Naomi Grim: The Final Breath Chronicles Book One

by V. B. Marlowe

  Gun shots sounded, one after the other. I wondered how many Foragers would lose their lives. It was foolish of them to attack when they could be killed and their enemies couldn't.

  I made it to the wall. Several ropes hung there. The Litropolites had used them to get over the wall to attend the execution. I opted for the hole. The stones were already pushed away. Apparently some of them wanted to take the easy way through. I raced through the almost empty city, not sure where to go. I couldn't go back to the Outskirts. The Foragers had used me as bait to distract the Grims. Who knew what else they would do?

  I went to Odessa's tent and waited, wondering how long it would take her to come home, or if she would even get home. Odessa didn't have enough years to be indestructible, I didn't think any of the Litropolites did.

  Still feeling ill, I laid down. I would feel this way for another week probably. Nausea churned in my gut, but I didn't feel like moving. Odessa would have a fit if I threw up in her home.

  The never-ending gunshots still worried me. I thought about the children and the innocent people who were in the square.

  After a while, I heard noises—the murmur of voices and people moving around. Someone wailed in the distance. A woman's voice shouted over the wailing. “This was a mistake! I told them not to do it!”

  “Shut up! It isn't over!” Odessa replied.

  She pulled back the sheets that covered the shack's opening. Her eyebrows raised when she saw me, but she didn't seem too surprised. “Oh, you got away.”

  I nodded. “What happened?”

  “What we expected to happen, I guess. They captured and killed some of the men, a lot of them are hiding out in different places throughout the city.”

  “Oh. Where's Nigel?”

  Odessa went to the corner and dug through her dishes, pulling out a pot. “He's in hiding.” She looked at me. “A lot of Grims are wounded.”

  I would imagine so. That was something we weren't prepared for. Grims never got sick, and it was a freak occurrence when someone got hurt. When that happened, the family took care of the injury themselves. There were no doctors or hospitals in Nowhere.

  “So this rebellion was a mistake, huh?”

  Odessa smiled. “No, it's going just the way it's supposed to be. They need medical attention. Home remedies aren't going to help the wounds they have from swords and arrows. The Grims in the Outskirts have medical equipment from the Human world. There are doctors there, trained to help them. Someone will put the bug in Dunningham's ear, and he'll send for them. Well, at least that's what we're hoping.”

  “How did they get stuff from the Human world?” We could never bring things from their world to ours when we were dispatched. Only our personal belongings could come back with us. How did they manage to do this?

  Odessa sighed. “Oh, I don't know.” But I could tell she was lying.

  “That plan's stupid, and it's not going to work,” I said bitterly. I was angry at them for hurting innocent people. Sure, things weren't the way they should be, but it wasn't the Grims’ fault. They didn't have a choice but to follow the rules. “Dunningham will let those Grims live with their wounds forever before he lets Foragers in his colony.”

  Odessa poured some water from a pitcher into a pot. “Half of his Watchers are wounded, and his important people from the Upper Estates. Trust me, he'll send for Carey and medical supplies. I only wish they had hit Dunningham himself, but of course he was pulled away from the scene immediately.”

  “I wonder if my family's okay.”

  “Why don't you go check?”

  “I can't. They'll capture me again. Your friends set me up.”

  Odessa shook bottles of spices over the water. “What do you mean they set you up?”

  “They kept wanting me to go to Farrington so Dunningham would catch me. They wanted the execution to happen so they could stage this.”

  Odessa rolled her eyes at me. “You're an ungrateful little twit, you know.”

  “What?”

  “If they wanted you to die, they would have waited until after you were hung to make their move, but they didn't do that. They saved your life. You would be dead if it wasn't for the rebellion and instead of thanking them, you accuse them of setting you up?”

  I hadn't thought of it that way, but she was right. They could have easily waited a few seconds later, and I would have been dead. My body would be hanging in the square for all to see.

  Odessa took the pot outside. I didn't follow her. I needed to stay out of sight. I thought it would be best if no one knew I was there.

  ”So what's the next step?” I asked once she came back inside.

  “They'll make their next move. During the execution, every Grim in Nowhere was in the square. That means stores and homes were left open and unattended. Those men could be hiding anywhere. We all know they're very skilled at hiding and lurking in the shadows. The prisoners in Gattica, the Foragers who work in the Mill—they're in on it too. Our men will join them when the time is right. We have the Watchers and the men of Farrington and the Upper Estates outnumbered.”

  Dunningham wasn't stupid. I was sure he was planning something as we spoke. “What about Grims getting hurt?”

  Odessa shrugged. “The casualties of war, my dear.”

  Chapter 39

  I wanted desperately to check on my friends and family, but Nowhere would be under heavy surveillance following yesterday's attack.

  Odessa and I sat in her home, waiting to see what the aftermath would be. Something strange was in the air. Dunningham and the other Grims had to be stunned. Nothing like this had ever happened before. After we'd eaten a meager breakfast of plain white rice, Colden appeared.

  “Hey,” he said, startling us as he entered the shack.

  “Hey, yourself,” Odessa said. “Where've you been?”

  “Here. I stayed with Felina last night. Her tent is the closest to the opening, and I couldn't risk being seen in case the Watchers came here.”

  “Where's Nigel?” Odessa sounded afraid to ask that question.

  Colden folded his legs underneath him. “He was captured. He's in Gattica, if they didn't—”

  “Dammit!” Odessa said under her breath.

  “It's okay. If he's in Gattica, he'll be out in a few days.”

  “What's going to happen in a few days?” I asked. Maybe now people would start answering my questions.

  Surprisingly, Colden didn't look as annoyed as he usually did when I asked him something. “What happened today was designed to get them to let their guard down. Dunningham and his Grims think we're weak and insufficient. They're not expecting much from us. They're going to think that this was some pathetic attempt at an attack and go on about their business.”

  He stopped, but he hadn't given me the full story.

  “Yeah? And?”

  “We have an army. The hybrids. The Grims of Litropolis. The prisoners in Gattica. The workers in the Mill. Doyle. Farrington and the Upper Estates won't know what hit them. Dunstan will take care of his brother.”

  “What are you going to do with the Grims there?”

  Colden narrowed his eyes at me. “The same thing they've done to us. Throw them in Gattica. Make them work the Mill. Banish them to the Outskirts, where they'll shrivel up and die in that heat.”

  I understood their anger and the injustices they'd been dealt, but they should limit their revenge to Dunningham, not the Grims. It wasn't their fault.

  “You can't do that. I have family—”

  “They're not your family!” Colden screeched at the top of his lungs, causing both me and Odessa to jump.

  “Colden, stop it,” Odessa said gently.

  Colden took a deep breath, but his face stayed the same, twisted in anger. “I'm tired of hearing you whine about your precious family. You need to realize that you're not one of them anymore. You're one of us. Everybody is paying a price here. My brother is in Gattica. My mother only has a few years left. What we're fighting for comes wit
h a price.”

  I wanted to go back to Farrington, to at least warn my family, but I knew that was impossible.

  “We need to get back to the Outskirts,” Colden said. “Dunstan wants you.”

  “What does he want me for?”

  Colden didn't answer, he'd already left the shack.

  I turned to Odessa and thanked her again. She gave me a sympathetic smile. “I know this is hard for you, and Colden's tough, but listen to him.”

  I nodded and followed Colden because I didn't have a choice. I couldn't stay in Nowhere in Odessa's shack forever, and I couldn't risk being caught again.

  * * *

  Back in the Outskirts, the women carried on with their daily lives as if nothing had happened. Most of the men were in Nowhere, either in Gattica or hiding somewhere, waiting.

  Colden had been quiet the entire way. He didn't even yell at me for not climbing the wall fast enough and for falling behind during the walk back. I had stopped to remove my cloak, cursing that blasted heat.

  We headed straight for Dunstan's cottage. Jax let us in. Dunstan was perched at the head of his kitchen table, which was covered with maps and diagrams. Colden and I stood, waiting to be recognized.

  “Well?” Dunstan asked, not even looking up.

  “Well, what?” I demanded impatiently.

  “Aren’t you even going to say thank you? I mean, we did stop your execution yesterday.”

  I drew a deep breath. “Thank you,” I mumbled.

  It wasn't that I wasn't grateful, I just knew what had happened hadn't been done to save my life. I didn't think any of them cared whether or not I lived or died.

  “I'm going to need you for a project,” Dunstan said, finally meeting my eyes. “It's experimental, but the doctors and I have been doing some research, and it should work.”

  I glanced at Colden. There was no concern in his eyes. He must have known already.

  I wasn't sure I wanted to know. “What kind of project?”

  A knock at the door prevented Dunstan from answering.

  We waited a second, and Jax appeared, looking worried. “It's Grims. They said they need to see you and Naomi.”

  My heart skipped a beat. Dunningham had sent his men to capture me. Did he know that full-blooded Grims could survive here for a very brief time period?

  Dunstan didn't seem bothered at all, as if he had been expecting this. “Let them in,” he said, actually sounding bored.

  Jax went back to the front door. A moment later, Bram, Keira and Chase entered the kitchen.

  A swell of relief washed over me. I ran to hug Keira and Chase. “I'm so glad you guys are all right.”

  “We're fine,” Chase said. “What about you?”

  I let go of them. “I'm good,” I answered. “I still feel a little weak.”

  I glanced at Bram.

  “Hey,” he muttered

  “Hi, Bram. Mother, Father, and Dorian, are they okay?”

  “Everybody's fine.”

  Colden took a seat at the kitchen table, glaring at my friends and brother.

  Dunstan stood and folded his arms across his chest. “What are you children doing here?”

  I was curious too. “Yeah, how'd you guys get out of Farrington without being seen?”

  Bram glared at Dunstan. “Your brother sent us. He has a couple of requests, demands, really.”

  Dunstan chuckled to himself and settled back down in his seat. “Is that so? Please do tell, what are my brother's demands?”

  “First, he wants doctors. Some of our people are hurt and wounded. He wants supplies and medicine that he knows you have.”

  Dunstan appeared to be thinking about it. “What's in it for me?”

  “Ten lifestones,” Chase answered. “We know you need them.”

  Dunstan laughed heartily that time. “Ten lifestones? My brother must really think I'm an imbecile. We'll send you our doctors, but for no less than one thousand lifestones.”

  Bram and Chase exchanged looks. Bram opened his mouth to speak.

  “That's not negotiable,” Dunstan said before my brother could get a word out.

  Bram was about to argue, but Keira placed her hand on his chest. “Fine,” she said to Dunstan. “We'll bring that back to him and see what he says.”

  “What's the next thing?” Colden asked impatiently. Bram shot him a look. The two of them were so much alike, I imagined they would hate each other.

  Keira took a deep breath and looked at me. “We have to bring Naomi back.”

  Chapter 40

  “What?” I glowered at the three of them, not believing they were actually standing there saying they had come to return me to the man who wanted to kill me.

  “I'm sorry, Nay,” Bram said. “He said he'll kill all of us and our families if we don't bring you back to him.” Then he coughed.

  They would have to leave soon. There wasn't much time for an argument, not that I was about to resist. There was no doubt in my mind that Dunningham would kill my family and friends if I didn't go back. I would never let that happen.

  I turned to Dunstan.

  “Go. Go with them,” he told me. “Colden, you too. Send him back with the lifestones, and I'll send my doctors and medical equipment.” Dunstan went back to looking at his maps.

  I retrieved my cloak from the chair and followed the others outside.

  Colden walked ahead of us while I lagged behind with Chase.

  “So what's the deal with him?” Chase asked, nodding in his direction.

  “He's a jerk. He hates me and all Grims.”

  “He looks kind of like that pretty boy you fell in love with at Kennedy High,” Bram said over his shoulder.

  I couldn't believe he was bringing that up again. “Really, Bram?”

  “What boy?” Chase demanded.

  “Nobody,” I answered curtly.

  “Not nobody,” Bram said. “He's the reason Naomi botched the job. She risked her life for that kid. She wouldn't do that for nobody.”

  Chase searched my face for answers.

  I sighed. “Okay, he was a guy and I liked him, but I wasn't in love with him. And he wasn't the sole reason I blew that job. It wasn't that serious.”

  Chase didn't answer me, but I did catch him stealing a glance at Colden. Bram was wrong, Colden and Hunter were nothing alike. Hunter was sweet and gentle. Colden was mean and abrasive.

  As we neared the wall, Chase wheezed, Bram was coughing nonstop, and Keira was having trouble breathing. They needed to get over the wall and soon.

  Everyone was better at wall climbing than me, even though I had climbed the wall a lot more times than they had, but I was still weak. We stalked through Litropolis, looking and talking to no one.

  “So have you thought about it?” Keira asked Bram.

  “Yeah,” he answered shortly.

  “Thought about what?” I asked.

  Bram said nothing, so Keira answered for him. “Dunningham needs more Watchers. A lot of them were injured, and there weren't that many to begin with.”

  That was true. Nowhere had always been peaceful. Except for the occasional Forager intrusion, there was nothing to worry about. The Watchers mostly spied on us and turned us in when we broke the rules.

  “You can't be a Watcher. You haven't been Confirmed yet,” I reminded him.

  Bram watched me from the corner of his eye. “I know. All I have to do is get engaged. That's being arranged.”

  “Yeah? With who?” A lump formed in my throat, and I hoped he didn't say Keira.

  “Senka.”

  Senka lived a few streets over from us. I didn't know much about her, but she seemed nice enough. She was much prettier than Rosaleen.

  “Oh.” I stole a glance at Keira. She stared straight ahead, her face emotionless.

  My brother never looked happy, but something was really bothering him. “You're going to have to be at Dunningham's beck and call all the time. Watchers have no lives. Do you really want to be a one, Bram?”

>   “Sure. I love having authority.”

  I didn't think that was a good enough reason to want to be a Watcher at all, but whatever.

  We crawled through the wall that separated Farrington and Litropolis and crossed the stream. The whole time we walked, I wondered where the Foragers were hiding, and if they were watching us from secret places.

  “Dunningham will be coming to the house,” Bram announced.

  “Super,” I mumbled under my breath.

  At the back door, I gave Keira a final hug. Chase hung back, probably angry about the Hunter situation.

  Keira pushed him toward me. “You may never see her again, Chase.”

  His face softened. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me toward him. “Bye, Nay.”

  “Bye, Chase.”

  “Can we move this along?” Colden asked.

  Bram shot him a dirty look, but Colden didn't seem to notice. The last thing I needed was someone else who acted like Bram.

  Keira and Chase went their separate ways, and Colden, Bram, and I entered the house. Unfortunately, Dunningham was already sitting on the couch of our living room, with my parents and little brother. I'd been hoping for at least a moment to spend with them alone.

  Dunningham sat in Father's special chair, cracking his knuckles. Doyle stood behind him.

  “Sit, child,” Dunningham ordered.

  I took a seat on the couch next to Dorian. Bram sat on the other side of me. Mother and Father took up the loveseat. Mother's eyes were red and puffy. My parents had definitely been on an emotional roller coaster those past few days. Colden stood off to the side.

  Dunningham glared at me. “You were granted a nice little extension, weren't you?”

  I said nothing.

  “I've been doing some thinking, Naomi— What is that doing here?” Dunningham asked Bram, indicating Colden.

  “Your brother said the only way he would send doctors and medical supplies would be if you gave him one thousand lifestones.” He pointed at Colden. “Dunstan sent him to take them back.”

  Dunningham clenched his jaw, furious. He hadn't expected his brother to counter his commands.