by Anna Hill
They worked swiftly and in complete silence. In less than ten minutes, they’d managed to load everything, filling the back of each van.
Once back inside, Breadan led them down the hallway to the living room where the other Truaillithe waited.
When they walked through the door, Rebecca stood in stunned silence for a moment. The room was filled with well over thirty children, ranging from around the age of 6 to 12. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but it hadn’t been this. She’d never imagined that Maverick had been able to find this many Truaillithe, let alone enough to fill several more of these safe houses. Her heart swelled slightly as she realized everything he’d done for these kids. Maverick had saved every one of these children, taken them away from whatever horrible life the Aillil had created for them, and given them a fresh start.
Rebecca scanned the room, looking over the young faces. They seemed frightened and panicked, and several of the children even stood up and ran over to the older Truaillithe when they entered the room. She also noticed that everyone in the room, old and young alike, wore a handkerchief around their neck. For some reason, that gave Rebecca a horrible sense of foreboding.
“Ok everyone,” Etain called out, gaining everyone’s attention. “I have directions to your next safe house.” As she spoke, Etain pulled four sets of folded papers from her jacket and handed one to each of the older Truaillithe. “Now, I need all of you to split into your four groups and line up behind your leader.”
In a frenzied, but surprisingly organized, rush, the young Truaillithe quickly filed into lines behind each of the older members. Fina took her place in line behind Breadan. Once everyone was in place, Etain told them to stay completely silent. Together, remaining in their designated groups, they headed down the hallway to the front door.
“Alright, one at a time, each group is going to rush out to their van, climb inside, and leave. Understood?” The older members nodded in response.
Rebecca’s eyes lingered on Breadan. His scowl had only deepened throughout this entire process, and now, for some strange and unnerving reason, he appeared to be aiming the bulk of his anger toward her.
“Ok,” Etain said as she turned toward the door. But no sooner had she moved, than a heavy thud and a loud hissing emanated from the front porch.
The room fell completely still, while the front window was enveloped in a thick white smoke.
Suddenly, a bright, electric flash momentarily danced across the glass followed soon after by a thundering crack.
“They’re here!” An urgent yell called from outside, fulfilling everyone’s worst fears. “The Aillil…they’ve found…” The voice was cut off as sudden sounds of fighting erupted.
Acting immediately, Breadan rushed forward, “Lorcan, Beltany, Quinn, with me.” He turned toward Etain, “We’ll clear each van and wait for you to bring our group.”
Before he could leave, Etain reached out and grabbed his forearm, her face unable to mask her pain and fear, “Be careful…please, Breadan.”
Breadan gave a soft nod and, without another word, he and the three older Truaillithe rushed outside, each grabbing several smoke canisters from the full basket and setting them off as they passed through the doorway.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Etain sprang into action. “Rebecca, I need you to be at the back of each group as we take them outside. We’ll work one at a time.” She then turned toward Fina. “Your group will be last. I’m trusting you to keep control over everyone while we do this.”
Though panic and terror were clearly written across her face, Fina gave a strong nod to Etain and instantly began organizing the younger, frightened Truaillithe.
“Group one, together.” Etain called, turning back to the first group. “We head out in a pack. Make sure to stay close, move fast, and hold onto each other as we run.”
Like little soldiers, the younger Truaillithe grasped onto each other and determinedly set their eyes on the door. Rebecca followed suit and, holding onto the last member of the group, readied herself for the rush outside.
Her heart was beating so loudly that she could hear it reverberating in her ears, and cold sweat from sheer fear was dripping slowly down her back. She watched Etain pull the front door open and begin to lead the group outside into the thick wall of white smoke. Before she knew it, her whole world was enveloped by the dense haze.
Keeping hold of the end of the chain of little Truaillithe, Rebecca swiftly pulled the handkerchief up over the bottom half of her face. She struggled to see anything around her in the overwhelmingly smoky haze. Running as fast as they could, while still staying together, the group made their way forward, following Etain’s lead. The terrifying sounds of intense combat echoed all around them. Rebecca had no idea how, but, within seconds, they’d made their way to one of the vans. An older Tuallithe suddenly materialized, swiftly opened the side door, and began helping the younger Truaillithe inside.
Once the last child had clambered in, Etain slammed the door shut and turned toward the older Truaillithe. “Quinn, follow the directions I gave you. The other groups won’t be far behind.”
Giving a terse nod, Quinn disappeared into the haze and they quickly heard the deep roar of an engine starting.
Wasting no time, Etain grabbed Rebecca’s arm and pulled her forward, back toward the house. It was nearly impossible to know where they were going through the thick smoke, but the two found their way up the front porch steps as quickly as possible.
Just as they were about to head back inside, Etain froze in fear, gripping painfully tight onto Rebecca’s forearm. Rebecca turned to see the smoke around them splitting apart at a violent rate.
A brilliant flash of light lit up the air around them and a loud, ear-splitting crack sounded. The rapidly moving smoke stopped instantly.
“Go, now!” Aeden’s voice called from somewhere in the fog, kicking Etain back into motion.
In an anxious and fevered sprint, they rushed the next two groups out, always meeting an older Truaillithe at the van. Each time, they ensured they heard the vehicle peel off down the driveway before heading back toward the house, all the while listening to the growing sounds of violent fighting coming from within the fog.
As Rebecca closed the front door behind her, she watched the final group grasp onto each other, with Fina stationed directly behind Etain at the front.
“Ready everyone?” Etain asked, setting her determined eyes on the door.
Rebecca rushed to the back, barely having enough time to grab onto the last member before they stormed outside into a somehow even thicker smoky haze.
Taking short breaths, as anything more caused her aching lungs to break out in heavy, racking coughs, Rebecca fought to keep up with the group’s rapid pace. After so many trips out into the thick smoke, her eyes burned so badly that streaming tears had begun to flow freely down her pained face.
Rebecca nearly slammed into the line of Truaillithe as they came to a halt. She blinked her eyes rapidly and was able to make out an exhausted Breadan holding onto the side of the last van for support. As bad as her eyesight was, it was impossible to miss the thick stream of crimson blood covering the side of his face, gushing from a deep slash across his forehead.
Etain moved swiftly forward, using her sleeve to wipe away some of the blood from around his eyes. There was a silent, subtle moment between the two of them, but it was cut short when Breadan pulled his head away, out of Etain’s reach.
“Has everyone else made it out?” Breadan’s breath was heavy as his lungs struggled for fresh air.
Etain quickly lowered her hand, suddenly remembering the urgency of their situation. “Yes, yours is the last group.”
Breadan nodded, then turned around and pulled open the van’s side door.
One by one, as fast as possible, the group piled into the van until only Rebecca, Breadan, Fina and Etain remained outside in the smoke.
“Leave now, we’ll take care of the rest,” Etain hurriedly told th
e two siblings.
Breadan turned to Etain, his face a mixture of gratitude and sadness. Without the deep scowl on his face, his striking attractiveness was even more apparent. He made to take a step toward Etain when, out of nowhere, a thick vine shot up and wrapped itself tightly around his right wrist.
In a sheer panic, he began to forcibly rip his arm away. But, no sooner had the first vine appeared, than a second shot up and constricted his other wrist, wrenching his arms down tight to his sides.
Breadan shot a pained and frightened glance at Etain and Fina. Suddenly, another vine appeared around his throat and, with a sickening snap, his head was violently jerked to the side. Disappearing into the thick smoke, his body collapsed backward with a loud thump.
Tears of grief coursing down their cheeks, Etain and Fina leapt forward, desperately grabbing for the fallen Breadan.
Rebecca was about to rush forward as well, when she felt the abrupt, harsh, constricting sensation of a thick vine wrapping around her right wrist. Instant terror consumed her as yet another vine shot up and clenched around her other arm.
A piercing scream burst from her chest as her entire body filled with a panic so intense it caused every muscle to burn. Every bit of her was overrun with fear. Survival was the only thought racing through her mind as a violent pounding erupted in her skull, blurring her vision even more than the flood of tears that ran down her face.
All of a sudden, the face of an Aillil soldier appeared in front of her. It took the soldier a moment to realize that she was staring straight at him, but as soon as he did, he began to pull away in shock. He’d barely moved backward, however, when a violent roundhouse kick from Etain landed swiftly on his temple, causing him to fall back listlessly into the thick smoke that surrounded them.
The vines holding Rebecca’s arms instantly went limp, and she wrenched her wrists out of their grasp. Once she was free, she looked up to see Etain and Fina silently staring at her, their faces a mixture of confusion and disbelief.
Without warning, a thunderous crack sounded beside them, snapping them back to reality.
Etain dove down into the smoke, reappearing almost instantly with the keys and the directions. She shoved them both into Fina’s hands. “It’s up to you now. You have to bring everyone to safety.”
Tears still flowed down Fina’s grieving face, but she nodded in response and, taking the items, rushed off around the van, disappearing into the cloud. A few seconds later, the engine sounded and the van tore off, causing the smoke to waft away from them in giant swirls.
Etain’s hand clamped down on Rebecca’s arm, “We need to find the others and get out of here now.”
As they turned back toward the house, they realized the sounds of battle were slowly dying down in the distance. Even the smoke had begun to dissipate, leaving only a soft haze encircling the area.
“Etain.” Both Rebecca and Etain jumped at the sudden voice and spun around to find Faolan standing behind them. She was, however, not looking at them, but instead staring down at the motionless body of Breadan.
Etain followed the path of Faolan’s eyes, but quickly looked away, unable to bear the sight of him.
Faolan finally looked up, her face masking her emotions. Her skin and clothes were covered in dirt, scrapes, and blood splatters and she held one arm limply at her side. “Did you see the Aillil soldiers suddenly appear?”
Etain’s mouth dropped open, “All of them?”
“Yes. All of them, all at once. They seemed as surprised about it as we were.”
Etain turned swiftly to look at Rebecca, her face filling with fear as she recoiled slightly. She remained silent, however, choosing not to say anything about what she’d seen Rebecca do.
“Either way,” Faolan continued, “the Aillil may have retreated for now, but that doesn’t mean they’re gone. We need to get everyone out of here immediately.”
“We’re here,” Owen’s voice called from somewhere near the SUV, which was gradually appearing out of the mist, “all of us.”
Etain slowly pulled her apprehensive gaze away from Rebecca as she called back, “Alright, let’s go.”
Instead of moving toward the van, however, she looked back at Faolan. “Can you help me move him?” she requested painfully, struggling to look down at Breadan’s body. Faolan nodded.
“We’ll carry him into the woods…he’d like it there.” Etain fought to keep her voice level as tears began to course down her cheeks again.
Reaching into her pocket, Etain pulled out her keys and handed them to Rebecca. “Get everyone inside the SUV. We’ll join when we finish.”
Silently, Rebecca took the keys and turned away, unable to watch Faolan and Etain as they labored to drag Breadan’s lifeless body toward the woods.
Fourteen
Rebecca curled up in the corner of her dark, dismal room, tightly wrapping the filthy blanket around her shivering body. Her eyes burned, her head throbbed, and her body ached from a combination of thirst, hunger, and a lack of sleep. But she barely even noticed the pain. The realization that she no longer cared about her survival had broken her spirit. Her will to continue was smothered by misery and depression. Whatever little bit of strength that remained was slowly being drawn out of her while a heavy weight of despair was settling upon her chest.
A loud thud sounded from the opposite end of her cell, wrenching her back to reality. The lock in the door had been pulled back. Lately, this sound had only heralded pain, so she instinctively curled her body up even tighter.
She waited for the usual two pairs of footsteps to enter, but only silence filled her ears. Something wasn’t right, but, for some reason, she wasn’t afraid.
After a long moment, a single pair of footsteps entered and rapidly approached her. Her pulse quickened with anticipation as she held her breath. For the first time since she’d entered this horrifying cell, a tiny fragment of hope gripped her heart.
* * *
Rebecca woke up in a cold sweat. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine and she pulled her covers in closer around her body. She was slowly getting used to sleeping through her dreams. But even though it was getting easier, and she was now generally able to sleep through the entire night, she was still terrified by much of what she saw.
On the rare night where Rebecca found herself fighting against a nightmare, Faolan would come and curl up on the end of her bed. It was as if Faolan could sense the nightmares, and Rebecca was grateful for it. There was something comforting about her friend’s presence--it made her feel as if she didn’t have to face her fears alone.
Ever since the crew had moved the Truaillithe safe house, her nightmares had become more frequent. In fact, in the two weeks since the battle, all of the crew members had struggled to return to normal. Etain seemed to be having the hardest time of them all.
During the first week, it had been impossible to miss the dark circles under her red, puffy eyes, and she’d spent most of her time hidden away in her room or in the downstairs office. This week, she was finally beginning to reemerge and regularly check in with the rest of the crew again. However, it seemed that she’d turned her sorrow into anger, concentrated at Maverick.
They hadn’t heard a single word from him for over three weeks, and no one had any clue where he might be. Apparently, he disappeared like this quite often, but never without checking in, giving them knowledge of his whereabouts, or telling them how to reach him.
Rebecca’s worry was beginning to get the better of her. The idea that Maverick was out there alone, with the Aillil soldiers searching for him, made her more anxious than her dreams did.
Etain had taken to pacing on the front porch, stopping every so often to stare off into the woods. Rebecca wasn’t sure if she was looking for Maverick or for Aillil, but she was too afraid to ask. Either way, it was clear that something was wrong.
In an effort to forget her worries, and become more comfortable in her new home and way of life, Rebecca was spending as much time as possibl
e around the other members of the crew. Whenever she wasn’t training, she would play video games with Owen and Aeden or walk around the nearby woods with Faolan. She and little Trysten were even spending more time together, though he was usually just a silent observer while she played games with the other boys.
However, as Etain’s anger and stress grew, so too did her restrictions on the crew. By the beginning of the second week, she’d moved their training sessions to the back garden and decreed that only Faolan was allowed to go out into the woods so that she could patrol the area.
The tension was starting to grow in the house as well, as it was increasingly feeling like they were under house arrest. Even Owen, who always seemed to be in a good mood, was showing serious signs of unrest. Just a few days earlier, he’d super-sized the potted plants in the sitting room, stating that if he wasn’t allowed outdoors in the woods then he’d have to bring the outdoors inside.
Rebecca heard a door slam from outside of her room, signaling that the others were now awake and heading down to breakfast. Heaving a big sigh, she threw the covers away and pulled herself out of bed.
There was frost on her window, and a thick layer on the plants outside as well. It was hard to believe it was already mid-November. It seemed like she’d only just left Cle Elum. Thoughts of Emily sprang to mind and Rebecca felt a quick pang in her heart. No matter how close she got to the crew, they would never be able to replace her friend.
As she stared out the window, she caught a slight hint of movement in the distant trees. Rebecca stepped forward, against the glass, and squinted. It only took a few seconds for her to realize what she was staring at. Her heart immediately began racing and her breath caught in her throat.
A truck--Maverick’s truck--was making its way through the trees towards the house.
In a flurry, Rebecca spun around and ran to her closet, changed as quickly as possible, took a brief glance in the mirror to ensure she looked somewhat presentable, and then sprinted out of her room and down the stairs.
