Chapter 2 #2
Until every last one of the bastards was cut down to size. I stood even taller than before, turning in a full circle while daring mentally for another creature to challenge the huntress.
None did.
After taking gulping breaths, I raked my arm across my face.
The vibrations had returned, heat so extreme sweat rolled down my back.
For the first time, my vision was different, foggy and the barometric pressure had dropped significantly.
It took a few seconds before I calmed down, the air less stagnant.
I wiped my forearm across my face again, gathering blood and brains before finding the girl and her dog crumpled in a ball on the ground. Crouching, I brushed hair from her face, stroking her soft cheek as I realized her skin was wet.
She’d been crying.
Another reminder life was so unfair.
The prickly sensations from before returned. Eyes were watching us. I’d need to take an alternate route to the Safe Zone.
“Come. We don’t have far to go and we’ll be safe.” But for how long? Leaning in, I whispered so only she could hear, “We’re being followed. Don’t look around. Just make sure and follow me.”
The same eyes as before were opened wide and even though I couldn’t see their beautiful color, just looking into them provided some sense of peace. How strange and amazing that a child could do that.
The girl clung to my leg with one hand as we walked, keeping her face mostly buried in the puppy’s fur. While taking the alternate route had risks in of itself, it had to be done.
Another pile of debris was the perfect camouflage. As soon as we were safely protected behind the mound, I switched directions, moving toward a building on the opposite side of the street. From there I moved around a group of buildings, paying careful attention to every sound.
Thankfully, we made it to the subway’s entrance without further incident. While most would consider being underground unsafe, the subway cars were all protected with unbreakable glass, a requirement by the former government in the months prior to the collapse.
While cracked and fogged from years of heavy abuse and neglect, they also offered a strange window of carnage to all those hoping for protection inside. Including a woman, a child, and a dog.
Along with the doors being incapable of being opened by Dwellers, the cars provided safety from the heinous beasts roaming the corridors.
In the morning, we’d have a clear dash to the stairs.
There was also an eerie light in the cavernous area and had been for years.
Some believed the Borgata were responsible, wild tales of using dead bodies as fuel offering amusement.
The truth was more scientific in nature, a long-lasting battery that would eventually disappear.
At least I didn’t need to tell the girl to hold tight, her patience proving helpful.
Being abandoned either destroyed someone or brought out hidden strengths.
As soon as I pried open the doors, a single look down into her sweet face and she stepped inside.
At least the cars were basically soundproof, unless screaming was involved. I pulled us away from the doors, easing onto the metal bottom between two seats. As soon as I placed my arm around her, the heavy sigh she allowed was as if she’d been holding her breath for several minutes.
I listened intently for any sounds, refusing to fall prey to the stalking vultures determined to capture a prized possession.
Her thin fingers clung to my shirt the entire time with her face nuzzled against me.
She didn’t care that her face would be stained with Dwellers’ blood; the comfort of another human being the only thing that mattered to her.
How could I dare consider sending her away? She would come with me to the village, the elders accepting her whether they thought my decision madness or not. The beacon of hope was too powerful a draw to resist.
“What is your name?” I asked after feeling certain we were alone in this part of the cavern.
She tensed but said nothing. The girl didn’t know. She’d never been given a proper name. The thought that she’d been forsaken infuriated me.
“Wren. I shall call you Wren.”
Her head moved and in the strange orange glow sweeping in through the windows, I noticed her increasing curiosity. In a way, she reminded me of the little girl who’d survived the nightmare all those years ago.
“A wren is a bird, a creature with wings but nothing like the terrifying thunderbirds. They were about this big.” I opened my fingers the width of two old coins.
“Even though they were tiny, they were said to have bold personalities, starkly defending their territories. Their feathers were umber in color so they could hide in underbrush. Do you know what the wren symbolizes?”
She shook her head.
“Resilience. The triumph of the small and clever over the large and dangerous predators.” When I offered a smile as she thought about the name chosen, she offered me one as well.
In a strange way, it was a beautiful win in a competition that shouldn’t be forced to exist.
As she pressed her face into me once again, I stroked her hair while also running my fingers through the pup’s fur.
I finally leaned my head against the cool metal, feeling the effects of the cold as my adrenaline began to fail me.
I longed for the warmth of a fire, another luxury until our wood gatherers returned to the village.
They’d been required to go farther and farther to find a source to keep the people warm.
Her breathing remained shallow, the beat almost matching the rapid thud of my heart. I could feel something happening, as if the world was about to go crazy again.
My mentor had said I was special. That I was the future.
I’d laughed but Peter had always been so insistent.
Whatever was happening, I’d always known one day our safety would be challenged again.
There were rumors, our limited ability to communicate with other communities providing information as well as hope.
But without a solid plan of eliminating the king and his court, hope had begun to fade.
“Where did you come from, Wren? Why are you all alone?” I knew she couldn’t answer me yet, her distrust likely taught to her by whoever had pushed her away. Maybe to keep her safe and alive.
Something I understood more than I could explain, only my memories didn’t serve me to paint a picture of a selfless act, instead an attempt at erasing history.
It was just a feeling of course, a twisted knowing that had lingered in my mind for the entirety of my life.
Black spaces lived where images and stories should flourish.
Whether from tragedy or something even more extreme, I’d been told my mind had learned to protect itself.
“Don’t worry,” I told her. “Where we’re going is safe.
” But was I merely telling her a lie? How many times had we been forced to move, traveling the countrysides, picked off one by one leaving our numbers dwindling.
With no children born and most in their later years of life, we would soon fade into extinction.
I’d often wondered if that was the case for every group of survivors.
There was some communication between members of the Resistance, but the fear of being caught kept conversations to a minimum.
Details about upcoming battles involving Freedom Seekers were always more important.
They were the people who’d started a formal movement of survival.
But quickly it had become clear they had their own agendas and couldn’t care less about protecting the survivors.
Exhaustion plagued me, more so than usual and I closed my eyes. However, the last thing I wanted was to fall asleep. Doing so was far too dangerous. “What’s the pup’s name?”
Wren shook her head against me.
I lolled my head to the side, surprised when another memory of long ago appeared in a hazy series of mental photographs.
On this night, I had a more difficult time accepting them.
A puppy and a little girl. The visions were personal, haunting because I couldn’t be certain they were real or accurate.
My throat tightened as a soft voice spiraled through my mind.
“My beautiful star, time to come inside with Jake.”
A single tear slipped past my lashes, rolling haphazardly down my cheek. With no one to see my weakness, I didn’t bother wiping it away. The memory was one of the few that created comfort.
“How about calling the dog Jake?”
When her little head lifted, her eyes brighter than before, I sensed she approved the choice.
“Jake it is. Try and get some sleep. I’ll be right here when you wake up. I promise.” At least it was one promise I could keep. Anything else at this point and I would simply be lying.
The girl was still shaking, every tug on my shirt a telling of how terrified she was. I couldn’t blame her, the anxiety I usually could push aside more prominent than I could remember. Maybe the undeniable sense that something was about to happen was the reason.
With her breathing labored, the only other comfort I could offer her was from a task taught by someone whose face I could not see. Maybe I was fooling myself, but the song would forever be ingrained in my mind.
Humming wasn’t a task performed by anyone, another sound often considered dangerous.
What did I care if anyone could hear me?
Maybe I was more despondent than usual. I had no idea if I was remembering the song correctly, but being able to offer music of any kind was a gift and the only one I had for her.
She was fitful for a little while, but I knew the moment she slipped into a deep sleep when her hand fell away.
Jake was also asleep, his body trembling and his paws twitching as if…