Waning Moon

by PJ Sharon

  Chapter 1

  June 2057

  “Are you trying to get us killed already? We haven’t even left Stanton yet.” Will gripped the dashboard as the Rover skidded to a stop in front of Higgins Market.

  “I’ll get the hang of it. Stop making me nervous.” I jammed the shifter into park and turned to my shaggy blonde passenger. “It’s not like you could do better.”

  “It doesn’t look that hard, you’re just…” His voice trailed off as we both swung our heads toward the tall, dark-skinned boy coming out of the butcher shop down the street. Josh Johnson stalked our way. With the tinted windows in the Land Rover, he probably couldn’t see us, but the nasty smirk on his face said he knew we were inside. Will shook his head. “Just what we need.”

  Will Callahan and Josh Johnson had faced off more than once, often on account of me, and the last time the face-off ended in Will taking a bullet that almost cost him his life. I shuddered at the memory of nearly losing him only weeks before. Even with my genetic enhancements that gave me the ability to heal people, I had limitations—most of which I was still figuring out. I’d had to make the decision whether to heal Will and his bullet wound, or use my ability to heal Josh’s father, the local constable who’d had his head smashed in by an Industry agent. Joe Johnson had failed to keep the agents from taking his youngest son Tyler and my brother Zephron to Industry Headquarters in the Western Desert.

  Will, much to my frustration and Josh’s surprise, had insisted that I use my ability to heal Mr. Johnson, knowing full well I might not have enough power left in me to save him too. Josh owed me—and Will—but I had low expectations of whether he’d keep that in mind. The firearm strapped to Josh’s side gave me reason to doubt. He disappeared into the store.

  “I’ll go in alone. We only need a few more supplies and there’s no need to have you start up with Josh again.” I opened my door, but before I had my feet on the ground, Will was climbing out his side of the Rover.

  “I can deal with Josh. You aren’t going in alone.”

  This was going to be a long trip. “You are the most stubborn…”

  Will didn’t let me finish. “Old news, Lily.” His lips curved into a smile, the dimple in one cheek causing my jaw to drop and my argument to flee. He rounded the vehicle, stepped up beside me on the porch, and rested a hand on my lower back as he escorted me into the store. The subtle contact made my brain fuzzy and sent my thoughts scrambling.

  Josh’s head popped up when we walked in, his dark eyes glaring daggers from Will to me. I brushed off the sense that he was about to implode and went straight to the counter where Mrs. Higgins met me with a broad, round-faced grin.

  “Hi, Lily. I’ve got the supplies you asked for.” She hefted a box onto the counter, her short, graying brown hair well suited to her sturdy demeanor. I had given her a list the day before and was glad she’d filled the order without question. “How is Sam doing?”

  “Much better, thanks,” I smiled appreciatively. “The drugs I brought back from Albany seem to be working.” My uncle’s cancer had been in remission the past few weeks, a relief beyond words since all of my efforts to heal him had failed.

  “I’m so glad he’s feeling better. I don’t know what we would do without him around here.” An undeniable expression of affection shadowed Mrs. Higgins’s deep brown eyes. She rummaged through the box, taking a last minute inventory of food items we would need for a trip that would hopefully only take a couple of weeks. “There’s plenty of dried fruit in here. I took the liberty of packing you a dozen of my chocolate donuts since I know how much you and your friend enjoy them.” Her eyes held a sparkle when she glanced from me to Will, sending an unexpected rush of warmth to my cheeks. I could feel Josh’s glare at my back. My belly squirmed. Mrs. Higgins added with a sympathetic nod, “Sam is going to miss you—especially with Zephron gone.”

  “Maggie and Nora will look in on him while I’m away.” The McKinley sisters lived a mile or so beyond our farmhouse into the Northeast Hills, but Nora would travel by foot daily to see that Sam was well taken care of. I smiled inwardly at her fondness for him and wondered if he would ever get a clue. From the way he looked at her, it seemed the feelings were mutual, but whether he felt that acting on them was somehow a betrayal to my Aunt Beth, who’d died nearly a decade ago, or that he was simply afraid of taking a chance in such an unpredictable world, he wasn’t saying.

  “I’m surprised Sam would even let you go,” she said, her expression turning serious. “Are you certain you should be driving all the way across the country, Lily? It’s not safe for a young lady out on the road. There are all sorts of criminals and thieves just waiting to take advantage.” Mrs. Higgins darted a glance at Josh who was filling a carriage with fresh vegetables from the bin, pretending not to listen to every word of the conversation.

  “I didn’t give him much choice,” I said, recalling how many arguments it took to finally get Sam to agree. “I have to get Zeph back. He doesn’t belong in some Industry facility.” It was no secret in town that my brother had given himself and Tyler up to the Industry agents. What they didn’t understand was that he’d done it to save everyone in the town …and me. No one but me could understand how hard Zeph worked at hiding his ability to take life—any life, human or animal—with just a touch…or how guilty he felt for the time he’d once used that power before he understood it himself. Whether Sam approved of my mission or not, nothing was going to stop me from saving my brother. I squared my shoulders. “I couldn’t turn my back on my brother any more than I could on Sam when he needed me.”

  “I admire your devotion, Lily, but don’t you think this kind of…endeavor would be best suited to some young men in the county?” She eyed Josh, her words insinuating that he was a better candidate to find Zeph and Tyler and that he should go west instead of me.

  Josh dumped the handful of potatoes into his cart and turned on her. “In case you weren’t aware of it, my father isn’t quite up to doing his job—thanks to Lily’s monster of a brother. If I wasn’t set in charge of the law in my daddy’s place, I’d have left weeks ago to get my own brother back.” The muscles in his neck bulged and he made a point of touching the pistol grip on the government-issued Glock holstered at his side. He let it go, huffed out a breath, and parked the cart in front of the counter. Mrs. Higgins looked ready to give him a good piece of her mind but remained silent as Josh continued. “If you could just mind your own business and put these items on our bill, I’ll be going,” he sniped. Then he turned to me, his lips a tight line. “If you think you’ll survive making it to the desert, good luck getting through the Industry defenses. I’ve heard they have armed Guardians surrounding the place. Fat chance you’ll come back alive, let alone be able to rescue anyone.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence, man.” Will took a not-so-subtle step in front of me, and the tension ratcheted up another notch.

  Eyes narrowed and jaw clenched, Josh responded. “Look, I don’t want any trouble with you, grifter. Lily saved my father’s life and I’m grateful for that, but I don’t owe you anything.” He stared into Will’s face, a spark of challenge in his dark eyes. “If you want to take this outside, I’d be happy to knock the teeth out from that wiseass grin of yours, but if you’re not up for it, I’ll be on my way.” He took the crate of goods that Mrs. Higgins pushed in front of him and bumped shoulders with Will on his way by. “Watch yourself, Lily. I wouldn’t trust a grifter with two cents, let alone my life.”

  Josh’s warning hit home. Will had pushed his limits in the trust department more than once with me. I cleared my throat and turned back to Mrs. Higgins as the screen door slammed shut behind Stanton’s new acting constable.

  “Sam will settle up with you when he comes to town tomorrow to help Rudy fix the wind turbine at the butcher shop.”

  Sam’s engineering skills allowed for most of the town to enjoy the benefits of electricity, a rarity for most outsiders who didn’t choose to live in the ci
ties and lose their freedom. In order to have access to food, medicine, clothing, or anything else they might need to survive, people within the cities had agreed to be encoded, allowing themselves and their every movement to be tracked. The New Government had made sure that living in safety and having all you needed would come at a very high price. The protection of solar barriers that kept the sun’s deadly radiation at bay was worth the cost to some, but Sam and others who still believed in democracy and held to the Constitution would rather take their chances and try to work together to find new ways to survive and thrive in the harsh conditions.

  “If I can’t convince you not to go, let me at least wish you well and send you off with a hug.” Mrs. Higgins came around the counter and wrapped her arms around me unexpectedly. She squeezed me tight and then drew back, taking my face between her hands. “We need you here, Lily. You make sure you get back home safely.” She released me and turned her attention to Will, her expression cool. “And you, young man…take care of our Lily. If I find out that you, in any way, took advantage of her, you will have me to deal with. Is that understood?” Five-foot-ten inches of robust womanhood gave Will a fierce look that sent a shiver across my skin.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Will took the box of food and thanked Mrs. Higgins who followed us to the door. When we got outside, he stuffed the box into the backseat of the Rover and glanced from Mrs. Higgins to Josh Johnson across the street where he stood, one hand on his weapon and his glare fixed on us. “Why do I feel like no matter what happens on this trip, someone isn’t going to be happy to see me come back alive?”

  Read on for an excerpt from SOUL REDEMPTION, the short story prequel to WANING MOON. Learn Zeph’s side of the story. From the point of view of a thirteen-year-old boy, having the power of life and death in your touch is both a curse, and an overwhelming compulsion that can make being a teenager that much more challenging. To understand his gift, you have to ask yourself, “What would I do?”

 

  Soul Redemption