Innocents

by Lena August

  Chapter 15

  I barely get any sleep that night. I lay awake trying not to worry about Flynn and attempting to ignore the hunger gnawing at my stomach, the Endrone seem to think it is a waste of resources to feed prisoners. The hours drag on until finally my cell door opens. I am surprised when it is Salina who enters. She is holding a tray of food and I sit up quickly. “Don’t get up,” she orders sharply as I make to get to my feet. I sit back down and Salina begins to pace back and forth in front of me. She doesn’t offer me the food.

  Finally she speaks again, “I find you very intriguing. I am usually very good at reading people, but you are something of a mystery to me. What does it take for Flynn to care about someone like he does for you? I assume that you are the one that Flynn went to great lengths to rescue from the Volis. Yes,” she says seeing the surprise on my face, “Flynn’s stunt at the Volis base camp is well known here and ever since that, I have been eager to meet you. I want to know what makes you so special.”

  “Usually I would recommend asking Flynn that,” I reply angrily, “but seeing as you may have sent him to his death I guess you will just have to live without knowing.”

  Salina smiles as though pleased, “My other question was how you could have survived living as a Domus if Flynn really does care about you, usually Marek kills people like that, but you just answered that question yourself.”

  This confuses me which causes Salina’s smile to widen, “Your accent isn’t that of a Domus and it also suggests that you haven’t been on Murderers for very long. So that just leaves the question of where did you come from.”

  I don’t answer, unwilling to give away any information about myself.

  “Did you get reassigned here from another island? I definitely recognize that accent from somewhere.” Salina continues to muse to herself. She stares down at me and suddenly her smile grows even wider. “No, didn’t come from another island, I can see it in your eyes. There is something too innocent about them. I know where I have heard that accent; it is the same one Marek had when I first met him, which means you are from Innocents.”

  I don’t bother to deny this. Instead I just shrug, “I guess I am not that much of a mystery after all.”

  “Perhaps not,” Salina replies, “but you just became a lot more valuable to me.”

  “The guards are not going to bargain for me,” I protest, “I am considered disposable to Innocents.” Salina continues to smile, “I have no intention on negotiating with the guards. Your value comes in the information you know about them.”

  I shake my head, “I’m not going to tell you anything. And we have a deal; Flynn is leading the raid so you cannot harm me.” I am willing to help Flynn escape, but I won’t be responsible for a mass attack on the fence. Besides, it was not Flynn’s choice to live on Murderers, but Salina and her clan were sent here for a good reason.

  When Salina speaks next, her voice has taken on a dangerous sweetness, “You may have noticed that Flynn is not here, which means I can do whatever I like. I will be back for you in a while.” She leaves the room, taking the tray of food with her. Frustrated, I get up and kick the door. Far from making me feel better, this simply adds pain in my toe to deal with. I close my eyes and try to relax. I make up my mind that I will not tell them anything, no matter what horrible stuff they do to me. If they breach the fence, it would put my friends on Innocents in danger, and I couldn’t live with that on my conscience.

  After what I estimate is about ten minutes, the door opens again. This time it is two tall Murderers who enter. They each grab one of my arms and steer me out of my cell and down a hallway. “Where are we going?” I demand. They ignore me and continue walking until we reach a room at the end of the hallway. Apart from a crudely crafted chair, the room is empty. One of the guards forces me into the chair. He roughly secures my hands to the chair with a length of rope and then they both exit, leaving me alone.

  Hours later, I am still sitting in the room. No one has come to see me after the guards. Fear and adrenalin have allowed me to ignore my hunger temporarily, but my throat burns with thirst. Eventually, the adrenalin fades from my system and the pangs on hunger return. It still bothers me that I don’t know what time or even day it is. I am beginning to think that they have left me here to die when the door opens. Salina enters followed by a boy. He looks young, probably around fourteen. His blonde hair looks almost white in the dark room and his grey eyes are cold. Salina notices me watching him and smiles.

  “This is my son, Reigyn. I would introduce you to him, but seeing as I don’t know your name that would be difficult. I suppose your name should be my first question.”

  I do not see what good it would do to stay silent so I answer. “Brie Vanguard.”

  “Interesting.” Salina seems to thrive on information; I can tell she has a thirst for knowledge, whether the knowledge is relevant or not. “Brie, is that short for anything?”

  “No, it’s just Brie.”

  Reigyn interrupts impatiently, “Is this relevant, Salina? Or can I continue on with the questioning. I don’t see her name helping us very much.”

  “Of course,” Salina answers, turning to leave, “Find me again once you have the information.”

  Reigyn studies me with a bored expression, “My mother always has been a fool when it comes to people. She sees them as a puzzle that she has to complete. It wastes time, but luckily she is letting me handle this on my own.”

  Lucky for whom? I wonder. I have a feeling I would much rather play twenty questions with Salina then go through whatever Reigyn has in store for me. “Hungry?” Reigyn asks. He takes out an apple and holds it in front of my face, “Food for answers. How does that sound?”

  “No deal,” I say darkly.

  “Too bad, I find it difficult to concentrate when I am hungry.” Reigyn takes a bite of the apple. The sweet smell makes my stomach ache but I hold my resolve.

  Reigyn takes another bite, “You can go a long time without food, but only a few days without water. Are you sure you don’t want to talk? You know you will one way or the other, and this way you can save yourself a lot of unnecessary pain.”

  “I won’t tell you anything that will help Murderers escape.”

  “That’s hardly fair to assume,” Reigyn says in a mockingly offended voice, “I was born here just like that guy you came with, Flynn, or whatever his name is. And you seem perfectly willing to help him.”

  “Flynn doesn’t torture people for information, as I assume you are going to do.” I say sharply.

  Reigyn raises an eyebrow, “I hate to break this to you, but Flynn has done much worse than withholding food from somebody. He may not have been born a murderer, but he has become one.”

  “Flynn does what he has to do in order to survive, and he doesn’t revel in violence as you seem to.”

  Reigyn seems to be thoroughly enjoying himself with the conversation, “And you are okay with Flynn killing others just to keep himself alive. That seems a little selfish in my opinion. And yet you think that he is nobler than me simply because he doesn’t enjoy it. And what if I tell you that I have never killed anyone before? Do you still think Flynn is a better person?”

  “Flynn was born into different circumstances than you. It doesn’t make you superior.” I snap, sick of his mocking tone.

  “Ah,” Reigyn says with a grin, “But you seem to think you are superior to me simply because you managed to be born in the right place. I am sensing some hypocrisy here.”

  I have to admit that Reigyn has made a good point, but I’m not going to say this out loud. And no matter what he thinks, even if I were in Reigyn’s position, I would never be so gleeful about the situation. “If you are planning on annoying me until I give you answers, I will tell you right now that it won’t work.”

  “Do you find the truth annoying?” Reigyn asks innocently and I ignore him. “Fine,” Reigyn says his voice sharper than before, “If you are tired of our conversation about right versus
wrong than we can get down to business. My first question is how far away are the guards islands and how many guards reside there?” I glare pointedly at him, refusing to answer.

  “I am only going to ask you this once, are you planning on cooperating with me, or do you intend to make things difficult?”

  “I have no intention on answering any of your questions.” I tell him sharply.

  “Fine, your funeral.” He takes out his knife, “There’s still time to change your mind.”

  I clench my hands on the chair to keep them from shaking and meet Reigyn’s eyes defiantly. To my surprise, he lowers his knife and grins.

  “Relax; my orders are only to withhold food until you talk. My mother may be cruel, but she would never authorize torturing a prisoner, especially one that she promised to protect. Her word actually means something to her.”

  “She didn’t seem worried about that earlier,” I say suspiciously.

  Reigyn laughs, “That was scare tactics, as is this,” he waves his knife.

  “And why are you telling me this? Scare tactics seem a bit pointless if I know it’s an empty threat.”

  “Well unless you are a complete idiot, which you may be, pretty soon you would have realized it on your own. We save a little time this way. Anyway, unless you want to starve to death, you will answer my questions.”

  “And what about when Flynn comes back?” I demand, “Are you just going to ignore the deal.”

  Reigyn leans casually against the wall, and scratches his brow with the tip of his knife, “The deal’s only good if Flynn actually comes back alive. And just between you and me, the chances of that happening are pretty slim. If he does manage to survive, I am sure we can manage to restrain him until you cooperate with us. Don’t worry about that.”

  “You are going to be waiting a while,” I tell him, “because I make a point of not cooperating with Murderers.”

  “Don’t worry, Brie. I have all the time in the world.” Reigyn replies. With that, he turns and heads out the door.

  One of my teachers back on Innocents had taught us that if you go without food for long enough, the pains of hunger will eventually fade. While this may be accurate about hunger, it is in no way true about thirst. My throat feels as dry and scratchy as sand paper and I find myself fantasizing about cold water and the sweet fizzy drinks we occasionally had on Innocents. I start to feel weak, light headed, and feverish. I alternate between deep chills and overwhelming heat. Seconds drag into minutes, which drag into hours and pretty soon I stop trying to keep track of the time and succumb to fatigue. My wrists are chafed from where to rope has dug in, but I have long since stopped noticing the aching pain. Reigyn comes to visit every so often, always bringing a tray of food and bottle of water, telling me that once I talk I can eat. I refuse every time. The food is easy to decline; I have long since stopped feeling hungry. But saying no to the water is one of the hardest things I have ever done.

  Reigyn enters my cell again and lays a tray of food on the floor before sitting next to it. He seems unnaturally glib today. “Congratulations, you’ve made it over seventy two hours without water, any longer than that and you risk doing major damage. Is protecting the PSC really worth it?” I wince at the loudness of his voice as it aggravates the throbbing in my head.

  Reigyn notices, “How’s the headache treating you? It’s a classic symptom of dehydration. You also have increased body temperature, body aches and hallucinations to look forward to. Are you sure you don’t want to talk?”

  I shake my head, knowing that if I attempt to speak, it would come out as a croak. Reigyn is about to say something when the door opens and Salina steps in. “Untie her and prepare her to leave,” Salina commands.

  Reigyn gapes at her, “But she hasn’t given us any useful information. We can’t just let her go.”

  Salina gives him a stern look, “You will not question my authority,” she snaps, “There has been a change of plans. Now I am telling you to release her!”

  Grumbling, Reigyn takes out his knife and cuts the ropes binding my hands. My attempt to stand up sends the room spinning and Salina gives me a look of disgust. She calls for two guards and they roughly help me to my feet.

  “Here, take this,” Salina forces the water bottle and an apple into my hands. I eagerly drain the water bottle, but after a small bite of the apple I feel nauseous. Salina impatiently hands me some more water and I once I have finished that as well she turns to my guards. “Now follow me, and make sure she doesn’t pass out.”

  Our process is slow and tedious. The guards impatiently pull me along and I stumble and nearly fall multiple times before they realize they have to slow down. Finally we arrive at the entrance and the guards throw open the door. After several days in a dark, windowless room, the sunlight is nearly blinding. I shield my eyes from the sun and can just make out a dark figure rushing towards me. The two guards release me and shove me forward. I stumble, but someone catches me before I can fall.

  “Brie!” I recognize his voice, it is Flynn. He furiously turns toward Salina, “What the hell did you do to her?” He yells.

  Salina’s voice remains cool, “We did nothing that she won’t recover from. Just be thankful that you are both making it out of here alive.”

  “Thankful?” Hisses Flynn, “I thought we had a deal that you wouldn’t harm her.” He starts toward her and the guards jump toward Flynn, ready to defend their leader.

  “Flynn, stop.” I croak. He turns towards me, his dark eyes full of anger and concern. “Let it go,” I tell him, “It isn’t worth getting killed for.”

  Flynn takes a step back and the guards relax. “All right, give us our packs and we will go.”

  Salina studies Flynn before saying, “The return of your supplies was never part of the deal.”

  I weakly grab Flynn’s arm to stop him from lunging at Salina. When he speaks next, his voice is shaking with contained anger, “At least give us back our weapons.”

  “Not a chance,” Salina says evenly.

  “If you send us out there unarmed, you might as well just kill us right now,” Flynn argues.

  Salina considers this before giving in. She turns to one of the guards, “Byron, go get the prisoners’ packs.” He leaves and returns a few minutes later holding our equipment. Byron rummages through the bags until he has retrieved our knives. He hands the weapons over to Salina who inspects them before giving them to Flynn.

  “Give us the wooden ones too,” Flynn commands. Salina’s eyes flash, I can tell that she does not appreciate being ordered around, but finally she relents and hands over the two practice knives. Flynn then turns his attention back to me. “Can you walk?” he asks.

  “I think so. I just need a little help,” I reply weakly. Flynn pulls my arm over his shoulder, supporting most of my weight. In this way, we head away from the Endrone and back into the forests of Murderers.

  After we have put a safe distance between us and Salina, I allow myself to relax. I take time to study Flynn. He looks exhausted and strained. A bruise darkens one of his eyes, but otherwise the raid on Domus has left him unharmed. “How did you convince Salina to let us go?” I ask quietly.

  Flynn readjusts my arm over his shoulder. “I can be very persuasive,” he says darkly.

  When it becomes apparent that I can no longer go any farther, Flynn allows us to stop close to the bank of a shallow creek. I scoop handfuls of the cold water to my lips, trying to undo the damage of the last few days. However, although the burning in my throat is gone, the fatigue and aches still remain. I lay down on my back, doubting I have the energy to make the short walk back to our camp. I sit up as I see Flynn approaching. “You look horrible,” Flynn tells me.

  “Oh, great. Thanks for letting me know,” I say giving him my best attempt at a glare.

  “I meant that you look really sick.” Flynn looks genuinely concerned. He gently checks my forehand before pulling hand away swearing. “You’re practically burning up. What happ
ened while I was gone?”

  I sigh, “Salina guessed that I was from Innocents and wanted information about the guards. They decided to deny me food or water until I gave it to them and I never did.”

  “We need to get you some food.”

  “But the Endrone took our packs, and besides, I don’t even feel hungry,” I protest.

  Flynn manages a smile, “Do you think I would have survived this long if I didn’t know how to find food for myself? And even though you may not think you need it, you need to eat something to restore some of your energy. ”

  I am too tired to argue so I allow Flynn to help me to my feet. My dizziness returns and I would have fallen if Flynn hadn’t have steadied me. His next move surprises me; he scoops me up and carries me over to our camp before setting me gently down on the ground. He hands me one of the knives, “Just in case,” he says as he slips it into my hand, “but I will be nearby. If anything happens, yell, and I will come. Now try to sleep, I’ll wake you when it is time to eat.”