by C. S. Moore
They slowly made their way up in a flash of unfamiliar corridors and stairways. They finally reached familiar territory, and Amanda thought they might actually make it out of the Hovel unseen and unscathed. They mounted the last set of stairs and were met by a familiar face. She didn’t know if it was the puffiness of his cheeks or the redness of his eyes that caused it, but she called out to him before she could stop herself.
“Cole?” Amanda said.
His tear-wrecked face looked up at the sound of her voice, the pain in his eyes was apparent. “Amanda?”
A flood of emotion overwhelmed her as she realized just how much he’d been holding back all of these years. His longing was so strong her mind was clouded, and she couldn’t separate his feelings from her own.
She stared at him, her best friend. He looked terrible. She’d never seen a person outside of a Scar look so dreadful. His naturally tanned skin had drained of all color. Cole’s bright eyes had lost all spark, the small fragment left of her heart broke at the sight of him in such pain. She didn’t tell herself to move, but her feet began walking toward him nevertheless. Amanda reached out, and his strong hand rose to meet hers. As their fingertips touched, she felt his energy pass into her. She smiled as her fragile heart fluttered in her chest like a bird in its cage.
Madgie pulled the two of them apart angrily and chastised them. “Every Healer in the Hovel no matter how thick felt that flood of emotion. I’m sorry, Amanda, I have no backup plan. We’ll be found out,” she said, her voice caked in sorrow.
Amanda tried to sense a change, hoping not to find one, but had no such luck. She felt the stillness of the Hovel, as all of the people in its walls interpreted the meaning of what had just hit them. Her eyes grew wide as the tranquility of the place transformed into utter chaos. They knew she was trying to leave.
Cole’s face mirrored hers. He grabbed her hand tightly and began scaling the stairs two at a time, dragging her behind him.
Madgie was on their heels shouting at them. “You morons wait until now to figure out that you’re in love with one another? Everyone else around here has known for years and been waiting to bust you for it. You couldn’t have asked for a more poorly timed moment. Where are you taking us, you idiot?” she grumbled.
Cole didn’t turn to speak so Amanda couldn’t see them, but when he spoke, she knew his dimples had returned. “Sorry, Madgie, I never found an opportune moment. Amanda always seems to be in trouble.”
She thought about drawing her hand back in protest, but she liked where it was too much to be stubborn. “I’m not always in trouble!”
Madgie rolled her eyes at the pair of them as she spoke. “Not to interrupt the cute banter you two have going here, but we’re all going to die if we don’t find a way out of the Hovel!”
“I know, and I won’t let that happen.” Cole spoke softly and seriously.
He stopped ascending two floors beneath the Hovel’s entrance and took a sharp left, leading them down the corridor to the male dormitories. Amanda hoped he had some sort of plan worked out. They were still two stories underground, surrounded by Healers.
He took an awkward pattern of lefts and rights, attempting to avoid the array of pursuers, but it was getting more difficult to sense individuals in the upheaval.
She had no idea where he was headed, but it felt to her like they were just making unceremonious circles. As they rounded the same corner for a second time, Cole stopped short, immediately on guard. Amanda looked past him and saw the kindly face of the man who had been speaking of her in the hall as she passed. She felt Cole gather energy as he put a shield between them and the older gentleman.
He smiled and began to speak in a soft voice. “No need for that, young man, I just came to tell Amanda good luck,” he said as he raised his hands in a non-confrontational way. “Oh, and Cole, if you’re looking for the door, it has popped up just down there.” He gestured down the hallway with a smile.
“I was lucky to find you, and my good luck will go to waste if you dawdle, so get on your way. I hope to see you in happier times, my dear. You are one person I would love to talk to. I’ve never felt such strength. You have so much love to give, too much perhaps,” he said as he moved to the side of the hallway, waiting for them to pass.
Madgie smiled brightly. “Thank you, Finn, you are truly a friend.”
Cole hesitated a moment before walking past the old man, but once they had cleared him, he picked up the pace. He flat out ran until he came to a small round door that seemed completely out of place, halfway covering another door on the wall. Amanda heard rushing footsteps drifting down the hallway. Cole grabbed the knob and flung it open. Madgie quickly slipped through. Cole climbed in after pulling Amanda in behind him. She reached back to shut it, and just as her palm met the warm wood, she saw the angry face of a familiar Healer.
Frey.
He was someone she knew by name but had never grown close to. Frey had always looked down at her for fleeing the Hovel and trying to be normal. He loved being a Healer and having the power they possessed. Most Healers had a bad taste in their mouths about her, but he was the worst of them all. Looking at her as if she was garbage, and maybe that was deserved. But she wasn’t the only one unsettled by him. When he walked into the room, it seemed to still as collective prey before a predator. His hand lashed out like a striking snake, bringing her out of her shock, but he wasn’t fast enough.
She slammed the door shut and searched for a lock that wasn’t there. She braced herself tightly against the door, but to her surprise, he didn’t put up any more effort to open it. Why wasn’t he trying to get in? He could blast this thing right off its hinges if he wanted to. She looked at Cole.
“The door teleported when you shut it. Just in time too. Good-looking and handy in a tight spot.” He smiled down at her with laughter dancing in his eyes.
“What are you talking about, teleported?” she asked.
“The door moves locations each time this room is entered. It takes a while to pop back up, and they still need to figure out where in the Hovel it landed. So we should be safe while we search.” She looked at him dumbfounded. “What? The girl’s dorm doesn’t have one of these?” he asked her.
“No, the girl’s dormitory doesn’t have one of these. And what are we searching for?” she asked.
“Some time ago an Ancient harnessed the energy of Scars and put it in this room for study. It is a small point of energy that takes people to places like a Scar takes you to a memory. Just touch it and you are elsewhere. Where you come out is different every time, Africa, Ireland, don’t know until you’re there. That’s why the room is this way. They didn’t know it at the time, but that little pin prick of energy affected this lab. Now it moves with each entrance just as a Scar does,” Madgie answered.
Amanda huffed. Just when she thought she had a firm grasp on everything, they slap her with something new to wrap her mind around.
“Okay, so where does this energy ball thing like to hang out?” she asked.
Cole glanced around the room. “I don’t know. It’s hard to find. It moves every time like the room, and Madgie wasn’t joking when she referred to it as a pinpoint of energy. Just make like a raccoon and look for something small and shiny, got it?”
Amanda smiled at his undeniable cuteness and began to search. She wasn’t used to having her walls down, and the last few days had pretty well blown them down completely. Lying naked on a lab table, crying and screaming in pain, being sentenced to death with no one objecting — yeah, that’ll do it. They fanned out in opposite directions, scanning every inch of the room. There were thick books stacked high along the walls and large tables with numerous drawers down the front of them. She doubted they could find a pinprick in all of the mess.
As time passed, she grew more and more nervous and found herself glancing at the door every few seconds. She knew she wasn’t the only one. She felt Madgie’s anxiety and saw that Cole’s demeanor had lost all lightness. As Amanda was l
ooking at Cole, she noticed a jacket lying crumpled on a chair. She went to it, not sure why it had caught her eye. Amanda picked the jacket up slowly and looked it over. It was an unremarkable thing, dark grey like so many others in the Hovel and made of wool so scratchy that she felt sorry for its owner.
It was an ugly jacket and nothing more. She was frustrated with herself for wasting time and went to throw it back down when something caught her eye. Amanda brought the jacket in close and saw the bright light in its front pocket. “Here, it’s here! I found it.”
Cole and Madgie’s heads both shot up, and Amanda smiled brightly at them. She was confused when they didn’t return her smile, but understood as the metal click of a doorknob reached her ears. She quickly turned to see the little round door burst open.
THERE ARE SO MANY, Amanda thought.
Grey-clad figures poured into the room like water from a sieve. They moved as one unit, step for step like toy soldiers wound at the same time. Their uniforms bore no gold tassels or honoring medals. The only thing sparkling was their calf-high, spit-shined boots. Monochromatic from neck to toe, they blended into the grey-colored walls and each other. The sharp points of the heavily starched pleats in their uniforms were the only tell of where one began and the other ended.
She stood frozen with fear, directly between her friends and her pursuers. The room was still, neither side making a move. Amanda looked at the sea of grey-cloaked Healers. She spotted Frey and his larger-than-life sidekick Carter standing among them, looking pleased. Hate radiated from him. If anyone would make the first move, it would be him. They didn’t know what she had in her hands. They couldn’t know that her escape was in reach. She looked back at Cole. He nodded his head toward the jacket. She tried to slip her hand into the pocket without appearing suspicious.
“Amanda, we understand how hard this must be.” The only man not in grey spoke quickly. “But this is the best path for you. If that weren’t true, the Ancients wouldn’t have made it so.” His soft gentle voice was full of concern for her well-being, and she knew it wasn’t just for show.
He really thought capturing her would be doing her a favor. Her hand inched closer to the pocket. She needed to distract them, so she spoke. “The Ancients are not omnipotent. They make mistakes just like we do, and this is a mistake. If they just give me time, I know I can fight off this poison. You don’t have to do this. See for yourselves,” she said.
Hoping her skin had improved, she rolled back the light fabric of the sleeve. To her relief, the blackness that traced her veins had faded, if not just slightly. It was enough to see that the Ancients were wrong.
As her pursuers stood unbelieving, she managed to slide her hand into the pocket undetected. Her fingers were so close to the portal that she felt the heat of it warming her hand. Just as she was about to touch it, Frey began to speak to his comrades heatedly.
“We have our orders. We are to capture them.”
She let out a breath. Them? Now Madgie and Cole were in this with her she realized, the idea turning her stomach. Amanda looked back at Cole, his eyes pleading her to go, but she couldn’t. Not without them.
Frey was still rallying his ranks of followers with Carter towering behind him in an intimidating show of support. “Will you be swayed by her when we have the word of the Ancients? She’s not to be trusted.” He thrust his hand in her direction.
She glanced back at Cole and lightly shook her head. His eyes grew wide in understanding. She wouldn’t leave without him. Her would-be captors had shrugged off any uncertainty, their bloodthirsty eyes trained on her. Cole threw up a protective wall just as the mob began launching an attack. She turned and sprinted toward Cole and Madgie. His wall didn’t last long against so many attacks, and she felt a ball of energy whiz by her ear. She had never seen anything like it in all of her lessons and in an instant realized why. In its wake was a murky cloud of hate and pain.
It was dark magic. They were trying to kill them.
Amanda looked back and saw the scowl on Frey’s pale face. She almost ran into Cole, who scooped her under his arm and started them toward Madgie while blocking spells as fast as they were coming at them. Amanda tried to help, but she couldn’t throw up a shield, she was too weak. There was smoke filling the air, and she saw a number of fires quickly devouring the feast of paper that was scattered about the room. She sidestepped an energy ball, unable to block it, realizing she had less energy than she’d thought and just how vulnerable she was.
She hated herself for not being able to help Cole block the tirade of attacks flying at them. A wall of thick smoke had formed, and she lost sight of Madgie. She searched desperately, squinting into the grey-black haze.
“Cole I can’t find Madgie! Where is she?” she yelled.
“Don’t worry,” he said quickly.
Amanda realized she was using the wrong senses and began searching for Madgie’s well-known spiritual signature. The kindhearted one in the group was calling out over the sound of the fight.
“Stop the attack! Stop the attack! The Ancients care about you; they want the best for you. Amanda, if you have anything good left in you, please come with us. We’ll make sure you’re saved,” he begged.
She could feel what a good man he was, and she wished he could understand. “I don’t need them to save me. I can save myself,” she shouted.
Amanda felt Madgie’s presence upon them but still she couldn’t see the tall thin woman.
“S-B! Get out of here. Go, now!” Madgie’s voice commanded.
Amanda looked down and saw a figure crumpled on the floor and let out a cry. “Madgie!” She reached down to her friend. Cole was still with her, holding her tight.
“Amanda, make sure you have a good hold on her and grab the portal,” he said quietly.
She didn’t make a move to grab it, too shocked at the appearance of the classroom. It no longer held any resemblance to those she’d grown and studied in, it looked like a war zone. Flames hungrily licking their way across every surface, burning as much as the visceral hatred being directed at her.
“Now!” he urged.
Amanda slipped her hand around the warm speck of energy. Her heart flew to the back of her chest, and the hooded figures around them froze in place. Her fluttering heart ceased to beat when she saw the shimmering ball of energy that was inches from Cole’s sculpted face. He could have died. The thought of never again seeing his bright eyes shining down at her tore a hole in her chest. She never knew she needed to see his smile every day to be happy. Panic took her as she worried that they should have been taken somewhere by now. Then, there was an incredible pressure on her chest, and the air came rushing out of her lungs. As her feet flew off the floor, she caught a glimpse of a meaty hand around Madgie’s ankle.
“No!” Amanda yelled as her hand led the way into the space between here and there.
Smoke swirled in mocking circles where the prisoners and Carter had been.
“They’re gone?” Frey asked, unbelieving. The Ancients will be furious, he thought, letting out a psychotic shriek that rattled the Guard members around him. “How can they have gotten past all of us?” He turned to face the men he was addressing.
Out of all of the Healers who could have been causing this trouble, it had to be her!
Seeing her stunned face just before she’d been swept away took him back to a cold night two years ago… when she’d come back to the Hovel…
He wasn’t as high ranking then and still objectified to boring perimeter guard around the outside of the Hovel. He hated it, not just because it was boring, but also because Chicago was bitter cold in the winter. It wasn’t snowing. It felt too cold to snow. The air was still, and suspended in it were small bits of frost catching the streetlights and shining like glitter. He exhaled and watched as his cloud of breath stirred the shimmering ice in the air into a frenzy. Just as he was readying to turn, something or more accurately someone caught his eye. A small dark figure was walking toward the Hovel with weak
but determined steps. He sensed that whoever approached was a Healer, not the regular human drifter he usually spotted on duty. The Hovel was located in a mostly industrial part of town and looked like nothing more than a well-kept factory from the outside. It was way past lock down, so whoever this was had broken the rules. Which allowed him to have some enjoyment at this tardy person’s expense. After all, it was his job to enforce the rules.
As the shivering person continued to approach, he realized it was a female Healer and a young one too. This was going to be fun. When the girl was twenty feet away, he called out to her in his most authoritative voice. “Halt!”
She turned her head up toward the noise. He gasped when he recognized her face. It was Amanda Cates, the girl who had caused so much trouble for the Ancients, the deserter who many Healers, including people close to him, were secretly obsessed with. She’d made a public choice to leave, and her choosing something other than what they’d told her stuck in their minds. Even though most were good at hiding it from everyone, he saw through their masks.
She stood as still as she could manage through the involuntary shivers that rocked her body. Her ragged breaths hung in clouds above her before disappearing into nothing. She was much skinnier than he remembered, but she was still remarkably beautiful. Her large blue eyes were as bright as his mind’s memory of her, though somehow filled with much more sadness. She wasn’t dressed for the weather at all, making him think her return was either a spur of the moment decision or one made out of desperation.
“It’s you.” he snapped. Maybe I should show her just how much she was missed, Frey mused.
Her eyes looked tired, which was good. He didn’t want her to put up too much of a fight and just getting here looked like it had taken all of the fight out of her. Maybe she won’t even scream. Other Guards were on duty, and nine out of ten would just join him in his games, but there were a few…
