Fire & Flood (28 page)

When my feet touch the ground, I nearly collapse. It doesn’t take long to right myself, but I’m worried about how I’ll get to base camp. The bears descend behind me and then watch as I peer into the desert.

I believe I was correct. About a half-hour walk. It doesn’t seem like much. Not after everything I’ve been through. But with more blood leaking from my wound and dripping down my leg — the distance seems infinite. My biggest worry is that once I get there, I won’t find a way to continue the race. But I clench my fists and I grit my teeth and I vow to try.

“It is you,” a small voice says.

I spin around — still on guard — and spot a figure leaning against the formation. The person is only about twenty feet away. Close enough so that when I narrow my eyes, I realize who it is.

“Ransom!” I yell, rushing toward him. My steps slow as I close in. DN-99, his raccoon, is sleeping in his lap. Or maybe it’s just closing its eyes, trying to shut out what’s happening. “Oh God.” I note the ram at Ransom’s feet and crouch down beside the animal, one hand covering my stomach. G-6 is gasping for air and lying flat on his side. Looking at Ransom, I grasp what he’s trying to do. The knife is poised over the ram’s heart, but he doesn’t move an inch from there.

Ransom glances up at me with tears in his eyes. “I already killed a Pandora,” he explains. “That’s not why. It’s just he’s … He’s in so much pain.”

I nod and sit down next to him. My head swims from pain and loss of blood, but I can’t leave him. Not like this. Ransom glances over my shoulder and spots AK-7 and Madox, who’s back in fox
form. He flinches. “It’s okay,” I tell him. “AK-7 helped me. He won’t hurt us or Madox.”

He shakes his head and lowers the knife. “That blasted fox. I tried to keep him still. When Harper came rushing around the corner earlier, I didn’t know what was happening. She took one look at me and tossed the fox in my direction. Told me to watch him. To not let him go.” He sighs and runs a hand through his red hair. “But that Pandora nearly took me out trying to get loose. He mimicked that eagle and wanted to go up the formation, see about the commotion. It was you up there, huh?”

I nod. Ransom looks only half there, like a part of his mind was lost somewhere in the desert. Seeing him this way, I can’t bear to tell him what happened.

“You’re hurt,” he says.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Harper has a daughter,” he adds.

My eyes widen. “She told you?”

“She told everyone. She screamed it.” Ransom points to where Harper stood, where she yelled out to me. “Think I’m the father?”

I laugh and then cringe with agony. Darkness lurks at my peripheral vision, threatening to pull me under. I drop down onto my butt and hang my head. “No, I don’t think you’re the father,” I tell the boy.

Ransom looks at me with clarity. Like some of the fuzziness in his head has subsided. He glances down at his hands, at the knife he’s holding. Then he slips it into my palm. “You have to do it,” he says in a whisper. “That’s why you’re here.”

I close my hand around the blade, but shake my head. “No, Ransom.” Though I already know I
will
do it. Not only because of Cody, though I feel a sting of guilt that this may be the opportunity I wanted. But because every breath the beast takes rips out my
heart. I want it to end. I want the ram to go with his Contender. To be at peace. And, yes, because I want my brother to survive.

“I’m going home. I need to tell my family about Levi and be with my sister,” Ransom says suddenly. “But I need you to do this first.” He pulls himself up and moves closer to G-6. The raccoon startles and then crawls away. Ransom cradles the ram’s head in his arms and closes his eyes. “Please do it now, Tella. Please. Please don’t wait. Make it fa —”

Ransom’s voice breaks in a sob. Another wave of dizziness washes over me, but I fight the urge to succumb. There’s something I must do first. Getting to my knees, I hold the knife over the ram’s heart — or where I hope it is. Ransom lowers his mouth to the ram’s ear and whispers into it. Tears burn my eyes and I squeeze them shut. I want to make this all slow down. It seems ever since I climbed the formation — ever since I tossed my backpack on the passenger seat of the car, really — everything has moved too quickly. But I can’t draw this out. Not when both Pandora and Contender are in so much pain. I wonder if I will ever forget what I’m about to do.

No, never.

I thrust the blade in and cry out. When I look up, Ransom is staring at G-6. His face is relaxed, but his eyes seem more empty than ever.

My body shakes with disbelief. I’ve never killed anything before. The grief is instant and crushing. It wasn’t my Pandora. But it’s the last piece of Levi I’ll ever know.

“Thank you,” Ransom says. When he looks directly at me, his expression changes from sorrow — to concern. “We need to get you to base camp.”

It’s the last thing I hear before I lose consciousness.

What happens next comes only in fragments. It’s like I’m lying near the ocean; one moment, I see things clearly, the next, I’m smothered by the tide.

I feel a rocking, jerking sensation and realize I’m being carried. The person holding me is about the size of a mattress. He’s talking about his nails.

Beside him, I spot a blur of yellow curls. In focus. Out of focus. It’s like a flower blooming, then fading to black.

The mattress carries me farther.

I sleep in his arms, and when I wake again, there are men hovering over me, tending to my wound. I feel the sting of a needle sewing flesh. When I groan, one of the men stops and speaks to the other. Something pinches on the inside of my arm, and my mind goes blank.

And then, sometime in the night, I hear him.

Him.

He leans over me and whispers in my ear like Ransom did to Levi’s Pandora. His voice sounds like it’s coming from a wind tunnel, and I can barely understand what he’s saying.

“… don’t need to know everything now. Only that I’ll never leave you again,” Guy says. Though I can’t see him, I know he’s thinking. Wondering how much to say. Finally, I hear his voice continue. His words slide over my body like silk. “You asked about my tattoo.” Guy pauses, chooses his words carefully. “Do you know what hawks sometimes eat? Do you know what they
hunt
?” My heart beats faster, but I can’t open my eyes.
Open your eyes!

“They hunt serpents, Tella,” he finishes. “Serpents, like the ones running this race.”

My heart thumps so hard, I’m afraid I’ll die in this moment. But no matter how hard I try, I cannot open my eyes.

Even as Guy tells me his secret.

That he is here for more than just his cousin.

“She’s definitely looking at me,” someone says.

I hear a long sigh. And then, “You’re imagining things. Again.”

I know the voice. I know both of these people. My eyelids flutter and the room spins. Someone’s face comes within inches of mine. I see teeth. So many teeth, I’m afraid it’s a monster. That Titus is back with his ever-present smile.

“Get back, Jaxon. If she
is
awake, you’re going to scare the crap out of her.”

That’s it. That’s the face — and the owner of the teeth. “Jaxon,” I croak.

“Hot damn, I knew you were awake,” Jaxon cries.

A chair groans and seconds later, Braun leans over the cot I’m lying in. “Hey, Tinker Bell. You passed out. I carried you. Did a number on my nails.” He glances at his fingers and his eyebrows knit together with concern. Then he looks up and smiles. “Thought we might lose you.”

“Where’s Madox?” The first thing I want to know about is Guy, but I can’t bring myself to ask. His name conjures too many questions. So for now I think of my fox.

“Olivia is with him outside,” Jaxon says. “Him and the
bear
.”

“Is Olivia okay?” I try sitting up, but Braun lays his enormous palm against my shoulder and guides me back down. “And AK-7 isn’t bad.”

“She’s fine,” he replies. “And we know the bear isn’t bad.”

“The bear killed Titus,” I add. What I don’t admit is how I helped. But I doubt they’d blame me for my part.

Jaxon rubs the back of his neck. “Uh, we didn’t know
that
. We figured something went down, but no one knew what.”

“Is Ransom here? Maybe I should tell him about Titus, too. I haven’t yet.” I reach down and touch the place where Titus stabbed me. Just as I suspected, I feel stitches running along my abdomen.

“Um, you should ask Guy about Ransom. He insisted he be the one to tell you.” Braun rubs a hand over his shaved head.

My muscles clench upon hearing that Guy is here, at base camp. Perhaps right outside the door. But I guess I knew that. I remember … I remember what he said to me.

“Are you sure Titus is dead?” Braun continues.

I think back to how far Titus fell, almost four stories. I think about the tilt of his head and the blood streaming from his mouth and leg. “I’m sure.”

Braun’s shoulders fall with relief and he nods. “I didn’t want to let those things happen to you. I didn’t want to —” Something catches in his throat. He looks down and presses his lips together, breathing in through his nose.

I can’t stand the thought of Braun feeling guilty. Not after he carried me here. But mostly, I don’t want to hold on to anger or resentment. This race is hard enough on its own.

“It’s fine.” I take his hand and give it a squeeze. Jaxon takes my other hand and we have a total bonding moment. I could stay here for hours, just relaxing and chatting with these two. But there are others I need to ask about.

“Where is Caroline?” I swallow hard. “And Harper?”

Jaxon and Braun exchange looks. “You should talk to Guy about them, too,” Jaxon answers.

I want to demand answers, but decide since Guy is the only person left to ask about, I’ll do as they say. “Then can you send him in?”

They glance at each other and nod like they have to agree on this together. I wonder how long I was out for these two to have become such close conspirators. “Yeah, okay,” Jaxon says. “We’ll be right outside if you need anything.”

They leave quietly, and I glance around for the first time. I assume I’m in one of the huts I spotted from the formation. The
walls create a perfect circle and the roof is pitched to a single point. The entire thing — except the dirt floor — is made of dried grass. Over the door hangs a thick green-and-blue plaid blanket. I have a similar one over my legs. Hanging across the room is a small, round mirror, and below it is a rickety chest. There are three other cots besides mine. And only one chair. The one Braun was sitting in when I woke up.

I stare at the empty chair and suddenly feel very alone. The sensation doesn’t last long. Because when I turn my head — I see Guy standing in the makeshift doorway. My chest splinters and my ribs stretch open.

All that’s left is my heart.

He runs a hand over his jaw like he’s not sure what to do. A shiver works its way down my spine and my skin tingles. If he doesn’t touch me, I’ll burst from anxiety.

I will crumble.

He takes a step in my direction, and I open my mouth to say something,
anything
that will bring him closer. But he crosses the room without encouragement. He sits down on my bedside like he’s not sure if I want him there. Like he’s afraid I’ll shove him off at any moment. I’d rather tear my insides out.

Guy swallows.

His fists tighten.

His jaw clenches.

“Say something,” I tell him.

He turns and looks at me. His eyes swim with fear. My breath catches. “Jaxon tells me Titus is dead.”

A knot forms in my throat. I suddenly feel like a child again, like I need to be rocked in someone’s arms. On the formation, I was brave. I faced Titus and I lived. But here, with Guy sitting so close, the terror I felt devours my soul. Tears streak down my cheeks. I’m in awe of them, surprised that I can cry after being so dehydrated. It’s then that I realize I’m not thirsty, and that the men who work for the race must have given me fluids.

Guy wipes away my tears and shakes his head. “He got away from me, Tella,” he explains. “I knew when he ran … I knew he would go after you.” Guy looks into his lap and bites the inside of his cheek. “I tried to find him before he found you. I tried.” He squeezes his eyes shut. “I would have killed him.”

I sit up — gritting my teeth against the pain in my abdomen — and throw my arms around his waist, bury my head into his chest.
Beneath me, I feel him draw in a deep breath. Then he wraps his arms around my shoulders. “Tella,” he whispers into my hair. “It’s okay. I’m here.”

I bite my lip and press my cheek closer to him. “I remember what you told me.”

He stiffens. “What do you remember?”

Pulling away, I sit up and stare into his face. “That tattoo on your back. It stands for something,” I say. “You said hawks
hunt
serpents.”

Guy looks at me for a long time, then nods. “That’s right.”

I clasp my hands together like Caroline does when she’s nervous. It doesn’t help. “You’re here to take down the people running this race.”

He glances over his shoulder at the door. When he looks back, he squares his shoulders and straightens. His silence is admission enough, but I want to hear him say it aloud.

“Tell me,” I say. “Tell me I’m right.”

New tears escape my eyes. I’m more afraid in this moment than I have been the whole race. Afraid Guy will die trying to find these people — and of the things I’d do to prevent that. He rubs his thumbs over my cheeks and says, “You’re right. I’m here to destroy the Brimstone Bleed. To ensure no one ever suffers through it again. I’ve been training….” He trails off and touches a hand to his mangled ear absently, as if remembering this training. Then he moves his hand to my chin, holds it so that I meet his eyes. “Tella, do you remember what I told you about Gabriel Santiago’s daughter, Morgan?”

I nod. How could I forget?

Guy breathes through tight lips, and I realize he’s about to tell me the rest of the story. My muscles tighten as I anticipate his words. “After Morgan died,” he says gently, “Santiago found out that the Pharmies were the ones who started the fire. And he
sought vengeance. He wanted the Pharmies who killed his daughter, the same ones who destroyed
his
work, to pay for what they’d done. He threatened their families, said he’d murder their children and spouses and parents unless they agreed to his terms.” Guy swallows, and then he says to me, “Santiago was a powerful man, with powerful friends. He could’ve done what he promised.”

My eyes fall to the floor, wondering what I’d do if someone threatened to kill my entire family. Someone I thought could follow through with it. “What did he want them to do?” I ask in a whisper.

Guy rubs a hand over the back of my neck. I close my eyes as his fingers trace circles along my skin. “He asked them to choose. He asked them to choose one person in their family to compete in a race.”

My eyes snap open.

“Santiago then told them to choose someone else. Someone to be injected with a virus they’d create. That family member would be used as motivation for the person competing in the race.” Guys stops rubbing my neck. “As punishment for having a hand in his daughter’s death, Santiago created a race. And every six years, he made the Pharmies choose two people from their families. One to compete and one to become ill. Cousins, brothers, great aunts … they could choose anyone. But they had to choose. And the only thing they could do to help was create animals to assist them in the race.”

After everything I’ve been through, I almost can’t handle this last piece of the puzzle. The knowledge that nearly sixty years ago, someone in my family had a hand in Morgan’s death. And that my being here is a consequence of that. My body starts shaking as my mind snaps hold of something else….

Creator Collins.

The one who created Madox.

He could be
family
.

“How is this still going on? Isn’t Santiago dead?”

“Others have taken his place,” Guy says quickly, and I can hear the spitefulness in his voice. “It’s bigger now than Santiago ever thought it could be. There are people out there ignorant of the details, gambling on what they believe is an illegal horse race. And others who help the Pharmies decide who out of their families should be infected and who should compete. And there are managers, too. People who oversee the actual race and keep the gamblers informed on how their
horse
is performing.”

I’m overwhelmed with everything Guy’s telling me, and part of me wonders,
Why tell me this now?
“Is that everything you know?” I ask, defeated. “Is there more?”

“There’s more. Details that aren’t important.” He squeezes my hand.

“You’re really going to try and end this race?” I ask. “For good?”

Guy makes a fist and beats it twice against his knee. “My father told me that the people running the race recruit the top five Contenders to work for them.” Guy pauses, licks his lips. “I’m going to win, and then I’m going to take the job.”

“You’ll try to take them down from the inside,” I speculate.

He squeezes my hand again as if to say,
That’s right.

“If Harper stays, maybe she can help us,” I tell him, my heart beating faster. “Did you see her fight the Triggers the night they attacked our campsite? She was like this —”

“Tella,” Guy interrupts. “You’re not doing this with me. I’m only telling you so there aren’t any more secrets.”

“But with me and Harper —”

“Harper is gone.”

I let go of his hand. “What are you talking about?”

Guy cups my face in his palm. “You’ve been out for almost a full day,” he says. “Harper left last night. She took Caroline and Ransom with her.”

“How could she do that?” I put both hands on my head, trying to come to terms with what he’s telling me. “They don’t give us the choice to leave until the last day of base camp, right?”

“She was the winner,” he explains. His voice lowers into a whisper. “She made a request because of her circumstances.” My brow furrows and Guy runs his thumb over the crease. He avoids my eyes when he says, “Harper’s daughter died.”

I cover my mouth and choke on a sob. Shaking my head, I think of how she told me only yesterday. How I went from seeing Harper as a friend and comrade — to a mother.

Guy slides his hand inside his cargo pants and withdraws an envelope. “She left this for you.” Before I can ask what it says, he presses his lips against mine. The letter flutters to the bed and I twine my arms around his neck. Guy pulls me closer and kisses me deeper until all thoughts of the race vanish. He kisses me until there is only him and me and the feel of our skin. I shiver as his hands move up my back and wrap around my neck. His tongue slides into my mouth and heat floods my body. I want to live here, in this moment — with him this close and me in his arms.

When we break away at last, both gasping for air, our hands continue to roam. They touch thighs and lips and cheeks. It’s as if our minds have released each other, but our bodies can’t dream of stopping.

“Read her letter,” he says finally. “I’ll be outside.”

He heads for the door and even then I reach out for him. I want to scream for him to stay. But instead, I look down at the envelope. The one Harper left me.

I fill my lungs, run my finger under the sealed flap —

And I pull out the letter.

Reading Harper’s letter is too much. I pull myself out of bed and double over with pain. The stitches in my stomach are tender and raw, but I can’t lie here any longer. I right myself and move across the room. I shuffle like an old man and my mind spins. I think about the race and the things I’ve done. I think about Madox and how I’d dissolve without him. I think of Caroline and Ransom and Harper — who are all on their way home. I even think about Jaxon and Olivia and Braun, my new friends.

And I think of Guy.

I remember he’s here for more than just his cousin — that it’s bigger than a sister or a mother or a daughter. That he’ll try to destroy the Brimstone Bleed. I wonder if I’m strong enough to aid him — if I can let this be bigger than Cody. If I can help save more than just my brother.

Madox trots in and I scoop him into my arms, careful not to strain myself. The fox nuzzles my neck, and my heart sings.
Holding my Pandora, I realize there’s more at stake than our loved ones back home. There are also the animals the Creators — the
Pharmies
— generated. What happens to them when the race ends? Are they destroyed? If so, do they go willingly to their deaths, or do they fight? I gaze at my fox and my body trembles.

When I glance up, I realize I’m standing before the oval mirror.

My gut twists when I see myself. “Good God,” I tell my Pandora. “I need a friggin’ bath.” There’s sand in my curly hair and my face is covered with grime. My white shirt is nearly brown with sweat and dirt, and I have a purple bruise blooming across my cheek. But my lips form a small smile when I see that the green-and-blue feather still dangles over my shoulder.

Finally, I see my eyes. My
mother’s
eyes. And I suddenly grasp what she meant. Running my thumb beneath them, I notice they hold strength I never recognized before. The same strength I always saw in her.

Understanding — or maybe
acceptance
— showers over me.

My mother took us to Montana to try and save my brother. To hide him from the race. To hide
me.
But they found us anyway. She knew all along. It was right there in her eyes: knowledge and determination and strength.

I know what she was telling me when she said I have her eyes.

You have my strength, too.

The feather in my hair is more than what it appears, I realize.
This was my mother’s,
she’d said. But it’s what she didn’t say that haunts me. The questions I never thought to ask. The questions I’d ask now if she were here: When
did she wear this feather, Mom? Did she wear it in the jungle? In the desert? Did she wear it as a
Contender
?

But perhaps there’s another question I’d like answered even more.

What happened to her?

I look down at Madox. My mother never wanted me to be here, but she knew I was going anyway. And she knew I could win.

I
will
win.

I’ll save Cody.

Then I’ll help Guy bring down this entire race.