Edge of Mercy (Young Adult Dystopian)(Volume 1) (The Mercy Series)

by Marks, C. C.

  Zeke slid a piece of the wall aside. An intricate vent cover was now open, and we leaned in, our heads touching as we jostled for position. The vent had been installed so that someone using the escape tunnel could check to see if the area had been compromised before barging through the door. It was low to the ground, so we were on our bellies now, and I could just make out the gray-haired woman who had hobbled out of the woods with us.

  Now she was in front of the Council, and the decision whether or not the community would protect her would be made. I had some unrealistic hope they would accept her, even though history said otherwise. The Council didn't save others—except Star and me. They’d made an exception for us. But I had to ask why they would spare us. What value did we have to the Council? Most of the time, they made decisions to benefit themselves. At least that's how I saw it. I had many questions about how the community was run, but no one questioned the Council's decisions.

  Yet, the question so wrapped up in my survival rushed to mind again. If I dared ask where the women were, would Zeke answer me this time? Would he clarify how the Council could even consider turning someone feeble and helpless away from the community just because she was a woman?

  Something happened to the women and girls of this community. I wanted…no…I needed to know what that was. The journal under my arm held answers, but if I were caught with it, I’d be punished. Of that, I was sure.

  Zeke shifted slightly as the Council began their inquiry. Would he come to my defense if I had to stand before the Council? Would anyone?

  My mouth stung and I realized I'd chewed into the healing wound on my lower lip. I sucked it into my mouth and turned my focus back to the proceedings.

  "Are you still able to bear children?" The question came from Jonas.

  I thought of the elderly woman that emerged from the tree line and wondered if there was a time women couldn't have children. After they’d closed the schools, I'd lived at home with my parents, and they’d continued to teach me what they could, but not having women around now left many holes in my education.

  "No, I can no longer bear children, but I can care for them, and I can cook."

  "We have no need for either. All our needs are met except one. We need to continue the growth of our community, but currently have no means."

  Her voice lowered, snakelike and her words darted like sharp, little knives from her lips. "Because to save yourselves, you fools sent your women to die, and now you see in the end, the creatures still won."

  “Bring in the doctor.” A sneer sounded in Jonas’s words.

  The door opened and the community physician, Dr. Graham, entered solemnly. He approached the Council table and stopped a few feet from the woman. His eyes never glanced in her direction.

  “Did you find any bites or scratches on her person?”

  He inhaled deeply before nodding. “She has a large scratch from her left shoulder down to her lower back. Most likely, she is infected.”

  “No! No, the scratch is from the overgrowth of the forest. I’m not infected.” Her voice was high-pitched and pleading. My heart clenched at the thought of these callous men not even giving her the benefit of the doubt. They had an excuse now to put her out.

  "I've heard enough. Gentlemen, I propose we give her provisions and a map and set her on the other side of the wall. If we are in agreement, give your assent with an 'aye'."

  All voices sounded in unison.

  "Any opposed."

  Like a fly trying to escape a spider's web, I felt the words twisting inside me. Me! I’m opposed. I’m very opposed! I felt responsible for her. We had brought her here, a promise hidden within that action that she would be safe with us, but she would to be thrown to the predators instead. Humans were no longer highest on the food chain, and she would find that out first hand when the Draghoul grabbed her on the other side of the wall, and it was inevitable they would.

  But I couldn't say anything. I couldn't jeopardize my own shaky position, could I? Maybe if it were just me, I would have been brave, but I had my little sister Star to think about too. If something happened to me, they might put her on the other side of the wall to cleanse the community of any lingering problems.

  Gritting my teeth, I stayed quiet, and they led her from the room. She didn't argue or try to fight. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. They were bigger and stronger and wouldn't become merciful suddenly.

  I grabbed Zeke's bulky shirt and pulled at him until he rose to a sitting position. "Is Thomas training in the towers tonight?"

  "Yeah, he's on trapdoor duty. He’ll meet us at the end of the nightwatch run to help us into the lower tunnels and back into the sanctuary."

  “I’m going outside.”

  “Now? Why? We still have time to grab something to eat before we start.”

  “Go ahead. Eat. I’m going now.”

  He looked confused but shrugged. “Okay. See you in about fifteen minutes.”

  I ran out of the room and down the tunnel, veering to the right and taking a sharp left before climbing the stairs out of the sanctuary. After a few more twists, I found the front entrance and raced outside, around the guards, turning toward the furthest tower, where I hoped Thomas was alone. Once I’d crossed the grassy area between the building and the tower, I grabbed the tower ladder and climbed.

  I breached the outer deck of the tower and stopped at the top of the ladder. Thomas's heavy, scarred boots rested at the edge. He loomed over me. At nineteen, he was only two years older but well over six-feet, and I was average height—for a female. In so many other communities, it would pass unnoticed.

  "Charlie?" I trained my gaze on Thomas, the single guard in the tower, and felt the heat of his stare. He watched me again, and the usual questions lingered behind his intelligent eyes. I was sure somehow he knew the truth about me.

  "Have they put her outside the wall?"

  "The old woman?"

  I nodded.

  "There."

  I rushed to the window. They were almost to the gate. Lifting my gaze, I stared at the sun sinking behind the horizon. In the distance, I could already hear shrill cries of the creatures waiting on the other side, screaming in anticipation.

  A dark fear invaded my mind, and my teeth ground together painfully. Fear of the inhumanity, of the cold cruelty of their actions overcame me, but mostly I felt the dread that my most guarded secret would be revealed. My fate would be the same as hers.

  Shadows darted in the treetops outside the wall. I knew what waited for her on the other side. I'd seen them up close, fell for the seemingly innocent face and dagger teeth once, and my mother paid with her life. Now, I would watch it happen again. My stomach churned with the thought.

  "No choice, Charlie."

  Hot tears slid down my cheeks. "Why?" I marveled at the evenness of my voice. I wanted to drop to my knees and wail at the unfairness of it all. Just yesterday, she had stumbled out of the forest, and I had brought her into the community. I told her she’d be safe.

  "We don't question the Council."

  Eight months had passed since my mother and I showed up to this fortified community in the middle of The Dead Forest. I arrived in men’s clothing. My mother insisted, and I didn’t ask why. Curiosity killed. I'd learned to swallow my questions.

  I clenched my hands into fists, cutting into the skin with my nails. The tight crowd reached the inner fence. They clearly weren’t backing down.

  Throwing a backpack at her feet, the guards shoved her through the open gate. She turned, said something I couldn't comprehend. The gate clanged shut.

  "Look at her, Thomas. Throwing a helpless old woman to the monsters? How can they live with themselves?"

  Tension sparked in the air, and I watched feebly as a sharp line of spikes forced her in the direction of the second gate, opening to spit her into the forest. Through the inner fence, she shuffled backwards, passing rows of barbed wire along her path, but her gaze shifted back and forth between the spikes and the inevitable d
eath on the other side of the gate. The thought occurred to me speared might be a better death than ripped apart, and I willed her to throw herself on the sharp points.

  "Charlie," he paused so long, I finally turned my sorrowful gaze toward him, "females...something about them attracts the Draghoul. Doctor Graham says it's a natural chemical—a pheromone. We sent our women and girls to the other side of the wall, knowing most, if not all, would die. Why would the Council spare a purposeless woman, a woman who would be bait for more of those creatures?"

  It explained so much.

  I hung my head and let the sobs take over. I might as well throw off the bulky jacket and saggy pants. The Council would find out soon enough, and I would be sent to the other side. But what about Star, my eight-month old sister? The Council already knew her gender. There was no way to hide it when so many cared for her daily.

  "Star?" My throat felt tight.

  "Hope for the future. She’ll bear children for them one day, and they’ll keep her underground where the monsters won’t detect her." His voice laced with bitterness, I felt his distaste.

  Sourness filled my own mouth. I would face a hoard of bloodthirsty Draghoul before I let them use Star like that.

  Oh God! Reality sunk in. I shuddered uncontrollably and wrapped my arms around my mid-section. My fate wouldn't be the old woman's. I was of childbearing age. If they ever discovered my secret, it would be worse.

  The sound of Thomas's boots echoed on the wooden platform as he approached me. His hands gripped my arms, and as if reading my mind, he whispered, "No one will find out, Charlie. That won't happen to Star...or to you."

  Our gazes locked, and he loosened his grip to swipe a fresh tear from my cheek. He knew. The air between us thickened as time slowed down. For that single, heavy moment, my unrelenting anxiety eased. Another soul knew my secret, and though I was probably a fool, I wasn’t afraid. Instead the thought strengthened me. I no longer felt so completely alone.

  A loud, screeching grind interrupted, and I blinked back to reality. The outer wall rolled open slowly. The old woman would be shredded. The voracious screams of the Draghoul lifted into the dusky evening. I had to do something.

  "How good are you with that rifle, Thomas?" The metal glinted in the fading sunlight.

  "Don't even ask. They'll have her before I can kill the first one."

  "Not them...her."

  He was silent a moment. Then the cold metal noise of the bolt snapping back resonated. He raised it and slid the muzzle through a hole in the tower wall. He sighted down the barrel as the loud churning wall stopped with a thud, and the woman began to wail and plead in earnest. Several clawed shadows inched toward her, and she threw her arms in front of her face, as if they could protect her from the inevitable.

  I covered my ears. Thomas pursed his lips and squeezed the trigger. The shot was deafening, but as I looked at the lifeless body on the ground below, I stroked Thomas's arm and whispered my thanks. In this horrible, new world, it was mercy.

  Chapter 7

  The Council’s decision has us all in shock. How could they do this to us just because Dr. Graham says there’s no other way? Haven’t they ever heard of a second opinion? They can’t just put all the women and girls outside the wall. Can they? We’re needed here. We contribute to the daily functioning of the community. Without us, the small piece of civilization we’ve all managed to carve out here in The Dead Forest will crumble to pieces. Already, people are turning against each other. One father refused to put his daughter out there into the claws of the Draghoul. His words were, “If you send her to the monsters, I go too, and I’m sure many in the community will follow us.” How many members will go? Should we all just go? Take a risk there’s a safer place out there, somewhere close?

  The strangest thing to me though is how many others have decided to stay. Jonas Bannon is sending his wife, and it’s almost as if he brags about it. Like feeding your loved ones to the creatures is some noble sacrifice.

  Mom says she knew it was inevitable. She’s certain we’ll be slaughtered on the other side, but of course she only talks about it with a few women who stop by our room occasionally. I overheard her with them just this morning. Since we’re being sent to almost certain death, she’s insisting Victor stay here. I don’t know how she can leave him though. He’s so young, and if she thinks men here will protect him, well, let me just say, they aren’t rushing to anyone’s defense except their own. Even if he does annoy me sometimes, I don’t want to leave my little brother at the scant mercy of these vultures. Sometimes, the monsters outside the wall aren’t nearly as scary as the ones inside it.

  “Charlie, what are you doing down here?”

  As if coming out of a trance, I looked up at Thomas. Confused wrinkles stretched across his forehead, and my mind slipped back to the present as I realized I shouldn’t be here. I’d found a small corner behind one of the stairwells in the lower hallways, where the light reached just enough to read by. But, I hadn’t expected anyone to find me.

  I snapped the book shut and tucked it under my jacket. Thomas might know more about me than most, but I wasn’t sure how he’d react to my current choice of reading material. I thought it best not to share it for now.

  “What’ve you got?”

  “Nothing. Just a book Quillen gave me. He feels like we’re all getting stupider.”

  Thomas laughed. “He might be right.”

  I carefully rose from the floor, working not to drop the journal. I’d had several opportunities to dump it into one of the dark hallways, but so far, my curiosity about the community’s history outweighed my fear of getting caught. There were too many unanswered mysteries no one willingly revealed, and every time I opened the book, I learned a little more about the past. I’d found a large metal cabinet with just enough room between it and the wall to slip the book behind. The cabinet was at the top of the stairs, and right now, I ached to get it back to its hiding spot.

  “I’m surprised you have extra time with your laundry duty and a couple more nights of nightwatch. Are you keeping up with everything?”

  Things were growing awkward between Thomas and me. “You don’t have to worry about me, Thomas. I’m used to taking care of myself.”

  There had always been tension between us before, but since our moment in the tower a few nights ago, he seemed to show up everywhere I went, like he was watching out for me. Although I kind of liked the idea of someone I could trust knowing my secret, his extra attention was becoming unwanted, and I still didn’t trust him completely. What if someone else noticed and began to work out why he was always watching out for me? Not everyone was as unobservant as Zeke. Someone would notice.

  “About that. I don’t doubt you can take care of yourself, but what if I helped you take it a step further?”

  “What do you mean? Like you’ll be my own personal bodyguard? Pick out my clothes? Do my hair? If you help me anymore than you already do, people will begin to talk. I’m fine.”

  I tried to sweep past him, but he caught my elbow and held me. With a hard pull, I yanked at his grip, but his hold didn’t break. I thanked my shaky good luck that the book was tucked under my other arm.

  “Look, I’d rather have people talking than taking advantage of you. Just let me show you a few moves to protect yourself. It would take less time than you think and then I wouldn’t feel a need to check on you.”

  His intense dark-eyed stare sent shivers down my spine. I’d never noticed how smooth his skin was or how his brown hair curled in perfect waves to his collar. When he wasn’t glaring at me for putting the community in danger, Thomas was cute.

  Ugh! As soon as the thought entered my brain, I wanted to scrub it free.

  This was Thomas I was thinking about, and even if he were the best-looking boy I’d ever laid eyes on, I’d be a complete idiot to think of him as anything more than…not quite a friend…more like a non-enemy. He was someone on my side, but certainly no one I’d call a friend. Yet, something about
our relationship had changed.

  Maybe it was how he’d put the woman out of her misery before she could be torn to shreds or maybe it was how he’d made it clear he would protect me against the community, but I did feel something for him now. He could be a friend. For whatever reason, he felt a need to protect me. Maybe I should just let him. What could it hurt? Really, it could only ultimately help me. Whether against the community members or a horde of Draghoul, to be able to defend myself would be a plus.

  “Okay. Let’s meet here this time tomorrow. You can show me how to throw a punch and then answer a few questions for me.”

  “Questions? What kind of questions?”

  “About the community and how it survived here in the Dead Forest so long.”

  His nostrils flared and his head jerked back like he’d been struck. He stayed quiet for a moment before releasing a heavy breath. “There are things you’d rather not know.”

  “Like the women and children didn’t go willingly into the forest, did they?”

  His silence spoke loudly. “We fought…literally, to keep them here, but in the end, they went willingly. In the last moments what was best for the community won. No one dared question the decision, even those going out to the monsters.”

  “That’s crazy. How could you let that happen?”

  His head lowered, and I could feel shame roll off him in waves. “I was a child. I begged my mother to stay or take me with her, but she knew my odds of survival favored staying here with my father. Not a day goes by I don’t wish I’d disobeyed and ran through the gates after her. Some did. I stayed, like a coward.”

  My heart squeezed for him in that moment. My thoughts hadn’t always been kind to Thomas, but I’d never thought him a coward, and I still didn’t. “You’re the bravest person I know, Thomas. What you did in the tower a couple nights ago, I will never forget, and I’ll always think of it as one of the noblest things I’ve ever witnessed.”