Alarum (Walking Shadows Book 1)

by Talis Jones

  “Michael.”

  “But he’s not enough to keep your feet firm on the ground?”

  Riker shakes his head. “He let me down. It was a long time ago but I haven’t quite forgiven him yet. Finding you just made it worse.”

  I frown puzzled. “How’s that?”

  “I’m not ready to tell you that,” he says and he says it in a way that has me cancelling my next pushy question.

  “What day is it?” I wonder.

  “Three weeks into April.”

  I don’t ask how he knows this. He just does. For someone with very few cares in this world he sure does a good job keeping track of time. “My birthday’s coming soon. Fifth of May,” I muse.

  “Yeah? How old will you be turning?”

  I shrug. “Seventeen.” He looks surprised but it’s not like he’d have any knowledge of my age anyhow. “The Corral marked my age by the day I arrived not the day I was born so I’m older than what’s on my papers.”

  He nods in silence then breaks it with a smile. “Well you’ve made a dire mistake, Fury.”

  I scrunch my face confused. “What?”

  “You told me your birthday.” With that he nudges Horse into a faster step and goes to ride ahead taking the lead of our trio.

  I don’t know why he cares about my birthday. What’s he gonna do? Throw a giant surprise party? I got no friends, they got no cake, and this world’s got no gifts. As far as I’m concerned it’s just another day, its only worth is to keep track of my age and even that’s a moot point when I could die at any moment.

  CHAPTER 31

  Dawn’s golden glow sings gently over my eyes calling for them to open. I lie still for a moment longer just to enjoy the early morning warmth that I know will bake into a fiery heat by noon. A stretch, a yawn, and I sit up slow. Rosh is still snoring softly and Riker’s already up and gone.

  So this is Indiana. Or are we still in Illinois? Ghosts whisper behind me, calling to me, grabbing the folds of my skin and pulling, dragging me back to the day everything changed. The day everything really changed.

  Kicking off my blanket I sidle back into my pants before I roll up my bedroll. I shuffle on the ground keeping the roll nice and tight when I hear a crinkle. A piece of paper is hidden underneath. I finish rolling up my bed and secure it with string before crossing my legs on the ground and investigating.

  I unravel the folded paper and a dainty gold necklace slides into my palm. It has a fine chain and a small delicate golden rose pendant. It’s beautiful. For a moment I flash back to that night when Shade gave me a necklace but I push it aside. I’ve never held something so pretty, although just like with Shade this is probably stolen.

  My fingers hold the gift tightly as I read the note:

  Happy birthday Flinch

  —Shadow

  The air is sucked out of my lungs as I read it over and over and over until my eyes have surely worn the words right off of the page and tattooed them into my mind but even there they make no sense. There’s simply no way. There’s no way. How? How?

  Riker returns, his hair wet from washing his face. His eyes find mine then dart to the dynamite in my hands. I’m crumbling apart from confusion and fear. Rosh rolls over fully awake. She looks between us, her eyes settling upon the necklace with a scowl.

  “Patrol,” she grunts. She pulls on her pants and jacket with haste and doesn’t bother to strap on her guns before snatching them up and leaving us. I might have been slow on the uptake but I finally cracked her. She’s in love with Riker. I’ve tried to stay out of the way but Riker doesn’t seem to understand. And surprising to me it’s been harder to hold him away than I ever suspected.

  Riker doesn’t look away from me as he comes over and folds himself down beside me. “Do you like it?” he asks with unexpected shyness in his voice.

  “I—,” my throat is stuck with unanswered questions and unvoiced answers. “Yes, it’s beautiful. But—”

  “May I put it on you?”

  He asks with such hope I shut my mouth and simply nod. He takes the lovely chain and kneels behind me to hang it around my neck securing the fishhook clasp. I can feel his calloused hands brush against my skin and I suppress a shudder. I didn’t even know shudders could be from anything good.

  When he’s facing me once more I finally unstick my gums and ask, “What is this?” I clench the note tight in my fist.

  “It’s the truth,” he says.

  “You’re really…you’re really Shadow?” I bite my lip trying to keep the yearning hope from shattering me. He looks so different from the boy I remember, his hair is dark now and he’s no longer the kid who trailed behind his brother in the Corral. I didn’t see him after he moved to the Skills. “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier? The day we met?”

  The barest touch of heat colors his cheeks. “I wanted to know you first. Figure out who you’d become. What’s the point dredging up the past if you weren’t the same girl I’ve been chasing after?”

  “You,” I swallow the barrage of shock. “You what?”

  “I came after you, Fury,” he breathes. “I worked for the Boss but when they hauled you away I took off after you. I asked for Shade’s help but he told me what he did. He told me and he wouldn’t help save you. So I ran. It’s not so easy to just waltz away from the Boss so it took me a long while to move up in rank and gain the right people’s trust. I might not have lived behind bars but I wasn’t free.”

  “But why?” I ask. I still don’t understand. We were never close so why this show of friendship?

  He ignores my question. “I knew who paid for you and where he lived. At last I had everything I needed and I escaped. I ran after you but by the time I got to the blacksmith you were already gone. A woman named Katya told me you were taken by a new master and that you rode north. So north I went.

  “A month or two later I was losing hope. I was chasing a cold trail and that’s when I met Rosh. She was drunk and trapped inside a fire. A fire she happened to have set herself, I might add. When she gets mad she doesn’t tell you, she shows you. That mouthy barkeep got what he deserved.

  “Anyways, we decided to ride together and we did. I taught her some tricks and she traded with information about the world and everything we missed as kids. It was a welcome distraction but nothing, not even my dying hope, could have prepared me for the day I found you. My life became whole the moment I saw your face and then it came crashing down when I saw the gun aimed at your heart.”

  “I—” I lean forwards and wait for him to meet my eyes. Ever since he sat down shyness has rattled him but I need answers and he can’t clam up now. “But why? I don’t understand why you’d go through all that trouble for me.”

  Riker gives a short laugh of disbelief but it’s not at me, it’s to himself. “Because I love you.”

  A surprised bark of laughter escapes my throat. “No you don’t.”

  His eyes turn so serious my laugh dies in my throat until I can’t even remember how. “I loved you as a boy and I love you still today. You never paid me any mind but I couldn’t help it. You made me want to be stronger. You made me learn to guard my heart so the boss couldn’t take it. I’d find time every day to just catch a glimpse of you and even that glimpse brought me a reassurance that I can’t explain. Even when I stopped trying I’ve been wandering to you like a magnet.”

  “Tell me how this can be true?” I ask and I’m stunned to find tears wetting my eyes clinging on just waiting for a reason to fall. “Tell me you aren’t making this shit up trying to play some game with me because I’ve lived a lot of life for someone my age and I gotta tell you that what you’re saying isn’t possible in this world, not anymore.”

  He turns away, thinking. “Do you know who Aristotle is?” I shake my head, if they mentioned him in Skills I either forgot or didn’t stay long enough to hear. “He talked about soul mates. He said they were one soul living in two bodies. I dunno but when I heard that it made sense to me.” A blush burns softly
on his face as he fixes me with a careful look. “Do you think I’m crazy?”

  I tilt my head and look at him, really look at him. “Nah, I don’t think you’re crazy. I’m not saying I believe it, but I do believe you.”

  We sit in comfortable silence each busy stirring through the thick stew of thoughts brewing in our minds. “You really believe we’re soul mates?” I ask curiously.

  Riker grins. “You can laugh at me all you want but it’s the story I believe and I’m sticking to it.” He reaches out and holds my hand in his, ice encased in fire. “Besides, what could be more hopeful in a land this lonely?”

  A shy smile creeps across my lips that only makes him grin wider but before I can say anything an almighty noise has us on our feet with guns ready.

  “Run!” Rosh comes crashing through the trees like a rampaging elephant and a dull roar chases her from behind. People, lots of ‘em. “Run!” she shouts again.

  We don’t wait to be told a third time. I sling on my shotgun and saddle up Lady so quick it’s like time slows down. Without dilly dallying for an explanation we’re up and charging off away from the roar that’s growing louder.

  “What the hell did you do?” growls Riker with spitfire in his voice changing his tanned face from the boy who dreams and believes in soul mates into a man full of fury and steel.

  CHAPTER 32

  We hide at the edges of a clearing. Our pursuers have lost our trail, for now. Riker wheels on Rosh with anger darkening his eyes. “What did you do, Rosh?”

  I’ve never seen Rosh so rattled. Her eyes dart every which way and a slight tremor shakes her hands. “I went to patrol our camp and I guess I wasn’t thinking because I wandered too far and got a bit turned around and before I knew it I could hear voices in the distance. I knew it wasn’t you because there were a lot of them but I thought I ought to go investigate just to be safe.”

  “And what did you find out,” he demands, arms crossed, frown deep.

  “They were Lucas’ men,” she breathes. “I was going to turn around and come right back but then I saw him. I saw Lucas and it’s like he could feel my eyes on him but I couldn’t move, Riker, I was frozen. He saw me and then all hell broke loose and they were hot on my heels.”

  “How many?”

  “Forty.”

  “Horseback?”

  “All of them.”

  Riker spits out a string of curses under his breath and I have the smarts to keep my mouth shut. Suddenly a chorus of hoots and hollers jerks our attention to the east. “They picked our trail back up. Alright,” he looks at Rosh and me, “fight or flee?”

  “What’s our best odds?”

  “Fifty-fifty.” The crash of shrubs under a herd’s beating hooves reaches our ears, closer they come, closer closer closer. “Scratch that. Fight, we’ll lose. There’s too many of them. Flee, we’ll lose. They’ll surround us in minutes.” Frustration clenches his jaw and he pulls his hair as he searches for an impossible solution.

  “We need a diversion,” Rosh whispers.

  “We don’t have time to set a diversion,” Riker snaps.

  “Yes we do.” Something in her voice makes him look up. Her hands still tremble but her eyes have gone cold with her mind made up. “You’ve got me.”

  “No way,” he argues. “Don’t be stupid.”

  “You’re the one being stupid,” she shouts angrily. “You finally found her and you’re gonna lie down and lose it all because you don’t want to leave a ghost behind. My mind’s made up, Riker. Don’t you take my choices away from me. Don’t you dare do that.”

  “We can come up with something else,” he insists.

  “No, we can’t. You can hear how close they are. If you don’t run now then we’ll all die,” she reasons. Riker still hesitates. “Lucas is looking for her, Riker. He’ll find out who she is and when he does he’ll torture her good and slow before letting her die. I’m dying anyway. You know that. So please let me go. Let my death grant life,” she adds softly.

  I’ve remained silent but so many words swirl in my mind like a twister sweeping across the desert. I watch them stare each other down but the fierce determination in Rosh’s eyes finally make his yield. His shoulders sag and he nods. “Make your own choices, Rosh. Just know that I don’t agree.”

  “That’s what makes you remarkable,” she smiles sadly. The stampede of forty riders is roaring loud in our ears now. Rosh turns to me and pulls me in a hug that has me stymied. “Take care of him,” she whispers. I nod and hug her tight.

  Without another word she turns her horse right around and takes off towards the man she once loved. The same man now calling for her blood.

  Riker and I jump back on our horses and take off in the opposite direction as fast as we can refusing to waste the sacrifice Rosh shoved into our hands. Lady and Horse eat up the distance, their legs reaching long, grasping onto the survival that waits for us if we can just ride hard enough.

  Da dum. Da dum. Da dum. We ride fast and hard. Da dum. Da dum. Da dum. Death will not be our card. Da dum. Da dum. Da dum. The shouts pull back our ears. Da dum. Da dum. Da dum. Riker’s face lets slip silent tears. Da dum. Da dum. Da dum. Da BANG!

  And she’s gone. Bloodthirsty cheers scare the birds from the scrawny trees behind us and as they take flight I know Rosh flies up with them. Free at last.

  10 YEARS AGO

  Eddies of wind stir the leaves around my feet. I’m sat by Shade’s feet as we chew on scraps of tough bread that threaten to yank our teeth from our heads. There’s a chill in the air and I huddle closer to his shins for warmth. I wish he’d sit next to me but he’s busy keeping an eye out for poachers. Blink and you’ll find yourself with no food and a wallop on your head.

  A scream splits the air and my head snaps towards it. A skeleton with a boy’s face flees in our direction, skinny limbs flailing like a newborn deer. Between that and his big ears it was easy for him to get named Bambi. I don’t really know him though.

  Terror leaks out of him and horrible screeching sounds leave his throat as he runs past us pleading for help. On his heels is a pack of crows, tired of waiting for their prey to die before they pick at his flesh. The hand holding a hunk of bread freezes halfway to my mouth as I watch.

  Run, Bambi. Run, I urge him silently.

  He trips over his own feet and crashes onto the filthy floor banging his chin so hard it splits open and stuns him. As the pounding feet of feral children surround him he crumples into a damp heap. I watch through the gaps of bodies forming a loose circle around the boy. I see the rocks clutched in their fists. I hear Bambi’s sobs and his tears turn my bread into mush.

  Hero calls them “cullings.” They happen every so often. The weak gotta make room for the fresh so the boss offers a little reward for those willing to help. It used to be every kid for himself competing for the prize, but if there’s only one bully then it’s too easy to fail. More than that it’s too easy to lose your nerve if you’re alone. When they hunt in a pack everyone’s too afraid to stop them and they’re too afraid to stop themselves.

  Bambi’s being cut from the herd.

  I’ve never been this close to a culling. Shade gets a tipoff and Hero keeps me far and away. But Hero isn’t here right now. So now here’s a boy with his death signed by the devil and he’s gonna die not thirty feet from where I sit.

  “We should try to stop them,” I mutter.

  Shade tears off a piece of my bread and chews it. “He’s dying anyway, Flinch,” he reasons with a shrug. “A stone to the head is quicker than hunger. And if the kids don’t do it then the boss will. At least this way his death will feed those left behind.” He glances down at me, a slight frown tugging at his lips. There’s an expression on his face that I can’t decipher. “Call it a mercy killing to stop the nightmares rolling in your head.”

  I look away and my eyes are fixed once again on the boy curled up on the floor whimpering pitifully at his executors.

  A large boy throws the first stone and th
e others are quick to follow. They jeer and shout and buzz high on the chase, on the kill. They drink down the energy of coalition afraid to let their defenses down lest they falter and face a similar fate.

  Between their legs I see little spots of blood spattering the floor as his body convulses and writhes unable to shield itself. His cries reach my ears through the ruckus of the wolves. Fear stings my eyes but in a second I become frozen. An audible crack rings out and Bambi’s cries are cut short. Still, they didn’t stop until every stone they’d carried was thrown and then as if a curtain has descended over the stage they

  ...simply...

  ...walk...

  ...away.

  In their wake they leave a bloody child smeared into the broken floor. The Soldiers will come by later and take it away.

  I stare at the corpse like it’s a puzzle that needs solving. His was a senseless death. Or was it? He was dying anyway, starving just like Shade said. Here in the Corral you had to fight for food. The only rule was survival of the fittest. His death was swifter this way. A stone to the head was quicker than starvation. Except it wasn’t just one stone and it wasn’t right away and all I did was watch even though I know if I had so much as uttered protest I would’ve bled by Bambi’s side.

  I tried telling myself Shade was right, that this was a mercy killing…but it didn’t keep the nightmares away that night. Or the next. He still haunts my dreams now and then, just when I’m on the verge of forgetting, of putting that memory behind me. Like his spirit refuses to let me forget, refuses to let me dismiss it.

  PRESENT DAY

  We’ve been riding in silence and night is closing in on us like a curtain. Seventeen years is a long time to go without purpose or pause. Chasing dreams or causing trouble isn’t satisfying me anymore. I need something else to anchor my life. Something to actually work for. If it doesn’t come soon I know I’ll go crazy for real and that’s when mistakes are made and a bullet snuffs out your life. My life may not be what I thought it’d be but I sure as hell don’t wanna give it up. Just Riker and me, and it should be enough, it might be enough, but I need something more.