Escape from Harrizel

by C. G. Coppola

  “How…” I start when another knock sounds on the door.

  “In.”

  Tucker emerges first, followed by Able and Jace. They scan me fleetingly but focus on Reid who’s pulling his shirt on.

  “What’ve you got?”

  Tucker steps forward. “Grisham hasn’t said anything yet. Mantis is keeping quiet too,” he clears his throat uncomfortably. “But Fallon’s absence has been noticed.”

  “Story?”

  “Berry juice, same as last time.”

  Reid nods. “And myself?”

  “No one’s asking questions,” Able responds this time. “Yet. They seem more concerned with Pratt.”

  “Of course—everyone heard that scream,” he crosses the small space for his piece of cloth on the windowsill. Retrieving it, he spits on it, wiping just behind his ear. Finding his image in the mirror, he brings the cloth across his brow again, digging away at some dried blood. “Double misdirection. Smart,” he rubs the fabric down by his jaw. “She’s been on over-guard this whole time—who’s been assigned?”

  “Booker and Simon both volunteered for the time being,” Tucker says.

  Reid rubs the cloth over his neck, turning toward Jace. “And the fight?”

  “Arrivals were promised a few Gupples to go at each other like animals. Both likely candidates for the Kings.”

  “We know they can follow orders…” Reid considers. “Find out who’s been scouting them and what other targets they have. Intercede if necessary. Any real candidates, get me,” he tosses the cloth to the windowsill. He holds his arms out, displaying his clothes. “Too obvious?”

  “No time for the Bathing Bubble,” Tucker shakes his head. “You’ll have to go as is.”

  “We can spin it that you just spilled some Gupple juice on you? Maybe?” Able looks to Jace in the silence, hoping for support, but Jace, like the other two, just shakes his head.

  Reid turns to Tucker again. “If the Kings aren’t asking questions, neither should we. For right now, let’s keep a low profile on this one. They’ll pretend four of their Clansmen aren’t missing and I’ll pretend they didn’t come after Fallon. Nearly even.”

  “She coming with you?” Tucker glances at me.

  “No. Fallon can’t go downstairs looking like that.”

  “Is it really that bad?” I cross the room for his mirror. The red swelling’s lessened around my cheek and eye and only a slight bruise ripens in its place. My lip still looks nasty though, something that’ll draw a lot of attention. But I don’t give up without a fight. “Come on—I can go.”

  “No. This is non-negotiable. Able,” Reid turns to him. “Stay with her. I’ll make an appearance downstairs and be right back.”

  “And the Rogues?” Tucker asks, the three making their way for the crimson arch.

  “I’ll address them later,” Reid shoots me one last look over his shoulder. “I’ll come back after the Reminders. Will you be okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  He nods at Able who returns the serious gesture. Reid, Tucker and Jace step through the open arch and into the corridor the next minute, disappearing from sight. When they’re gone, Able turns to me.

  “Ooh people have been talking about you! Sick again. Will she get Rox sick? Will it spread? Now this is coming mostly from the Clients...”

  “And everyone else?” I ask, sitting on Reid’s bed. With the wall to my back and my legs folded up to my chest, I wrap my arms around myself.

  “Not sure what to think,” he shrugs. “We were kind of hoping he’d let you out, at least downstairs so people could know you’re like, still alive.”

  “What do you mean let me out?”

  Able scoffs, like it’s a silly question to want answered when we should be discussing more important things. He looks at me, then the door, then back at me again, a belittling expression crossing his face.

  “You think there’s any way that boy’s going to let you out of his sight from now on? Sheesh—I’m surprised he left you with me,” he laughs as he stalks the room with quick, heated steps. “I think he knows he has to make an appearance. For the Rogues at least. If you both didn’t show, then they’d really know something was up… he can’t let the others think the Kings have an advantage,” he shakes his head again, his swift steps moving him around the room, “but if that wasn’t the case, hell no. He’d be right here with you. If not downstairs with the four missing Kings...” Able strokes his chin, considering an image from earlier, perhaps. “Letting you out of his sight is not something Reid has on his urgent to-do list.”

  I tighten my hold around my legs, trying not to think about tomorrow, or what the rest of my time on Harrizel will bring. “So what does everyone think then?” I ask to distract myself. “I’m really sick or do they know?”

  “The smart ones know and the higher ups. Clients and most Scouts… probably not.”

  “Do you think the Kings will try to retaliate?”

  “At some point,” he shrugs again, continuing to pace. “With all the new Arrivals, it’s going to be war. And it’s going to be here fast.”

  “Are the Rogues up for it?”

  “We’ll have to be.”

  “But you guys seem to know what you’re doing—fighting at least,” I play with one of the navy rags. “Plus, you said all Rogues are trained in combative basics. And Jace and Chief…”

  “Are the best fighters after Reid, yep,” he sighs, still pacing, “and you’re right; all Rogues do know the combative basics, so at least we have that. See,” Able sits on the bed next to me, “Reid must have had some training at some point. That’s why he did so well at first with leaving the Kings. No one could get a hit in on him.”

  “What kind of training?”

  “Who knows?” he shrugs “but every Rogue he invites into the Clan has to undergo intense training with Jace and Chief, who he personally coached. I mean, they were already good fighters but Reid showed him whatever it is he knows. So every Rogue is pretty knowledgeable when it comes to fighting.”

  “Even you?”

  “I mean,” he laughs, “I may not be the shining star like Chief and Jace but yeah… even me.”

  I exhale, leaning my head back against the wall. “So what now?”

  “Now,” he follows my lead and leans back, “now we wait.”

  The next ten minutes pass in silence until Reid reemerges with Tucker, Jace, Clark, Sampson, Vix and Pratt, who jumps on the bed next to us. The others file in around the room, grabbing the little bit of space they can as Sampson adds a few more babeebs to the hanging chandelier in the center of the ceiling.

  He makes his way over to me, his voice gentle. “How are you feeling, Fallon?”

  “I’m fine. Slept off most of it.”

  “I meant to come when I heard but no one was to reveal your location. I’m so sorry… has the Vilbrees helped?”

  “Doesn’t hurt as much.”

  “Good,” he manages a small smile. “That’s good.”

  “What did they say at Reminders?” I skim over Reid, who’s in the opposite corner, arms folded and standing still as a statue. My eyes only linger on him a second before scanning Tucker, Jace and Clark, also silent on the subject. “Anything important?”

  “They made a suggestion,” Jace finally exhales.

  When he doesn’t elaborate, I glance around the room but no one wants to help him out. “About what?”

  “Jeb wants more mating,” Vix says quietly.

  “Mating?”

  “For the Rebirth,” Jace starts up, “you know, to repopulate earth.”

  “But he always alludes to that.”

  “Well,” Jace feigns a smile, “he made sure his message was loud and clear. He was ‘disappointed’ in the illness still haunting Harrizel and thought we should be ashamed of ourselves for not trying to repopulate while we could.”

  “But it’s not being forced?” I look around again, stopping on Reid who’s too livid to speak. “Right?”


  “Not yet,” Tucker shakes his head, “but it seemed… it might go there if they don’t get the results they want.”

  I turn to Sampson, reassuring what I already know to be the truth. “Eleven days?”

  “Less than that. And when they come back,” he nods, inhaling sharply. “It will be forced.”

  The room grows silent, everyone taking in the reality of the situation. The one Reminder I should’ve attended and I was up here to miss it.

  “What can we do?” I ask.

  “Only eleven days,” Clark shakes his head, “that’s all the time we have left and,” he stresses it, as if we forgot, “we have to get rid of the Kings.”

  “Well four of them are taken care of,” Tucker nods to Reid who still remains rigid in position.

  “How many more are there?” I ask.

  “Too many,” Clark sighs.

  “I asked for a number, not an opinion.”

  The room stops again and Tucker’s mouth twitches. “Forty-four, not including Grisham. But that’s…”

  “Still doable,” I glance to Pratt and Able beside me, then to Sampson and Vix. “Chief and Jace alone took down four. And that was what… in a few minutes? If that’s done twice a day, every day, they’ll be cleaned out in a week.”

  “Yeah,” Clark gripes, his face flushed with annoyance, “and how are they going to do that? It was the two best Rogue fighters after Reid and no one was around to witness it. Best possible scenario.”

  “Then we’ll recreate it. Every time.”

  Reid’s head snaps up at this. “No.”

  “How else can we do it?”

  “No,” he shakes his head again, his voice stiff and threatening. “Absolutely not.”

  “I’m not doing nothing. If they want to come get me, let them,” I toss back, “we’ll just be ready.”

  “How?” Vix asks curiously.

  “The new recruits—their first assignment is to get recruited by the Kings. Share inside information of where I’ll be,” I shrug, “lure them in.”

  “You mean bait yourself?” Pratt asks.

  Nodding, I look to Reid again. “They’ll know you’ll constantly be around me. They’ll have no other way of getting to me unless I go to the Bathing Bubble or wherever. The Scouts or Clients will plant specific information for when I’ll be vulnerable… and we’ll be ready.”

  “Jace and Chief every time?” Vix asks.

  “Not every time,” Able shakes his head. “Other Rogues will want their chance at the Kings.”

  “And I’m sure it won’t always be four at a time,” Tucker chimes in.

  “However many times it takes,” I shrug, “how else can we pick off the Kings? And in only eleven days?”

  “That’s if they keep going for the bait,” Clark shakes his head. “When they realize their Clansmen aren’t coming back, will they keep sending them after you? They’ll know the information is false. And that’ll put your Clients at risk.”

  “Not really,” Sampson considers, cupping his chin, “they don’t know where their Clansmen are going; don’t know if they’re alive or dead. At that point, Fallon,” he indicates to me, “will be the only way back to them, to find them. They’ll need the information.”

  “Plus,” Able chimes in, “once they’ve lost Clansmen, they won’t stop. It’ll be their only goal. They’ve taken a wound to their pride and they won’t stop until they have her.”

  Tucker turns to Reid who’s buried himself deep in the shadows, gnawing on his thumbnail. Barely nudging him, Tucker whispers, “What do you think?”

  The room quiets, all awaiting Reid’s response as the heavy silence fills the air. Finally, he shakes his head, “Absolutely not.”

  “What other way is there? We only have eleven days,” I remind him. “Unless you want to fight the Vermix and Kings?”

  “I don’t want you at risk.”

  “We’re all at risk.”

  He’s still shaking his head.

  “Reid—it’ll be fine. You can be there.”

  “I’ll kill them.”

  “What’d you do with the others?” Pratt asks softly.

  “They’re in the tunnels,” Tucker answers, “but can we keep them all down there?”

  “Where else is there?” Clark asks.

  “We can keep them out there,” I gesture toward the window overlooking the jungle, “with the people they snatched.”

  “Yes!” Pratt exclaims. “That’s perfect!”

  “They’ll be out of the Castle when we liberate it,” I say, “after that, we’ll figure out what to do with them.”

  Everyone nods as Reid stands solid, his breath coming and going in sharp, furious breaths. He’s staring off at something, biting the tip of his thumb, the room an anxious cloud around him again.

  Finally, he inhales a solid lungful of air. “I’m to be present at every one. I choose the Rogues and the Clients. If I say stop, we stop.”

  “Fine,” I look to Sampson. “Does Blovid have any more information?”

  “About the Vermix meeting?” he shakes his head. “Not at this time. Our best bet is to plan for the worst when Beshib returns.”

  “We’ll have to figure out the Clients quickly,” Jace says, “I’ll talk to Kelly. Send them out tomorrow, if possible. The sooner the better.”

  “I’d rather tonight but…” Reid nods, “let’s plan on tomorrow, first thing. Bring the best recruits here before First Bell and notify the Rogues.”

  Jace nods.

  “Thank you,” Reid clears his throat, half glancing at the door to his right. “I’m going to stay in tonight… tend to Fallon.”

  The others move for the door.

  “The top three,” Reid clasps Tucker’s shoulder, “enough time before First Bell to evaluate and assign.”

  He nods, leading everyone through the open archway, Reid closing the door behind them. Once they’re gone, he turns to me.

  “You’re trying to give me a heart attack, aren’t you?” he sighs, crossing the room to sit down next to me. A long silent minute passes. “What’re we doing? What if something goes wrong and…”

  “You said you’d be there,” I take his hand in mine, squeezing. “I trust you.”

  His eyes dart over my eye and busted lip. Brushing a few curls behind my ear, he shakes his head. “Look what happened already.”

  “I trust you,” I repeat, glancing between his eyes. “We have to do this. There’s no other way.”

  Reid leans in, resting his forehead on mine. “I can’t apologize enough. You got hurt because of me. None of this would’ve happened if—”

  “They didn’t think I was your girl?”

  He laughs. “Kind of hope you are, by now. Be a little weird if you weren’t. Especially since you’re spending the night.”

  “And you’re sure the Dofinikes won’t care?”

  “Not for me. I’m an integral part of keeping the humans at war so they tend to let things go where I’m concerned.”

  “Must be nice.”

  “Yeah… the real VIP treatment,” he rolls his eyes, “I’m allowed a girl in my room.”

  “Hey,” I jab him in his side, “I’m not any girl.”

  “No,” he laughs, “you most certainly are not.”

  And then he looks up, trapping me in his gaze that lasts an eternity. Something warm ignites inside me in this moment, my heart weighing a thousand pounds and suddenly, I have no breath. Reid leans in, softly capturing my lips with his as he cradles my face in his gentle hands. But just as he opens my mouth, the split in my lip soars in pain and on reflex, I pull back.

  “Sorry…” I apologize.

  He watches me cup my cheek and glares, mumbling to himself, “Should’ve killed them.”

  “What? No… it’s fine. I’m fine,” I shift back on his bed. “Come on… let’s get some sleep. You have a big day tomorrow—meeting the new recruits and all.”

  He runs his hands through his hair and exhales. Yanking his shirt off, he t
osses it to the floor and climbs into the bed. Throwing his arm across my stomach, he cradles into me. “I’m going to make everyone of them pay for hurting you. Every last one.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three: Protection

  Come in. Quiet.

  Is she awake?

  Don’t worry about it. Just be quiet.

  My eyes flash open to the black wall inches from my nose. There are more babeebs, but they’re kept in the opposite corner. A soft shuffling and then a chorus of pattering feet emits, followed by unidentifiable whispers. My lids grow heavy again, the sweet coma overtaking me as I slip away…

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Would you have believed it?”

  The lady with the red bandanna inhales, the tip of her cigarette lighting into orange sparks. “I don’t…”

  “We weren’t sure…” the elder woman starts, “when or how…” she reaches for the younger woman’s hand. “I’ve wanted to tell you for a while. Your whole life…”

  Another hand—a man’s—rests atop the other two. The lady in the red bandanna turns in his direction.

  The porch fades to an opaque fog as a new face appears—the one with white hair and large, piercing silver eyes. Her mouth never opens but her voice is solid, strong.

  “Fallon...”

  Her eyes sting, striking me.

  “Fallon…”

  She grows impatient.

  “Fallon…”

  Her eyes widen, the silver overwhelming her face.

  “FALLON!”

  I’m awake, staring at the black ahead. Whispers exchange behind me, back in the corner with the babeebs.

  You all know what you have to do?

  How will we get further instructions?

  Orders will be delivered at midnight before the set up.

  “Reid?” I ask, unsure if this is a dream.

  Hold on.

  The bed dips and my eyes open just as I turn to him. He’s leaning over me, “Hey baby. You okay?”

  I pull him down to a kiss. He resists at first, but then gets sucked in, hungrily returning it. He wants to keep going but forces himself back when I open my mouth. “Hold on.”

  The bed lifts and more feet shuffle around the room.