting their prey, they moved on. The pull of the hoard at the wall proved too strong for them. They longed for it. It was like being pulled into a state of pure ecstasy.
Marlene felt it, too. It was always there, a tuneless song humming in the back of her head. Now that she left the confines of the Commune, it had grown louder. She wanted to be a part of it, but the source would kill her.
The hum came from each lemeron. If she sought it out, as they did, they would tear her apart limb from limb. To them, she was another human to devour. They lacked the capacity to understand how much like them she really was.
So, she pushed all thoughts of the song from her mind. It was just something that was there. Like the wind rustling the leaves, or the birds chirping among the trees. The farther she got, the quieter the song would become. The pull on her would weaken.
Jumping from the tree, she landed on the ground in a crouching position. Without pausing, she broke into a run. It was much faster traveling on the ground. It took too long leaping from branch to branch. At this rate, she would reach Arborville by the next day.
Nine
Sash
“You meant nothing to Victor. You were just a tool he used to get the job done,” Isaac leaned against the wall, keeping one of the metal tables between him and Sash.
“No, you’re wrong,” Sash gripped his head.
His skull was still pounding from whatever the curly-haired girl injected him with. Isaac’s lies didn’t help.
“Victor was my mentor. He always looked after me. He supported me more than anyone.”
“And he used you,” Isaac stated flatly.
“No!” Sash grabbed the metal table between them and heaved, toppling it over. It crashed against the floor.
Goggles jumped with a start and slunk out of the room like the weakling he was. He went into his office and shut the door. It didn’t matter. Sash would deal with him later.
He was sick of the deceit, the lies. Isaac was out to seize control of the Order, and to do that he needed Victor out of the way. Sash wouldn’t let him get away with it.
“I didn’t have to come back here, but I did. I left of my own free will and I came back of my own free will. You know what’s at stake here, Sash. This is bigger than you and me.”
He looked into Isaac’s brown eyes, framed with dark bruises.
“Victor got careless. He went after the wrong people. Bec
ause of that, he exposed us all. Everyone knows about the Order now. Marlene made sure of that when she outed Victor to the entire population of the Commune. Those of us present tried to cast doubt over her claims, but too many undesirables spoke up to support her.”
“What?” Sash was stunned. “Marlene did that? She’s never spoken out against Victor. She’s not one of us, but why would she go against her fellow elder?”
Isaac smiled. “Now you’re using your head, Sash. She has a motive that is unclear to us. Given time, we’ll expose what it is and destroy it… along with her.”
It was Sash’s turn to smile. Elder or not, if Marlene turned out to be an undesirable, he would enjoy bagging her.
“I can see that pleases you. Good. But you should know, she’s out of our reach right now. She fled beyond the wall, claiming there are others out there who can help us.”
Sash furrowed his brow. “There’s no one left alive out there.”
Isaac cleared his throat. “Yes, that is what we all understand as the truth. And what we must continue to teach.”
Sash nodded slowly. Why would she spread such lies? If there were people living outside the wall, why would they even be willing to help her?
“Wait. You said she went to find help? Help with what?”
“You’re smarter than Victor gives you credit for, Sash.”
Sash opened his mouth to comment, then frowned. That sounded like a compliment, but at the same time, Isaac made it seem like Victor didn’t think much of him.
“Marlene claims there are many lemerons gathering at the wall,” Isaac went on. “She blames Victor for it because he’s been creating dociles. The lemerons are drawn to each other, and also to the dociles we have here. These are her claims. It’s all baseless. There’s no evidence that lemerons are attracted to each other like a magnet to metal.”
These thoughts made the pounding in Sash’s head intensify. He couldn’t think clearly.
“What does this have to do with Victor using me?” Sash grumbled, losing his patience.