Moirai (10 page)

“Not everyone can be like Cate with a bow,” Maya
quipped as she handed me a set of daggers. “Rumor has it you're pretty good
against the guys in a brawl.”

“Am I?” I hadn't thought about it. I wasn't bad at
blocking, but there were other things I was bad with; for instance, I could not
start a fire if my life depended on it. Jaxon could make fire with his hands. I
couldn't even make fire with two sticks or stones, or whatever you were
supposed to start a fire with. Some talents couldn't be achieved, not that I
cared.

“Come here.” Maya gestured me to come closer. “I want
you to give me everything you've got.” She wanted me to fight her. I wasn't
ready for it. I'd been here three months and spent every waking hour training
with the different council members. No longer was I supposed to refer to them
as recruits. They weren't recruits and neither was I. It felt strange,
different, but I got used to it.

“You want me to fight you?” It wasn't that I thought I
had a chance in hell I'd win, I just didn't think she'd be interested in going
up against me. Maya was the best instructor. Out of all the council, she'd had
the most training and the most experience in years. I had learned to expect a
win against the boys.

Maya smiled, “I've heard things: I want to see them
for myself. I'll start easy, I promise,” she offered.

I wanted to scoff at her, and tell her she didn't need
to go easy on me. The reality was I hated hand-to-hand combat. It was tough,
especially when I was paired against Jaxon or Aidan. Both boys were twice my
size and had much greater physical strength because of it. I hadn't lost
against either of them in two weeks though. I'd gotten quicker with my movements.
I wasn't great at offense but I had a strong and mean defense.

Standing in the gymnasium, I could see the floor was
covered with blue padding for today's exercise. I stepped closer to Maya,
albeit reluctantly; I didn't hesitate. Her hand came out at me and I blocked
her attempt at a hit. Had I not, she'd have certainly slammed me in the face.
She did the same motion with her left hand, and again another block. She moved
quicker and I matched her movements just as quickly. “Break,” she called and I
stopped. She grabbed some water and I did the same, downing it before we got
ready to continue. “I want you to use this,” she told me, handing me a dull
blade. It wouldn't kill a bug, except for maybe the handle if you squashed it.
“Get the hang of the weight and feel,” she informed me.

“I've used one before.” I took it from her, having a
look at it. It didn't feel any different than the daggers I'd practiced
throwing at a target.

Maya nodded knowingly. “I'm aware, but this one is
made especially for you. We have a dagger the exact same weight and size, just
sharp enough to kill. Use that one successfully today and you can have a real
one.”

I didn’t know if she was serious or not. My mouth hung
agape as she came at me. I had to react quickly and spun out of the way only to
find her holding her own training dagger, her hand at my stomach. She'd have
gutted me if this had been a real fight.

“Try again,” Maya insisted.

This time I was prepared for her movements. I knew the
way she fought. She came up like she had before, her fist preparing to smack me
in the face. I didn't let it. I blocked her blow and used my legs to trip her
down onto the ground. I wasted no time in pinning her, the training blade at
her throat.

“Good.” She smiled up at me. “Seems the boys are right
about you; we should have given you the dagger sooner.”

Maya kept her head trained down, watching the path. Every
so often she'd glance up, making sure she didn’t miss something important, I
had to assume. Or perhaps she kept an eye out for the outlaw. “He could be a
few hours ahead of us, on foot.” She glanced back at me before she continued
tracking the trail he'd left. “There are no towns nearby and I'm positive he
spotted our town. He probably headed far enough north to make camp, rest for the
day, and I'm guessing tonight he'll head into Shadow when we least expect it.”

Aidan laughed darkly. “Sure, let him step into town.
It'll be the last step he ever takes.”

Cate slowed down, walking alongside Aidan. “Never took
you for the violent type.” I could hear the cheer in her voice. “Guess it makes
sense: you did try and take off Joshua's head.”

Aidan's jaw dropped on the floor. “That was completely
planned,” he justified his actions, though I wasn't sure if it was more to me
than anyone else. “Collins and Maya put me up to it. This is different.” Aidan
reiterated, “This crazy lunatic is out here killing people. We were lucky it
wasn't someone from Shadow, which begs the question, who was it and how did two
people find us?”

Maya held up a hand, telling us all silently to remain
quiet and stop walking. We did as instructed and waited for her hand to come
down and for her to speak first. “He's not far from here. I can smell the
campfire.”

I took a deep breath in, but couldn't smell anything but
fresh air. I lowered my voice, careful that wherever he was, he couldn't hear
us, especially if it was a trap. “What's our plan?”

Cate's eyes narrowed. “You heard Collins: we kill him.”

I shifted awkwardly on my feet. I knew disagreeing would
cause an uproar but I had to give my opinion before we went and killed someone.
What if they were innocent and had killed in self-defense? I wanted to believe
it but the body had been hacked to pieces and would likely give me nightmares.
“Shouldn't we make sure he hasn't told anyone else about our town?”

Cate laughed. “So we torture and then kill him, I'm game
for that.”

Maya shot Cate a look to shut up. “We will survey the
scene first and make sure he's alone. Olivia's right, we need to know we're
safe and the only way to do that is to gather information before we kill him.”

Aidan shook his head no in obvious disagreement. “The
minute you show up carrying a weapon and threatening his life, he's going to
tell you whatever story he thinks you want to hear. Outlaws may be criminals
but they're not all stupid.”

Cate slowly nodded. “Aidan makes a good point. The guy
made it as far as Shadow, he can't be a complete idiot to survive the
Gravelands this long. We interrogate him, then kill him.”

“We're not killing anyone!” I interrupted them, louder
than I should have.

Aidan clamped a hand over my mouth to shut me up. “You're
going to get us all killed. Be quiet,” he hissed. I nodded once to tell him I
understood as he removed his hand from my mouth. “Collins’ word is law. He
wants the guy dead. We can bring him back but he'll be burned alive in Shadow.
Wouldn't it be kinder if we did it for him?” Aidan stared at me.

I don't know why I wanted this outlaw to be innocent.
Maybe because in some strange way, wasn't I an outlaw? I was cast out of
society and the Governor in Genesis would have me dead if he could. I wasn't a
killer or a thief. I'd never hurt anyone and didn't have it in me to kill, even
if I wanted to protect Adelaide and Joshua. I wasn't a murderer. “I don't have
an answer, Aidan,” I whispered, “I don't know.” I was at a loss for words.

Maya shot me a look. “Good,” she said, happy I was
keeping quiet. “We're going to surround his camp. He's about one klick north,”
she explained. “Aidan, I want you to go around the camp, set up north. Cate,
head east and keep an eye on him. If he so much as heads for any one of us, I
need you to use that bow and arrow for more than just target practice.”

“I got it.” Cate grinned. She seemed as if she'd waited
her whole life for this moment.

“I'm going to head west, which means you,” she stared at
me, “stay on this path but don't make any noise. You're going to have to find a
position to take cover. The last thing you need is to be the first one
arriving. It's going to take time for each of us to get ready.” Again, she
stared at me. “Give us ten minutes: that will be plenty of time. I'll run the
risk of being seen first. Aidan, you sweep down from the north when he sees me
and attack him. Cate, you're in charge of shooting the outlaw if things go sour.”

The others jogged off as quietly as they could. I
approached the camp, keeping my distance, careful not to be seen. I unsheathed
my dagger, gripping the handle tightly, prepared at any moment for an attack. I
hoped beyond anything the outlaw hadn't spotted me, but I couldn't be sure. I
needed to be cautious and wait for their signal. The further north we traveled
away from Shadow, the more stray trees had rooted into the ground. Most were
scraggily in size, but I managed to hide behind one, careful not to be seen as
I saw the glow of the campfire in the distance.

I wasn't sure how much time passed. It definitely didn't
feel like ten minutes when I heard the first shot ring out, my body freezing in
position. I'd heard that sound before, a gunshot like the one in Haven when the
government murdered Scarlet. My grip tightened on the dagger. I couldn't be
afraid to move, to fight. Maya was the first to show herself. The bullet
whizzed right past her. I blinked twice, unsure if the shot had been off or
she'd dodged it. I knew we were capable of things most couldn't achieve. I
couldn't be scared or afraid. I was trained for this moment: I needed to act
out of bravery, not fear. I moved away from behind the tree, my eyes widening
in shock as the man with the gun came barreling towards me.

“Stop right there!” I screamed, my voice echoing into the
large expanse of open land. “Don't come any closer!” I tried again but he kept
moving. He wasn't running anymore, as he turned in all directions, seeing the
others surrounding him. They were closing in fast.

“I won't miss the next time,” the outlaw threatened,
showing me his pistol.

“I'm sure you won't,” I answered. “Neither will we.” I
nodded towards Cate as she held the bow in perfect position.

“I never miss a shot,” Cate chimed. “I definitely won't
miss your head,” she boasted.

He held his hands up in surrender, then slowly lowered
his gun to the ground. Cate stepped closer, keeping the perfect aim while Aidan
walked up behind the stranger, kicking the gun out of the way, letting Maya
pick it up. Aidan swept his foot beneath the outlaw's legs, causing them to
buckle and to force the man face down into the grass. “Tell us who else you're
in contact with,” Aidan seethed, his mouth low beside the stranger’s ear. I
wasn't sure if he was going to bite his ear or just make him eat dirt. Either
way, Aidan looked pissed. I kept my dagger positioned and ready, should the
need arise.

The outlaw sneered, grunting as he tried to wrestle Aidan
off him. “I'm not telling you anything.” He bucked his hips, forcing Aidan's
body to smash against the ground as he unintentionally let go. The outlaw
rushed for Maya as she pulled the trigger on the gun and Cate released the
arrow, both hitting the stranger before his body shuddered and he collapsed to
the ground. “It's not over,” he rasped, blood bubbling in his mouth as he
wheezed.

“Oh, I'd say it's over,” Cate quipped. “You're done
killing people, that's for sure.” She secured another arrow while I helped
Aidan up off the ground.

“Are you okay?” I asked, watching as he slowly stood up.

Aidan dusted the dirt off himself. “Yeah, just had the
wind knocked out of me.” He glanced at Maya. “Let's carry him back to Collins.”

“Dead man walking.” Cate smiled, clearly in a good mood.
I couldn't quite tell why.

The corners of Aidan's lips turned upwards into a smile.
Cate had managed to coax it out of him, though I didn't quite understand their
fascination with death. “More like carrying. Dead man carrying, soon to be dead
man burning,” he quipped.

I rolled my eyes, not understanding their humor at all.
Maya noticed and said, “What's to get?” She shrugged. “They're trying to find a
way to cope with what we had to do. No one's happy about killing an outlaw, but
we have to protect our town and its people.” Maya secured the gun to the back
of her pants. “We look out for one another. We're the closest thing to family
anyone in this world has,” Maya reminded me, as Cate and Aidan carried the dead
outlaw back to town.

After the outlaw had been killed and brought into Shadow,
Collins ordered a burning just past the border. I didn't attend. I had no need
to. I stayed back with Adelaide, making sure she was all right. During the day,
she seemed upbeat and her usual cheerful self. Nighttime was difficult. The
first few nights were plagued with nightmares. I'd wake up to the sound of
screams from her bedroom and dry her tears. I'd sing to her, cuddle with her
and even tell her stories of make believe princes and princesses until she
finally fell back to sleep.

With time, it got easier. Adelaide was resilient. She
would show me the pages of a book and ask me to read it to her, pointing to the
letters, wanting to learn to read. The nightmares eased but I wasn't sure if
they would ever completely disappear. Adelaide sat in the living room, reading
a book, when there was a knock at the door. “I'll get it!” she offered, jumping
off the couch. She ran for the door, pulling it back as I came down the stairs
with laundry, trying to see who it was. “Auntie Maddie!” She squealed with
delight. I put down the laundry basket and descended the stairs as I saw
Adelaide's arms around the woman and her face buried in her neck.

Seeing the woman more closely, I realized she was one of
the women we'd rescued from Thena. By Collins’ gesture, I had sworn she'd died
the day after we brought her to Shadow, but perhaps I'd been wrong. When we
brought her in, she was barely conscious but breathing. It seemed Shadow's
technology was far superior to anything I'd ever witnessed. Perhaps it just
took time for such a recovery.