by Maya Riley
Before I could begin to form a response, the sounds of clanking drew our attention to the scene ahead. Jonah was using his sword and stance to usher Maura backward, and she was blocking every blow. I watched, practically on the edge of the seat a few minutes later when Maura got the upper hand and Jonah’s step faltered. He regained his balance and grabbed her wrist, using the momentum to spin her around and twist her arm behind her back. Her swords fell to the ground and victory was claimed.
Jonah let her go and she swung her arms around to stretch out. After a few moments, she picked up her sword again and lifted it at the ready, aiming it toward Jonah and falling into an offensive stance. Before she could make a move, Puppy shot forward from her spot on the deck, barking as she sprinted. That’s when I noticed the rotters stumbling forward—no moaning, no groaning, and not making any noise as they stumbled along the ground to get to us. We were all caught off guard, all so focused on the sparring that we forgot to keep an eye on our surroundings.
Tea splattered my legs as the cup crashed to the ground. Lincoln was in motion, already well off the porch to take care of the threat. I jumped to my feet and reached for the sheath in my waistband to pull out my dagger. Everyone had sprung into action so fast, hot on Puppy’s paws, that no one else noticed the second group emerging. Rotters were already closing in from the other direction and I ran at them, blade raised high, as I punched the tip into the head of the nearest one. Pulling the blade free, I pushed the rotter to the ground, lifeless, and turned to face another. I raised my hand to stab again when a long blade emerged from its face, and I turned slightly to see Maura panting hard with her hands still wrapped around the handle, her eyes wide with shock.
“Maura…” I started, but no time to have a conversation. She tugged the sword out and nodded at me to finish off the next three. Cries of surprise had us spinning around to see that a larger group of rotters had emerged and half of them were in the process of charring. Lincoln remained frozen in his spot, staring at his hands. He soon snapped out of it and began looking around until his gaze met mine. His own eyes widened and he pointed behind me and the sudden tug of my hair reminded me that I still had rotters to take out. Maura screamed at me to start moving, and more fire shot from Lincoln’s pointed hand, engulfing the rotter behind me. I broke out of my trance and stepped back before slicing the heads off the last two.
The severed heads hit the ground and I turned around to see Lincoln doing the same. He stumbled and began falling forward, but Adam caught him. His eyes closed and Adam had to bear his entire weight. Picking him up, Adam carried Lincoln inside the cabin. The rest of us followed close behind and piled into the living room.
There was silence as everyone focused on the passed-out Lincoln, while Adam did his best to wake him up with shaking, light slapping, and water, but to no avail.
He needs rest, Jonah signed. He threw out a lot of fire and must be exhausted. One of us should stay with him and watch him until he wakes up, but he seems to need some rest.
“I’ll stay with him,” I volunteered.
“I’m not going anywhere else right now anyways,” Adam agreed. “I’m staying with Skittle.”
It was settled that we would all stay here with Lincoln for the time being. It wasn’t like we had many other options. I walked over and looked out the window to see the flames dying down. The fried rotters were lying on the ground, unmoving as they burnt to a crisp.
I walked over to Lincoln’s prone form and knelt down on the floor beside him. Using my hand to push his hair back, I took a good look at his face. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping.
A tingling sensation began in my chest. It was very faint, and at first I didn’t know if it was even there. Then it began to spread down my arm and to the hand and fingers that were on Lincoln’s face. Not feeling the urge to pull away, I kept it there, watching my palm cradling his cheek, with building anticipation as I waited for something to happen.
I was watching so intently that the deep, gasping breath that left his mouth took me by surprise and I nearly pulled away. The tingling sensation grew stronger and I continued to hold on until it faded and he opened his eyes.
“What was that?” His eyes shot to me. “I think you just healed me.”
I smiled. “Well, now we know that I can heal more than only myself.”
Adam helped him into a sitting position and clapped him on the back. “How ya feeling?”
Lincoln turned his head side to side, stretching and cracking his neck. “Better than before, actually. I feel more refreshed than I have been in a long time. Hell, even my leg isn’t hurting anymore.”
I frowned at that. “Your leg has been bothering you?”
“Yeah, nothing to really worry about. A little bit here and there. It’s why I’ve been sitting down more than usual. I’ve been trying to rest it, hoping that would do the trick since I didn’t think I’d ever be able to get this thing calibrated.” He lifted his pant leg and my frown deepened.
“Linc, man, you should’ve said something.”
“Like what?” He shot back, defensive. “What could any one of us have possibly done? We’ve been stuck inside this cabin and before that, we were stuck inside a fire station. We can’t even be outside anymore without getting overrun with rotters. There’s nowhere I could possibly go to have this fixed. It’s not like we could just hit up the nearest hospital and write my name on the waiting list. Even if we did get to a hospital, all the medications and supplies have been scavenged. So tell me, B, what could you have possibly done for me?”
I looked him straight in the eye as I answered, “I could’ve tried to heal you, obviously. Find out the extent of this thing.”
“We don’t know for sure what you could do. For all we knew, you could only heal yourself. None of us had any idea whether you could heal others too.”
“So, what? You made the decision to keep the rest of us in the dark while you dealt with your pain? I don’t give a shit what you think you can handle on your own. You don’t always have to be the strongest all the time. You’ve got us. You’ve got me now. We take care of each other, like we have been this whole time.”
“Don’t you go lecturing me about honesty. You haven’t exactly been upfront about your healing ability until very recently,” he exclaimed. “And don’t go giving the excuse that you’ve been busy. You’ve had plenty of time to come clean, just like I have. Don’t go acting all high and mighty when you’ve been doing the exact same thing.”
“That’s different. I wasn’t in such physical pain that I could barely even stand, putting everyone else in jeopardy—”
“The hell you weren’t, you put us all in jeopardy just as much as I did. The only difference is I can admit it.” There was so much anger behind his words that I couldn’t help what I did next. I picked up the sword and two daggers nearby, and ran out the door, slamming it behind me.
Blyss
The burning rotters were smoldering down as I rushed past, placing the sword into the holster on my back with awkward accuracy. I had no idea where I was going, but I needed to get out. To burn off some of this pent-up energy and maybe find some rotters to fight. It was normally Mateo who I argued with, and I wasn’t expecting something like that with Lincoln. He was right though, I shouldn’t be one to talk about hiding things from the group. Hell, I’ve been hiding things my entire life, I shouldn’t expect everyone else to trust me with all of their personal issues.
A rotter wandered into my path and I readied my daggers in each hand. Picking up my pace with each step, I raised one of the daggers higher and threw it. My eyes followed its movement as it sailed through the air before embedding itself in the center of its rib cage.
I didn’t want a quick slice and dice; I was more interested in playing with my prey at the moment.
The rotter stumbled forward and reached its arms toward me, not at all caring about the blade still jammed in its chest. I sidestepped the rotter as it stumbled past and grabbed a fistful o
f the long, black hair that trailed behind it. Twisting my hand to wrap the hair around it, I yanked, causing the rotter to fall backward in the process. The cracking of breaking bones sounded in the quiet daylight as the legs bent backward at the knees as it tried to twist away from my grasp.
I knelt down on the ground beside it and turned my hand with the hair, twisting the head to face me. Getting my own face closer, I studied it. The dead, blue eyes stared right past me while the unhinged jaw opened and closed, wanting to get closer. The skin covering its face was all cracked and peeling off, showing some cheekbone beneath. The smell of its breath sent me gagging and cut my observation short. Raising the dagger in my other hand, I shoved it into the skull, watching as the corpse stilled and its miserable existence was ended once and for all.
I pulled the first dagger out of its chest, along with the one in its skull, and I wiped them both on the rotter’s ragged clothing, before standing back up and continuing on my way. That helped, but I still had more of these fucking emotions to get out.
I was more pissed off at myself than anything. My life had always been a mess and I wasn’t in any position to dictate someone else’s life. Self-guilt wasn’t going to lead me anywhere though, so I would simply remain pissed off until I somehow cooled down. So much energy was raging inside of me, far more than what should have been in this situation. I was aware I was probably being unreasonable, but I didn’t know how to bring myself down. Static rippled under my skin, tickling my wrist. I raised my hand to scratch it and noticed faint blue lines crackling across my hand and wrist, and I watched in awe as it rippled over my skin, aching to get out. I broke into a run, the excessive amount of energy building up fast. I ran as fast and as far as I could before it began to dissipate and my skin returned to normal.
After running and berating myself for an indeterminable amount of time, I realized I hadn’t been paying any attention to where I was going, being so lost in my own internal turmoil and confusion. I had intended to only to go for a walk to cool down, not wander so far away. I reached a dirt path that appeared out of nowhere and would have been easily missed due to the overgrown weeds creeping across it. Curious, I decided to follow it.
The path wound around for some time and it wasn’t until the sun was nearing the horizon that I reached the end of the path. It led to nothing, only stopped in the middle of nowhere. All I could see were countless trees and overgrown vegetation that winter had failed to kill off. Sighing, I leaned back against a tree and slid down until my butt was resting in the dirt. I’d walked nearly a full day away from my shelter and from the only people in my life who ever gave a damn. Now it was nearing nighttime and I had no shelter, no food, and no water. I was so damn stubborn that I put myself in this situation. I looked up at the tree above me and eyed the thick branches. Looked like I’d be sleeping up in a tree tonight, then I’d think about going back in the morning.
A rustling of leaves to my left startled me and I jumped to my feet in a defensive stance. In one smooth motion I pulled the sword from my back and held it out in front of me at chest-level, ready to attack. “Who’s there?” I called out. Silence was my only answer, and my stance stiffened. If it was a rotter, then it would be continuing to move toward me. If it was a living person, then it would be unmoving, watching me, laying there in wait and ready to attack.
I willed my legs to move forward, to unveil what was hidden and get this over with, but the fatigue from the day’s run kept them locked in place. “I said, who’s there?” I tried again with added confidence.
A dark, ebony head popped out. “Don’t attack! It’s me.”
“Maura, what are you doing here?” I asked, dumbfounded.
“I followed you, of course. You can’t walk out on me, promise to return but don’t, and then when I finally find you again and you promise to stay, you run away from me. Again. You promised me, Blyss!” Tears began to run down her cheeks. “You promised that we would be together again and that it would stay that way!” Her voice continued to rise in anger and I dropped my arms at my side.
“You’re right,” I whispered. “I’m sorry. I needed to get away and wasn’t thinking, and then lost track of where I was going.” I sheathed the sword and blew out a breath. “I don’t even know where we are now.” I held out a hand, motioning for her to take it. “Here, stay with me. I need a short rest and then we’ll head back.”
She sniffled and walked toward me, taking my hand in hers. I wrapped her up into a hug and we stayed that way, until tiredness overcame us. We climbed the tree and rested on the thickest branches. A small nap would energize us for the long walk back.
Perching my butt on a limb, I remembered something and reached into my back pocket, before pulling out the opened bag of skittles. I took two out and handed one to Maura. It wasn’t much, and too many would make us thirsty, but it was something. We ate our skittle as the sun dipped below the horizon and I thought back to the guy who’d given them to me, wondering what the others were up to right now. Regret was a horrible feeling.
Cries from my younger foster siblings filled my ears until they blocked out all other sounds. I struggled against my bonds to no avail, the rope chafing my wrists raw.
I’d been tied to a pole down in the basement for an indeterminable amount of time. There were no windows, no light. I could feel water sliding up my legs and the puddle grew larger with every drop that fell from a leaking pipe. Up until now, when the screaming reached me, the steady dripping noise of every water drop was the only sound I could hear.
When Mama G grabbed little Jakobe in another one of her rage episodes, I’d punched her in the jaw and freed him from her clutches. He ran and hid while I stood my ground to deal with the fallout. She overpowered me with a lamp to the head and dragged me down here. This was nothing new though. I’d spent many days and nights throughout the years tied to this very same pole in the dark and wet basement. Every year I grew stronger, every year I put up a little more of a fight, and every year she became more venomous. Until I got older and she tried new tactics, affecting me mentally to get a rise out of me rather than quite as much physical torment.
This was the longest that she’d left me here. I would normally be freed long before she’d go on another attack.
The cries from above grew to a crescendo and I struggled more. Even being weakened from lack of food and water, I would still find a way out of this hellhole. If she laid one finger on my siblings, I would break that finger and take her out before she knew what hit her.
A faint burst of static wrapped around my wrists and my hands were pulled free, and the rope that once bound them fell to the floor beside me.
I had one year left in this hell, and I was going to make sure it was no paradise for Mama G either.
At the sound of cracking wood, I was snapping awake and on full alert.
I looked all around from my spot perched up in the tree to see nothing out of the ordinary, until I glanced down at the sound of crunching and saw a group of rotters surrounding the tree we were in. Maura was awake too and noticing the same thing. At least we had weapons this time. Between the two of us, we should be able to crawl one branch lower and jump over them to the ground. I had this sister-bonding thing in the bag. Running, killing, and struggling to survive—the trifecta of a strong relationship.
Ensuring the blades were secured in their sheaths attached to my belt loops and on my back, I slid off my branch and onto the lower one with Maura close behind.
I scooted back until my butt was up against the trunk, wrapped my arms and legs around the branch, and flipped so I was hanging upside down. Holding tight with my arms, I braced my feet against the trunk, pushed off with my toes to gain momentum and sailed back, up, and over the heads of the rotters, before landing on the ground and rolling to my feet. Quickly turning around once I regained my balance, I reached back and pulled the sword free and swung hard, severing another decayed head with every swing. Once I checked that the coast was clear, I wiped the gooey subs
tance off the blade and onto the tattered jersey of the nearest rotter, and sheathed the blade.
“Wow,” Maura said as she landed next to me. “Couldn’t save at least one for me, could you?”
I rolled my eyes. “Come on, let’s get moving. See if there are any berries around here before we start the long walk back. That is, if any are growing yet this early in the spring.”
I wanted to say that there hadn’t been any berries or anything on the path here, but I was too in my head during that time, and honestly couldn’t remember whether there had been or not. I also didn’t have a green thumb and had no idea when different foods ripened. It wouldn’t hurt to scout the area here first.
Maura linked her arm with mine and we walked through the eerily silent woods. My mind wandered and I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on back at the cabin. Now that I thought about it, why did we even need to go back? The only one I really needed was right here on my arm. I’d been avoiding relationships most of my life, since they always ended poorly for me, so why did I need these guys? Sure, the guys were different from anyone I’d ever met, but they’d move on fairly quickly and might even be glad that I wouldn’t show back up. Then there was Puppy. The thought of running away and leaving her behind like I’d done to others on other occasions broke my heart. At the very least we could return, see what happens, and if we do end up leaving, then pack some supplies and head south. We would go back though. I was done running and leaving everyone else behind. It was about time I did something about that, whether they wanted me back or not.
The early morning chill seeped through my clothes and I rubbed my hands together, trying to get warm. Thinking of how useful Lincoln would be with his fire right now nearly made me laugh. The memory of the last time he used it was still fresh in my mind, mingled with the hurt of how I’d left. I’d never been good with dealing with people.
