Alina chewed her lip as she studied Mae, then nodded. “All right. But I’m going to follow you from a distance to make sure you’re okay. You can’t stop me.”
Mae smiled weakly. “Fair enough.”
Mae approached the Sad Cases on her hands and knees, and Alina inched behind her in the tall grass. When their backs were turned, Mae stood up and strolled casually toward them.
A scraggy woman with long, tangled hair caught sight of her. “Hey! Where’ve ya been?” she yelled.
Mae drew back her shoulders. “I took a bathroom break in the weeds.”
“Nah, ya didn’t,” the woman charged. “I hadn’t seen you for a few days now.”
“I’ve been here,” Mae insisted, planting her feet apart.
The woman sneered. “Gerard’s been looking for ya. He noticed you’d gone missin’ and told us to bring ya to him if ya ever came back.”
Alina clapped a hand over her mouth, but Mae didn’t falter. “Bring me to him, then,” she said calmly.
The deranged woman grabbed Mae’s arm and started pulling her, but Mae yanked herself free. “I can walk myself, thank you.”
Alina scrambled through the grass on her hands and knees, following them into the grove. No, no, no, no, no!
Alina reached the grove and stood up behind a trunk, then darted between trees as she tried to keep Mae in sight. When she spied Gerard and his men, she dropped onto her stomach and scooted over the rocks and limbs until she came within hearing distance, then stood up behind another tree.
“Where the hell have you been?” Gerard yelled.
Alina peeked around the trunk. Gerard stood in the middle of about fifteen men, scowling at Mae, who knelt before them with her head bowed.
Alina caught only fragments of Mae’s quiet answer. “Sorry, master Gerard,” she pleaded. “I…separated…lost. I came…you’d be.”
Gerard glared for a moment, cracking his knuckles, then hurled his pointed boot into Mae’s belly. She cried out in pain and collapsed on the ground. Alina gasped and shoved her knuckle into her mouth.
“Get some food,” Gerard ordered. “You have extra work to do now. I won’t let you out of my sight again.”
Mae scrambled to a pot next to the fire, grabbed a bowl, and scooped up the sludge with shaky hands. She began consuming the food without utensils.
One of the men turned to Gerard and dropped his voice. Alina stretched forward to hear him. “Do…suspect she…?” he murmured.
Gerard laughed darkly, then spoke as if he wanted Mae to hear. “Do you think that nutcase has the brain capacity for anything clever like that?” He nodded toward Mae as she licked the bowl like an animal, porridge dripping off her chin. The men broke into laughter.
Gerard dropped his voice. “But I’ll still teach her a lesson. Jed, tie her to a tree when she’s done eating. You can have your way with her tonight.”
Jed wrinkled his nose in disgust. “I might pass. We’ll be in Pria soon enough.”
“Speaking of that,” Gerard said smugly, “Sampson’s offered a generous bonus if we capture Jade and Rex before we destroy the town.”
“What’s the bonus?” several men asked at once.
“Mansions in Pria. Top social status. He’ll introduce us as brave heroes from Carthem, and we’ll have plenty of beautiful women whenever we want them. Even Stan will get his little pet back.”
The men howled with laughter. Stan crossed his arms and glowered at them.
“What does Sampson want with Rex and Jade?” Jed asked.
Gerard smirked. “Sampson wants the names of every resistance member in Pria. The more names we get, the better the reward. We’re free to use any method that works. Rex is a pampered cupcake. He’ll be spewing names the second I press my boot on his coin purse. Jade is worthless, but Sampson wants her to suffer anyway. Sounds like he has plans for J’koby, too.”
Alina’s teeth were leaving marks on her knuckles. I must get Mae out of there and into Millflower. I need to warn them!
“It won’t be easy luring Rex and Jade out,” another man said.
“Yes, it will,” Gerard crowed. “I’ve got good leverage here.” He walked to a bag on the ground near the fire and rummaged inside, then pulled out a round orb, the size of a small melon. A wicked grin spread across his face as he lifted it for his men to see. Alina narrowed her eyes, trying to identify what the round thing was.
“What is it?” someone called.
Gerard dropped his voice and pointed to the top of the object. Alina leaned forward, straining her ears.
“…light it here. About one minute later—” Gerard stretched out his arms. “BOOM! I have three of these explosives—with catapults. Sampson sent them in with the loonies!”
“But won’t they throw them back over the wall?”
Gerard shook his head. “No! These babies will be on fire!”
“But they’re so small! How big is the explosion?” another man pressed.
“Trust me, if we launch all three at once, the town will be flattened. If one explodes near the wall, their puny army will be wiped out. Now all we need—” Gerard motioned for the men to move in. Alina pressed her back against the tree, bouncing her fist against her mouth. How do I stop this?
Gerard pointed to three different areas of the wall. He curled his fingers into claws, thrust his hands away from his chest and released another boom. The men guffawed and bounced on their toes, rubbing their hands together. “What are we waiting for, then? They know we’re here.”
Mae finished her food and slunk back toward the trees with her head down.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Gerard hollered after her. “Come back here! You’re our personal slave tonight. Jed, I told you to tie her to that tree!”
Jed flashed Gerard a dark look as he walked toward Mae. He snatched her arm and dragged her to the tree, then shoved her to the ground. He grimaced as he tied her ankles together and her hands behind the trunk, as if he hated touching her.
“Let’s head to the gate,” Gerard called. “I’ll tell them it’s Jade and Rex, or else.” He lifted the small ball. The men cheered, some of them punching the air.
Gerard stuck his fingers in his mouth and gave a loud, shrill whistle. The Sad Cases converged into a dense mass and hastened toward Gerard, shoving each other to be the first to heed their master’s command.
“Listen up, loonies!” Gerard jeered, and some of the men snickered. “Me and my men are heading to the gate for some important business. Stay here until we return.” He pointed a thick finger at Mae, who cowered against the tree.
“Keep an eye on that tramp—that deserter,” he spat. “If she tries to escape again, kill her. Break every bone in her body and rip her to pieces.” Gerard turned back to his men and grinned. “And they will, too.”
The men roared with laughter as they lifted their packs and followed Gerard through the trees, moving like a dark cloud toward Millflower’s front gate.
The Sad Cases turned their crazed eyes on Mae. Several approached her, sneering and pounding their fists against their palms. The woman who took her to Gerard planted her skinny legs directly in front of her. “You betrayed Master Gerard,” she hissed. “I’m going to kill you and tell him you tried to escape.”
“We’ll do it together!” another one protested. “You can’t have all the glory!”
Alina stepped out from behind the tree. “OVER. MY. DEAD. BODY!”
Every Sad Case snapped their eyes to Alina. She barreled toward them with flared nostrils, unleashing a muted but ferocious battle cry.
Dozens of Sad Cases pounced on her, punching, kicking, and scratching her skin with all the feeble energy they could muster. Others hoisted heavy rocks and hurled them at her, but they fell short. If the scene wasn’t so pitiable, Alina might’ve laughed. These humans possessed nothing but obedient adrenaline: explosive, volatile, and fleeting.
Alina plowed through them and dropped to the ground next to Mae, her fingers work
ing frantically to loosen the knots. The Sad Cases pelted her with small rocks that bounced off her like rubber balls. A few grabbed her arms to keep her from untying the knots, and another attempted to strangle her around the neck. Alina sprung to her feet and whipped around, flattening a row of them with one swipe of her arm. “BACK OFF!” she screamed.
The startled creatures retreated, and the nasty woman clenched her fists. “I’m telling Gerard!” She tripped over the bony knees of someone on the ground, then popped up and scuttled toward the gate.
“Be my guest,” Alina muttered as she wrenched the rope away from Mae’s ankles. “I’ll see him at the gate soon, anyway.” She lifted Mae onto her back, stepped over the Sad Cases on the ground, and broke into a run. They gaped after her with a dazed look in their eyes.
She backtracked through the prairie and within minutes reached Millflower’s back wall. “Mae, I need you to hold tightly around my neck; I can’t carry you. I’m going to climb the wall.”
“Okay.”
Mae held on as Alina dug her fingernails into the mortar, but her fingers could not grasp the wall, and her feet slid on the rough stone. The town wisely made the wall unclimbable. Should I face Gerard at the front gate? What about Mae?
No—I’ll jump. With enough momentum, I can make it.
She backed up into the grass. At full speed with Mae clinging to her, she soared through the air and hit the top of the wall with a thud. Mae went rigid for a moment, gasping for air.
“Sorry, Mae,” Alina said as she swung her legs over the wall and dropped into the parapet, then jumped down into the sunflowers of the back field.
“Don’t be,” Mae said. “That was—brilliant.”
Alina ran through the field, and as she reached the first street, she froze. The town was deserted and quiet.
She ran to the nearest house and hammered on the door. When no one answered, she rattled the doorknob, then kicked a window and slid through the broken glass, taking care not to cut Mae. She stood up in the front room.
A whistle rang out and she spread out her arms, dropping Mae to the ground behind her. The dart bounced off her shoulder and dropped to the floor with a plink.
“Who’s there?” she called. “It’s Alina!” She realized, too late, it might be unwise to reveal herself.
“Alina?” A timid voice peeped. A young girl stepped out of a closet, trembling. Her face was pale.
“Is everything all right?” Alina asked.
The girl began to cry. “Daddy left me here. He didn’t want to, but he had to go fight the bad men. He said not to open the door and told me to shoot anyone who came in.”
Alina bent down and hugged the girl. “I’m sorry I scared you. Your house was the first one I came to. What’s your name?”
“Isabel.”
Alina smiled at her. “You’re very brave, Isabel. Can you help me?”
She nodded.
“See this woman here?” Alina lifted Mae and settled her on the couch. “She’s sick, and I need you to wrap her in blankets and give her milk to drink while I help your dad fight the bad men. You keep that gun close to you and shoot them through the window if you see them coming.”
Isabel nodded and beamed at Alina, who then slipped through the window and took off running down the street.
This explained the empty streets. Anyone not fighting was hiding inside. They must have been prepared for the attack—a good sign, and since the town was quiet, maybe Gerard hadn’t acted yet.
She raced through the streets to the front gate, where she found the wall stocked with men and women. They lined the top with guns poised over the edge. Alina gulped as she recognized Baylor, Maxwell, and Oliver crouched above the gate. Jade and Rex were nowhere in sight.
She approached the wall and heard Mayor Nelson shouting from the top.
“You won’t have either of them!” he screamed. “You swore to leave us alone when you took Alina! Why should we believe you now?”
Gerard yelled back. “Because we can wipe out your town! Hand over Rex and Jade, and we won’t kill you today!”
“It won’t happen! We’ll kill your army one by one before you can enter!”
Gerard gave a chilling, confident laugh. “You leave me no choice, then! We’ll blow up your sad army and destroy your wall! Then we’ll walk in and get them ourselves!”
Nelson lifted a tight fist. “Not if we kill you first!”
A cluster of darts whistled from the wall. “Aim for the trees!” Nelson screamed. “They’re hiding in the trees!”
A loud cracking noise split the air, followed by a tense, silent pause. The townspeople ducked and shrieked as three fiery balls hurled over the wall, each heading to a different place in Millflower.
Alina dug her nails into her cheeks. One minute! They will explode in sixty seconds!
The nearest one sailed high above her, approaching a tree. She broke into a sprint and tore up the knobby trunk, snapping limbs as she rushed to the highest branch. With a grunt she leaped and collided with the bomb in mid-air, clutching the fiery mass against her chest.
She met the ground with a somersault and rolled to her feet, racing on without pause, the burning ball tucked in the crook of her elbow. A small group gathered around a home down the street, staring up at a window on the second floor. Smoke billowed from a hole in the rooftop as flames licked its walls.
The trees and homes along the street blurred as Alina kicked her legs to increase her speed. As she approached, a woman’s scream met her ears. “Sammy! Push the screen and jump out! We’ll catch you!”
Frantic cries came from the window, drowning out the woman’s voice.
“Sammy, listen to me for once!” the woman shrieked, wringing her hands. She bolted around the corner of the home and flung open the door, disappearing inside.
“No!” Alina hollered as she reached the yard and tore up the porch after her.
Flames consumed the ceiling above Alina. The woman was climbing the stairs, each step buckling under her weight. She reached the second floor and collapsed under the dark smoke, coughing.
“Stop!” Alina called as she bounded up the stairway, skipping nimbly over the broken steps. “Get out, right now—I’ll get him!”
The woman shook her head. “You’ll be killed! I’ll die for him, I’m his mother!” She gasped at the fiery bomb in Alina’s arms.
“The fire doesn’t hurt me!” Alina insisted.
Recognition dawned on the mother’s face. “Alina—you’re here!”
“Get out!” Alina screamed. “Meet me outside the window!”
The woman struggled down the crumbling stairs and Alina followed the sound of the boy coughing and croaking. The smoke had stifled his cries.
The bomb sat outside his door, with flames engulfing the floor around it. Alina launched into the air, hollering as the floor collapsed beneath her, and swept up the explosive just before it fell. She tucked it in her arm with the other one, then snatched the child with her free arm and burst through the window. He wailed in pain and terror as they soared through the air and Alina planted her feet on the ground. His mother staggered into the yard, still coughing.
“I burned him—I’m so sorry!” Alina thrust him into the arms of his dazed mother, then spun around, her eyes searching for the last plume of smoke.
She found it burning above the gate, on the ledge next to the parapet—right where the army had been standing. She darted in that direction, shifting a bomb into the other arm to balance herself. Slowly, they began to tick.
She clenched her teeth. She was quick, but too many seconds had passed. The fire was spreading from her shirt down to her pant legs.
The people had left the wall, except for a young man scrambling across the ledge towards the bomb with a shovel in his hands. No!
He wanted to be a hero. But he’d never be able to get it far enough from the wall. Alina lifted her knees and stretched her legs, swinging her arms harder. She had to beat him!
Too ma
ny people crowded her path. She’d have to jump.
“CLEAR THE WAY, PLEASE!” Alina screamed as she vaulted over the group, her clothes fully ablaze. She landed right above the bomb, where for a brief moment she met Oliver’s eyes. They widened as he dropped the shovel.
His lips parted, but she grabbed the bomb and leaped off the wall before he could speak.
“Alina!” he called after her.
She entered the forest as all three balls in her hands began to tick rapidly. Not yet! Gerard and his men were far ahead in the trees, running and whooping triumphantly.
Alina didn’t doubt whether she could run fast enough. Up until now, her body had moved as swiftly as she needed it to. With each step, she pushed harder off the ground until the trees became a solid blur around her. The men drew nearer. She could see the buckles on their packs and the gray hairs on their heads.
“This is far enough,” Gerard called out. “Time to enjoy our victory!”
Stan turned around with his hood piled carelessly on his shoulders. His startled eyes looked from Alina’s face to the flames consuming her clothes.
The men froze in place with open mouths, and Alina halted as the bombs gave a final, slow tick. In a split second of deadly silence, she met Gerard’s eyes and smiled.
A deafening thud shook the ground—a shock wave tearing through flesh, bone, trees and earth. The heat consumed all around her, tingling over her body as the force of the blast flung her through crimson flames and black smoke. She fanned out and flipped gracefully, her heart thundering as a triumphant cheer rang from her throat.
Alina landed hard on her feet and gasped at her naked, soot-covered body. If no shred of clothing survived the blast, no mortal could either. She raced back to assess the damage. A gaping hole smoldered in the ground, simmering with debris. She found no sign of Gerard or his men. She closed her eyes and covered her face with a trembling hand.
It’s done.
She started back toward Millflower, through the charred remains of the grove, and a lump formed in her throat. Of the Sad Cases, only bloody, dismembered parts littered the ground. The deranged men and women, too far from the blast to be pulverized, were ripped to pieces. She saw a face intact: blank gray eyes staring at her, sunken deep in yellow skin. She fell to her knees and sobbed, her tears leaving a clean trail on her blackened cheeks.
The Perfect Outcast Page 25
