Chapter 11
‘You might as well come out,’ said Bear, eyeing the trees as two shadows slipped from left to right.
‘For fuck’s sake!’ he mumbled as no one came out.
‘Do you really want me to come in there?’ he spat, turning to Scarlen as she lightly touched his arm, the feeling of her hand on him as weird as ever.
Two small figures in green clothing emerged, faces beaten from fear alone, one of the lads using a long branch as a walking cane to aid an obvious limp.
Scarlen went to scoot forward, but Bear placed his arm in her way. ‘Ooh, what happened to you?’ she asked, clearly ignoring Bear’s silent order not to approach them.
‘My brother fell when we were running,’ said the slightly taller one, although there wasn’t much difference between them.
‘We’ve not come to fight, lady,’ said the one with the cane.
‘You’re from Green Block One, right?’ Scarlen asked, and Bear knew she was making a point of their young age, as they had to be barely sixteen, both looking more like twelve.
‘Yeah,’ said the one in pain. ‘I’m Blue, and this is True.’ He gestured to his twin.
‘Aww, Blue and True, that’s sweet.’ She was stopped from moving to them once more by Bear’s arm.
‘Find a dagger?’ Bear asked, scanning them from top to toe. No innocent eyes were about to fool him, and he wasn’t going to let Scarlen fall into their trap. No matter their age or look of innocence, they were both inmates, and brothers at that, meaning they were already a team.
‘No,’ they replied in unison.
‘Are you bleeding at all?’ asked Scarlen, peering over Bear’s biceps while frowning at his barrier.
Blue motioned towards his foot. ‘No. I think I twisted my ankle. It hurts like I’ve been snared.’
Bear quirked an eyebrow. ‘Know what that feels like, do you?’
True nodded, his freckles coming into view as he stepped closer. ‘That’s why we’re in here. Illegal hunting.’ He gazed back at his brother. ‘We’ve only got one month left.’
Scarlen slipped around Bear while he was focused on the twins. ‘Well, don’t you worry, you’ll be home safe and sound soon enough. You stick with us. We won’t hurt you.’
True smiled, revealing a missing tooth in the front. ‘Thanks. We’ve been sick with worry.’
‘And starvation,’ said Blue.
Bear scoffed. ‘We only had dinner a few hours ago. I’m sure you’re not starved.’
‘Am too,’ said Blue. ‘We weren’t given any grub before we were slung in here. You’re lucky.’
‘Do you have anything to eat on you?’ asked True, his big dark eyes peering only at Scarlen, which rattled Bear even more.
‘No,’ she replied. ‘We knew we would be searched.’
Bear pointed behind them. ‘But if you find any yellow berries, you can eat those ones.’
The twins turned to each other. ‘We didn’t see any berries,’ said Blue, and True shook his head in confirmation.
‘Not much to see in the dark.’ Scarlen looked to Bear. ‘Where can they be found?’
‘Near the pond, which is where you should head, as you’ll need to drink soon if you haven’t eaten.’
True licked his lips. ‘I could do with some water. Which way is it?’
Bear pointed to his right. ‘Just walk that way.’ And Scarlen nudged him. ‘Let them leave,’ he whispered as soon as True went over to Blue to say something.
‘We should help them.’
‘I don’t trust them.’
‘But look at them. They’re so young, and one is injured.’ She pressed forward before he had a chance to tug her arm. ‘We’ll help you get there, and it’s for the best if we stick together. The more of us, the safer we’ll be, right?’
The boys nodded, and Bear made sure they were ahead at all times so he could keep an eye on them, as his senses were on full alert thinking the twins shifty with the doe-eyed looks they kept throwing at Scarlen.
He almost growled at her at one point for walking too close to them.
She needed to see everyone in the Zone as the enemy, no matter their age.
But no, she was being as sweet as them, falling for their soft smiles and trembling lips each time the wind moved a leaf.
Being the only one not thrilled about going to find the pond, Bear decided he’d ditch the lads at the water and remove Scarlen from the open land before she had time to grumble, which he guessed she would, as she’d gone into mother mode over the twins.
Blue’s cane made a hefty noise each time it smacked the ground, alerting all around, annoying Bear to his fucking core, and part of him wanted to snap the thing in half and see if the boy really had injured himself.
Blue certainly was doing a good job with the limp.
Perhaps Bear was being paranoid, but he was wise enough to know that didn’t mean he wasn’t being lied to.
Nothing but green plant life and mushy ground led the way to the small circular pond, its clear blue water a glow in the dark, with a misty pink hue floating above keeping the insects out.
‘We’ll leave you here, and best of luck and all that.’ Bear jerked his chin at the brambles close to the water’s edge. ‘There are your berries.’ He eyed them with his suspicion on show when they didn’t make haste to the food. ‘Thought you were starving.’
As though he thought he should make a point of eating, True swiped a handful of sun-yellow berries and passed some to his brother. ‘Thanks,’ he said, watching Bear as they ate.
Scarlen whispered to Bear. ‘We can’t leave them here.’
‘We can, and we are.’ His voice was filled with authority, but he didn’t care.
‘If that was my little sister injured over there, vulnerable and unarmed, I’d want someone to look after her.’
‘Go give them your blade then.’ He meant it sarcastically, not realising she would dart their way to offer its assistance, but just as he went to snatch her back, she’d bent to where Blue sat, and the boy’s arm shot up, his dagger in hand, the shine of the pond bringing a glint to the metal.
‘Smithson!’ Bear yelled, and she turned sharply just as Blue struck, missing his target but stabbing the top of her arm.
Scarlen screamed, and the lads jumped back, Blue still holding his weapon up, blood trickling down to the hilt.
Bear roared, and the ground shook, and the twins were stock-still for a moment.
‘Death to southerners,’ True yelled.
‘We will be Flames,’ said Blue, and with that they ran, Bear charging their way.
‘Bear,’ Scarlen cried, her wide eyes fixed on the wound in her arm.
He turned, lifting his sweatshirt to rip the bottom of his t-shirt to dip in the pond as he knelt to her side.
‘It’s all right, Scars. It’s not deep.’ It was a lie for all he knew, as he couldn’t see through the blood.
Quickly wrapping the wound with the damp material, he checked over his shoulder in case the boys felt brave enough to return.
‘Are they back?’ Scarlen was trying to peer around him, her eyes pricked with tears, her face ashen.
‘They’ve got half hour before their stomachs cramp so badly they won’t be walking anywhere.’ At least that was two down in the Zone.
‘What do you mean?’
He tipped his head slightly. ‘Don’t eat the yellow berries.’
Scarlen’s mouth gaped for a second before the grimace returned. ‘How long will they be in pain?’
‘About two days.’
‘Good. Because I’ll be in pain a lot longer thanks to them.’ She huffed, snarling at the blood leaking down her arm.
‘A healer will fix you.’
‘When can I see one?’
‘As soon as someone dies.’
‘Death, death, it’s all around us,’ sang out Varklee, almost skipping into the opening.
Bear held Scarlen’s dagger out. ‘You’ll be fucking dead if you come near us.’
Varklee waggled a finger. ‘Now, now, Bear pear, I’m here to find the little scallywags wanting to become Flames.’ His laughter trilled. ‘They grow up so fast these days.’ He circled an arm at Scarlen. ‘Got you good, I see. I shall ruffle their hair for the effort.’
‘I’m going to rip their fucking throats out.’ Bear went to stand, but Scarlen groaned, and it kept him close.
Varklee waved off the threat as though it were nothing but a mere joke. ‘They’re just kids having fun. We’ve all been there.’ He thumbed over his shoulder. ‘Now, excuse me, mini Flames to find. Ooh, I’ll call them my Flickers.’ His warped laugh echoed as he pranced away, no cares to be given.
Heat was rising in Bear as he slouched to the ground, one eye on Scarlen, one on the trees. He had to get out of the clearing, but she looked ready to faint.
‘I feel tired, Bear.’
‘Yeah, we need to find somewhere safer to rest.’ He wouldn’t be able to get her up into a tree, so back to the fence was for the best. ‘See if you can stand.’
Scarlen made it to her feet, then passed out, and Bear caught her before she hit the ground.
Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her back into the shelter of the evergreens, wondering if anything would happen to Wynter if Scarlen were to die in the Zone.
Not that it was the reason he was looking out for her.
He would still have cared for her, he told himself. She was supposed to be his enemy, but …
He gently placed her on the ground by the fence as fatigue crept in to have a gnaw at his spirit. With frustration fuelling him, he sat by her side, dagger in hand, temper soaring.
Tugging at the Ring around his neck, he let out a low growl. Fucking thing! If he had his power back, they’d all be sorry, starting with those two little Flickers.
He mentally went over everyone he wanted dead, starting with the king. If only Renwah was in the Zone. With or without a dagger or Ring, he’d rip him limb from limb.
Glancing at the general’s daughter passed out beside him under his care, he took a calming breath.
Fuck this life. He had to stop overthinking, or any kind of thinking that didn’t involve the Zone.
Right now, survival mattered, and the only person he felt he could trust had fainted.
He huddled close to her body, curling an arm around her waist to help keep her warm.
‘It’s a huddle,’ he whispered, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. ‘Seeing how you’re injured, perhaps a bit of a cuddle.’ He stayed awake, watching the trees until the warm haze of daylight lightened the sky, as there was no way he was moving Scarlen every hour to abide by their fucking rules.