10. At What Cost
Chapter 10
At What Cost
Julian
Five Years Ago
J ulian’s head was in his hands as he sat beside Raven’s sleeping form. Her skin was paler than before, her cheeks hollowed, but she was alive. They had been in this doctor’s care for months now. Raven had survived and Geoff had managed to save baby Sparrow, too.
But she hadn’t woken up. The doctor explained she wasn’t strong enough to.
They would need to let Sparrow grow and once it was time, they would deliver the baby via C-section.
Except Julian didn’t quite trust the doctor.
Geoff hadn’t been willing to take them in, not even when Julian had explained Raven was pregnant. Only when Julian mentioned that she was having a girl did the doctor agree to help.
But with a steep cost.
Julian exhaled, tapping his feet, and sitting up. He flexed his hands, examining the new marks in place.
Geoff had ties to the Factions, and while Julian was adamantly against joining, he had begrudgingly agreed to side jobs in order to afford to keep Raven there.
Nothing is free in life.
But Julian didn’t care. Raven was alive. Sparrow was alive.
He had fulfilled his promise, and he wasn’t going anywhere.
A loud click startled him, and he cast a glance around the room. It was sterile, filled with medical equipment, but on the far wall was a TV.
It was the source of the sound.
Shortly thereafter, a loud siren blared, but the screen remained black. He jumped to his feet to turn it off, but then it went silent again as the image swapped.
Julian’s heart bounced around his chest as his mind caught up to the image.
There was a man in a suit and tie on a stage. He was masked and white teeth were on display as he bared them in an attempt at a smile.
“This country has been brought to its knees by terrorists!” the man shouted, but there was no inflection, he was monotone. As if he were not a man at all but a replica of one.
Julian stood frozen in confusion. He knew that this wasn’t good. But he wasn’t sure why yet.
The image swapped to masked people .
They were all wearing shirts with numbers across their chest, they were in what was essentially a pit. Through the screen, he couldn’t hear what they were saying, but they all were running and clawing at the walls of the trench, attempting to escape.
The screen swapped back to the man. “The world is built on respect , on honesty , on second chances, on the ability to win out no matter the tribulations we endure. These fifty contestants were prisoners, they committed crimes against their country, they defiled the integrity of their Government. They were sentenced to death.” The man in the suit paused, the camera zoomed in on him as he crooked his head.
As if he were listening to instructions.
“Well, we are giving them a second chance. These fifty contestants will go through different trials, and at the end, there will be a winner. The prize is priceless.”
Julian watched as the camera feed swapped back to the prisoners. They were no longer trying to escape.
They now lunged at each other, attempting to tear the others down.
“Their life,” came through the TV’s speakers.
Julian sank to the floor.
“Welcome to the first annual…”
Julian’s breathing turned erratic, his vision going dark at the edges as terror consumed him.
Not only was this country going to kill them all, but it would make them kill each other now?
A whoosh of cold air hit Julian as the door opened.
“Boy, get up. You can’t get anything done like that,” Geoff rasped from nearby.
Shortly after, firm hands grabbed him by the shoulders until Julian was staring into the other man’s eyes .
They were a mucky brown.
“You need to get it together. The baby will need you. The girl will need you.”
“Did you not see what they’re doing?” Julian asked, his attention finding the TV again. It was flashing now with the dead prisoners. The ones that had been killed.
He recognized some of the faces. His throat dried and he tried to swallow away the glass that had formed in it.
Geoff shook him. “You know nothing. You are a child that was born into a country that was built on this. Do you not know our origins? How can you ever hope to survive if you don’t know what you’re up against?”
Focusing on Geoff, Julian attempted to block out the bloodbath that still played out in the background.
“What do you mean?” Julian didn’t know much about their country. In the Facilities, they weren’t taught about the past. They were only taught how to survive, to fight, to accept that pain was a part of life.
Geoff cast a look at Raven. “Isn’t it odd to you how we are not permitted to leave this country? How no one else in the world has tried to come here? How you have never met anyone from the outside ? There’s a whole wide world out there, but you don’t know it. You wouldn’t. You’re too young, too stupid. These Factions that were built came about out of necessity.”
Julian’s thoughts churned uncomfortably. When every day is a feat just to survive, you don’t have a lot of time to think about the “whys” of life.
Why didn’t they all just leave the country?
Why didn’t the rest of the world care about them?
“Why?” he asked, shrugging out of Geoff’s hold and stepping back to Raven’s side.
“Because just as that person on the TV said. This country was built on second chance.” Geoff watched him with an unsettling intensity. “But it’s not my place to tell you. You’re going to have to work for it. Figure it out on your own. There’s one piece of wisdom I’ll give you at no cost. Your child isn’t going to be safe in this world. Nor is her mother.”
Julian sank into the chair. He knew they wouldn’t be safe. Raven’s face was known, she had been streamed live to the entire country. And even worse… “She looks too much like Nightingale.”
“You stupid, stupid child. That is the least of her worries.” Geoff laughed but didn’t elaborate.
Julian didn’t bother to question him. Geoff spoke in riddles, never divulging too much information. And if he did, it would come at a cost.
Julian wasn’t sure he could afford anything else from the eclectic doctor.
Geoff moved further into the room checking Raven’s vitals. “It won’t be much longer until Sparrow is ready to be born. You need to be prepared for that.”
Julian inclined his head, and the doctor turned to the TV.
The pit was being cleaned out now. It appeared that less than half the prisoners were alive.
“Mark my words. This is just the start. Nothing will change until it is made to. And even then?” Geoff walked back towards the door, a slight limp in his step. “Everyone here is too foolish to remember the past.”
Geoff’s words knocked around the space before landing.
Julian’s head fell back into his hands. He wanted to understand. But right now he needed to focus on Raven and Sparrow. On keeping them both alive.
On what he would do when Sparrow was born.