“Because it’s scarier. It frightens people into submission. And I know about Crew because he told me. His wife, Marian, convinced him to join the resistance. The newlyweds and Gretchen came to our house for resistance meetings. He told us all. He told us every detail.”
In the shadows, I saw movement. The girls were all nodding. I felt as though I’d been punched in the stomach. “He did it all?”
“Yes. He did. He deserves to be where he’s at.”
“He’s going to be beheaded?”
“Yes.” Laney’s eyes challenged mine.
“When?”
“Midday today.”
“That’s in hours!” My palms started sweating.
Laney approached and grabbed my arms. “Look, I know you liked him, but you didn’t really know him.”
I shook my head. “No. He changed. He realized that it was wrong, that he was wrong. He promised to make it all right.”
“How did he make anything right? By coming to our meetings? How do we know he wasn’t a spy? We never told him anything. You can’t trust him, Abby. He’s just like his father—manipulative and dangerous.”
I looked over at Gray. “He doesn’t deserve to die.”
He looked away. Laney spoke up. “Yes, he does. I know what they did to you. They did the same thing to us.”
I stopped walking. My legs wouldn’t work. Laney and Gray crouched beside me next to a rickety house. The others ran over and joined us.
“They took your eggs?”
“Not in the first round. The first round of implantations were you. But to prevent incest and birth defects in future Greaters, they started further rounds. They said they would have to keep track of each child and track parentage to prevent future genetic problems, or so they said. They had planned to separate the children once they were old enough in order to prevent any occurrences of incest.”
I cringed.
Laney giggled. “Gross, I know, but think about it. How would they know who their parents were?” She shuttered.
I ground my teeth together and swallowed hard. Do I go for Crew or stay with the train? I didn’t want to get caught in the fighting that was about to unfold. “We have to tell the Lessers to get into the tunnels.”
“They will,” Izabel said. “At the first sign of trouble, that’s where they’ll go. It’s the safest place. The Greaters don’t know about them.”
Gray’s comm buzzed in his hand. “It’s from Kyan. The train’s leaving. Looks like our decision was made for us.”
“Do you think they know?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me at this point,” he answered. “Not much does anymore.”
The train’s great engine roared to life and we began inching forward through the yard. Metal on metal screeched as the great weight of the cars bore down on the wheels and the wheels upon the tracks.
We were in the last train car. Gray kept the door slid open a few feet. We needed air. No one would be checking the train now that we were moving. I settled in beside him. His arms were propped up on his knees and he stared out the window at the passing sights.
“Are you going to miss it?” I waited for his answer.
“No,” he quickly replied.
“Why?”
“It’s not my home.”
I squinted at him. “What do you mean?”
He looked over at me for a second. “I just don’t belong there. I was assigned to Olympus. I grew up in Everest.”
“Your family.” I gasped and my fingers reached to cover my mouth. It just hit me. The virus. His parents were dead.
“I know.”
“Gray, I’m so sorry.”
He shrugged, but kept silent. His silence was only betrayed by the storm raging in his burnt orange eyes. We left the Lesser section and we’re headed for the wall. It spit us out, but didn’t slam closed behind us. Another supply train was passing in the opposite direction, heading straight toward it.
I never saw it coming. Neither did the others. I knew Vesuvius was going in on a train, but the blast and subsequent quaking weren’t something I considered. The Vesuvians were on the passing train and they had some sort of crazy weapon. It blew a huge section of the wall to bits. Tiny rocks and debris littered the top of the train car. Gray covered me with his body as the train car rocked to and fro, threatening to tip over.
“Son of a—you have to be kidding me! We barely got out!” Gray was fuming. He clenched and unclenched his fists. “Are you okay, Abs?” He pulled me into his lap and looked me over. I was fine, scared but not hurt or injured. “You’re shaking, Abby.”
The Vesuvians were going to level the city. A lot of people were going to die. We didn’t have time to warn them, warn anyone other than who they wanted us to warn. We were once again pawns in a Greater game for power.
The sound of bombs and screams were the last sounds I heard as we sped away from Olympus.
The remainder of the trip was spent in silence and for some reason, the train was traveling excruciatingly slowly. We were all in shock. We’d never seen or felt anything like what we saw. When my mother said that Vesuvius was sending in soldiers, I thought that was what she meant. I had no idea about the weaponry, about the bombs. The smoke that blew over us for the first part of the trip home, still lingered in my hair and clothing when we approached Orchard.
When the train finally ground to a stop at the depot, the sun was setting. Gray helped me stand up and I stretched as well as I could. Nausea rolled through me not because of the baby, but because of what had happened and all that I’d seen.
I wondered how many Olympians lay dead. How many buildings had burned or crumbled to the ground? I wondered about the Lessers, if Gretchen had the chance to escape. But Crew’s face kept finding its way into my periphery.
I know what Laney said and as hard as it was to hear her words, I believed them. Crew was manipulative. He’d proven that time and time again. The sad part was that I didn’t think he realized that he was. I don’t know if he ever saw that he and his father were wrong. He would say so. He swore that he would make it right.
But, in the end, he would try to please his father. It’s just what he did, regardless of the consequences. He wanted his father’s love and approval. They were the only things he didn’t have. In all of the opulence of that palace, it was the simplest things that were missing. And Crew had spent his entire life trying to fill that cavernous hole of his father’s affections with no success whatsoever.
We were met by Kyan, Julia, and my mother. Normally, I would have run to Kyan for support and comfort, but that had to end, and it had to end now. I didn’t feel like talking. Truthfully, the only thing I felt like doing was slamming my fist into a Vesuvian. I doubted that would go over well. And now, I had to consider the welfare of my child before my emotions.
The trio waited, expectantly. I could imagine the hurt in Kyan’s eyes, so I didn’t bother to look at him. Laney led the girls into the village, her head held high. Gray looked at me and I held his gaze. Not a single word had to be spoken between us. He held out his hand and I accepted it. We passed the others and headed into the village, bypassing Kyan’s house.
We walked with heavy legs and heavier minds and hearts past the square, and we passed cabin after cabin that sporadically dotted the land until we stood in front of my cabin. The Olympian guards were gone and the Vesuvians had apparently set up shop somewhere else. I was prepared to ask them to leave. It was my house and I wanted to go home.
Gray quickly moved to build a fire and soon it was crackling and roaring. I searched the cupboard for something to cook and soon had assembled a simple vegetable soup in a Dutch oven. Gray hung it over the fire and then pushed an oversized chair in front of the fire. I grabbed a blanket and met him there.
Tucked into his side, I pulled the blanket over us both. He rubbed the corners of his eyes. We drifted off to sleep together, silent and spent.
I woke up a few hours later. It was dark outside. Careful not to wake Gray,
I got up and tucked the blanket back over him. I lit the candles in the windows. With each strike of the match, I remembered the explosion, the smell of sulfur, and destruction. I could still hear the sounds of a crumbling empire.
But an empire isn’t made of one man. It is made of many. I wondered how many Olympians had realized that, how many had lost their lives. Dead was the ultimate equalizer. It didn’t discriminate amongst its victims, didn’t care which was Greater and which was Lesser.
I made my way outside to relieve myself and wash the soot I was fairly certain was on my face. When I got back, I checked the soup and found the vegetables to be soft. Nudging Gray’s shoulder, I whispered, “Wake up.”
His eyes opened quickly and he grabbed my wrist. He looked around and then loosened his grip. “You’re okay. We’re at my cabin, remember?”
“Yeah.” His voice was raspy. “I’m sorry, Abs.”
“It’s okay. Sorry to wake you, but the soup’s ready and I figured you were starving. I know I am.”
“You’re eating for two.”
I smiled slightly. “Yeah. I am.”
I filled two bowls with the steaming goodness and grabbed two spoons. I pulled a kitchen chair over and sat near the fire. The cold had seeped into my bones, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t get warm.
“What’s going to happen, Gray?”
He looked up at me, his spoon positioned in mid-air halfway between his bowl and his mouth.
“I don’t know.” He wanted to say something else but stopped.
“What is it?”
He shook his head.
“Gray. Tell me.”
“Vesuvius is bad news.”
I looked directly at his worn face. “Did you know they were capable of all that destruction?”
He nodded. “Yeah. All of the Greaters were well armed, even against each other.”
“How are we supposed to fight back against that?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
∞
The front door of the cabin opened and Kyan stepped inside. Judging from the look on his face, he was mad. “What’s wrong with you, Abby Blue?”
“What?”
“Why aren’t you at my place?”
“I’m staying here. This is my home.”
“How’d you know the Vesuvians weren’t here?”
I looked at him. “I didn’t.”
He shook his head, his lip snarled in disgust. “What were you gonna do, ask them to leave?”
“I wasn’t planning to ask. It’s my house.”
“You think they care about that?” He looked back and forth between Gray and me, and our soup.
“Hungry?” The quickest way to make Kyan happy had always been through his stomach. It was like an empty pit.
“Soup?” He sniffed the air.
“Yeah. Want a bowl?”
He pointed at me accusingly. “Stop distracting me with food.”
I laughed. “Kyan, you never could say no to my soup.”
Gray cleared his throat but kept eating quietly.
Kyan’s jaw worked back and forth. “What’s he doing here?” He ticked his head at Gray.
“He’s staying with me.”
“Is that how it’s gonna be?”
Gray’s eyes found mine. I think he was as curious as Kyan was.
“Yes.”
“Unbelievable, Abby Blue. You know how I feel—”
“Kyan, I know! I know how you feel and I’m sorry.” I softened my voice. “I am so sorry that I don’t feel the same way. You have no idea. But I’m not going to pretend that I do. It wouldn’t be fair, not to you or me. I can’t do that. You have to let me go.”
“Fine. This is me letting you go.”
He looked at me one last time before stomping out of the room and slamming the door behind him. I looked at the soup and then back at the door. I finally felt Gray move behind me. His hand found my hips and pulled me back until my back met his chest. He snaked his arms around my stomach and rested his chin on my shoulder. “It’ll be okay. Give him time.”
I nodded. If I spoke, I would burst into tears. I loved Kyan. Not in a romantic way, but I loved him just the same. And my heart hurt along with his.
Gray’s voice smoothly slid over my skin. “He needed to hear it.”
I nodded and a tear slipped out of my eye and carved a path down my cheek. I wiped it away. Gray moved my hair out of the way and rubbed his mouth over the curve of my neck. Back and forth, languidly. His soft lips grazed my skin, making it pebble.
He walked me slowly back to the plush chair we’d cuddled up in earlier. He sat down, pulling me down on top of him. Gray pulled my legs up over the chair leg and held them still. His other arm was wrapped around me, rubbing lazy circles over my side.
His eyes never left mine, but somehow I missed the fact that he was so close. It startled me a little when his lips brushed over mine. He paused, waiting for permission. I leaned up and placed a light kiss on the corner of his lips. That was all it took.
His lips were on a mission to find mine and before I knew it, I was straddling his lap, enjoying every stroke of his tongue, every time his teeth took my lower lip captive. His hands pressed the small of my back, and soon I was clawing at him, just trying to get closer.
“Shhh.” He broke away from me. “God, Abs. We have to stop.”
I shook my head. “We don’t have to.”
He smiled up at me, his orange eyes sparkling. “Yes, we do.”
What was he doing to me?
“Let’s go to bed.” I raised my eyebrows. Gray snorted. “To sleep, Abs.”
“On one condition.”
“What’s that?” he asked.
“You sleep with me.”
He smiled. “I can handle that.” He lifted me off his lap and we made our way to my room to get some much-needed rest.
I couldn’t believe her. I knew she’d never led me on, but I thought that with time, she’d come around. Guess I was wrong. I trudged up the pathway that led to my parents’ place. I needed to see Mom while I could. I’d have to be back at work soon.
The first thing I noticed when I walked into the cabin was how dark it was. There was a fire, but it was burnt down to embers. Their orange-red glow flickered across the floor-boards. Surely they weren’t asleep yet.
I hung up my coat and all but tip-toed inside.
“Kyan?” my father yelled from the bedroom.
“Yeah.”
“You better hurry.”
Hurry?
I rushed into the room to find Mom lying in the bed, pillows propped behind her back lifting her up just enough to help her breathe. “Mom?”
“Kyan?” It sounded like razor blades were slicing her throat when she rasped.
I looked at Dad, who sat beside her on the bed, holding her hand. “Did you call for me?”
He nodded.
“I didn’t know. I was at Abby’s.”
“When are you gonna get it, Son?”
“Get what?”
“She isn’t the one for you,” he bit out.
“I don’t know, Dad. I wish I did though.”
His glare softened and he nodded.
Mom spoke up. “She’s always been your friend. That’s all you two need to be.”
“Is this because she’s part Greater?”
“No!” Mom’s voice shrilled. “It’s because we hate seeing you hurt.”
A coughing fit seized her and Dad handed her his handkerchief. She coughed until she was gasping for air and too tired to do it anymore. When she handed me the small square of white fabric, it was stained red.
“I love you, Kyan. I want to see you happy. It’s all I want for you.” She squeezed my hand and pulled me toward her. I hugged her. She was so small and frail now. It took every ounce of strength in me not to bawl like a baby when she hugged me.
Dad nodded toward a wooden chair behind me. I scooted it forward until I was seated next to her. We both held her hand unt
il she gave up the ghost and slipped out of this world. It was just after one o’clock in the morning.
I didn’t bother telling Abby the next morning. I needed distance, and she sure had made it clear that she did. My Dad and I dug my mom’s grave deep into the frozen earth. We didn’t speak much while we took turns throwing shovels full of dirt out onto the growing mound beside us, but we did agree not to tell anyone about her. Who knew what Vesuvius would do. My mother was not a test subject. She was born, lived, and died in Orchard and that’s where we would bury her. Period.
“Kyan?” Oh, no. Not her. I threw my shovel down and took off toward the cabin. I found Julia on the front porch, knocking on the door.
“Hey.”
She grasped her chest. “You startled me, Kyan,” She giggled slightly.
“Sorry about that. Um, I’ll be in later. I have a family matter to take care of.”
Her eyes scoured me.
“Why are you muddy?”
I blew out a breath and scrubbed my neck.
“Look, can you keep something to yourself. I don’t want anyone to know yet, especially not your superiors.”
“Of course, Kyan. I will keep our conversation between the two of us.”
Her dark eyes searched my face.
“My mom passed away last night. My Dad and I are digging her grave.” I choked on the last word. It was the first time I said the words out loud.
She gasped and covered her mouth with her dainty fingers. What surprised me most was when her eyes welled with tears that spilled over onto those fingers. “Oh, Kyan. I am so very sorry.”
“Thanks.”
“I lost my parents only two months ago,” she cried.
“I’m sorry, Julia. I had no idea.”
She ran across the porch and threw her arms around my neck. Julia was so short that her legs dangled down as she clung to me. I patted her back, rubbing the strange material of her jumpsuit as she cried for us both.
Finally calming down, she sniffed and wiped her nose on my shirt. I should have been grossed out but she was so sweet, I couldn’t be. Sliding down to the planks below, she stepped back and said, “Kyan, I can help prepare her, if you would like. I can dress her. That way your father and you will not have to do it.”
Resist (The Harvest Saga Book 2) Page 12
