by D. S. Murphy
With the long sword at her side, not to mention the bullet hole under her collar, she looked terrible and dangerous. And she was hungry, I could tell. Unease flickered in my mind. Should we really even be walking into a rebel hideout with a hungry elite in tow?
“She’s got a point,” I said. “If we show up with her like that, they’ll have a heart attack.”
“Fine,” Trevor said. “Ten minutes.”
Trevor stood guard out by the front as I followed Penelope into the building, stepping carefully through the broken glass. It was a large warehouse, with steel rafters, mostly just a shell of bricks. One corner was completely eaten up by weeds and bushes. A large tree had fallen through the roof, and was fostering dozens of large, bright orange mushrooms.
I turned my flashlight on, covering it with my sleeve to block the light, so it was just barely bright enough to see with. I cast it left to right as we cut up the rows of empty hangers. I jumped when it illuminated a hand, reaching up as if for help, but it was just a plastic mannequin with half its face smashed in. A family of snails had built a nest where the eyes should have been.
“Back here,” Penelope’s voice called from the darkness. A shiver crawled down my spine. I hadn’t forgotten Penelope attacking me, less than a week ago. I had to keep my guard up. What if this was just a trap to lure me alone? I hated that I couldn’t trust her.
Penelope was jiggling the handle of a locked door to a small office in the back. It was all banged up and the handle bent at a strange angle. I grabbed a fire extinguisher, and slammed it against the door handle until it snapped.
Penelope kicked the door open, and the loud screech of metal on metal made my skin crawl. Inside the cramped space, one wall was filled with drawers and shelves of merchandise, many still in shipping packages and sealed with plastic.
I held the light for Penelope as she tried things on, viewing her reflection in a cracked standing mirror.
“Remember the last time we tried on dresses together?” Penelope asked.
“My wedding dress,” I said. “God that seems like years ago.”
“Literally another lifetime,” Penelope said. “And now look at us.”
“Better yet... don’t,” she said, frowning at her reflection in the mirror. “Try this one.”
She tossed me a pile of garments. Even in the dim light I could tell the colors were faded, but they were cleaner than what I was wearing, and warmer.
Penelope was taller than me, and thinner, but she managed to find some things to try on as well. In the end I went with jeans, a long dark jacket, and purple sweater with a colorful rainbow made of heart rhinestones.
“This looks like something King Richard would have made us wear for the testing,” I said.
“Where do you think he got his fashion sense from?” she smirked.
Penelope stripped off her top and ducked into a yellow polkadot dress with frilly sleeves, and a black blouse. She completed the look with a wide-brimmed hat and dark sunglasses.
“You’re still too exposed,” I said, frowning at her bare legs and neck. I stepped closer, using scrap of fabric to wipe the dried blood off her chest.
She sucked in a sharp breath, leaning away quickly.
“You can, if you want to,” I said, looking up at her.
“I’m okay,” she said, her hands pressed against the wall behind her as if she was trying to move as far away as possible.
“There’s no sense in holding out. You need to feed. The longer you don’t, the less control you’ll have. Plus, I don’t want you going feral in a rebel camp. With any luck, we won’t have to chain you this time.”
“Maybe you should.”
“I know you need it. Better to do it now while you’re still in control enough to stop.”
“But… what if I can’t?”
“You can. But if you don’t, then I’ll shove this coat hanger up your ass. How’s that sound?”
“Unpleasant,” she said.
I held out my arm and pushed up my sleeve. She frowned at the red gash across my wrist. The wound had closed, but was still visible against my pale skin.
“Sorry,” I blushed, raising my other arm.
She latched on, and I felt warmth spreading through my arm at first, a relaxing calm. But then it started to feel cold, so cold it burned. I winced and she released me suddenly, licking the blood off her bottom lip.
“Thanks,” she said.
“Let’s not tell Trevor about this,” I said, covering my arms again.
“Our secret,” Penelope promised. We headed back towards the entrance, but stopped by a rack holding accessories by the cashier.
Penelope grabbed a handful of plastic bracelets and necklaces and wiped them off until they gleamed.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m going out into the wilds, for the first time in my life. When the Europeans discovered the Americas, they bought thousands of acres for a handful of pretty beads. Who’s to say these won’t be worth something?”
I hadn’t heard that history. Seems strange someone would trade land for plastic beads.
I rolled my eyes as she tried on necklaces, then snapped bracelets and bangles up her arms before holding a few up for me.
“Fine, whatever,” I said, letting her drape some costume jewelry around my neck. She squealed as she found a purple feather boa and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“Is this how people dressed, in the Before?”
“I think this is all the shit they didn’t want,” Penelope said. I jumped as a plastic display fell behind me, disturbing a vicious little possum that hissed at us before darting into the shadows.
“Shit, this place gives me the creeps,” I said, moving towards the exit.
Trevor was waiting for us outside. His eyes widened when we strolled out in our new outfits.
“You can’t be serious,” he said. “You can’t hide in that.”
“Who said anything about hiding?” Penelope said, tossing the boa over her shoulder. “This is called making an entrance.”
“You said we’re close, right? It’s just for now, until we find something better. It’s soft, it’s clean... let us have this.”
“Fine,” he nodded. “You’re both nuts.”
“I need some elixir,” I said, after we’d been walking another hour.
“We’re almost there,” Trevor said.
“Just one drop. I can’t feel my toes.”
“I’m sure it’s those boots.”
He looked back at me, studying my face. I was sure I was paler than usual. Penelope hadn’t taken much blood, but I felt weak and shaky. I wasn’t sure if it was from blood loss or the thirst, or just from eating garbage and walking for miles over rough terrain. All of the above, most likely.
“Maybe, but still. I don’t want to roll into town like a zombie. We don’t know what we’re facing. There might be trouble. Plus, it’s all mine anyway, you know. I don’t have to ask you.”
Trevor turned back suddenly, his eyes fierce. I was sure he was going to rip into me, but he squeezed his hand into a fist and took a deep breath, that sounded way too loud in the darkness of the forest. Ash fell lightly around his broad shoulders. He hadn’t shaved in days, and dark circles made his eyes look feverish.
“You’re right,” he said finally. “You don’t.”
He watched me dig out my last vial of elixir and shake it. There was still at least a drop left, maybe two. I just needed a little taste to tide me over.
“We’ll split it,” I said, knowing Trevor must be feeling the drain as well. He’d lost who knew how much blood at Fanno Creek.
“How do you suppose we do that?” he asked with a smirk.
I turned the vial over quickly, holding the top with my finger. With one drop of elixir on my finger, I carefully tucked the vial away with my other hand.
I held my finger up to my lips and licked it clean, but kept my mouth open so
it stayed on the tip of my tongue. Then I leaned forward, mouth open, to Trevor. I wasn’t thinking when I did it. It was something silly we might have done when we were kids, sharing the last bite of hard candy.
But when his tongue touched mine, and his arm gripped around the small of my back pulling me closer, I realized I hadn’t thought this through. Trevor’s kiss deepened. He’d kissed me before, just before I was chosen, but never like this. I wasn’t sure if it was just the elixir on my tongue, lighting my body on fire, or... something else. The musky smell, the way his soft stubble tickled my chin, his firm body against mine. I closed my eyes, kissing him back, until Penelope coughed into her fist a few paces away.
My palms were against Trevor’s chest and I pushed him away quickly. Trevor had a satisfied smile on his face, and my cheeks were red. Still, I didn’t entirely regret the kiss. Where would I be if not for Trevor? I’d lost count of the times we’d saved each other.
We stood for a moment in the shadows of the tall round cedars, which blocked out most of the falling ash. I was about to step forward again, when a crossbow bolt embedded in the tree next to my head.
I whirled around, just as someone tackled me from behind, rolling me over in the dirt and shoving a dagger in my face.
“Oh fuck,” Jazmine said, her dark curls hanging over me. “It’s just you.”
24
Jazmine offered me a hand up.
“It’s all clear guys, it’s just Em. Wearing something ridiculous. Honestly, what are you doing out here dressed like that.”
“I told them,” Trevor said with a grin.
“Why aren’t you inside?” I asked.
“The girls figured we should wait for you, all go in together.”
“Plus we haven’t been here long. we had to go the long way, saw a patrol of royal guards, blocking the roads, had to cut cross country for a few miles.”
“Luke got attacked by a goose,” Camina said.
“It was huge,” he grumbled, looking sheepish.
“Whatever, we’re all here now. How do we get inside?”
“This way,” Luke said, leading up the hill.
We couldn’t see the hideout until it was right in front of us. First we had to wade through the strong current of a wide river, then hike through a narrow passage of canyon, climbing over massive logs that had fallen inside. The final section was barely wide enough to squeeze through, I could touch both sides of the canyon walls if I stretched out my hands, and the water came up to my neck. Jazmine had to dogpaddle forward, since she couldn’t even touch the bottom. None of us really knew how to swim, but we were familiar with the concept of drowning and it didn’t appeal to us. At least the canyon blocked out most of the ash, but halfway in it started raining, large, heavy drops.
I’d always liked the rain. The air tasted fresh and cool; it was a rare afternoon when you could take your shirt off and lift your face to the sky – instead of the burning, poisonous ash you’d just get wet. The water wasn’t exactly safe to drink. Dad had taught me on a few rare excursions outside the fence that we’d never told mom about, never to drink running water after a rainstorm, because it was more poisonous than usual. The only potable water came straight up from the earth, as close to the spring as possible, or after white water rapids, and even then, it should be boiled.
“You know the elite can swim, right?” I asked, thinking back to the public swimming pool we’d seen in Fanno Creek. “Everyone could swim, before.”
“Or they could just jump over the whole damn river.”
“Yeah, but they hate to get their fancy clothes wet,” Luke responded.
I conceded there was probably some truth to that. The elite were slow to react, they moved quickly but never without purpose. They’d have to really want something before going out of their way or sacrificing their own personal comfort to get it.
If they got wet, out in the wild, it would slow them down, make them uncomfortable and vulnerable, not as immaculately smooth and polished as they usually were.
“I can hear you, you know,” Penelope said behind me. I’d almost forgotten she was with us. I turned back to see her shivering, holding the ends of her dark dress up against her mouth.
“Well you might feel differently if you actually had any fancy clothes,” I teased. “And didn’t look like a ransom note made from a fashion magazine.”
“Speak for yourself, and for the record, I think I look great.” She spun in her ensemble, almost tripping on the loose stones.
“This isn’t another mine, is it?” Camina asked, as we walked single file through the narrow canyon. “I’ve got a thing about tight spaces.”
“Relax,” Luke said. “It’s open. You’ll see.”
At the last section, the water was too deep and we had to swim. It was fresh water from the mountains, I could tell because of how cold it was, and even my teeth were chattering when we made it to the other side, where a tall waterfall pounded into the rock with such force and noise we had to shout.
“This way,” Luke said, pointing up the rock face. We had to scale, in our wet, slippery shoes, a few dozen feet before finding a path that cut between the rock. The trail led through a narrow crevice before widening into a valley, surrounded by tall cliffs and old growth trees so thick they towered over us. The valley itself was surrounded by a tall wooden fence made of sharpened pikes.
“This is impressive,” Trevor said, wiping water from his brow. “You wouldn’t know it was up here unless you were looking for it.”
Luke frowned, looking out over the property.
“This is all new,” he said. “It used to just be my uncle’s cabin. You could barely see it through trees, even if you were standing right next to it.”
“Seems like they’ve updated their security.”
“Wait, this is your uncle’s place?”
“It is, or was. Honestly I don’t know what we’re walking into. My uncle’s always been a bit weird, but I haven’t seen him for years, and I don’t know who else is in there with him.”
“Will Penelope be safe with us?” Trevor asked.
“They aren’t just going to let her in,” Luke said, “like they did at the Crollust or Sezomp. They might lock her up again, or worse.”
“Maybe I should just wait outside,” she said.
“No,” I said. “If Jacob is in there, he’ll recognize her. She got executed for helping the rebels. She didn’t ask to be turned. Whatever we decide to do next, she’s coming with us. They might as well get used to her now.”
Trevor nodded, then approached the gate warily. I heard a shot whiz past my ear and looked up to see half a dozen archers in metal helmets, pointing crossbows at us. A flaming arrow hit the ground right in front of Trevor’s foot, sending up a shower of sparks.
“That’s far enough!” a voice shouted. “State your purpose.”
Trevor raise his hands, but Luke just pushed past him.
“This is my family’s land,” he said. “It’s you who are trespassing, and I don’t recognize you. Get my uncle, Sam Notting. Tell him Luke’s here.”
“Or Jacob if he’s in there,” I added. “We were in Havoc when it was breached.”
I didn’t tell them it was all my fault.
We stood outside as the rain gathered in puddles around us, huddling under the heavy boughs of pine, the air thick with the scent of fresh sap and wet earth. Finally we heard chains and a large section of the tall gate lowered into a bridge.
“Keep your hands where we can see them,” one of the men called.
More than a few eyebrows were raised by Penelope and I. She kept her head down and eyes lowered. The men at the gate stared at the sharp, angular patterns on my hands and the curved sword I’d stolen off the royal guard. The rain had cleansed our skin, and the cold stripped it of color, which made the birthmarks stand out like red arrows.
I wasn’t as infamous here as I had been in the compounds, but it seemed people recogni
zed me anyway, at least by reputation.
They searched us and collected our weapons, which weren’t much, but I hated to arrive defenseless.
The space inside the fence was small, but not crowded. Long wide tents and hastily constructed shelters of log and wood surrounded one main cabin that looked older, and even it wasn’t much, just a square box with a small door. The roofs were made of bark and covered with broken bits of glass, probably to keep the embers from lighting the bark on fire.
There was a large well, or more like a circular rock wall, blocking off a deep hole, half filled with water, that must have been cut into the rock by erosion and acted as a natural cistern.
The boulders and trees kept the valley – which was more like a sinkhole or natural gully – from being easily discovered, and must filter out a lot of the ash.
The people, meanwhile, were unlike anything I’d ever seen before. I thought I’d seen wilders before – what Luke called free-range humans, living in the ruined levels of Havoc within the city. Most of them wore strange ensembles of well-worn clothing, often the same outfit every day; everything faded to dull grays and browns.
Growing up, I was taught that survival outside the compounds was impossible, and that without the elite protection and weekly renewal ceremony, humans would be ravished by sickness and disease.
Truthfully a little of that bias had stuck with me, and I felt uncomfortable around so many strangers, pulling my mask close.
These people looked like animals – in part because their outfits were a mess of animal skulls and furs, mixed with outlandish trinkets or gear from the Before. I saw charm bracelets and necklaces made out of scraps of metal and plastic, bottle caps and keys, and headdresses of bird feet and feathers. The people were less covered here as well, showing more skin than I was used to; displaying scars and burns from a hard-lived life in the outdoors like badges of honor.
I saw a few people from Havoc, and they stood up when they saw me, their eyes wide, but I wasn’t sure if it was awe or fear. I wondered what Jacob had told them about the evacuation; if he’d told them it was all my fault. If I hadn’t gone out with April and led the elite right back to Havoc, they’d still be safe at home.