by Coralee June
Huxley crossed his arms across his broad chest and scowled as he bit the corner of his lip in frustration. “Can we get this fucking transport to move faster please?”
Mia observed us all with a grin and rolled her eyes before inconspicuously holding up six fingers with a wink. I blushed.
“How are we going to cause a riot in the Walker Zone?” I asked. I felt the compulsive desire to define every aspect of this mission and prepare. I felt out of control and the uncertainty of it all made me want to scream.
“I packed a lovely little makeshift bomb. It’s a bit temperamental, but will do the job,” Mia said with a shrug. For a brief moment, we all paused in shocked disbelief, but soon everyone immediately began talking at once.
“You brought a BOMB aboard the transport?” Maverick gasped while releasing my hand. He started rummaging through bags on the floorboard until he found one with dynamite and wires. He snapped back into his seat with his hands in the air once he found it.
“A temperamental bomb?” Jacob added with equal shock.
“Will you all please keep it down, I’m trying to rest. It’s just a little bomb, nothing to lose sleep over,” Tallis said while readjusting his arms to get more comfortable. “In fact, it was Jules that suggested it. She fetched it from my tent for me,” he added in a wistful tone that hinted he admired Jules for more than just her ability to come up with a good plan. I wondered how well they knew one another. They were such opposites.
Maverick gave me a small half-smile then began flipping through his tablet, watching and re-watching the security footage and trying to make sense of it all. I wanted to comfort him. I wanted to resolve the pain and hurt between us, but I bit my tongue and let him work, while silently agonizing over what the next few days would bring.
The transport remained in eloquent silence aside from the occasional question and Tallis’ light snores. Hours passed, and the surmounting anxiety within me caused my flinching fingers to continuously pinch my thigh.
Occasionally, I looked outside at the abandoned buildings and wasted cities. I catalogued the images in my mind’s eye as we passed all the emptiness of the Empire that echoed how my heart currently felt.
Cyler and Patrick’s lingering absence was like an uncomfortable itch. I couldn’t relax my mind long enough to sleep, and I felt rigid next to Maverick. I still felt unsure of where we stood since our differing views on Heat, especially now that it led to Cyler and Patrick’s abduction. I wanted to lean against his shoulder and slip into a comforting sleep but remained firm and rod-straight in my leather seat, avoiding all contact despite the warmth that came off of him in waves of temptation.
“Come here, sweetheart,” Jacob cooed while shoving Kemper and indicating that we should switch spots. With careful maneuvering, I crossed the transport and sank into the seat beside him. He wormed my legs over his lap and cradled me. “You need to rest, Ash,” he whispered into my ear in a low tone intended only for me.
“I—I can’t,” I replied with a cracked voice. His large hands migrated to my boots and he slowly worked their brown laces before slipping them off. They fell to the floor of the transport with a thud, but no one paid us much mind. His fingers roamed over my legs and feet in circular motions with a medium pressure. “Relax,” he breathed out. “We’ll find them.”
“What if we don’t?” I asked. The question made pain radiate throughout my chest. “If something happened to them, Jacob, I don’t know what I’d do.”
Jacob’s warm scent and calming movements continued as he remained in pensive silence. “Ash,” he began, and I stiffened at the tone of it. His voice seemed detached. “I know Cyler and Patrick better than anyone. They’ll do everything in their power to come back to you—to us,” he choked out.
“I never–” I began before biting my tongue.
“You never what?” Jacob probed. His fingers stopped their comforting massage, and I blinked back tears.
“I never got to tell them . . .” I drifted off in embarrassment. I noticed that Huxley was listening to me now, and I couldn’t—no— wouldn’t finish the regretful thoughts that were poisoning my mind.
I never got to tell them how I felt. How they made me feel. How Cyler’s touches felt like pure, unadulterated freedom and comfort. Or how Patrick’s smile made my heart race with giddy anticipation, and I could spend eternity in his arms.
“Sweetheart,” Jacob replied. “They know. We all know.”
The slow massage made me feel drowsy with desire, and slowly, ever so slowly, I fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ashleigh, wake up,” a soft voice murmured. My eyes opened, and I rolled my neck to work out the uncomfortable kinks that plagued my joints. “We’re an hour outside of the Capital, and we need to refuel. Tallis is taking us in through an abandoned entrance, but we need to remain diligent,” Kemper explained with kind but tired eyes.
I observed him in a daze while sitting up. His shirt was wrinkled from sitting in the transport. My eyes shifted to find Jacob awake and eyeing me with appreciation. My hair felt wild from sleep, and my shirt was loose and stretched out, revealing my healthy cleavage.
I looked outside and was greeted by vast, sandy emptiness. Dust kicked up from beneath the transport, and I noticed a looming metropolis in the distance. Tall towers and bright lights illuminated the night sky, like a beacon in the wasteland.
“You and Mia need to change into clothes more suited for the Capital,” Huxley said. “You’ll stick out like a sore thumb wearing that .” Hux nodded at me, and I adjusted my shirt to cover up my chest. The movement caused Kemper to blush.
“I grabbed some extra clothes before leaving,” Kemper said with a cautious smile before rummaging through his pack and throwing two dresses at me. The thick velvet material that I once adored and longed for, now felt heavy and limiting.
Mia scrunched her nose and peered at the dresses like they were going to burst into flames at any moment. “I’ll never understand Capital fashion. How the fuck am I supposed to stab someone while wearing this?” she asked while clicking her tongue and pulling at the seams, as if trying to stretch it out more.
“You’ll need to go ahead and get changed. We will be there within the hour,” Kemper choked out awkwardly while giving me an appreciative look. The thought of changing clothes in this cramped transport made me blush in embarrassment.
However, the ever confident Mia simply slipped off her tight shirt and casually shimmied out of her charcoal leather pants. Everyone averted their eyes in polite discomfort.
“I didn’t think Dormas men were such prudes,” she joked with a snort while buttoning the collar of the maroon dress. She looked completely unlike herself in that moment. She almost looked like an elite.
I looked around the transport as everyone shifted and coughed in discomfort. There wasn’t much time for me to feel ashamed of changing clothes in front of them, so I simply followed Mia’s lead. Except my efforts lacked the swiftness of Mia’s movements, and I had much less enthusiasm. In many ways, I had evolved past my prude Galla habits, but I still had moments of unyielding modesty.
My shirt got caught in my hair, and my skirt twisted around my legs as I tried to work it off of my round hips. Soon, I felt out of breath and had to pause my untangling to catch it.
“Keep your fucking eyes to the ceiling, Tallis,” Huxley said in a low, threatening tone. My chest rose and fell as I paused and looked up from my twisted skirt to see four pairs of eyes glued to me.
“Believe me, I’m watching out of pure amusement. She’s a clumsy one. Can I request her for someone else’s ambush team?” Tallis asked jokingly .
“Oh shut up,” Huxley said while rolling his eyes, but I saw how the right corner of his lip lifted in amusement.
“If you’re going to stare, one of you might as well help the poor girl. My Agrio is a mess,” Mia said with a snort while strapping a knife to her toned thigh. “Think I could cut a slit in this?” she asked to no one
in particular.
The transport was shaped like a rectangle, with leather benches on each side, leaving the middle open. Kemper made his way towards me and kneeled at my feet. He slowly worked the skirt off of me in teasingly slow strides. Once it was no longer tangled around me, Jacob helped me into the thick and encompassing dress, styled in the normal Empirical fashion.
“Can one of you tie the bodice?” I asked in a whisper. The transport felt hot. Maverick looked up at me, and I briefly wondered if he would allow this grudge to continue, or if he would help me. After a pause, he set aside his tablet and motioned me near. With the practiced movements of a surgeon, he slowly tightened the laced strings upon my back. I felt his feather-light fingertips along my spine, and I shivered under his attentive contact. He softly squeezed my hips to indicate he was done, and I shuffled on my knees back to my seat by Jacob as I tried to slow my breath.
I wasn’t sure if it was the too-tight dress, the intense stares of the boys, or my increasing anxiety, but it felt like a heavy weight was on my chest. “How are we sneaking through the Capital again?” I asked in a breathy tone.
“Scavengers have created an underground trade route to get Walkers to the deadlands, we also use it to gather supplies. One of my contacts is there. We can go and refuel, then get on our way,” Tallis explained while braiding his long white hair and pulling it into a rimmed hat.
“How long have you been using this underground trade route?” I asked. Everything I’ve witnessed thus far has showed me that Scavengers were ridiculously resourceful.
“Since we’ve been in the deadlands, Agrio,” Mia answered. “Being banished has its perks, but we had to get a little creative, so to speak.”
“We do what we have to. We survive,” Tallis said while looking at me with his fierce eyes. His lips were cracked, and I saw the flash of his sharp teeth as he bit them.
“Do you think your people made the right decision to escape the Zone and move to the deadlands?” I asked bravely. The options available to those that couldn’t afford the vaccine were limited. Be bought by an elite family, move to the Zone, or escape to the deadlands. None of those seemed sustainable or worthwhile. The world was cruel.
“I don’t think there is a right decision anymore,” Mia said with a frown. She too seemed to contemplate the unfairness of it all.
“I think Dormas is the right place. If I could move everyone safely there, I would,” I said.
As we approached the city, I noticed the impressive towers covered in digital screens and felt significantly out of place. I had grown to love the simplicity of Dormas, and the overbearing buildings that stood over the city felt like mountains of machinery. Once close enough, Tallis took control of the transport’s dash and directed us towards the east, a much less established area of the city.
“Hope you don’t mind, we will be traveling a bit off the usual path. Emperor Lackley has patrol units on every road leading into the city but lacks surveillance on the eastern side. He’s either arrogant or is lacking manpower these days,” Tallis said while pushing us off the road and towards a tall, wired fence in a darkly lit area.
“So, where is this mystical entrance you bragged about?” Huxley mused with a scowl. He didn’t seem impressed by the Scavenger leader in the slightest.
“Keep watching,” Tallis replied.
We continued to plow forward towards the fence at fast speeds, and I felt the tight grip of fear lodge itself in my throat. We were going to hit the fence. We were going to crash.
“Alright, Tallis, the game is up, time to slow down now,” Jacob joked while leaning on the edge of his seat. He appeared ready to take over the dashboard at a moment’s notice. Tallis merely ignored him.
“Hey, we need to slow down, we’re gonna hit the fence!” Maverick yelled, he too seemed ready to get up and tackle him to regain control of the transport.
“Calm down, he’s got this under control,” Mia said while buckling her seatbelt. We continued to surge forward, and before anyone else could complain, we blazed through the fence, as if it was made of mist. The entire transport exhaled in relief, with the exception of Mia and Tallis.
“It’s a hologram,” Kemper said in awe. A small section of the fence, large enough to fit a transport, wavered, then came back into focus.
“My friend designed it. Brilliant, huh?” Tallis asked with a chuckle.
“You could have fucking warned us,” Huxley groaned while looking at me. “You okay?” he asked.
“I’ve been better,” I replied while running my hands along my thighs, reassuring myself that we didn’t just crash, that I was still miraculously alive.
We drove through The Confederation of Dasos’ capital center, and I peered at the people walking along the street. Men in top hats and suits got their morning coffee from automated dispensaries that flickered bright advertisements while they waited for their cup to brew.
I noticed a few Walkers wearing bright ear tags darting between traffic, carrying various armloads of groceries. The Confederation of Dasos was just like Galla in their Walker practices, except they exported their remaining Walkers to Zones in neighboring provinces. Emperor Lackley didn’t want any non-procured Walkers in his Capital.
“Where are we going?” I asked while shifting in my seat. I was eager for a brief relief from the crowded transport and needed to use the facilities. My stomach rumbled after my question, and I remembered that it had been a while since I had eaten.
“Not far from here. Our contact lives close to the government building,” Tallis explained.
“Doesn’t that seem a bit risky?” Kemper asked.
“Lackley is over-confident in his authority,” Maverick answered. “He’s so convinced in his system that he wouldn’t think to find treason right under his nose, it’s brilliant, actually.” He shook his head, peering outside in disgust.
The transport pulled to a stop in front of a metal town house with long rectangular windows and a maroon door. It was three stories with a flat roof, typical for dignitaries and well-off families. In fact, it was almost identical to the Stonewell Manor, which made my heart clench. Familiar submissive feelings of unworthiness washed over me. I shivered in response.
We looked out of place, despite our wardrobe change. Prim men peered at us curiously while walking to work. The hot and thick dress that was tight against my frame was useless.
Huxley grabbed my hand, and I looked down at it in shock. “Keep close,” he whispered. “Cy will kill me if I let anything happen to you.”
“It’s okay to admit you want to take care of me,” I replied slowly in a low whisper just as Tallis knocked on the door. Huxley tensed and gripped my hand tighter.
An older man wearing a bronze ear tag opened the door and bowed respectfully to Tallis. He had salt and pepper hair, a young smile, and bright grey eyes.
“Welcome. I’m Claude, the Walker of this home. Master Lux has been expecting you.” He smiled and extended his arm, welcoming us inside.
I followed through the threshold as we were guided towards the sitting room. The room was completely covered in tones of navy and baby blue with gold accents. Plush couches and mahogany furniture filled the room .
I excused myself to freshen up in the bathroom, then traveled back towards the sitting room and found everyone casually lounging. Claude was resting on a chaise lounge with his feet propped up on the coffee table.
“Lux thinks more with his dick than with his brain,” the man said with a chuckle. He wiped tears of laughter from his cheeks while Tallis poured him a small glass of amber liquid. “I’ve been smuggling goods and Walkers through this house for years while he’s off gallivanting around the Empire!” he roared in a proud tone before shifting his eyes to me. “Oh, right dearie, I do most sincerely apologize for my language.” He whipped out a handkerchief and dabbed his sweaty forehead. He wore a dark suit but his shirt was wrinkled and unbuttoned, as if he only partially cared about his station here.
“I’m not bothered
by it, I live with this lot,” I said while throwing a thumb in Huxley’s direction, which made him scowl.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Huxley asked while crossing his arms over his chest.
“How’d you become a smuggler for Scavengers?” I asked, ignoring Huxley and taking a seat on the chase lounge next to Mia. She was also enjoying a tall glass of something that was clear and smelled like rubbing alcohol. She rested her head on my shoulder in contentment. Her eyes were hooded, and I wanted to chastise her for drinking before our mission but decided against it. Mia seemed to be the type to do whatever she wanted, and I didn’t want to anger her or become a victim of her knife throwing skills.
Huxley paced the room while occasionally stretching his muscles and peering anxiously out the windows. Jacob stuffed his face with what appeared to be cookies, while Kemper and Maverick argued about something on their tablets.
“I’ve been a Procured Walker my entire life. I was born into it. In fact, my Holder is actually my half-brother,” Claude said with a knowing smile. The implications of his statement made me gape at him. His Senior Master was his father.
“My mother caught our father’s eye, but she was just a Walker. When I was born, she was banished to the Walker Zones in Galla, but I was allowed to stay—as a procured Walker, of course. I was the bastard son of a Congressional seat holder, so the most I could hope for was a life of servitude in exchange for the vaccine.”
My heart sank, and I applied his life to mine and what could have happened if Josiah and I had explored a relationship together. Claude was proof that Walkers and the Elite didn’t mix—there were too many variables. Too many casualties.
“When my Master died, Lux stopped pretending he cared about the family legacy and started traveling to all the provinces with lenient gambling and prostitution rules. I was bored in this big old house and decided to make friends with a few people that could let me live out my rebellious tendencies.”
