Chapter Five
He says that like it’s supposed to make sense right now, because all I can think is, what is a plantation and why are you going and why are you telling me this? Then I remember the runaways, and I sit up in bed.
“Why? Are they coming?”
“No, no. Everything’s fine.” A small laugh escapes him. “Johnson’s going to try to reason with them.”
“But I thought Johnson said they couldn’t be reasoned with.”
“He thinks that if we wait for the parasites, they’ll raid our camp and enslave us without hearin’ us out. But if we approach them first, explain the situation on behalf of the runaways, they might strike up another deal with us.”
“Does Daniel know?”
“Are you kidding? ’Course not. He’d never let us go.” A mischievous grin spreads across his face. “So are ya comin’?”
“I don’t know…” Sounds like a death mission.
“Oh, come on. Haven’t you ever wondered what the parasites look like? Or if they’re even real?”
Yes, until I saw one last night. But saying that will only create more reason to panic.
“Come on, lil’ Larkita.” Josiah brushes a strand of hair behind my ear, and the movement is so intimate it steals the breath from my lungs. I look into his soft green eyes and realize that I want him more than I’ve wanted anyone. I trust him with my life, and I would do anything—anything—for him.
“You never were one to skip out on an adventure,” he says.
My resolve melts away, because adventure. He thinks I’m adventurous. Ariana’s words echo in the back of my mind, and I almost laugh at them now. How silly I was to think Josiah would betray me like that.
“Okay,” I breathe, a grin easing onto my face.
“Great.” He drops his hand from my chin. “Meet us by the stables. We’re aiming to be home ’round noon. Everyone will think we went hunting.”
I pull on my gray sweater. Before stepping out of the room, I check Rika. How can she sleep so soundly when chaos is lapping on the shoreline? Closing the door behind me, I wipe my sweaty palms on my pants. Am I making the right decision by going to the plantation? If we cross the border, we’re breaking the treaty, and the Tavdorians will have no reason to spare my life. Then again, Daniel already broke the treaty by inviting the runaways into our house. So how is what I’m doing any different? If anything, risking my freedom for the sake of our community is the noble thing to do. Terrence would be proud. Smiling to myself, I step out of the house and head toward the barn. Pepper trots beside me, ever my companion.
But the wings on my feet turn to cold iron weights when I see the people gathered. Because Johnson and Josiah are there. But so is Ariana. All sweet emotions sour. What is she doing here? Did Josiah invite her, too? The stab of betrayal couldn’t come at a worse time, but I trudge on, shoving her words from last night out of my head. Not true. Not true. Not true.
Johnson pulls all three horses out of their stables. Good thing—just in case the parasites decide to try to shoot us or something. I approach my favorite gray mare, Storm. She snorts as I stroke her velvet nose.
“Are you really bringing that mutt with you?” Ariana asks. “She’ll get us caught.”
“Pepper’s a good guard dog.” I clear my throat, try to speak up in Ariana’s glorious presence. “Y-you know, in case something…goes wrong.”
“Nothin’s gonna go wrong,” Josiah says, then shrugs. “But bring her anyway.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Ariana asks.
“She’ll bark the whole time we’re gone and wake everyone up,” Josiah says.
This shuts her up, and Josiah flashes a grin at me. I finish strapping the harness around Storm’s head, then place my hands on her back, ready to hoist myself up, when I feel Josiah’s hands wrap around my waist and lift me onto her back.
I grab the mare’s straw-like mane while Johnson turns down the path on his own horse and leads the way, with Josiah behind. Ariana rides with Josiah, and I briefly wonder why she gets to ride with him, but then remember that she doesn’t know how to ride. Her arms are wrapped snugly around his waist, and I squash the wave of jealousy, nudge Storm in the ribs, and trot up to the back of the line.
The trail disappears when we reach the forest. Ariana giggles at something Josiah says, but being at the back of the line, I can’t hear any of it. After a good ten minutes of their annoying chatter, my teeth are grinding together and I’m wondering why, exactly, I agreed to tag along. Just to prove I’m an adventurer? Just because Josiah asked me? In groups like this I always end up being invisible. I should have stayed home.
“Quiet!” Johnson snaps at them. “We’re almost there.”
My mouth turns into dry, crumbling leaves. Another few minutes and we step out into a clearing. We’re at the same bridge I was at yesterday, where I saw the Tavdorian boy. Kalen. The memory nearly chokes me. If we cross that bridge, we’ll be in Alno’s territory, and he’ll have every right to enslave us.
My cold fingers curl tighter around Storm’s reins. I feel like I need to prove myself. Like I need to take one step farther to show Josiah I can be brave. So I nudge Storm until she takes the first step onto the bridge, when something echoes in the distance. The soft whir of technology we don’t own. My heartbeat spikes. A moment later, two hovercycles appear on the other side of the bridge, slowing down as they hover closer to us.
My heart stops.
Pepper starts barking wildly. The familiar fear grips me, and I jerk Storm’s reins to turn her around, but Johnson and Josiah block my way off the bridge.
“You’re not goin’ anywhere,” Johnson says, glaring at me with the same hatred he had last night.
“D-do the parasites already know we’re meeting with them?” I manage to squeak.
“Of course they do,” Ariana says with a smirk. “They’re here for you.”
“What?”
“You. In exchange for the runaways,” Johnson says, his eyes alight with sick humor. “Since we already betrayed our deal with the pa—” He looks at the nearing parasites. “Tavdorians,” he corrects, “we thought the only way to fix our mistake was to send in one of our own in place of two sick runaways.”
Iron fingers curl around my throat. “Josiah, you knew about this?”
His Adam’s apple bobs in a hard swallow. “It’s for the good of our people, Larkita,” he mumbles, not looking at me.
The sting of betrayal. This is what it feels like. Like the shadow of winter has decided to descend over me for the remainder of my sorry life. Like the cold hands of darkness have crept into my soul and ripped my heart out. Like all the water in the world couldn’t match the tears building and pushing against the back of my eyes.
I want to shout at Josiah. I want to tell him to look at me because his eyes the color of summer are the only thing that can bring me comfort. But then Ariana’s body presses into his back, her arms wound tightly around his waist, and a sick feeling forms in the pit of my stomach.
It’s true. Everything she said was true, and this is Josiah’s way of getting rid of me so he can move on. A heartless stab to my back. We’ll figure something out soon, Ariana said.
The hovercycles glide across the bridge, slowing to a stop on either side of Storm. One of them pulls out a strange white contraption that I think might be a tarker gun, something Johnson told us about, but I’m not sure. My community—my family—is betraying me. The realization is so confusing, I’m not sure I’m putting the pieces together right, because why? Why would they do this? Why would my friends, who I’ve known all my life, hand me over to the parasites?
And it’s too much. All of this is just too much for me to take, so I kick Storm in the sides and scream, “Go!”
She bolts between Josiah’s and Johnson’s horses, and I steer her into the forest. A minute later, the whir of hovercycles grows louder behind me. Then they creep up in my line of vision, one hovercycle on either side. But Storm is fast and bolts through the forest like lightning. Until they begin closing in ahead of us. Spooked, the mare stops and rears up, and I’m thrown off her back. Everything begins spinning until the hard ground hits me in the back.
My lungs collapse and I suck in a breath to inflate them. Stars explode behind my eyes, and a faint ringing sounds in my ears, and Pepper keeps barking and barking.
Something nudges me in the shoulder. I crack an eyelid open. The branches of the trees are dark against the pale morning sky. A silhouette appears in my line of vision. Panic sets in. My mouth opens to scream, but no sound comes out. So I close it. Blink. Grit my teeth against the stabbing pain in the back of my head.
“Get that dog to shut up,” a deep voice says in Tavdorian. Pepper yelps.
No, I try to say, blinking my eyes open again. Don’t hurt her.
Strong fingers dig into my arm and lift me to my feet with little effort. As my vision clears, I realize it’s a Tavdorian. He’s tall and intimidating, with a red cloak clipped to his broad shoulders. A cold-blooded guard. He digs his fingers into my arm in a painful grip and jerks me toward his hovercycle.
“The deal!” Johnson shouts, appearing through the forest on his horse. Josiah’s horse appears behind him.
The guard stops, glares at Johnson until he looks away, then continues walking. I have to jog to keep up with him.
“She’s not much to look at.” The other guard’s gaze rakes over my body with distaste. He’s tall, too, probably eight feet, his face rough and his eyes hard. I try to twist away from the guard’s grip, but I’m met with a hard blow to the head, leaving me in a daze.
“She’s stronger than that sick runaway,” the guard handling me says.
“She’d be a good field worker,” the other guard says.
“The deal!” Johnson shouts again, his voice on the verge of panic.
The guard lifts me onto his hovercycle, then climbs on behind me. “We will leave you and your savage tribe alone,” he says. “And you can keep the runaways. The woman’s good as dead and the girl’s sick. But one more intrusion onto the plantation, one more appearance on this border, and we will raid your camp.”
And that threat seals my fate. No one’s going to rescue me with words like those hanging over their heads.
I look at Johnson pleadingly. My teacher. Despite his anger, I always looked up to him, and now I wonder why.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask.
“This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” Johnson’s voice is full of venom. “You wanted to spare the runaways. This was the only way to do that without getting everyone else enslaved!”
“No—” My voice cracks as the guard starts his hovercycle with a whir. I struggle against his hold as he begins steering the hovercycle. I glance at Ariana, but she averts her gaze, her arms sliding from Josiah’s waist as though just realizing how dirty she appears.
“Josiah?” My voice breaks when I look at his turned away face, one that used to always bring calm and hope and inspiration. “Don’t let them take me.” Swallow. Blink. “Please.”
Finally, he looks at me. The pain behind his eyes is a beacon of hope, a field of green, green grass offering sanctuary. “It’s for the good of the people, Larkita,” he repeats.
His words leave me breathless. I suddenly hate that nickname, and glare at him until he looks away. Then the hovercycles take off through the woods, leaving my family, my friends, and every last drop of my life behind.