Ellyssa blinked away the sudden stinging in her own eyes. This old man had touched her in such a short time. A true friend. She forced control over her emotions and smiled.
“As I’m sure you already know through the grapevine, this is Ellyssa, the newest member of our little family,” Jordan announced, as his eyes shifted toward Candy. “I expect everyone to treat her accordingly.”
Voices lifted. Some were pleasant, others held anger. Ellyssa glanced sideways at Candy and Jason; they were huddled together, whispering. She wished there weren’t so many people, so she could get a read on them.
She decided to chance it, anyway.
Focusing on Candy, with her brilliant red hair, pinched face and glaring eyes, Ellyssa lowered her shield just a fraction, and, instantly, images and noise bombarded her. She stumbled back. If not for Woody, she would’ve fallen. He held her upper arm while she slammed her defenses up against the onslaught. With the voices quieted in her head, she looked out into the small audience. Everyone was staring at her.
“Are you okay?” Woody asked.
“Yes. Thank you.” She turned toward Jordan. “I’m sorry. Please, continue.”
Jordan peered at her for a moment, his shoulders drooping, as if the weight of his head tired him. In just the few seconds she had been on the platform, the leader had grown even paler.
His head bobbled forward as he continued addressing the crowd. “As I said, I expect her to be treated accordingly. There is a lot we can learn from her, as much as she can learn from us. I am putting her on the council.”
Ellyssa blinked back. “What?”
Protests broke out among the people.
Woody stepped forward. “Shut up!”
As the mob quieted, a man with hair the color of pitch stood. “From what I understand, she’s from The Center.”
“She can’t be trusted,” a female in the back complained.
Candy bolted to her feet, her face as blazing red as her hair. “How can you even offer her a position on the committee without talking to us first?”
“The decision has been made, Candy,” said Jordan.
Candy’s face changed shades of red, lighting her freckles on fire. They brightened past the shade of her hair. “No one asked me.”
“You’re only an alternate.”
“What about Jason? He holds a seat.” She glanced at Jason. He turned away, his shoulders hunched defensively.
Candy’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “How dare you?” she spat. “After everything we talked about?” She faced the crowd, sweeping her arm toward Ellyssa. “She’s a spy. She’s going to destroy us.”
“Listen,” Jordan croaked.
Words never followed. The leader bent over, coughing. His face turned the color of ash, and blue flooded his lips. He hacked again and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
“Take his other arm,” Ellyssa ordered Woody, whose feet were apparently bolted to the platform. “We need to take him to the hospital.”
Ellyssa’s voice broke Woody from his shock, and he moved to take Jordan’s arm.
Jordan waved them both away. The old man spat reddish-green mucus onto the stony ground. “I’m going to finish this,” he said. “Then, I will go.”
Jordan’s face drew into a weathered scowl, and his eyes hardened as he looked out into the crowd. “I have led you, and our community has survived while others were captured.” His voice was amazingly strong and unwavering. “Ours survived against all odds. But it wasn’t just because of my leadership; it was because we accepted new members. We brought in new knowledge, new ideas, new ways of doing things from all walks of life. It was because of
all
of you.”
The elder struggled to stand, and Ellyssa assisted him. He straightened his back and leveled his gaze onto his people. “It is no secret that I am sick…and old. And as a last word to you all…my last plea. Trust me on this. I wouldn’t lead you astray.”
“No,” Candy roared. “She can’t be trusted. None of you saw her that day in the store. The way she moves, how fast she is. It’s not natural.”
Jason grabbed her wrist and tried to make her sit, but she ripped away from his grasp and whirled around on him. “And you,” she seethed accusingly. “You traitor.” She stomped from the room, her footfalls slapping against the stone.
All eyes followed her until she disappeared down a tunnel. They returned their attention to the old man.
“Trust me,” Jordan said.
Jason and Woody put Jordan on the cot next to hers. His breaths came in short, wheezing gasps.
Looking lost, Jason rocked on his feet for a moment before retreating back into the tunnel; hands shoved in his pockets. He stayed at the edge of the entrance, his eyes downcast.
“What are we supposed to do?” Woody asked.
Ellyssa didn’t have an answer for him. Her medical education went as far as first aid, not enough to cure what ailed an aging man. All she knew to do, Trista was already doing—applying a wet cloth to his forehead. “I don’t know.” Strangely, even now, she noticed how her speech flipped-flopped back and forth.
The old man started choking again.
Ellyssa’s heart sputtered. Panic. She squashed the sensation before it incapacitated her. Slipping into her old skin, her comfort zone when chaos emerged, she became stoic; the turmoil inside her faded away.
“Grab that bowl,” Ellyssa said to Woody.
Woody handed it to her, and she put it under the old man just in time for Jordan to empty the contents of his stomach. Phlegm and bile filled the bowl, sloshing over one side.
“I am so sorry,” she said.
Jordan looked at her with dulled eyes. Beads of perspiration glimmered on his forehead. “No need for sorrow,” he muttered.
“I do not know what to do.”
He grinned. “Neither do I.”
Trista wrung the cloth out in a basin of water and placed it back on his head.
“What will make you comfortable?” Ellyssa asked.
“I want you to listen,” he said to Ellyssa, his voice low. She knelt closer to hear him. “My son, Jeremy, found you for a reason. I know it.”
He inhaled. Ellyssa could hear the sickening rattle deep inside his chest. She glanced at Woody; sorrow fixed his features and his eyes filled with tears.
“I know there is conflict, but I believe in you. You’ll do what is right.”
Watching the old man fade away right before her eyes put a chink in her armor. “Jordan,” she said, fighting to hang on to her impassiveness, “I do not know what you mean.” Her voice shook.
“You will,” Jordan said. His lips curled into a grin. Then, with his last breath, the leader’s eyes glazed over, forever stilled.
“Jordan.” She shook his arm. He didn’t respond.
Misery and loss, profound and unending, completely enveloped her, the strength unlike any sensation she’d felt thus far. Powerless, not knowing how to respond, the emotion smothered the logic of her mind. Her apathetic cocoon shattered into tiny fragments, the pieces forever gone. Tears floated in her eyes before overflowing down her cheeks.
“What am I supposed to do?” Ellyssa looked helplessly at Trista.
“I’m going to let the others know,” Trista said, her words almost undecipherable as she backed out of the hospital.
Jason left with her.
Ellyssa shook Jordan’s arm again, tears streaming down her face. She tried to blink them back, but they just kept coming, like an incessant drip from a leaky faucet. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t make them stop. She remembered the first time tears had reached her eyes when she divulged her secret to Jordan, Rein, and Mathew, but this was different. She had absolutely no control.
She moaned, then sobs racked her body.
A hand touched her shoulder. She turned. Woody stood over her, his grey eyes shadowed.
“There’s nothing you can do,” he said, his voice cracking.
Woody pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. Ellyssa had never thought about needing comfort, needing the touch of another human being, given by a man who didn’t care for her. She needed it now. Returning his embrace, she buried her face in his chest and let the emotion take her into new territory.
25
After crying what seemed like a river of tears, Ellyssa sat on her cot. Her eyes were dry and raw. The memory of Jordan, his face peacefully at rest, was imprinted in her brain. His people had gathered to pay tribute as he was lowered into a grave, tossing in wildflowers.
Ellyssa had never witnessed a funeral. When someone died at The Center, the empty shells disappeared into the incinerator, burned like trash. But here, the death of a loved one was mourned, their memory cherished.
She wished she had more to cherish. The loss she felt in her chest, for a man she’d just met, was profound. The way he’d touched her life, in such a short time, amazed her. No wonder emotions and attachments were prohibited at The Center. She felt drained.
Ellyssa felt so alone.
Then, there was Rein. She wanted to talk to him and apologize for harboring her secret, risking his trust. He’d been gone longer than any of them had expected, but no one seemed worried. Woody had told her that sometimes there were unforeseen hang-ups, delaying travel. His words didn’t comfort her.
The sadness, the loneliness, the worry ate at her. Ellyssa needed serenity, to block out everything.
She stood and started her
tai chi
exercises. The fluid movements and slow breathing were calming, much more so than
karate
. It was one thing she’d secretly relished for as long as she could remember.
Ellyssa’s feet slid across the floor, lightly, as if she could defy gravity, her hands fluidly moving from side to side, lightening her sorrow. Finishing the second in the series, she pulled her feet together and bowed to the wall.
“Doc said you were a beautiful sight to behold, but I never imagined,” Woody said.
She had heard Woody come in and hoped he would go away. She didn’t feel like talking to anyone, even after the moment they had shared. Besides, she didn’t know how to act now that he had seen her at her weakest. He’d witnessed a whole new Ellyssa. She ignored him and started on the next set of graceful movements.
“Ellyssa, may I have a moment?” Woody asked.
Ellyssa’s hands flopped to her side. “Yes.” She returned to her cot. “Please.” She offered him a seat across from her.
“I won’t be staying,” he said, much to her relief. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for my previous behavior.”
“No apology is necessary.”
“No, there is. Jordan was right.” Woody’s voice choked on the old leader’s name. “You can teach our people a lot.”
Placing his elbows on his knees, he looked at her, his tired grey eyes full of sadness, his hair in disarray. “I was part of society at one time. I ran away when I was eight.”
Ellyssa was taken aback. “You ran away?”
Woody nodded. “My eyes aren’t quite right, and my hair…” He waved his hand as if presenting the trouble crowning the top of his head. “My real mother couldn’t stand to look at me anymore—because of my imperfections. I overheard my parents. They wanted to send me to the camps. I ran.”
“How did you survive?”
“One evening, late at night, I was rooting around in some trash cans, in search of something to eat.” He chuckled as a look of disgust registered on Ellyssa’s face.
Partly aghast at his rummaging for food in garbage, and the other part angry over her lessening ability to pay attention to control, Ellyssa blanked her face.
“A woman heard me and came out to investigate,” he continued. “I tried to hide behind the can, but she saw me and easily coaxed me out with a piece of bread.” Shaking his head. “I was bought with a piece of bread. Can you believe it?”
Ellyssa didn’t know whether to respond. The answer was
yes
, though, she could believe it. Regular society’s children were not taught the art of survival.
“I was lucky. Very lucky. The woman who coaxed me out was part of the movement.”
“Just how many are there?”
“More than you would think. More than even we know. The lady,” Woody continued, “brought me here. Jordan took me as his own.” He rubbed his hands together and stood. “Listen, I just wanted you to know I’m sorry.”
“Accepted.”
He left the room.
Feeling better, Ellyssa finished her exercises with a lighter heart. She liked Woody. Not only for holding her when she’d broken down, but for exposing a part of himself to her.
26
Ellyssa was amazed how close the storage room was to where she’d been staying the last few weeks. Not once had she heard scraping boxes, or people filing in and out for supplies.
She opened the closest box and pulled out an industrial can of peaches, like the ones the cafeteria at The Center served. She folded the lid down and placed it on top of another box with the same contents.
“You should see this place when it’s full,” Trista said, carrying a carton marked with a red cross. “This is nothing.”
“How long will this last?”
Trista looked around. Beside the one box of medical supplies, the few remaining boxes held a dwindling stockpile of food. “Maybe a week, with hunting.”
“I am amazed you have this much.”
“We get a lot of help.” Trista set the medical supplies next to the doorway. “So, what’d you think of the council members?”
Ellyssa pushed a large box against the wall as she thought about her newly assigned duties.
Yesterday, a council meeting had been held. Unfortunately, it had been Jason who escorted Ellyssa to an unfamiliar part of the cavern, where the meetings were held. Distrustful of him, she’d kept her mind open to his thoughts.
The images she’d received had been twisted, violent…and lustful.
Ellyssa had prevented herself from taking him down right then. Thoughts were thoughts. Actions were what counted and, so far, he hadn’t done anything.
When they’d reached the meeting room, Jason had entered first, brushing against her as he passed. His brief touch had caused nausea to roll in her stomach. He was lucky she’d fought the impulse that had swelled inside her. Maintaining her composure, she’d pretended nothing had happened.
Woody had smiled encouragingly as Ellyssa had entered the tiny room, furnished with an old, rectangular table and metal folding chairs, like the researchers used during training at The Center. She’d made her way to sit next to him, then met the other council members.