by T. C. Edge
I move in to hug him, wrapping him up despite the rather unpleasant odour and filthy clothes. He doesn't respond in the way I'd have hoped. I suppose Kira must have already updated him on certain things.
I draw back and look into his face. He looks far from happy to have woken up here.
"What's wrong?" I ask. "Not happy to see me?"
I lift my lips into a cheeky grin, trying to get him to respond with a similar expression. I suppose I can hardly blame him for how serious he's become recently. Being taken into slavery will probably do that to a person.
"Of course I'm happy to see you, Amber," he says, managing a slight smile. He looks around the room once more, appearing confused. "Where are the others?" His eyes find the door. "They here too?"
"The others?" I ask.
"Yeah, the other Fringers I left with. Karl and Ned and Lucy and all the rest," he says, rattling off names I don't know. "Where are they, Amber?"
I gulp, trying to wet my throat. Why is it so dry all of a sudden?
"Amber? Please tell me they're here."
"I..." My expression is clearly enough to tell him it's not good news. "It was only you, Jude," I tell him. "Kira only brought you back."
He shuts his eyes, bunching his fists, letting out a slow breath of anger. "I knew it," he growls. "I Prime-damn knew it!"
"What? What the hell happened out there?" I ask.
"She left the rest of them behind," he says. "That's what happened. I knew she'd pull something like this. I just...knew it."
He dips his head, and then lifts his eyes again to the door. He slips from the bed and makes a move towards it.
"What are you doing?" I ask, moving after him.
"I'm going back out there," he says. "I'm not staying here..."
"Jude, what are you talking about! You can't go back out. You wouldn't last a second."
"Yeah, so we keep hearing. I don't care. They trusted me, and now I'm gone." He grips the door handle, shaking his head angrily. "I can't believe she did that!"
He pulls it down, but I'm there to stop him, launching myself into the door and knocking it back shut. I stand in his way, preventing him from opening it. "Jude, you're not thinking clearly. There is no way anyone's going to let you go out there."
He draws a hint of a snarl onto his lips, though his eyes turn away from me. He knows exactly what I'm saying. He's too smart to think that he'd have any chance if he went back out alone.
"What happened?" I ask, my voice softening. His hand drops off the door handle, slipping back to his side.
"I don't know exactly," he says, staring at the floor. "She came, tried to get us all to come back with her, and then left when we said no. We went to sleep that night, and the next thing I know...here I am." He huffs out a breath and shakes his head again. "She seemed so nice. I can't believe she did this."
"She is nice, Jude," I say. "I guess she was just following orders."
"Orders," he says. "Right. Your orders." He looks up at me. "You should have just left it, Amber. I made my choice to leave, and you made yours to stay. You could have just lived with that."
"And you? Would you have just lived with it, Jude?" I ask, feeling somewhat insulted, even hurt, by his line of thinking. "You don't seem to care about seeing me again. Maybe I wasted my time."
"I...I do care, Amber," he sighs, never able to stay angry at me for long. "You know how much I care about you, and always have. I just...I had a responsibility to those guys. And that was snatched away from me."
"They'll be fine without you, Jude..."
"You think? You keep saying we wouldn't last a second out there. Now they'll be fine all of a sudden? Which is it, Amber?"
"Which is it?" I repeat. "You want the truth?"
"Yeah," he nods. "I want the truth."
"Then of course you wouldn't be fine!" I say loudly. "With or without you, they're gonna find it real tough out there, Jude. So yeah, I'd rather have you here, with me, rather than lying dead in the dirt somewhere alongside the rest of them. You should have come here in the first place, like I told you. You should have listened to me before..."
"Told me? I'm not one of your little subjects you can just order around, Amber." He laughs sarcastically, shaking his head in bemusement. "Hell, seems like you've even got the Havenites working for you now. What is all this? Why do you think you're so much better than me?"
I stare at him, utterly perplexed by the insult. "Are you serious right now?" I ask. "Do you really think that's how I feel?"
He puffs air through his nostrils, exhaling like a bull, as his flaming eyes work off to the side. His lips open once or twice, as if undecided as to what to say. "You never wanted to be with me, Amber," he says eventually, his voice softening. "You just had this way. This, I don't know, superiority about you. Looking down on everyone in Pine Lake because of the way they lived, giving tribute and serving the Children of the Prime. I guess, somehow, that transferred to how you looked at me." He smiles to himself. "And now, well, you've got your own high born Olympian all to yourself, haven't you. Elian was always a better fit for you than me."
"Jude, where is all this coming from?" I ask. "That's not how I feel."
He shrugs, stepping back to give himself some room. He turns and walks towards the bed, though doesn't sit down. He merely stands at a strange angle, looking away from me towards the side of the room. "I had to find something, Amber," he says mournfully. "After I lost you to them, I...I found my purpose helping the others. It wasn't about whether we were going to survive or not. It was just about being...free."
I move gently towards him. "We are free, Jude. The Havenites aren't the enemy. They want to change things back home. They want to kill the Prime."
He looks up towards me, frowning. There's a slight shade of fear on his face. I wonder, in a brief moment of panic, whether the Prime's influence and controls reside within Jude as well. I step back on instinct, fearing another attack, my hands moving ahead of me in protective fashion.
I see the fear on Jude's face fall away, replaced by a confusion and concern. He looks right at me. His eyes, I can see, are his. "What's...what's the matter?" he asks. Then I see his eyes change again, looking directly at my neck. "What happened to you?" he says. He steps forward a pace. "You're hurt..."
"I...I'm fine, Jude," I say, stepping back once more. I try to move my hair, concealing the red marks on my throat, but it's no use. He's already seen.
He steps right in, gently pushing my golden locks aside. "Your neck," he whispers. "Who the hell did this to you?"
I move his hand away, letting my hair fall back into place. "It's...it's nothing, Jude," I stammer. "It happened in the battle, that's all. Could have been worse." I laugh awkwardly.
He regards me suspiciously, as though he knows I'm lying, but doesn't push it. It's nice, however, to see that his protective streak for me is still there.
We fall into a temporary silence as I step away, thinking, trying to move the subject on. When I turn to look at him again, I find him staring right at me.
"So, the Prime, huh?" he says. "The Havenites want to kill our gods. And you're happy with that, are you?"
"They're not gods, Jude," I huff. "They're just...empaths, we think."
"Right. Empaths. So they, what? Control people's emotions?"
"Well, yeah, exactly that," I say. "There's probably more to them than that, like the whole foresight and prophesy thing, but that seems to be how they've managed to influence everyone into doing what they want. There's..." I say, thinking of how much has happened, "...there's a lot more to it that you don't know. But, um, we'll have time to discuss it all on the way."
"On the way?"
"Yeah." A smile works onto my face. "We're going home, Jude. All of us. We'll be able to see our families again."
A slow realisation spreads across his expression. I know he's thinking of his aunt, Grace, who raised him after his parents went missing. And quite possibly Alberta, my grandmother, too, who has been almost as
much of a grandparent to him as she has me. The shadow, the bare hint of a smile, appears on his face at the thought. At finding redemption, perhaps. At ridding himself of the brand of 'Defiant' that now marks his face, hidden behind the gash on his cheek that continues to heal.
Then, something else seems to cross his mind, drawing that hopeful expression away. "Who is all of us?" he asks.
"I...what?"
"You said all of us," he tells me. "Who else from home is here?"
My eyes dart towards the door. "Um..."
He seems to know already. "Elian," he says. "He's here as well, isn't he?"
"Er...Kira didn't tell you?"
"She didn't tell me much."
"Well, you'll get along fine once you get to know her..."
"So he's here," he nods. His expression is neutral. It's as if he's trying to be happy for me, knowing that Elian is important to me, and yet desperately disappointed at the same time. It would probably have been much better for him if Elian had just died that day on the battlefield.
"He's here," I say eventually. "And, um, Perses is too."
His eyebrows draw in. "Are you sure you're OK?" he says. "Herald Perses was killed, Amber."
I let out a small laugh. "Like I say, you've missed a fair bit."
He does a semi roll of the eyes, as if unable, or unwilling, to think about it all right now. "Right. And what, Perses is working with the Havenites too now? And Elian? You've all just become traitors overnight?"
"Don't, Jude," I say. "Don't use that word."
"Well, what other word is there? You're working with the people who were your enemy a few days ago, and against the army you were leading. I mean, we could find a dictionary, but..."
"It's not that simple," I say. "And you know it. The Prime has been controlling us all. I've broken free of it now. Perses has too."
"And Elian hasn't?" he asks, a note of hope in his voice.
"Not yet," I say. "We're working on it."
"OK," he says, trying to figure things out. "So basically you're back to how you were before? When we were living on the Fringe? Amber the heretic? That sort of thing?"
"Sort of," I say, shrugging. "I know Olympus now, and there are lots of good, normal people there. It's not about fighting the city, or the Children of the Prime, Jude. It's about getting rid of the ones who control them. Eliminating the Prime, changing the entire system. Doing what they've already done here."
"Like you wanted," he says softly, knowingly. He nods to himself, seeming to come around. He looks me deep in the eye for a moment, as that crooked smile I love so much slowly rises upon one corner of his mouth. "You're really back, aren't you? Just you. No powers. No titles."
I nod slowly. "But with purpose," I say. "With a real purpose now, Jude. Same as you." I step towards him, closing the space until I'm near. "I'm sorry about the others. About Ned and Karl and...well, the rest. But there's something much bigger for us both now, Jude. You don't have to run away with a small band of Fringers to find your purpose. You can find it back home, with all of them. Not just Pine Lake, but everywhere. The whole Fringe, and the city too. We can help bring them all together."
I can see that a conflict remains within him, despite my words, his thoughts torn between the duty he felt to the others he escaped with, and the idea of returning home to make a real, tangible difference. Yet this, I know, is the bigger purpose. And I can see it in his eyes, that he knows it too.
The change will take time to fully take effect, but it's a start. In time, perhaps, he'll be happy to be by my side again. As I am to have him here with me.
"So," he says eventually, looking to the door. "What's the plan now? When are we meant to be leaving?"
I move towards the door, open it up, and look into the corridor outside. The muted sounds grow louder as I do so, soldiers hurrying about as they prepare to leave, gathering medical supplies to be brought along with us, and selecting a few medics to come along too.
Jude moves towards me, appearing by my side. His eyes move across the corridor, to the room opposite. There, now unshackled from his bed, I see Elian standing with Secretary Burns, with Titus and a couple of other guards around them. It looks as though he's being updated on what's happening.
His eyes lift up and spread towards us, standing there in the doorway. The two men, one from Olympus, and the other from the Fringe, lock eyes for a moment. And then, I see Elian's move to mine, passing across the marks on my neck, mostly hidden by my hair, but visible to the man who put them there.
His gaze drops in shame, his shoulders deflating. He knows what he did. He knows, now, that there's a monster within him. One that, without help, he'd never be able to defeat.
As we gaze across the corridor between the two rooms, Burns takes note himself, and marches across towards us. Elian follows behind, led by Titus and the other soldiers, who move him along up the corridor to be prepared for departure.
"So, this is the famous Jude, is it?" says Secretary Burns, stepping forward with a clean series of strides. He stretches out a hand, urging Jude to do the same. A quick shake and they release. "We've heard plenty about you from Amber here," he says. "She must care about you deeply to have gone to such lengths to get you back."
Jude dips his eyes, his behaviour always respectful, almost subservient, to those in power. It was a common defence mechanism of our life back on the Fringe, a requirement to see that we were not punished for impudence. His life in the bonds of slavery have only strengthened that particular trait.
Yet here, while respect is due, subservience and submission are not. In time, he will come to see that.
"I..." the young man starts, glancing over towards me. He looks up at the Defence Secretary. "I hope so."
"Hope has nothing to do with it, Jude," says Burns. "It is mere fact. My name is Defence Secretary Leyton Burns. I trust Amber has filled you in on recent events?"
"Yes, sir," Jude nods. "Some, at least. She...she says we're going home?"
"That you are, young man," says Burns. "We are just finalising arrangements. We'll be leaving within the hour. I shall see that you two travel together in one of our jeeps. It will give you time to catch up. You have both been through a lot, and should travel home in some comfort, at least." He looks to Jude, at the raw gash on his cheek, the brand of Defiant burned into his skin and flesh underneath. Regarding it for a time, he shakes his head, and then speaks again in a softer tone. "Your troubles are over, Jude," he says. "You are no slave anymore. Nor are you required to serve us in any way, if you do not wish to. You are free, young man. There are no slaves here."
Jude dips his eyes again, this time in a gesture of thanks. He whispers the word, croaking it out with some abashment, as though thinking of all the difficult times he's recently faced.
"You are a brave pairing," Burns continues, regarding us both. "We have our share of young heroes here. Perhaps, in time, your people will see you as the same."
With those words filling our hearts, we walk behind as Burns leads us on, ready to begin the long journey back home.
126
"Be strong, Amber. Be strong for your people. Help bring them together. Help bring us all together."
The final words of President Orlando echo through my mind as I sit in the back of the jeep, the vehicle rumbling over the open plains under the cover of the night sky.
They were words to inspire me, delivered just before we left several hours ago. She set her spindly fingers to my arms, gripping tight, and spoke them with a firm expression. And then she smiled, and drew me into a grandmotherly hug, this woman who is mother to all back there, respected and admired by all those she has helped to save.
It is a respect and admiration that has been earned, I know. Not freely given, but garnered through years of struggle and service. There is no forced worship in New Haven. There is no structure of control and manipulation there now. The people truly do live free, as Secretary Burns told Jude. And now it is up to us to bring that message north.
/> I draw a breath and turn my eyes out of the window, noting the lights of the many vehicles humming along around us. The convoy is made of dozens of vehicles, many small like this one I'm in, just like the ancient cars we saw on the journey here, often tangled in vines and shrubs as they littered the old, overgrown highways crisscrossing the lands.
Others are larger, designed to carry several dozen troops at once, armoured and armed with weapons to help protect us. It is a convoy carrying a tenth of the numbers brought from the north, one set with a very different motive and purpose. It is not conquest on the minds of the people here, but freedom. It isn't some vain, power hungry quest for dominion and control, but a sense of justice that drives us all.
Within only weeks of arriving here in the south, I am once more headed north. Yet now, I do so not with a heart filled with doubt and confusion, but one clear of all such constraints. My mind is set to the task, and I will march towards it this time with an unwavering desire to see it done.
Beside me, in the back seat of the jeep, Jude sits with his eyes staring out of the opposite window. There's little to see in this light, yet I know he's seeing nothing at all. No, he's not watching the world go by, but pondering it instead, thinking of all that's happened these last weeks and months. And marvelling, perhaps, at the great figure of the man sitting in front of him, filling the space in the middle seats of the car.
Once, he'd have looked up to him as a divine figure, a true god of war, bringing the wrath of the Prime wherever he trod. Now, the figure of Perses merely sits as a regular, if very large, man, his powers subdued, his influence and authority mostly stripped unless called upon. He isn't a leader of armies now, but an advisor to a foreign cause. A simple, humble man, just trying to do the right thing.
Completing our group, and sitting in the front seat, is Secretary Burns, the man leading this enterprise in most senses of the word. Aside from the driver, here to act as one of his bodyguards on the road, it is a car filled with those I'm most happy to be travelling with. Elian, I know, would not fit in quite so well right now, causing only tension among our group. If I am to stay within the same vehicle for the duration of the journey, I will be more than happy with that.
