Outcast: A Corporation Novel (The Corporation)

by RaeLynn Fry

  Right now, we need to try and get more supplies. I know it's a long shot but I think we need to at least attempt to scavenge something from one of the abandoned cities, as costly as that risk may be. I tell the group so.

  “That's a completely dumb idea,” Raj says.

  “I think Ethan's right,” Dhevan says. “We need to at least try. We're running low and it doesn't look like we're close enough to that dome to have our current supplies last. Besides, we don't know what we'll find and if there’ll be any food or water for us when we get there. We need to take the chance while we have the opportunity.”

  I give an inward sigh of relief and relax a little. “Let's go, then.” We turn left off of our current path and head towards the small town.

  Karis

  “How did you sneak out last time?” Adami asks.

  It's been a little over a week since he's woken up, and exactly a week since Ella came back. He's been recovering quickly and Eta is more surprised and pleased each time she comes to check on him. Solid foods haven't been an issue and he's been getting up a few times a day to walk around the house, especially up and down the stairs, to get his stamina up. I'm impressed with how quickly he's recovering.

  “The very complicated way of climbing out my window,” I say.

  “Very rogue-ish.” He sounds playfully impressed. “But might I suggest something a tad easier this time around? I'm physical and in shape, but fighting and climbing out of windows shape? Not just yet.”

  I hide half a smile. Adami has a way of making me forget my immediate troubles, and he's made me smile when I've found no reason to, lately.

  “What do you have in mind?”

  He leans in close and drops his voice to a whisper. “The back door.”

  “Hmmm. That holds promise.” I give away the other half of my smile. “I'll give it a shot.”

  “Let's do this, then.” He's wearing some of Papa's old clothes. The pants float up above his ankles and the cuffs of the shirt sleeves only hit about halfway down his forearms. I didn't realize how big of a guy he was while he'd been lying down in bed this whole time.

  He's broad shouldered and square, taller than Ethan, with longer limbs and more muscle. Papa's duster pulls tight across his upper back and the buttons tug and strain at the fabric as he slips them into their holes. His shoes were pretty beat up when he got here, but we managed to mend them well enough.

  “You're not going with me, Adami.” I hold up a hand, stopping him where he stands.

  “What do you mean? I thought we were in this together?” He's slightly affronted and mostly disappointed.

  “I appreciate your willingness to help, and I admit I was all for you going with me when we first talked about it, but I've thought it over. It's not safe for you to go with me. I can't worry about you staying out of danger. And if we were to get caught, the Corporation getting their hands on you would be the best gift possible to them. We can't let them know you exist or that you've made it past the walls.”

  “Karis, come on, we're a team.”

  “It's my brother; you have no stake in this.”

  “Taking a bad man down? Every decent person has a stake in that.”

  “That may be so, but this little trip, I'm doing on my own.” I rest my hand on his shoulder and squeeze it lightly. “Besides, you're not back to one hundred percent; you'll only slow me down.”

  He slumps back on the mattress. “Eighty-five isn't that bad. And I’m so restless.”

  “No,” I smile, “it isn't, but out there, you have to be one hundred percent.” I grab my mask and scarf, wrapping the fabric around my neck and place the thin material over my mouth and nose. He stares at me with amusement “The air's not safe,” I offer as a way of explanation. “It makes us sick, it's one of the ways we found out the Corporation is poisoning us.”

  “The Corporation's kind of evil, isn't it?” He snaps the elastic behind my ears.

  “You catch on quickly. But seriously, it's going to be dangerous tonight. Being out past curfew, if caught, carries a heavy punishment. And the part of town I'm going to is far from safe in the daylight. So make sure you stay here.”

  Adami turns serious so quickly and so adamantly, I wonder if he really was teasing me only a few seconds earlier or if I was just making it up in my head.

  “If it's so dangerous, I'm not sure you should be going, let alone by yourself. You nursed me back to health, I still need to repay you, and I can't do that if you're dead or missing. I have your back.”

  His quick and sincere change in attitude throws me for a loop. I don’t know how to handle it, except to ignore it. “Good night, Adami.” I give him a smile and slip out of his room and down the stairs.

  The house is silent as I sneak out onto the landing. I listen for any sign of life besides my own. When I hear nothing, I make my way down the old stairs and onto the first floor. Papa's a sound sleeper and we don't have Sai tonight, so I should be good.

  The dying fire pops and crackles, trying to hold onto what little life remains. I detour to our wood pile and put another log on. It doesn't take long for the fire to find and latch onto the fresh flesh of the wood. When I'm convinced it will burn for the rest of the night, I slip out of the house.

  The streets are quiet, the way I like it now a days, but I know they're not empty. As it is almost every time I'm out in Neech, I'm shadowed by the feeling of being watched. That somewhere, just beyond the darkness, someone is watching and following me. The only thing I can do is keep up my pace and keep my eyes open. I'm a girl on a mission, so I push the discomfort as far back into the recesses of my mind as possible.

  I seriously doubt Bak is where I first met him; he's probably moved on by now, especially since he works for the Corporation. There's no way they’d keep him in the same location after he's finished what he was sent to do.

  I haven’t gone far when I hear it. A lazy footfall on pieces of broken glass about ten feet behind me—I’d sidestepped them just a few seconds earlier so I wouldn't make a sound. My heart jumps into my throat, where it sits, beating harder and harder. I speed up and duck into a doorway.

  I have no control of my lungs as they clench and seize with rapid breaths. Adrenaline fills my veins in a rush. My ears start to burn, listening and searching for any other minute sound. Everything happens so fast that I get a bit light headed as I try to calm my heart and lungs and brain by taking deep, slow breaths through my nose and out my mouth.

  Someone is following me. My brain is racing; trying to figure out which option I have is best. I've brought no weapon of any kind; I have nowhere else to hide. My choice is to stay here and hope I’m not seen or run and try to lose whoever it is that’s out there.

  I take a few quick breaths, readying myself for the sprint I need to make, when I hear soft footfalls echoing on the street around me. I freeze, trying to become part of the alcove that I've trapped myself in. Whoever they are, they’re moving faster than I thought.

  Their steps are slow, though, a little uncertain. I look around, there's part of a brick lying at my feet. I stoop and grab it and shoot back up in less time than it takes to draw and exhale a breath. I clutch it to my chest, praying I won't have to use it.

  The footfalls get closer and a tall, dark figure comes into view, it walks a bit past me and pauses, turning to the street to look around, no doubt trying to figure out where I went. It turns towards me and I raise my brick, ready to let it fly, when a voice sounds, hesitant and cautious.

  “Karis?”

  I freeze, familiarity gripping me. “Adami?”

  He steps towards me a little more and his shadowed face discloses his familiar features. “What are you doing in there?”

  “Hiding from you. Why were you following me?” I slowly lower the brick.

  “What's in your hands?”

  I let the chunk fall to the ground where pieces flake off.

  “Were you going to hit me with that?”

  “If it came down to it, yeah. I thou
ght you were someone else.” I dust my hands off against each other and step out of the alcove next to Adami. “I thought I told you to stay home?” I'm relieved it's him, but the blatant way he ignored what I told him to do, irritates me. “It’s dangerous out here and you could have gotten us both caught.” I bark out the words in a harsh whisper.

  “Yeah, well, you never listen to others on things you don't agree with, either, now do you?” He's so honest with the things he says, but I have yet to take offense to them. He doesn't say them to be mean; he just says them because they’re the truth. I actually kind of really appreciate that about him.

  “I'm beginning to see why people continue to get annoyed with me,” I say.

  “It's kinda like lookin’ in a mirror, huh?” He smiles and softly pushes his fist into my shoulder. “I couldn't let you be out here by yourself. What kind of man would that make me?”

  I raise an eyebrow.

  “Where I come from, men are men. They protect those they care about, especially if they're women. Not that I don't think you can protect yourself,” he adds quickly, “because I totally think you can. But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something was to happen to you and I wasn't there to try and stop it.” He puts an arm around my shoulder and we start to walk forward, our voices low.

  “But why do you care? You've known me a week. You don't owe me anything and you don't know what kind of person I am.” The weight of his arm is comfortable, and the warmth from his side is familiar and calming. It's a safety I haven't known in a long time.

  “I dunno,” he shrugs. “It's just something I feel deep in my gut; and maybe even a little in my heart.” He squeezes me tighter a little bit. “Ever since I woke up, I just felt connected to you, like I've known you for forever. So, my instincts kicked in. I want to make sure you’re safe. Plus, with plans like these, it's always best to have an extra body. And I’m bored. I couldn’t not participate in this excitement.” The thumb of his left hands rubs back and forth on the inside of the finger where his ring used to be.

  His words unsettle me a little. Not because they scare me, but because they're part of the unknown in my life. I don't know if I can reflect the same amount of sudden caring and connection that he can. I have one focus, one goal right now, and I can't afford to take part of that attention and give it to someone or something else.

  “Are you sure?” I ask, instead. “We're going into a potentially dangerous part of the city. Looking for people that most likely don't want to be found.”

  “I'm sure. I want to help. I want to make a difference.”

  I'm glad at his answer. Without another word, we slip through the door and into the night. The air is significantly cooler than it has been, and small puffs of white air escape into the night and disappear into the dark sky when we breathe.

  We move quickly, not wasting any time. These populated areas of Neech are routinely patrolled by Guards at night. We stay close to buildings and steer clear of the weak pools of lights that randomly litter the road. I'm impressed at Adami's ability to keep up. He sticks to my side and slightly behind. Like a shadow, he turns when I do and moves smoothly with me. I glance at him out of the corner of my eye and see him taking everything in with wonder and interest, but not saying a word.

  We're lucky that we're as close to the outskirts of Neech as we are and haven't come across any Guards yet. The buildings become more run down and the roads more pitted with potholes. Very few structures are occupied here. We weave and turn, and when we’re getting closer to where the Black Market was, we slow our pace. Adami must feel the slightly more relaxed air of our location because he decides to speak.

  “Is this how the rest of the city is?” He nods to the crumbling apartment buildings and structures.

  “The parts that aren't lived in, yeah. Pretty identical.”

  “No one lives here?”

  “Well, no contributing member. Mostly criminals and thugs. Witches.”

  “Witches?”

  “Rumored witches,” I say. “That's who helped me find Bak, before.”

  The oil lights that lit the streets the night of the Black Market have long since been blown out, but I can see the shine of their oily residue in the moonlight. A dark gloss covers the poles they were strung to and the exteriors of some of the walls.

  Murky puddles line the gutters of the roads from the rain we've been having. Every once in a while I can make out some footprints in the muddy dust, proving that this place hasn’t been entirely abandoned. I'm not sure if that makes me feel safer or in more danger.

  “Where are we going?”

  “See that light up ahead?”

  I see him jut his chin forward as he looks through the darkness. “Yeah?”

  “There. That's where I found Bak, the first time.”

  We look down both ends of the street before we step of the sidewalk and hurry across the open darkness. The light bulb is still there, but it's fainter and it flickers angrily. I bring my hand up and brush the pads of my finger over the perverted symbol of the Corporation.

  “What's that?” Adami asks, bringing his fingers up next to mine to trace the circles.

  “Something that made me think I could trust whoever was inside. Something that makes me hope I still can.” I reach down for the door handle. It turns easily, but with more noise than I want. The door swings open with a creaky protest. The hallway is as I remember it; long, dark, grimy, and smelling of a handful of thing I never want to smell together again.

  “That's awful. This man actually lives in this stench?” I look back and see Adami holding his nose with a look of revulsion on his face.

  “Hello?” I call out softly, hoping it carries through the space. “Bak?”

  I listen, but I don't hear anything. Which is good, because as his name passes through my lips, the fear that someone might actually be here hits me. And what if it isn't Bak?

  I listen for any creaks giving away footsteps, but nothing comes. The doorway that leads to the kitchen is on my right. There's another doorway after that, closed; another is on my left with its door slightly ajar and hanging off the top most hinge. I have no idea where they lead, and no desire to investigate. Stairs sit at the end of the hallway and disappear after a few steps into inky blackness.

  “Through here.” I lead the way through the first doorway on the right. The room is in complete darkness except for a solitary candle sitting on the only table in the space. It's a small nub of wax, an inch from burning out. The flame dances on the wick across the thin bed of liquid wax. The air is still and I swear a chill crept in when we aren’t looking. The stillness is intense and I can feel the electricity and warmth coming from Adami's body next to mine. So close.

  “Um…” He doesn't say anything else.

  “We need to leave,” I say in a low voice. It was a bad idea to come here. “Bak's not here.”

  “But someone is. Don't you want to—?”

  “No, I don't. And neither do you. Let's just go.” I turn to leave when a sound like a chair scraping across the floor echoes off the walls. “Adami, go!”

  He reaches out and grabs my hand in his like a vice, with more strength than I thought he had. He starts to pull me back to the hallway when a scratchy voice makes its way to my ears and fills the air around us.

  “Ye won' fin' 'im 'ere.”

  Ethan

  The town is dark and somewhat eerie. It sits there, silent and forgotten, abandoned and resentful. It stretches about a mile down the road, only a few hundred yards from the edge. Buildings pock the vastness on our right, but the majority of it is on our left. The sun hangs low in the sky; there won’t be much daylight left.

  I look at Dhevan. We lock eyes and have a silent conversation. There’s no other option. We have to go into the town and try to find supplies. Water at the very minimum. Chances are pretty much nonexistent that there’s anything left for us, with nomad Untouchables and everything else, but we have to try.

  Without speaking we t
urn ninety degrees to our left and walk down the small decline and off of the road. “Hey!” Raj cries out when he sees us change direction. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “We have to find food and water, Raj,” I say without stopping. “This is the best shot we have right now.” My body is so hot and my mouth is stuffed with cotton. This bite is making an already bad situation worse.

  “I’m not going into that town,” he says, a tinge of alarm at the fringe of his words.

  “So stay here,” Dhevan says. “But whatever we find, we won’t be sharing it with you. Everyone pulls his own weight, remember?”

  I hear some sputtering and air being pushed through his nose as Raj thinks about his choices. I hear his footfalls as he hurries to catch up with us. “Abandoned towns in the Further are dangerous.”

  “It’s either die in there or die out here,” I say. “And I’d rather at least try to delay my dying out there as long as possible.”

  “There won’t be any food or water here. These towns have been too long abandoned. Anything left would have been scavenged by Untouchables or wild animals.”

  “Or my father’s men,” I say.

  “And any of those scavengers mentioned might still be here,” Raj says.

  “Exactly.” Dhevan casts an irritated look over his shoulder. “So why don’t you just be quiet so you don’t attract any of them to us. Besides, there’s a good chance there are wells around here. Check near the older homes,” he says, “and any lots with significant amount of property or potential for crops. Those are our best chances.”

  Raj snaps his mouth shut with a click of his teeth and we travel the rest of the way in silence. The sun is almost set by the time we reach the outskirts of the town. Dhevan looks at the horizon.

  “We got another, maybe, twenty minutes of weak light. I’d like to get out of here before it’s too dark to see things coming for us.”