Chapter 12 - Voices in the Woods
July
Riding the end of Winter’s tail, the sea breeze blows humid and sticky on my face.
Galen must have picked me up at some point and carried me through the woods. My senses switch on and off, but I’m sure I’ve only seen trees for the past hour. Or was it longer?
The steady sound of leaves, the voices of nocturnal animals, and the image of the trees chasing one another, as if on a conveyor belt, threaten to lull me to sleep.
But Galen’s voice keeps me awake as he repeats the same words I’ve heard since this weird dream started, “We’re almost there... she can help you... stay with me…”
I’ve been in the woods before. Every student old enough to understand the hedonistic meaning of a romantic night walk amongst the trees has spent at least a couple of enjoyable hours hidden in the thicket of this place.
Tonight, however, there are only shadows and disembodied voices lurking amongst the branches and tall grass.
My fingers search for a piece of Galen to grab and cling onto. “Don’t leave me…” I implore, weakly.
“I’m not going anywhere, July.” The moonlight cannot filter through the intricate pattern of foliage, and it isn’t easy to read his expression. But it hits me as he whispers my name.
I’m not going anywhere, July. Two voices telling me the same phrase mix inside my mind. This is more than the awful aftermath of wine on an empty stomach.
I bite my lips, and the pain grants me an extra second of lucidity before whatever substance did this to me knocks me down again. “Poison…”
I’m not sure if Galen can see my face in the darkness. I know he’s listening, but all I can hear in response is his laboured breath and his heart pounding against my ear.
My head bounces against his shoulder as I taste my tears before they roll down my chin. Maybe this is what the Nistarei experience in their last moments: lightness and abandonment.
I close my eyes like I saw some of them doing when I touch my vials to their chests, demanding access to their naked souls. They don’t want my face to be the last thing they see.
I’m still alive. Though—not yet fully awake. The absence of words from Galen doesn’t help my foggy brain. All I can do to stay alert is to focus on my thoughts. Conjectures. Questions that, if presented to Popplewish, would only get preset answers—safe answers.
What difference does having a good soul make if we harvest them when their deadline expires instead of granting more time? Are empty vessels abandoned in the Fields really just that—empty bodies?
They teach us that good Horigeans’ souls are stripped of all their memories and sent back to Horigos, cocooned inside newborns. A few chosen ones every week.
But who gives us the right to pick and choose which soul is worthy of a new chance at life?
Galen’s steady walk cradles me in and out of a haze, but I gather my last energies to mumble, my lips dry and sticky at once, “Our gift… Does this make us better than the Herionos? What about the red souls? What about my Rogues?” I’m not sure if Galen has replied, but I’m sure he’s stopped for a moment.
Is this the sea lapping on the shore? When did we get out of the woods?
“Your suspicions were right then.” A muffled female voice breaks the silence.
Darkness is everywhere, but Galen shields me from the shadows dancing above me. He adjusts my half-unconscious body against his and replies to the woman, “Partially. She only has fragments of proof, but she’s smart, and it won’t take her long to figure out the rest.”
“Do you think she remembered anything else? Did you ask her?”
“Well, Evelyn, you and the rest of the Chapter should have raised the issue before granting her permission with such short notice, but to answer your question…No, she did it because of her need to understand people’s nature and hers.
I think there’s nothing else he needs to worry about.
For now. As for you—prepare yourself for a bigger concern… ”
Galen gently places his hand on my shoulder, smoothing out the wrinkles in my shirt. If only I had the strength to lift my head and say something. Has he lowered his voice, or am I just fading away?
The noise of an electric car window opening catches my attention, and I try to squint my eyes, focusing on the woman’s voice when she asks from inside the car, “What do you mean?”
Popplewish? It can’t be…
Galen bends forward a little, his arms holding me tighter, “Someone’s leaked the video of a soul turning Red—”
“Nonsense,” Popplewish interrupts him.
“You’d better put together your best team, Eve, because the video has already been shared among junior and senior students. July caught Lucretia watching it. That put a massive target on Lucretia’s back, making her our problem now. You know Roden has eyes everywhere.”
“And ears! Have you gone mad? It’s not safe here…” Popplewish hisses.
My body shifts position as Galen tugs me closer to his face, his breath warm on my cheek. His fingers stretch across my face, reaching for his neck. “Relax.” I hear him saying, before something jingles next to my ear.
“That thing can be dangerous in the wrong hands; take it back…How long ago?” Popplewish mutters, and a thud tells me she’s hit something, perhaps the steering wheel, in frustration.
“About a week ago.” Galen grabs me tighter and pulls back slightly. “What are you going to do with her?”
A long sigh. “Don’t be silly. Just put her in the back seat.” Nothing happens, nothing moves. But then, “I said, leave her with me. I can take it from here.” Exasperation is something I never thought Miss Popplewish would be familiar with.
The car door opens. Galen steps back a little more, and my stomach turns.
“I’m coming with you, and I will keep an eye on her. Don’t worry. She’ll sleep for hours—”
“You don’t need to explain why…I can smell the reason…” Popplewish replies, igniting the engines. "Did you use extra?” she adds, louder over the noise of her car. I would never imagine Miss P. driving such a powerful thing—it roars like a beast.
Galen’s body tenses. Something is rumbling in his chest, like an animal growling before the attack. “Do you think I drugged her? Are you out of your mind?”
Another sigh. No. A gasp.
“Fuck. We need to go now—”
Crouching on the back seat, Galen’s attentive hands adjust my floppy body.
From behind my half-closed eyelids, I can’t make out the expression on his face, and when he slides something soft under my head to make me comfortable, a knot stops in my throat.
As far as I understood, we’re in a hurry, but he takes the time to ensure I’m comfortable.
Something light, like a butterfly’s wings, grazes my lips. For a second, I swear, our eyes lock when he quickly kisses me.
When he speaks again, as he sits next to me, adjusting my legs over his, there is gravity in his voice. “How did they get there before me? How did they know?”
He shifts on the seat. His hand brushes my leg as he searches for something in his pocket, the brief touch confirming that I’m still alive, awake, and not dreaming.
“Here, you can have it back. I would never use it on her anyway. Besides, since when does the Chapter become so comfortable using drugs on students?”
What?
The back seat shakes under his weight when he leans forward. My right arm is dangling lifeless on the side of the leather seat, and Galen gingerly folds it back over my chest.
The hissing sound of a seat belt being slid across my body precedes Galen's voice. “You’re safe. I’m here…” he repeats a couple of times.
A safe and comfortable hostage?
His voice almost lulls me to sleep. Until he stops and the leather seat screeches under his angry grip. “You didn’t answer my question.” This rage doesn’t belong to him.
What’s happening? I don’t want to associate this voice with his face…
“Because I don’t have to.” The engines roar, but Popplewish's voice reaches the back of the car as if she’s sitting next to me. “All you need to know is that July will recover soon. Remind me, please, how long have you been part of the Chapter?”
“Long enough to regret the day I said yes.”
“Not enough time to remember that we walk on a thin, weak edge ready to crack at any point.” Popplewish has lowered her voice, but Galen’s body twitches against mine. “Don’t forget why you were allowed in the Chapter and how quickly we can revoke your role.”
He leans closer to the driver’s seat, holding my legs on his so I don’t fall over.
“I can’t keep doing my job without at least some explanations.
July will wake up completely oblivious tomorrow morning, but I am the one who will need to deal with her nightmares and flashbacks—again.
I believe the Chapter owes me this. Unless they’re willing to gamble also with my ignorance and the mistakes it could cause—”
Nothing of what they’re talking about makes sense to me, but I’m the one who’s been served shrimp with a side of freaking drugs.
“Enough.” Popplewish sounds final, ominous. But then, “Roden wants to speak with her in person. I fear he’s decided to act differently this time. He knows time is running out.”
“Bullshit!” Galen slaps the seat. A puff of leathery smell and dust twists my stomach, but I’m still too weak even to gag.
“At least admit you knew about the drug. How long have you been planning this and haven’t told me?
To send her back to him so soon, when it’s not even been a couple of years since the last accident? ”
Him? What—who are they talking about?
“Two years is a long time for some. And we don’t have the means to delay Roden’s decision. Roden knows he only has a small kernel left. She is our only hope now…”
“Oh, stop the farce! I was an idiot thinking you looked shocked when you met us in the woods—”
“I did not know Roden had opted for something so drastic. And even if so, what do you suggest I should have done? Stop him? Don’t you think that would have put me—us—in a dangerous position? This is not the first time for her, or you. For any of us. So tell me, what’s changed?”
Popplewish's question lingers above us, heavy with pressure. “Or should I ask, what’s changed with you?”
Galen’s hand finds mine, and our fingers interlace. “Do not go there again—”
“Or what?” No answer follows from Galen. “That’s what I thought. You can stay, but I don’t want to hear any more stupid theories. Or you can leave the car now.”
The engines roar again, this time ready to sprint.
Galen remains quiet for a moment, gently squeezing my hand. A hesitation louder than hundreds of screams before he finds his voice again, “The waiter…You allowed a stranger to administer a dose to an innocent person? To… her …” he mumbles.
Popplewish clucks her tongue, “And that’s why you’re not ready. You’re too passionate and fail to keep focus when people you love are involved. The dosage was very low, but I had to administer her something, or we wouldn’t be here talking so openly otherwise…”
“I should have left her in Cleryce when I had the chance. Ask Mack to create another one of these…” That metallic sound again.
The car jolts forward, and the pressure flattens me against the seat.
Popplewish's voice travels impatiently through the wind that blows inside the vehicle from the open window. “I don’t intend to discuss this matter in a speeding car. I’m taking you back to your place before heading to HQ.
As far as Roden knows, you headed home after I took July into my care. End of story.”
“The headquarters? Fuck, Eve, to the Deleteri? Seriously? What is he planning to lie on this time that may need their intervention?”
I swear, the car is roaring louder as if echoing Popplewish's unconventional reaction. I want to scream, run away. Despite having Galen so close to me, holding me tight so I don’t fall from the car seat, I can’t shake off the thought that he knows what is happening to me.
And what is happening to me sounds dangerous.
What the hell is going on? My brain is fighting against the idea that this could even be real. Why does the Chapter want to meet me? What’s a Chapter… I must be having a dream; I don’t remember. My head hurts.
Galen slams back against the seat, letting out a loud breath, “Will she still remember me once they’re done?”
“She will remember some.”
“This ride? I mean, she’s unconscious. Is this really necessary?”
“Her body is, perhaps. But we don’t know how much her mind will retain.”
Nothing. I promise. I will retain nothing. If I could only voice that…
The last part of their conversation fades quickly. Too quickly. And, perhaps, I didn’t even catch their exact words. Forgetting Galen?
How can I forget someone I care for so much?