Summer Wishes (Desire #1.5) (3 page)

“Mel,” Jocelyn said. “What are you doing here, in Arcadia, in my house?  How did you get back?”

“Jacob has honed his navigation abilities and was able to guide us back.  Many of us made it in.”

“Many? Who came with you?”

“Others who’ve been banished. They all wanted to come back.”

Jocelyn shoved her fingers through her damp bangs, clearing her forehead of the sticky strands.  “My God, Melanie. Do you realize how dangerous it is for you to be here? People who have been banished are never heard from again.”

“We’re not afraid.”

“Why is Jacob not with you? Is he safe?”

“He wanted to be here, to see you. He has so much to tell you before you turn eighteen.” Melanie sat down on a chair, a look of exhaustion overcame her delicate features.

“Then why isn’t he here?” Jocelyn fought the panic that slowly brewed in her gut. “Why did you make it here and he didn’t?  Is it because of them?” she pointed to the window and the Committee members outside.

Melanie remained silent, her eyes darting from Jocelyn to the window to the room Jacob had once slept in.  Guilt and remorse veiled her gaze, denting the determination that had been there since her arrival.

“Melanie,” Jocelyn whimpered.  “Did he make it?”

“He made it in,” she offered tentatively. Her hand absently rose to rub at the scratches on her arm.

Jocelyn’s heart pounded in fear as she took in the bruises that accompanied the scratches and scrapes.  “And…?”

“We realized we were being followed. We’d just entered the Ruby District. They closed in, Committee members, most likely Enforcers, the craziest ones of the bunch.”

Jocelyn stared in disbelief. How had she not noticed the tear in Melanie’s blouse, the dirt at the cuffs? Her boots were caked in mud, her pixie cut, disheveled and dirty.

“A few guys distracted them, answered silly questions and tried to stall them as long as they could.  It was an unbelievably risky move to make; any of them could have been taken right then and there.

Melanie put her hand to Jocelyn’s shoulder.  “They’d do anything for your brother. They love him, trust him and would lay their life down for him. He’s become a remarkable leader of the Resistance. We’re made up of those who were banished, even those who are still here, but want to abolish the need for a Life’s Plan. We want people to have the right to choose what their destiny is, rather than be given it by some Committee, and the harsh consequences for not following one’s Life’s Plan.”

“I did not know there is such a group,” Matthew said. He looked at Jocelyn, but Jocelyn was not looking at him. She was looking down, worry lining her forehead.

“There is such a group,” Melanie said. “It is small, but it is growing.”

Jocelyn shook her head, wanting to be pleased by the admiration and adoration her brother had found on the outside, but her fear for his safety left only room for dread.

“We traveled at night so we could not be seen. It was Jacob’s plan for us to stop by the house of one of the Resistance members and gather supplies, change clothes so we can blend in.  On our way here, we passed by my house and I wanted to stop in to say a quick hello to my family. Inside I found my mother, sitting stiff and straight on the sofa, her hands crossed in her lap. I can still see her, so terrified, paralyzed.  She didn’t even react to my entrance. I knew something was wrong.  I should have backed out right then. All of my time on the outside had taught me to trust my instincts, but I was so excited to be home, to see my mom, that I ignored my gut and walked right into the trap. Two Enforcers grabbed me. Another two held onto my mom as she went hysterical.”

“And Jacob?”

“He heard the struggle and screams from inside and ran in.” Tears lined her eyes and her lips trembled.  “I wish I’d not brought him with me. I wish I’d been fast enough to warn him, to tell him to leave, but he was caught… all because of me.”

Jocelyn feared asking, rendering her voice small and weak.  “What did they do with him?”

“Jacob fought, Jocelyn. He fought like I’d never seen him fight before. I turned on my captor, clawing, biting, hitting and kicking whatever I could.  Jacob managed to fight the guys off me.”

Her hand trailed down Jocelyn’s arm to take her hand.  “I’m so sorry.  He told me to run.  It was all so chaotic, so hectic. My mom was screaming, my head pounded from a blow I’d taken to the ear and Jacob was still fighting one of them and…”

“He’s still back there somewhere…”

“He slipped me a tiny sheet of paper.  It was so important to him that you see it, that you know he came for you.”

“The small blue heart.”

Melanie nodded.

“And where is he now?”

The small almost imperceptible shake of her head sent shivers down Jocelyn’s neck.

“We don’t know. We were supposed to just come in to deliver his message to you and now…”

Jocelyn turned to Matthew. “What can they do to him? He was banished. What do they do to those who dare return to Arcadia?”

Matthew shrugged and Jocelyn turned back to Melanie.

“I don’t know,” Melanie said. “None of us know, and, quite frankly, after the hell we went through on the outside, few of us cared about the consequences of returning. The world is so vastly different once you step outside Arcadia; unimaginably different.”

Matthew’s eyes widened with interest.  “Different - how?”

Chapter 4

M
elanie’s face went blank.  Her eyes frosted over, as though re-living her experiences of the outside world.

“The world you know here, Arcadia, it’s like a huge movie set; an immense sound stage.  The beauty and perfection you live in is all contrived.  It’s plotted out and planned.  It’s from another time, a time from someone’s memory, someone’s past, like an old movie set in a gentler time of innocence.  Even what you have here in the Ruby District is perfect, though less extravagant than the Diamond District.  It’s the perfect place to build childhood memories, memories you can cherish, but outside…”

She took a deep breath and her eyes narrowed.  “There is no pretty little Main Street outside; no delicate little flowers in perfect flower boxes, no immaculate little picket fences.  Outside the world is filled with poverty and violence. Danger lurks everywhere, day and night. There is so much to be wary of all the time.  Every step is taken with caution.

“Unlike Arcadia, vast open spaces stretch out as far as you can see; spaces with only dirt, wilderness and emptiness.  The void can become unbearable. After the apocalypse, the only world where we can see green rolling hills, clean streets, safe neighborhoods, restaurants, movie theaters, everything you see here in Arcadia; is here in Arcadia. There are pockets of nature, pockets of civilization out there, but few as nice as Arcadia, but is it worth the price to live here when it means you don’t have the freedom to choose your destiny?”

“Thanks for not sugar coating it,” Matthew said with a hint of sarcasm. “I’ve always wondered what it was like outside of Arcadia, but no one who has ever gone outside has been back to tell us. I always thought it was better, it’s like an adventure…”

“It would serve no purpose to lie to you.  I had to grow up fast out there.  Forget about being Daddy’s little princess. Out there you have to struggle just to eat…or get eaten…”

At that, Jocelyn and Matthew shot a glimpse at each other.

Melanie cleared her throat. “The laws of Arcadia and civilization does not apply to the world outside. You will find people driven to do things they normally would not do, just to survive.”

Jocelyn’s mouth dropped wide open. For a moment, the room was filled with silence.

“But at least you had Jacob,” Matthew offered, taking Jocelyn’s hand in his. “You would never have been together had you stayed in Arcadia.”

“Yeah,” Melanie muttered.  Her eyes shadowed in sadness.

“Was your love worth it?” Jocelyn insisted.

“The banishment is for life, Jocelyn. It’s not like being sent to your room for not eating your vegetables. You can’t see your family again. You can’t see your friends again. You can never return home. You ask me if it’s worth it?” She shrugged and suddenly looked even more old and tired. “I can’t really say what sacrifices you should or should not make for love. Jacob and I grew closer on the outside.  We had no choice if we wanted to survive, but the struggle put a constant strain on our relationship. Our love was strong and we managed to make it through the difficult time. Our respect and admiration for one another grew with every challenge. Can yours?”

“Of course it can,” Matthew blurted out. “I don’t want to go through life missing out on the only love I’ve ever known. I don’t want to let some stupid Committee make a Life’s Plan that’s going to dictate how I should live my life.” He turned to Jocelyn. “I want to go. My love for you is worth it.  My desire to be with you is worth it the challenges we’ll face.”

Jocelyn held his gaze a moment and turned away. Her love for him was strong. It had always been.  And she was strong, a fighter, a survivor, but…  If Melanie and Jacob could have such difficulties, could she and Matthew really make it?

Her gaze swept over Melanie; the gaunt features, the chopped off hair, the dirt…

Melanie fanned her hands out on either side of her, inviting Jocelyn to have a good long look at the effects of life outside Arcadia.

“Is it worth it to you, Jocelyn,” Melanie challenged.

“I don’t know,” she mumbled.

“Jocelyn.  “Matthew reached out to her. “If you don’t go, I’ll…”

“Would you go alone?” Melanie interjected.

Matthew stared blankly at her.

“If you leave Arcadia just to be together, it won’t be enough. You have to stop romanticizing this and find a bigger, stronger reason to leave. The outside will test you…more than you can imagine.” Her eyes darted back and forth between the young couple.  “You’ll face things, almost on a daily basis, that will make it hard to love one another.  Hunger and fatigue can wear away romantic desires fast enough.  Fear can leave you with little patience or tolerance.  The cold, the rain, the heat of the noon day sun can wear away that fuzzy warm feeling you two now share. Instead of longing for his arms around you, you long for a cozy blanket.” She turned to Matthew.  “Instead of her kiss, you long for a meal.”  She turned back to Jocelyn.  “Instead of lying beside him, you long for a soft bed to sleep in.”

Jocelyn eyed Matthew, uncertainty filling her.

“All of this without the help, advice or support from your family and friends,” Melanie added.  “The first months all we had was each other to rely on, to get answers from.”

Jocelyn let out a long tired sigh.

“I hated the Life’s Plan I got.  I was insulted by the notion that the Committee didn’t know who I was, what I wanted, who I loved.  How dare they try to separate me from Jacob, but…”

Jocelyn and Matthew waited as Melanie turned away, collecting her thoughts and emotions. Her hands clenched and unclenched, as did her jaw when she turned back to them.  “I understand now why so many blindly and faithfully accept their Life’s Plan without a fuss, regardless of how unpleasant it is. I understand why they choose to stay within the protective walls of Arcadia.” She reached out to lean her hand on the wall, her legs suddenly shaky, her face pale.

“Life is blissfully easy here,” she whispered as her eyes rolled back into her head.

Matthew had just enough time to reach her, catching her in his arms before she could slam face first into the floor.

Chapter 5

J
ocelyn sat in her father’s easy chair, her hands nervously folding and unfolding the scrap of paper with the blue heart. Her eyes remained on Melanie, stretched out on the sofa.  Matthew had commented on how feather light she was as he’d carried her down.  He could feel every bone in her body.

Despite her painfully thin frame, Melanie’s belly bulged, like the famine ridden children Jocelyn had so often seen on television.

“How’s she doing?” Matthew handed Jocelyn a glass of water and held out a plate of fruit he’d prepared.

“No thanks.”  Jocelyn waved the plate away.  “She’ll need it when she wakes up.  We have to fortify her while we can.”

She sipped her water, hardly daring a glance at Matthew.

What did he make of Melanie’s depiction of the outside?  Was he as frightened and as confused as she?

Melanie’s eyes fluttered open and she sat up.

“How are you feeling?” Jocelyn rushed to her side.

“Tired.”

Jocelyn reached for the platter of fruit and set it on Melanie’s lap.  With only a grunt of gratitude and forgoing the fork on the plate, Melanie grabbed several chunks and shoved them into her mouth.

“Pineapple,” she mumbled through her mouthful. “I used to take pineapple for granted, Jocelyn. I used to take having food and warm clothing for granted. Do you eat a chunk or two and disregard the rest? I did. I can’t remember the last time I ate anything so delicious.” She shoved more pieces into her mouth, alternating between pineapple and mango.