Raging Sea

by Michael Buckley

  “He’s really not such a bad guy, just cranky,” Sloan says.

  The boys give her a “look who’s talking” look.

  She punches each one in the arm.

  Lucas waves toward the seats. I was so overcome by the architecture, I didn’t notice that there are people sitting out there, maybe thirty of them, both men and women, some teens and small children.

  “Who are they?” I ask, peering out at their faces.

  “Coasters,” he says.

  “Malik has been taking them in,” Duck says. I can hear the respect he has for the boy in every word.

  We descend a small flight of stairs and walk up the sloped floor. All the way, faces stare out at me. There are people in this theater who are brown and white and red and yellow. There probably isn’t a better example of what America professes to be than in this room. Now they are refugees, unwanted in their own country.

  “They all paid some guys to hide them in a truck and drive them across the borders. They were told they would be taken somewhere nice and put in a motel, but instead they got robbed and dumped in the middle of the desert in the pitch-dark. Every week there’s more. Malik and I go out and check from time to time, then bring them back here,” Lucas explains.

  “How do you get them back here?” Bex asks.

  “I’ve got a truck,” he says.

  “You’ve got electricity, too,” Bex cheers, pointing to some lights glowing in the balconies and the back of the theater.

  “We’ve got hot water,” Lucas says. “You could take a bath in one of the sinks.”

  “If that is some kind of crack about how I look, I don’t even care,” I say with a laugh.

  “Nothing wrong with the way you look,” he says.

  I blush.

  “Look who gets to be the hot one,” Bex whispers to me.

  “Where should we sleep?” I ask.

  “Find a spot. Anywhere, really,” Lucas says, then points to one of the balconies that overlooks the stage. “Except for there. That’s Malik’s. He keeps his prayer rug up there, so be cool and find somewhere else. The place is huge. There’s a couple rules. You can’t hang around outside, and when you go, you need to use the tunnels. This place is off the town’s radar at the moment. It has been closed for years, but when they shut it down they left the power and water on, which tells me someone still owns it and has plans for it someday. I have to assume it’s a big company that doesn’t care that it keeps getting bills, but there’s no point drawing attention if we don’t have to.”

  “Got it. We’ll be gone in the morning,” I promise.

  “I said the same thing when I walked through that tunnel at the back of the theater,” he confesses. “Ignore what Malik said about leaving tomorrow. If you need to stay, you can. We’re all here for as long as there’s no place else to go.”

  At some point a bottle of vodka gets passed around. It’s the cheapest brand you can buy and bottled in a big plastic jug, which is never a good sign. I pass on it, but Sloan and Lucas each have a pull. They pass it on to Bex and Duck. I gave her a worried look and she gave me the thumbs-up expression. She upends the bottle, taking a long, slow drink, then wipes her mouth on her shirtsleeve.

  “Easy there, cowgirl,” I say, trying to take it from her.

  She takes another swig.

  “Don’t spoil the fun, Walker,” she teases.

  Duck takes a drink himself, then drags Bex out of her seat.

  “C’mon, I’ll show you where I sleep,” Duck says. I expect her to pull back, and for a moment she does stand her ground.

  “Duck, let’s keep the down low on where they’re from,” Lucas says in a low tone. “Some people will freak.”

  He nods, then gives Bex another pull. This time she lets him, and they skip into the darkness. I’m about to follow them when Lucas stops me.

  “He’s harmless.”

  “She’s just very vulnerable right now,” I say.

  “So is he. Are you harmless?”

  “Most of the time,” I say as I look down at my glove. “And you? Anything I need to worry about?”

  “Best behavior,” he says. Oh, boy, he’s flirting again.

  “We must talk about Bex Conrad,” Arcade says. “There is no room in my plan for her. We will leave her here when we go on to Tempest.”

  “What? No!” I cry.

  “I am speaking to him,” Arcade says, gesturing to Lucas.

  “What? I’m confused,” he says.

  “You take in those without a home. I ask you to take in another. Our companion, Bex Conrad, cannot go any farther with us,” Arcade says.

  “No, Arcade. I can’t leave her,” I say.

  “She is thin and weak. She has no combat training. She has never drawn the blood of an enemy. She will only act as a distraction and get in our way,” she argues with me.

  “Keep it down,” I warn her, turning in my seat to make sure we’re not being overheard.

  “What is happening tomorrow?” Lucas whispers.

  “Death,” Arcade says matter-of-factly.

  “I am not killing anyone,” I remind her. “I’m not made like you, Arcade. I can’t just kill someone ’cause they’re in my way. The people we’re going to run into in Tempest aren’t the evil ones doing all the terrible stuff. We’re going to be fighting the guards, at least at first, and they’re just doing their jobs.”

  “What is Tempest?” Sloan asks.

  “It is a house of evil where my people are imprisoned,” Arcade explains, then turns back to me. “You see these guards as people who are just doing their jobs? Lyric Walker, the men who guard the camp are no less evil than the ones who work within. They labor to protect the horrors the others commit. You spoke to Terrance Lir, correct? He told you what happens there. They cut him open and emptied him out, filled his blood with poisons, and took saws to his bones. What was the word he used to describe it?”

  “Torture,” I say, ashamed.

  “The surface dweller excels at the vile arts. It is dishonorable. I will kill anyone in that camp who participated in it—even the fools who sweep the floors. There are no innocents at Tempest, and I will make an example out of every last one. They will sing songs to warn the future never to practice this torture again or else face being cut down.”

  “I think we can rescue everyone without killing people,” I argue.

  She shakes her head.

  “You are not that naive.”

  “What the hell are you people involved in?” Sloan demands.

  “Bex Conrad does not have to die,” Arcade says. “If you value her life, then you must put her safety first. She will most certainly die if we take her to the camp. Leave her here where she will be safe.”

  “I’m the only person she has left in this world,” I cry. “If I dump her here, she will never forgive me. She’s been abandoned so many times, I just can’t do it to her again. She’s been by my side nearly every day since the fifth grade. How do I walk away now?”

  “Look at yourself, Lyric Walker. Look at me. We are Alpha. She is not one of us. This is not her fight. The men who are following us already tried to kill her once. Do you think they will go easier on her when we break into their camp? If she dies, it will have been avoidable and it will be as if you killed her yourself.”

  Arcade is right. Leaving Bex here is cruel, like letting a puppy loose on the freeway because you can’t take care of it anymore, but at least she’ll live.

  “We can take her, of course,” Lucas says.

  “When we are done, we come back for her,” I insist.

  “If that gives you a reason to fight, then so be it,” Arcade says. “In the morning we depart on our own. I must go and speak to the Great Abyss.”

  “The great who?” Lucas says, but Arcade doesn’t answer. She stands and vanishes into the shadows, leaving Sloan, Lucas, and me alone.

  “So, you’re being followed?” Sloan asks.

  “I blew up the world. Didn’t you hear about it?”


  “I heard things,” Sloan says.

  “Not true things.”

  “Gimme some truth,” she says.

  “My mother is what is called a Sirena,” I confess.

  “Which one is that?”

  “As close to a mermaid as it gets.”

  “So you’re half mermaid? Do you grow a tail?” Lucas asks after he takes a swig.

  “Nope. Sorry if that’s what you’re into,” I reply, snatching the bottle for myself. I take a cringing gulp.

  “It’s horrible, isn’t it? I thought it would get better after a few drinks.” He laughs.

  “Can the two of you focus?” Sloan complains, then peers around again to make sure we’re still having a private conversation.

  “She was part of a group of twenty who came to the surface to learn about humans, and before you ask, yes, she was a spy, but she didn’t know it at the time. She’s a good person.”

  “With a tail,” Lucas says. He’s a little drunk.

  Now I laugh. “With a tail.”

  “They say you made that tidal wave,” Sloan says.

  “They say a lot of things about me. The truth is I tried to stop it, and in exchange, someone kidnapped my parents and put them in a torture camp, along with a bunch of Alpha and their children.”

  “And that’s Tempest? Where you’re going tomorrow?” Sloan asks.

  I nod.

  “Tough girl, huh?” She gets up from her seat and gives me a nod. “Good luck. I’m gonna go feed the dogs.”

  A moment later, she’s gone. I turn to Lucas. He is all smiles. I know that look, full of nerves and anticipation. I know that he’s working on his bravery, and Sloan left because she’s trying to help him. Nice wingman.

  “I’m not going to kiss you,” I say, blurting it out a little too harshly.

  He looks at me hard for a minute, then shrugs.

  “That came out wrong,” I backtrack. “You’re cute enough. It’s just, I’ve got a . . . I’m in love with somebody.”

  “Lucky guy.”

  “I hope so,” I whisper.

  Chapter Nine

  BEX!

  I wake with a start. I’m in an old army cot in a dusty room filled with broken theater seats and yellowing movie posters, and I’m all alone.

  I left her with a boy I don’t know, and now my mind is working overtime, conjuring up endless ugly scenarios of what he did to her. Rule number one of the girl code is not to leave your friends alone with boys and not to let yourself be alone with one for too long. I’m not saying all boys are bad, but some boys are very bad. If she’s hurt, I will never forgive myself. I can’t believe I ever considered leaving her here with these people. I have to find her—now!

  I push through the door into a hallway I don’t recognize. It feels like I’m underground, though—it’s cool and slightly damp. I find a flight of steps and race up and find I’m backstage. I step around the curtain, hop off the stage, and run up the aisle past sleeping people. She’s not in the auditorium.

  I charge into the lobby and up an elegant staircase. It leads to the second-floor balcony and the projection room. I push open one door after another and peer inside, waking up entire families. They stare at me in bewilderment. I don’t stop to apologize. I find a door with a sign that reads STAFF ONLY, and I force it open. There I find my friend sobbing.

  “Bex?”

  “Hey, what up?” Duck is sitting on the floor, no shirt, but wearing a sheepish grin.

  There’s not a lot of thought that goes into what happens next. My hand explodes with power, I hear a pipe calling out to me behind this dumb boy’s head, and I cause it to crack open. The water breaks through the wall, grabs him around the neck, and slams him to the floor.

  Bex is shouting something at me, but I don’t really hear it with all the rage in my ears. I am sick of people hurting the ones I love. I’m not going to take it anymore, especially not from some street rat with a face full of piercings. I’m going to fight back from now on!

  “What is wrong with you?” Bex says, stepping between me and my newfound punching bag. “Let him go!”

  “He doesn’t get to touch you!” I shout.

  “He didn’t do anything wrong!” Bex cries.

  It takes me a second to process what she said, but when I do, I turn off the glove.

  “Then why are you crying?”

  She looks at me with such disdain that I feel myself take a step back.

  “I know that you want to make everything stop hurting,” I say. “But this isn’t the way. He would be sad if he knew what you were doing.”

  “Shadow is not here, Lyric. He left me,” she cries.

  “He didn’t leave you—”

  “He left me. He’s gone. Just like my father and Tammy.”

  “You don’t know if Tammy’s—”

  “She’s dead, Lyric. That’s one of the only two options a person has when they get close to me. They either walk out or die—either way, ‘See you later!’” she rages.

  “C’mon, I’ll get you cleaned up,” I say.

  “Dead people don’t get to tell me what to do!”

  “I’m not dead!” I shout.

  “You will be.”

  “What is going on in here?” Malik cries as he barges into the room. People have gathered in the doorway to watch our fight. Many of them are staring at me in complete terror. They saw me turn my glove on Duck, and they know who and what I am.

  “Bex, we need to go.”

  “Get away from me, Lyric!” she shouts, and something in her eyes tells me she means forever.

  This is it. It’s the perfect time to grab my stuff, find Arcade, and leave. She’s angry at me, and I will always hate myself for ditching, but it’s all laid out for me to go.

  “Fine,” I say, because I can’t find any words that explain everything I’m feeling. I turn and push my way through the crowd.

  “Are you okay?” Lucas asks, bounding up the steps to meet me.

  I can’t talk. I want to be outside. This building is too crowded with ugly feelings, and the crowd is following me. Malik is with them. He hurries behind me with my pack in his hands.

  “You need to go,” he says.

  “We’re leaving right now,” I say.

  He tosses me the pack, and it’s empty. Every single thing I took from the Piggly Wiggly is gone. There’s also something else missing.

  “Where’s my phone?”

  “What phone?” Malik asks.

  “My phone. Where is it?” I shout, digging deeper into nothing. The power cord is missing too.

  “I didn’t take your phone,” he says as he backs away.

  “Someone stole it!” I cry. “I need that phone.”

  “You gotta keep an eye on your stuff,” Malik lectures.

  “My life is on it,” I cry as the pictures of my parents and Fathom fly by in my imagination. Every picture of Bex is on it too. “I’m not leaving without it.”

  “Go, or I will make you go,” he threatens.

  “You challenge her,” Arcade snarls as she appears at the top of the steps. “Please, amuse me by showing me exactly how you plan to make us go anywhere.”

  “Arcade, it’s fine,” I beg, stepping in between them. “We don’t have time for this.”

  Arcade shoves me aside.

  “This is your house and it is full of thieves,” she says, pressing her face close to his. “Bring her property to me, or you will pay for the crime yourself.”

  “I don’t have her stupid phone!” he bellows.

  “Everyone just calm down,” Lucas says, leading me down the steps. Arcade reluctantly follows but only after I beg her. “Where did you see the phone last?”

  “I thought I had it on me when I fell asleep. Would one of these people sneak in and take it?”

  “These are desperate people, but they’re good, too,” he says. I doubt it. “You had a lot to drink. Let’s go down to the auditorium and look under the seats.”

  “If you call
it, I’ll hear the ring,” I explain when we reach the first floor.

  “You don’t have your phone turned on, do you?” he stammers.

  “Yeah, of course.”

  “Lyric, phones can be tracked!”

  “Only if I make a call,” I argue.

  “There’s a GPS built into smartphones so police can find you if you’re having an emergency, whether you call or not,” he cries. “Didn’t you say you were being followed? If that’s true, they know exactly where you are right now.”

  Malik rushes down the stairs, his eyes crazed and aggressive.

  “You’re one of those mermaid freaks!” he shouts at me.

  Before I can stop her, she ejects her blades. Screams fill the room, and people fall over themselves trying to put distance between us and them.

  Arcade’s arm slashes through the air, and suddenly a thin trail of blood drips down Malik’s face. She only nicked him, but there’s a lot of blood.

  “No bottom-feeding human filth is going to call me that word again,” Arcade says.

  I grab Arcade by the arm and pull her into the auditorium. Everyone has gathered and is following our every step. Paranoia grows around their thoughts like a choking vine. Something bad will happen soon. It always does.

  “You should go,” Lucas says. “And you should probably take your friend with you.”

  Bex pushes through the crowd until she’s in my face.

  “Walk out or die. You’re doing both.”

  I fumble for the right words, finally giving up when I realize there are none.

  “I was going to come back for you.”

  Bex blanches.

  “Is this your idea or hers?” she asks Arcade.

  “Your usefulness has come to an end. We go on to Tempest without you,” Arcade says coolly.

  “Bex, I’m trying to keep you alive,” I plead. “We’re going to find the camp today, most likely, and then it’s going to get ugly. People will get hurt, and I don’t want you in the middle of it. We’re only doing what’s best for you!”

  “Enough! It is settled,” Arcade says. “We are leaving now! Forget the phone.”

  It kills me to leave it behind, but I have no choice. I follow the Triton girl down the sloping floor and up to the stage. People are throwing things at us, mostly plastic bottles, but I see a chair cushion whiz past my head and know how this all ends. The mob isn’t going to let us leave. They think I took their homes from them. They believe Arcade and I brought the monsters that destroyed their lives.