K: The Awakening (The Shadow Chronicles Book 1)

by K. R. Fajardo

  She avoided eye contact as she continued to look around, until Mirna came up behind her and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. K grimaced, fighting down the urge to knock her away. “Do you need some formula? We don’t have much, but we would be glad to share what we can.”

  K smiled weakly, shaking her head. “No, thank you though. I don’t want to be any more of a burden than I already am.”

  “What did you say your name was?” Rigar asked, glancing over his shoulder at her, as he watched out the window for the patrols. “And why are you in town?”

  “Katina. Actually, I am here looking for someone. Maybe you know him.”

  “Perhaps, we know a lot of people. Tell us his name and maybe we can point you in the direction of his house,” Mirna answered happily. K liked this woman already.

  “I’m not sure, they didn’t really give me a name. You see, my friend needs to get out of town quick and needs a cart to do so, he said someone on this street would have one. Do you know anyone that has a cart?”

  Mirna’s face dropped and her perkiness faded. “There are not many Full-bloods in this town who have carts. Are you sure you don’t have a name?”

  Rigar’s attention had also been pulled away from the window, and he was now intently focused on his mysterious guest. “What is the name of your friend needing the cart?”

  K kept her head lowered and raised her eyes to meet his gaze. “Mikel.”

  Mirna’s face paled as Rigar charged across the room in an attempt to pin K. Instead K ducked under his arm, coming up behind him and slamming him into the wall. Mirna, angered at the sight of her husband being pinned, came running toward them both. K spotted her out of the corner of her eye, and with one quick move dodged her advance as well, coming up on the other side of the room across from the two of them.

  “Who are you and what do you want?” Rigar demanded.

  “How soon you forget someone whose life you saved,” K answered, grinning as she allowed her eyes to turn blue again, “but I suppose I should have expected no less since you also tried to kill me.”

  Terror overwhelmed Rigar. Grabbing Mirna, he forced her behind him, his rigid stance announcing he was ready to protect her with his life. Mirna, lost to what was going on but sensing her husband’s panic, glowered at K. “What is going on here, who are you?”

  “Leave,” Rigar demanded in a low, gravely tone, then as an afterthought added, “Is he here with you?”

  “He is down the street, a few blocks away. I figured the sight of him might be more than you could handle.” K relaxed her posture and removed the hood from her head, just as Sara came wandering into the room behind her parents.

  “Who is she?”

  “She is someone who is fixing to leave. Go back into the other room, and we will be there in a moment.” Sara looked as if she were going to protest, but seeing the expressions on her parent’s faces, instead silently obeyed, retreating back into the living room.

  “Now leave,” Rigar said, taking a step toward K. “This is my house and I will not allow you to harm my family. And what have you done to Mikel and Citera?”

  “I am not here to harm anyone,” K answered flatly. “I am here, like I said, to ask a favor of you for Mikel.”

  “Mikel wouldn’t send you to ask me anything,” Rigar shouted across the room.

  “He would if he had no other way to get a message to you.” Growing tired of the drama, she impatiently demanded in a more stern tone, “Listen I am not in the mood for games nor do I have the time for them. Mikel and the others have agreed to leave town tomorrow with me and Jaron, to Jaron’s camp at the borderlands. He wants you and your family to come as well, there you will be safe and no longer forced to work and live in these conditions.” As she continued she could see the tension in the both of them begin to ease ever so slightly. “He wants you to come in the morning with the cart and all of you leave together.”

  “And why should I believe you? It’s not like Mikel to up and leave his clinic behind,” Rigar questioned, studying her closely. “And you don’t even look like the girl I pulled from the cave. I thought you wouldn’t be able to travel for a few weeks.”

  “Oh, well things change and it has become urgent we leave more quickly,” K explained allowing her mask to fade away completely. Mirna gasped, placing her hand over her mouth so as not to alarm Sara in the next room.

  “You’re her,” she whispered, walking toward K. The gesture caught K and Rigar both off guard. “My grandfather, he told me you would come one day.” She reached out to touch K’s hair, but K quickly backed away.

  “Don’t,” she warned. Mirna appearing somewhat disappointed by the reaction, respected K’s wishes and stepped back.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t believe you are real.”

  K could see she was studying her carefully, as if she was looking for something. “What else did your grandfather say?” K asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table, hoping her relaxed posture would prove to Rigar and Mirna she meant them no harm. .

  “He told me that one day a woman would come with eyes the color of the sky, hair as white as snow, and bearing the mark of an Immortal.” Mirna paused, studying K; trying to catch a glimpse of some sort of mark. “He said her arrival would beacon a great war, a war that would either free us of the Shadows once and for all, or seal their reign over us for eternity.”

  Rigar gazed upon his wife as if she was a stranger. He had never heard her speak of these things before, and it was frightening to hear, for any part of that story heard by the wrong ears was enough to earn her a death sentence. After listening to what his wife had to say, K remained silent; Rigar wished for some sort of expression that would give them the slightest idea of what she was thinking. However, after several, long intense moments, K merely stood and headed for the door.

  “Where are you going?” Mirna asked as K placed a hand on the doorknob.

  “Leaving. That was the agreement, was it not? When the guards pass I leave.” As she spoke they watched in awe as she resumed her mask. “Besides, I have delivered my message, the decision is now yours to make.”

  “Well, yes, but you are welcome to stay a little longer, if you’d like,” Rigar said unsurely.

  K raised an eyebrow. “Oh, am I? Do you have more metal objects you would like to hit me in the head with?”

  “Rigar?” Mirna looked disapprovingly at her husband, “You didn’t.”

  Rigar was left standing between the two women, trying to find the best way to defend himself, when a knock on the front door caught all their attention.

  “Are you expecting someone?” K asked as the three of them headed toward the sound.

  “Of course not, curfew is in place no one should be on the street except the patrols.” Another knock came, this time much louder and forceful than the other.

  “I’ll get it!” Sara called from the other room.

  “No!” Mirna and Rigar yelled in unison, but it was too late. As soon as the bolt was released, the door flew open and Jarod dashed into the room, slamming the door closed behind him. Sara started to scream, but Jarod jerked her up and placed his hand over her mouth. Rigar infuriated and panicked by the sight of the Enforcer holding his daughter in his grasp, rushed forward and was immediately stopped by K. “I will not have him—” Rigar began, only to be hushed by K.

  She pointed to her ear. “Listen,” she whispered.

  Rigar stopped and listened, it was then that he heard it, the sound of a large number of people coming up the road of the district, far too many to be a normal patrol. “Oh no,” he whispered, “they are doing housing sweeps. You two need to get out of here now! I might be able to explain away her presence, but there is no way I can explain him being here,” he said, looking at Jarod. “If they catch you here it will be the death of us all.” Rigar was panicking.Walking to Jarod, he motioned to Sara to remain quite as he carefully removed her from his arms. “Follow me,” he directed the two of them.

  He cracked the back d
oor and scanned the streets for any signs of patrols, then motioned them on out. “If you go straight down that way you should be able to get by them without being seen.” He pointed down a dark alley. “Tell Mikel I will be there in the morning, if nothing happens.” As he closed the door behind them they could hear the knock of the patrols on the front door.

  “I can’t leave until I know they are safe,” K told Jarod, who was studying the buildings and streets surrounding them.

  “Over there,” he whispered, pointing to a building a block away, “we should be able to watch from there without being seen.”

  Using the darkness as a cover, they made their way to the roof and watched as the patrols went from house to house ransacking and stealing whatever they could. Suddenly a loud commotion came from Rigar’s house as seven of them dragged him bleeding into the street. K jumped to her feet, but Jarod held out an arm out to stop her. “Don’t,” he said calmly, “you will only make it worse. They aren’t going to arrest him, it isn’t the point of these raids, they are only reinforcing their presence and control over them.”

  K slumped slightly back into her perch, although her body remained tense. Moments later they watched as Sara was dragged kicking and screaming out in front of the barely conscious Rigar. Mirna came running out behind them, but she was quickly dealt with as several of the patrols caught ahold of her and delivered a series of blows, before dragging her next to Rigar. Sara continued to struggle uselessly against them as one of the patrols pulled something out of his pocket and advanced toward her.

  “What is going on?” K asked, barely able to contain the anger building inside of her at the sight of this family being tormented so brutally.

  “They’re tagging her,” Jarod answered solemnly, turning his back on the scene. He had seen enough.

  K glanced down at the tag Mikel had placed on her wrist. “So what does that mean?”

  “It means she is expected to start working, either on the road or in the factory.” Jarod ran his hands over his face.

  K watched as the patrol tightened the tag on her wrist. “But she is still a child, not even close to maturity, why would they want to tag her?”

  “They have been getting younger and younger.” Jarod turned back to watch. They had forced Sara on her knees next to her mother and father while the officer scanned and reprogrammed each of their tags. “If you control the children, you control their parents.”

  “And what happens if she doesn’t go? What do these things do?” K asked, watching Rigar and his family slowly pick themselves up and stumble back into the house. Meanwhile the patrols continued down the street. The cries of other families began to fill the air as one by one they pulled more children into the street to tag.

  “They use them to control the formula, it is scanned when they show up and leave the sites, and only after they have worked for so many hours do they earn their daily ration. They had been allotted a certain amount for the child, but now that they have tagged her as well they will only get barely enough for each of them.”

  K had seen enough; she spun around and began leaping from rooftop to rooftop, heading back to the clinic in silence with Jarod following close behind. They managed to make it back without any further signs of the patrols, who were most likely busy harassing the Full-bloods on the other side of town. As they approached the back door K stopped. “This is all my fault and I will do everything in my power to make this right,” she stated, eyes fixed on the door in front of her. “I was a fool once, but no more.”

  “It isn’t your fault,” Jarod said, trying to comfort her. “They betrayed you and stole your kingdom out from under you.”

  “I made them!” K yelled angrily. “I was foolish to believe they could be trusted. I should have seen the signs, they were in front of me all along.” Jarod could see the anger pulsating over her, evident by the black markings flashing across her skin. “Hell, Jaron even told me and I didn’t listen. Instead, I accused him of being the one who was power hungry.” Overflowing with rage, K hauled back and rammed her fist into one of the brick walls, leaving in it a deep impression.

  The noise brought Mikel and Citera running to the door. “Get inside,” Mikel demanded, “I’m sure the whole neighborhood heard that!”

  Jarod looked around as various lights began to flicker on down the alley and nudged K toward the door. “We need to get you off the street.”

  She stormed into the clinic with Jarod following close behind. Mikel latched the door shut behind them. “What was that about?”

  K said nothing. She continued down the hall, slamming the door to her room closed behind her. “Well, I see your trip went well,” Mikel muttered, watching her before turning back to Jarod.

  “They were doing raids in the Full-blood district,” Jarod explained, staring after her. “She saw them tag Rigar’s daughter.”

  “They what?” Citera exclaimed. “She is only twelve years old, she has no business going to work in those places.”

  “Regardless, they did and Rigar put up a fight.” Jarod walked into the room and began to gather his things into his bag.

  “Is he …” Mikel was afraid to ask.

  “A little battered but otherwise all right,” Jarod answered, flinging the bag over his shoulder. “He said he would come in the morning, and after what happened tonight, I have no doubt he will.”

  “So that’s it, you’re leaving?” Citera almost felt sad. She had become accustomed to the giant being in her house.

  “Yes, I need to get out of town tonight so that I can be spotted coming back in the morning.” Staring down at Mikel and Citera he sneered, “Go ahead and say it, good riddance.”

  Mikel walked up and held out his hand. “No, thank you. Not for nearly killing me and my daughter of course … actually, now that I think about it, you tried to kill all of us.”

  Jarod shrugged. Mikel frowned, “Anyway, what I was going to say was thank you for saving all those people, including Janil and her husband. I know what you do, you do at a great risk to yourself and that you will never get the recognition you deserve for it. So if it is any consolation, I apologize on behalf of myself and my family for having greatly misjudged you.”

  Jarod stared blankly at Mikel, then humbly lowered his gaze. “And I thank you and your family for showing me more hospitality and kindness, than I have experience in over fifty years, even though I didn’t deserve any of it.”

  “I’ll say it,” Jaron jested, coming into the room with a smile on his face, “good riddance.”

  “I’d expect as much from you.” Jarod and Jaron embraced, then held each other out by their shoulders. “Until we meet again.”

  “Hopefully it won’t be as long this time, old friend,” Jaron remarked.

  Jarod gave Jaron a friendly slap on the back and made his way into the hall, where Dirik stood waiting, “Ahh, the little thief has come to see me off.”

  “I have something for you,” Dirik said, smiling as he held out his hand. Jarod gave him a sideways glance before holding out his hand and allowing Dirik to place the item into his palm. He opened his hand, revealing a tiny metal Reaper. “It’s from me and Citera, to remember us. That way no matter how bad it gets in the Tower, you will always have something to remind you that you have friends out here.”

  Jarod stood staring at the small figure in his palm, unsure of what to say. Noting the tension, Dirik decided to lighten things up, “I know what you are thinking, and yes I did pay for it.”

  The whole room burst into laughter. Jarod smiled and placed the small figure in his pocket. “Thank you both,” he said, looking over their faces, wanting to forever embed this moment in his memory. And as his thoughts drifted to the dangers they faced in the morning, sadness began to overwhelm him at the idea of any of them being injured or killed. Despite himself, he had become attached. “Once you hear the messengers announcing I’m here, that is your cue to leave as fast as you can. They won’t be expecting me, so no road blocks should be in place. My pre
sence alone should keep the patrols distracted enough for you to get out of town with little or no interference.” Not wanting to drag the farewells out any longer necessary and feeling the need to cut the ties quickly, he continued on down the hall toward the back door. “Whatever you do, stay away from the side of town where the inn is.”

  “We will, travel safe, my friend.” Jaron held open the door.

  “Until our paths cross again,” Jarod replied, then without a backwards glance, he disappeared into the darkness outside.

  Citera ran out behind him, surveying the roof line above, but he was long gone. She stood staring into the star lit sky, marveling at his speed, when Mikel came and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s go rest, we only have a few hours till daybreak.”

  Chapter 13

  Sam

  Jarod spent the rest of the morning hours on the outskirts of town just off the main road. He was surrounded by miles of nothing but wheat fields, sitting beneath the only tree he had found, and watching the sun rise in the distance. His was body rigid and tense from dread and anxiety, making sleeping impossible and his head hurt. No matter, the nap he had taken thanks to K, not to mention the following day of unwanted rest, should be more than enough to keep him going for at least a month.

  He choose instead to spend the rest of the early hours lying in wait beneath the tree, watching the sun climb its way into the sky. It wasn’t until the sun had made it mid-way, when the last of the red and gold patterns had faded from the sky, did he begrudgingly climb to his feet, and begin a slow walk back to town.

  He could be back in town within minutes if he so choose, but he kept it slow, taking the time to enjoy the surrounding countryside, dotted only by an occasional farmhouse, whose occupants quickly scooped up their children and ran back inside at the sight of him. He was several miles outside of town when he spotted an outlook on a hill in the distance. Smirking, he watched amused as a young Terrian took off in a full run toward town to announce his arrival.