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Eos (The Eos Dawn Series Book 1)

Page 6

by Jen Guberman


  I left Mr. Montgomery’s room, thanking him again. When I opened the front door to the town center, I noticed a small squabble near the doors to the dining hall. Upon closer look, I noticed Jackson, grabbing at a mousey boy of about 18, who was scrambling to get away from Jackson.

  “You’re only going to make this worse for yourself,” Jackson threatened.

  “Let me go!” the boy pleaded, his tennis shoes kicking against the pavement, tossing up dirt as he struggled to get to his feet after having fallen in the struggle.

  “You stole from the pantry. If I let you get away with it, I have to let everyone get away with it. Do you know what happens when everyone gets away with anything they want?” Jackson said as he grasped the boy’s wrist, tugging on him, causing the boy to crash into the asphalt on his hands and knees.

  “No?” Jackson continued, jerking on the boy’s wrist when he stood again, this time letting go, sending him face first into the ground. At this point, the boy’s face was bloody, with bits of gravel stuck to his cheek. The boy grimaced as he tried to stand, only to have his wrist grabbed by Jackson again.

  “Anarchy,” he answered, dragging the boy after him toward his house.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Confused and stunned, I wondered what Jackson would do to the boy he caught as I ran back into my building, only to bump into Zane. He gave me his typical half grin.

  “Going somewhere?” he asked.

  “Yeah. My room,” I said, stepping to the side to go around him. He stepped as well, mirroring me. I tried again in the other direction.

  “Zane, let me go.”

  “Nah,” he teased, blocking me.

  “Move,” I warned. He stood motionless, smirking. Irritated, I sent my fist flying into his nose, landing with a crunch.

  Zane swore, glaring at me as he clutched his nose, blood trickling from his palm.

  I mimicked his signature sly grin as I made my way to my room, leaving Lamb and Luka cackling on the couch.

  “Nice hit!” Luka laughed, tears in his eyes as he watched Zane shake blood off of his hand, flicking drops against the concrete floor. Lamb giggled, giving me a little round of applause.

  “He had it coming!” she said.

  “Some friends you are,” Zane spat, running upstairs.

  “Sit with us for a bit!” Lamb said, calling to me.

  I turned around to see her patting the sofa beside her.

  “No, I really shouldn’t. I was about to do something. Do any of you guys have a pen I could borrow?” I asked.

  “Doing some writing?” Lamb asked, walking toward the underside of the stairs.

  “Yeah, sorta’. Taking notes, I guess.”

  “Notes? Whatever suits your fancy.” She shrugged, opening a cabinet hidden under the staircase, revealing stacks of paper and pencils. “Will a pencil do?”

  “That’s fine. And hey, Lamb?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Did you see that boy outside with Jackson?”

  “Yeah, he’s from our building, but he stays holed up in his room most the time. I don’t really know him very well.”

  “Do you know what’s going to happen to him?”

  “With Jackson? No idea. Jackson doesn’t tell anyone what the punishment is for stealing from the pantry, he just tells us we don’t want to find out.”

  I went upstairs, noticing my door was wide open. I looked around the room—nothing seemed out of place, but then I saw it. The chocolate pudding cup from Mr. Montgomery was smeared all over my mattress. Whoever did it was careful to coat as much of the bed as possible in the slimy brown pudding. I growled, knowing it had to have been Zane. I scraped off what I could and flipped the mattress over. Taking a seat on my bed, I pulled out the Skeleton Key papers again, jotting down some quick notes about what I learned from Mr. Montgomery.

  “Hey, pig,” I heard at the open door. I looked up, seeing Zane, his nose purple with bruises. “Next time you decide to try to punch me, it won’t just be a little pudding.”

  “Is that a threat?” I hissed, jumping to my feet, moving toward him.

  “What if it is?” he snarled.

  I smirked at him for a moment before jerking forward, as if about to punch him. Zane jolted.

  “Wimp,” I said, glaring at him as he gave me a disgusted look. “Chicken!” I called after him as he walked away. “We’ve got a pig, a lamb, and a chicken—it’s a whole freaking barn!” I laughed, thinking I was clever as I slammed my door behind me.

  ◆◆◆

  That afternoon, after coming back from lunch, I saw the mousy boy from my building again, making his way inside.

  “Hey,” I called after him.

  He turned around, revealing a black, blue, and red face. One of his eyes was blackened and swollen shut, and his upper lip looked about twice the size it was earlier.

  “Oh my gosh,” I breathed. “What happened? What did he do to you?”

  “I don’t wanna’ talk about it,” he blubbered, his swollen lip hardly moving as he spoke. He turned his head back, his eyes on the ground as he made his way upstairs.

  I couldn’t believe Jackson had traumatized that boy so severely. Just for stealing from the pantry? He already gave me one warning, I thought. Avid was apparently more dangerous than it let on.

  In my room, I stripped off my dirty t-shirt and jeans and flopped backward onto my bed. I want to go home, but I don’t even have a home anymore, I had to remind myself. Homesick, I began to reminisce about when Fabian and I used to play games at my house when we were young. I drew my bag closer to me, digging for my ring. That’s weird. I shook my bag upside down, growing worried. I frantically dug through my pockets and my belongings looking for the ring from Fabian. Zane must have taken it again. He knows it’s important to me, and he’s doing this to get back at me. The joke was on him, I was going to get my ring back.

  Fuming, I threw on the pair of tattered black jeans and an old white blouse, my long coat over it. I slung the strap of my bag across my shoulder and quickly left my room, careful to lock the door behind me. My boots patting against the concrete steps, I hurried downstairs. Not to my surprise, I saw Lamb and Luka lounging on the couches.

  “Where’s Zane?” I asked with a tone of irritation.

  “He’s doing his job out by the gardens,” Luka answered.

  I sighed as I bolted out the door and made my way to the gardens. By the time I was halfway down the dirt path, I spotted Zane’s figure walking back toward the town center. I picked the nearest mound of trash and darted behind it, peering out just enough to watch as he passed by, oblivious to my presence. While he was sliding between the two buildings to make his way back to the center, I cautiously sprinted to catch up, my feet bounding quickly and almost noiselessly across the dirt. I made it between the two buildings just as I saw him walk into ours, and I was on his tail within seconds, hiding behind the doorway enough to catch a glimpse of him heading toward the stairs.

  Lamb and Luka seemed to be deep in conversation, but I was still careful about making sure my footsteps were soft and steady as I made a beeline for the stairs. Once at the stairwell, I dropped into a squat and made my way up the stairs on all fours, barely keeping Zane in sight. After he hit the top of the stairs and made his way down the hallway, I halted in my crouch, waiting to see which door he opened. When he kept walking past every door, I wondered if he was going to the third floor, which I hadn’t seen yet. I crawled down the hall, keeping plenty of distance between Zane and me as I saw him reach another staircase. From behind the final stair on the next staircase, I peered over, watching Zane make his way to the far end of the third floor hallway, fumbling with a door. I made a mental note of which room his was, just as he entered. I sat there for a minute, debating whether I should just wait in the stairwell to the fourth floor and sneak into his room after he leaves, or if I should just wait it out in my room. He could be in his room for hours, I thought to myself, just before Zane walked out of his room and shut the door behind
him. Crap. Zane’s pace was quick as he made his way toward me.

  I raced down the stairs and across the second floor hallway as quickly as I could. Just as I reached my door, Zane was at the bottom of the stairs. I tried to play casual, taking my key out of my pocket to unlock my door.

  “Hey,” I said to Zane, trying to seem pleasant.

  He stared blankly at me, arms crossed.

  “So, I was thinking about earlier—no hard feelings I hope!” I chattered shakily.

  Nothing.

  “I’m sorry about your nose—it was uncalled for,” I apologized in vain.

  Still nothing.

  “You saw me didn’t you?” I asked, defeated.

  “Yup.”

  “Are you mad?”

  “Not exactly, but I am curious why you were following me. You aren’t as sneaky as you’d like to think.”

  “I was just curious where your room was,” I said. I’m a terrible liar.

  “Don’t lie to me, E,” he growled impatiently.

  “You took my ring,” I started.

  “Is that really what this is about?” he glared at me in disbelief. “I gave that back, along with the rest of your stuff! I haven’t been in your room since—”

  “Seriously? Don’t pull that. I know you smeared the pudding on my mattress,” I retorted.

  “I didn’t take anything. I put it in your room and haven’t touched it, but Luka has been awful curious of what you had of such value to you, ever since you showed up here.”

  “So, you mean you don’t have my ring?”

  “I do,” he said, pulling my ring from his pocket.

  “Why do you keep lying to me?” I swore at him as I snatched my ring from his hand.

  “I didn’t lie to you. I put it back.”

  “Then why did you have it just now?”

  “I stole it—”

  “I know!” I interrupted.

  “From Luka,” he continued.

  “Oh,” I said awkwardly.

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Yeah, heh, thanks.”

  “I’m going on a walk if you want to come, and if you’re ready to stop acting like a child,” he said. “By the way, you really need to work on your technique. Crouching on the stairs? Really?” His sly, teasing half-smile creeping back on his face.

  On our way outside, Zane began to pat at his pockets, a concerning frown on his face.

  “I forgot something in my room,” he apologized. “Don’t wait up—I’ll catch up. I was going to walk through the trash, see if I spot anything worth digging at along the way. I’ll be there in just a few minutes. Please don’t stalk me this time—it’s desperate,” he joked as he trotted back toward our building.

  After waiting, picking through a small trash mound for nearly an hour, I gave up, assuming Zane never really meant to meet with me. On my way back to my building, I spotted Luka and Lamb, arm in arm, chattering away and laughing lightheartedly in the town center.

  “Hey, guys, wait—” I stopped them. “Have you seen Zane? He asked me to meet him at the dump, but he never showed up.”

  Lamb thought for a moment before replying, a residual smile still on her face.

  “Yeah, I remember seeing him leave a while ago. He was in some kind of hurry, but he didn’t say anything to either of us.”

  “Oh,” I sighed, disappointed, realizing Zane had clearly lied to me. “Thanks.”

  Luka and Lamb continued their conversation as they made their way toward the garden. I decided to lounge around in our common area until dinner, eventually making my way outside to get some fresh air. I watched for a few hours as people came and went, and I just leaned against the well in the town center, waiting for time to pass.

  That evening, I scarfed down a quick dinner, never seeing Zane enter the room with the dinner crowd. I sighed, a bit disappointed, throwing away my trash and moseying to my room. At this point, the sun was almost set, turning the sky a dreamy purple color.

  Before even reaching my room, I heard someone running after me, calling my name. A frantic and out of breath Lamb came up behind me.

  “Eos!” she puffed. “Luka told me that, when he was picking the weeds from the carrots in the garden, he realized no one watered them today. Aren’t you the one who is supposed to do that?”

  “Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. I’ll head that way in a few minutes,” I said calmly.

  “No, you don’t understand! Jackson checks the garden every sundown to make sure everyone did their jobs. That’s one of the few rules here and he’s super about it. You didn’t do your job, E! Run and maybe you’ll make it!”

  I took off sprinting, not wanting to end up like the mousy boy from our building. Just as I was about to reach the gap in the ring of trees surrounding the garden, I spotted Jackson squatting by the crops. As he stood, he kicked a bucket across the garden, splashing water everywhere as he swore, my name making its way into his bouts of cursing. I hesitated for a half second before heading back in the opposite direction without looking back. I scrambled up the stairs and quickly threw my key into the lock and turned. No click. That’s weird. I turned the doorknob and opened the door without a problem. I know I locked the door when I left.

  As soon as I stepped foot in my room, I knew there was something wrong. My blanket was thrown in a clump on my floor, my mattress moved, the mirrored box cracked and on its side. I made a mental checklist of my few belongings as I tried to pick up my room. Somebody was clearly looking for something and had trouble finding it. As I sat down on my bed, it hit me.

  The Skeleton Key papers were missing.

  CHAPTER TEN

  It was Zane, I know it. But what would Zane even want with those papers anyways? Is this why he ditched me? He can’t possibly know or even believe the Skeleton Key exists.

  I stood there for a moment, contemplating if I should really go after him. Maybe it wasn’t worth it to go after him, but it might be worth leaving this place—leaving the people who enjoyed harassing me, leaving the representative that would inevitably come after me, and leaving the overall bleak outlook that surrounded the entirety of Avid. With my coat already on, I picked up my bag and made my way to the junkyards, keeping an eye out for Jackson.

  As I got closer to the piles of garbage we had dug through when Luka found the box containing the papers, I tried to remember which one was mine, because that’s where I hid the box—the one that the sketch that showed where it contained the Key. There’s no way Zane would have noticed me hiding the box, so he couldn’t have the Avid key already. When I neared the pile, I hid the wooden box in, I realized I was very wrong. There was a large hole in the mound of trash, with the wooden box sitting beside it. I approached the box and crouched down beside it to get a closer look. Zane had clearly seen the sketch about the secret side compartment on the box, because there was a small door hanging open right below the hinges for the top of the box. I sighed in defeat, sitting next to the box. Was he going to go after the other keys? He had to be—why else would he want the first one? All I knew was I wanted in on it.

  Unsure of what my next step was, I thought back on what little geography I had learned in school. I remember seeing where the exile towns were in comparison to the cities and to each other. Delaisse should be pretty close to Avid, but still far enough that it would probably take a couple days to get there on foot. Before I’d commit to walking that far, especially alone, I needed to pack some things.

  I left the junkyard, making my way back to my building as quickly as possible. When I got there, I saw Lamb heading upstairs.

  “Wait—” I called after her, quickening my pace.

  She turned around, a friendly but questioning look on her pale face.

  “Have you seen Zane?” I asked, out of breath.

  “Not since he ran out earlier,” she answered. “Are you still looking for him? Is everything okay, Eos? Did you manage to water the carrots?”

  “I’m fine. I just wanted to know if you’ve seen hi
m,” I lied. “That’s all.”

  “If I see him, I’ll let him know you’re looking for him,” she offered innocently.

  “No thank you,” I responded quickly. “It’s no big deal.”

  Confused but apparently satisfied, Lamb continued her way up the stairs and down the hall.

  “Lamb?” I called after her again.

  “Mmm?” she mumbled as she continued to walk.

  “Which room is Zane’s, anyways?”

  “E, honey, you’re getting a bit clingy, aren’t you?” she said, stopping in her tracks, turning to reveal a slightly uncomfortable face.

  “No! No, it isn’t like that!” I forced a giggle. “I have something of his, and that’s why I’m looking for him, but instead of chasing him around all day, I figured maybe I’d just leave it in his room or something.” I almost convinced myself with my lie.

  “Oh… Okay…” she said, clearly still concerned. “This way.”

  I followed her up to the fourth floor, where she motioned to one of the first doors on my left, after which she continued down the hall and unlocked what I assumed was her own room.

  I waited until she had closed her door behind her, and then I grabbed at the doorknob. Without a problem, it turned and swung open. Apparently, Zane doesn’t feel it’s worth the effort to lock his door. That, or maybe he left in a hurry.

  Looking around the room, I noticed a few more decorations than my room. Some drawings, photos, and posters taped sloppily to the walls. There was a striped blue and tan comforter covered in holes on the bed, and a few other random things. I looked around, hoping to find some kind of clue to his whereabouts. After rummaging around and finding nothing but a few paperclips, which I pocketed, I sat on his bed for a moment to think. Just as I did, my eyes met a poster of the New Territory, or in other words, the world after the war. I took a closer look, noticing Avid was circled in green marker. Nothing else was marked on the map. Studying the map further, I saw that Avid wasn’t too far from my home of Rockhallow, but Avid was reasonably close to Delaisse, making it my first goal in searching for the keys. Right in between Avid and Delaisse was the smallest of the cities—Nortown. Aside from those, the other cities and towns were fairly far away, making Delaisse my first goal in searching for the keys. I tore down the map, folded it, and put it in one of my coat pockets. Hopefully I’d run into Zane along the way at some point, and I can figure out a way to get the Avid key from him.

 

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