by Allison West
"This way," Aria said, dragging James with her through a narrow alleyway, farther from the sound of the van.
"What do you think they want with us?" he asked.
She didn't have time to stop and think. "Don't know." Aria gasped for breath. She pulled him through the alley and into an abandoned storefront, past a newspaper stand. Unable to read a word of the newsprint, the letters were foreign to her.
The lock on the door jiggled loose, and she forced it open without much effort. It had once been a dress shop, at least according to the image in the broken window. The racks were empty. They forced their way inside. There was no electricity. Daylight peeked through the open windows. They needed to move farther inside the shop, out of sight.
"Quick," he said and pulled Aria through a swinging door, into a back room.
The city remained eerily quiet, except for the sound of a noisy van patrolling the street. The men's uniforms were similar enough to be military, but they had no name, no insignia or brand on their outfit to identify the men who hunted James and Aria.
They'd spent four days hiding in abandoned skyscrapers, never running into another living human. Who were these men, and how had they found them? If they hadn't brandished weapons and been so overzealous to take attack, Aria might have thought they'd be forcing them from the empty city. So much for them being humanitarians.
In the few days searching the city for food and shelter, twice, Aria had stumbled onto corpses, rotting and smelling up the buildings they entered. She couldn't tell what had killed them. They'd gotten lost in the city and hadn't seen anyone else from the vessel. The ship remained docked at sea. At least, it had been agreed upon to leave it there for a week. If the land proved dangerous, as Amity Island had been, with the Knight Tribe, then they would travel up the coast to another inhabitable strip of land.
There was little chance that they'd face the option of leaving the mainland. Neither James nor Aria knew how to get back to the ship, and James had a wicked sense of direction. Besides, an abandoned city seemed less horrific than a city of lessers being forced to do as the elites instructed.
Maybe staying here wouldn't be so bad, if they could escape the four strange men. Why were they following them? They hadn't robbed James and Aria when they could have easily taken their sacks. Something felt off.
They were not alone, at least not entirely. Knowing that the crew and passengers were taking shelter in the abandoned buildings eased Aria's mind. They were out there, but the protection they bought from Sawyer was gone. There was no one left to help them but each other.
Buried within the city, surrounded by buildings taller than mountains, Aria couldn't see their ship or hear the waves at sea.
"Why is it the first people we see in days want to kill us?" Aria asked.
James remained quiet, thoughtful about his response. "No one said leaving Brayleigh would be easy."
Aria snorted under her breath. That was the understatement of the century. They had found the mainland, as the Knight Tribe had called it. Their captain had said that it was a country of more than a billion people before the Gem Apocalypse. As Aria had left the ship and approached land, she’d had high hopes of what this society would bring.
After their first day on land, she had jokingly called it the city of ghosts. James hadn't been amused. Red graffiti and unknown scribbling of letters that weren't in their native tongue were coated to the side of buildings. Red made her think that it was a warning and reminded her of blood being spilled. Had everyone fled elsewhere? Why and to where?
The streets were narrow, and cars were abandoned at every juncture. On a few select streets, the vehicles had been plowed off the road, toppled over the sidewalk and into the bottom of buildings. Had the men who chased them cleared the roads for their own desires? Who were they, and what did they want with James and Aria?
The van drew nearer. "Search the block!"
Aria glanced at James. How long did they have until they were caught? If they truly searched the stores, then they would be found in no time.
"Is there a back exit?" Aria glanced behind her in the dark and wandered through the confined space, knocking into something that toppled from a shelf. The sound echoed through the building, and she felt slightly damp and sticky.
Worse, she smelled a strong, unpleasant odor in the small space.
"Shit." James grabbed her arm and pulled her from the back room as they skirted the shop, heading for another exit.
Pale pink paint coated their feet and had splattered onto their clothes. They left a trail of footprints, but they couldn't go without shoes. Hopefully by the time the men spotted their path, James and Aria would be long gone.
James pushed the door open, and the sunlight forced Aria to squint. Blinded, the van pulled around the side of the building, cutting them off. Neither of them attempted to run as the men pulled weapons and shots fired out at James and Aria, forcing them back against the exterior of the building. They were surrounded.
James threw his arms up. Neither of them desired to get shot. Two of the men, both burly, with dark, thick hair and beards, dragged James into their vehicle. The other two men kept their guns trained on Aria. She couldn't fight off four men on her own. James didn't even attempt to fight back. Was he afraid if he did, they'd shoot her? They might anyway.
Why weren't they taking Aria with them? Her stomach tensed and she stepped forward. Who were these men, and would she ever see James again? "Where are you taking him?" Her voice quivered in fear. The thought of losing him, after everything they'd been through, terrified her. "Tell me!" She grew impatient.
"Shut up," one of the men with a gun snarled at her, his accent thick and foreign. Though it startled Aria, it shouldn't have been a surprise, given they had traveled halfway across the world by boat.
There was nothing she could do on her own to stop the four men. Her sack, filled with a few pairs of clothes and a sex toy she had picked up at the market back in Brayleigh, did not prove helpful right now. Looking back on it, she wished she'd opted for a knife, a gun, or even a dagger. What was she thinking?
Two men shoved James into the back of a white van. The third man slammed the door shut, and the assailant with the gun, who had just yelled at Aria to be quiet, headed for the driver's side door.
"No!" Aria rushed for the back door of the vehicle, but it remained locked. It didn't budge. Through the hazy glass windows, James refused to look at her. The men's lips moved, but she couldn't hear a word of what was said. Where were they planning to take James?
The vehicle took off, its tires skidded, leaving black track marks on the pavement.
Aria ran as fast and as quick as her feet would carry her. She couldn't keep up; the van was no match for her. "James!" she shouted to the empty void, knowing no one could hear her.
She trembled, collapsing onto the street, her head hung and tears falling fast as they pelted the ground. Breathing became a struggle as the scream ripped through her chest and spilled out her mouth. She was in mourning. How would she ever find James again?
Chapter 2
Raindrops fell from the sky. She shivered against the concrete, the cooler air and moisture making her uncomfortable. With reluctance, she stood, wrapping her arms around herself; she was soaking wet. Thunder echoed across the city, and lightning crackled above her. She needed to find shelter. It shouldn't have been too difficult in an empty city. Aria walked into the nearest skyscraper, the door swinging open with ease. The lock must have broken off quite some time ago, like many of the buildings they’d encountered.
Out of the rain and into the cold darkness, she felt frozen. Aria wanted to change clothes, but the pack she'd been carrying was just as soaked. Removing the clothes from her bag, she scattered them among the lobby desk and chairs, flipping everything right side up. What had happened here after the war? Had radiation settled over the city and forced an evacuation? If that had been the case, the men who had taken James hadn't been too concerned to wear suits to prot
ect themselves. It must be safe now.
Food seemed scarce. There were no rivers to fish from, and the canned goods they'd found had been few and far between, never leaving them enough to save and bring any with them. They had traveled far from the ocean. She didn't want to think about doing this alone, but she had no other choice.
She rummaged through the floor, popping open locked desk drawers and a cabinet behind the desk. There were paper, pens, and a few other odd looking office supplies. Nothing that she could eat or use to start a fire. She couldn't believe how much useless junk existed from a different time.
A loud ding chimed across the hall, toward the end of the large foyer. Aria's head darted up, and the lights above the elevator glowed. Someone rode the elevator down. She felt both excited and anxious. She grabbed the nearest item she could as a weapon, the pen from the desk drawer. Aria doubted it would do her much good, but if she felt forced to use it, she could jab it in someone's eye. Gripping the barrel, she approached the elevator with caution.
The doors opened and a woman dressed in browns, her eyes the color of emeralds and shaped like almonds, stepped out toward her. Aria had never seen another emerald until today. Now she'd seen five. Aria stared at the young woman's eyes. Her dark black hair framed her face. Aria blocked the exit to the elevator, transfixed.
The young woman gave Aria a firm shove, pushing her out of the way.
"Who are you?" Aria asked, chasing after the woman. It was only one of a hundred questions she should have asked, but it was the first to leave her lips. "Is everyone here an emerald?" Aria never believed in coincidences, but now, she didn't know what to think.
"This emerald has a name," the young woman said, ignoring Aria's question. "It's Hailey."
Aria felt relieved she spoke in the same native tongue. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment for her rudeness. "I'm Aria." She extended her hand.
Hailey turned her head, glancing over the furniture that Aria had covered with her wet clothes. "I see you've made yourself at home."
"You don't look surprised to see another person, alive." Aria dropped her hand, glancing around awkwardly. So much for pleasant introductions.
"Why would I?" Hailey asked. "There are a few of us scattered amongst the city. We tend to keep to ourselves. I guess you didn't get the memo."
"The what?" Aria asked, confused. "I haven't seen anyone else for days, except for James. He was with me, until some men dragged him away." Aria grimaced, unsure how to explain what had happened. She had no clue who those men were or what they wanted with him.
Hailey nodded. "I saw that from the window upstairs. They were claimers. Sapphires are a risk to all of us. So, they find them, hunt them down, and bring them into quarantine. Then they get a claim on them."
"A claim?"
"They're rewarded for their efforts," Hailey said. "You aren't from Grace, are you?"
"No. Long story." Aria didn't feel comfortable divulging it to her. In fact, she felt confident to keep her story of Brayleigh and Amity Island to herself. "How do I get my friend back?"
"Not easily. He has a chance of getting released if he can pay the sapphire tax, but by the looks of it, you're flat broke." Hailey glanced Aria up and down.
She didn't tell Hailey that James was a prince of Brayleigh, well, he was until she’d helped the rebels remove him of his title. His finances weren't accessible here in Grace. Which meant, they were without any funds.
The room spun. Aria felt dizzy. "I can help him escape though, right?"
"Sure. It's not like they guard the facility with guns or weapons," Hailey said with a smirk. She was being a smart ass. Aria could see it without having known her for more than five minutes. "Anyone with a debt to pay gets transferred to the brokers’ quarters. From there, an angel may choose to settle one's debt, though, in return, there is, of course, a cost."
"What kind of a cost?" Aria asked, her throat dry.
"It depends on the buyer. Some enjoy hunting humans; others want a slave to their master. Those are the two better options. I don't want to scare you."
"Slavery? Hunting humans?" Aria's eyes widened and her hands trembled, forcing her to drop the pen in her grip. "Why would someone do that?"
"Claimers get nice housing and all the food they can dream up, or so I hear. Most live west of containment. Your friend who was captured, is there any chance he's a sapphire?"
"Yes," Aria said, swallowing the lump forming in her throat. "Why?" The war ended decades ago. What could they possibly want with James? Aria's heart clenched just thinking of all the possibilities. In Brayleigh, the sapphires were dominant. Amity Island had taught them that wasn't the case throughout all of the world. They’d set foot on the mainland, hoping for a new beginning. However, seeing the empty city, knowing that more than a billion people inhabited the country, where did they all go? Were they dead? Had they left the city for another place?
Aria couldn't determine what had happened here after the war. The apocalypse was ever lasting, with little food, hardly any survivors, and a war that ceased to end. James being abducted off the street meant that the veil of safety they believed they'd found on the mainland was gone.
"It's likely he's been taken to a quarantine facility."
"Quarantine? He's not sick." Aria didn't understand why James had been abducted but not her. Was that what the graffiti had said, that the city was infected and under quarantine? They'd found a few dead bodies, but they hadn't looked sick.
"The virus doesn't show itself when it first infects a host."
Aria's stomach ached at the mere thought of a disease. Was the first sign nausea? "How did this happen? Why?"
"After the war, a group of rogue scientists retaliated for the murders and slayings of their people. They created a virus that genetically targeted only sapphires; the scientists called it the Sapphire Sacrifice. A few of my people banded together to stop the rogue scientists, but their forces were few, and we had no weapons to fight them with. It wasn't long before the virus mutated and came after anyone with brown eyes. Many of the scientists died from their own creation. It would have been a fitting ending, had the disease stopped spreading. Instead, it wiped out their families and neighbors. There was a scientist with amber eyes who survived. We forced her to make a vaccine, using a handful of the immune, which she successfully created before she fled the country."
"Why did she leave?" Aria asked. Had she not agreed with saving lives?
"We didn't give Sienna a choice. Let's just say, it was best that she left. Rumor has it, she found an island of paradise in the Pacific."
"Sienna," Aria said, repeating Hailey. Could it be the same Sienna who was the commander on Amity Island?
"There were some side effects on those of us who used the vaccine. Everyone having emerald eyes, that was one obvious byproduct of keeping us from infection." She stepped toward the door, glancing out at the rain pouring down. Thunder echoed through the large foyer. "Turns out, the only people immune are emeralds."
"Is the virus still capable of killing a sapphire?" Aria asked. Her first thought was of James. Was he in danger?
Hailey pursed her lips together. "Yes. Unless given the antidote, no one survives the virus."
"How do I find my friend?"
"You can't," Hailey said. "The claimers rule the city, Aria. They drag anyone without green eyes, who risks spreading the contagion, or worse, infecting the population if it mutates again, off the streets. Most have been vaccinated, but not all. The government, though it attempted to enforce vaccination on everyone, wasn't successful."
"Will they give him the vaccine?" Aria asked. "Is that why they dragged him to quarantine?" She knew it was to make sure he wasn't sick as well, but would they inoculate him while he was their prisoner? James wasn't one to accept anything done to him easily. Even if it was for his own good. She could see him fighting the men, forcing the vaccine away, as they tried to help him.
"You should know that if he can't pay for the vaccination, he'll
be forced into the program, waiting for an angel to rescue him."
Aria exhaled a long breath. Lightning flickered across the sky, illuminating the foyer. "How do I get him back? What do you trade?" What was valuable to the claimers in Grace?
"You need a lot of diamonds or gold. They're the top commodities. I know someone who has a healthy supply of funds, but nothing is free, Aria."
Sighing, Aria knew Hailey was right, but she couldn't let James be locked up forever. The idea was horrendous. She had to do something to save him! "If I don't have anything to buy James with, how else can I get into the facility? I need to get him out of there."
Hailey momentarily stalled. She looked torn, but Aria didn't know why. "I can get you in. There's an injection I can administer to temporarily provide you with blue eyes, but it will wear off."
What good would that do? Getting them both caught seemed like a lousy idea. "Do you know where the quarantine zone is located?" Aria asked. It would be helpful if she could find James and plan his rescue.
"What are you doing with a sapphire anyway?"
"It doesn't matter," Aria said. It was none of Hailey's concern how she felt about James.
Hailey was quick to take a hint. "Fair enough. The quarantine zone is due west of here. You'll need transportation to get there."
Aria didn't dare ask if she'd accompany her. Hailey slid a gun from the back of her jeans. She handed Aria the pistol, handle first. The top of the barrel was engraved with the initials H.K.A. "You'll need this more than I do."
She didn't dare ask why Hailey was helping her. She'd take any assistance she could get. "Thank you."
"I'm keeping your clothes, though, in exchange for the weapon," Hailey said. "You can keep the rags on your back, but the stuff lying around here is mine. Come back with my gun, and your clothes will be returned to you."
Aria nodded, accepting the terms of her trade. It seemed as though Aria had made out better in the deal. Did Hailey hope she would return? What happened when Aria was out of bullets and returned with an empty gun? Aria doubted she would be back. If she was lucky enough to help James escape, then they'd be far from the claimers who were after sapphires. Besides, if there was even a slight chance of infection, she needed to get James out of the city, and fast.
