Marked

by Penelope Scott

  With a heavy sigh, Echo reached out and tangled her fingers with Lys'. He jumped and looked down at her, shocked, but Echo had fixed her gaze on Remus' grave and gave no sign that grabbing Lys' hand had been a conscious action.

  "We should go find the others," Lys said, tugging at her arm a bit.

  "Yeah…" Echo agreed. Finally she tore her gaze from the cave-in and followed him down the silent street.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Bold

  When Lys and Echo reappeared to the group, hand in hand, Irvine immediately started to tease them. "Well, what have you kids been up to?" He chuckled.

  However, when they were close enough to see their expressions his face fell. "What…what's going on, you guys?"

  Echo didn't say anything. She kept her eyes focussed on the ground and went over to sit in the open doorway of the van beside Ro. The older girl looked concerned, but didn't say anything."

  "Where's Remus?" Maddox asked gruffly, crossing his arms in front of him. Echo looked up at Lys expectantly, and he shook his head. "He's dead."

  The response was instantaneous. "What?" Maddox shouted, "What do you mean, 'he's dead'?"

  "Exactly what I said," Lys retorted a little irritably. "He's dead, gone, finito."

  "How?" Irvine choked. "What happened?" Lys shook his head again and disappeared inside the van. "It's a long story." Echo explained.

  "Well! Spit it out!" Maddox cried, his face heating up more and more by the second. Echo took a deep breath and relayed the whole tale about Remus, Romulus, and the cave-in that killed him. She omitted the part where Lys shot Romulus in the head. She figured that was a need-to-know thing, and none of them really needed to know. When she was finished the entire group was solemn and quiet.

  "Damn…" Irvine muttered finally. He looked at the small laptop sitting next to Echo and gingerly picked it up. "Stupid Remus," He grumbled, "Thinking about his computer, even in the last minutes of his life."

  "Well," Echo defended, "It does have a lot of important information on it."

  "Yeah but…all that stuff can be replaced and re-analyzed, but Remus can't."

  "There was nothing we could do," Echo said softly, twisting the end of her sweater in her fingers. "Irvine, please." Ro snapped, "I think she'd had a hard enough day already, don't you?" She put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder and Echo smiled gratefully. "Thanks Ro, but he's right. We can't replace Remus. I think I'm going to take a nap."

  "Yeah, you go ahead." Echo got up slowly and climbed inside the van. Lys was already lying down near the front. She sat down against the wall by him and let her head fall back against the metal siding.

  "You didn't tell them about…well, you know." Lys said suddenly. Echo looked up, surprised to learn that he was still awake.

  "No, I didn't," She said.

  "Thanks." He turned over so his back was to her and Echo relaxed again. But Lys hadn't fallen asleep just yet. "Do you think I was right?" He asked so quietly that Echo barely heard him.

  "To shoot him, you mean?" Echo said, just as softly.

  "Yeah,"

  "Well…" Echo frowned, "You did what you thought you had to. Romulus would have killed Remus and then come after the rest of us."

  "But still. In the end I couldn't save Remus and Romulus still would have died in his own cave-in. I didn't accomplish anything by it. I…"

  "You couldn't have known that, Lys." Echo argued.

  "I'm no better than they are."

  Echo frowned but she knew that there was nothing she could do to change his mind. He would have to come to that conclusion on his own. When Lys had been silent for several minutes, Echo figured that he was either or asleep or that he wasn't going to talk to her anymore, so she lay back and fell asleep.

  Neither she nor Lys saw Bold in the back window. He'd heard the whole thing.

  By the time Echo woke up it was morning and they were moving again. Echo yawned and stretched out her cramped muscles as best as she could inside the crowded van. She couldn't help but notice that the van was very rapidly becoming less crowded, and it was depressing.

  "Oh Echo, glad you're awake." Irvine said before she had a chance to even get her eyes open. "Hold Andrew for me, will ya?" He shoved the baby into her arms before she had a chance to answer and crawled up to the front seat. Echo looked over and saw that Lys was sitting in the passenger seat, staring out the window and being unusually silent. Echo sighed, she would give him some more time, but he couldn't stay reclusive forever.

  "Hey Echo," Echo looked up and saw that Bold had come to sit beside her.

  "Oh, hi Bold." She responded, shifting Andrew in her arms. Bold didn't say anything else, and after a few minutes Echo nearly forgot he was there and had turned her attention to the fussy baby.

  "Echo I..." Bold started, then abruptly cut himself off again.

  "What?" Echo questioned.

  "I heard you talking to Lys yesterday." He admitted. Echo froze and stared at him. "Bold, please don't say anything." She begged, her voice falling to a soft whisper. "It really wouldn't do anyone any good and Lys feels bad enough as it is! Please, promise me you won't tell..."

  "Relax, Echo. I didn't come over here to blackmail you or anything. I just wanted to know what really happened."

  "I told you guys the truth," She said with a relieved smile, "Except that just as Romulus was pushing the button to activate the bombs, Lys shot him. That's all."

  Bold nodded slowly, "That's all? You swear?"

  "Of course, did you think there was something else?"

  Bold blushed and looked away, "It's just that, when you came back, you and Lys were..."

  "What? Holding hands? You think there's something going on between us?"

  "Isn't there?"

  "No!"

  "Oh...good then,"

  Echo stared at the younger boy, perplexed. "Bold, what are you talking about? Did Shy put you up to this? I didn't think you were into gossip."

  "Shy doesn't have anything to do with this," He said quickly, casting a weary glance at his sister, who was too enthralled with her electronic battleship game to notice anything else. "I just wanted to make sure because..." His face was going to red it was a miracle no one had noticed yet. Echo stared at him for a long time before she realized what he was trying to say, and then she started to blush as well. "Bold, you don't mean that -?"

  Bold just nodded numbly, "I really like you Echo," He whispered, "But if you don't feel the same I'll understand."

  Echo was stunned to say the least. She had never even suspected that Bold might have had feelings for her. When she thought about it, it was so obvious. He always got jealous when she was talking to Lys, and he glared at the older boy whenever they were together. Not to mention that he always came to Echo's defence, more so than was necessary. Echo chewed her lip and thought about what she could say to him. "Bold, I'm sorry but I..."

  "It's alright," He insisted quickly. "Really, I understand."

  Echo didn't think he did, "It's just that I never even thought about you that way and..."

  "Echo, I said it's okay!" He stood up quickly and looked down at her with a sad smile. "I knew you didn't...I just thought maybe you'd give me a chance." He turned and went back to sit with his twin before Echo even had a chance to respond. She groaned quietly and looked at Andrew, who had stopped crying and started blowing spit bubbles. "Oh God, Andrew. Who ever thought that the end of the world would be so complicated?"

  After that awkward conversation, Bold made a point to avoid Echo at all costs. Echo could tell he was embarrassed by his confession and decided not to attempt to talk to him for a while. She didn't want to make it worse, and she definitely didn't know how to deal with a boy who had a crush on her. It just wasn't her area of expertise. With Lys and now Bold not talking to her, Echo was beginning to feel a bit outcast. No one else seemed to notice, so she spent most of that day sitting on the floor with Andrew, letting him chew on her finger or changing dirty diapers.

  Lys re
mained in the passenger's seat up front, but never took a turn driving like he usually did. Maddox seemed to have noticed his bad mood and thought it best not to pester him. "We're going to be stopping soon," Maddox announced. "We're taking the long way 'round to Washington so it might take us a couple more days. We'd better find a place to park and rest in this next town."

  Washington, Echo had nearly forgotten that they were going there. There was something important in Washington, she could almost feel it. And Athena's dream seemed to point in that direction as well. Was Loch still alive? How did the Hunters track them down so quickly? They would find the answers there, she was almost positive. Just a few more days before everything would become clear.

  Lucien could almost see them now. He could tell that a group of them were getting closer. They were heading for him, searching for him although they didn't know it yet. Sometimes he could make out a blur of faces or a jumble of emotions. He was growing interested in this particular group of Chosen. They were concerned with a bit more than just living; they wanted to understand. Lucien liked that about them. They were not just going to blindly accept their fate. They were coming to him, coming for answers.

  He decided that he would do whatever he could not to tell his father about them. He wanted to meet them himself. He wanted them to come. Maybe, just maybe, they could help him escape the prison his father had built for him.

  With a start, he realized that one of them was missing. One of his father's Hunters had gotten him. Lucien tried but could not control the rage the built up inside of him. Couldn't his father understand that by doing what he was doing, he was killing the human race? The Chosen were the last hope for survival for human beings, and if he kept killing them all off the race would surely die. Already several key Chosen had been terminated. Destroyed by the Hunters without a second thought of what would happen as a result. His father only wanted to extend his life by any means necessary, and he was ina position of power to be able to do it. He would continue to kill them until Lucien told him a way to save everyone. Or, failing that, at least himself.

  His father was a selfish, cowardly man. If he were allowed to live he would corrupt th human race once again, and this disaster would only be repeated. Even though he was still a child, Lucien understood very well what was going to happen to the planet and the race. But trapped the way he was, how could he ever make his father understand that saving everyone simply wasn't a possibility? It may have seemed selfish of them to only save themselves, but it was what nature intended and there was no other way.

  With a mental sigh, Lucien forced all thoughts of his father out of his mind and concentrated on the group. After a moment, his powers began to kick in and he could see them, almost clearly.

  It wasn't really seeing, more like he could feel them, view their auras and look into their future. There was a girl among them whom he felt a strong connection. She was like him. Her powers were very strong, and he could use her to send messages to them through her dreams. He'd done it a few times before, although he hadn't realized he'd been doing it at the time. He had been dreaming as well.

  This time he focused his energy on them and peered into their future. He could see the next disaster that was to strike, and perhaps he could warn them about it, before they lost another one to either the Hunters or nature's fury. The girl was the only one he'd encountered with powers like his thus far, and she and her companions were the only ones he could get to help him. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on contacting the girl and sent her a warning of what was to come.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Rain

  Athena woke up screaming. Within seconds all the occupants were up and staring at her as she jolted awake, sobbing loudly. Ro went to her side immediately and pulled her into her lap. "What is it, Thena? Another dream?"

  Athena sniffled and nodded, "I s-saw the boy again," She started, "But then he w-w-went away and m-my s-skin s-started to burn." She scratched her arms timidly and shivered as she remembered the sensation.

  "Wonder what it could mean?" Shy questioned, inching closer to the young girl.

  "Nothing good," Maddox concluded. "We really need to kick it into high gear and get to Washington. The sun's comin' up now anyway, we might as well get moving."

  There was a mumble of agreement from the group and soon the van was rolling once again. Echo sat up and stretched her stiff muscles as best as she could in the confined space. In truth, Echo was glad Athena had woken her up. She'd been having another one of the dreams. Lately she'd been seeing the same few dreams over and over again, and while they still frightened her, she was beginning to be desensitized by them, and they bothered her less and less each time she saw them. Mostly she saw the missile attacks, or the riots and once or twice there was an earthquake, but tonight had been different. It had been a new one.

  She shuddered as she recalled the dream she saw. Screaming people, running around in panic, fighting each other for shelter as the sky opened up and rained death upon them. She couldn't tell exactly what was falling from the sky, even in the dream there was too much confusion, but she knew that she didn't want to be caught in it and she fought just like the rest to get inside or underground, or somewhere she could hide. At least now that they were moving again she wouldn't have to worry about going back to sleep. Every time she had a new dream she found that she was edgy the rest of the day, and today was worse than usual.

  Athena recovered rather quickly, and watched out the window as they drove through a small city. Her keen, childish eyes almost immediately saw a sign that caught her interest. "Ro, look!" She exclaimed, "A carnival! Can we go? Can we, please?"

  "Thena, you know we don't have any money for that sort of thing."

  "C'mon, Ro!" She pleaded, "Can't we at least go take a look?"

  "Of course we can go," Maddox roared unexpectedly. The rest of the group spun around to look at him like he'd lost his mind.

  "Maddox, you know we don't have the time or the money..." Lys started.

  "Oh shut up, after such a long week, I'd say we could use a little break, don't you." Lys frowned at him and exchanged a glace with Irvine, who only shrugged. "He's the boss, you know."

  "Damn right I'm the boss! And I say we go. I've always had a soft spot for cotton candy." He turned in his seat for a moment and winked at Athena. Echo grinned; it was very rare that she got to see the softer side of Maddox, and it usually only showed around Athena.

  "Maybe if you're good," Ro whispered to her sister, "Lys will swipe you a candy apple."

  "Yay!" Athena cheered.

  "I heard that," Lys countered with a slow smile, "Why do I have to do all the stealing?"

  "Because you're the best at it, Lysander." Shy chuckled. "How long were you lifting things before Maddox picked you up?"

  Lys tapped his chin and pretended to think, "Well..."

  "What, you mean you actually were a thief?" Shy choked.

  "Of course not," Lys laughed, "But I watched a lot of movies, and it's not very hard."

  "Uh huh,"

  "Well it's not!"

  Echo laughed along with them and sat back, eager to get their little vacation underway.

  The carnival was small, but there was dozens of tents set up in the city park with vendors selling all kinds of food items and crafts, and there were even rides set up at the far end where throngs of people were gathered, waiting for their turn. Echo looked around and wondered what she should get Lys to steal for her first.

  The thought came to her so easily that it took Echo a moment to realize just how comfortable she'd become with stealing things. They did it so often just to survive that now even doing it for recreational purposes seemed alright. Now that she was thinking about it, Echo started to feel a bit uneasy about being there.

  "Hey Echo, you coming or what?" Lys called to her, standing with Ro, Athena and the twins. "Oh, yeah," She smiled and ran to catch up with them, letting Lys lead the way with Athena at his heels. "Can you get me some tickets for the Ferris
wheel?" She begged.

  Lys pondered her request for a moment before he nodded. "Watch and learn," He said to her as he took off in pursuit of an older women who let half her tickets dangle from her hand. He caught up with her and followed her around for a bit, and when the crowd was dense enough not to be noticed, her ripped off what he could and casually made his way back around to the group.

  "Ta da!" He smiled, showing the five tickets to the young girl. "Are you out thieving tickets, boy?" Maddox accused when he caught sight of them.

  "Hey, I got them for Athena!" Lys said in his own defense, "You were the one practically condoning this kind of thing back in the van."

  "Well...as long as it's for Thena and not for you. You don't need to steal things from people who've already paid for those. If you have to take something, take it from the booths."

  "But it's hard to get tickets from the booths...they're all wood with doors and small confined spaces..."

  Maddox rolled his eyes and then offered to take Thena to the Ferris wheel. Ro followed them which left Echo with Lys and the twins. "How about some candy apples, eh Lys?"Shy suggested. "I really love candy apples."

  "I don't know you guys, I can't go on a thieving spree here or I'll get caught..."

  "C'mon Lys, just some candy and we'll leave you alone." Shy pleaded.

  "I wouldn't mind a candy apple," Echo agreed.

  "Well..." Lys sighed and finally relented, "okay, but nothing else after this." He left the group again and Shy jumped up and down in excitement. "I haven't had a candy apple in so long."

  "Figures that the second Echo asks him he agrees." Bold mumbled.

  "Huh? What do you mean, Bold?" Shy questioned. Bold crossed his arms and refused to answer. Echo frowned at him, she could tell that he was still sore over her rejection of him.