“Nothing I do will help anyone.”
“That’s a lie. I need you. I know we just met, but I don’t have anyone else and I need you to help me survive like you need your father and like I needed my parents,” I whispered, letting go of his arm and dropping to the ground, glowering up at him.
“This is getting emotional, so I’m going to go and stand in a corner and let you to talk,” Andy piped up, pointing with his thumb behind him, glancing at me and Isaac. He then backed up into the shadows until he was out of sight, where he began to hum a soft tune. I smiled at him, watching as he disappeared before returning my gaze to Isaac, who remained with his back to me.
Silence echoed throughout the boxcar, the loud grumbling of the train moving along the train tracks echoing and the light cast from outside began to grow brighter. Isaac shifted on the boxes and I watched as he settled down, sitting by the cards and crossing his legs.
“To Cobalt?” I whispered after a few more moments, shifting to sit beside him.
“To Cobalt,” he sighed, reaching towards me and grabbing my hand. I smiled at him, squeezing his hand, and for the first time, he smiled back – a true, wholehearted smile. I could see it in his eyes.
Two hours flew by as we waited for the moment we would arrive in Ottawa, and as the sun set and we let the lanterns, time seemed to go by even faster. Before long, the brakes let off their ear-splitting screech as the train pulled to a stop and the three of us looked up from our hand of cards, emitting a low groan. Andy just chuckled, clapping his hands together,
“We’re here,” Andy sighed, clasping his hands together in a fist.
“And I have the highest score, so how about that food?”
“What do you want?” I whined in a playful manner, glancing over at Isaac, wondering what I was allowed to give him. Isaac shrugged and I nodded – I’d give him whatever he wanted.
“Got any peaches?” He asked, grinning. “Or is this little guy up for dibs?” He pointed to Jumper, scooping him into his arms.
“An old can, I think. I don’t know if they’re still good, though,” I muttered heading over to our bags and rummaging through them, pulling out a small yellow can labeled ‘Canned Peaches.’ “And yes, he’s not mine. I love the little guy but he goes where he wants as far as I’m concerned.”
“Peaches are peaches, kid.” He licked his lips, eyes sparkling. “Haven’t had any of them for years. Used to have peach cobbler at least once a week, peach juice every day for lunch,” He continued, closing his eyes. “God I miss those days.”
“Here,” I said, grabbing a second can and tossing it over to him. “Take it as a thank you for saving my hide. And make sure you can keep that cat fed.”
“Aw, shucks, I’m glad I saved your butt. It belongs to a nice, young lady,” Andy said, beaming at me as he cuddled up to Jumper, who meowed in protest, standing up and tossing the box of cards at me. “Take these.”
I caught the box and looked at him, staring at him with a questioning gaze. “Why? You won the game.”
“You made this ride a little bit of fun and reminded me why I don’t throw myself off this thing. ‘Sides, I’m sure you’ll have loads of fun with them. More than I could.” He shrugged.
“Thanks, Andy,” I said, struggling with an idea of what else to say as I tucked the cards into my bag. “Are you sure, though?”
“I have another pack somewhere, I’m sure. Worse comes to worse I’ll just make my own set.” Andy patted me on the back, flashing his yellow-toothed grin. “Always remember that there’s a reason, by the way, remember the fun you had today. There’s always a reason to fight, always a reason to live.” His green gaze landed on Isaac, eyebrow raised as he repeated his words.
“Yeah,” Isaac muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets, his bag dangling from his shoulder.
“You keep this girl safe, boy.” Andy’s voice was stern and I looked between the two of them, glowering.
“I can take care of myself, thank you very much!” I protested, crossing my arms and stomping one of my feet. “You take care of that cat, or I’ll hunt you down,” I joked, crossing my arms.
“We know,” the duo responded at the same time, staring at me with smug grins on their faces. I couldn’t help but smile back at them, sighing as a light laugh escaped me. It was reassuring to know that I wasn’t going to have to keep going alone, that I had Isaac with me. I had spent so much time focusing on being with someone, making sure I wouldn’t be alone, that I hadn’t realized that I had found a companion in Isaac. Our worlds were similar, surreal as we went on each day expecting to see our parents. It was hard, but we could do it - I had faith in Isaac, in myself.
“Take care, Andy,” Isaac grunted as he leaped out of the boxcar and stretched, arching his back and raising his arms high above his head. It was dark out and there was very little light, but the moon light was far stronger outside than the weak flame in the lantern. He hopped down from the boxcar and I passed out or stuff to him, hopping out after everything was accounted for. Andy leaned against the entrance, shaking his head.
“No promises, kids. See you on the flip-side, eh?” Andy winked. “Safe travels.”
“Safe travels,” Isaac and I mimicked, watching as he pulled the boxcar door shut. The two of us took a few steps away from the train until we were about five feet or so away, watching as it began to gurgle and roar to life. It shook the ground and threw me into discomfort, the vibrations rattling within my chest, as it roared off and then it was gone within seconds, disappeared as if it had never existed.
“Carry on,” I sighed, glancing up at Isaac. He glanced back down at me, grabbing my hand and nodding, “my wayward son.”
“Yup,” Isaac responded, smacking his lips together. “Where are we headed?”
“Main roads, try and find a car if we can,” I stated, observing the surrounding area, my eyes darting from ceiling to floor. We stood on a gray cement platform, covered in crawling vines and plants, the winds soft and chilling, small snowflakes around us. There was a large line of pillars with a caved in, crumbled roof in front of us, the entrance to a large building a few quick steps to our backs. Above us stood a tall structure with a variety of large and smile tiles. Lights hung from the center of the smaller tiles, none of them with a single gleam of light flickering. Most of them looked to be hanging from a thread, and there was even a few smashed on the platform.
“I wonder what this place was like before..” Isaac murmured, kicking his foot against the platform. “Before everything died.”
“I don’t know,” I shrugged, hopping off the cement platform and spinning around. There were so many directions to go, and I had no idea where it was we should first head. What were the main roads? I hadn’t been in Ottawa before. “It’s cold.”
“Right, so we’re headed to the main road. Got any clue where that might be?” Isaac asked, stepping up beside me. “Jacket, Arin. They exist for a reason.” He dragged his fingers along my duffle bag.
“Not a clue,” I murmured, rummaging through my back and pulling out a pair of black mittens. They were thin and full of holes and wouldn’t be any use when the weather became colder and the world became a sheet of ice and snow, but they would do. “Want yours?”
“We’re off to a great start,” Isaac sighed, shaking his head.
“You’re telling me,” I chuckled, grabbing Isaac by the arm, deciding then I would drag him in the first direction I thought to. I turned first east, then west and started off that way while he stumbled along behind me.
“Are we just guessing where we’re headed?” He said, yanking his arm from my grip and plodding along beside me.
“Got a better idea?” I pointed.
“Not unless you have a map.” Isaac shrugged, his shoulders lifting and falling limp – it was a bit of an over-dramatic gesture in the moment, and he looked over at me with puppy dog eyes.
“Wait,” I blurted, pausing mid step. I grabbed my bag off my back and began digging through it aga
in, adjusting everything and throwing it onto the ground.
“What?” Isaac gasped, pausing beside me and staring at the stuff I was dumping onto the ground. “You’re getting the clothes dirty!”
“Map, I think – God dammit!” I stood up and kicked my bag, throwing my hands up in the air, struggling not to curse “What?” Isaac snapped.
“Andy gave me a map,” I groaned, putting my head in my hands.
“You left it on the train, didn’t you?” He remarked, tilting his head backwards and rolling his eyes, clapping his hands in a slow motion. “Good job, Arin. Good job. Ten points to you.”
“Not helping!” I snapped, shoving everything back into my bag, forcing it to close.
“Oh, thank you. I strive to be useless,” Isaac bowed, grinning up at me.
“Shut up,” I snarled, flinging the bag over my shoulder and storming away from him, chewing on my lip. I looked around at the platform, noticing a sign not far on the platform to my left, the words long faded and scratched off.
We walked in silence for less than a minute when we came to a position where another set of train tracks came up beside us and merge into the ones we trailed. I looked forwards, gazing at the long stretch of track ahead of us. Isaac tapped my shoulder then, and I turned to look at him.
“Hey, Arin, remember that thing about cars?” He said, glancing down at me, raising an eyebrow.
“No, not at all,” I stated, scowling up at him. “Why?”
“Well,” he pointed to an area behind us. I spun around to face the direction he was pointing and my jaw would have hit the floor should it have been possible.
“No way,” I breathed, flexing my fingers as the urge to bolt forwards began to course through my body. Before us, a good twenty feet at least, was a long line of dead trees, some uprooted and others just hanging on. A thin layer of white snow in front of the line of trees was a large slab of pavement with worn out pale, chipped yellow paint lines that we could just make out in the darkness. Sitting in the parking lot was a four wheeled, small car with a few severe dents along the side doors and back.
“Hope she works,” Isaac interjected, drawing me from my observations as he clung to my arm and began running forwards, this time dragging me behind him. I stumbled at first, my feet struggling to keep up with his long, quick strides. It didn’t help that he was quite a bit taller than me.
“Yeah,” I breathe, my legs aching as they half-dragged themselves along the ground. It wasn’t long, maybe half a minute, before we came to the car. There was another car further in the parking lot, but it was missing a tire and looked like someone had taken a tire iron to it.
“Do you know how to work her?” Isaac asked, glancing back at me as I stood, bent over beside him, heaving for breath. He wore a sneer on his face, arms crossed. “Eh, short stack?”
“Don’t. Call. Me. That,” I growled between breaths. “And how the hell do you expect me to work a car?” I stood up straight, inhaling a deep breath, my nose whistling.
“Don’t call the birds now,” he snorted, kicking the tire of the car. “I think I can work her, it shouldn’t be too hard.” Isaac shrugged, moving towards the front of the car and throwing open the driver side door. It let out a loud screech in protest, the both of us cringing in response.
“Old and whiny,” I chuckled, eying the vehicle. It didn’t click in my mind how easy we had found a car in the condition it was in. I was too excited to have found something more than dirt since the train. “Isaac?”
“Muh?” he leaned out of the car, peering at me with a raised eyebrow, his eyes glinting.
“If this thing works, how are we going to get up to Cobalt without a map?” I asked, chewing on my lip. I hadn’t realized, in the joy, that it wouldn’t be easy to get where we were going if we had no idea how to get there.
“Map,” a scruffy voice echoed, “I got a map for you.” I jumped, shoving off the vehicle and stepping backwards, gaze darting as I looked everywhere for the voice to no avail.
“I know my way there, map or no map,” chimed a high, nasally voice. I turned around to see two people, an old man wearing a ripped, tattered and torn blue cardigan, baggy old khakis and a smirk on his face and a tall, young-looking woman with short black hair in a heavy navy jacket and too-tight jeans.
“Who are you?” I said, hesitant as I leaned back against the car, grabbing for my bow. Isaac backed out of the car, turning to face the duo as well. As his gaze landed on them, his eyes widened with what could only be one realization; he recognized them, I could see it in the way his eyes darted between the two of them, mouth parted just enough to reveal his tongue, sticking through his teeth, his fingers twitching.
“Got to help you two young ones out, right Isaac? Can’t let her get away, after all, and a few hours with her trapped in the trunk o’ that car…” The old man grinned, revealing a mouth full of about three separate teeth. I gagged.
“Neil,” Isaac broke in, crossing his arms. “What are you doing here? How did you get here?”
“Already said, helping out you two. She grew up real pretty, eh Jessica?” The old man, Neil, turned to look over at the ebony haired woman.
“Sure,” she shrugged, shoving her hands in her pockets. “And it’s Jess, old man.”
“Whatever,” he grunted, spinning to face the two of us. “Well!
What are we waiting for? Get that car started, I’m sure she’s working – I already hot-wire her earlier, after all.”
“What do you mean?” Isaac said, glancing back at the car with a wary gaze.
“Are you deaf, boy?” Neil snorted. “I topped her up with a little gas a while back and got her working. What, you just expect a car in
good condition like that to just be sittin’ here?”
“Maybe they’re dumber than we thought,” Jess chided.
I listened to the conversation, standing and keeping my mouth closed. I gawked at Isaac, begging him for an explanation, searching his gaze. He refused to look at me, a frown plastered to his face.
“Arin, you’re being very quiet,” Jess said, raising an eyebrow and facing me. She took a few steps towards me and I flattened myself against the car, glowering at her.
“How do you know my name?” I hissed in response.
“All of His Children do! Did Isaac not tell you where he was taking you?” Jess glanced at Isaac, turning her head and staring at him with a questioning gaze.
“We’re going to a colony up in Cobalt,” I stated. “Who are His
Children? Who is He?”
“So you don’t know the people up there, then?” Jess took another step towards me and I reached for my bow, grabbing onto the curved wood and holding on to it with an iron grip. She grinned, eying my movement.
“They are people who will keep us safe,” I responded, narrowing my eyes.
“Aw, he takes after his Dad, doesn’t he? Great at lying, it explains why you’re going with him without a fight.” Jess turned to
Neil and then to Isaac. “Where is the old bastard, anyway?”
“None of your business,” Isaac spat. He looked at me, mouthing an apology. I looked at him, desperate for answers I knew he wasn’t going to give me. Not yet, anyway.
“Get that car started, boy!” Neil said, hobbling towards us. “The sooner we get to Cobalt, the sooner the ritual can take place.”
“It’ll take hours by car,” Isaac responded his voice low as he tightened his fists, leaning against the car, glowering at the ground.
“This boy’s a damn genius,” snorted Neil, rolling his eyes. Jess chuckled. “See and here I thought we would teleport there. God you are one stupid twit. We’re driving down to the airport; I got an airplane set up there to take us up north.”
“Isaac,” I whispered, trying to make sense of the events taking place, but all I could feel was a mass wave of confusion and terror washing over me.
“I should have realized. So many of us out looking for you, there was no way I could get you up the
re without running into some others.” Isaac exhaled, shaking his head and pushing away from the car door, hopping into the driver’s seat. A soft sizzling sound followed his entrance, and the car roared to life, the engine growling as it sat, idle. I jumped away from the vehicle, a shiver running down my spine. Neil approached the car with ease, hopping into the passenger seat and slamming the door behind him.
“Let’s go,” Jess demanded, grabbing me from behind and moving to pick me up.
“No,” I blurted, twisting away from her grip. I stared her down as she reached behind her, crooking her arm and pulling up. She looked me dead in the eye and lifted a gun – pointing it at me.
“Let’s go. I won’t say it again,” Jess barked, taking a step towards me.
“Why would you bother shooting me if you need me alive?” I questioned, glowering up at her.
“Because you don’t have an overwhelming amount of choices now do you? If you don’t come, I’ll shoot you in the foot, or maybe in your leg.” Jess pointed to the gun to my lower half and I cringed, taking a step back. “Now, don’t make me say it again.”
“No,” I stated, my voice firm as I lunged for her. She didn’t have time to point the gun as I tackled her to the ground. She let out a cry of surprise and the car doors flung open, but I didn’t bother to look away. I was too busy wrestling for the gun.
“You stupid little brat!” Jess screeched as I grabbed onto her arm with my teeth, digging into her flesh. I growled and yanked my head backwards, causing pain to shoot up her arm. The gun clattered to the ground and I released my grip, scrabbling towards it.
“Arin!” Isaac called and, in a moment of distraction, I looked up at him. Jess grabbed me and yanked me too my feet, putting a hand over my mouth and digging her arm into my stomach.
“She’s like her cow of a mother,” spat the woman, shoving her knee against my thigh. I jerked away from her, trying hard to break free of her grip. “Weak.”
“Arin, please,” Isaac pleaded, taking a step towards me. Neil remained, leaning against the trunk of the car, watching with disdain and slight amusement, shown by the twitch of his mouth. “Jess, don’t underestimate her. She’s not as weak as you think.”
The Prophet's Daughter Page 9
