Enmity

by E. J. Andrews

  My feet stop at the doorway to Chase’s room; it’s not nerves that stop me, can’t be.

  Chase looks up to me from his book and a smile breaks over his face. He puts the book down then crosses the room towards me.

  His arms wrap around me and I kick the door closed with my foot. I am letting go of the hostility I usually show him. I am a creature of habit and this is becoming too regular.

  Chase watches me with his deep expanding eyes; he swipes a lock of hair behind my ear and leaves his hand where it rests. I watch as Chase licks his lips and then bites down on his bottom one, sparking a curious wanting in me.

  I am consumed by that pull he gives me, the way he makes me want him. It is beginning to drive me insane.

  Chase’s eyes are all I see in mine.

  Then there is pain, starting in my head, then—

  Nate

  A strange banging pulls me out of sleep.

  As I pad down the hallway, chills run through the soles of my bare feet all the way to my bare chest; I’m hoping no one is standing behind one of these doors with a weapon.

  The banging is starting to sound like feet hitting the floor and limbs smashing against each other.

  The door is before me now, and I hear a voice.

  ‘Hermia, what the hell?’

  It is Chase, and he seems distressed.

  I burst through the door to find an unsettling sight.

  Hermia has her hand wrapped around Chase’s throat. It looks as though it is difficult for him to breathe, but the shock on his face seems to be what is blocking his airways, not Hermia’s hand. Chase’s room is the same as all of ours, but in his room only one of the beds looks occupied.

  Chase struggles free and throws Hermia aside onto the perfectly made bed to his left. But a second later Hermia is throwing herself at Chase again, her fists moving faster than my eyes can follow. Chase is dodging them but only just. She is moving too quickly and the movements remind me of, well, me. Of when I slowed things down, of moving through dense air. The tension in her muscles makes it obvious that her body is working above and beyond its limits.

  I don’t know what it is I am supposed to do; I am caught between what I know I should do, and not being able to actually do it.

  Hermia kicks Chase square in the chest and he falls back against the wall behind him.

  My feet carry me forward as I see Hermia raise her foot up above Chase’s head.

  She has every intention of hurting him; I can see it in the eyes that look nothing like her own. Her pupils are huge: only a thin line of white ring the black pits that now consume her irises.

  After Hermia’s foot connects with Chase’s face, she raises it to smack into his head again, and I throw my elbow into the back of her neck.

  Her body goes rigid and then she falls straight forward, into a slumped ball.

  Chase props himself up on his forearms and we just look at each other for a few moments, blood running from Chase’s nose, trickling into his mouth.

  After those few minutes pass, Chase pulls himself up and moves over to check if Hermia is truly out. He pushes the hair away from her face too gently. His eyes are filled with concern.

  Chase?

  And Hermia?

  There’s no way.

  First of all, Hermia isn’t capable of human emotions.

  And, second, I don’t think Chase is either.

  Well, maybe they’re perfect for each other then.

  ‘Thanks,’ Chase says.

  Then, seeing the confusion on my face, he tries to smile and ends up confusing me more.

  I can only say one thing in this moment—‘What the hell is wrong with her?’

  Hermia

  There is a soft pounding in my head, but it feels different to the other pain that has set up residency inside my brain. This one is less like the rhythmic drumming beat, more a tapping that gets annoying very quickly.

  My eyes flutter against my cheeks for at least a minute before I can actually see properly.

  I find myself face to face with Rence, looking as he always does, no normal human emotion showing on his face. He holds a gun, stationed prominently at his chest. Rence is obviously on duty, guarding me. But why? And why so intensely?

  Rence lowers his left hand and knocks three times on the door. Within a second, so many people enter the room my head spins.

  Law is first, followed by Darria; then Chase, Nate and Josh all come in. I feel slightly uncomfortable at their presence, acutely aware that I am the only female.

  ‘What’s going on?’

  No one looks like they are going to answer.

  ‘Is your head still hurting?’ Josh speaks up.

  He is either pretty well regarded by Darria if he is allowed to speak out of turn like that, or I admire his brass if he isn’t.

  ‘Not really, not as bad as—’

  My mind wanders to my last conscious thought. I was with Chase, I remember Chase. His eyes, then—‘What happened?’

  Everyone looks around at each other, as though none of them want to tell me.

  ‘You almost killed Chase,’ Nate says. Good, reliable Nate.

  He says it as though it was bad. As though he expects me to be shocked, but not sorry.

  I turn my head and look at Chase. His nose is a bit of a mess and there is still a little crusted blood in the crevices of his face. My eyes graze over his features just a moment longer.

  ‘Well, if it was anyone but a keeper I might actually give you an apology.’

  Chase’s face is unmoving; his eyes look dead ahead into mine as he says, ‘Well, if it was anyone but you, I might actually expect one.’

  I see Nate smile, and I look at him and give one back. We all know it is true.

  ‘The problem is,’ Darria finally speaks, making the conversation we were having moments ago seem childish, ‘you were being controlled by someone.’

  Violation, I feel completely violated in a second. I don’t know how this could even be possible.

  But of course that’s what it must have been—I would never hurt Chase of my own accord—but hearing it out loud makes my skin crawl.

  ‘Josh is going to do some more tests.’ Darria speaks again with a sigh.

  Josh gives me a sideways glance, as though he is trying to tell what is wrong with me from just that look.

  ‘But we ask that you please stay put, for your own safety, if not for everyone else’s.’ Darria has his parental voice on again so I have no choice but to nod at him with a disgusted look.

  Darria turns and leaves, followed quickly by Law. Then there is just the five of us.

  Rence looks very out of place and uncomfortable surrounded by the four of us who all seem to know each other and seem almost on the track to being friends.

  Without another word, Rence walks out, obviously not thinking his protection is needed at this point in time.

  We stay in a tense silence for too long, and then Nate breaks it with an unexpected outburst.

  ‘You and him?’ Nate points at me and then to Chase.

  I sit in shock. Did I divulge secrets while not in control of my own body as well? Why is Nate freaking out about this anyway?

  ‘Darria will kill you,’ Nate says to Chase.

  ‘Nate, shut up! How do you know Josh knows? You can’t just be telling everyone.’

  Nate turns and gives me a look.

  ‘I know he knows. We’ve talked about it.’ My eyebrows pull together in a stunned anger.

  ‘How long was I out, a week? Obviously long enough for you two to start up a gossip circle.’

  ‘Don’t you think I’ve thought about what Darria is going to do if he finds out?’ Chase says to Nate as though I haven’t said anything.

  I watch the two of them have this argument about nothing. Well about Chase and me—practically nothing.

  ‘He’s probably going to beyond kill you—might blow your head off like John,’ Josh unhelpfully states.

  ‘Yeah, maybe we’ll go on a ra
id and you’ll just disappear.’ Nate pokes fun and I grow more and more enraged.

  ‘Guys!’ I raise my voice and interrupt. ‘Can we get back to what the hell is wrong with me?’

  Nate, Chase and Josh all stare at me. Maybe I am more afraid of being taken over than I first thought.

  A few hours later, after a lengthy conversation with Nate, explaining my relationship with Chase, I am finally alone and can try to get some rest. My eyelashes have barely joined when they are forced apart again by a light rap on the door.

  ‘Hermia, do you have a minute?’ Josh pokes his head around the corner.

  ‘Well, I was only planning on sleeping,’ I shrug. ‘But sleep or no sleep, I’m a bitch anyway, so come on in.’

  I don’t think Josh gets my sarcasm; he gives me a strange look as he enters.

  He sits down on the side of my bed, placing his stack of notes down next to him, and I try not to get defensive at his closeness.

  ‘I was just thinking about things, and I thought I might try something.’

  I don’t know what to say, so I just nod.

  Josh presses his lips together tightly and then shuffles a little closer to me.

  I watch him curiously, but with caution.

  Josh moves his hand slowly to my neck and slides his fingers to the point where my spine stands out under my skin.

  I never noticed how strange Josh’s eyes are, how dark they are for blue eyes. I start to notice other things too. Basically, I start to notice Josh.

  ‘You have weird teeth.’

  It’s true. Josh’s teeth are too straight, too angular.

  Josh laughs simply, almost modestly. I have not been this close to anyone—except Chase—in a very long time. Other than Chase, well, I’ve never been that close to anyone, really.

  It is a strange feeling, breathing the same air as someone. Having his hand on my neck. His touch feels somehow intimate, I guess, even though he’s only searching for foreign items beneath my skin.

  Josh clears his throat, but not as though anything was ever really blocking it. Josh’s hands find his notes and he starts shifting through them, his gaze turned away from me.

  ‘It feels like there might be something between your second and third vertebrae.’

  I don’t know what to say. I thought I would know if something had been inserted into my body.

  ‘I’d have to have a better look—’

  ‘You mean, like open me up?’

  Josh looks a little startled, as though he thought I was tougher than that. I hate to have proved him wrong.

  Nate

  I am surprised. The fact that Darria has a room the same as all of us, though he has one to himself, makes me respect him a little more.

  Darria watches me from behind his desk. They seem to have taken out the second bed that the rest of our rooms have. Law leads me into the room and then stands off to the side, leaving me before Darria alone.

  ‘Nathaniel, what do I owe this pleasure?’ Darria sorts through some papers as he speaks, then he rests his clasped hands on top.

  ‘I need to speak to you about my role within the group.’

  There is a tension within the room now and I watch Darria giving Law a questioning look. I cannot see Law’s look in response.

  ‘Our group have kind of looked to me as a leader.’ Darria nods as though he agrees. I take that as a good sign to continue. ‘And I have noticed the way that you treat me is different to the others.’

  Darria looks guilty. He must have known that both he and Law treated me better than the others in my group; now he is embarrassed that someone is admitting it aloud.

  ‘What is it that you want us to do about this, Nate?’ I hear Law speak from behind me, but I cannot turn back to him.

  I look Darria dead in the eyes and try as hard as I can to make the words exiting my mouth sound like my own.

  ‘I think you need to look at someone else, someone who is more inclined to be here. Someone who voluntarily wants this.’

  Darria raises an eyebrow. ‘Who do you recommend?’

  ‘Winter.’ I say her name before I can give it a second thought.

  I keep having to remind myself that this is what Winter wants, and whatever comes after, I just have to remember that she asked for this.

  Darria leans back in his chair and moves his clasped hands to rest on top his chest. Law makes no move behind me and I swear you could hear a pin drop.

  ‘All right,’ Darria says, as though it is that simple. He now goes back to his papers, shuffling them with quick fingers.

  ‘All right,’ I agree, nodding. Darria nods back. This whole conversation went very differently to how I thought it would.

  ‘Winter will work alongside Rence while Law and I escort Hermia back to the compound for treatment. The rest of you will stay and continue to participate in raids. I was going to have Rence leading one group and you leading the other but since—’ Darria lowers his head a little to look down on me, ‘—you don’t want that job anymore, I’m sure Winter would be more than happy to take your place. I hope it won’t be any trouble for you to work under her direction?’

  I shake my head instantly. ‘No trouble at all,’ I tell him. ‘Thank you.’

  Darria simply nods, though his eyes still look calculating.

  I turn to leave and I expect Law to escort me out, but he just opens the door for me and allows me out.

  The door shuts almost in my face, and I’m left in shock at the fact that the conversation has ended so quickly and neatly.

  I have been kicked out of my room for the past couple of days, only going back to try and get a couple of hours’ sleep here or there, so I never really know where to go when I’m not on sentry.

  Hermia is being transported back to the compound today, so they can remove whatever it is in her neck that allows whoever it is to take her over and control her body.

  I should be going with her, to make sure everything goes all right. But that’s not going to happen. Not now. Winter is now officially in charge, and I am hated by everyone but Marina, Hermia and Robert. Well, there’s also Chase and Josh. But I’m not allowed to be seen with them as they’re keepers and it’s an unspoken rule that we don’t befriend keepers.

  I decide to head upstairs and see who I can steal sentry from.

  I find Isaac looking bored, tapping his hands on the top of his knees as I make my way up the hatch, up into the house that lives above our home.

  ‘Hey,’ I announce myself.

  Isaac looks over to me with excitement filling his face. He stands and walks over to me before I have fully made my way up from the depths below.

  ‘Thank you,’ he says as he hands me his gun and then drops down the hatch before I can say any more.

  ‘You’re welcome,’ I say to no one as I go over and take Isaac’s place by the window. The orb sitting in the spot Isaac just vacated is turning from bright blue to a nice clear white the closer I get to it.

  I situate myself in the most comfortable position I can while sitting on the floor. I guess Isaac trusts me more than he is making out to Winter. That, or he truly hates sentry duty that much.

  And sentry duty is terrible; it is lonely and boring, but it is necessary, and it gives me somewhere to be, gives me something to do that still lets me feel important.

  I hear a creak on the stairs and point my gun into the darkness. The orb goes a blood red instantly.

  Marina raises her hands and I lower my gun and sigh in relief.

  She makes her way up the last of the stairs and then closes the hatch behind her.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ I ask.

  Marina looks a little hurt, but moves in closer to me. ‘Believe it or not, I miss you.’ Now I feel like a jackass.

  I stand and close the gap between us and enclose Marina with my free arm. I kiss her head and just stand there and try to forget the time that has passed since I last held her like this.

  I pull away and place my gun against the wall
by the orb, which is now shifting between dark reds, pinks, purples and blues. I don’t know what that says about my emotions, but I know I must be a mess.

  Marina starts to kiss me with a desperate force; I realise I’ve missed her too.

  I sink into her, feeling my hands indent her skin.

  She makes everything I can’t bear to remember almost easy to forget.

  Hermia

  The gun that rests at my back is almost at home there now; my heart doesn’t pound at its presence as it used to. Darria leads the way and Law comes up behind me, holding his gun steady. Only Josh’s presence beside me makes this the slightest bit all right.

  I don’t know why I trust Josh so much, but he has a loyalty about him I just can’t deny.

  Darria opens the door in front of him to reveal a bright, white room. It reminds me of the room I was put in the first day I was brought to the compound. That seems like a lifetime ago now; I can hardly believe it’s been a month, give or take a few days. I feel Josh’s eyes on me and I turn to him. I hope my face doesn’t show my fear.

  ‘Ready?’

  Nate

  I can’t breathe, I can’t move, I can’t function. The only thing I can do is string these thoughts together well enough to try to have this make sense.

  I make my way down the alleyway, away from the officer who was just firing at me as though I were a wanted criminal; he was far too intent on my death.

  As I move further and further into the centre of the industrial area and further away from the officer I just escaped, I hear the scraping of footsteps, then a rushed, violent, murmured argument.

  I rest my cheek against the stone-paved wall and steal a glance around the corner. It is now obvious that Winter is the one who is doing all the arguing. Her face is as red as her dark skin will show, and she looks as though steam should be bursting through her ears.

  ‘You IDIOTS,’ she spits in a hushed tone.

  Part of me doesn’t want to reveal myself. But a bigger part of me thinks I have to. I come around, pointing my gun towards whoever Winter is arguing with. When I see that it is Isaac and Kane, I must say I am shocked. So shocked in fact that I lower my gun instantly, stupidly. They are all standing around what looks like a metal box—which can’t be the source of Winter’s hostility, can it?