The enforcer shoves me into a lead-lined cell and slams the door before turning on his heel and running out of the building. He couldn’t get away from me fast enough. I press my good shoulder against the door, but it holds. Automatically locked. The other two cells in the building are empty. They’re all lined with lead because it inhibits our ability to use the Sense. Lead blocks the flow of energy.
My wrists are screaming with pain, my head hurts, my shoulder is throbbing, and I’m all alone in this horrific prison. My mom is dead, my boyfriend turned me in, and . . . and my mom is dead. I sink to my knees, sobbing, fat tears making splash marks on the grimy floor.
I’m sure it’s my imagination, but it feels like the walls are closing in, threatening to crush the life out of me. I can’t catch my breath. The room spins, my world tilting on its axis. Falling to my side, I curl my knees to my chest and cry myself into a fitful sleep.
Chapter Four
Liam
“Todd?” My eyelids are crusted shut, but I manage to pry them open and fling my legs over the side of the bed. As soon as I sit up, the room turns on its side and my head pounds like it might explode. Soft sunlight streams in through the open door, and I squint my eyes. At least I can open both of them now.
I rub my hands over my face and wince as my fingers brush my cheek. Memories of last night come flooding back, and my heart drops into my stomach.
I let Makkapitew escape.
“Where’s Todd?”
“He hasn’t come back yet.” Missy rises from her chair and hands me a glass of water. Her long gray hair falls over her shoulder, and her eyes are tight with worry. “How are you feeling?”
My throat feels like sandpaper, so I gulp down the lukewarm water and set the glass on a table. Man, I miss ice. I touch my cheek again as the image of Makkapitew’s massive claws filleting my face dances through my brain. “I suppose I’ve felt worse.”
She presses her lips into a thin line and tightens her eyes even more. “You’re lucky to be alive.”
“That’s one way of looking at it.” Rising from the bed, I shuffle toward a small cracked mirror hanging on the wall. My hair is matted with blood and dirt, so I push it out of my face to get a good look at the damage. Three angry pink scars run across my cheek from my right eyebrow down to my jaw.
“Yeah, all right. I’m lucky.” Half an inch to the left, and I’d have lost my eye. “And you’re getting good with those oils. I expected to see a scabby mess. This ain’t so bad.”
Missy smiles, and her eyes finally soften. “I’m sorry about the scar. Healing oils are nothing compared to the way you use the Sense. It’s a shame you can’t heal yourself.”
“It is what it is. I think it gives me character.” Really, I look like Frankenstein’s monster, but I won’t tell her that. She did the best she could. “Besides, the gods would have to be crazy to give one person so much power. I’m already tall, dark, and handsome, ain’t I?”
Missy cocks an eyebrow at me.
“Okay, so I’m not dark. But I am tall and handsome, and I can heal with a touch. They have to draw the line somewhere; otherwise, they might see me as a threat.” I give her a wink and pull my boots on.
She grins and crosses her arms. “And where do you think you’re going, young man?”
“I’ve got to find Todd, don’t I?” He’s probably lying in the dirt somewhere in the woods, trying to sleep off the pounding headache Makka always gives him. I’ll fix his head and bring him back to camp so he can spend tonight in the cage. Like he wanted to do last night.
Man, I should have listened to him. I didn’t count on the blood moon giving Makka so much power. Especially not enough to break the chains.
“You need to rest. You lost quite a bit of blood last night. I was able to heal the wounds with the enchanted oils, but we don’t have the facilities to give a transfusion here. You’re too weak to go out.”
I stretch my arms over my head and roll my shoulders. “Nah. See? Good as new.” I feel like I’ve been dragged ten miles behind a train, but she doesn’t need to know that. I need to find Todd.
“You don’t even know where he is.”
“True, but Makka hunts people, right? And he didn’t come back to camp last night, so he must’ve gone to the city. I’d bet my right eye he’s somewhere between here and there.”
“You almost lost your right eye.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t. It’s all good, Missy. He’s out there somewhere, and he’s in pain.”
“Unless he got inside the city.”
I stuff a canteen of water into my pack and sling it over my shoulder. “We all know there’s only one way in and out once the gates are closed, and Todd doesn’t know where our secret entrance is. Heck, even I don’t know. Not that I’d want to go back if I could.”
“There’s a lot about our operation you don’t know.”
“And I’m okay with that. But the wolf is my responsibility. Todd is my responsibility. Now, if I’m gonna make it to the city and back before it gets dark, I need to scoot.”
She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, her forehead creasing in worry. “All right. Be careful.”
“Always.”
“And don’t get caught.”
I smile. “I never have.”
The afternoon sun is high in the sky, causing the trees to cast sharp shadows on the ground, weaving intricate patterns in the dirt. I’ve been walking for nearly five hours, and other than the broken collar, I haven’t found a trace of Todd. He’s got to be out here somewhere, though. This is Makka’s territory. He wouldn’t run too far away from home.
As I make my way closer to the city, a sinking feeling forms in my stomach. I haven’t been this close to my old home since the night I left. The night my father knocked me out and left me at Missy’s camp. A shiver runs down my spine as the massive gray wall peeks through the trees. I don’t care to get any closer, and I’m sure Todd isn’t going to be hanging around near civilization. He’s supposed to be dead like me. Still, that sinking feeling is starting to feel like I’ve got a magnet in my gut, and that wall—or something near it—is pulling me toward it.
My heart thrums in my chest as I close the distance between the fence and me. I take a deep breath to try and steady my pulse, but I immediately wish I hadn’t done that. The stale stench of death floats in the air, and I’m certain Makka’s been here. A mangled heap of something bloody lies off to my left, and I know I’ve gotta get a closer look, but I sure don’t want to. Please let it be an animal. It has to be an animal.
One foot in front of the other, I force myself toward the pile of flesh. Something crunches beneath my boot, and I lose my footing. My ankle twists funny, and a sharp pain shoots up the side of my calf. I clamp my mouth shut to muffle my scream and hop around on one leg. Dang it, that smarts! It’d be just my luck to break my leg miles from home with no one around to heal it. Not that there’s anyone at camp who could heal a broken bone, but still, it would suck to happen here.
I circle my foot and move it from side to side. Not broken. Good. I just need to walk it out. Unfortunately, that walk needs to be toward the dead thing lying a few yards away. What did I step on, though? A pack of batteries. What’s a pack of batteries doing outside the wall?
I scan the forest floor and find several packs of batteries, some flashlights, a few jars of peanut butter. These are the kinds of supplies we use at camp. My stomach drops into my boots. Oh, Makka. What have you done?
One of the sympathizers must’ve been making a run this morning. I pick up the scattered supplies and shove them into my bag, telling myself it’s because we can’t waste this stuff, but really, it’s because I’m stalling. Examining the dead thing is the last thing I want to do, but it must be done.
I take a few steps closer, and sure enough, that mangled mess on the ground used to be a man. His body’s torn to bits, and his lifeless blue eyes stare blankly at the sky. I don’t recognize him, so he’s not from camp, and that makes me
feel a little better. I know it shouldn’t, but it does. A few people inside the city know about Missy’s secret operation. Everyone with the Sense is marked for death, and those of us who manage to escape get to live in the mountains, scavenging for supplies, hunting for our food. But I suppose it’s better than the alternative.
I reach down to close the dead guy’s eyes, and my chest tightens. Todd’s gonna hate himself for this. He always feels guilty when Makka kills, even though he doesn’t have any control over the wolf. This wasn’t Todd’s fault, though.
It was mine.
I had control of the wolf. But that darn blood moon went and ruined everything. I’ve got to make this right. I can’t bring the dead guy back to life. His soul has already moved on—I checked. But I can make sure he gets a proper burial, and I have to find Todd so this doesn’t happen again.
My stomach churns as I drag the body deeper into the woods and cover him with dead leaves. I’ve healed all kinds of injuries and seen plenty of death, but I can’t get the image of Makka’s claws swiping into my face out of my mind. This could have been me last night.
With the sympathizer covered, I shove the rest of the supplies he lost into my own pack and trudge toward camp. Missy can send some men out to retrieve him later, and we can bury him in the village cemetery.
I take a different trail home, stopping by all my favorite clearings and hunting areas. No sign of Todd anywhere. He’s not by the river, and he didn’t go back to where he was chained last night. My nerves are eating a hole in my stomach. The sun will be setting soon, which means Makka’s gonna come out to play, and we’re all gonna be in danger.
Missy meets me at the camp entrance, and disappointment flashes in her eyes before she pulls me into a hug. “Any sign of Todd?”
My throat is thick with what I have to say, so I try to swallow it away. “I didn’t find a trace of Todd, but Makka’s been busy.”
The hum of a drone flying overhead has her pulling me closer to a wall. The thick blanket of trees around camp blocks most everything from view, but my heart always does a little sprint when something flies over. If the government hasn’t found this camp in the twenty or so years it’s been here, I doubt they ever will. But still.
I take a deep breath and open my pack to show Missy the supplies. “Makka killed a sympathizer.”
She covers her mouth with her hand, and her fingers tremble. “Brandon. But why would he have gone out at night?” She motions for me to follow her to her room.
“The wounds looked fresh. Just a few hours old. I’m thinking he might have ventured out at first light, and Makka hadn’t gone to bed yet. The blood moon made him strong.”
She nods and takes the supplies from my pack. “That makes sense. We’ll have to retrieve him tomorrow. Tonight, we’ll be on high alert. We’ll sleep in shifts and stand guard until daylight, and Liam, you’re sleeping in the first shift.”
“Like hell I am. I’ve got to get back out there and find Todd. That sympathizer’s blood is on my hands, and I won’t let it happen again.”
“Brandon’s death is not your fault. Everyone involved in this operation is aware of the risks.”
“But if I hadn’t let Makka escape last night, Brandon would still be alive. I have to stop the wolf before he kills anybody else.”
The sun starts to set, and fingers of darkness creep into Missy’s room. She switches on a battery-powered lamp, and dim yellow light chases them away. My body is screaming at me to listen to her. Everything aches, and the scar on my face is starting to throb. Sleep is exactly what I need, but I refuse to rest until I find Todd. This guilt is gonna eat me alive.
Missy crosses her arms and furrows her brow. Two deep creases form between her eyes, like a number eleven. I set my jaw and narrow my eyes. When her eleven shows, it means there’ll be no arguing with her. But this time’s different. I have to stop Makka.
“You’re going to bed, young man. That’s an order.”
“You’re not my mom.”
“No, but I am the leader of this operation, and you will do as I say.” Her expression softens, and she brushes her fingers over my scar. “If Makka shows up tonight, we will need you. And you’ll be useless if you can’t keep your eyes open. Please sleep, Liam.”
I start to protest, but instead I let out a defeated sigh. I can’t argue with her logic—or her eleven. No one can. That’s why she’s the leader.
Chapter Five
Wren
“Ooh, those wrists look like they smart. Why don’t you let me cut those ties off?” The cheerful voice arouses me from my slumber. Blinking the sleep from my eyes, I look up to see a tall, slim man standing on the other side of the cell door.
“You’re John Stevens.” I scramble to my feet and stick my hands through the bars. He cuts the tie, and I yank my hands away to examine the damage. The plastic has embedded itself in the skin of one wrist, a thin, crusty layer of blood gluing it in place.
“And you killed the monster,” he says, drawing my attention away from my injury.
The wolf attacked John’s wife three years ago. I didn’t see it happen, but I heard their son, Liam—the same boy who got me into so much trouble in first grade—tried to use the Sense to heal her. He was apparently doing a decent job before an enforcer slammed the butt of a gun into his head and dragged him off to kill him. No one saw Liam after that day, so I can only imagine he was executed. Possibly in this cell. I shiver.
“Who was it?” John says. “The human, I mean.”
I shrug. “Some guy named Todd Mason.”
His eyes grow wide, and he shakes his head like he doesn’t believe it. “My brother-in-law wasn’t dead after all.” He purses his lips. “Huh. How about that?”
“Wait . . . if Todd Mason is your bother-in-law, then that means he—”
“Killed his own sister? Yeah.” He folds his knife and shoves it in his pocket. Straightening his posture, he says, “Todd was a good man. He’d never kill people on his own. Never.” He sounds like he’s trying to convince himself.
I feel like I should say something consoling, but the words won’t come. I killed his brother-in-law, who killed his wife and my mom. They don’t make greeting cards for situations like this.
Knitting his brow, John looks at me with sympathy in his eyes. “It takes four days for the transformation to start. They’ll be taking you to the Washington prison tomorrow afternoon, and you’ll be draped in lead the whole time. So your powers won’t work, if you were thinking about using them.”
I just stare at him. I don’t want to think about anything right now, especially my powers. The Sense is the reason I’m in this mess. I focus my attention on my wrist. Squeezing my eyes shut and biting my lip, I rip the plastic from my skin, tearing off the scab with it. I groan as a fresh stream of blood flows down my arm. He passes a towel through the bars, and I hold pressure on the wound.
“Yep. That must smart,” he says. “I’ll see if I can get you a prescription for the pain.”
“I don’t want a prescription!” I yell, throwing the towel at him. “I want my mom!” Collapsing onto a cot, I sob into my hands, my chest heaving with each forced breath.
“Wren.” John waits for me to look up at him. “I understand what you’re going through. I’m sorry. I really am.”
I glare as he shuffles down the hall and turns a corner, leaving me alone in my cage. No, it’s a cell. Not a cage. I can stand. I can move around. It’s not too confining. Taking slow, deep breaths, I try to stay calm. If I think about something else, the claustrophobia won’t get to me. I need to think happy thoughts.
But I can’t get the image of my mom lying there dying out of my mind. I squeeze my eyes shut, and the bloody scene becomes more vivid. The scent of my own blood makes my stomach queasy, so I open my eyes again. Lying on my back, I stare at a brown water stain on the ceiling. If I squint hard enough, the edges of the stain waver, taking on the shape of a wolf’s head. This isn’t helping. I roll to my side, gingerly resti
ng my injured wrists on the cot.
I can’t believe my mom is gone. This can’t be real. It has to be a dream. I’m going to go to sleep, and when I wake up, I’ll be at home in my own bed. My mom will be there, making breakfast—two eggs over easy and a mess of fry bread. She’ll brush my hair and tell me stories about the reservation. Everything will be okay. Everything will be okay. I keep repeating the mantra until I fall asleep.
The sound of keys jangling in a lock awakens me. “Mom?” I sit up and rub my eyes. My head is still heavy with sleep, but I manage to blink the room into focus. I’m not in my bedroom. This isn’t a dream. Moonlight creeps in through the small barred window of my cell, casting just enough light for me to see John looking around nervously before he tosses my backpack onto the cot.
My backpack?
I grab it greedily, clutching it to my chest. “Where did you get this? What’s going on?”
“You have to hurry.” His voice sounds frantic. His eyes dart about like he’s expecting someone to burst in at any moment.
“Where did you get my backpack?” I start to unzip it, but he rushes over and holds my hands.
“There’s no time,” he whispers. “I broke into your apartment and got you some things: some clothes, bread, a salve from your mother’s medicine cabinet for your wrists, a knife—”
“What do I need a knife for?”
He looks over his shoulder and leans in closer. “I’m letting you go. You’ll go out the back door and head straight into the woods. There’s a gap in the wall to the east, behind a row of hedges. Go through it, and you’ll be outside the border.”
My mouth hangs open as I try to find the words. Am I understanding him right? He’s letting me go? “And then what? Hang around for a few days, turn into a demon wolf, and come back to kill people? I can’t do that.”
Soul Catchers Page 4
