The Markings

by Catherine Downen

  “I’m a sensor,” she says and nudges Alexander. “Just like you.” Alexander gives a small smile, but the comment, I’m sure, just reminds Alexander that Marin is not his real mother. He didn’t get this gift from her. Marin knows that, but I wonder if she knows that Alexander knows the truth. His father had told him the truth when they worked in the castle, but Marin was long gone before then. She must not know she doesn’t have to keep this secret from him anymore. I’m debating about catching Marin up when she says, “I’m so sorry we had to leave you. You can’t possibly think that it was something we did lightly.” Marin’s face tenses and I can see the regret in her eyes.

  “I know. I just wish we could get that time back, you know?” he asks softly

  “I know, Alexander. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.” We are silent for a second until Marin suddenly asks, “Your memories? Are they fixed?” Alexander and I both shake our heads yes and Marin adds, “That’s good. How’s your mother Adaline?” I look up to her as if what she was asking was a joke, but I can see the sincere concern on her face. She must have no idea what has happened to her, just like Cooper hadn’t known.

  “She’s dead,” I say weakly.

  “What?” Marin asks, horror spreading across her face.

  “We were thrown in prison after my father left us. Seven years passed and on Parting Day she was taken away to be executed. When they executed my mother Titus and I took the opportunity to try to escape, but when we tried Titus was killed. I broke out of the castle that night and ran into Alexander, and you know the story from there.”

  “I had no idea, Adaline. Derith never told me that your mother and little brother would die,” Marin says in a weak voice.

  “I don’t think he knew,” I say softly, trying to believe that my father wouldn’t send us all to prison knowing we were going to die. “But I think my mother knew,” I add. I pause and then ask, “What do you think happened to my father? You washed up here, but could he have survived?” The question makes my stomach turn in knots. I wish I would stop asking if he was alive, because I know deep down he’s not.

  She’s quiet for a second before saying, “Adaline there’s no way he would have survived that. When the creatures attacked us we were completely knocked off course. I was washed up here, but simply by luck because we were so close to the island when the boat finally gave in. Libertas would be much too far away to drift to. I’ve had to accept that for a long time, Adaline.”

  “I’ve had to accept he was dead a long time ago too, Marin. It just never seems real,” I add. We are all quiet for a moment longer until we come through the edge of the woods and our feet sink into the sandy beach as we walk into our camp. There’s so much more we need to discuss with Marin, but I see that what’s left of our travel group has started packing up. Mio must want to move soon.

  “Man is it good to be back,” Marin yells out, and Mio turns to meet her eyes.

  “Marin?” Mio exclaims, shocked to see her.

  “I know, not exactly the place you thought you’d find me.” Marin approaches her old friend and adds, “I’ll explain everything, but first let’s get this boat together so we can get out of here.”

  “About that,” Mio says and the happiness he had to see Marin washes away.

  “What is it?” Cooper asks him. Mio takes in a short breath and before he can say anything I notice Molly crying by Bren’s side. We push past Mio and make our way to Bren, but Cinder steps in our path.

  “Cinder, please tell me he’s okay,” Cooper says, and I watch as my brother starts breaking down.

  “He’s gone,” Cinder says softly. Cooper lets out a muffled cry and pushes around her. He collapses in the sand by Bren’s side, and I watch as he shakes with sobs. I feel frozen in the sand, tied down in this spot. If I walk up there and see him then it’s real. If I stay here then it’s not.

  Slowly Zavy, Mio, and Marin make their way to Bren’s side, but I stay put. Alexander puts a strong arm on my shoulder and helps me move forward. Through a pool of tears in my eyes, I make out the boy’s ghost of a body sitting in the shade of the tree where we left him.

  Cooper continues to sob and my heart breaks for my brother. They must have been so close. You spend seven years living with someone that closely you’re bound to grow a strong relationship. Toby comes to Zavy’s side and he leans against her. All of us circle Bren and silently say our goodbyes to him. Most of us are quiet, but Cooper’s sobs have grown more powerful and he throws his fists into the sand and lets out a yell of rage.

  “Cooper,” Cinder’s soft voice tries to calm him.

  “This isn’t fair!” he yells defensively. “We can’t keep losing people. I don’t want to lose anyone else!” He pushes out of the group and makes his way to the edge of the water. I watch as he kneels into the shallow waters and I see him shift his anger back to sadness. I look to Bren one last time and whisper a small goodbye in my head. I add his name to the list of those who have died either at my hand or because of me indirectly.

  “We’ll bury him before we leave?” Molly asks in her smallest voice.

  “We’ll bury him with the others,” Cinder says, and that’s when I notice the heaps of unpacked dirt a few paces back in the woods. The rest of our team lies buried there. Mio moves to grab a shovel, but I pull up the dirt with my gift. James and Albert carefully lay him in the earth and we all help in burying him. Mio goes to Cooper to see if he wants to say goodbye, but Cooper says he’s said all he needs to.

  Most people wander back to cleaning up their belongings to get ready for our departure, but I sit with the dead a little longer. Just like that, in a matter of 24 hours, we lost half of our team. Everyone else has had time to say goodbye to the other members, but I haven’t yet. So I take a moment to go to each mound of dirt and say a soft goodbye to each of them. I thank them for their efforts in trying to help me. I apologize that my father brought them into this mess, and I cry for each one of them.

  Chapter 30

  I follow Albert out to the shore where he has started to lay out the pieces of our boats. There’s a pile of cracked and soaked wood along with one torn black sail. I notice we are without a motor and realize, even though we are close to Libertas, it will be harder to get there without assistance from the motor.

  It’s odd to see Albert without his brother. My heart aches for him, and I wish there was something I could do. I know how it feels to lose family. Albert is putting up a strong front though, and I wouldn’t expect anything less.

  “This is all I found,” Albert says, and I can tell he’s hoping I can perform some sort of miracle. I see that there’s only enough wood for probably one boat. With only 11 people left, 12 now that Marin has joined us, it’ll have to do.

  I take pieces of the boat and line them up with each other. When I start to get the pieces to fit I watch as the cracked pieces become one whole piece again, and eventually, a brand new boat sits in front of us. It’s one of the best things I’ve been able to do with my gift. I’m starting to figure it out, slowly but surely. I start to feel lightheaded, and I feel Albert grab my side and lower me into the sand.

  “Are you okay?” Albert asks.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I say and rub my eyes until my brain clears again. “How does it look?”

  “It looks like a brand new boat,” he says back to me. I tilt my head and reexamine it. It’s not as good as he’s making it out to be, but it’s better than I could have hoped for.

  “I’m sorry about your brother,” I say and look over to him.

  “Thank you, Adaline,” Albert says and then adds, “I still see him everywhere, but I know he wouldn’t change anything.” Albert walks back into camp, cutting the conversation short. I know it’s hard to talk about and we aren’t exactly close. I wish he had someone he could talk to about this, but I guess that person would have been his brother.

  “Are we all ready to go now?” I hear Molly’s little voice ringing in the air as she runs up to the boat.


  “I think so,” I say and stand back up. I take Molly into a tight hug and she squeezes me back with her little arms. “Are you okay, Molly?” I ask her and look down at her.

  “I miss my friends,” she says and looks down at the sand and then back up to me, “I’m glad you’re alive. You’re like my big sister,” she says in the smallest and frailest voice.

  Tears brim my eyes and I pull her into another big hug. “And your cold?”

  “Essie says I’m doing okay,” she gives a small cough to clear her throat. “I don’t feel much better though.”

  “When we get to Libertas we’ll find someone with stronger medicine,” I say and she gives me a weak smile. I walk over to Mio to see if he needs any help moving things to the boat, but then remember we don’t have much more than our backpacks and a few weapons. “We’re ready when you are,” I say to him.

  “Sounds good, Cooper and Toby are cooking the rest of the meat and bringing it with us. It should be enough. We really only have dinner left and then we’ll be in Libertas,” Mio says and we are quiet for a moment letting the sounds of waves crashing on shore surround us. “Thanks for getting us out of there, Adaline,” Mio adds.

  “Don’t thank me. It was just an instinct,” I say shortly.

  “I know you heard me yelling at Cooper about how you didn’t think to bring the food with us, and that was wrong. It was crazy out there, and I would have done the same thing,” Mio says sternly.

  “Like I said, my instincts just took over,” I say with a small smile. It’s probably the only nice thing I’ll ever get out of Mio.

  “The meat’s cooked, and everyone should have packed up their things,” Cooper says, walking over to us. His anger from earlier has faded, and I see that he’s trying to be the strong leader the others need.

  “All right, then let’s get out of here,” Mio says and we walk down to the boat. Mio and Cinder both walk the boat out into the shallow part of the water, and we all climb into the boat.

  “Want to give us a little push Adaline?” Mio asks, and I respond by providing us with some steady waves until the ripped sail starts to catch the breeze. Marin takes her place on the balcony and navigates the boat in the right direction, carefully guiding the sail in the breeze.

  As we head deeper into the ocean I look back and watch the island sink out of view. “It’s crazy, all those people who are buried there, one day no one will even know they’re out there,” I say to Alexander.

  He takes my hand in his and squeezes it. “It’s an awful thing; to die and then be forgotten forever,” he says and looks back toward the island.

  When the island has faded completely out of view I turn and see the sun starting to set in the other direction. “I never get tired of looking at the sunset,” I say to him. “I’ve spent seven years without them. Something so simple, and yet so beautiful.”

  Alexander leans his forehead against the side of my head and says, “Just like you.” My heart flutters and I remember the night in the bunker after I had stopped him from turning himself into Paylon. He had used that same response when we were talking about the glittery ceiling. It’s comforting to hear him say things like that now that his memories are corrected.

  “I’m far from simple,” I say and smile to him, and we both start laughing. The butterflies explode again as they always do when I’m with him. We might have told each other we couldn’t form a further relationship with the other for fear that we may not survive this mess, but we can’t stop the feelings from forming. It’s a dangerous path we’re trying to walk down, somewhere between friends and lovers.

  “Alexander. Adaline,” Marin calls down from the perch and motions for us to join her.

  I’m about to stand when Alexander tightens his grip around my wrist and whispers in my ear, “Don’t tell her I know she’s not my real mother.”

  “What?” I ask, confused why he’d want to keep that a secret.

  “I just got her back Adaline. I just want to keep things simple,” Alexander pleads with me. I know he just wants to keep denying that he’s related to King Renon, and I can’t blame him. I nod and we stand together.

  “Mio tells me he showed you the markings,” Marin says as we join her on the balcony of the boat.

  “Yes, he said that we are important to some rebellion. Can you tell us anymore about our markings?” I ask as we take a seat with her.

  Marin begins to explain as the memory comes back to her. “Your father had been moving the gifted to Libertas, and they were searching for the ones who were marked with the key.” Marin motions down to our wrists before continuing, “When you were born your father had seen the marking and had taken you to get the mark disguised.”

  “And you had done the same for me?” Alexander asks.

  “Yes, I had helped Adaline’s father with a couple of journeys before that, and when he showed me the prophecy about the gifted planning a rebellion I realized how important you were.” Marin clears her throat, “I mean how important you would be to Libertas. Derith showed me where I could take you to get the mark disguised, and that’s when we promised each other that we would take care of one another to keep our kids safe. We had to make sure that the prophecy could be followed out.” I nod my head, better understanding where the tie between Alexander’s family and mine came from.

  “Do you know what they expect from us once we get to Libertas?” Alexander asks his mother.

  “Not entirely. As far as I know, the plan was for Derith and me to get there and help get things set up for when you would arrive.” Marin looks out over the side of the boat and I know she’s thinking about the wreck on her journey. “Now that we didn’t make it there, I hope they continued to move forward with the plan. Otherwise, we will be very behind schedule.”

  “What’s the schedule?” I ask, trying to think about what they could have planned for us.

  “Mio tells me that King Renon may be on to the fact that you both are the keys to the rebellion mentioned in his grandfather’s prophecy. If that’s true then he will already have his forces preparing for war. That doesn’t give us much time to make the first move before they come to us,” Marin says and I realize I’m not going to some safe haven island for the gifted. I’m walking into a trained army looking for a leader. My life is going to go from fleeing to attacking very quickly.

  Molly comes over to the edge of the perch and stands on her tiptoes. “Adaline, will you play a game with me?” she asks over the edge.

  Marin nods, giving me the sign that our conversation is over. “Sure, what kind of game?” I ask and climb down from the perch. We take a seat on the edge of the boat and Molly kicks her feet against its side while she considers what game she wants to play.

  “A guessing game!” she finally squeals.

  I laugh and ask, “Okay, how do we play?”

  “I’ll find something we can see, and I’ll tell you what color it is. Then, you have to guess what it is,” Molly explains. I remember doing something similar with Titus and it was always his favorite game to play in the cell. It never lasted long with so few items to guess.

  “You can go first,” I say.

  “I see something blue!” Molly says.

  “The sky?” I guess.

  “Nope,” she says and shakes her head.

  “The water?” I guess next.

  “Nope, try again,” she laughs.

  I let my eyes gaze around the boat searching for something blue when I look down and see that her shirt is a faded shade of blue. “Your shirt!” I say.

  “Yeah, you got it!” she says. “Now you find something,” she instructs, and I begin to look around the boat for something.

  “All right, I see something clear,” I say and let a small smile fall across my face.

  “Clear?” she questions me and I can see the wheels in her brain start turning. “Air!” she shouts seconds later.

  I laugh and tell her she’s right and we continue to play the game until Mio is either completely annoyed with u
s, or he really does think it’s time we have dinner.

  I help Cooper pass out the last of our meat and we all eat it slowly. Cinder, Mio, and Marin move up to the perch. They tell us the adults need to work out some details so I take a seat with Alexander and Cooper. Molly is quick to join me, always staying close to my side.

  “If we really do need more food we can always try to fish something out of the ocean,” Alexander says to me, noticing that I’ve barely eaten any of the meat.

  “I guess you’re right,” I say and start to eat the rest of my meal. Once we’re finished eating we sit in silence except for the crashing of waves. “What do you think Libertas will be like?” I ask, breaking the silence.

  “Mio said it’s a world built on a mountain,” Cooper says. “He’s only been there a handful of times. He wasn’t even allowed to get off the boat. Couldn’t even set foot on the island.” My lips form a tense line as I’m reminded that my group may still not get to stay after all.

  “I picture it as a castle floating in the water,” Alexander says and a laugh escapes my throat.

  “You just think there’s going to be a castle floating in the middle of the ocean? I ask him. Alexander’s grin widens and he nods his head. We’re quiet for a moment as I picture the unique image.

  “What are you hoping it will be?” Alexander softly asks. I’ve been looking for freedom my entire life. Now that I’m just hours from it I don’t know what I hope I see.

  “When I think of freedom I picture the fields of flowers behind my house. I see an endless blue ocean. There will be music and dancing, and everyone will be smiling,” I say and imagine a life where all that could be true.

  “And mounds of red velvet cake,” Zavy adds as she takes a seat in front of me. We laugh and our stomachs growl as we remember the rich delicacy from Sard. Our scarce dinner doesn’t come close to meeting the standards of Sard.

  “I hope I make some friends,” Molly’s tired voice yawns out. My heart tightens at the thought of her old friends that drowned in the ocean. I tighten my arms around her, doing everything I can to keep her safe.