“Three days a week you will work wherever we sit fit, earning your keep within this society. The other four you will be operating either with myself or another member of the guard. You will answer all questions we ask you and you will be forthright. In return I will provide you with the information we have gathered both about the Tribes and The Sanctuary.”
“And what if I don’t have the information you want?” I held her gaze.
“Your father’s notebook has obviously proven key to your survival here. To your advantage, most of his notes are coded and unreadable. I guarantee that between what’s in that pretty little head of yours and what’s scrawled in the journal, we can find a compromise.”
“And what will you do with that information?” I asked bluntly.
“Whatever we want to. If you prove useful, you may be privy to our plans. But until that point you will do as you’re told and play nice. If you cannot adhere to these guidelines the ramifications will be permanent.” Her chest rose and fell evenly as she awaited my answer.
Unfortunately, it didn’t feel like I was being given much of a choice. I seriously contemplated bashing in her smug face with my chair and rejoicing until the guards came for me, but a noise distracted me. Triven cleared his throat and I was reminded of those who needed me here. Of Mouse, who I promised I would return to.
“We have a deal.” My jaw clenched as the words slipped out.
To my surprise Arstid’s face did not break out into the smug smile I had expected. Instead her gaze hardened, as if she had wanted me to lash out, to defy her.
“We have a deal.”
Arden and Mouse were both waiting for me when I returned to our cell, their anxiety clearly dissipating when they saw me. We ate in silence until the lights turned out, my eyes constantly gravitating to the vent behind Arden’s bed. As Mouse’s breaths turned to light snores, Arden finally spoke to me.
“Do you think you’ll run if you get the chance?” His voice was barely a whisper.
“I’m afraid that chance has already passed.” I said and rolled over.
THE TATTERED PAPER of my father’s notebook crinkled beneath my fingers. I traced his writing with a heavy heart. I hated that I was giving away my father’s last words, the words that had kept me safe for so many years. I had already shared too much, given the last part of my parents I had to a stranger. A stranger I didn’t even trust.
Arstid’s pen tapped on the table, her impatience obvious. I ground my teeth thinking of Mouse again. I was doing this to protect the child, I reminded myself, to keep her from growing up alone and angry like I had. I took a deep breath before continuing.
“He wrote about what objects were good to trade. The basic necessities everyone needs to survive like food, water, shelter and clothing. This page is about seeking out other rogues in the city, possible locations they might hide.” I stopped, closing my father’s notebook. “That’s it essentially. I don’t know what else you thought you would find in his notes.”
Arstid sat back pressing the pen to her mouth. “I have to admit it’s not exactly what we had hoped for. The majority is just about survival skills. I had hoped there would be more about The Sanctuary or… I don’t know… something more.”
Disappointment etched her pointed face.
“Well I held up my end of the deal.” I said, reminding her I had played by the rules.
She waved me off. “I can’t believe you survived as long as you did on your own. I assumed your father’s book held something we didn’t know, but apparently you were just lucky.” She spit the word at me, knowing my distaste for it.
My jaw tightened. “Yeah, lucky.”
Because watching your parents get murdered was lucky. Growing up filled with hatred and distrust was lucky. I survived because I chose to, because I learned to take care of myself, because of my parents’ words. To her they were nothing, but to me they were the difference between life and death. And it was my choice, not luck, to withhold things that I knew, things that I didn’t write in the book. Fortunately, the book’s tattered state had hidden the page I ripped out. It was the only page I had ever removed from the book. It was also the best advice my father gave me.
“Don’t write everything down. Your thoughts and your knowledge are your own. If it is written down it can be stolen. The safest place in the world is in your own mind, no one can ever steal that from you.”
He was right. If being callous had taught me anything, it was how to keep a straight face while lying. Whenever Arstid’s keen eyes scrutinized me, I gave nothing away.
She knew how I moved from safe house to safe house at random. That I stole most of my reserves from the Ravagers—my own private attempt to weaken them one worthless bag of dried food at a time. She even knew about the Healer, but there were things I kept from her. Like the locations of more than half of my safe houses, every other outcast I traded with and what my real name was. Arstid knew my mother, but only by her first name. Apparently, The Sanctuary’s rebellion didn’t deal so well in trust either. She had told me very little about my parents except the fact that they were all from The Sanctuary, and that was about to change. It had been a week since we started our little meetings, and she owed me answers.
Crossing my arms, I fixed the white-haired woman in my gaze. “Your turn.”
Her snowy eyebrows rose, “Already bored of our little arrangement?”
“I have upheld my end of the deal and you have yet to uphold yours. I don’t believe you’re a deceitful person. Are you Arstid?” I smiled sweetly.
Her eyes narrowed.
“No, I am not. But the information I choose to share with you is privileged and if you divulge it to anyone outside of our walls, your death will not be gentle.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” I wasn’t scared of this woman. “What exactly is your objective here? You once lived within The Wall and yet you chose to leave. That could not have been without reason.”
“How much do you remember of your time within The Wall, Phoenix?”
It bothered me that she had not answered my question.
“Not very much.” This was an honest answer. “I remember reading with my father, my mother pushing me on a swing and my father carrying me through a tunnel to get here. Just small flashes of a meaningless childhood.”
“I know the tunnel you speak of. It is the same one that my family came through. As did the other members of the resistance. In all of your searches have you ever found it again?”
“No.” I had looked too. It was as if the city swallowed it whole.
“As the last of our members were coming through, the Minister had it blown up. Thirty-five people were buried alive in the blast. Only eleven of us managed to escape the city, and of those eleven, there are now only five of us left. Yourself included.”
The room fell silent as she waited for my response. When I said nothing, she continued.
“Your parents were the first through, as they were our leaders at the time. You can imagine how it looked when they were the only ones who managed to escape the tunnels unscathed. Someone had tipped off the Minister about our escape and then, when your parents were the only ones who didn’t make it to the rendezvous point it wasn’t hard to put the pieces together. We found their bodies not long after and assumed justice had been served. Now, in hindsight, it appears we may have been a little hasty in our judgments. But you can’t blame me for trusting my instincts.” She cast me a pointed look, implying she still did not trust my parents. And that she also felt the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. “It was presumed you died with them. Apparently, we were mistaken.”
“Apparently.” I agreed with a bitter smile, trying to swallow back the hatred I felt for her. How dare she imply my mother’s betrayal.
The noise of someone stirring behind me reminded me we were not alone. While I would never admit it, I was pleased that Triven had become my new guard.
Arstid continued, ignoring him. “All of our leaders were de
ad— either killed in the blast or murdered by the Tribes. Your mother, being one of them. Those of us who were left became stranded in this hellhole. If it weren’t for our knowledge of this barracks we would all be dead.”
“Barracks?” I looked closer at the cement walls surrounding us.
“This was an old military bunker, designed to save lives when The Devastation came. Once the world came to a standstill, its inhabitants left and sought out a new society. Soon thereafter, The Sanctuary was built and the Tribes were born. Fortunately for us, this place was forgotten.”
“So we’re underground?” My stomach rolled.
“Actually, we are pressed into the mountains that encase our fair city.”
It wasn’t the sewers, but it still felt harder to breath.
“You obviously hate this place as much as I do. Why did you leave The Sanctuary to come here?” I wondered.
“I suppose it is the Grass is Greener Theory. Tartarus may be a horrific place, but at least the Tribes embrace it. They don’t try to paint it as something it’s not. Inside The Wall, the government covers up their terribleness. Instead of being forthright, the government disguises their horrific actions with things like laws and self-proclaimed morality. At least here, you know you can’t trust anyone.” She looked pointedly at me. “While your mother may not have been the one who betrayed us, she was the one who led us here. And I would be lying if I said I wasn’t harboring a grudge. If we knew what it would cost us, no one would have come. I loathe both The Sanctuary and Tartarus. One city threatened to destroy my family and the other did. This city tore my life apart. It took my husband from me. And now both cities must pay.”
Arstid was right. You couldn’t trust anyone here, but the fastest way to unite people was to give them a common enemy. Regardless of what she thought about my parents and despite our distaste for one another, we sought the same goal, to see someone suffer for the loss of our families. These cities had robbed us of the only things we cared about and someone deserved to pay.
“It is our goal to infiltrate The Wall and bring down The Sanctuary from within, but to do that we must first overpower the Tribes. Justice is not something this world has seen in hundreds of years, and it is time someone started administering it.”
If destroying hell meant partnering with the devil, it was a risk I was willing to take.
“I’m in.”
THE UNFORTUNATE PART of caring about a person other than yourself, is that you become tethered to that someone. Suddenly every action you make has double the consequences, which not only affect yourself, but that other person as well.
I hated that feeling.
I have never had to think about anyone else before. Since the day my parents died, I have only had to think about my own survival. But now there were two of us to think about. I couldn’t even say what made me feel so protective of Mouse. Maybe it was that she reminded me of myself, a small child alone in the world. Not the me now, but the little girl who died that day in the alley with her parents. That little girl.
Maybe it was the way she exuded innocence, the way a child should. Maybe it was the way she looked at people with trusting eyes. The way she turned to me for protection, even though I was not the most trustworthy person. Still she looked to me for security, clung to my side when she was frightened. Mouse looked at me like I was a better person, and for her sake I wanted to be.
I just wasn’t sure I could be.
Some things that are broken stay broken. There is no putting the pieces back together.
The dreams still haunted me every morning. Nothing could change that. Even with the tiny, fragile body sleeping beneath my cot, a fresh scream caught in my throat choking me awake every day. Those dreams reminded me why I didn’t want to get close to others. Why I had chosen to be a recluse. After starting awake I would stare at the vent hidden behind Arden’s bed. Plans would form and my legs would itch for freedom.
Then the tiny hand would creep over the edge of my bed and I would stay.
We had found an odd rhythm to our days in captivity. A small part of me felt comfort in the routine. Every day was new, but the expectancies were the same— eat, work, divulge my secrets, eat, work, sleep. Each day moved like the consistent tick of my father’s pocket watch. That’s why when I awoke this morning I knew something was different.
When I jolted from my bed I could feel the room was different, that something was off. Even in the dark, I could feel it. Searching the barren room, my eyes lit on Arden’s bed.
It was empty.
I had heard him come in after lights out. I was sure of it.
Wasn’t I?
After working long days with Triven, I had begun to sleep too hard. I didn’t hear as much as I should have. A month ago I would have heard a moth’s wings and now I couldn’t remember whether or not a man had walked just three feet from me.
Matters only got worse when the lights came on. His bed was made. No, he did not sleep here last night.
As the footsteps came down the hall, the accusing words were out of my mouth before Triven could walk in.
“What have you done with Arden?”
No, not Triven.
Every nerve stood at attention as Maddox’s black eyes leered at me. I moved between him and Mouse, shielding her from his view.
“What, not happy to see your old friend?” Maddox taunted.
“Where is Arden?” I asked again.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Moving with surprising speed he grabbed my upper arm and yanked me against his chest, lifting me painfully, until my face was inches from his.
“Reckoning time has come.” His breath smelled foul.
I wanted to punch him. Break his nose and laugh as the blood poured down his chin. But Mouse was watching, her tiny feet shuffling behind us. I swallowed to keep from spitting in his smug face.
Someone else was coming, his or her footsteps rapidly approaching. Maddox kept his grip, but pushed me further away. I found myself actually hoping for Triven’s face to appear in the doorway, but I was disappointed. Veyron’s blonde head came into view as she pressed her hand to the scanner. Her blue eyes narrowed at us, but she said nothing.
“Mouse, do you want to go get some breakfast with me before class?” Veyron’s tone was motherly and comforting but Mouse recoiled from her. Her stringy hair draped her worried face as she shook her head. Normally she would have clung to my side, but it was obvious she was scared of Maddox.
“Mouse, you should go with Veyron. I am sure there is a wonderful breakfast waiting for you.” I was trying to keep my voice even, but she shook her head again.
I knew this day would come, the day they would tire of me. Since I arrived I knew it was only a matter of time before they disposed of me. She on the other hand was only a child. If I could keep her away from me she could still survive.
“Mouse, you have to go with her.” Her tears began to well, so I did the only thing I could. I lied. “Don’t cry silly. I just want to make sure you save me a seat. Maddox here is taking me to meet with Triven for a minute, but we are all going to be starving when we get back. So you had better save us some good stuff, okay?”
Her doe eyes were hesitant.
“Right Maddox?” I said through gritted teeth glaring at him.
“Right. Don’t worry Mouse, this won’t take long.” His smile was a little too harsh to be genuine.
I rearranged my expression before turning back to her. I think I smiled.
I watched as she took Veyron’s hand and followed her out of the cell. Her brown eyes were wide as she disappeared around the corner. I couldn’t speak. I knew I should have said something to soothe her further, found words to encourage her. But my mother’s last words had haunted me and I didn’t want to haunt Mouse.
I didn’t get the chance to mourn losing my small friend and truthfully it was better that way. As soon as their footfalls faded away, Maddox grabbed my bag with my few possessions safe inside and dra
gged me from the cell. I thought idly of the vent, but it was too late now. I didn’t fight as he dragged me through the tunnels. It was pointless. Even if I managed to overpower him, there was nowhere to go. Plus I was tired. The world had beaten me down over and over again. Before I was just too stupid to stay down. Not this time.
At first I feared Maddox might be the one to do it, but he moved with too much quickened ferocity. If he was taking me for his own pleasure, he would have taken his time, enjoyed my discomfort. No, he was not enjoying this. He was moving on someone else’s orders. This was business not pleasure. Still, his fingers dug into my arm and I knew they would leave marks. At least I wouldn’t see my end at his hands. I wanted to stay down this time and let the world finally win. But if it were at his hands I would not go quietly. In fact, I was pretty sure I would kill him first if given the chance.
The curved walls all looked the same, but I knew them now. Even in the despairing sea of grey concrete, I knew we were going to the meeting room crammed with furniture. The rapture had come and no one can outrun their offenses forever.
His fingers didn’t loosen when he knocked on the doors. I am not sure what I expected when the doors finally opened, but it definitely wasn’t what I saw. The room was filled with people. Some of them I recognized, but the most predominate face in the crowd was Triven’s. His hazel eyes tightened as they fell on Maddox’s grip on my arm. The room was buzzing like angry bees.
“Quiet down please.” I hadn’t even noticed Arstid until she spoke. She was sitting at the round table looking intently at me. “We have been called here today to pass judgment on this young woman.”
My face tightened. I wasn’t just being sentenced. I was being put on trial.
“This young specimen was found in an alley trying to protect the mute child from the Ravagers. Single-handedly, she was able to kill three Tribe members and permanently blind one.”
That was a fact I was proud of, but the tone in Arstid’s voice was far too contemptuous for my liking. I had a bad feeling where she was going with this.
New World Rising Page 7
