Authors: Stacey Nash
“But—”
“Ah.” Beau holds up a hand. “The Collective guard their tech closely. It rarely goes missing, unless we steal something.” He smiles, and Will chuckles a little stiffly. “On the rare occasion when a piece does fall into public hands, it doesn’t go unnoticed. The tech that is out there, in common possession, is usually long forgotten. Mostly family heirlooms, the knowledge of their use lost as they pass through the generations.”
An image of the blue pendant flits into my mind. Did my mother know what it really was?
“Now your tech’s been brought to their attention, they will pursue you, relentlessly, until it is recovered.”
I nod. No new info there. Jax already told me this, but there’s got to be something we can do.
“It leaves you with no choice. This is the only safe place.”
“Surely we can fight back, surrender the tech. I don’t know, do something.” I push my shoulders back and straighten up in the hard chair.
“Surrender it?” He laughs. “You’re still a threat to their secret. Giving it up won’t help you. You know too much now.”
Will leans forward in his chair. “But maybe if—”
“They flashed your faces on the news so the police and the public would help find you. Their plan is to flush you out.”
“So we have to clear our names, with the cops and with them, or we can never go home?” I frown. God only knows how we’ll manage that.
Will gives a small nod. “Seems like it’s fight, or roll over and play dead,” he says. “Mae says fight, so that’s what we’ll do.”
Bless him. He’s such a good friend, always ready to support me. If his family hadn’t moved to our street when I was eight, well, I don’t know where I’d be now. I smile at him before looking Beau directly in the eye. “Can you help us?”
Beau sighs, long, hard and drawn out. If I knew him well, I’d guess he’s getting fed up. “The only way to clear your name is to expose The Collective.” He pushes his paperwork aside. “We’ve been working toward that for generations.”
“Generations?”
“Since the late 1800s, to be precise.”
I rub my hands across my tight neck. The muscles ache and barely give under my touch. “I guess we join the fight, then.”
“That won’t solve our problem, Mae, it will just tie us here forever.” Will shakes his head. “There is a fight…
isn’t there?” He sounds slightly hesitant. Of course there’s a fight. There has to be.
“Yes, but it’s not simple.” Beau blows out a long breath. “Look, all I can offer you is knowledge.” He pauses, readjusts the papers on his desk. “I’m not asking you to join our cause. By learning about The Collective, how they operate, how we operate, you might be better able to understand your situation.”
Is he blowing us off? I’m not quite sure.
He pushes his chair back and stands behind the wide desk, clearly indicating we’re done here.
“Thanks, we appreciate the time.” Standing, I hope we’ll find the key to escape this awful new world. I don’t want to belong. I just want to go home. Will rises to his feet, and we both turn to leave.
“We have a gym where anyone can practice skills and build strength.” Beau beats us to the door. “You are welcome to use it.” He pushes the door open. “I’ll show you where it is. Also, Sam can share some Collective knowledge.”
We follow him out of the house and across the yard toward the orange barn. It’s stark against a backdrop of green trees. The cook, Martha, stands at the base of one of the many fruit trees, toeing a woven reed basket. Another person stands on a ladder, only their legs visible below the branches. I wonder if they sell all that fruit. My mind flicks through the faces I’ve met in the twenty-four hours we’ve been here… who’s Sam? Could be a guy or girl, I haven’t paid much attention to all the new people.
A rancid smell suddenly assaults my senses, and I cover my nose, trying to mask the rotten, vegetablelike odor. When I look around, there’s a pig pen off to the side under large, shady trees. Thankfully, it’s only a few more feet before Beau pulls back a large plank door and we bustle inside, escaping the putrid smell.
This place is huge.
The first thing I notice is the smell of hay and sweat. The type of sweat earned through hard work. It’s not bad, but not good either. Much better than the pig pens.
My gaze lands on Jax fighting a solid man in the back corner. He moves effortlessly, dodging and evading the man’s kicks and punches. His black pants sit low on his hips, and his white shirt shows off the muscles working across his chest and back. He kicks the man, hard, with his bare foot. The impact makes Jax stumble, and they both burst into laughter. Their fight continues. They relentlessly throw banter back and forth with the same ease as they throw punches. My cheeks warm with the realization I’m staring, so I drag my gaze away, grateful they haven’t yet noticed us.
Ace lazes on the floor, his head resting on his two front paws, which are on Jax’s discarded leather jacket.
Surprisingly, the barn is almost empty. There’s no bench press, no treadmills, no weights. Nothing I’d expect to find in a gym at all. It’s basic, and everything seems to serve a purpose. Canvas bags full of… something, knotted climbing ropes hang from the rafters, and symmetrical mats like skinny mattresses make squares on the floor. One wall is filled with an assortment of hanging weapons: swords, staffs, sticks, and blades. Dozens of them. I spot stairs at the back, leading up to a second level, but when I stand on my toes, I’m not tall enough to see what’s there. The whole pace is like a strange, misplaced gym.
Beau said they train, but all those weapons…
there’s just so many. Enough for a whole army. Maybe they do really fight The Collective after all.
The kind girl from the stairs, Lilly, throws daggers at a dummy which looks like a scarecrow; hay peeks out between its tattered clothing. She seemed so sweet and nice when I met her, but she’s different here. Here she seems fierce, like a sleek panther.
“Hey, nice dress.” She gives me an enthusiastic wave.
I smooth her cream linen dress over my tummy. “Thanks again. It feels great to be clean.”
She turns to Beau. “Mae needs clothes. Can we go to town?” She casually picks up my nickname, the one only Will and Al use. I don’t correct her. It feels right, like she’s a friend already.
“That’s not a great idea, Lil. They’d best stay here. But your mother is going to the fruit markets later today. You can go with her and pick something up for Anamae and for Will too.”
Lilly’s eyes slide up my body. I wrap my arms around my middle, protecting my small frame from her appraising glance. “Size small?”
I nod. “Ah, I guess…
a three for jeans. Thanks.” I’ll have to roll the legs up a few inches, but hopefully they’ll fit. It’s so hard to get pants right without trying them on. To get the right fit around my waist, the legs are always too long, and for the right length, well, it’s kid’s sizes.
She smiles and looks at my legs again, like she understands the curse of short legs, even though she’d fit perfectly into the same size as me with the hem sitting right at her ankle.
Lilly turns to Will and looks at him the same way, only her gaze lingers longer than it did on me. Is she checking him out? The tips of my ears burn, and she says, “Hmm, large?”
Will grunts.
“Cool, I’ll get you sorted.”
My unease melts into guilt. Once again, I am in her debt. “Thank you.”
Once that’s over, Beau clears his throat and shuffles. “These two want to fight The Collective.”
Everyone stops suddenly; all eyes turn to him, all ears listen when he speaks. Jax’s gaze slips past Beau to me, his expression blank and unreadable, and his eyes slide back to Beau.
“They’ll need to learn the basics, learn about the enemy. They need help to find their strengths,” Beau says.
Our strengths? Somehow I don’t think my eye for a good photo angle will come in handy here. Nor will Will’s talent for tinkering with cars.
Jax’s sparring partner walks over. He’s at least a head taller, but doesn’t slouch or try to make himself smaller. He’s comfortable in his tall, solid mass of muscles and sinew. His singlet clings to his body, covered in a V of sweat. He smiles. “I’m Sam.”
Jax follows right on his heels. “It will be easier if you split up and we work one on one.”
Beau exchanges a guarded look with Sam, but then his eyes rest on Jax. “I don’t care how it happens, but be welcoming, be useful, be pleasant.” With a commanding look at Jax, like something I’d expect from a parent, he leaves the barn.
“I’ll take Mae. Will can go with Sam,” Jax says.
I cross my arms. I sure as hell don’t need a babysitter. “I’ll go with Lilly.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m a better fighter. You’ll learn more.”
Lilly shrugs and smiles apologetically. “He’s right, I’m not very good. Besides I’ve got to find Mom. Don’t want to miss out on shopping.” She flits out of the barn.
I put on my best pleading expression and look to Will, but it’s too late. He and Sam have already made their way to one of the squares of mats in the back corner.
“I’ll play nice. Promise.” Jax smiles, but it looks kind of plastic.
He walks toward the wall and slumps onto one of the hay bales. Glancing toward Will, I take a deep breath and smooth my pendant against my chest. I doubt he’ll play nice. Even though he seemed cool when he took me home to see Dad, now we’re back here he’s reverted back not playing nice at all
—he only plays arrogant or bored.
I move toward the hay seat, joining my would-be instructor, who gestures for me to sit. “Sit? Aren’t you going to teach me how to fight?”
He rolls his eyes, reaching down to scratch Ace’s ears. The dog’s still sprawled over his jacket. “Your training will start with defense. You can’t learn how to attack without learning how to protect yourself first.”
I look over at Will. Sam watches him lift his leg high and kick at a makeshift bag. His arms are crossed and
a small approving smile curves his mouth. There’s no contrast between Will and Sam in size, not like when Jax was sparring with him. Sam and Will are both of a similar build, tallish and solid. No one in their right mind would take either of them on. The desire to outwit Jax brings a smile to my lips. Of course, I don’t really mean it, but I point to Will. “He’s my protector; he’ll watch my back.”
“Your boyfriend’s not always going to be there.”
“He’s not my boyfriend. We’re just friends.”
“Sure thin
g, cupcake.”
I clamp my mouth closed and cross my leg over my knee, forcing myself to quiet stillness. It takes every ounce of willpower I have to not get up and walk away. Serves me right, but condescending nicknames
—not overly intelligent.
Ace rests his head in Jax’s lap. Strange, the dog seems to like him.
“Your dog’s affectionate.” I reach out to run my hand along his shaggy back.
“He’s not mine.” Jax pushes Ace off with a gentle shove.
“Oh, he seems….”
To actually like you.
“I thought he must be.”
“He’s Lilly’s dog, but he likes me better, don’t ya, boy?” he says. “The first line of defense is to know your enemy.” He looks at me with a straight face. He’s serious.
He’s right.
I know next to nothing about my enemy, other than they want me dead.
The three Collective agents I’ve seen have all been different. The last two wielded scary blades with remarkable precision. I don’t think the first one did, but I barely got to see him. Jax arrived so fast, everything blurred and finished before it even started.
Jax talks while I listen for most of the day. He tells me about the Collective, about the resistance. How they both came to be. When I question the resistance and what they actually do here, why they train, he tells me, “It’s complicated. We help people
—like you and Will. We also try to curb the destruction The Collective wreaks on society.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’re controlling. They….” He pauses, glancing at nothing while he thinks. “They believe society needs to be bent to their vision of perfection. They use tech to do this. But then, they also use it, and suppress it for their own needs, but they don’t care—not really—about the general populace. People die, people go missing, all in the name of the better good.”
Between conversations, he instructs me on basic gymnastics; tumbles, jumps, and vaults over piled bales of hay. He says my agility will serve me well. I’m quietly amused he thinks I can move with a sense of grace. I’ve always been kind of awkward, tripping up stairs, and other dumb stunts that only I could pull. He makes a grab for my ankle while I move around the floor. I jump to the side to avoid his grasp, and this is how he teaches me to evade and dodge.
By the end of the day I can barely put one foot in front of the other on our walk back to the house. Will jabbers, excited by the stuff he learned, but my tired mind is on overload and can’t make out his words. Lucky for me, Jax and Sam walk with us, which saves me from needing to pay attention.
* * * *
I sink into the deep steamy bath and soak in the tub until the water turns as cold as chilled milk. When I return to my room, someone has left a pile of neatly folded clothes on my bed. A handwritten note rests atop the large pile of shirts, pants, pajamas, and jacket. Beautiful, loopy handwriting in lilac pen reads:
For my new friend, I hope these will help you feel more comfortable. Lilly.
There’s a smiley face after her name which makes me smile. I like Lilly; she’s so kind and thoughtful.