“It’s the best chance they have.” I respected Fade for telling the truth, but his words offered no comfort.
I couldn’t bring myself to say more so we finished our meal in silence. In the old days, he would’ve slung an arm around my shoulders, using his body to convey a sense of warmth. Until right then, I didn’t realize how much I looked forward to those little moments, but they were gone like the last glimmer of sun below the horizon. The shadows lengthened, a chill setting in. Nibbling my bread, I wished I could touch his shoulder, his cheek, his hair. That didn’t give Fade pleasure anymore, though, and such moments as when he put his head in my lap had to wait until his reaction changed.
Spence and Tully joined us, midway into the meal. His red hair was shorn so close I could see pink scalp. He wasn’t big, but he was quick with his weapons, enough to keep up with Tully, which I took as a commendation. She stood four inches taller, ten years older too. But their body language made me think they came as a set.
“You both fight well,” Tully said.
I nodded. “We were trained down below.”
It wasn’t until after I spoke that I realized they might have no idea what that meant. We were awfully far from Gotham, and maybe their stories didn’t include survivors in the ruins.
Spence proved this guess to be true when he said, “Down where?”
With a glance at Fade, who nodded, I explained in as few words as possible. By the time I finished, both Spence and Tully were looking at us strangely.
“You really lived underground?” she asked dubiously. “That doesn’t seem very healthy.”
There was no point in explaining our culture: the fish pools and the mushrooms and the way Breeder women provided milk and cheese for the brats, or how we’d hunted creatures in the tunnels, kept them clear of Freaks. The life I’d known in the enclave seemed as if it belonged to someone else.
“It wasn’t. We didn’t live long,” I said softly. “Not like people do up here.”
“Tully.” Spence evidently noted my discomfort with the topic. “Less talking, more eating. Thornton won’t let us sit idle.”
He was right about that. Just as soon as the last bite vanished, our leader barked, “On your feet, soldiers. There are more battles ahead.”
Along with the others, I struggled upright. My stomach was full, but the rest of me ached. And I’d thought Silk was tough.
Sanctuary
An endless night of combat and bloodshed followed. At its end, my knives were crusted with dried blood, my fingers sore on the hilts. I had three new wounds in addition to my scars, and two of them needed attention from Tegan. The light of Soldier’s Pond glimmered in the distance, a promise of sanctuary after the torment of the last few days.
My eyes burned as I picked up the pace without waiting for Thornton to give the word. For the first time in my life, I had no fight left in me. I had to know whether the refugees had arrived safely. The others caught my urgency, and soon we were all running, footfalls thudding over damp ground. I heard Freaks snarling in the distance behind us, but they were too far; they wouldn’t find us before we reached the town perimeter.
As we approached, Thornton shouted the password and the guards went to work disarming the traps. In the moonlight I glimpsed spikes and weights, all manner of death waiting for unwary Freaks to charge. The fence wasn’t solid like the one in Salvation. Instead, this one was made of metal, rusted, but still functional, and you could see right through the gate with a ramp leading to the town’s heart. This had been a different kind of town once, clean and homey like Salvation, but the fortifications took away all the charm, making it clear the people who lived here were ready to fight for their lives. The people of Soldier’s Pond understood the stakes and the penalty for failure.
“We made it,” Fade breathed beside me.
He looked as tired as I felt. Breathing hard from that last burst, I followed the others into town and then the guards on duty secured the entry again. They all had rifles and other weapons, some of which I’d never seen before. Before I could ask about the others, our leader did.
“Status on the rest of the groups?”
“The scouts came in hours ago,” the man on duty said.
“And the refugees?”
“Made it an hour past. Some of them are in bad shape. The colonel has set up a med center in the old granary at the edge of town.”
“Where’s that?” I cut in.
I didn’t care if it was impolite; I needed to see Tegan and my family. Though Thornton offered me a sharp look, he did give me directions. I jogged off. I’d gone a good distance when I realized Fade was behind me, but I didn’t stop to question him. It was enough that he didn’t want me running off alone. I have your back. Not when it’s easy. All the time. At least those words still held true. Everything else could be rebuilt with time and patience.
Here, houses were constructed of uniformly sawed timbers with faded, peeling whitewash, addendums to the odd uniform structures in the center of town. The granary was a long, raised building made of old stones. From the outside, I couldn’t tell that it was being used for anything until I drew closer. Lights glimmered in the windows. I rapped twice, not wanting to alarm the occupants within. Momma Oaks flung the door open at once and I could tell by her expression that she had been waiting for me.
“You made it,” she gasped, then she hugged me so tight I couldn’t breathe.
“Edmund and Rex?” I asked.
“We’re here,” my father said.
His lined, dirty face was a welcome sight, so I hugged him too. I teetered on the verge of tears and couldn’t restrain the apology. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save everyone. I tried, but there weren’t enough soldiers and the trip was too far—”
“Shh,” he whispered into my hair, stroking my back.
Momma Oaks hugged me from the other side until I felt warm even in comparison to the hot trickle of tears on my cheeks. Rex stood back, looking beaten down by sorrow; the dead, uncomprehending look had faded, only to be replaced by pain.
“Have you any idea what’s to become of us?” Momma Oaks asked.
I shook my head. “I’m not clear on how Soldier’s Pond runs or who’s in charge. I know Morgan’s second only to the colonel when it comes to town defense. Beyond that…”
“We weren’t here long enough to find out,” Fade put in.
“You must be exhausted.”
Momma Oaks had on her “I want to cook for you and fuss a bit” face but here she was dependent on others for food and shelter. By the twist of her mouth, that reality didn’t sit well with her. I was relieved she was safe, but it couldn’t be easy going from her own tidy home and plenty of food in the cupboards to this. In my experience down below, refugees had few rights, and some enclaves, like the one where I’d grown up, would refuse to accept them altogether, due to limited resources. Things might be different here in Soldier’s Pond, but I had a feeling nobody from Salvation would relax until they heard whether they were welcome.
Knowing she wouldn’t welcome my sympathy, I just nodded. “It was a tough trip.”
“But necessary,” Rex said. “We wouldn’t be here without your efforts.”
Praise made me uncomfortable, gratitude more so. I acknowledged his words with a jerky nod. “I’m going to help Tegan.”
“You should rest,” Edmund protested, but I ignored him.
“I can pitch in too,” Fade said.
The room was a maze of prone forms, laid out with only a little space between them. These cramped quarters reminded me of the enclave, but instead of the makeshift walls built of scraps of metal and tattered curtains, there was no privacy at all. On the injured, I saw each shift of expression, every flicker of pain. It seemed wrong to efface their dignity, after all they’d suffered and lost. Tears trickled down one woman’s face and she was too weak or sad to wipe them away. A stranger did that for her, just before tending the burn on the woman’s right leg.