by C J Singh
With his words, I jumped forward into his arms, burying my face in his shoulder and letting the tears come. I held him tightly, imagining we were back at the cabin. That we never saw Jace and his friends. That I hadn’t decided to rebel and go off on my own. When I saw them, on their knees in danger, I realized that my life would be incomplete without them. It would mean nothing.
“Are you crying? What happened to the brave, warrior girl we just saw?” He gave me a quick squeeze before pushing me back to inspect my face. He chuckled, wiping the tears away. His dimples made him look much younger than his twenty-two years.
“Hey.” Tristan moved to me, squeezing my arm, still not fully meeting my eyes.
He smiled slightly when I turned to him. When he finally did meet them, the look he gave me did not say brother; it showed more. I pushed down the knot in my stomach and stepped forward, and he pulled me into a hug. His grip was firm but relief escaped him in our embrace. I buried my nose in his neck, breathing in deeply. He smelled of fresh leaves, the woods.
Someone coughed, bringing us back to our surroundings. We stepped away from each other, smiling awkwardly.
“I told you she could handle herself,” Old Bob said.
I turned toward his proud smile. Stepping away from both boys, I moved to him, and he put his hand gently to my cheek. I could see through his smile, feel the grief, sadness... hollowness. Something wasn’t right.
“What happened?” I asked.
Tears wet his cheeks and a soft sob escaped him. Without hesitation, I hugged him. This time his face buried in my shoulder. “I tried to save her,” he whispered.
My stomach sank. “What?” I stammered, instinctively touching the silver butterfly on my chest. I knew before I heard her name who he meant, but I didn’t want to believe it.
“Ellie,” Tristan replied, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder.
I gulped and my eyes stung as I stared forward over Old Bob’s shoulder at the tan fabric of my tent. It went blurry and no manner of blinking made it focus. My shallow breaths made the butterfly around my neck feel like a hundred pounds. My cheeks wet as silent tears rolled down them.
Not Ellie. I needed her...
Strong, warm arms surrounded us from behind. Both Tate and Tristan joined our hug. We stood in the middle of my tent, holding each other, letting our grief flow, but even with us knit tight together, her loss was like a gaping hole in the middle. It could never be filled.
“Am I interrupting something?” Derek stood at the entrance to my tent with the flap open, his gold eye almost looked amber from the angle of the light. Moving apart, we turned to him and all three men near me took a unison step back. The tension in the air spiked. They noticed his eyes. Great. I wasn’t ready to breach that conversation yet, so I pretended I didn’t notice and moved to a chair at the small table. I wiped my cheeks, motioning for them to sit.
“How did it happen?” I asked.
“Scourges,” Old Bob replied. “Well, that’s what we have come to call them. They are the beasts, human... but not.”
Memories of the grey-skinned people with fangs and a gold eye flashed through my mind.
“Yes. I was chased by some but was lucky enough to be saved by Brian. That’s how I ended up here.”
“We’ve been concerned about the increase of these... scourges,” Derek said, taking the last chair at the table. He watched Old Bob carefully, examining his face a little too long for comfort. My lip curled at the need to protect, but I pursed my lips. We didn’t need a brawl right now.
“Increase? You’ve seen them before?” Tristan asked, still peering at Derek’s eyes with unease.
“You haven’t?”
We all shook our heads. “No. This is the first we have ever seen anything like them,” Old Bob replied.
“Interesting.”
“How long have you been seeing them?” Old Bob asked.
Brian entered the tent, not missing a beat before jumping into the conversation. I’m sure he had been snooping outside but just couldn’t contain his curiosity anymore. “Years. We first heard of them when some others from a small camp about ten miles from here showed up. They had to leave due to constant attacks. Everyone but a few of them had been killed and their food supplies were taken. Here at our camp, our hunters used to only see them every once in a while, but sightings have increased even from our walls.” He stood behind Derek, leaning on the thick wooden pole that held the center of the tent up. The room filled with silence a moment as my family surveyed him as well, no doubt seeing the resemblance in his eyes. Double great. My stomach hollowed, and I found my next few breaths hard to take. Old Bob managed to continue the conversation, buying me more time.
“Do they always travel in groups or have they ever been alone?”
“Groups. I have yet to see or hear about one that traveled alone. There is always one nearby. They hunt, attack, and kill.”
“What are they?” I asked.
Derek shook his head. “Don’t know. They look like they used to be human, but what made them the way they are? No one knows.”
I watched Old Bob; his eyes glossed over in thought, probably reliving the traumatic event of Ellie’s death. My eyes stung again. I dug my fingernails into my palm as I clenched my fists together. I had to keep my wits about me.
A change of energy in the room made me look to the others. Derek and Brian’s tense bodies let me know they felt it too.
Derek looked to Old Bob. “I’m truly sorry for your loss. I wish there was something I could do.”
Old Bob looked up. “There is.” After clearing his throat, he said, “You can help me find them and kill them.”
“Old Bob...” Tate pleaded.
Brian snorted. “Excuse me? Are you ser—? Wait, did you just say Bob?” He narrowed his eyes at Old Bob. “Robert Lewis...” – he sucked in a breath – “I thought you were dead.”
Derek leaned forward. “Well, I’ll be...” He chuckled. “I thought you looked familiar.”
Old Bob pushed back his chair. “You both must be mistaken...”
“No, no, it’s definitely you.” Derek sat back, linking his hands on his lap. “You don’t recognize us?”
Old Bob blinked at them. He fisted his hands, but not before I spotted them tremor.
Looking at Tate and Tristan, I verified that I was not the only one lost in the conversation. “What’s going on?”
Old Bob stood. “Nothing.”
“So, you’re the man who kept Eden so in the dark,” Brian said.
“What I did was to protect her! Protect all of them!” Old Bob’s nostrils flared as he took a few steps toward Brian. The quiet warning growl rumbled through the tent and Old Bob halted. All eyes turned to me and I froze. Putting a hand to my throat, I felt the vibration. It was me.
Old Bob gaped his mouth and he jerked back a step. “What did you do to her?”
I stood. “What?” Nausea built within me at the look in his eyes as he looked at me. He was... disgusted.
“Look at you, Eden. It’s like... like you’re one of...”
“One of what?” I bit down on my lip to keep it from trembling. If he said what I thought he was going to say...
“One of them... the scourges.”
I lunged forward, knocking over the chair. “Take that back!” Derek jumped in front of me, holding my arms.
“Eden! Breathe!”
Panting, I fisted my hands at my sides. Derek stood in my path to Old Bob with Brian slowly moving behind him. Narrowing my eyes at Old Bob over his shoulder, I said, “You have the audacity to call me that when you have lied to me? To us? Who are you, Robert? Why do Derek and Brian know you?”
Old Bob tensed, watching me. He glanced between Tate and Tristan pleading for their help. “I love you, Eden. Like my own child...”
“But I’m not your
child! You’re not my father!”
“Eden,” Tate said quietly.
Old Bob’s face dropped. He took an uneven step to his chair and sat. My heart fluttered with guilt, but my rage quickly trumped that. “Who are you?”
He sighed. “My full name is Robert Lewis. I was head of the guard within the city, a good friend of your parents.” He paused, taking in a long breath. “Before the bombing, they had asked me to care for you if anything were to happen to them. I was part of the escape, and then when everyone died, that is exactly what I did.”
“And you know Derek and Brian how?” I asked.
“I was a colonel in the Army, and Brian was my major,” Derek said. “We worked closely with the president before Zane.” I opened my mouth to speak, but Derek held up a hand. “That is all you need to know right now.” Tate put a hand on my shoulder, and I squeezed my lips together in frustration. I wanted to hear it all, but I sat back and listened.
“Why didn’t you tell us you knew our parents?”
“I don’t know. I guess I felt it was safer. Again, everything I did... Ellie...”—he paused, swallowing hard—“Ellie and I did was to protect you. Because we love you.” His sincerity was obvious. “We have a lot of information we could discuss, but right now I feel the most important thing is figuring out what these... scourges”—he gave me an apologetic look—“are and how to get rid of them.”
“I just...” Feeling regret for my outburst, I closed my eyes. Losing Ellie was hard and we would never get her back. Even if he did keep information from us, I didn’t want him gone. “Just... no more lies.”
His face relaxed, dropping his head in relief a moment. He reached across the table, offering me his hand. I took it and he squeezed. “Promise.”
Brian stood. “There are too many unknowns right now. It could be suicide going after them.”
Wow. Right back to business. All right.
“Have you thought about tracking them? Trying to catch one and interrogating it?” Old Bob asked.
Derek nodded. “No, but we don’t have the people to spare. It’s dangerous. Most of our people aren’t fighters. They do the best they can, but they wouldn’t survive a mission like that. We don’t know how many there are or what kind of resources they have.”
“Is that why you have been training Eden? To have her become your... weapon?” Tristan asked.
The silence in the room became deafening. I couldn’t look at any of them if there was the chance of rejection, so instead, I looked at the warped wood of my table. Old Bob’s words, calling me a scourge, cut me. Wounded me more than I thought possible. Even if he regretted it, he had thought it, so I’m sure others did as well.
“No, we have been training Eden because she needs to learn how to control and live with what she is. We are best able to do that. Others wouldn’t... understand.”
“And, what is she?” Old Bob asked, his eyes burning into the side of my face. I continued to keep my gaze on the table. Memorizing every groove and crevice.
“That... is a story for another time. Just know, she is a survivor,” Derek replied.
Tension coiled tighter within me. The way they spoke about me like I wasn’t sitting right there, hearing everything they were saying. Like I was some kind of anomaly that no one has seen before. Squeezing my eyes and jaw shut, I focused on keeping my nerves at bay. My nose filled with the smell of wildflower. I turned to the tent flap; Brian’s head moved in sync with mine. He also smelled her.
Sarah’s head peeked into my tent. “Excuse me? I was just stopping by to grab Eden. I need to clean and rebandage her hand.”
I stood quickly, grateful to escape the judgmental discussion and eyes. I pushed past Derek, following Sarah outside. Breathing in the fresh air and rolling my shoulders lifted a weight off me. Ash’s strong body at my ankles helped steady me as tension rolled from my body. Sarah, who was much more perceptive than I originally thought, was wise to give me quiet and space as we walked to the medic tent.
Chapter 22
Eden
I sat on the same cot I always did when in the medic tent with Ash curled up next to me. My emotions had calmed and I was feeling very content, but the feelings from Old Bob’s words and stares simmered within me, ready to boil over if irritated.
Sarah gathered supplies from the small cupboard next to my cot. She was quiet, but I watched her give Ash fleeting glances.
“You can pet him if you want.” I smiled, scratching Ash behind his ears. He moved his head into my hand letting out a groan of pleasure. After touching the necklace Ellie gave me, petting Ash was the next best way to relax me.
Sarah watched us hesitantly. “So, he’s a real wolf?”
I nodded as I stroked his head. “He’s gentle. He would never hurt anyone unless they were a threat to someone he loves. I have had him since he was a pup.”
“Interesting.” She slowly moved her hand toward him. He leaned forward to sniff her, but she snapped it back quickly.
“It’s OK. I promise he won’t hurt you.”
After she brought her hand back to Ash’s nose, he smelled it, then gave her a quick lick. Giggling, she moved her hand to his head, giving him a good pat. She smiled and pulled her hand back to her lap. “Wow. He’s amazing.” She looked at Ash with admiration then turned back to gather more supplies.
She took my hand and unwrapped the old bandage. Her brown, silky ponytail fell over her shoulder. She was a natural beauty with a kind spirit. I could see why Brian liked her.
“So, I found something, but I am not sure what it means.”
She glanced up from her work. “Oh? What did you find?”
“Well, after our last conversation, about the procedure. . .” She looked up at me, searching her memory of earlier that morning. She nodded, so I continued, “I searched Derek’s tent and found some papers. There were drawings, but I’m not sure what they mean. Maybe you could help.”
Her face paled. “You searched Derek’s tent?” Her hands started to shake, and she quickly pulled them back to her lap. “You actually went into his tent? Without him knowing or asking him first?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I figured he wouldn’t tell me anything, and do you really think he would allow me to search his tent, even if I asked? No, I had to take things into my own hands.”
I could hear the fast pulse of her heart as she stood. She curled her arms into herself and paced next to my cot. Ash lifted his head watching her, a little whine escaping him. She was the one who said she was doing the best she could at keeping Jace alive, so I would think getting any information possible would be a good thing.
“Do you know what he would do if he found out you snuck into his tent and went through his things?” She stopped pacing and leaned on the back of her chair. She closed her eyes and pulled in some deep breaths.
“It’s OK, Sarah. He won’t find out.” I kept my voice calm and set a gentle hand on hers. “Can you help me?”
Opening her eyes to look at me, she took a deep breath. “What exactly do you want me to do?”
“Do you have any paper? I’ll draw what I saw and maybe you can make sense of it.”
“I really like it here, Eden. I don’t want Derek or Brian to find out I helped you.” She handed me a paper and a pen.
I studied her as I took them. “I understand.” I drew what I remembered. “I won’t let them find out you helped me.”
She waited patiently, hands and feet fidgeting. When I finished, she examined the picture intensely.
“Are you sure this is what you saw?” Her voice cracked.
“Yes.” I described in more detail what I saw and she listened quietly.
When I finished, she sighed. “We heard of a procedure. It was just a rumor at the time, but now seeing this, maybe it was real.”
“Do you know what it means?”
Her w
orried face met mine. “Eden, you need to understand that we don’t have enough information about this. We don’t know if it has been used and if it actually worked, or of side effects. There is so much risk.”
“I understand. We don’t know a lot, but what we do know is if we don’t do anything, then he will die. If there is just a hint of possibility, then we need to try. Right?” I looked at her pleadingly.
She sighed. “These here are diagrams of DNA.” She pointed to the ladder looking things. “It’s what we are made up of, like a recipe. If something in our DNA is different or missing, then we, as a people, would be different.” She paused, making sure I was following her. I nodded, so she continued, “This one is human, but this one looks like an animal of some kind. I am not sure what, but I don’t think it matters.”
“Human and animal DNA. That would explain the sketches of animals on the side of the paper.”
“Yes, and this”—she pointed to the spider looking thing holding the two ladders of DNA together—“this is the virus.”
“The virus.”
“Yes. The rumor is that if you combine animal DNA with someone who is infected with the virus, then the two DNAs bond. They become immune to the virus, just like the animals are.”
“Like a cure?”
“Maybe, but remember, it’s a rumor. We can’t just test on humans based on a rumor. It’s unethical. We don’t know the side effects. Nothing.”
“Can you think of any possible side effects?”
She sputtered, “Well there are many, I mean, lifelong illness, death... becoming one of the creatures.”
“A scourge?” I fidgeted with the pen in thought. I sure didn’t want Jace to become one of them.
“Well, yeah, no, I don’t know. That’s the point, Eden. It’s too risky. We just don’t know what will happen.” Her cheeks flushed with worry.
“True, but at this point, we don’t have much choice. We either let him die or we try. Isn’t it also unethical to just let someone die when there is a possible way to save them?”