by Shade Owens
I didn’t want to see anyone limping or hear complaints about how far we were going, so I didn’t look back. This wasn’t some leisure hike on a Saturday afternoon—we were in this all or nothing.
“Far enough,” I said.
The problem was, we’d run east from the Northers’ city, and the Cove was situated somewhere southwest. Now, we had to backtrack.
Quinn didn’t seem to like this all that much. She looked straight ahead, her blotchy red cheeks jiggling a bit as she stomped forward.
“As soon as we change our path,” I said, “we’ll take a break. But we’ve been moving west for God knows how long. We need to—” But, something came to mind. I stuck a hand out in front of Quinn’s face, even though she wasn’t talking, and everyone stopped walking.
“You.” I pointed at a short-haired woman with rounded shoulders and a flat, muscular chest. All in all, it looked like she was handling this trek well and was precisely what I needed—muscle. She pointed at herself as if to say, Me?
“Grab a leafy branch… Any branch. I need you to start wiping our prints at the back of the line. Think you can handle that?”
She gave me a brief nod like a soldier trained to obey any order given and started jogging to the back.
“I’ll help,” came someone’s voice, and my gaze moved to a tall dark-skinned woman with thick arms and a soft smile.
I nodded as a way of thanking her, and she disappeared into the crowd.
“If each and every one of you can start stepping out of line to make it look like you ran, do it. Let’s keep this messy.”
A loud whisper broke out, filling the air with an energy that we’d need over the next few hours.
“Let’s throw them off their game,” I added. “Then, we stop to rest.”
This seemed to excite them. A few women at the front with arms wrapped around the shoulders of others straightened their stances, and an elderly woman with a round back and a sweaty forehead jabbed her walking stick into the ground, flicked her wrist into the air, and shouted, “Let’s keep movin’, ladies!”
And with that, we kept on marching.
By the time we reached a distance where I felt we were safe, the sun was on its way to setting, and a cool breeze ruffled the leaves overhead. I’d spent the entire day staring straight ahead, refusing to make conversation with anyone.
The only thing on my mind was to get these women as far away from the Northers as possible, and that was precisely what I’d done.
In an instant, the melodic sound of birds chirping filled the moist air, and the scent of damp earth entered my nostrils.
“Do you see that?” someone asked.
“Is that—”
“Water,” I breathed, gazing through the gaps of giant banana leaves, where crystal-blue water glistened in the sun. I rushed toward the leaves and pushed them aside, revealing what could only be described as a hidden paradise.
The water looked like glass, reflecting the sunlight from every angle, and large, bright green leaves hung overhead, almost touching the water. A small, yet powerful waterfall sat at the far end, falling down hard enough to create ripples and white foam.
A young woman with sticklike legs, a protruding collarbone, and big eyes that looked like gumballs came running out from the crowd in the direction of the water.
“Stop!” I shouted, but like a starving dog hunting its prey, she didn’t see or hear me.
Then, as she ran toward me, I did the easiest thing I could think of—I stuck my leg out in front of her and she flew into the air like a safety cone in the wind and landed flat on her face.
Everyone stared at me, probably thinking I was nuts for tripping someone who only wanted water.
The young woman finally unstuck her face from the dirt and pulled herself up onto her knees. She turned around and shot me a nasty glare as though getting ready to come at me, but she wiped that look off her face the second Coin’s hand came swinging at the side of her head.
A loud slap sound echoed through the trees around us, and the woman’s face went blank.
“Have some respect, for fuck’s sake,” Coin said. “You wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for Brone. So if you’re goin’ to be followin’ us, you do what she says, when she says it. And when she tells you to stop, you stop.”
“She only wanted water!” someone shouted from inside the crowd of dirty faces.
Quinn then stepped forward with her arms crossed over her thick chest. She looked as mean as Coin, only, in a different way. That septum ring and those colorful tattoos, along with the way her golden brows came together when she was upset made her look like the kind of badass no one wanted to mess with.
Like a loyal pack of wolves, Johnson, Hammer, and Arenas also stepped forward with crossed arms and elevated chins.
It was as if they were saying, You mess with Brone, you mess with us.
And although we were greatly outnumbered, it seemed to work. The women started breaking eye contact—some nodding, while others stood silently with their heads bowed.
“The water could be contaminated,” I said. “I’m trying to protect you.”
The girl I’d tripped rubbed the back of her head and scurried back into the crowd.
“Brone, look,” Johnson said, extending a freckled arm through the wall of hanging leaves.
I followed her finger to the water, where several antelope-looking creatures stood, their snouts dipped into the water. Thick horns sat at the tops of their head on an angle with their points aimed over their backs, and bright white vertical stripes decorated their orange coats.
I’d never seen anything like it.
“What is that?” Arenas asked, squinting.
Coin did the same, but she gave up and threw her arms in the air. “Man, we can’t all see that far.”
“That looks like a bongo,” came someone’s voice.
It was an elderly woman with thick-looking skin, a small mouth with brown teeth, and a chin that stuck out farther than her curved nose. It made me think of Olga, the Russian woman who’d cared for the Orphans when they’d first crashed their plane on Kormace Island.
She wiggled a wrinkly finger in the direction of the creatures. “That right there’s an African rainforest antelope.” She stretched her crisp lips into what I could only assume was a smile and added, “Worked in a zoo in 2032.”
“African?” someone said.
I glanced at Quinn, then at the others, but they all offered the same response—a clueless shrug.
Where the hell were we? I swallowed hard, afraid of what else we might find on this island, but then Arenas blurted, “So, water’s good then?”
I sighed and flung a hand in the air, and everyone stormed loudly through the narrow entrance between two angled trees. Within seconds, the sound of water splashing filled the air, and women with excited voices talked over one another.
“You think we’re in Africa?” Johnson asked, her big mouth hanging open so wide it made her neck disappear.
I didn’t know what to think. The only thing I could think of was Mr. Milas, Attorney General of the Department of Justice, and the way he’d smiled so cockily at the camera when being interviewed about the penal islands. I remembered his bleached teeth, his crisp white suit, and his blond hair pulled back into a small bun.
He’d already admitted that the government had played a part in populating the island with wildlife. But to what extent? Had they added a single species, such as wild boar, to keep us fed? Or had they populated the whole damn thing? If so, how many species had died off due to climate? How many more were there? And what else hadn’t we seen yet?
“Brone!”
I glanced up, suddenly realizing that I was standing alone at the entrance of the small bay.
Hammer stood tall with a proud grin on her face. She held something in her hand, though I couldn’t tell what it was from this distance.
“What is it?” I asked.
She took a few steps forward, her index finge
r poking the top of whatever it was she was holding. She twirled it around in her hands a few times until it landed flat in her palm. It was a small triangular rock, no bigger than the size of a golf ball, with a natural point to it.
“Looks like we hit a goldmine,” she said, her smile growing wider.
I wanted to hug her and tell her how amazing she was for always finding ways to craft us weapons. Without Hammer, we wouldn’t have survived this long. But instead, I found myself unable to express anything. Had I lost my emotions? When was the last time I’d laughed? Was I depressed, or was this the new me?
“You think you can make me a new bow?” I asked.
CHAPTER 5
“As soon as the sun sets,” I said, “we’ll have to put out the fire.”
A few eyeballs rolled my way as I spoke, and although no one said anything, I knew they’d do as they were told and put it out. The last thing we needed was something to draw the Northers to us, and what better way to do that than to have bright orange flames dancing and crackling in the middle of the night?
Hammer hadn’t spoken a word all evening—it was like watching a robot at work. The only difference between the two was that Hammer mumbled to herself every few minutes. She’d spent the last several hours forcing her way through crisp vegetation and loose vines in search of quality wood, collecting dozens upon dozens of stones, and slicing apart bamboo sticks to create strings.
A year ago, Hammer would have collapsed by now. But there she was, working away like an ant from an oversized colony as if fatigue was nothing more than a myth told to children by parents wanting a few hours of peace.
Everyone else, however, lay in awkward positions with limbs overtop one another and small lines for eyes on their faces. This wasn’t fatigue, it was exhaustion. Some women complained that their ankles were swollen, while others scratched at blisters on their feet.
“Hey,” I heard as I sat on a cracked log. I knew who it was before I glanced up to find her shadowed, disfigured face.
Sumi stood in front of me, the melted half of her figure hidden from view.
“Sumi,” I said, content to see a familiar face. “Where were you? I thought you—”
“Relax, spaz. I’m okay,” she said.
It was strange to think that a few months prior, I hated Sumi, all over sheer pettiness. But I didn’t look at her as the Village cook anymore; I considered her a friend.
“Thank you,” she breathed, and a soft hand touched my shoulder.
“For what?”
She scoffed, her attitude still as fierce as ever. “For getting our asses out of there.”
I laughed, even though nothing about the situation was funny. “It’s not over yet.”
“No,” she said, “but we’re almost there. Keep doing what you do, Brone.”
Before giving me the chance to say anything else, she turned around and made her way to a group of Asian women, assumedly friends of hers.
The log I sat on suddenly shifted, and I turned to find Johnson sitting next to me. She didn’t look over. Instead, she stared straight ahead at Sumi and her friends and at the women lying around the bay of water. She slid her bare toes into the sand in front of us and let out a sigh.
“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” she asked.
Although her words sounded insulting, I knew they weren’t. She rubbed at the freckled skin on her face, then turned her head to the side and stared at me with her odd, orange-brown eyes. “I don’t want them to stop believing in you, Brone.”
I wasn’t sure whether to be shocked or confused. The majority of Johnson’s vocabulary consisted of insults and idiotic comments—it wasn’t like her to want to have a serious one-on-one with anyone.
“I know where I’m going,” I said.
She cocked an eyebrow and leaned away from me. “Where you’re going?”
“You saw Zsasz,” I said. “She left with Franklin and a bunch of other women. They’re looking for the Cove.”
She nodded and chewed her bottom lip, and I couldn’t tell if she understood what I was getting at, or if it wasn’t clicking for her.
“I can’t sit here and wait—”
“You aren’t sitting here,” she interrupted. “We’ve been walking all day, and before then, we ran for hours. We need to rest a bit. We aren’t machines. And what’re you talking about, Brone? I thought we were headed to the Cove together.”
I parted my lips to speak, but nothing came out. The truth was, I wasn’t taking these women to the Cove. One of them, if not several of them, had given us away to the Northers the first time we’d tried to escape. Why would I bring all these women, some of them potential traitors, to my friends? It wouldn’t be long after that until the Northers came destroying everything again.
And as I stared at Johnson’s galaxy of a face, I realized I didn’t trust her.
Why?
Why didn’t I trust one of my own?
“We are headed to the Cove,” I said quickly. “We need to keep moving fast, that’s all.”
She stared at me and I became uncomfortable. She was either far more intelligent than I gave her credit for and knew I was lying, or she trusted me.
Either way, I felt awful.
The truth was, I’d have to leave these women behind. I couldn’t continue to drag them through the jungle while my friends were in danger. I’d guided them far away from the Northers—the rest was up to them.
“What’s goin’ on here?” Coin asked. She sat down on the other side of me and I wobbled back and forth. She stretched her back and let out a pained moan.
“Nothing,” I mumbled.
“Ain’t look like nothin’ to me,” she said. “I can see it all over your face.”
“Jesus, Coin, back off. I said nothing,” I blurted. I hadn’t meant to be so mean, but I didn’t need anyone overhearing her—I didn’t need anyone else questioning me.
She playfully rested her cheek on a closed fist. “Wow, okay. Guess it’s that time of the month.” She then slapped her knees, got up, and walked away.
Why was I being so mean? It was like I was trying to push everyone away—like I was trying to handle the situation on my own. I looked at Quinn who sat quietly against a tree stump with her forehead resting in the palms of her hands.
Poor Quinn.
She’d recently lost one of her best friends, and now, she didn’t want anyone talking to her. A few of her other girls came to see her, but she didn’t even look up at them.
Who did I have on my side? Who could I trust? Was it wrong of me to want to take off on my own? I’d be faster without anyone slowing me down. That’s what I needed in the end—speed. I needed to reach the Cove before Zsasz did.
If I brought anyone with me, they’d only slow me down.
I couldn’t risk that.
My heart started pounding in my chest and the back of my neck became hot and sticky.
Fuck.
It seemed like I was losing my mind all because I had no control over anything.
The worst part of it all was that I wanted to leave at that very moment, but I knew I couldn’t. If I was going to make it to the Cove alive, I needed my strength—and my bow.
I looked up in time to see Hammer walking toward me with a brand-new bow, a quiver, and a handful of arrows. The sun shone down hard over the bay of water, making it difficult to see her features. When she finally reached me, though, she had a tired smile on her sunken face.
“Here you go,” she said, and dozens of eyes turned my way.
I grabbed the bow and ran my fingers along every edge. It was soft—though not incredibly soft given the amount of time she’d had to make it. It sure as hell wasn’t perfect, but it would do. I wondered if I’d ever get Eagle’s bow back. I’d dropped it before Zsasz and her goons grabbed me, and now, for all I knew, it was being used to decorate some sacrificial Ogre altar.
“It’ll hold?” I asked, looking up at her.
She raised both eyebrows as if to say, Are
you kidding me?
I smirked up at her and shook my head. Of course it would hold. Hammer was the best at what she did. When she made something, she made it right the first time around.
“Might take some practice with these broken things,” I said, wiggling my slowly healing fingers, “but I’ll manage. Thanks, Hammer.”
She dropped the quiver and arrows at my feet. “Don’t mention it.”
At the same time, Johnson let out a loud sigh and stormed off.
“What’s up her a—” Hammer started, but I waved a hand in the air.
“Don’t worry about her,” I said.
When Hammer didn’t answer me, I looked up to catch her staring at me with two balled fists on her waist. Why was she looking at me like that? It was like she’d entered my mind and was now attempting to sort through my thoughts.
“What?” I blurted.
“You’re an idiot if you think you’re going alone,” she said.
My eyes shot from side to side, but when I realized no one was close enough to hear us, I glared at her. “What’re you talk—”
“Cut the bullshit, Brone.”
She plopped herself down beside me and the log rolled back and forth again.
“The only reason we ran in the first place was because of Franklin,” she continued. “Zsasz has her as leverage, and she’s hoping to use her to find the Cove. I know you. There’s no way you’re going to waste time leading hundreds of women to the Cove over the next few days when your friends—our friends—are sitting ducks over there.”
I parted my lips, but I didn’t know what to say.
“So when are you leaving?” she asked. “Tonight? Tomorrow? I’ll be ready.”
“Look, Hammer—” I tried, but she nudged me hard in the ribs and I let out a grunt.
“No, you listen,” she hissed. Her thick eyebrows came together under her curly bangs. It was hard to imagine that over a year ago, Hammer had bullied me and threatened me at knifepoint. And now, even though she pointed stiffly at my face, I didn’t feel threatened at all. I knew her anger was coming from a good place. “I’m really impressed with how far you’ve come, Brone, but stop trying to be a fucking hero. You must be insane if you think I’m letting you go after Zsasz alone.”
