by Valerie Puri
Travis thought about Ethan’s idea. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best plan they had.
Ethan pulled a rag from his pocket and placed it over his hand to prevent him from getting burned on the hot light. Travis watched as Ethan stood on the tips of his toes and reached for the light bulb with his cloth-covered hand. Just as Ethan was about to unscrew the bulb, the light intensity wavered drastically from dim to incredibly bright. As the light fluctuated, a scream pierced through the air.
The scream sounded far away through the thick door, but it definitely came from a female. Ethan froze and looked at Travis. When the screaming stopped, the bulb emitted a steady, buzzing light again.
“What was that?” Travis whispered.
“I don’t know, but that means its time to hurry. Get in position over there.” Ethan said, and he unscrewed the bulb.
Darkness enveloped them, and Travis heard glass shattering as the bulb fell to the ground. Three deliberate knocks broke the silence as Ethan rapped on the door. They waited. The panel of metal covering the viewing slit slid open, and a small rectangle of light appeared on the ground between Travis and Ethan.
“What are you waiting for, Goggles? Let him in.” Sash said.
“I can’t see who it is; it is completely dark out there,” came the voice of another man. “You probably blew out the light just now.”
“It doesn’t matter if you can’t see him, you know Victor knocks three times. Do you want to anger him by making him wait in the dark?” Sash asked in a threatening tone.
Three knocks, Travis thought, Ethan made a lucky guess. The small rectangle of light on the ground disappeared as the metal panel slid back into place. Travis heard rusty gears grinding together as the door’s locking mechanism disengaged. Travis swallowed the lump in his throat, gripped Jennie’s bag tightly in one hand and the riding crop in the other. They had never discussed what they would do once they actually got inside the door.
The door swung inward, and Ethan’s knife glinted in the stark light. The ranger lunged inside the room, throwing his elbow into the throat of the man who opened the door. He let out a croaking cry of pain and fell to his knees clutching his neck. He wore strange goggles over his eyes; this must be who Sash referred to as ‘Goggles’. Travis tentatively followed Ethan inside with his whip at the ready. He saw Belle standing at the edge of the room with wide-eyed surprise.
“And just who might you be?” Sash snarled, as he crossed the room towards Ethan.
Sash was bigger than Ethan, and very quick. Meeting Ethan in the center of the room, Sash kicked at him. Ethan jumped left, but the heel of Sash’s foot caught him in the thigh. Ethan grunted and stumbled backwards into a stand with a tray of metal instruments on it. The stand tipped over, and the contents of the tray clattered to the ground.
Sash took two long strides and was face-to-face with Ethan. Ethan hastily backed up and tripped on the overturned stand, causing him to fall to the floor. His dagger flew out of his hand and slid across the tile. Sash hurdled over the stand and approached Ethan, who scooted away from him. Ethan’s left hand landed on a metal rod the size of a pencil with a small blade on the tip. He picked it up and jabbed it into Sash’s leg. Sash let out a low growl and threw a punch. Releasing the instrument, Ethan rolled underneath the table where Jennie was, evading Sash’s blow.
Sash growled with rage, and his entire face turned a deep reddish purple color. He reached down and grabbed the metal tool protruding from his leg. He ripped it out with a yell of rage. Sash dropped the bloodied instrument to the ground and lunged across Jennie to grab at Ethan, who had been working on unbuckling Jennie’s straps. He leaned away from Sash and barely escaped his grasp. Sash’s ears were turning red as the pigment of his fury spread beyond his face.
“You little blighter. Let’s make this interesting,” Sash snarled.
Sash reached over to the machine Jennie was connected to and turned a dial. The bright lights in the room flickered, and Jennie screamed in pain. Leaving the dial engaged, Sash stepped away from the machine with a sneer. Jennie continued to convulse. Each time Ethan tried to stop the machine, Sash lashed out at him, preventing him from getting to it.
Travis pulled the strap of Jennie’s bag tight across his body and gripped the end of the riding crop hard. Running at Sash from behind, Travis raised the riding crop and swung at Sash with all of his strength. The stiff fold of leather cracked against the back of Sash’s bald head. The pale patch of skin turned a violent shade of red. It had worked; Sash shook his head as if stunned.
“Go Ethan,” Travis shouted.
Ethan rushed over to the machine and twisted the dial off. Jennie stopped screaming and lay still, breathing heavily with beads of sweat running down her face. Ethan snatched up his dagger from the floor and cut the wires.
Sash recovered quickly from the surprise attack. When he turned to face Travis, frenzy blazed in his eyes. Sash picked the boy up and threw him against the wall. Travis crumpled to the floor. Sash kicked him mercilessly and Travis curled into a ball, gripping his head in a feeble attempt to protect himself.
“You undesirables are all the same.” Sash screamed. “You never know your place.”
Sash released a furious scream. Travis curled as tight as he could to avoid the blow which was sure to come, but nothing happened. He lifted his head to see what was going on, just in time to see Belle slam a syringe into Sash’s neck. Without hesitation, she used her thumb to push down on the plunger and blue liquid drained it into Sash’s neck. She removed the needle and dropped the syringe on the ground, shattering it.
Sash brought his hand to his neck. He lunged toward Belle and reached out to seize her, but his eyelids drooped and he stumbled sideways. He tripped over Travis and fell into the metal table with the unconscious man on it. He tried to pull himself up using the table but his muscles became too weak. His eyes closed and the arm supporting his weight went limp. Sash fell to the ground unmoving.
“What did you inject him with? Is he dead?” Travis managed to ask Belle.
“No, he’s not dead, he’s only knocked out. I gave him with a sedative. I’m assuming it’s the same stuff he used on me. I had been planning on sneaking up behind him before you came in. When I saw you two, I knew there would be trouble with Sash. While you were fighting, I was keeping watch for the right time to bring him down. I knew I’d only get one chance at it, so I had to be sure the timing was right.”
Belle extended a hand to help Travis up. He shook his head and gripped his side. “Thanks, but I need minute to recover. I’m glad you knocked him out when you did.”
Belle looked regretful, “I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to get to him sooner. Are you all right?”
“I’ll be fine,” Travis said.
He looked over to where Jennie was still lying on the table, breathing heavily with her eyes closed. Ethan was by her side carefully cutting the straps that bound her to the table. He walked to Jennie’s head and removed the severed wires stuck to her forehead.
“Jennie?” Ethan blotted the sweat and blood from her face with a rag.
“Ethan? I am so glad to see you. What happened?” she asked in a scratchy voice.
“First we need to get you out of here, then we will fill you in on all the details.” Ethan took her hand in his.
“Where are Belle and Travis? Are they safe?”
“Over here,” Travis called out from the floor. Jennie turned her head looked relieved. Her body relaxed.
“Belle, do you know if there is any water around here?” Ethan asked.
“I think I saw some in the office.” Belle rushed away.
Ethan helped Jennie to sit up, and she groaned.
Belle came back with something to drink, some packets of food. She opened the canteen and helped Jennie to drink. Water spilled down Jennie’s chin as she drank, but the intake of fluids helped the color return to her face.
“Thanks,” Jennie said.
“Take a moment to rest whil
e I look around,” Belle instructed.
Travis watched Belle rush back into the office. He could see her through the window dividing the two rooms. She was rummaging around and ripping papers off the walls. Stopping, she looked around the room with furrowed brow. Her face brightened. She rushed to the corner of the room and bent down out of view. When she stood back up, Travis saw her dumping the contents of a trash bin on the floor. She then began stuffing all the papers in the empty container.
Belle emerged from the office with the trashcan full of papers tucked under her arm.
“What are those papers, Belle?” Travis asked.
“I thought they might be useful. I think they are detailed records of what they have been doing down here. We can read them later and find out for sure.”
“Good idea.” Travis agreed. “Lets get out of this awful place.”
Travis staggered to his feet. The effort just to stand was painful and draining. He clutched his sore ribs, panting.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Jennie said. “I think I’m okay to stand.”
Ethan helped Jennie to her feet, and he looped her arm over around his neck to support her weight.
“Let’s get out of here and rest. Then we can figure out what to do,” Belle said. “No one will come for us as long as Sash remains unconscious.”
“What about Goggles over there?” Travis asked, pointing to the man still sitting by the door to the tunnel.
“His name is Alex,” Belle said. “And he’s no threat to us right now.”
“Let’s go then,” Jennie said. “I want to be anywhere but here.”
Belle looked around. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Ethan led Jennie carefully across the room and into the tunnel. Travis, still clinging to Jennie’s bag, followed behind them with Belle.
Belle stopped just before passing through the door. She turned to the man still slumped on the floor and said, “Goodbye, Alex. I hope someday you get to see the sky again.”
Belle walked with Travis as they passed through the door and entered the tunnel. She didn’t look back.
58
Marlene did not sleep at all that night. She sat in her chair next to the window and watched the sky transform from black to a pale purple. The fire had burned out hours ago, and the chill of autumn crept into her bedroom. She was alone with her thoughts too often these days. Her mind frequently kept her awake and tormented her about the decisions she made in her past. The persistent thought keeping her awake tonight was the warning Jennie had given about the lemerons collecting at the wall.
Marlene stood and pulled her thick cloak on over her leather armor. The sun had not yet broken over the horizon, but the hint of dawn would give her enough light to see by. She glided down the tower stairs and out of the Sanctuary. Her stride was smooth, speedy, and deliberate as she crossed the town square and made her way to the north wall. The smell repulsed her as she crossed the apple orchard and grew closer to the wall.
An eerie silence hung in the air as she listened. When she reached the wall, she heard a low humming noise. It reminded her of the combined idle chatter before the Commune Council starts. Only this sound contained no words, no laughter, no voices in the traditional sense. In the past, she had heard the low growl of a lemeron as it traveled through the woods, unaware of her presence. What she was hearing was this same lemeron growl compounded hundreds of times.
Marlene was determined to see the source. She had to confirm how many lemerons there really were. Until she saw it for herself, she couldn’t fully trust the assessment of a teenage girl who didn’t actually see the lemerons. Marlene scaled the wall with ease. One advantage of her curse was that she had incredible strength. An average man would find this climb difficult, but to her, it was as easy as walking.
Marlene stood on the wide, flat stones that capped the thick wall. The rising sun brought with it a gusting wind that was amplified at this height above the trees. Marlene’s hair and cloak whipped behind her in the wind as she stared out at the horizon. The trees had grown thicker since she had last visited the forest. She had not set eyes upon the woods since she brought Ethan out here for a better chance. Thinking of her little boy from long ago, her eyes dropped to the ground outside of the wall. Marlene was not easily unnerved, but what she saw made her shudder. A sea of slow moving, grey flesh concealed the ground. Jennie had been right.
Hundreds of lemerons were gathering at the wall. Marlene could see more approaching through the trees. Their deceptively strong limbs clawed feebly at whatever stood between them and the Commune. The closest lemerons scraped at the wall. Those that were further back scratched at the grey flesh of the lemerons in front of them, tearing their skin open spilling the congealed, brown ooze that long ago was blood. The lemerons were trying to rip through anything that stood in their way.
Marlene understood now where the stench was coming from. More lemerons were coming in from every direction. Alone, they smelled terrible, like rotting meat left in the sun for days. With a large number like this ripping at each other, the odor was unbearable. It had been many long decades since Marlene encountered the smell. She gagged uncontrollably and clutched her hand to her mouth to stifle the sound.
The lemerons heard her. All at once they stopped moving and looked up at her. Endless numbers of gleaming yellows eyes stared at her like a nightmare version of a star-filled sky. Angry mouths opened revealing blackened teeth, and an outbreak of simultaneous roars, croaks, and groans filled the dead air around her. The furious cries that enveloped Marlene were like a cage closing in around her, rooting her to the spot.
All Marlene could do was watch as the lemerons went into a frenzy. Their arms swung wildly, attacking anything within reach. She watched them rip at each other and slap the wall with open gnarled hands. They would not stop until they reached her or until she left their sight and they forgot about her. She would see to it that it was the latter.
Had Ethan ever come into contact with the lemerons, she wondered? Marlene hoped that he had been spared. Looking at the scene below, she could not be sure. The lemerons were vicious. They would spare no human, least of all a baby. Her lower lip trembled, as she thought of her innocent little infant; so pure, so perfect, and so defenseless.
She needed to know if Ethan’s father had gotten to him in time. Marlene had to locate her son out there in the forest and enlist the help of his people. The situation before her had escalated beyond the ability of the Commune to manage. She needed to build an army. But before Marlene set off into the forest to seek aide, she had to do one last thing.
59
Jennie awoke to the sound of the school bell tolling. She kept her eyes closed and begged for more sleep, but the bell continued to ring. Something was different about the chimes which carried across the Commune. The bell rang ceaselessly and it sounded almost – frantic.
Reluctantly, Jennie opened her eyes. At first disoriented as to where she was, Jennie looked around and took in the familiar surroundings of the loft in the stable. She was lying on a horse blanket spread over a bed of hay. Belle was fast asleep next to her, and both Ethan and Travis were asleep near her feet. Ethan clutched the handle of his sheathed dagger as he slept. Even in his sleep, he was still on guard after the events of the past few days.
Jennie sat up and winced in pain. She couldn’t recall much of what happened when she was strapped to that terrible table, so the others had told her about everything. Jennie let them know about the meeting with Uncle Albert and Marlene. She told them everything except for what Marlene said about sacrificing Ethan for his own safety. That piece of information she wanted to share with Ethan privately.
Jennie peered down at Travis. He looked as battered as she felt. Despite all she had done to protect him through the years, he was the one who ended up saving her. Ethan boasted how Travis was the one who planned the rescue mission and how he had shown true bravery. Travis had become a courageous young man. She felt herself swelling with pride and her eyes
watered.
Jennie knew that if it weren’t for Ethan’s help, none of them would have made it out of that terrible place. She crawled toward Ethan. The stubble on his cheeks had grown, and despite a few bruises, he was more handsome than ever. Sensing a presence near him, Ethan’s emerald-green eyes shot open, and his hand gripped the dagger handle tighter. Jennie sat back on her heels and watched as awareness filled his face and his tension drained away.
“Good morning,” Jennie said.
“Good morning.” Ethan he sat up. “What’s that sound?”
Jennie furrowed her brow. “It’s the bell in the schoolhouse. It’s been ringing constantly for a little while now. Something must be wrong.”
“We should go check it out. It might have something to do with us,” Ethan said.
“What if someone sees you?” Jennie asked. “People here believe there is no one left outside of the Commune. You disprove that, and they might not take it well.”
“Let them take it however they like. There is no way I am letting you go without me, not after what happened last night. If Sash shows up, I want to be there.” Ethan was unwavering.
“You're right,” Jennie conceded. “It’s time we held nothing back, including you. Let the people of the Commune see you.”
Jennie took Ethan’s hand in hers and leaned in to kiss him. The fluttering she always felt when she was near him intensified as she held the kiss. Even though the gentle pressure on her split lip hurt, she didn’t want it to end. Ethan cupped the back of Jennie’s head in his hand and ran his hand through her hair. The continuous tolling of the bell brought them back to reality and their uphill struggle against the Order.
Ethan broke the kiss and then gestured to Belle and Travis. “They’re waking up.”
Belle groaned as she sat up, and Travis rubbed his bleary eyes.
“What’s going on?” Belle asked. “Why is the bell ringing?”
“Good morning you two,” Jennie said. “The bell has been ringing non-stop since I woke up this morning. It’s probably been ringing even before that. Something feels off about it.”
