Jackson (7 page)

His back was to me when I spoke. “Remember how you said you wanted peace?”

He spun around in surprise. “What are you doing here?” He started toward me as if everything hadn’t changed, but I took a step back.

He stopped. “You shouldn’t be here,” he said.

“I’m leaving, and I’m taking Jackson with me.”

“Jackson?” His eyes flashed, and he looked back at the body curled on the floor. “This is... Jackson?”

“Yes, and he’s coming with me. You’re going to let us leave.”

“He’s unconscious. There’s no way you can get him out by yourself. You’ll only get caught.”

“D’Lo can help me.”

“Don’t you think Ovett will miss D’Lo? He’s a giant.”

My jaw clenched. “I’m not going to argue with you, Gallatin. I’m taking him.”

His eyes softened and he stepped forward, catching my hand, ignoring my attempt to pull it away. “Ovett will be back in less than a minute. Hide in the kitchen, and let me help you.”

My heart beat faster as I held his hand. I knew he still cared for me, and it hurt knowing I still cared for him in spite of everything that had happened. The time we’d spent together crowded my mind, but I couldn’t go back there. Now Jackson was here.

“I’ll hide, but if you pull any tricks—”

“I would never trick you.” His voice was gentle. “I want to help you.”

I moved to do what he asked, but just then the back door opened. I jumped behind a metal cabinet near the wall, my heart thudding in my chest. Gallatin turned his back to me and walked to meet Ovett in the center of the room.

“Did you find Shubuta?” he asked.

“She gave me a pill. Combined with the tranquilizer dart, it should make him sleep until she’s able to examine him and make a proper recommendation. She’s reluctant to prescribe drugs tonight.”

“She had a shock earlier today,” Gallatin said, and I appreciated his remorseful tone.

“We don’t have time for this kind of weakness. We’re at war.”

“She’ll be better tomorrow, I’m sure. Give me the pill and I’ll see he takes it.”

“You can handle it yourself?” Ovett’s voice was skeptical, but I could tell he didn’t want to deal with the situation anymore.

“I’ll take care of it.”

The older alien turned and left the hall, but I waited several minutes before stepping out from behind the cabinet.

“That was close,” I whispered. “What did he have?”

Gallatin held the pill to the light. “Looks like more Zoraquel.”

“Is that what...”

“Yes,” he fisted the pill and looked down at me. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

We stood for a moment not knowing what to say. His hand twitched as if he wanted to reach for me, but he didn’t. “The way you sang, the ritual you observed was very beautiful.”

“You’ve never been to a funeral?”

“Yes, but it’s different for us. When you’ve lived five hundred years it’s more of a celebration.”

“I’m going to get D’Lo.” I couldn’t listen to him speak of five hundred years when Flora didn’t even have eighteen.

“I’ll try to wake this one.”

* * *

B
ack in the dorm, D’Lo was snoring with his arms over his head. As usual the drugs had knocked him out, but after two weeks, he’d grown somewhat used to their effects. Still, I had to yank on his arm for what felt like hours before he stopped talking in his sleep and opened his eyes.

“They’ve got Jackson,” I hissed. “I need you to help me get him out.”

“Who’s got... what?”

“Dee, please wake up,” I pled, jerking his arm again. “Jackson’s in the dining hall. He’s with Gallatin. Unconscious. I need you to help me get him out of here.”

“But what about—”

“There’s no chip. There are hardly any soldiers anymore. It’s like I told you, it’s all mind games to keep us under control.”

“The cutting I saw wasn’t a mind game. Cleve wasn’t a mind game.” He moved like he would lie back down.”

“You can’t ignore this!” My heart ached like it would burst if he didn’t start getting dressed. “If they get Jackson, they’re going to neutralize him. You know that can’t be good.”

He was still reluctant.

“Help me, Dee!” I was near tears now.

“We just buried one of ours,” he whispered. “I don’t want to do it again.”

My breath hiccupped as I tried to speak. “Then you have to help me get him out.”

That seemed to register with him, and at last he started moving in the right direction. I exhaled a sigh of relief and stood.

“Meet me at the front.” I turned away, giving him privacy. In another moment he was with me, moving slowly but moving nonetheless.

“Where is he again?”

“Dining hall. Gallatin’s waiting for us.”

I ran through the dark not caring about the puddles now. D’Lo huffed to keep up with me, but I knew it was the effects of the drugs still in his system.

“He’s helping us? You must’ve really let him get close to you.”

“I had to get information is all.”

“It was more than that. I could see it.”

Shaking my head, I pushed my feelings aside. “Jackson’s here now. That’s all that matters.”

We went through the door and Jackson was now seated in a chair with Gallatin’s shirt on. It was too long for him, and he was leaned over with his head on the table still unconscious. I appreciated the effort all the same.

“I couldn’t get him to come around. But you can take my shirt. I have more.”

“Thank you,” I whispered as D’Lo hoisted my lifeless boyfriend over his shoulder. “Follow me, Dee.”

I started to go, but Gallatin caught my arm. “Wait. Prentiss—”

“I’ll be in the kitchen,” D’Lo said.

I watched them disappear through the back doors, wishing I could follow and not face this moment. I knew it would be painful, and I’d had enough pain in the past two days to last me a lifetime. I didn’t want any more.

“I know it’s a bad time, but we might not see each other again,” he said.

I didn’t answer. Instead I studied the copper pendant hanging to the middle of his bare chest. In the dim light, it seemed to match the color of his skin. I studied its iridescent finish, the black pearl absorbing light in the top corner. Everything about him was different and special, and I’d only tried to make it normal. Like me.

“I don’t want you to remember me this way,” he said. “With hatred.”

At that my eyes flickered to his. “I don’t hate you.” My voice was a cracked whisper, and I felt the burn of tears threatening to come.

“I’ll always remember the week we spent. Bully. And while I know you only did it out of pity, Prentiss, when you kissed me... It was—”

“Stop.” My voice was desperate. “I can’t do this.”

“I’m sorry.” He looked down. “I hope... maybe one day you’ll remember those days instead of these.”

“So I’ll remember?”

“Possibly. If you’re far enough away and don’t come back.”

I looked up at him, studying his face. His tan skin and hair, his golden eyes, the scars. His lips, our dance, I would remember everything. Relief mingled with devastation raced through my insides.

“There’s something else. Ovett’s men, during the collection... well, he deviated from the plan.” He paused and crossed his arms over his bare stomach. “He said he was worried there wouldn’t be enough room for all of you in the camps, so he gave an order. It’s why we have to leave sooner.”

Yolanda’s story of Russell flashed through my mind... Cleve... my chest grew tight. “What did they do?”

“They injected them.” He stopped again and glanced at me, worried. “When we travel through space, we take a drug to make us sleep. The idea was it would be strong enough to make the humans sleep through the thirty-six hours. Possibly longer, but—”

“They’re not dead.” My heart beat faster, and I wasn’t sure if I were relieved or afraid. “They’re waking up”

“Yes. The band in the woods is made up of most of them. They’ve been hunting.”

I thought of Jackson lying unconscious in the woods, exposed for days. “I have to go.” I couldn’t take this any more, this conflict, but he caught my hand.

“Wait. I also wanted to tell you there’s a cave. It’s just past our spring over the next hill. Directly above the rock lip where... where we danced.”

Frowning, I looked up at him. “How do you know about a cave?”

“I’d hoped to take you there.” He looked down, lacing our fingers together, but I pulled mine away. A small flinch, and he finished speaking. “You’re an amazing person, and I hope you find your dreams, Prentiss. However you remember me, I want you to know, I’ll never forget you.”

Tears blurred my vision. I wasn’t amazing. It wasn’t true. But he’d given me the encouragement I’d needed to be something more than I’d believed possible on my own. I shook my head, denying the ache his words pulled through me. D’Lo and Jackson were waiting outside, and I ran through the door back to them. When Dee saw me, he caught Jackson’s wrist and pulled him over his shoulder. I sniffed and wiped my eyes hard.

“This way,” I said, setting off in the direction of the barracks. “We just have to get past the soldiers’ quarters, but they’re not as full as you think.”

Silently we slipped past the cabins and through the break in the fence. I could make it to the spring in this darkness, but we’d have to feel around for the rock ledge once we got there. I wasn’t sure I could remember exactly where it was. That moonlit night was a gauzy blur in my memory.

Down the first hill and up the next. Just as we crested the second, D’Lo made us stop and put Jackson on his feet against a tree. Jackson groaned, and I stepped over to examine his face. It was still dark, but I could see the stains of blood on his cheeks, and I remembered seeing them on his chest.

“Jackson?” I said in a too-high voice. “Are you okay?”

To my surprise, his eyes fluttered open. He looked at me and frowned then he moved his head back. “Prentiss?” His voice was slurry.

“Jackson! It is me. It’s Prentiss.” The sound of loud voices back in the camp made me jump. “We’ve got to keep moving, Dee.”

Instantly D’Lo caught Jackson’s wrist and pulled him over his shoulder. This time, my boyfriend made a grunting complaint at being hoisted onto his best friend’s back, but we didn’t have time to discuss it. Breathless with worry, I led the way down the second hill to where the small pool lay black in the night. I wasn’t sure if they’d pursue us, but I wasn’t going to give them the chance at recapturing us.

“How do you know about this?” D’Lo was breathing hard.

“Sometimes when it was hot, we’d come here.” I whispered.

In a fast reel, images filled my head of the first time I was brave enough to lie down on the blanket in the sun, rewarming my body after swimming in the frigid pool. My hip still ached that day, but I remembered Gallatin’s smile. He was happy I finally trusted him, and his eyes were merry as he jumped a cannonball into the sparkling water.

“Good way to get information,” Dee said.

“It wasn’t like that. For the most part.”

I went to the hillside and desperately felt around the ground for the rocky outcropping. I couldn’t remember exactly where I’d been when Gallatin asked me to dance. I’d resisted at first and walked away, but he’d caught me. And after that first attempt, we backed up...

“Here!” I cried. “The rocks are here. Gallatin said there’s a cave straight over the hill from this spot.”

D’Lo came to where I stood and we both looked up. “That’s pretty steep,” he said.

“You can do it. I know you can.”

“Good thing your boyfriend’s still small. In fact I think Jax has lost weight.”

“If he’s been out here, living in the woods, I’m sure he has.”

We dug our hands into the hillside and started to climb. I led the way, and I tried to dig out handholds for my giant friend to grasp. With the leaves wet from the rain, we kept slipping. My feet shot out from under me more than once, and every time, I heard a grunt and a cuss from below.

“We should’ve tied him on,” D’Lo called to me. “He’s slipping.”

“Almost there,” I gasped.

It felt like hours, but we made it to the top of the hill. There wasn’t a cave in sight, and my shoulders dropped. Had I gotten the directions wrong? Had Gallatin remembered them wrong? Had he gotten them wrong on purpose...

“Cave’s probably down the side,” D’Lo interrupted my rambling thoughts. “Unless it’s a well.”

“Right!” I rolled to my belly and started down the steep side of the hill. Sure enough, in a few moments, my foot hung down into the mouth of an opening. “I’ve got it! It’s here! Can you get him to me?”

“I’m going to lower him by his arms. You pull his legs inside.”

“He’s bigger than me, Dee!” My voice was frantic.

“You can do it!”

We struggled and pulled, and with Jackson coming around, it was easier to get him downhill. He landed on his feet and caught me around the waist sooner than I’d thought possible. He still wasn’t fully himself, but being in the cave gave me the first spark of hope I’d had in almost two days.

We were filthy, with mud and leaves stuck to our clothes. D’Lo helped me drag Jackson as far back as we could go in the darkness. Then Jackson slumped down to the floor and leaned back against the wall.

“We’ll spend the night here,” I whispered.

Jackson blinked up at me and smiled, and although my emotions were all mixed up and torn, I smiled back. I’d wanted to see him so long, and here he was. Alive.

* * *

P
rentiss finds what she’s long been seeking, but instead of getting easier, her situation becomes more complicated.

The lines between aggressor and defender are blurred, and instead of a justifiable rescue mission, the rebels in the woods plan a vengeful massacre.

Unable to be party to a slaughter, she runs away, back into the arms of her captors. Only now she’s facing the same brutal fate as them.

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