Freed

by Holly Hook

  I'm happy to see the colorful fish in the river again. I walk down it, away from the distant mountains where my journey started. The pair of moons hang low in the sky, the brown one forever pulling on the smaller gray one and yanking it into a weird shape. It almost seems like home now. Home. I'll have to go there soon and tell my mother that Garrett's not coming home. How much should I tell her?

  At least I have time to think about it. I'm away from the Dwellers and their sprawling, invading awareness. It's still there, but it's far below, giving me some time to think.

  I walk for hours. The sun grows higher in the sky and large boulders grow up alongside the river. My feet sink in the mud, but my footprints from coming back here before are gone. I see no one else's. If I get caught out here at night, at least I won't need to worry about the Dwellers or any screaming Megapedes, unless a new one has run into the area. That's good, because I'm no longer armed.

  I spot them in the late afternoon, down on the bank of the river a couple of miles away. Five people sitting on boulders that might be the set I spent the night in. Or maybe it's six. There's an animal trotting around them, wagging its tail. Hope rises inside of me.

  "Pit!" I shout.

  I break into a run.

  The dark forms come into focus the closer I get. Pit runs towards me, magenta spots shining in the sunlight. He belongs here in the light. He reaches me first and I lean down and hug him while everyone else watches. Shawn's there, running for me. So is Talia, squealing. Travis comes up behind them while Ned and Baxter watch, fishing poles in hand. Pit's licking my face. I'm no different to him now. I hug him as tight as I can as Shawn practically tackles me and Talia joins him.

  "You're alive!" Shawn says. He manages to squeeze in beside Pit to kiss me. He smells so much better like he's just bathed. The river. Of course. They must have dove in as soon as Jaden led them here.

  Jaden.

  He's gone. Of course. He can't return to the surface in the daytime unless Antoine and Weslie can find him a cure. I hope he can find a way. I want everyone to go free and I'll do everything I can to help them. I wonder if he's found Les's people yet and joined them. If Weslie's going to see him again.

  "What happened to you?" Talia asks. She hugs me tighter and I can't breathe. I'm conscious of my long sleeves and how glad I am that they're there. Do I qualify for death in Ned's eyes now? I have a lot of explaining to do.

  I kiss Shawn again and everyone watches me, waiting. Ned and Baxter stay back. Baxter still has that spear. I have nothing but my Megapede jaw.

  "We're all going home," I say. "It's over."

  "Over?" Travis asks. "What did those Dweller things do to you?"

  I have to do it now. My heart pounds. I back away from Ned and Baxter. They say nothing.

  "I took Garrett's place," I say.

  Shawn's jaw falls. Talia looks at him and back at me, wanting someone to explain. They haven't caught her up all the way yet.

  "And freed all the slaves," I add.

  "You what?" Travis explodes.

  "You heard me," I say. My arm tingles, begging to be revealed. But Ned still stands there. "Well, not all of them are free yet. But the Dwellers are working on it. They're leading all the poor sold people back to Earth. And taking their sellers and putting them to work instead. We still have more Society members to find, but soon, everyone who deserves it will be out of the mines. And the Dwellers still get to live. They're not our enemies anymore. They'll take us home. All I have to do is give them the word."

  Ned takes a step forward. "Elaine...are you serious?" His mouth falls open.

  "Very serious. Why would I do anything else? I hated my stepfather."

  I even roll up my sleeves. Turn my forearms towards Ned, heart pounding. He stares and stares.

  "We can all go home," I tell him. "Everyone in Wompitt. Those other workers who got to the surface somewhere. We just need to go back for them. Don't you want to see your brother again? I'm sure he'll be glad to hear about the changes we've made here."

  Ned grabs onto a boulder and leans on it. "Yes," he says.

  "So I don't have to die?" I ask.

  Ned shakes his head and turns away like he can't believe it. "Come on," he says. "Let's go to Wompitt and tell everyone the news. I'll miss the place, but not that much. On the way, we'll probably run into those other workers. Your friends here have told me everything that's happened." He starts to walk. "Come on. We've got a two day walk ahead of us."

  Epilogue

  "I'm nervous," I say.

  I drive through forest that I thought was scary and wild when I was little and in the passenger seat of my mother's car. The expressway clunks underneath. We pass the sign that tells us not to pick up hitchhikers. I glance down to make sure my long sleeves hide my tattoos. I don't want my father to see them until I have time to explain.

  "So am I," Ned says next to me. It's so odd to see him in jeans and a jacket. "I'm not sure he's even going to recognize me."

  "He'll be happy to see you," I assure him.

  Shawn mutters something in the back seat. I wish he were up here with me but we left my house in a hurry since we're so crammed for time. I feel like the adult here. Ned doesn't even have a license to drive. He doesn't even know how to drive yet. He's been too busy guiding the citizens of Wompitt back through the caves and to the nearest Earth gateway with the help of the Dwellers. As soon as we got back to the settlement and told them what had happened, everyone packed up and got ready to go. We had to take people back to the mines and to the gateways in groups. Ned had to figure out how to rent his own apartment. Thankfully, the Dwellers' jewels have helped with that. They were more than happy to supply some to the former workers, too.

  Ned reaches for the radio. "Anything good on? I keep wondering how music's changed over the years."

  "Not sure," I say. "There's probably more talk about the rich people going missing. Well, some of them." I don't want to face that. The police will never find the CEO of that phone company out in California. They'll never crack the mystery of what happened to the couple in Oregon who just bought a big house from unknown wealth. They'll never unravel the story of why so many former foster parents of missing kids have gone missing themselves, or why the foster children have turned up on opposite sides of the country that they disappeared from. It turns out there are gateways back and forth between Earth and Selwyn everywhere. There's the one in Badwater. One under a house in Waterstown, only a few miles from where I live. I can go back and forth between worlds whenever I need to. And I'll need to, if I keep this thing going.

  No innocent person is going to work in those mines ever again.

  Only the real scum of society will see them.

  And I can also go and see Pit whenever I want.

  He's still there in Selwyn, hanging around the mine entrances and looking for any stray people who might have escaped before we had the chance to free the slaves. There still might be some out there in the wilderness, hanging on to life. And when Weslie and Antoine make it to the surface again, they'll need someone to guide them home.

  I get off the expressway and brake. "Long drive," Shawn says. "I'll have to tell Talia we might be a bit late meeting up with her tonight."

  "It'll be worth it," I say. My stomach ties in knots. I have so much explaining to do. Again. It's bad enough we had to get together and tell my mother the truth about what happened. She's still reeling from that, but I think she'll be all right. I'll be all right. The Waterstone tattoo on my right arm serves a purpose after all. I haven't burst into flames yet even though I've spilled the Society's secrets to everyone in my inner circle.

  I make the turn I remember my mother taking so many years ago.

  The forest opens up, revealing the prison and the gates where my father's spending his next decades. At least now he will spend them in a little more peace.

  I drive up to the gates. "Here goes," I say.

  THE END

  If you liked the Flamestone Trilogy, be su
re to check out Holly Hook's next release to see what happens to Jaden, Weslie and Antoine:

  LIGHT (A FLAMESTONE NOVEL)

  Out April 15, 2016

  But wait...that's not all!

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