by Scott, D. D.
I wouldn’t let anyone threaten my family. Not even if it meant killing those who did.
Chapter 5
Sam wore a grim expression when we returned just after dark. “I was beginning to worry. How is Mrs. Higgins?”
“I think she’ll be as good as new in a few days,” Lily said, her eyes showing the strain of the day. She yawned. “I’m going to skip supper and go straight to bed.”
“Hey, what happened to your clothes?” Sam called after her as she headed up the stairs.
“I’ll let Zeph explain.” My sister disappeared, her door closing with a bang a second later. She’d chewed me out all the way home for starting in with Josh. She didn’t understand what it was like to be me—always looked upon with fear or disgust, disrespected for being different. People were naturally drawn to her, but they would cross the street to avoid me. Now, she’d left me standing in the kitchen to face Sam, who wore a wary expression and had his arms folded tightly across his chest.
“What’s there to eat?” I asked. I avoided Sam’s glare and shuffled past him to lose my head in the refrigerator.
“Help yourself to a sandwich. Lily made fresh bread yesterday, and there should be some of that pork shoulder leftover.” Sam released a slow breath and dropped into a chair at the table. “Start talking, kiddo. Tell me what happened.”
I explained about the Johnson brothers and how Lily had fallen off Geronimo. He looked none too pleased when I finally sat down across from him, a sandwich piled high with meat and a few slices of cheese on top, set on a plate. I poured a glass of milk as I finished the story. “I’m just sick of Josh acting like he owns the town just because his father is the local law. You should have heard him threatening us. And the way he looks at Lily…” I stuffed the sandwich into my mouth, feeling no need to go on.
“You know better than to engage in confrontations with those boys. They are nothing but trouble.” Sam’s brown eyes studied me intensely, his features creased with worry. “We can’t have them informing the Industry of our presence here, Zephron. Stay away from them. Is that understood?”
I nodded and kept chewing. Sam didn’t truly understand me either. How could he? He had no clue about who I was or what I was capable of. If he did, he didn’t act like it. He treated me like any other kid. He was gruff and strict sometimes, but I knew that most of the time, he was just trying to teach me to do right. What he didn’t understand was how fast my abilities were growing—or how hard it was to keep them under control.
The hard look on Sam’s face softened. “Having said all that, it’s good that you were looking out for your sister. This world is a dangerous place for girls.” He glanced up the stairs, an unmistakable fondness and concern lining his features. “Lily’s turning into a young woman and there will be lots of boys…men…wanting her for…a mate,” he said, uncomfortably. He shook his head. “I don’t know how to protect her anymore.” Then he looked back at me, his face serious. “If I’m not around…if I die from this cancer…promise me you’ll protect your sister.”
I swallowed the lump of meat that I hadn’t quite chewed enough. I knew what Sam was thinking, and I didn’t even want to go there. If he died, Lily and I would be alone to fend for ourselves. He’d been training us since we were little. We knew how to survive. But not only would we be more vulnerable to capture by the Industry than ever before, this farm and Lily would become assets that all sorts of people might be interested in acquiring. I nodded acknowledgement and tried to show Sam that I was ready—that I was strong enough to handle whatever came up. “I promise, Sir.”
He gave me a small smile, his shoulders slumping as he released a slow breath. “I knew I could count on you.”
I’d pretty much lost my appetite by that time, but as Sam locked the door and turned on the security system, it struck me how frail he seemed, and I set the rest of my sandwich back on the plate. Unless Lily could get to Albany and find the drugs that might cure Sam, he was going to die—and soon. A wave of sadness washed over me from my feet to my head, everything in between screaming that it wasn’t true. I hated the idea of him suffering. What I hated even more was feeling helpless to do anything about it. He’d been so good to me…forgiven me for…for being this way…for killing his sister during childbirth…for everything. I owed him so much—more than I could ever repay.
He ruffled my shaggy head as he passed by. “Shut the lights out when you’re finished.” My throat tightened as his voice faded down the hallway. “Goodnight Zephron…”
“Goodnight Sam.” His pride wouldn’t let him show his pain but I knew exactly what dying felt like. I’d experienced the bone deep agony, the longing for another day, and the fear of giving up control to the unknown every time I drained the life out of a living thing that had a soul. When it came down to the hopeless last days of a dying person, my gift might be a blessing. I’d felt the peace when it was over. For the first time, I was sorry that my abilities didn’t work on Sam. I would have to stand by and watch him fade, say goodbye a hundred times, and live with the memory of seeing him in agony. Maybe that was the point of being human—and if it was, being human sucked.
Chapter 6
Waking in the morning after a restless night of bad dreams, I crawled out of bed late. Sunlight was already blasting through my window, heating my room to a stuffy eighty degrees. I glared at the thermostat on my wall as I stumbled to the bathroom. Stepping under the cool water sent a shiver through me that woke my senses. I almost swore out loud at Lily for using up all the hot water for her shower and the laundry, but I held back when the rush of the cool jets brought relief to the burning under my skin.
The generator kicked on with a loud whir. Thanks to Sam’s geothermal and solar heating systems, and enough rain to keep our well supplied, I realized again how lucky we were to live here in the Northeast sector. Yeah, the winters were brutal, but at least we had food, clean water, and electricity when we needed it. Sam reminded me constantly of how lucky we were, as if I didn’t appreciate all he’d done for us.
A pounding on the door startled me out of my fog. “Hurry up! We’ve got chores to do and Sam and I are leaving shortly for Maggie and Nora’s house. If you want to go with us, put some zip in your Zeph.” I heard Lily laugh as she retreated down the hall. She could be so weird sometimes.
I hurried to dress and met Lily in the kitchen. It was Sunday morning and every week Sam went over to the McKinley sister’s house for a blood transfusion and cancer treatment that Nora had concocted. She was a pharmacist before the plagues and she did a good job of taking care of the locals and their medical needs. But for Sam, she went above and beyond, donating her own blood each week.
Lily handed me a basket. “Go out and collect the eggs and then go milk the goat.”
“Can’t I eat breakfast first?”
She gave me the bossy look and released a frustrated sigh, “If you hadn’t slept so late, you would have had time for breakfast.”
Sam walked in just then. “Lily will put something together for you while you go take care of those chores.” Lily rolled her eyes at me and I made a face in return. She snapped a wet towel at me as I passed by.
I didn’t really mind chores all that much. The chickens were easy to take care of, and being that I ate most of the eggs, I really couldn’t complain. The goats were a little trickier. I’d killed a few of them early on when I was first learning to milk, but Lily taught me how to differentiate my energies so that I could control my power—putting it into an increasingly smaller box. The trick was trying to shut it down without causing it to build up to an explosive release. Most of the time, it wasn’t a problem, but lately…the box seemed much too small.
I delivered the eggs and milk to the cold storage house and hitched the horses up to a wagon, its thick rubber wheels making it ideal for traveling through the woods. Lily had a few crates of fresh vegetables from the garden she wanted the ladies to have. I lifted the last box onto the cart.
“You’ve got eno
ugh food in here for a month,” I said.
“The sisters can start canning for next winter. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it. Besides, it’s the least we can do for all they’re doing for Sam.” She sidestepped the subject when Sam came out of the house, looking like he was on his way to have his teeth pulled out. “I hope you don’t mind,” Lily added, “I put a few extra jars of honey in the crate. I think Maggie ran out of sugar for her baking.”
Sam nodded absently, preoccupied as he climbed up into the front of the wagon, and took the reins. We needed to get in out of the sun before the zenith so Sam pushed the horses, snapping the reins a little harder as they trotted through the woods. The half hour ride deeper into the old state forest took us up and down some rough terrain, until finally the path leveled out. We rode silently under the canopy of dense pines, the woods deep in shadow and well-protected from overhead view by any passing drones or the deadly rays of midday solar flares.
As we approached a stand of thick rhododendron shrubs and boulders, a growl emanated from what sounded like everywhere. The growl turned into a loud barking, then a howling, and suddenly it seemed like a pack of wolves was close by, viciously tearing bones and flesh.
Sam took a small remote out of his front pocket and pointed it at the boulders. The growling stopped abruptly and a shimmering golden light crackled and then disappeared. A small cottage surrounded by flower beds and herb gardens came into view. Sam passed through, where a moment before, there had been an image of boulders and shrubs. He’d shut down the holographic image and the audio alarm, and was turning into a circular dirt driveway that ran up to the front of the house. Nora came out to greet us. Bo and Pappy, two timber wolves the sister’s had rescued as pups, trotted at her heels.
After hellos, and oohs and ahs about the crates of food, Lily’s gift of the honey, and a few remarks about my growing way too fast, I dodged the festivities and headed with the wolves out toward the pond. Witnessing another of Sam’s painful indignities wasn’t my idea of a good time. And running with Bo and Pappy was a great way to blow off steam.
If anyone noticed I was leaving, they didn’t say anything, so caught up in Lily’s story of her horseback riding incident and the matter of Josh Johnson’s involvement. The sisters didn’t like him much either, and they were always warning my sister to avoid the likes of the Johnson brothers—the only tolerable one being Tyler, the youngest, in Maggie’s estimation. Tyler was about my age and the only person in Stanton that came close to being my friend. But since he rarely left his father’s side these days, I had no one to talk to. I snuck away, and the wolves followed.
With Bo and Pappy loping alongside me, we disappeared down a narrow path that headed north toward the pond. When we were out of view of the cottage, I broke into a run. Boulders and trees sped past, and the earth moved like water beneath my feet. The soles of my shoes barely touched the ground as I wound through the woods at breakneck speed. If I made one slip up, I could crash into a tree and probably die from the impact. My heart raced, but I barely broke a sweat as my feet carried me faster and faster, my senses growing more acute by the second. The wolves ran beside me as if I was one of their pack.
When I ran, I lost all awareness of time and space. The only thing that mattered was the trail and where my next foot fall would take me. The wolves dodged through the trees and kept pace with me, their noses dipping to the ground occasionally to catch the scent of a meal. I’d run almost a mile in just a few minutes. My breath came harder as I pushed myself to speed up, the trees passing at lightning speed now. The heat that crawled under my skin dissipated in the cool breeze that blew through the branches of the pines. The scent filled my nostrils. I felt free when I ran with the wolves. They didn’t judge me. They knew what it was to be a predator, a killer, a wild thing driven by instinct. Killing was in their DNA. They didn’t have to feel guilty or have regrets about taking down a doe or defending their territory.
When we were nearing the pond, Bo veered off the trail. I caught the movement from the corner of my eye and slowed my pace. I got an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. We weren’t alone. As if communicating silently with his brother, Pappy took off in the opposite direction. The two wolves were clearly tracking something. I stopped and slowed my breathing as I focused on the sounds around me. Peepers chirped their throaty rhythm, a sign that water was close by. The stream that led to the pond wasn’t far off. My ears stretched to hear what the wolves might have heard.
Just as I rounded a hedge of brambles and wild berries, I heard the low growl of the wolves, and then a deep snort that made me instantly wish I had my crossbow. I stalked around the hedge until the animals came into sight. Bo and Pappy had cornered a wild pig as big as me, at least in weight. It grunted and stomped its hoof, its razor-sharp tusks glinting in the sun. I didn’t bother drawing my pocket knife. With such thick skin it would do little good to throw my small blade at the ugly, black-furred animal, unless I could hit it in the eye. But I didn’t want to kill it right away. My pulse quickened, and a powerful surge of blood pumped in my ears.
The thoughts formed without effort in my mind, a sure sign that I was beyond redemption. I simply needed to get my hands on the wild boar and extract its life. If I could say those words aloud to Sam or Lily—or to anyone—they would think me a monster and want me locked away forever. But here in the woods, I was free. The wolves did their job, as if aiding me in my purpose. We’d played this game before—them hunting and cornering an animal, even taking it down for me, but stopping just short of its death to allow me the clean kill. What they did with the carcass afterwards was their choice and their reward.
Bo closed in from one side, Pappy from the other. The boar backed up into a small canyon made of granite boulders, a leftover from an old gravel pit. Its beady eyes, opened wide, stared blankly with terror. The scent of fear and wild animal filled the air. The pig squealed and lunged, charging at top speed toward Pappy, the weaker and smaller of the two wolves, but he was not to be underestimated. He jumped through the air and caught the pig on the back of the neck, sinking fangs through the thick skin and bringing a loud scream from the animal. The wolf, barely avoiding the long tusks, rolled away to come back to his feet in a crouch, teeth bared.
Bo took his turn, distracting the boar away from Pappy to give his brother a chance to recover. The boar responded by turning on Bo just as the big wolf landed. Bo yelped. My heart plunged to my gut. The boar had gored Bo and the wolf lay on his side, whining and trying to get up. Raging heat moved under my skin. My fists and jaw clenched tight and I let my anger rise to the surface. Pappy was at Bo’s side in an instant, sniffing at the wound and letting out a guttural cry, intent on protecting his brother from further assault. I stepped closer to the boar which had its eyes fixed on the wolves, anticipating another attack.
I circled around slowly, my feet silent on the soft earth. Just as the animal turned on me, I pounced, diving onto its back. I rolled and slammed it to the ground as hard as I could, stunning the animal for just long enough. I held tight, my arms wrapped around its middle, my legs pinning the lower half of its body. The animal squealed and struggled in my arms, throwing its head back in an effort to reach me with its tusks. I tightened my grip around its neck. The animal’s energy shifted almost immediately.
Energy flowed from it to me as it surrendered its soul. As its life drained, I reveled in the power that filled me, gave me a sense of purpose, a feeling of accomplishment, and a source of strength. This power gave me a sense of control in a world where everything was out of control. How could it be wrong?
As that thought hit me, I heard Bo, still whining, his breath labored. Pappy barked at me with a howling urgency in his tone, but I couldn’t stop. I siphoned the last of the boar’s essence and tossed the carcass aside, my strength feeling double what it was before. I sprang to my feet and ran over to where Pappy paced and pranced around Bo, yelping for me to help.
“I’m sorry, boy.” I checked the wound in his si
de. His gold undercoat was matted with blood. The tusk had punctured his rib cage; there was no telling what vital organ it had hit. I tore off my shirt and wrapped it around his body, tying it off tight to stanch the flow. “You’ll be okay.” With my strength at peak I lifted the warm body of the wolf and turned toward the cottage. I shut down my power as best I could with it surging through my veins like hot lava. Lily would heal him. I knew she would.
That was, if I didn’t kill him first. I took off at a run.
Chapter 7
“What were you thinking?” Sam scolded, his face darkening to the shade of a beet. He’d grilled me all the way home until I’d spilled all the ugly details of the encounter.
I had no real defense. I’d been feeding the need that boiled inside me like a pot of stew waiting to bubble over. “I’m sorry.” I hung my head, feeling miserable. “It wasn’t my fault that Bo attacked a wild boar.” I could have said I killed it to protect the injured wolf, but we both knew that wasn’t true. My actions had served no purpose, other than to satisfy a hunger in me, while Bo had nearly bled out. Lily was still at the cottage working on him. She’d stay the night with him to see if she could pull him through. If he was too far gone, even Lily wouldn’t be able to save him.
“You’ve got to be more responsible, Zeph. I know this…this…ability you have is hard to deal with. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through, but you have to learn not to give into it.” Sam leaned back on the counter, his arms tight across his chest, his jaw set hard. “If you can’t control it, I’ll have no choice but to…to confine you.”
I raised my head. “You want to lock me up? What are you going to do, put me in shackles, keep me chained in the basement?” Heat crept along my skin and I felt the power surge again as my voice rose. It spiked when I saw fear in Sam’s eyes. He knew as well as I did that it was too late to try to lock me away. I’d proven more than once that not only did I have a knack for devising the most effective of traps, but I could escape from nearly anywhere.
