by DeVere, Taya
“Away, where?”
The Devil turns on her muck boot heels. She points at the white boxes in the distance. “Well, first we’re going to go open those presents and see if we can find you all some food. Then, your friend Margaret here will help you all walk all the way to…” The Devil’s finger moves to point at the red glow on the horizon, “…there.”
“But that’s where evil lives.”
“What makes you think that, Owena?” Kaarina says, surprise in her voice. “I’ve just come from there, and I can tell you that it’s not all evil out there. Good people still remain in the city. Kind people. You just need to know where to look.”
Enyd hears footsteps returning from the house. She forces her eyes open and sees Noah and the two strange men helping Hannah toward the open gate. A steady flow of children follow them across the yard—and out the metal gates.
Margaret kneels down next to Enyd. “Help. Is coming. I am. Sorry. Sister.”
Baby Samuel is under that oversized sweater. He’s being robbed from Enyd. From Samuel. From the Lord. Enyd watches hopelessly as everything she has left to live for gathers outside the gates to leave Kinship Care. To leave her.
Margaret squeezes Enyd’s shoulder. Then she gets up and walks over to the She-Devil. She places her hand on the small of the Beast’s back and turns her away from the children. Enyd opens her mouth to talk, but she’s too drained by the agony and hurt to speak. It’s hard to keep her eyes open.
“I know. People in. The city. Kaarina. I’ll be. Safe.”
“You work with the Chipped?”
“I used. To.”
“Hannah needs to go to the hospital. She’s bleeding. Can you take her?”
“I’ll stay. With Hannah. You take. The rest with. You.”
Side by side, Margaret walks with the She-Devil and the Yeti. The children follow them out of the gate. Some hold hands, some jump and dance happily outside the gate. Some whisper into each other’s ears, pointing at the white boxes far in the distance. They clap their hands and squeal with joy.
Like a stream of ants, they cross the rolling hills. The line stops by the white boxes, where they fill their pockets and then continue forward—onto the field, up the rolling hills, and into the red glow.
Kinship Care falls quiet. The cold and wet ground feels like cement under Enyd’s tired body. She reaches for the red sweater and spreads it over her body. Like a red flag in front of a bull’s eyes, it will draw the Beast to her.
A few feet away from Enyd’s head, she hears footsteps walking over to the AR-glasses. Too beat to open her eyes, Enyd hears something rustling against the ground. Then, a sharp cracking sound sends plastic flying. Pieces of the AR-glasses land in Enyd’s hair.
There’s movement on Enyd’s left side. Small feet appear.
“Sister Enyd?”
A warm wave of relief washes over Enyd’s body. Owena. She’s left herself behind. She must have been hiding behind the statue all this time. She refuses to join the She-Devil. Refuses to abandon the one who’s taken care of her all these years. Owena doesn’t care about the treats inside the white boxes. Or fairy tales about the Yeti. More than the hunger in her tummy or her fear of evil—she cares about Enyd.
Enyd opens her mouth. She forces the words out. “Owena, sweetheart. You came—”
As Enyd finally opens her eyes, the words freeze on her blue lips as she sees the little girl holding a rolling pin. Owena takes a step closer and raises the weapon above her head. “Bad things control minds,” she says. “Satan took you over, Sister Enyd. With the glasses. But don’t worry. I know what to do.” Her hands shake slightly as she moves closer.
Owena swings the rolling pin hard into Enyd’s head. Her ears are ringing, and the taste of metal wells up in her mouth. The Beast will find her body, beaten and crushed. But that’s okay. Laura Solomon’s team will carry her into a black SUV and try to save her brain. Let them.
Now, Enyd doesn’t have to decide. There’s no one left for her to save. No doomed sinners for her to rescue. Half-smiling, she enjoys the sensation of earth, swallowing her, lulling her into nothingness. How good it feels to let go. Not to be the one holding the reins.
Owena grunts beside her. Still smiling, Enyd keeps her eyes closed while the girl smashes the rolling pin against Enyd’s skull. Another hit lands on her face. And another. Enyd drifts further and further away, images of rolling pins and AR-glasses flashing through her drained mind. Just before the darkness closes in, she hears Owena’s stern words.
“I know how to crush the devil, Sister Enyd. I know because you showed me.”
EPILOGUE
Stacks of mildewed paper, mountains of ransacked clothing, kitchenware, and bedsheets fill the cluttered, spacious living room. Or what used to be a living room. Margaret’s home. Margaret has sat down on a wobbly office chair, her fingers frozen on the writing desk. Staring into space, she’s been zoned out for a while. Ava’s fingers grip a dead smartphone. Back in Kinship Care, she hadn’t thought to grab a charger. Instead she had stuffed her pockets full of Enyd’s chocolate chip bars and a phone that belonged to her in the first place. The lack of battery doesn’t bother Ava. She’s with her mother now. With the other Unchipped—running away from those who hunt her kind.
“Margaret, we really need to get going,” Kaarina says next to Ava. “Hannah is in a lot of pain.” But the woman stays in her frozen state. Kaarina looks at Ava, pleading. She’s right. Hannah should be at the hospital already.
Ava walks to a half-burned pile of things from Margaret’s previous life. While she’s been away, someone has used Margaret’s belongings to build a bonfire. Ava picks up a broken picture frame, but only a blackened strip of photo paper remains. Did Margaret live here alone? If not, where is her family now? Ava has so many questions. But Margaret sits with her back to the rest of them. Her mind occupied, stuck somewhere in her past, she can’t turn around and read Ava’s lips.
Ava could tap her, snap her out of it with this new ability she’s been introduced to. But maybe the deaf woman doesn’t want Ava peeking into her past. Maybe Ava wouldn’t like what she’d see.
Kaarina walks into the room. A man with shoulders so broad he needs to turn sideways to fit through the doors is carrying a black trash bag, filled with things they’ve picked up around the apartment. Toothpaste, soap, clothing, towels, bandages, and Betadine. The Yeti turns to Kaarina and leans in to talk to her. When Kaarina whispers, the man leaves the room.
“Hannah is barely hanging on,” Kaarina says, her eyes fixed on Margaret’s back. “Does the car in the garage work? Are you able to drive it to the city?”
Ava kneels down and sets the empty picture frame back into the bonfire. A porcelain hand pokes out from the ashes. A doll. Her glass eyes stare into Ava’s. Who did you belong to? Did Margaret have a daughter? Of course, the toy can’t answer her tapping. But suddenly Ava must know more about the woman who she’s lived with for the past two years. The woman who saved them all from the Charity program.
“Margaret? Yeti saw a drone in the distance. We’re running out of time.”
Kaarina’s words bring Margaret’s hands back to life. Nodding repeatedly, she reaches to the back of the writing desk, runs her fingers on its wooden surface. With a sharp click, the desk’s top slides open, revealing a hidden drawer. Margaret reaches in and fishes out an old-fashioned laptop. Placing the device under her armpit, she picks out a charger and a small, metallic object. A memory stick.
Margaret hurries to Kaarina. “Take it. Use it. But don’t try. To fight them. Bring the kids. To safety.”
“But there’s over a hundred of them.”
“I know.”
Kaarina investigates Margaret’s face. When she finds no trace of doubt there, Kaarina opens the laptop’s lid. “Is there a password? A code?”
Margaret nods. “RESORT. That will. Let you. In. Change it. To something. Safer.”
“And then what?”
“You’ll find a. Map.�
�
“A map? To a safe place?”
“For. Now. And once. Those who you. Trust the most. Turn against. You. Open the. File.”
“Who will turn against me? Margaret, I don’t like riddles.”
Margaret walks back to the desk and clicks the hidden drawer shut. Then her eyes spot something in the bonfire’s remains. A metal jewelry box. She picks it up, opens it, and takes something out. A gold cross necklace. Ava holds her breath when Margaret walks to her and hangs the chain around Ava’s neck. She takes Ava’s hand and places the memory stick in it, then closes Ava’s fingers into a fist.
“The file. Opens with. A code only. Ava knows.”
“Me? I don’t know any codes or passwords, Sister… I mean, Margaret.”
Margaret gives her a hug, then holds Ava by the shoulders. Then Margaret’s soft voice booms inside Ava’s head. “It’s the. Same code. That opened. Enyd’s drawer.”
But Enyd was terrible. Why should we trust anything she created?
“Enyd wasn’t. Evil, Ava. She got lost. She misunderstood. Got scared. Besides the. Drawer. Was never. Enyd’s. In the first. Place.”
It was yours? You were in charge of the Charity—
“What is this, Margaret?” Kaarina’s words interrupt their silent conversation. The laptop’s blue light reflects against her pale face. Her eyes move on the screen fast, reading, soaking it all in. Her teeth bite into her mud and blood covered thumbnail. “So, it was planted in the drinking water? The plague?”
Margaret pets Ava’s cheek, gets up, and walks to the front door.
“Don’t drink. From the faucets. Do not. Shower. Just follow the. Map. And get out. Of here.”
Ava runs to Margaret and reaches for her hand. “Wait, you’re not coming with us? Once Hannah is in the hospital? What if they hurt you, the Chipped?”
Margaret turns around. Without looking into her eyes, she gives Ava one more careful smile. Something dark shadows her weary face.
“They won’t. Hurt. One of. Their own.”
***
Shoot! Book 3 of the Unchipped story is at a close. But don’t worry, you can find out what happens next in Book 4 in the Unchipped series, UNCHIPPED: Luna available on Amazon
***
My dearest reader,
You are simply amazing! Thank you so much for your support and readership! I can’t tell you how much you reading this book means to me. I’m humbled and honored that you’ve dedicated your valuable time to experience the Unchipped universe with me. I’m still a newbie author, so if you were to leave me a review on Amazon it would be a huge help! Short or long, doesn’t matter. Reviews are the best way to help other readers find the Unchipped Series.
Want to stay in touch? I would love it if you’d subscribe to my newsletter @ www.TayaDeVere.com/HappinessProgram Starting in August 2020, newsletter subscribers will receive free, exclusive early access to in-universe short stories from the Unchipped series a week before each book comes out. That’s every eighteen days so be sure to sign up to get first crack at the series!
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Gratefully yours,
Taya DeVere
***
THE END
About the Author
Taya is a Finnish-American author, writing contemporary fiction and dystopian sci-fi. After living and traveling in America for seven years, she now lives in Finland with her husband Chris, their dog Seamus, three bunny-boys (Ronin, Baby, Loki), and her horse of a lifetime, Arabella.
Best things in life: friends & family, memories made, and mistakes to learn from. Taya also loves licorice ice cream, secondhand clothes and things, bunny sneezes, salmiakki, and sauna.
Dislikes: clowns, the Muppets, Moomin trolls, dolls (especially porcelain dolls), human size mascots and celery.
Taya's writing is inspired by the works of authors like Margaret Atwood, Peter Heller, Hugh Howey, and C.M. Martens.
Final Thanks
A free spirit. An odd duck. Someone who refuses to go with the flow. I’ve been called these, among many other things, over the years. To many, my choices and plans (or lack of) have rarely made much sense. But I grew up not caring how other people see me. I’ve always chosen my own path, even when it meant that I wouldn’t fit in.
And it’s all thanks to my parents.
My father was a strong, confident person. When he walked into a room, everyone would notice. Not because he was loud or obnoxious, but because of his strong presence. Okay—he was loud and obnoxious sometimes. But ask anyone who once knew him, and they’ll tell you that without fail, he was truly and authentically himself throughout his life. During his career, he created a famous slogan that most people in Finland would recognize even today. “Vain pakki puuttuu.” It’s a slogan for a bicycle company, and it means “Only missing a reverse.” This is who he was. And this is the kind of person he taught me to be. Never look back, always go forward. Even if you’re scared shitless and shaking in your boots.
Thank you, iskä, for teaching me to be brave enough to be myself.
When she was young, my mother wasn’t dealt the best cards in life. Pain, suffering, doubt, and heartache were present in her life since the day she was born. Still, somehow, she made it. Alone and without anyone’s help, she moved away from Finland, traveled across the globe, and started a new life. One night, after three years of working and living in Israel, she happened to meet a Finnish soldier on the streets of her hometown. This young soldier asked mom if he could buy her a drink.
She said no.
But stubborn as he was, my dad wouldn’t take no for an answer. And, so the story goes, my mom agreed to have “just one drink” with him. Boy, am I glad she did!
Thank you, äiti, for teaching me to do the right thing, ever since I was knee-high. Thank you for putting up with my shenanigans when I was a clueless teen. Thank you for letting me go when I decided to move across the pond when I was twenty-something. And thank you for never judging me for my thoughts, my (sometimes terrible) ideas, and my beliefs.
Thank you both for helping me become the person I am today.
The Unchipped series – Release schedule 2020
UNCHIPPED: KAARINA - 8/31/2020
UNCHIPPED: WILLIAM - 9/18/2020
UNCHIPPED: ENYD - 10/6/2020
UNCHIPPED: LUNA - 10/24/2020
UNCHIPPED: THE RESORT - 11/11/2020
UNCHIPPED: LAURA - 11/30/2020
UNCHIPPED: DENNIS - 12/18/2020
