Whispers in Autumn (The Last Year, #1)

by Trisha Leigh

  Lucas grabs my wrist and holds on tight, stopping me from heading to the Morgans’. His fingers tighten and my skin chafes as I try to twist free, his frigid touch relieving the burning panic for a moment. A wild look flashes in his eyes and he leans in until our noses almost touch.

  My breath catches as our eyes meet, a shocking anticipation mingling with fear. I push away from him, heart thrashing, but he only leans closer. I freeze, closing my eyes against whatever is coming next.

  Words emerge from his pale lips in a whisper, expelling breath frostier than the breeze winding about us. “Think about it, Althea. There’s a good chance one or both of us is going to get into trouble anyway.”

  He releases me and walks in a measured pace up his driveway and into the front door of the brick house without a backward glance. The porch light winks off like clockwork as soon as the door clicks shut behind him.

  My legs tremble, wobbling at the knees from the fright, from the implied threat. I should move, get to the Morgans’ before I’m late. With the Wardens in town, plus my slipping out of the Gathering early and all but confessing my abnormalities to Lucas, I shouldn’t do anything else to make myself worth watching.

  The dark windows of his house proffer no answers. Nothing about him makes sense. Nothing. My inability to read him, his insistence on acting like he doesn’t know he’s not normal frightens me more than anything else.

  A minute later I enter the Morgans’ two-story brick house—identical to Lucas’s—and lean back against the closed door. The clock on the wall clicks to nine-fifteen and through the window I see our porch light extinguish, plunging the world into darkness.

  CHAPTER 7.

  Monday arrives and another day forces me out of bed, into the shower, down for breakfast, and out the front door. Revulsion tumbles through me at the sight of two Wardens posted outside the entrance to the Cell, but I somehow manage to pass by without cringing. The algebra Monitor has fifty-seven squares on his shirt today; they’re larger than last week and red. Everything else is the same except for the Warden who surveys the room from the doorway every ten minutes. Oh, and the Barbarus—Deshi—settles into my first block. None of the kids who disappeared at the Outing are present, and though I never knew their names, the Monitors don’t record any absences.

  It’s as if they were never here.

  It’s not as if the Wardens taking away the Broken is new; I’ve even seen it a couple of times. But those people were obviously irreparable. An old lady who died next door. A misshapen baby. Not perfectly healthy Terms with simple nosebleeds.

  I push the events of the last two days out of my head, deciding to focus on the fact that I survived. In the eatery, a shudder rolls through my body at the memory of the disease-infested fish swimming around downstairs. Lucas’s words blow through my mind like a blast of winter wind. If he told the truth, if he’s had the fish all this time with no ill effects, what could it mean?

  It could mean the Others lie to us.

  I’ve never considered it until recently, never had a reason to doubt that they act in the best interest of the humans under their rule. But if they lied about fish, they could be lying about all the animals. And if they’re not all dangerous, then why build the boundaries?

  I stop the train of thought before it charges out of hand. The opinion of one possibly Broken boy isn’t enough proof to send me down that path. Where it might end scares me too much.

  Five Wardens police lunch block, not bothering to hide their blatant eavesdropping. I plop down at the same table as last week, where the girls are at least used to my presence if not comfortable with it. Brittany swoons over Greg holding her hand at the Gathering while the rest listen with open-mouthed smiles. I urge my stomach to eat, but it refuses to cooperate.

  A hush falls over the table, much like it did at Sunday’s Gathering, but this time when I look up the girls aren’t looking at the invading Wardens. They’re looking at me.

  Or rather, behind me.

  Spinning around in my seat, knocking my milk carton off the table in the process, my eyes meet Lucas’s as the now-familiar pine scent washes over me. The girls must smell it, too, but no one comments.

  Instead they all sit there, not one of them bothering to close their slack jaws. The milk soaks through my pants, cold and sticky against my skin. I pick up my napkin, pressing it to the wet spot while I wonder what Lucas thinks he’s doing. There might not be rules about mixing in the eatery, but girls and boys separate by their own preference.

  An easy smile parts his lips, oozes charm all over the place. “Afternoon, ladies.”

  Without waiting for an invitation, he swings a chair from the nearest table and wedges it between mine and the girl’s next to me. My brain searches for her name, the tiny girl with the bouncy black curls.

  Leah, I think.

  She studies Lucas, her lips tilted up in a friendly smile. He drops his salad, fork, and drink on the table and sits, then stuffs a bite of lettuce into his mouth and washes it down with a swig of milk as though he hasn’t a care in the world. The grin never leaves his face and I suspect he’s enjoying himself. Embarrassing me. Making a scene. Shouldering his way into my life when I clearly asked him to stay out of it.

  I kick him under the table. His smile stretches wider.

  I realize one of the girls is addressing me. It’s Sarah, her wide blue eyes flickering with curiosity. “Hey, you. Are you going to introduce us to your friend?”

  A Warden saunters behind her head. He pauses to listen.

  “Wha…oh. Sure. This is Lucas. Lucas, this is everybody.”

  None of the girls has ever voluntarily spoken to me. Between that and the staring Warden I’m too shell-shocked to think about eating. The girls resume chatting and feeding their faces as though having a boy at our table happens every day. My heart slows as the Warden moves away from us. Lucas chews beside me, and when he’s sure everyone’s attention is elsewhere he kicks me back. I keep smiling.

  If he can do it, so can I.

  “Wild about the Wardens showing up and the interviews and everything. I bet that’s never happened at another Gathering before.” Lucas’s tone is hushed, conspiratorial.

  Sarah, the tall, mouthy girl, leans forward onto her elbows. Her dirt brown hair spills over her shoulder, the tips swirling in her leftover salad dressing. “Until Sunday. My dad works as Liaison and he told me the Wardens were dispatched to the Gatherings in four cities last weekend.”

  I nearly choke on my tongue as he winks at her.

  “Really? Did he say why?”

  “No one knows. I mean, except the Wardens and whoever sent them.” Sarah notices that her hair is getting oily and leans back, patting the ends dry with her napkin.

  I lick my lips and swallow a couple of times before my tongue works. “Which cities?”

  Lucas shoots me a surprised look.

  Sarah squeezes her eyes shut and taps a finger on her pursed lips. “Hmmm. Atlanta, Des Moines…and Portland. I’m pretty sure.”

  My heart stops beating and everything disappears. The eatery. The girls. The Wardens. I taste blood and realize I’ve bitten the inside of my cheek. Those are my cities, at least three of them are. In the spring I plant gardens with the Hammonds in Portland. Bitter, miserable winters with the Clarks in Des Moines. It’s always autumn in Danbury, at least when I’m here. I’ve never been to Atlanta, but I’ve also never had a summer. Not only are the Wardens observing Terms, they’re targeting the cities I travel between.

  It doesn’t mean anything. They aren’t looking for me. They can’t be.

  The black spots in my vision dissolve slowly and the sound of ragged breathing fills the air. Lucas jabs me in the leg and I realize it’s me. The voices around the table fall silent as the girls stare, vague vexation marring their perfect expressions.

  I force a bite of salad into my mouth. Our table has caught the Wardens’ attention again.

  Lucas nudges my hips with his on our way out of the eatery and t
he girls poke one another and point. He seems determined to confirm everyone’s suspicions as far as our courting is concerned, and a warm fountain spurts in my chest without warning, a mixture of pleasure and annoyance.

  He grins as though he can see my thoughts. “See you in chem.”

  Before I decide on an appropriate response, he saunters off down the hall. The group of girls surrounds me, their huge smiles inviting me to believe things could be different. In spite of the past, of all I know to be true, part of me basks in their interest in my life.

  “So are you two courting? Have you declared intentions?” Sarah, ever nosy, walks beside me down the hall.

  “No, no. We’re just friends right now.” I don’t know why I add the last part. Maybe I just want them to keep talking to me.

  They look a little disappointed, but hope hovers around the edges. The blonde, Brittany, shrugs with a wide smile. “Well, I think Greg will ask me soon. Maybe we’ll both be courting before the Autumn Mixer. That would be fun!”

  “Maybe.” The opportunity to ask about the interviews, which began today and fester in the back of my mind like an open sore, is too good to pass up. “So do any of you have chemistry for opening block?”

  Their smiles turn disinterested in the blink of an eye. I glance around, making sure no Wardens are listening in on our conversation.

  After a moment Brittany answers. “I do.”

  “What did the Wardens ask during your interview?”

  She stops, cocking her head to one side with a baffled smile. “You know, it’s the funniest thing. I can’t even remember!”

  The girls laugh at her forgetfulness, and their voices trail off as they disappear around the corner. For the moment, I’m alone in the hall. The corners of my mouth fall and I massage my cheeks where they ache.

  I might kill Lucas for sitting with us at lunch and making a scene. I’m sure the Wardens didn’t miss that. Then again, he did squeeze that information out of Sarah. No small feat. He could be an ally. After all he didn’t turn me in even with all the Unacceptable behavior Sunday night.

  Of course, I didn’t turn him in either.

  I push down the hope swelling in my chest. It’s enough that he’s not out to get me. I glance down at the faint red streaks still circling my wrist, the product of his rough grip, and wonder why I’m so sure he’s not. Just because he has the ability to charm everyone, myself included, doesn’t mean he’s not hiding something.

  By the time chemistry rolls around I’m sick and tired of the excited whispers about my possible courting. Being ignored is much less bothersome, but it seems my anonymity has escaped me at the worst possible moment. I’ve managed to shed my see-through existence just when the Wardens arrive. It figures.

  Lucas is back in the seat next to mine. We smile at each other, but neither of us means it. The amiable mood that captured him at lunch has abandoned ship. I haven’t made any decisions regarding him except that he’s trouble, any way you slice it.

  He glances at me and then away, and I think I see dark veins shooting through the whites of his eyes. Before I can get him to look at me again, Leah twists around in her chair a couple of rows up. At first, remembering her outgoing smile at lunch, I wonder if she wants to be friends with him.

  That’s before I get a good look at her expression.

  A small, disingenuous smile plays on her lips. My gaze travels down her arms to meet a series of bruises. Purpling splotches dot her upper arms, wrapping around the skinny flesh like a wreath. I avert my eyes when reading her face becomes painful. She stares daggers at Lucas, her expression dripping with malice. Like she wants to hurt him. Smiling the whole time.

  She spins around when the Monitor appears on the screen and I nudge Lucas with the toe of my sneaker. He refuses to meet my questioning stare.

  I’ve never seen anyone with an expression like Leah’s. Ever.

  ***

  Halfway through block the Monitor has a coughing fit. When she takes a drink of water, Lucas’s hand darts over my desk. A piece of paper drifts down until it rests unassumingly on top of my notes.

  After the next Warden check I nudge the note open with my pencil, fighting the natural frown begging to overtake my mouth. I read it in bits, keeping an eye on the video screen.

  Allie—

  Meet me at the park, by the boundary.

  Peeking at both the Monitor and the rest of the class, I scribble a response.

  Lucas—

  No. And don’t call me Allie.

  I toss the note in his lap when no one’s looking, my heart stuttering when a Warden comes in and stands in the doorway seconds later. I return my attention to the lecture, feeling his hard-edged, painful gaze on me.

  He stays through the rest of the block, which ends after another exhausting twenty minutes, then leaves before we trickle out. A note slips from under my pad of paper and falls to the floor as I gather my things. I retrieve it and read, curious despite my reservations.

  Althea—

  Please. I’ve found out more about the Wardens’

  appearance in Danbury.

  I grind my teeth down, my jaw tight. He’s dangling a carrot, one he no doubt picked up on after my questions about the cities that are being included in the interviews. I’m not going. It’s probably a trick.

  The words from Ko’s letter scroll through my mind, a different sentence standing out for the first time. There are more. You will find each other when it is necessary.

  It could mean Lucas is like me. Then again, he could just as easily not be like me. Ko neglected to expand on how to identify the “more” when the elusive time comes. Seems like a pretty important detail to omit.

  In the end, the decision to meet Lucas makes itself. I can’t read him, and I’m not ready to trust him, but I have to do something. The Wardens are here; they’re everywhere I go. If Lucas knows anything at all, I need to know it, too.

  ***

  The hike out to the park is shorter than usual, different. I move quicker with someone waiting for me on the other end. A strange fluttering begins in my gut and sets my knees trembling. No one has met me after Cell in four years; it’s a simple sign of friendship normal kids take for granted. My eyes sweep back and forth along the boundary, but after my first pass Lucas hasn’t arrived.

  Then he lands in front of me and I fall on my butt for the second time since I’ve met him.

  I get up, dusting off my jeans and avoiding the laughter in his eyes. His blond curls blow a bit in the breeze, giving him a carefree appearance. He’s so serious at Cell and when he’s hiding from the Wardens. Rightly so. Here, with no one watching, his shoulders relax and his smile bursts forth instead of stretching across thin lips, displaying the deep dimple in one cheek. The wall in his gaze, though, the one he uses to separates me from his thoughts, is as impregnable as ever.

  The dirty look I’ve been holding inside since lunch clamors to get out. Instead I smile, unwilling to give him one more reason to suspect anything’s off about me, and glance up at the huge tree he jumped out of. “Seriously? Did you have to tackle me from above?”

  “I didn’t tackle you, Thea. It’s not my fault you’re so uptight.”

  “Don’t call me Thea.”

  “Don’t call me Allie. Don’t call me Thea,” he mimics. I want to punch him square in his just-right nose. “What shall I call you, then, hmm?”

  “Althea. My name. Didn’t you say you had something to tell me?”

  “Let’s walk.”

  Lucas leads the way to the boundary and we settle into a measured pace that takes us in a loop around the park. He pulls me to a stop after several wasted minutes. The nearest security camera is a ways off. No Wardens around either.

  “Well?”

  “I heard something when I passed the Administrative Center this afternoon. The video screen was on and someone was in there.”

  “Who?”

  “I didn’t see his face. I missed the beginning of the conversation, but I know
all ten Wardens stayed behind. They set up two posts—one in the Cell and one in the Wilds. They’re looking for something. Or someone. I’m not sure.”

  My stomach sinks, even though I’ve figured as much. “What are they looking for?”

  Please don’t say a girl who has feelings and lights things on fire.

  “All I heard him say was that the Prime Other…” Lucas trails off and straightens up, his eyes focusing over my left shoulder. An easy smile steals onto his face.

  Someone’s behind me. I swallow hard, sure they overheard us.

  A strange, musical voice breaks the quiet afternoon. “Hi. Am I interrupting?”

  I spin around, words of welcome sticking in my throat at the sight of Deshi’s face.

  Lucas steps forward, coming to my rescue. He frowns at me while his face is turned away from the newcomer, eyes urging me to get hold of myself. “Of course not. What’s your name, man?”

  The Barbarus grasps Lucas’s hand in a firm shake. He puts me off, and though I can’t identify exactly why, it’s not simply his novel appearance. It’s those eyes, along with an arrogance that hovers in the air around him.

  “Deshi.”

  “I’m Lucas. This is Althea.” His voice wraps around my name, like the way he says it can protect me.

  Deshi doesn’t seem to notice; he just nods. The silence grows uncomfortable and sweat dampens my underarms. I wish I’d never come to the park.

  “So, what are you two doing out here by yourselves?” It’s an odd question, vaguely suspicious like the ones on Saturday at the Outing, but not unfriendly.

  Lucas shifts away from me before answering. “Just out walking. Enjoying the weather.”

  “Bit cool, isn’t it?” Deshi looks at me as he asks, his smile not quite soothing the worry in my gut.

  “It’s fine.” I try to keep the irritation out of my voice.

  He glances down at his watch. “Well, time to go. Maybe we could all hang out sometime.”