The Prophet's Daughter (15 page)

“Things,” she stated. “Why?”

“I want to know,” I answered, unable to keep myself from sighing. “I was lied to about everything… I just want the truth, or at least what little truth you can give me.”

“He go
es by Lovelock,” she breathed, giving her head a light shake. “I don’t think anyone knows his first name anymore.”

“Lovelock,” I said, inhaling a sharp breath.
My last name.

“Yeah, only those closest to him can call him that. To everyone else, he’s the Pro
phet.” Felicity began to wring her hands, fingers moving in a constant pattern - a habit similar to that of Olive’s. “He offered salvation, a safe place. It’s why my family went with him, why so many believe in his horrid lies.”

“He couldn’t have been the
only person to claim that he could protect people,” I snorted in response.

“He wasn’t, but he was the only true Man of God - he was a pastor before,” she started, turning away and taking a few steps away, hinting that we should continue our walk. “Now I d
on’t know if he’s just crazy enough to believe what he’s saying, or if he’s doing it to protect his ass.”

“I have another question,” I said, glancing up at the sky as I followed suit. It was dark, cold - the sun was long gone and the moon was soon to take
its place. I was grateful for the hoodie I wore.

“Go on.”

“How did you find me?”

“It’s not every day that a ‘big flaming bird,’ as Olive put it, falls out of the sky.” Felicity gave a light laugh. “It crashed a few miles from here and it shook the ground
so hard - I’m surprised you weren’t killed in the crash.”

“Did you see anyone else at the crash?” I asked, hoping to hear about Neil and where he had gotten off to. Ever since I had first woken up I had wondered - but I didn’t worry or care if the old pil
ot was dead or alive, I just wanted reassurance that he wouldn’t be showing up any time soon with an entourage of Raiders ready to pluck me from the village.

“There was an older man,” began Felicity, her voice low. “He was not alive when we found you.”

“Good,” I said, clapping a hand across my mouth the moment the word left my mouth. I stared wide eyed at Felicity, astonished at my horrid response, and she bore a small grin on her face.

“I take it he was no friend of yours.” she shrugged, gaze fluttering up
wards. “It’s getting dark, we should head back.”

“Yeah,” I said. “That would be good.”

“Before we go back, I have one thing to ask of you.” Felicity turned to face me, placing her hands on my shoulders and locking her gaze with mine.

“What is it?” I shifted, uncomfortable under her intense gaze.

“Next raider you see, I want you to go with them and I want you to kill Lovelock.” Her voice held no hint of a joke, her tone serious and gaze piercing.

“What?” I swallowed, blinking, unable to
tear my gaze from her.
“
He’s my
father.”

“No, your father was the man who raised you.” she said, gripping my shoulders tighter. “Lovelock is the man responsible for your
parent’s murder and for the death of so many other innocent people.” “What if I can’t?” I chewed on my lip, staring at her.

“You will make do with what you get,” she stated. “And you will do everything in your power to kill him.. or I’ll kill you.”

I took a step back, away from Felicity, and sighed, my breathing shaky. “I… You’ve done so much for me, but is that even possible?” She never answered. A sense of exhaustion washed over me and the only thing supporting me then were the crutches tucked beneath my arms as we walked back in silence.

Fourteen days passed slow and dragging but I no longer needed the support of the crutches to keep me up. I was slow and my leg still ached often - running was out of the question for some time. However, during those fourteen days, Olivia and I had spent most of the time together after I had been moved into their cabin. She told me about stories the older people of the village told, stories of the way the world was before she was born. It astounded her, and she had committed each one to memory.

“Okay, Olive. Tell me the one about the ducks again.” I leaned back in the chair, the crackle of the fire burning in the fireplace the only sound aside from my voice. Felicity was out preparing for the party later in the da
y - it was the winter-born celebration day.

“Miss Erica told me that ducks used to fly around all the time and that one time when she was younger, her Mum was driving her to school and she saw a long line of ducks crossing the road. She said that she ended
up ten minutes late that day.” Olive laughed. “Oh, and she says that there was a store once called Duck. Guess what they sold there.”

“I have to guess that they sold pancakes,” I said, grinning.

“No!” Olive said in a dramatic voice. “They sold ducks!”

“Re
ally? I would never have guessed!” I chuckled, shaking my head and looking down at Olive, who was staring at me with her hair in her face and her green eyes staring up at me, a wide grin on her face.

“I think it’s time for a haircut.” Reaching forward, I
ran my fingers through her hair, messing it up. She pulled away and stuck her tongue out, crossing her arms as she tried to put on a furious expression.

“You messed up my hair!”

“Did I?” I gasped, faking shock. “I think it’s an improvement.”

“Nuh uh! Is no
t!” she huffed, crawling up into my lap. She flumped down and exhaled a dramatic sigh, leaning against my chest.

“Hey, Arin?”

“Yes?”

“Mummy says never to say this to people unless I really really mean it.” She paused and glanced up at me, eyes somewhat fe
arful.

“So don’t tell her I did, okay?”

“Tell me what?” I asked, wrapping my arms around her in a tight hug. “I promise.”

“That I love you.” she whispered, burying her face in the crook of my neck as she hugged me tight. I held her tight, speechless at her
words. Aside from my mother and father, I had never been close to anyone like I was to Olive. Brushing my fingers through her hair, I pressed my lips to the top of her head and closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath.

“I love you too, sweetheart,” I breat
hed, unable to keep the small smile that crept across my face at bay. One month - or longer, I had long lost count - had passed since I had met Olive and her mother, but in those few weeks I had formed a bond with Olive that I had with no other person. I didn’t see her as a sister like she was - I saw her as a child who trusted me, who loved me and in turn, I loved her.

“Arin,” whispered a soft, familiar voice near my head, a weight lying on my shoulder. For a moment I lay still and remained silent before
stirring, blinking a few times as my body began to wake from slumber. I surveyed the immediate area around, searching for the owner of the voice.

Felicity stood beside me, her hand placed on my shoulder as she gave me a light shake. She held a small smile
on her face and took a step back from me, dark brown gaze glancing at Olive, who lay curled up snoring in my lap, head rested against my torso.

“Felicity,” I breathed, a yawn escaping me as I spoke. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize love,” Felicity replied with a shrug. “It’s time to get ready, though. Celebration dinner is in a few hours.”

“Right,” I said with a nod, shifting within the chair and moving Olive. She let out a small groan, but did not stir from slumber.

“Olive,” whispered her mother, crouched down beside her.

“Olive, it’s time for the party.”

“Mm.” Olivia murmured some incomprehensible words, squirming in my lap. Her green eyes opened, narrowed at the light that spilled in from the window. “I was sleeping.”

“Yes you were but it’s time to go ge
t ready or you won’t be going to the party,” stated Felicity as she stood up, arms crossed and gaze stern.

“No! I want to go!” She then squirmed out of my lap, standing right in front of her mother, bouncing. “Please!”

“Let’s go get ready. Do you want to wear the green dress or the pink dress?” Felicity grabbed her hand, giving me a smile as she took her daughter away.

“Green!” she squealed as they disappeared into another room. I remained in the chair, waiting for them to finish. I glanced down at my own
outfit – black leggings, a camouflage green tank top and a black hoodie – the same one I’d worn for the past while. It all fit, albeit a little tight around the hips, but it was the only thing Felicity had to spare. She, as well as a few of the other woman in the community, had given me their spare clothes so that I wasn’t wearing the same dirty outfit for weeks on end.

It wasn’t much later that Olive scurried out of the room without her mother, closing the door behind her. She turned to me with a wide, too
thy grin and bounced towards me. She wore a pastel green dress dotted with white spots that fell down to just above her knees, a pair of white tights covering her legs. Around her waist was a ribbon, tied behind her back in a bow, and a white shawl covered her arms to keep her warm. Her hair, however, was a disaster – sticking out in a big ball of puff.

“Do you like it?” she said, walking over to me and swaying where she stood.

“I do like it, you look very pretty.” I answered as I stood off the chair and sat on the floor.

“Good!” she grinned, jumping on top of me.

“Oof,” I gasped as her weight landed on my stomach. Holding tight to her, I lifted my legs – cringing at the slight pain – and lifted her onto my legs. My arms were giving her most of the support, but her weight on my legs still caused me pain.

“Am I flying?” Olive asked with a giggle, sticking her arms out at her sides. I grabbed hold of her torso, rocking back and forth to move her. My
movements only made her laugh harder.

“Yes,” I answered as Felicity exited the room she had been in – a bedroom, I figured – with a glower on her face. She was fixing her dress, which was on backwards I noticed, as she stomped towards us.

“Olive, I’m not done!” she grumbled and swooped her from my grasp and into her arms. She didn’t even bother to look at me and I was thankful for that – she looked pissed.

“I just wanted to show her my dress,” noted Olive, crossing her arms as Felicity carried her off to f
inish getting her ready. They continued to bicker, but I couldn’t make sense of their words and just remained against the floor, splaying out in a star fish position.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Minutes later and I still remained alone on the floor, staring at the door and awaiting the return of the two. Every once in a while, the door would open, but it would soon be closed with Felicity exclaiming something inside, followed by a frustrated groan.

“Let’s go, let’s
go!
” Olivia wailed a few minutes later, flinging open the door and bouncing out, her hair brushed and cleaned, a few strands sticking to her cheek.

“One minute, honey,” grunted Felicity in response. I sat up and watched the two of them coming out of the room. Felicity was dressed
in a pair of jeans and wore a red, tattered pea coat. In her arms she carried a large black object – what it was I couldn’t tell. She walked towards me and set down the objects.

“It’s the only other one I have,” she said in an apologetic tone, shrugging. I
picked it up and looked at it – a thick, black jacket with a brass zipper and mottled brown fur neck lining. It was ragged and old, torn in a few places, but it was still in good condition. “It’s going to get colder, so I figured you may want one when you start taking Olive training.”

“Thank you,” I responded, pulling the jacket over my hoodie. It was warm and thick – perfect for the cold weather. I wanted to reject the gift, give it back and tell her I didn’t need it as much as she did, but I could tell b
y the look in her eyes that there was no way she would be taking it back.

I hadn’t even struggled to my feet yet and Olivia had clung onto me, her face bright with excitement. I stared at her for a long moment before I crouched, forcing myself to stay ste
ady despite the pain coursing through me. “Sit on my shoulders.”

“Why?” Olive asked, clambering up over to me and sitting on my shoulders, like I had told her to. I swung her up and she let out a cry of wonderment. “Whoa!”

“Cool, right? My dad used to give me piggy backs all the time when I was little.” I laughed, a brief wave of sadness washing over me. I missed my parents and no matter how hard I tried not to think of them, they were always in the back of my mind. I blinked back tears and turned to Felicity. “Ready?”

“Ready,” she replied with a nod, lips pulling into a smile. She walked towards the biggest door in the house – the entrance – and pulled it open. Wind blew outside, a gust forcing its way into the house and bringing with it the cold of winter.
I shivered and stepped outside, ducking to allow Olive room so not to hit her head off of the top.

We didn’t make it far before my legs began to quiver, her additional weight too much of a load for me to handle. I had played with her before and piggy back
ed her around the cottage multiple times – but not all days were great and it was not always possible for my body up to the use of energy.

Twisting as my legs gave out behind me, I flung Olive around, pressing her against my chest. That brief moment as I
fell towards the snow laden ground seemed to take a thousand years, and I caught Felicity’s wide eyed gaze as she reached towards us, attempting to catch me before we fell.

“Oof,” I gasped, landing on my back against the ground, Felicity standing over me a
nd reaching down to pick up Olive. Pain coursed throughout my body and I clenched my hands around Olivia, heaving a heavy sigh. She was shaking.
Is she crying?

“Do it again!” she giggled as Felicity swung her into her arms, and I realized that there was no
fear in her eyes, only laughter and joy. She didn’t seem to realize how close she had come to getting hurt because of my foolishness.

“We have to get going,” Felicity said as I moved to sit up, shivering against the cold snow. I forced myself up, dusting
snow off of my clothing and rubbing my back.

“Ow,” I grumbled. “Sorry about that, Felicity, Olive.”

“It’s alright.” Felicity shrugged, setting Olivia on the ground, still giggling. In an instant, Felicity’s expression changed and she shook her head. “I almost forgot. Arin, can you help me carry a few things?” “Sure,” I said, nodding.

“Olivia, we’ll be right back.” Felicity turned into away and disappeared into the cottage, motioning for me to follow. Glancing back at Olive, I gave her a little wink and head
ed into the cottage.

“So,” Felicity murmured, striding over to a small cupboard and pulling it open. Inside was a somewhat large red box. Taking it under her arm, she closed the cupboard and turned around to face me, a small smile on her face. “I forgot to
show you Olive’s present.”

“She’ll show me when she opens it,” I answered with a shrug.

“No need to worry.”

Felicity gave a slow nod of acknowledgment. “True, but I want your opinion. I want to make sure she’ll want it before I give it to her.”

I blinked, listening to her words and reciprocating her nod. “Okay, what is it?” I couldn’t lie and say I didn’t want to know – I was just as excited as Olive, but for different reasons. Seeing her happy was the only thing that kept me going some morning when my legs were sore and all I wanted to do was sleep away the pain. Olive was my reason, along with my parents, for staying alive.

She removed the lid of the box as a loud noise rang outside, the sound leaving as fast as it had come. Felicity and I both
glanced at each other, confused expressions matching one another’s.

“Was that a gunshot?” I asked, but no answer came. Felicity pivoted on in foot, throwing the box to the ground and sprinting towards the door. Terror coursed through my body and I ran afte
r her, my heart pounding as if it was trying to leap out of my chest.

As I stepped outside, I saw Olive – a sight that made my heart break and my brain cease to function as it should have. She was lying on her back, hands grabbing her side, blood coating h
er dress. Without any other thought, I ran over to her, picking her up and cradling her in my arms. Her mother just stared, motionless as a statue.

“Olive, baby,” I whispered, brushing her hair off her face. Her eyes were clenched and her jaw set, small w
himpers escaping her. There was not a thought in my mind, her whimper echoing and bouncing – the only sound I could hear aside from the blood roaring in my ears.