I didn’t want to know what the winged ones looked like, although I could imagine. Were they like me?
“Do you…think there are any good Fae?” I asked, sitting on the floor beside him.
He looked at me like I was crazy. “No! Why?”
I shrugged. “Didn’t you ever read any fairy tales as a kid?”
He quickly glanced away. “No.”
It seemed like I had hit a nerve with him. “I mean there are loads of stories of fairies being helpful and good.”
“Maybe the bad ones killed them all?”
“Maybe. But I hope not.”
“Why? Do you think they would save us?” he asked, and I heard a note of hope in his voice.
“I don’t know. It’s a nice thought though. So, what’s your real name?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Dunno. Everyone has called me Rat for as long as I can remember.”
“Do you like being called Rat?”
“Yeah, rats are cool. There’s loads of them in the tunnel. I’m going to catch a couple of them and teach them some tricks.”
I shuddered at the thought, I’m not a fan of rats. “As long as I don’t have to touch any of them.”
The restroom door opened in the back. I got to my feet and turned toward Lydia. As I did, I spotted it. A Fae wielding a sword. It let out a war cry, racing toward me. I stood rooted to the spot as it reached me and drove the sword into my leg.
Chapter 9
“Ouch!” I said.
Rat giggled. “Oh my God, look how tiny it is!”
I looked down at the tiny pixie looking creature, only three inches tall. The sword it held was barely bigger than a toothpick and had barely broken the skin on my leg.
Lydia approached it and raised her foot to squash it. “No, wait!” Rat cried. He quickly scooped it up in his hands. “We could keep it as a pet.”
The pixie growled at him and poked his hand with the sword, drawing a tiny drop of blood.
“We’re not keeping it,” Lydia said.
Even I had to laugh at it. It was so small and helpless. Rat scowled at Lydia, then disappeared into the store, returning a moment later with a shoe box. “We can keep it in here. It can’t hurt anyone.”
“All Fae are dangerous,” Lydia warned.
I turned away so she wouldn’t see my face. I listened to them argue, Rat finally winning and getting to keep his new pet.
We made our way to the restaurant in silence. Rat was excited about his new sneakers and pet, but I found myself lost in thought, wondering if I would be put in a box if they discovered what I was. That’s what Phillip did. In the old world, I was a freak, a novelty, but here I was something dangerous. Something to be feared.
The restaurant was a fancy looking place, somewhere I never could have afforded to eat in. The window was intact in this place, but the door was hanging off the hinges. Inside, tables had been destroyed and the place was a mess. We stayed against the wall, moving toward the kitchen. Every now and again, the Fae in the box would let out a little growl which would make my heart pound.
The kitchen had been ransacked. “Guess we’re too late,” I said.
“Check the cabinets, something might have been missed,” Lydia ordered.
Sighing, I opened the nearest cabinet and looked inside. It held a colander and some pot lids. We moved through them as quickly as we could, well, Lydia and I did, Rat was too busy peeking into the box at the pixie.
“Ah-ha!” Lydia said. She emerged from a cupboard in the back, carrying a large bag of white rice.
“Yay,” I said, unenthusiastically.
She grinned and held something up with her other hand. A jar of sauce to flavor the rice. It was better than starving although I would kill for a cheeseburger. Or ice cream.
Lydia placed the food into her bag and we left the restaurant.
When we returned to the tunnel, Enzo and Alwyn were still out. I hesitated on the edge of the camp. Now would be a good time to go. It was still early, I was sure I could make it to the highway and find a car and start driving. I had paid my debt by helping these guys out.
I watched Lydia and Rat as they lit a fire to cook the food. My stomach growled at the thought of it. But every store couldn’t be completely empty, I could find something on the way.
“Can you give us a hand?” Lydia said.
“Um…I was thinking that maybe I should go. I need to head to Michigan. Thanks for helping me out.”
As I turned away, Lydia said, “Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?”
She jumped in front of me. “Are you crazy? You know what is out there.”
“It’s daylight. I can get a car and…”
“A car would draw them right to you. The noise would alert God knows what and they would rip you from the driver’s seat while the car was still moving. I’ve seen it happen. That’s why we travel on foot.”
“Well I can’t walk to Michigan. What am I supposed to do? Live down here for the rest of my life?” I didn’t mean to snap at her, but I was so frustrated.
Lydia placed her hand on my shoulder. “Nova you can’t go out there alone. You would never make it. And we aren’t staying here, at least not long term. Enzo heard about a place, maybe a hundred miles from here. A safe place for survivors. We are going to head there soon.”
“Is it run by the army?”
“I don’t know. I think so. Enzo knows more about it than I do.”
“And you just trust him completely?”
“Enzo saved my life, he saved all our lives, so yeah, I do trust him.”
It was nice that she was able to do that, but I didn’t trust anyone anymore. My own mother betrayed me, I wasn’t going to put my faith in a perfect stranger. But right now, I didn’t have a choice. At least I would get a meal out of it.
We worked together to cook some rice over the fire, until Rat started to get on Lydia’s nerves, and she sent him off to find some rats.
“So, what’s your story?” Lydia asked, adding the sauce to the pot.
I didn’t meet her gaze, I couldn’t tell her the truth, not all of it anyway. “I, um, I was on vacation with my mom, then she had to go to Australia on a business trip.”
“Why were you locked up? Did…did someone… hurt you?” she asked gently.
I stared at the flames, feeling tears forming. “Um, my mom’s friend, I guess, locked me up in a room underground. He wouldn’t tell me what was going on.”
“That seems extreme, I take it this wasn’t to protect you?”
“No. He was a scientist. I think he planned on doing experiments on me. But then, I think some of the Fae attacked. I don’t know if he’s alive or dead, hopefully the latter. I escaped and that’s when Enzo found me.”
I finally looked up at her. She looked troubled. “Sounds like an asshole. I’m glad you escaped.”
I tried to smile but couldn’t quite manage it. “What about you?”
“That’s a long story. I’m an ex-foster kid and I was travelling with my ex when the Fae hit. He was killed and I ran. I hid out while everything went to hell, and then Enzo found me too. He had more people helping him at the time. Two other soldiers. One of them was killed and we don’t know what happened to Greg. I guess our problems didn’t start with the apocalypse, huh?”
“No, I guess not.”
Enzo and Alwyn arrived back, carrying bags. “Hey, everyone still alive?” Enzo asked.
“Yep, what did you find?” Lydia asked.
He dumped the bag on the ground and opened the zipper. “A few weapons, nothing iron though. Some food and some information.”
Lydia looked at him expectantly. “Well?”
“Someone else picked up the transmission from the base. It does exist and it’s not as far as I thought. We could get there on foot in a few days.”
Lydia smiled at me. “See? Told you we weren’t staying here. Did they know anything else about the place?”
“No, only that it is a safe place, for now. Be
tter than any other options we have right now,” Enzo said. He turned his gaze to me. “What about you? Planning on running off?”
“Guess I can stick around.”
“Good. Then you will be expected to work and follow orders. Understood?”
I nodded. I didn’t like the idea of taking orders from anyone, but I could be a team player. I would just stay out of Enzo’s way. He seemed to hate me anyway, although I don’t know why. I didn’t ask him to save me.
We all gathered around the fire and Lydia dished out the food. It felt so good to eat something hot and filling. It was no cheeseburger, but it was food and that’s all that mattered. When we were done, Enzo handed out some candy bars that he had found. Sinking my teeth into the gooey chocolate and caramel, I breathed a sigh of relief. I had been fighting a dull headache all day, but this would help.
Everyone seemed to relax, sated after getting some food. Rat told us about his new sneakers, his voice rising in excitement. He even got a smile out of Enzo.
“Did you tell them about your new friend?” Lydia said.
The smile vanished from Rat’s face and he shot a wary glance at Enzo. “I found a-a pixie.”
“And it’s dead, right?” Enzo said, sitting up straight.
“It’s really tiny, I keep it in a box and…” Rat was starting to babble.
“We don’t bring Fae into our camp. Are you stupid, or something?” Enzo said.
“Hey!” I snapped.
All eyes landed on me. If they knew I had infiltrated their group, I would probably be executed on the spot. Nevertheless, I didn’t like them yelling at Rat. He was just a kid. “It’s three inches tall. What can it do?”
Enzo got to his feet. “What can it do? What can it do?!”
He moved to stand over me, making me scoot backwards. “I watched a swarm of those things tear the skin off a man. In seconds. He was still alive when they started.”
“There’s only one,” I muttered, stubbornly fighting back when I knew I should just shut up.
“Yeah? And what happens if it escapes? Do you think it will just fly off and that will be the end of it? It will alert all its little friends and we are all dead.”
He turned to Rat, eyes searching for any sign of it. Rat tried to push the box out of sight under his blanket, but Enzo saw it. He snatched the box up.
“No!” Rat cried, trying to grab it back. They played tug of war with it, but Enzo was obviously stronger. Rat stumbled over his blankets and fell on his butt. I leapt up to intervene.
“Did it ever occur to you that it might be useful? That we could learn something from it? How do you know they’re all bad?”
Enzo looked at me like I was crazy. He ripped the lid off and the pixie attempted to fly away. He caught it mid-air. It gave a little squeak, struggling in his grip.
I was torn. Yes, Fae were dangerous, but it was a tiny little thing. It didn’t deserve to be killed any more than I did.
“Don’t,” I said, my voice wavering. Shut up! You can’t show emotion for them or they’ll figure out what you are.
Enzo stared at me and I could see the struggle on his face. There was anger, but there was also pain. I wondered who the man had been. Was it his soldier friend? Someone else close to him?
Finally, he raised his hand, grabbed the pixie’s wings and ripped them off it’s back. I felt bile rise up. How could he do that? He was no better than Phillip.
Enzo dropped the pixie back into the box and handed it to Rat. “Now it can’t warn the others. It’s your job to watch it, if it disappears, it’s on you.”
Rat hugged the box to his chest, tears falling. He nodded and replaced the lid on the box. Even over the sound of Rat crying and the crackling of the fire, I could hear the pixie mewling in pain.
“You’re a monster,” I whispered.
Enzo had already sat back down, he didn’t hear me. Which was fine. Because I honestly wasn’t sure who I was talking too.
I can’t stay here.
Chapter 10
I spent the next couple of days staying as far away from Enzo as I could. He and Lydia were going over their plan to get to this so-called safe haven. It would be a long trek and they were trying to find the best route, one with places we could take shelter in at night. Of course, with no real idea what was going on up top, we had no way of knowing what we would be walking into.
As worried as I was about the potential danger, the thought of staying in the one spot was driving me insane. I just spent months locked in a room, I couldn’t stay here much longer.
Leaving day arrived and Enzo gave us all a bag to carry, each one containing some food, water, blankets and an array of other items such as cooking utensils and spare clothes. Lydia got the first aid stuff as she was trained in first aid from a summer job as a camp counsellor. We were given our weapons, I was given the bat again. I was tempted to ask for one of the iron weapons, but it suddenly occurred to me, what if touching one of them burned by skin? I’m sure I’ve touched iron items in the past, but that was before my wings sprouted.
It’s probably better to stay as far away from them as possible.
We lined up while Enzo walked a line in front of us, like he was our commanding officer or something.
“Listen up. The journey ahead is going to be difficult, it is going to be long and we have no idea what we will be facing. We have a set route, but that could change along the way. The only way we are going to survive this is if we work together and everyone follows orders. Number one, we only move in the daylight. At night we need to be hidden or we’ll be easy prey. Number two, only speak when necessary, no noise that will draw attention to us. Number three, weapons on you at all times. I want your heads on a swivel. If you see something, tell me immediately.”
I was bouncing up and down on my feet, eager to get moving. Enzo stopped in front of me. “Do you understand the rules?”
“Yes, I’m not stupid.”
He scowled at me. “I’m taking a chance letting you tag along. I need to know that you won’t put the rest of us in danger.”
I glanced at the others. “I have no intention of putting anyone in danger. I just want to get moving. I hate standing still.”
Enzo sighed. “Fine, let’s move. Single file formation, stay close to buildings. Once we hit the highway, stick to the edge of the road, but not too close to the tree line, in case anything is in there.”
He led us up to the street. Enzo went first, followed my Lydia, then Rat, then Alwyn and I brought up the rear. It took time to get used to the sunlight, I wished I had some sunglasses, but I guess they were pretty far down the list of priorities right now.
I did enjoy the fresh air and the colors. Everything had been so muted lately, I missed this. We reached the highway in under an hour. It was strewn with cars, most of them just seemed to have been abandoned, but a few had crashed into each other. I saw glimpses of red smeared on windshields, bodies here and there, but I forced myself to look away. I really didn’t want to see the carnage left behind. I was surprised there weren’t more bodies, but considering that the Fae seemed to eat humans, there probably wasn’t anything left when they were done.
Funny, Roxy always believed there would be a zombie apocalypse. She went over her plan one night when we were on a sleepover. She had her escape plan ready and knew exactly where she would go if everything went south. It was part of the reason why I believed she was still alive.
I wished that I had something of my old life. My phone, a photograph, anything. But all my stuff was lying in Phillip’s house in England. The rest was in my house. Assuming it was still standing.
When we approached a cluster of cars, Enzo signalled for us to slow down. We approached the cars warily, checking that nothing was hibernating inside them. As Enzo leaned his head in the window of one car to check, I felt something wrap around my left ankle.
I looked down to find a branch curling around the leg of my jeans. Before I could open my mouth to warn the others, I was yanke
d backwards. It happened so fast, I didn’t have time to break my fall and my face smashed off the asphalt.
I managed to get out a whimper before I was dragged toward the trees. I tried to grab something, but my hands only pulled up dirt and grass as I was pulled into the undergrowth.
I heard Lydia shout, but I was too worried about what was taking me to focus on a rescue. Yanked upward, I dangled upside down. Spinning in the air, I finally got a look at my attacker. It was a tree! An actual tree, with a face and a gaping mouth, which I was currently suspended over. I couldn’t help it, I screamed.
Trying to curl my body up, to avoid the mouth, I looked for my bat. It lay on the ground several feet away.
What good will it do against a fricking tree!
It was moving me closer, it was going to eat me. Suddenly, a figure burst forward, aiming a poker at the tree. It sank into it like it was made of flesh rather than wood and the tree emitted a keening noise that nearly deafened me.
Its branches started whipping around and I was let go. Crashing to the ground, I tried to roll away in case it hit me with a branch. Enzo removed the poker and stabbed the creature again and again. I saw the fury on his face, but I saw something else too. Real fear.
Finally, the tree fell silent, its branches contracting, the trunk sinking in the middle. Getting to my feet, I put a hand on Enzo’s shoulder as he continued to attack it.
“It’s dead,” I said.
He wrenched the poker free, breathing hard. “Trees. Goddamn trees now.”
He was shaking, literally shaking. I couldn’t tell if it was rage or adrenaline, or something else.
“Take it easy,” I said.
He spun to face me. “Be more careful.”
Stomping off, I followed behind, pissed at his attitude. I’m so sorry I didn’t keep an eye out for killer trees!
The others waited on the road, their backs to each other as they checked every direction. I wondered if my scream had attracted anything. I really hoped not, my face was still throbbing from meeting the ground. Wiping a hand across my face, I found blood. My chin was bleeding.
Bloodlines Page 5
