“You’ll freeze,” I argued.
“You are freezing!” he said.
I shook my head again.
“Sometimes you need to learn not to care and to just take orders. Take it. If it pleases you, I’ll run and get my body-warmer.”
I hesitated, but took it, slipped it on, and watched him run off into the night.
“Heard you had a tough morning. Can we see the scar?” Nick asked.
I was embarrassed, but I slowly pulled the gauze off to reveal a bloody line across my neck.
“What did you hear exactly?” I was afraid that whatever I would say would oppose what Maxime had already shared.
“Only that Andrew helped you back to camp because you had two cuts and that you needed surgery—the usual for you.” Nick took a bite of his warm meal and a sip of wine.
“What do you mean by the ‘usual’?”
“You’re always getting hurt.” He took another bite. “How old are you anyway?”
“Sixteen.” I blushed.
“You’re almost Andrew’s age. He really seems to appreciate having someone his age around. Now he has someone to take care of instead of his brother always treating him like the vulnerable child of the camp.” Nick smiled cheekily, intriguing me.
“What?” I asked.
“Oh, nothing,” he chuckled.
“Yeah right!” I didn’t like how he considered me innocent and ignorant because of my age.
“Okay, nothing for your young ears to hear.”
Frustration started to boil inside of me. “You did that on purpose,” I said.
“Did what?” Nick laughed.
We looked at each other and then laughed. Ryan nudged me. I turned to see Maxime coming toward the table, but something was wrong. His gait was unsteady, staggering, as if he’d had too much wine to drink. Then he collapsed.
“Andrew!” I yelled as I darted over to him. I searched desperately for his pulse. Unable to find it, I gently pressed my ear to his chest. He was still breathing. Everyone had crowded around us.
“Give him some space!” David yelled, but no one budged.
Sam knelt beside him. “I warned him, but as usual, he insisted. I shouldn’t have listened. This should help.” Sam pushed a small tablet through Maxime’s lips. My heart was slamming in my chest.
We waited, but not in silence. Everyone was speaking, gossiping. I shut them out. I was eager to see Maxime open his eyes, but I could only see his tender eyelids and slick eyelashes.
“Check his pulse, Alex,” Sam said as he took a flask with a strong lemongrass scent out of his pocket. I took Maxime’s right hand and placed my fingertips on his wrist, searching to feel his blood running through his veins.
“I can’t find it.”
“You probably have found it, only Andrew’s pulse rate is abnormally low, even when running. Just be patient. If it was anyone else, they wouldn’t stand with a pulse like his.” Sam moved the flask at a steady pace under Maxime’s nose.
I waited and focused on finding his pulse. Relief took over when a strong beat hit against my fingertips. Eleven seconds later, I sensed it again. Sam told me to keep track of it.
We waited for movement. The slightest twitch would have sparked joy, but there was nothing. Finally, I asked the question that had been burning inside of me: “What do you mean by ‘you warned him’?”
“He probably just fainted because he’s anemic. He insisted on donating blood three times in the past several weeks! I told him not to, but we needed his blood type. He should have taken it easy, but he still taught his classes.” Sam’s voice was low, barely audible.
“Does he need a transfusion?” I wanted to help and knew that I shared the same type of blood. I was ready to aid.
“It wouldn’t hurt, but it would be kind of pointless. Don’t worry about it. He just needs rest.”
Sam’s words didn’t reassure me. “He’s not getting up!” I said.
“Treatments tend to take more time with him,” Sam said casually.
“How much longer?”
“I can’t say exactly—”
“Then how do you . . .” I stopped. I felt Maxime’s grip tighten, although he wasn’t holding anything. Weakly, his green eyes opened. He started to sit up, but Sam held him down. A weight evaporated off my shoulders.
“Take it easy. Are you all right? Can you tell me your name and location?” Sam said as the crowd fell silent.
“Andrew. Shadows. I’m fine, thanks.” Maxime tried to get up, but I wouldn’t release his hand.
“No, you’re not, and you know it,” I told him.
Everyone was shocked that I had talked back to our leader, but I didn’t care. I wanted Maxime to be safe. Stillness surrounded us. What I had done was unacceptable, and I deserved a consequence, but Maxime couldn’t bring himself to give me one.
“Alex, two hundred push-ups, now!” David broke in.
“He’s hurt!” I objected stupidly.
“He can take care of himself!” David was furious.
I let go of Maxime’s hand and stood. “But he’s not!”
“That’s his choice! You are in no position to say otherwise.”
“So you expect to drain all of his energy until he drops dead? You’re asking too much.”
“We’re at war! Everyone’s energy is drained, and lives are lost.”
“What happens when our leader doesn’t have anything else to give? He’s your brother, help him!” The conversation was overheated, and I was only adding gasoline to the fire.
David raised his hand, and I shut my eyes, expecting the impact, but it didn’t come.
“That’s enough!” Maxime held David’s palm only inches away from my face. “Alex, two hundred push-ups. Nick, count them and see to it that he is at my cabin as soon as he finishes. David, come with me,” Maxime ordered. He wouldn’t even look at me. “Clear out!” he yelled and everyone left. Only Nick, Ryan, and I were left.
I got to my knees and started the push-ups. They hurt my wrists, and every push-up sent a throbbing pain along my arm. I held back all emotions. It was a fair consequence considering that I had almost destroyed Maxime’s authority and given away my identity.
“Kid, what were you thinking?” Nick yelled at me.
“Since when do you call me ‘kid’?” I asked emotionless.
“Since you decided to act like one! What were you thinking? Objecting to Andrew’s orders and arguing with David?”
“It’s not like you told me not to.” The frozen leaves dug into my palms.
“And you’re still talking back! When will you learn your lesson?” Nick continued to lecture me, but it only made me feel worse and enraged me, so I tuned him out. My wrists were killing me. My eyes started to get watery as I bit my tongue to take my mind off my wrists. “Are you crying?” Nick asked.
“No,” I lied.
“His wrists hurt.”
I looked up to see Ryan; I had forgotten about him. Why couldn’t he keep quiet?
“Your wrists hurt?” Nick’s voice was still violent.
“I’m fine,” I answered, but before I could start another push-up, Nick grabbed my forearm and pulled up my sleeve, revealing the marks from the tight rope that had bound my hands together. I pulled away, but it was too late.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Do sit-ups instead,” offered Nick.
I tried, but my abdomen hurt even more. Nick reached over and pulled my shirt up halfway, which caught me by surprise, but I was grateful he had only pulled it up enough to see the bruises. I quickly stood up, uncomfortable.
“What happened this morning?” Nick asked in horror.
I didn’t answer; I went back to doing the push-ups.
“You can go now.” Nick’s voice was sincere.
“I haven’t finished.”
“I’m the one counting. Now go!”
I wasn’t going to argue with him.
“I’ll escort Ryan. Go
see Andrew,” Nick said. I thanked him and jogged to Maxime’s cabin. I didn’t want to go there, not after what I had done. I hated myself for it. I walked up the stairs slowly. I could hear yelling from inside his cabin.
“You can’t give Alex special treatment! What are you doing? You almost lost control and authority, and you didn’t do anything about it! Why? Because she’s a girl? You can’t treat her differently. Stop cutting her slack! She’s a boy here, just like everyone else. You need to keep the different levels of respect!” David screamed.
“I don’t like the different levels of respect!” Maxime retorted.
“I didn’t ask for your opinion.”
“I’m in charge here. I make the decisions. And hitting my men isn’t one of them!”
“Apparently you can’t make the right decisions! Three transfusions?! You donated blood three times in two weeks—”
“Three weeks,” Maxime corrected.
“That doesn’t matter. And twice to Alex, who is ruining everything!”
“She is not.”
“He!”
“I know what I’m doing!”
“So why did you donate three times? Why didn’t someone else?”
“Because there was no one else. Sam and I donated the first time, fixing your mistake! So Sam couldn’t donate again—”
“And you could? Who was the blood for the second time?”
“A twelve-year-old girl from Jarva.”
“And her parents couldn’t donate?”
“They died.”
There was a moment of silence.
“And no one else could be the donor for Alex?” David continued in a calmer voice.
“We didn’t have the time to ask.”
“You didn’t have time? So you put yourself at risk? She would have been fine without it!” David shouted.
“You haven’t seen the injuries.”
“I don’t need to. Listen to me! I’m older than you, and I know what’s best.”
“Ya right . . .” Maxime laughed.
“Maxime! Listen to me!”
“Since when do you call me by my first name?”
“Since you won’t listen!”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I knew I would regret it, but I knocked.
“Come in,” said Maxime.
David started to yell at me as I walked in. “And you almost ruined everything! It took a lot of time and hard work for Andrew to earn Maria’s respect to form The Shadows, and you almost erased it with a couple of words! Already that he’s only nineteen—”
“That’s enough!” Maxime screamed. He was lying on his back on his bed, shirtless, with his hands under his head. He seemed to be daydreaming. He was perfectly calm. I looked away. I felt terrible for what I had done. No one spoke for some time.
“Let’s go,” Maxime said, as he grabbed his shirt and got up. It was as though he had completely forgotten the whole argument and my wrongdoing.
“Where?” asked David.
“What do you care?” he responded.
“That’s it? She’s completely off the hook?” David was furious again.
“What do you expect me to do?”
“I don’t know . . .”
“After all, you said it yourself, ‘you know best.’” Maxime smiled and walked out the door.
I looked at David, searching for what to do, only to receive an evil eye. I decided to leave. I walked out behind Maxime, who had put his shirt and sweater on, but hadn’t taken his small bag with him.
“Forget David,” Maxime told me as we walked.
“I’m really sorry.” I couldn’t look at him; I was too ashamed.
“You were right,” he said. “I’m fully aware of the risks I take, but that’s not a reason for me not to take them. I’ll plead guilty to foolishness for having donated three times in so little time, but I don’t regret it.” He opened the door to the showers for me. “I took a shower during your surgery, so I’ll wait for you out here.” Maxime’s voice was appealing and relaxed, with no tint of anger. I nodded and stepped inside.
I turned on the shower, giving it time to warm up as I undressed and peeled the gauze off my neck. I avoided the mirror because I didn’t want to see my bruises again. I made myself believe that if I didn’t see them, they didn’t exist.
The warm water was soothing as it flowed along my skin, cleansing dirt, tears, and blood. I didn’t want to keep Maxime waiting, so I quickly cleaned up and stepped out.
I dried off, put my pants on, and wrapped my chest with wound dressing. I was about to bend down to pick up my shirt, but heard a gun load. I froze.
“You have very keen ears.”
The voice had been engraved in my mind.
Matthew stood behind me.
“Let’s go,” he ordered.
I slowly turned around with my hands up.
“What happened to you?” Matthew asked.
“Bad morning,” I answered casually.
“That doesn’t matter. Come on.”
I didn’t move. I thought about screaming for Maxime, but I couldn’t put him in danger, especially not after he had fainted. He was too weak.
“Come on!” he shouted as he grabbed my arm and pinned me to the wall with the gun against my neck.
“Alex? Are you all right?” Maxime asked.
Matthew put pressure against my neck to keep me quiet, but no response would only worry Maxime.
“Alex? Are you still there?”
I couldn’t answer.
“I’m coming in.” Maxime slowly opened the door.
Matthew pointed the gun in his direction, ready to shoot him as soon as he was in sight. When I saw Maxime’s black curls, I pushed Matthew off me as he fired the weapon, hitting Maxime in his shoulder. I kicked the gun out of his hand, then punched his abdomen. He quickly attacked me with a series of kicks and fists with fancy jumps and blocks. Every hit seemed to touch a bruise, causing pain to trickle down my limbs, but I couldn’t lose. I couldn’t follow Matthew back to hell while Maxime died. I noticed Matthew’s hand that David had shot. I was shocked to see that most of his metacarpals had been changed to metal, and wires ran under his skin. He was still partially human.
Matthew grabbed his gun regardless of my efforts to win. I put my hands up as he pointed it at me. My lungs struggled to get air. I glanced at Maxime, who sat with his back against the wall, bleeding from his left shoulder. He was struggling to get up. Guilt ran through me as I trembled with worry.
Matthew took a dagger from his belt and threw it at Maxime.
“No!” was all I could say as I ran to the one I loved. I ran to his side; he had a bullet in one shoulder and a dagger in the other. My eyes swelled with tears. I looked back, but Matthew had vanished, leaving no trace behind. I knelt beside Maxime. It was my fault that he was hurt, and I hated myself for it.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t—”
“I threw my knife at him . . . hit him in the chest. I’m fine,” he cut me off.
“No, you’re not.”
He forced a smile. “Someone must have heard the gunshot, so whoever is on watch duty tonight will be here soon. I think it’ll be Nick. Put your shirt on and then we can argue over whose fault it was.”
I didn’t argue. I put my shirt and sweater on before returning to him.
“What happened here? Andrew, are you all right? Alex? What are you doing here?” Nick had entered with a laser gun in his hands and stood there dumbfounded.
“Get Sam for me, please,” Maxime said.
“Yes, sir,” Nick replied and ran off.
Maxime closed his eyes and slowly brought his hand up to pull the dagger out of his shoulder. Sweat ran down his forehead as he clenched his teeth, trying effortlessly to hide how much it hurt. I didn’t know what to do, so I offered my help. I slowly wrapped my fingers around the dagger’s handle. I put my right hand against his wound, knowing it hurt, but it was necessary in order to pull the knife out. He twitched with every gesture. I closed
my eyes, took a deep breath, and with one quick, strong yank, wrenched the dagger out. Maxime held in a scream. I threw the blood-stained knife to the floor. I applied a towel to pressure the wound. Maxime tilted his head back with his eyes closed and let out a faint breath.
“Stay with me, Maxime! Come on! Sam will be here any moment now. I’m so sorry. Talk to me!” I tried to keep him from losing consciousness, but I could feel him quickly slipping through my fingers.
“You fought well,” he murmured.
“You still have a lot to teach me! Come on! Don’t fall asleep; please don’t fall asleep. Open your eyes. Come on, please.” Tears flowed down my cheeks.
“Don’t cry. I’m still here.” Maxime’s words were very breathy and faint.
Finally, Sam came running in with Nick behind him.
“Nick, take Alex back to his cabin and don’t tell anyone about this, please,” Maxime managed to say.
“No!” I objected. I wanted to stay by his side. I had to see that he was okay. It was my fault that he had been hurt, and I couldn’t just leave him here not knowing if he was going to make it or not. Sam asked me to move aside as Nick pulled me away.
“Alex, don’t be stupid,” Nick escorted me out against my will. I looked back to see Maxime motionless. I got my belongings and left.
The walk was in silence as I reflected upon what had happened. I should have gone with Matthew—then Maxime wouldn’t have been hurt. I was the reason for everyone’s pain. My stomach fell to my knees. Forgiveness was impossible.
I couldn’t believe Matthew had found me and had actually entered The Shadows, but worst of all, he had shot Maxime. I would never forget that moment when the trigger had been pulled. Time had seemed like an eternity, especially during Maxime’s fall. His blood had been so thick and the smell so rich. Matthew’s threatening voice had been sharp and violent. It still echoed in my mind.
“Don’t worry. He’ll pull through. Always does,” Nick stated as we walked, but I wasn’t really listening.
The man I hated had shot the man I loved.
Chapter 21
“Alex! Alex, wake up!”
My eyes slowly opened, erasing the blur as I turned onto my back to see Nick entering my cabin. I quickly sat up. Soreness covered my body. “Did the bell ring already?” I asked tiredly.
Violet Path Page 18
