I smiled at him. “Yeah, you have a point.”
The others appeared at the end of the aisle.
“Time to go,” Enzo said.
I stood up, glancing at the notebook. I tossed it back onto the shelf. If I was going to say those things, it would be to her face or not at all.
As we headed back to the main road, I felt like we were being watched. I looked around the area, but there didn’t seem to be anything about. Then I spotted it. Something in blue, hiding up ahead, behind a dumpster.
“Guys!” I hissed.
They all came to a halt. I pointed toward the dumpster, just as he ran out, waving an iron bar in the air. It was a human I was relieved to see, but he was aiming the bar at Enzo.
Enzo blocked the blow, wrenching the bar from the boy’s hands and shoving him to the ground.
“Calm down, we’re human,” he said.
The boy scrabbled to his feet. “I don’t care. Gimme your food,” he spat, pulling a switchblade from his pocket.
Enzo sighed angrily. “So, what’s your plan? Are you going to rob us?”
“Yes! Give me everything you have or I’ll cut your throats.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He looked about sixteen, would he really try and kill us for some food?
“There’s food back in the store. Why don’t you try there?” Enzo said.
“Because I want yours. Do as I say!” he snapped, he was starting to lose it. I could see his eyes were red rimmed, which at first, I thought was from crying but now I realized that he was probably high. He was breathing fast and his hand was shaking.
“We’re not giving you anything. So, either step aside or I’ll put you down. Either way, we’re leaving.”
He took a step forward, which surprised the boy. He hesitated, then lashed out with the knife. Enzo jumped back, then took a hold of his wrist. He twisted it sharply, making the boy squeal and the knife dropped to the ground. Enzo kicked it away.
We all moved passed them, back toward the road. Enzo turned his back on the boy.
“I’ll find you!” he screeched. “I’ll kill you in your sleep.”
Enzo spun and punched him hard in the face. He stalked away, leaving the boy moaning on the ground, clutching a bloody nose.
Chapter 13
“I don’t get it. After everything that’s happened, even though we are facing extinction, humans still want to kill each other,” Enzo said.
I was eavesdropping on his conversation with Lydia. He had a point. Some people still only looked out for number one.
Imagine Roxy having to live like that.
She wouldn’t threaten to kill anyone though. No, she would help people. Like in freshman year when some of the other girls were picking on Suzy Chapman because her clothes were from Goodwill. Roxy told them all to get lost, then she brought Suzy back to her house with us and let her try on her clothes. She even let her keep a brand-new pair of jeans her mother had just bought her. Suzy looked so happy. But that was Roxy.
As we turned a corner in the road ahead. Enzo stopped suddenly, then motioned for us all to hide. We ducked behind some burnt out cars.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Checkpoint,” Enzo said.
“I don’t get it,” I said.
“It’s where Fae trade humans like currency, so they can pass into their territory,” Alwyn said.
“Are you kidding me?”
He shook his head. “They take the territory thing very seriously. We’ve come across a couple in the past. Enzo rescued me from one.”
“Oh my God.”
Alwyn had been a slave?
“How do you think I know so much about them? The one who had me, he never shut up.”
“How are we going to get by it?” Lydia asked.
“We’ll head east, give it a wide berth,” Enzo said. “Take that street there.”
He pointed to a street up ahead, but it would take us close to the checkpoint. “We use the cars for cover. Move when I say and don’t talk.”
As we moved closer, I could hear the Fae arguing with each other. Some spoke English, others spoke a strange guttural language. I peeked through the window of one of the cars, curious to see what they looked like.
The checkpoint was a shimmering border and, on this side, stood a tall, human like man. Human in shape only. He had pale blue skin and pointed ears, but he was the closest I had seen to one of them looking like one of us. In his right hand he held a chain which was attached to a teenage boy. He had a metal collar around his neck like he was a dog.
The Fae the tall one was arguing with, was a squat little dwarf, also with pointed ears. The tall one yanked the chain, bringing the boy to his knees.
Were they selling him as a slave or as food? Or both? The boy was skin and bones, he looked so scared.
I turned back to the others to find that they had all moved onto the next car and were frantically gesturing to me to join them.
Keeping low, I hurried over to them. “We have to do something,” I whispered.
“Ssh,” Enzo said, glaring at me. He gave the order for us to move again.
I followed, but I felt awful leaving him behind. When we were far enough away to talk again, I said to Enzo, “Can’t we do something? There were only two Fae.”
“Two that we could see. Beyond the barrier there could be hundreds, thousands even.”
“But he…”
“Damn it, Nova. I know that you want to help that boy, but there are millions like him, if there are that many humans left. If we try to help, we’ll end up in chains too. Now keep moving.”
I knew he was right, but it didn’t make it any easier. We followed the street as far as it would go, then turned north.
As we passed some run-down houses, Rat started tugging on my sleeve. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I need to go.”
“Go where?”
His eyes widened. “You know – go!”
“Oh, right. Enzo, Rat has to use the bathroom.”
Enzo stopped walking. “Go between the houses and be quick.”
He handed me his box and rushed off. The pixie was quiet. I lifted the lid for a peek, but he was sleeping.
We waited, everyone constantly looking around for any signs of danger.
“What is taking him so long?” Lydia asked.
I handed her the box. “I’ll go check.”
Moving along the side of the house, I called out softly, so I wouldn’t surprise him. “Rat? We have to go.”
I heard a muffled cry. Rushing forward, I found Rat in the clutches of a Fae. This one looked like an Olympic bodybuilder, except he had green skin.
I opened my mouth to yell for the others, but the Fae stopped me. “Don’t do it, girly. I could rip his head off before you even get the words out.”
Rat’s eyes went wide as he continued to twist in the Fae’s grip.
“Please don’t. Let him go and take me. Look at him. A tiny little boy, he wouldn’t make much of a meal,” I rambled, trying to buy some time. I didn’t have an iron weapon, what could I use against him?
“That sounds like a fair trade. Come here, girly,” the Fae said. He smiled, revealing rotten, stained teeth.
I took a trembling step toward him. Heat flowed into my hands, reminding me that I didn’t need a weapon, I was a weapon. Moving closer, I wondered how I could do it without Rat seeing me.
His life is more important than my secret.
“Let him go,” I said.
The brute threw Rat to the ground and grabbed me by the arms. Reaching up, I pressed my hands to his face. He shrieked in pain as his flesh started to bubble and burn.
“Release me,” it ordered, but I held on. I saw his eyes flicker a strange pink color. “Release me, human, I command it.”
Is he trying to mind control me? If he was, it wasn’t working.
“Nova? Rat?” I heard Enzo calling for us. I turned my head in their direction.
The Fae
used the distraction to get away from me. He raced off across the yards, still howling.
Rat lay on his side and for a heart stopping moment I thought he was dead. Then he opened his eyes and looked up at me.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He nodded. “You saved me.”
I grinned at him. “Any time kid.”
Enzo and the others appeared.
“What the hell happened?” Enzo demanded.
“There’s no time. He’ll alert the others,” Lydia said. “We need to run.”
Chapter 14
When we finally stopped running, I was ready to collapse from the heat. The hoodie wasn’t helping matters but I couldn’t take it off.
I downed the water in my bottle, but it did little to help. The others were red faced too.
“I don’t think anyone followed us,” Lydia said, hands on her knees as she caught her breath.
I dropped onto a nearby bus bench to rest.
“What happened back there? How did you get away?” Enzo asked.
“Nova hurt him,” Rat piped up.
I froze. Oh God, he saw what I did.
All eyes were on me now. Should I run?
“How?” Enzo asked.
“I, uh, I…the move you taught me. I gouged its eyes, then I kicked him where it hurt.”
Rat laughed. He didn’t contradict me, so maybe he didn’t see anything.
“Good,” Enzo said. “I knew it would come in handy.”
He let us rest for a few minutes before we moved on. I saw Rat rub his neck a couple of times. He was quieter than usual too.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He nodded, refusing to meet my gaze. Digging through my pockets, I unearthed a candy bar I had been saving.
“Want some?” I asked.
Rat grinned. “Yes, please.”
I broke the bar in half and handed half to him. He shovelled it into his mouth, only leaving a small piece for the pixie.
The pixie seemed like it was doing fine without its wings. It gave me hope that I would be fine without mine. I did mourn them, they had been a part of me, but if I had met Enzo in the alley with wings, he probably would have killed me on the spot. Not that I was giving any credit to that jerk Phillip. What he did was still barbaric.
As the sun started to get lower in the sky, we searched for a new place to stay. We found an old apartment building with basement access.
Once we checked to see if it was clear, we set up for the night. It was becoming like a regular routine which I found strangely comforting. If we found a place to sleep, that meant we had made it one more day, that we had all survived.
As Lydia started cooking dinner, we took the opportunity to rest.
“What would you guys be doing right now, if it was a normal night?” she asked.
“Talking to my friends online, ignoring my parents yelling at me to do the dishes,” Alwyn said.
“I would be at the beach, probably at a party,” Lydia said.
She looked over at Enzo. “Uh, probably grabbing a beer with some friends.”
It was my turn. “Me and my friend Roxy were going to visit San Francisco for the summer, before college.”
“What college did you get into?” Alwyn asked.
“Michigan State, business major.”
Alwyn seemed surprised. “Why business?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, I had no idea what I wanted to do, business seemed like a good choice.”
“What about you, Rat?” Lydia said, moving the conversation away from me.
“There was this old lady in the neighborhood, who owned a grocery store and she would pay me five bucks if I helped her sweep the floor,” he said.
I wondered again if it was a way to make some pocket money or if he lived on the streets. It didn’t seem right to ask him. We were all homeless now though.
“Come on. Let’s practise a few more moves before dinner,” Enzo said, getting up from the floor.
I saw Lydia watching me, as we stepped away from the others.
Trying my best to ignore her, I copied Enzo’s moves. He tried to teach me how to do a hip throw, but I couldn’t quite master it.
He placed his hands on my hips, trying to show me how to turn. I couldn’t concentrate, every time I looked up, Lydia was there.
When I got thrown on my ass for the millionth time, I decided to call it a night. “Let me try again tomorrow,” I said.
Enzo sighed. “Okay but think about what I said.”
I nodded, maybe we could practise somewhere else next time.
As we wrapped up, I headed back to the fire, eager for some food. Lydia handed me my plate with a smile. Why is she smiling? I thought she hated me?
We settled at the fire to eat. As I took the first mouthful of food, I felt my mouth and tongue burn. Eyes watering, I spat the food out on the floor.
“What’s wrong?” Alwyn asked.
“Water!” I gasped. He passed me his bottle and I gulped it down, trying to soothe the fire, but it wasn’t working.
“Is something wrong with the food?” Alwyn asked, turning to Lydia.
“No, mine tastes fine,” she said.
I started coughing, I could feel my face burning. Something was in the food, something beyond spicy.
Enzo came over and started patting my back like he thought I was choking. I kept drinking water, in between coughing fits and gradually, it started to ease.
“It’s getting better,” I wheezed. “There was something spicy in it. Really spicy.”
Enzo inspected my plate, but it looked like everyone else’s plate of rice. “Maybe it was contaminated. Someone accidentally got something in it.”
As everyone resumed their meals, except me, I saw Lydia watching me from the other side of the fire. She had a smirk on her face.
She did it. She put something in my food.
I dumped the food I had and dished out the remainder of the rice onto my plate. She didn’t put anything in the pot, she must have put something on my plate before she served it to me.
Gingerly, I took a bite. The food tasted fine.
This was punishment for training with Enzo again.
How petty. She was acting like we were in high school. Was I really so much of a threat that she had to resort to this? It was pathetic.
When we finished our food and were laying out the blankets on the floor, she walked by me.
“Stay away from him,” she whispered as she went.
I wondered if I should sleep with one eye open.
***
Lydia
Before Doomsday
“Get back in the car, Lydia!” Eddie yelled.
I ignored him and kept walking. Why did I keep going back to him after all the stupid crap he pulled?
“Get lost, Eddie.”
He swore at me, then slammed his foot on the gas and roared off, leaving me standing in the rain.
Now what am I going to do? I’d been with Eddie for six months. Ever since I aged out of the foster system, I had been on my own. When Eddie came along, I was living on the streets, shoplifting for food.
Not that he was some knight in shining armor. Far from it. But he did give me a place to stay and he was nice. At first. Lately though, he would start arguments over the stupidest things.
Maybe it is better he’s gone. I don’t need him.
I started walking, the hood on my jacket doing little to protect me from the rain. I realized that my bag was still in his car.
“Damn it!” I screamed.
The road was empty, I didn’t remember seeing a single car on our way up here. What was I supposed to do? Sleep in a ditch?
Why does this keep happening to me? Every time I thought I had a good thing, it always went wrong. Maybe I was cursed.
Checking my pockets, I searched for something to take the edge off. I came up with an empty baggy.
I put the rest in my bag.
In a rage, I swung my foot at a rock by the side of
the road. Looking up to the overcast sky, I said, “Please, please give me a break! Just this once.”
As if on cue, Eddie screeched up on the other side of the road. “Finished your little tantrum?”
Scowling, I stomped across the road and got back in the car.
Eddie smiled smugly. “See? I know you too well, darlin’. You are useless alone and you always will be.”
I turned to look out the window. There was nothing wrong with wanting someone, it just had to be the right someone.
Chapter 15
It was raining heavily the next day, which slowed down our progress because it made it harder to see.
I was still pissed at Lydia. Did she have to act like a total psycho? I thought she was the nice one. I wasn’t interested in her drama. I would stay away from her and Enzo from now on.
As we trudged through the wet, I made a list in my head of what I would do once we reached the base.
A shower. A decent night’s sleep. Hopefully a good meal. It was the little things that you don’t think about normally. Now they could be considered luxuries.
I rolled my shoulders, trying to ease the pain in my back. It had been constant all day and now I was starting to worry that I had an infection. If we passed a drug store, I would have to see if I could get myself some antibiotics, just to be safe. Assuming they would work on me. Growing up, I rarely got sick. Despite being a doctor, my mother wasn’t keen on me taking anything that I absolutely didn’t need.
At least it wouldn’t be long until we reached the base. Hopefully they would have a doctor or a medic there. Although I couldn’t show them the wound. We were getting further away from the city, there might not be any more chances.
Like it or not, the person I would have to convince would be Lydia. I hurried up beside her.
“Do you think we could make a detour and try and find a drug store?”
“We have plenty of bandages and supplies,” she said.
“I know, but for other things.”
She glanced at the guys, to check they weren’t listening. “If you mean tampons, I have a few boxes in my pack.”
“No, I was thinking about medication. Painkillers and the like.”
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