Akasha 4 - Earth (30 page)

I stiffened. I wasn't ready for this
conversation yet. I had thought there'd be other things to do first
– like breakfast.

When I didn't respond, he continued,
"But I won't. I'm staying – I'm going to camp with you during the
day."

I looked up at him. "You'll be
recognized."

"No." He shook his head. "Nobody from
One Less knows who I am. I wasn't at the battle at the caves,
remember?"

"What about Shawn?"

"Yeah – that is the one we'll have to
look out for. But I think we can handle it."

"But—"

"Not up for discussion," he said,
interrupting. "If you're there, I'm there."

I sighed, running through all the
implications in my head. None of them ended well.

"What river is that?" I asked, nodding
to my left.

"South Platte."

"Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri, Platte,"
I whispered. The list of rivers ran through my head; my mantra to
keep me sane on my road to Micah. Now I was here, and I had failed
miserably in the 'sane' department.

"What?" Micah asked.

"Nothing." I sighed. "I have to say,
it's awesome being up this high – until you have to
pee."

He laughed, then shuffled over to the
wall, "Every penthouse comes with its own amenities." He held up a
large, round pan.

I put my hand over my
mouth. "I am
not
peeing in that thing. Is that an old oil pan?"

He smiled, reached in, and pulled out
a funnel.

I laughed, stepping toward him. "I
don't think so, guy." I nudged his shoulder as I passed. "I'm going
to go down, are you—" I stopped when I turned back to look at him.
"Are you okay?"

He was leaning against a railing. Had
I knocked him over?

"I'm fine. You go ahead. I'll get
dressed and meet you down there." He shooed me away with one
hand.

Under my scrutiny, he straightened up,
pulling his shoulders back.

"Okay, don't take too long." I stepped
into the stairwell.

When I turned back around, he was
slowly sinking to the floor. I hesitated, and then I did what I had
to do. I walked away.

* * *

Micah sat there for several minutes,
using his hands to hold up his head.

It'll get
better
, he told himself.
I just need to get some food.

There was no energy left. His limbs
were weighted. Walking to Kaitlyn, then holding up an oil pan had
left him shaking with exhaustion.

I can't make the walk back
to the mall, but I can't let her go alone.

He'd just need to stall; time might
bring him some strength. He crawled back to the other side of the
observation tower. It was painfully slow, bringing a dull ache to
his knees. Micah swore the path of the sun was moving faster than
he could. Once back at the blankets, he rooted through the few bags
he owned, pulling out crackers. He laid back, breathing hard.
Before he could unwrap them, he closed his eyes.

When he came to, the sun was glaring
down on him.

Shit – did I pass
out?

He shielded his face, and pushed
himself up off the ground, crackers in hand. He ate as he limped to
the stairs. He stood at the top, wondering how many there
were.

Too many, and I've already
taken too long.

Micah turned, approaching the elevator
shaft. The doors were wedged open, though the elevator itself sat
at the bottom. A long rope dangled down the dark passage, one end
of it tied off in a loop. Micah swallowed the last cracker, and
untied a pair of thick gloves tethered just inside the shaft. He
put one foot through the loop and squeezed both sides of the rope
before transferring his body weight inside.

His other foot pushed off, and for a
heart-stopping moment he dangled in the darkness, praying his hands
held enough strength to squeeze. He loosened his fists and began
his descent.

When his feet hit solid ground, he let
his breath out, flexing his hands. He'd have to reset his escape
route later. He took one step outside, then another. The crackers
were already taking effect. When the sun hit him again, he
stretched.

"Where is she?" he asked the guard by
the tower, waiting his turn to go up.

"Went to the river." The guard stood,
slinging a backpack over his shoulder.

Micah nodded. "We need to start
manning the tower 24-7. Plan on having someone there nights, even
when I'm there. They can go up top."

"It'll get difficult as more of us
leave for the silo."

"I know, let's make it a priority
though – until the last group is gone. We’re way too close to One
Less."

"I'll put together a schedule," the
guard said, as he headed up the stairs.

Micah started for the river. When he
approached, Kaitlyn was helping several women with
laundry.

"What took you so long?" she
asked.

Micah raised his eyebrow. She hadn't
even turned around yet. "Sorry…I was rotating guards, and made a
schedule. They'll be up there all day and night, now."

"Even when we're there?" She turned
around with a teasing smile.

"There’s another level," Micah said.
"Guess we'll find out how soundproof it is."

Kaitlyn wiped her face with the inside
of her arm. Her hands were dripping wet with cold river water. "I
can give it back, you know." Her voice had lowered, forehead
creased. "This energy thing goes both ways."

He looked at her pile of
already-washed clothes. It was three times the size of any of the
other piles. Before he answered, she turned back to her work like
she couldn't sit still. Kaitlyn bent over the river, shoulder and
back muscles flexing as she ran a blanket up and down the grooves
of the oak washboard. Micah remembered making the thing out of a
door.

"Slow down, girl. You're making us
look bad." The woman next to her nudged Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn smiled. "I don't really have
my own stuff to wash, anyway." She only wore a sports bra on top.
The intricate tattoo compass contracting and expanding as she
moved. She turned, throwing the blanket on top of her pile. The sun
glinted off her shoulder, revealing the raised tissue. Shawn's
mark.

The smiled died from Micah's
face.

She is going to need as
much help as she can get; and if this is the best way I can help
her…

Kaitlyn scooped her hands under the
sopping wet pile of material and lifted, carrying it over to the
drying area. Micah followed, hands empty. He watched as she threw
blankets and clothes, positioning them over the lines. Pieces of
metal track from one of the roller coasters were lashed together
and balanced from one tree limb to the next. Wind over the open
river would help to dry the clothes. Their days of using Airs were
over. They couldn't risk One Less detecting them now.

"Well?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Well what?"

She turned, hand on hip. "Do you want
it back?"

Micah shook his head,. "No – I want to
give more."

It was Kaitlyn's turn to shake her
head. "I don't think you'd survive it."

"We'll figure something out," Micah
said, bending to pick up a cotton shirt from the pile. He raised it
slowly, his hands heavy as they moved above his
shoulders.

Kaitlyn took the shirt from him before
it touched the line. Micah's hands dropped to his sides. He wasn't
used to be being so…useless.

He took a deep breath. "We can find a
way for more to lend their energy to you. There is an entire army
here. Let's tap into them."

Kaitlyn shook her head. "No,
I'm—"

She cut off as someone passed.
Natasha, carrying a load of new laundry to the river, the scarred
side of her face bared to Kaitlyn and Micah.

Kaitlyn waited until Natasha passed,
then hissed, "I'm done with armies." She hung the last of the
shirts, smoothing it out on the line. "If Shawn wants to destroy
hundreds of lives, let him. I won't do it again."

Micah nodded, then walked over to a
park bench. They had all been torn up, and repositioned near common
work and rest areas. Kaitlyn joined him, drying her wet hands on
her pants. "You're not going to make the walk to the mall today,
are you?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"Are you going to tell me to stay?"
she asked. They sat down on the bench together.

Micah intertwined his fingers with
hers. "I know well enough I can't make you do anything."

She rested her head on his shoulder.
"I'll stay."

He kissed her on the head and
whispered, "Thank you."

"Just for today. We can use the time
to plan. But seriously, I need to be in the camp every day starting
tomorrow. Whether you join me or not."

"Deal," Micah said. A cold wind blew.
He put his arm around her. "Winter's coming. Do you even have a
coat?"

"I had a yellow rain jacket," Kaitlyn
said, almost giggling underneath her breath.

Micah narrowed his eyes at her, but
let it go. "Come on. The arcade serves as a storeroom for extra
supplies. Let's see if there are any in there."

As they stood, the wind blew again.
Some of the last leaves still hanging onto the limbs above
detached. Kaitlyn caught a reddish-orange leaf midair. She pinched
the stem, spinning it around. "I miss our cherry blossoms," she
said.

"Me, too." Micah put his arm over her
– his legs were heavy, like he was walking through mud. "But we
couldn't hide out at the Chakra forever."

Micah watched as Kaitlyn's hand
squeezed into a fist. The dried out leaf crumbled, bits floating to
the ground.

"Nope," agreed Kaitlyn. "Not if we are
out to save the world."

Micah took her hand, wiping the rest
of the leaf bits off. "What happened, here?" He pried her palm the
rest of the way open. "It looks like you burned
yourself."

"I did…using the Chalice. Long
story."

"Both of Shawn's hands were wrapped in
gauze. Did you notice?" Micah glanced at Kaitlyn
sideways.

"Yeah I…oh my God." She froze in her
tracks. "I know what he's doing."

"What?"

"It ain't good – for us, anyway. Come
on."

Chapter
47

Working Party

"Easy there, princess."

I shuddered at his voice, remembering
what happened at the other end of his gun. This time, I moved out
of its way. I surveyed the rest of the large circle, looking for
clues. My eyes kept getting drawn back to the mist in front of
Shawn. It was brighter than before, and moved faster around and
into itself, shimmering with speed. It appeared to be trying to
take shape, but it lacked something – more elements.

I turned away from it. Could there be
more I had been missing this entire time? I kept my eyes low to the
ground, searching for the telltale swirling.

"Where is the baby?"

I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore
him. I searched around and behind Akasha, finding it easier once it
rose, taking its searing light with it. I squinted, huffing in
frustration. The mist very well could've been tricks of light
caused by the dancing flames around me.

"Is the baby mine?"

I moved to the area behind Shawn,
waving my hands in front of me, hoping to agitate any clumps of
mist, making them more visible. With Akasha rising, I didn't have
much time left.

I bent lower, searching for the
slightest shimmer, waving my hands in a frantic panic. Blood was
descending over the flames around me. Finally, I found something.
Once I zeroed in on it, I was amazed I had missed it all this time.
Four more distinct balls of mist, also low to the ground. I
squatted down to examine them, willing them to materialize. The
mist swirled faster, until I thought I could distinguish body
parts. A hand here, a head over there…

Shawn's words boomed through the area,
"You are too late."

* * *

The next morning we made our way back
to the mall. Micah was almost fully recovered, almost. He had
insisted we try the energy exchange again last night, but fell dead
asleep before he had a chance to counter my refusal with an
argument. We walked down the long alleyway leading to One Less,
donning our disguises. Micah pulled on his hoodie and I removed
extra layers of clothes. I shivered, wondering how long the weather
would let me bare my skin.

"I'll be close by the entire day,"
Micah said, voice low.

I nodded, handing him a blue arm
bandana and slipping on my own. We walked past the guard without a
word. He looked at us, yawning.

"I need to find out who is in charge
of training," I said. "I'll have to ask around at
admin."