“Okay, say we do make it across. What's going to stop them from just killing us on the other side. You know what happened to Josh,” Buck said.
She did know. The sight of his severed head stuck on a pole was burned into her memory forever. It was Josh who had given them the idea: pay the trolls for passage. Give them enough money or food and they’d let you slip out. They had huddled in their scouting spot above the bridge the day he had made his attempt. Everything seemed to be working, he had given the guards a sack of money, a pretty substantial sum by any account. They’d let him pass. He knew she and her siblings were watching and he’d given them a jaunty wave once he’d made it to the other side. Everything had gone perfectly, but the next day his tortured face adorned an eight-foot pole at the mouth of the bridge.
“I have a plan for that.” She tried to make her voice sound confident. “Besides, you guys are fast. Josh probably didn’t even think to run or hide. We’ve got that all worked out.”
Lying to them was harder than anything she’d ever done, but they had to believe it would work or she’d never get them on that bridge. Buck thrust his legs forward and ran his hands through his hair.
“You keep saying you have a plan but you won’t tell us! What the heck is it?”
She could hear the frustration in his tone. A stinging pain like a needle bit into her insides. They would never forgive her for what she was going to do, but she was elbow deep now. There was no way out of it. Pushing down the regret and sadness she gave him a reassuring smile. “Just trust me okay? I promise it will work.”
It was a testament to their loyalty that he and Kid both nodded and the questioning stopped. She didn’t deserve them. How could she go through with something that would hurt them so much? Stopping to think about the reality of what was going to happen made her insides twist and her stomach roil. She pushed the image from her mind and replaced it with a silent pleading for forgiveness to the boys at her side.
As she lay staring at the ceiling that night fighting tears, she made a decision. The anxious waiting had to be as bad as the real thing. It was time to do it, if only to stop the constant burning in her chest every time she thought about it. Besides, they weren’t likely to find much more to add to the pile anyway. They’d searched every nook and cranny of every empty building within a ten-mile radius. Any farther out and they’d have to use the truck, and if they got the truck confiscated they’d never get all that stuff to the bridge. They would go tomorrow. Stuffing her emotions behind a brick wall, she ushered in the peaceful apathy that can only be found in total acceptance. The price for survival was high but it was worth it. She repeated those words in her mind, willing herself to believe them until she fell into a dark and fitful sleep.
They did not argue when she announced to them the following morning that the time had come. Maybe the waiting was torturing them as much as it was her, although for different reasons. It took no time to pack their meager belongings into their backpacks. Loading the truck took longer. Sweat dripped from her face and her legs ached by the time they got all the supplies up the stairwell. They loaded everything into the back of the old moving truck, including the flatbed carts they would need to transport everything once they got too close to drive. Everything was ready. Just one last thing to grab.
“You guys get loaded, I’ve got one last thing to grab!” She called as she darted back into the building and up the stairs to the room where she’d been working the last two months. She’d been going over and over in her mind how to hide her little surprise, not only from her brothers but from the guards too. In the end, she snuck it under a cardboard box and tucked it into the truck bed amongst the others. As long as she was the one to move it to the cart they wouldn't suspect. Buck and Kid were already buckled into the cab, groaning at her to hurry up, when she pulled herself into the driver's seat.
Within an hour they were parked on the outer fringes of the Eastern blast zone. Buck looked at her as she killed the engine, his green eyes serious.
“This is it. We could still take the stuff, and the truck, and run. But once we unload, that's it. No turning back.”
They couldn’t run. The roads out of the city were as heavily guarded as their current route, but at least they knew there was life on the other side of the bridge. She’d seen the twinkling lights herself, a sure sign of civilization. No one could confirm there was anything more than desolation past the western border. It was a chance she wasn't willing to take.
“No turning back,” she said, forcing a smile, “let's get busy.”
Loading the goods onto the carts seemed to take far less time than loading them onto the truck had. Or maybe it was her dread of the things to come speeding up her perception of it. Either way, they were trundling up the path toward the bridge before she knew it. She watched as Kid’s little muscles strained with the effort of pushing the heavy load over the uneven ground. With a sigh, she took several of the boxes from his cart and put them on her own. What her plan would do to him broke her heart the most. Pain or not, it was the clear path now. Somebody had to make it to the other side.
When they came in sight of the bridge, they ducked low and rolled their carts as close as they dared to the sheer drop off on this side of the chasm while staying hidden behind the wall of rubble. The river roiled and spat a noxious smell into the air, looking extra menacing today. With a hand, she halted them. If she’d calculated correctly, they would become visible to the men on the bridge by rolling the carts to the break in the wall six feet from where they stood. Her stomach tensed as she peeked over the rubble to the bridge below. Seven. More than there had ever been. Damn it. But the boss was there, sitting on the barricade, looking as surly as ever, and he's the only one that really mattered anyway. If he didn’t take the bait, no one would.
Leaving Buck with the two larger carts, she and Kid quietly pulled the third down the winding path that led to the mouth of the bridge. Stopping a few steps from the road she dropped to her knees and held his face in her hands. He was shaking and pale, rightfully terrified by the task before him.
“Do you remember what to say?” she asked.
He nodded, his blue eyes wet.
“Tell me!”
He took a deep breath before reciting the words she had drilled into him for days. “This is payment in exchange for crossing the bridge. If you let me pass, my brother will bring you another cart with twice as much, but if you hurt me he'll push it into the river.”
“Right. Then you point so that Buck can show them the cart. When they let you pass, you run hard to the other side, okay? Get as far up the road as possible. Don't wait. Do you remember the rendezvous point?”
He nodded again. “The red roof building.”
Despite the lead in her stomach, she gave him a confident smile and pulled him in for a tight hug. “Good job. You’re ready. Everything will work out, okay? I love you, remember that, no matter what. Give me time to get back to the top before you go, okay? Count to one hundred.”
He squared his brave little shoulders and nodded. Oh sweet, precious, Kid. How could she do this? It’s the only way. The words pounded in her brain like a mantra. Gravel skidded beneath her feet as she sprinted back to the spot where Buck waited. Chest heaving, she squished up beside him to watch from between the tilted slabs of concrete. The moment the men on the bridge spotted Kid was obvious by the commotion as they jumped to their feet, pointing and squinting at the approaching figure and his burden. First alert, then amused, the men’s body language changed as Kid neared, pushing the heavy cart in front of him at a comically slow pace. It felt like sending a lamb to the slaughter but she knew he had to go first, he couldn't be threatening even if he tried.
The big one rose from his makeshift throne on the barricade and inspected the items on the flatbed, casually rifling through what was more food than most people saw in a year. Kid’s lines ran over and over in her mind, willing him to remember and say them correctly. Equal doses of fear and relief washed over
her when she saw him point to where they hid, seven faces snapping their gaze to follow his finger.
“Now!” She shoved Buck but he was already moving.
Weak light from the shrouded mid-day sun glinted off the metal cans stacked amidst the wealth of supplies loaded onto the cart as he pushed it into the opening to hover only feet away from the deadly drop into the black water below. He pulled himself out of sight just as quickly. No need to catch a bullet in the head. The men were passing around a pair of binoculars. When they were satisfied that the load was worth more than the child, they let Kid go. Like a wild rabbit, he was gone in seconds, across the bridge and sprinting down the road on the other side.
She nodded at Buck. “He’s across! You’re up!”
“Okay. I got this.” He bounced up and down, shaking the jitters from his limbs. “See you on the other side, sis.”
Her eyes burned but she hid it with a smile as she pulled him into a desperate hug. “Yeah, on the other side.”
The weight of the cart practically pulled him after it as he started down the path. Every second seemed a lifetime as she waited for him to come into sight again. When he finally surfaced on the bridge the men were standing taller, warier of this lanky youth that looked almost like a man. More than one had a hand on their weapon. She held her breath as she waited for him to speak his line.
‘This is the payment my brother promised. If you let me cross my sister will bring you another cart with even more than this one. But if you hurt me she'll push it into the river.'
Hopefully, they hadn’t overestimated. Maybe the guards would be happy with the two loads within their reach and not bother with the deal for the third? No, men like this were always greedy. They would take the third cart and when they had it, they’d still chase them down and kill them for crossing. But not if she had anything to say about it.
Buck’s arm pointed, giving the signal. She pushed the last cart into the opening to display its splendor. It had everything anyone could want, food, drinks, even medicine. They had to take it. She braved the risk and peered around the chunk of wall to see if they would let him cross. For a moment it seemed they would keep him there, but with a shove from the big one, they parted ranks to let him pass. Once his feet hit the pavement on the other side she started moving. Her feet tangled in her haste and she fell, scraping her knees on a jagged rock. Ignoring the sting, she righted herself and started again. Keep it cool, girl. It'll be worth it. Everything comes with a price.
The metal handle was slick under her sweaty palms and her limbs shook with hidden terror as she pushed the cart over the threshold of the bridge. Smug sneers painted the men’s ugly faces as she approached them. Unless a fourth family member was hiding in the hills they had no reason to let her pass. She was just another piece of the prize. Several yards from them she stopped. The leader was gloating, his shirt now covered in the beer he had guzzled before flinging the can off the bridge. He took a step forward, laughing.
“And why should we let you cross? You got another cart up in those hills? No, I think we'll keep you, and the goods, then fetch your little brothers and gut them in front of you for good measure.”
Cruel laughter from his cronies filled the air but she blocked it out. Without speaking she moved to the cart and lifted the box that held her salvation and placed it at the top of the pile. Calmly, she removed the cardboard box to display the bomb she had built and picked up the detonator. Judging by the looks on their faces they had not yet realized what she had uncovered.
“Yeah,” spat an unshaven man, laughing as he brandished his large pistol at her, “you really thought we’d let you cross to the other side?”
"Oh,” she said with a chuckle of her own, “I’m planning on crossing to the other side, alright. And I'm taking you assholes with me!"
The most brilliant light filled her vision as she pressed the button that would blow them all into oblivion. Agonizing pain blasted through her body but her mind was peaceful, thoughts of her brothers filling her heart even as the life was ripped from it. No one would chase them. They were safe now. She did it. It was the only way.
Ginny Young is a world-traveled writer and artist. When she's not nose deep in a book or covered in paint, she enjoys camping, hiking, and rock crawling around her Utah home. Find her on www.ginnyyoung.com to get updated on her latest projects.
The Frozen Eye
By Harry Carpenter
Once upon a time, in a land far away, the kingdom of Windvale was cast into darkness. A once-prosperous settlement, Windvale had come upon the curse of a powerful witch. This witch, you see, had a dark curse upon her. Her curse, which none of the townsfolk could understand, was the power to manipulate water and ice. This power came at a price. The Queen had to be locked away atop a frozen mountainside, with her palace resting upon a perpetually frozen lake. If she left her fortress, she would soon feel the heat of the sun upon her flesh, causing her to melt.
For ages, The Queen stayed in her castle, overseeing the kingdom. Windvale was unaffected by her rule at first, allowing her to attain more and more power. Before the kingdom knew what had happened, she had seized the ruling class's power, killing them within her frigid fortress. The townsfolk knew this did not bode well. Reality set in as the ice crept further from her frozen moat, down the green grassy mountainside, into the bustling town square. The fountain froze in place. Windows shattered. Those that were unwise found themselves trapped in a thick layer of ice. The ones that were smart enough to stay indoors, such as young Alma and her parents, found themselves spared from the frigid death that encroached upon the land.
Years had passed in the kingdom of Windvale. People learned to work around the ice sheets but were generally displeased by the situation they found themselves in. Alma, now practically an adult, began to wonder exactly what she could do to spend her day. She had completed her chores in the home. Ever since her mother passed from a terrible fever, she picked up the household tasks, helping her father as often as she could. Her father was once a fit and robust lumberjack. He could fell any tree with his bare hands and a trusty ax. Now, he could barely get out of bed. A terrible sickness and sadness had come upon Windvale.
Alma stepped outside of her home, gazing up at the gray overcast sky. Every day was bleak and drab. The mood was reflected on her various neighbors' faces as they moped along, trying to complete daily chores.
“This is absolute madness!” Alma yelled out to nobody in particular. “I recall the sun, the grass, the rolling hills.”
Alma did remember. As a child, she remembered playing with the neighbor child, Ella, in a vast field of daisies and other beautiful flowers. A fleeting memory, but vivid nonetheless. A blast of cold air snapped Alma out of her daydreams and fantasies. She was greeted once again by the cold, uninviting wasteland that was once her beautiful home. Another blast of cold air snapped at her cheek. She turned to see The Ice Queen, hovering gently above the ground, encased in a whirlwind of snow. She floated toward the town square, which Alma crept around to view.
“People of Windvale! It has come to my attention that I, your beautiful, wonderful Queen, have failed you in a way,” The Queen announced. Her voice coming through clear over the howl of the winds.
Townsfolk began to gravitate toward the town square. Most never saw The Queen or her power. They heard stories, and that was enough for them. Here she stood, addressing the nation she reigned over.
“I come to you, my people, urging you to cheer up! Have I not given you protection from enemy ships? Invading armies? Barbarians who would surely do unspeakable things to your women and children?” The Queen boomed across the town.
There was a moment of discussion amongst the townsfolk before their queen raised her hand once more to stifle the crowd. The sound instantly went away.
“People of Windvale! I fear that it is your mood that brings this town and its morale down.”
One man stepped forward. “Our mood? My Queen, are you insane? Take a look around! I
t’s miserable here! Everything is gray and white. We ‘avent seen the sun in ages, m’lady. Pardon my speech, but this is why morale is low.”
The Queen floated toward the ground, seating herself on the edge of the fountain. She seemed to be in deep thought as the townsfolk looked at each other with confused expressions. Muttering amongst the town began to drum up once more before The Queen raised her hand again to silence them.
“I have a solution to our situation. It appears you are not happy, and I can recognize that. You live in a beautiful part of the land, adorned with the finest and purest of snow,” The Queen bellowed. “You should smile more. Believing in this kingdom as I do will help you feel pleasure and love as I do!”
The townsfolk once again muttered amongst themselves while Alma watched on. She was curious about what was happening, so she moved in a bit closer.
“From this moment forth, everyone in Windvale shall be happy! Smile! Be merry! Delight in your existence!” The Queen smiled as she waved her hand in the air, creating a blue glow of ice and snow around it.
Once Upon A Dystopia: An Anthology of Twisted Fairy Tales and Fractured Folklore Page 14
