Shadows of Glass (17 page)

“Stop!” I call out. “These are my friends.” And that’s when I realize I am talking
to all of them, about everyone. But first I have to stop them from killing each other.

12

My shiner friends
are no match for my new American friends. In a matter of seconds, Adam is flat on
his back with the point of a gun pressed against his cheek. Pace goes flying though
the air, and Levi draws out his knife and goes after him. Zan’s hair flies from her
hat as she jumps straight up and kicks James in the chin, and Alcide is on Dr. Stewart’s
back until Dr. Stewart propels himself backward into a tree to break Alcide’s hold.

“You’re a girl!” James exclaims as Zan straddles his chest before thumping down on
him. She pulls a small knife from her sleeve and holds it to his throat.

“Stop!” I yell out. “Don’t hurt them! These are my friends.”

Bella rushes at us and Jane grabs her collar before she can do any damage to the attackers.
She growls ominously as Lyon stands over Adam.

“Why did you attack us?” Lyon demands.

“We thought you’d taken Wren,” Adam replies. “We found blood on a club and thought
she’d been taken by the rovers.”

“I’m fine, Adam,” I say. I turn a circle to see they are all at risk of death if anyone
makes a wrong move. “Please, let them go,” I say to Levi.

“They are young, Lyon,” Jane urges, “the same age as Zan and Levi.”

Levi nods, sheaths his knife, and extends a hand to Pace to help him up. Dr. Stewart
does the same with Alcide, who stumbles. Lyon gives Adam a stern look and lets him
up, while Zan gives James a smile that tells him she is not to be messed with again,
then jumps up. James grunts as Zan “accidentally” kicks him in the side.

Pace runs to me and pulls me into a hasty embrace. “You’re not hurt?” He pulls away
and looks at me closely. “I was afraid you were dead or worse.”

They found the bloody branch. But no mention of a body. What happened to it? “No …
I’m fine,” I say. “They offered to help us.”

“What are they,” James asks as he keeps a cautious eye on Zan. “Royals?”

“They’re from America,” I say. “They saw the smoke from the dome and came to investigate.”

“From where?” Adam asks, and I realize that only I know about America, and only because
Pace had told me.

“From a country across the sea,” Pace says.

“How did you get here?” James asks as he climbs to his feet, giving Zan a wide berth.
I notice she is smiling rather smugly, but she is also watching him closely.

“They have an airship,” I say.

“A what?” Alcide squeaks. He is bent over, with his hands on his knees, trying to
catch his breath.

“Lose something?” James says at the peculiar tone of his voice.

“At least I didn’t get beat up by a girl,” Alcide replies as he straightens up.

Zan laughs and makes a great show of shaking out her hair before replacing it beneath
the cap. I can’t help but notice James and Alcide watch her closely, fascinated by
her movements.

“We have food for you,” Jane says. “And blankets. We would like to help, if you’ll
let us. We can talk about the rest later.”

“Food?” Alcide says.

“More than I’ve ever seen,” I say. “The children need it.”

“I vote yes,” Alcide says. “We all need it.”

“No one asked you,” Adam reminds him but he looks at me. “Wren?”

“They are good people,” I say. “They really want to help.”

“And learn,” Dr. Stewart adds.

“And learn,” I agree. “This is Lyon Hatfield, his wife Jane, his daughter Alexandra,
and his nephew Levi.”

“Levi Addison,” Levi says and holds his hand out to Pace.

“And this is Dr. Stewart,” I conclude.

“I’m Pace,” Pace says and takes Levi’s hand.

“Adam.” Adam raises his hand.

“James.”

“Alcide.”

I let out a sigh of relief. The light around us brightens and I sense that morning
is not far off. Surely this day will offer more hope than the last. We gather up the
baskets and the lamps that were dropped in the attack and move in the direction of
the shelter. Pace walks on one side of me, Levi on the other.

“You’re not a shiner,” Levi says. “Wren explained to us about her eyes. I noticed
you don’t have them.”

“No, I’m from above,” Pace admits.

“So you’re the one,” Levi says. “She told us about the revolution.”

“You mean she is the one,” Pace says. “Without her inspiration, it never would have
happened.”

“I knew you were brave,” Levi says.

“No, I’m not,” I say. At the moment I am terrified. What happened when they found
the branch? Where is the body?

Pace slings his arm around my shoulder. “And modest,” he adds. “But please don’t disappear
like that again. I was terrified when we couldn’t find you.”

“What happened? Why did you all go looking for me?”

“I woke up and realized you were gone. I thought you’d gone into the tunnel with the
rest, but when I went to look for you there, they had come up. We went outside, saw
your tracks in the mud, and followed them. We found a bloody tree branch, and it looked
like there’d been a scuffle of some sort. We found more tracks going away, and we
knew they weren’t yours because they were bigger. We were following them when we saw
the lights among the trees and went to investigate. Adam, James, and Alcide could
see from far off and said that you were being held prisoner.”

“It must have been when you stumbled and fell,” Levi says. “And I caught you.”

“So we climbed the trees to set a trap.”

“You’re lucky we didn’t shoot you,” Levi says.

“It’s a risk I was willing to take,” Pace replies, “to keep her safe.”

Pace’s words speak volumes about his feelings for me, but I’m too worried about what
else he said to appreciate them. “All you found was a bloody branch?” I ask.

“Should they have found something else?” Levi says.

I shake my head, pretending confusion.

“I’m just so grateful you are not hurt,” Pace says. “So how did you find each other?”

“I was looking at the stars and saw one moving,” I say, relieved that I do not have
to lie about this part. “So I went closer and realized that it was something coming
this way. I watched them from the grass until they discovered me.”

“We literally landed on top of her,” Levi says.

“How?” Pace asks.

“They fly,” I say. I know Pace will be fascinated with the things the Hatfields have
and do.

“How do you fly?” Pace asks. “I would like to see that.”

Levi explains to Pace about the glider wings while we walk. I see that Adam, James,
and Alcide are in deep a conversation with the Hatfields, as the three of us are.
I also notice James and Zan stealing looks at each other when they think the other
one isn’t watching. Perhaps I should warn Zan about James. But what would I tell her?
Just because James and I rub each other the wrong way doesn’t mean it will happen
with other people. It might just be our personalities. Our world has gotten a lot
bigger now, as have our choices.

“What did you see when you were up there tonight?” I ask. “You never said.”

“Because I was distracted,” Levi grins. “We really didn’t see much. Smoke mostly and
the tops of some buildings with what looked like trees on them and a long catwalk
that looks as if it stretches from one side to the other.”

“It does,” Pace says grimly. His father fell from the catwalk and died before he was
born, chasing a criminal. “They can’t clear the smoke because the engines for the
fans were destroyed,” Pace says. “And if it only has the one hole to come out of it
will take days for it to clear.”

“I believe there was more than one hole, although one looked to be more on the side.”

“From where James blew the fans,” Pace explains.

“The poor people,” I say. “We still have friends inside and we’re worried about how
they have fared. We are especially worried about Pace’s mother,” I continue. “She
was held hostage when all this happened.”

“Maybe we could go inside and snoop around,” Levi suggests.

“What do you mean?” Pace says. “Go in through the hole?”

“Why not?” Levi says. “It should be fairly simple to lower down to the catwalk and
from there I would assume there’s a way to reach the ground. The smoke would serve
to conceal our actions.”

“We could certainly get to David and Lucy’s place from there,” Pace concludes. “At
least they would have news, and we could tell them how to get out through the tunnels.”

“If the way is still there,” I say. “We have no way of knowing if it is.”

“It certainly wouldn’t hurt to find out,” Levi says. His excitement over the plan
is obvious, and I know Pace will go because he is desperate to find news about his
mother.

“How would the rest of us get there?” I ask. “You and Zan have the gliders.”

“We have four gliders and the capability of carrying passengers or a load as long
as they don’t weigh too much,” Levi says. “And there’s no reason why we can’t just
fly the airship above and lower the winch down to the dome top. Of course we must
consult with my uncle, but I am certain he would be all for it. The dome is a mystery
that he’s wanted to solve for years.”

A shiver goes down my spine at the possibility. I do not want to go back in, yet I
cannot abandon our friends who are still inside. They fought alongside us. They need
to know that what they fought for is real.

“Wren and I must be the ones to go with you,” Pace says. “After all, we know the streets
better than anyone else.” I cannot argue with his logic, yet I am still terrified
at the thought of going back in. I am afraid that if I go back in I will never get
out again.

We come to the place where we have corralled the ponies and goats. “They lived underground
with you?” Dr. Stewart asks. “Oh my, the ponies are completely blind. Well of course
they would not need sight since they live in the dark.”

“We weren’t completely in the dark,” Alcide says. “We did have light.”

“Ah yes, the waterwheel you told me about. It powered your entire underground system?”

Alcide falls back into discussion with Dr. Stewart while we pause to look over the
animals. I quickly count the goats in my head and know that one is still missing.
I expected to see her with the others even if she was on the other side of the barrier
we constructed. Did she just wander off?

Zan steps through the barrier and goes to the ponies. “They are precious!” she coos
as she pets one.

“One of the goats is missing,” Adam says.

“How can you tell?” James asks.

“It’s the brown one. It belonged to Hans. I just remember it because one of its horns
was broken,” Adam explains.

“It could have gotten out,” Pace suggests.

“Or someone could have stolen it,” James replies. I should tell them that it’s true,
but I am ashamed to confess my crime. I’m afraid of what they will think of me.

“We better set a guard from now on,” Adam concludes. “If it’s the rovers…”

“We have nothing to fight them with,” James says.

“Perhaps we can help with that,” Lyon says. “Help you even the odds a bit.”

While they talk I join Zan inside the pen. Ghost comes directly to me and bumps his
head against my stomach. “He loves you,” Zan says delightedly. As she talks, Jonah
runs into the pen, meowing for all he is worth with his tail straight up in the air
like a flag.

“And I love him,” I say as I rub Ghost’s forehead and Jonah trails between my legs.
I listen to the conclusions drawn by the men. They were right; we need to set a guard
because the rovers will be back. Except I think they will be after more than our livestock.
I believe they will be after revenge for the one I killed. And I really do not think
we can survive it.

13

Sleep is a long time
coming for me, and, when it finally comes, it is full of disturbing dreams with bodies
that float down from the sky and chase me through the trees. I would have much rather
dreamed about taking a bath in Zan’s wonderful tub. When I finally wake up, achy from
sleeping on the hard and unforgiving ground, soaking out my aches is all I can think
about. Because I am determined not to think about the rover I killed the night before.

No matter how badly I don’t want to think about him, I can’t erase him from my mind.
I have to know what happened to him. James, Adam, and Alcide are still sleeping when
I creep from the basement we sheltered in. Jonah, who slept by my side, as is his
habit now, follows me as I go in search of food, and hopefully some answers.

A lot has happened since I stumbled down into our shelter after arriving with the
Hatfields and the food. A canvas awning now covers our ruins. A table sits beneath
it, with some chairs, and a small brazier supplies heat. The table has food on it,
no doubt left behind by the kindness of Jane. I pick up an apple and take pleasure
in the crisp fresh tartness of it, as I had only eaten dried apples in the past. Pip
is in his cage, which hangs from one of the posts that holds up the canvas, and I
feed him a small piece as I pass by. Two men, dressed similarly to the guards I’d
seen the night before at the Hatfields’ airship, stand guard with long guns in their
arms and smaller ones strapped to their hips.

“Where is everyone?” I ask one of the guards. The sun is high overhead and I figure
the time to be early afternoon.

“Mrs. Hatfield took the women and the children to the ship for bathing,” one says.
“And the men are foraging for supplies. They asked us to send you to the ship when
you awakened. They plan to move your camp closer to the ship but did not want to unduly
alarm you.”

“I am on my way,” I assure them. I go by the place where the ponies and goats are
kept, with Jonah trailing after me, and I am amazed to see another guard there. I
give Ghost the core of my apple and move on, pretending to go in the direction of
the airship until I am far enough away that I can go to where I attacked the rover
the night before without the guard seeing me.