Beasts and Savages (The Beastly Series Book 1) (28 page)

Someone shook my shoulder and I sat up quickly. “What did you find out?” My eyes adjusted to the gray light, and I tried to place whether it was morning or night.

“Good morning to you, too.” Tanner had creases on his face and he rubbed sleep from his eyes. He stretched before he stood.

“You didn't wake me up last night to tell me what was happening?” I ignored the fact that he had decided to sleep in my bed without any sort of permission.

He shrugged. “You were sleeping. I was tired. We were both going to need energy for today, so I decided to take a nap.”

“A nap?!” Anger rose and fizzled as I absorbed what he said. “Are we going to help the girls today? Is that what Locke got the council to agree to?”

Tanner reached for my satchel. “I'm going to fill this with food and water. Get what you need for two days. We leave when I get back.”

“Where are we going? What are we doing?” I called after him.

“It's a surprise,” he called as he walked out the door, leaving it open behind him.

For a split second every fiber in my being screamed, “Run! Here is your chance to escape!”

I took a tentative step toward the door and stopped. If I left now, I would only be saving myself. I may or may not survive the winter, but I knew those girls would certainly die. My life was no more important than the other eighteen girls trapped here.  I picked up the brown box from Nana and the picture of my mom and me. I slid my hand under the mattress, looking for the knife. It was gone.  I sighed and sat down in the chair. For now, I stayed.

***

Tanner turned away from the village when we reached the path. I stopped. “I thought you said we were going to help the girls in a big way?”

He pulled my arm. “We are. Trust me. When you see the place we’re going, you’ll understand. Now hurry. I want to get there before dark.”

I followed, but asked, “If it's so great, then why can't you tell me?”

He huffed. “Enough with the questions. Let's just go, okay?”

I walked alongside him as the path curved deeper into the forest. We took turns carrying the satchel laden with food; it was heavy and dug painfully into my shoulder. He had filled my canteen and was wearing one of his own. Every few steps, I heard unfamiliar sounds and glanced around. Twigs snapped and leaves rustled. At first, I thought it was animals scurrying through the trees, but the noises were too steady, and they followed us. I looked over my shoulder and saw a glimpse of blue.  Two boys froze, watching me intently. They were at least ten yards away, but I was weary of them.

“Tanner, we're being followed.”

He glanced over his shoulder, smiled, and waved. “I know. They wanted to help. And they’re curious. About you, about the place we’re going.” The boys ran to catch up. I looked from them to Tanner. They made me feel anxious; my stomach flipped and I grimaced at him. He chuckled. “Don't worry. You'll be fine. Royalty, remember?”

By midday, there were a dozen boys walking along the path with us. One of them was Miller. He never came near me, and shot me looks of pure hatred when we made eye contact. I was sure he wasn’t here on his own accord.

None of the boys spoke directly to me. They would talk open and freely around me, but never direct anything towards me. Most of the conversation revolved around where we were going and why was I with them. It was nerve wrecking. I glanced from face to face, trying to keep up with conversations.

A boy of about ten or twelve pulled on Tanner's shirt. “What's her name?”

I turned to him. “I'm Lea. What's yours?”

The boy shrank back, wide eyed. He looked from Tanner and back to me. I tried again, this time smiling. “Nice to meet you. What’s your name?”

“J-Jones,” he sputtered, and ran to the back of the crowd.

I looked to Tanner. He smirked and mouthed, “Royalty,” his eyes sparkling.

Suddenly, the boys cried out a barrage of questions:

“Why are you here?”

“Are you really Locke’s daughter?”

Miller cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “Tell us how many boys you’ve killed!”

The group fell silent, all watching Miller with hooded eyes. I glared at him with clenched fists. I didn’t want these kids to fear me, and Miller was making sure they did.

I needed to stand up to Miller, show him I wasn’t scared of him any longer. I hoped my voice wouldn’t betray me as I climbed on a log close to the path. I tried to look each boy in the eye as I spoke. “None. I have never killed anyone. And I don't plan to.”

All the boys cheered, except Miller. He stared at me with vehement eyes.

I stumbled off the log and Miller caught my elbow to steady me. “I can't kill you any longer, but that doesn't mean I hate you any less.” His voice was low and threatening. “Stop trying to save everyone. The first chance you get, run. We don't need you here. We don't want you here.” He pushed me away and set off down the path.

Tanner questioned me with his eyes. I shook my head at him and followed Miller to the front of the group. Miller was trying to tell me something. He obviously hated me, but there was something more than hatred in his words. There was warning. Maybe he knew what Locke had planned for Tanner and me. Maybe he knew that Tanner had decided that he was going to go along with Lock's plan. I decided that if the opportunity to get Miller alone came, I would take it.

***

The building ahead was large and loomed over the meadow around it. It was similar to government buildings from home: made of steel, glass, and concrete. There were some broken windows, but the door was shut tightly. Though it was old and sagging, it looked sturdy and untouched, as if whoever had occupied it stepped out one day and never returned. The boys oohed and ahhed over the building.

Tanner opened the door and we filed in. The room was large and had stone floors covered in a thick brown dust. I couldn't see through the windows that ran wall to wall on either side of the room, but some light did still filter in. There was a counter with a sink, and rocking chairs scattered throughout it.

Next to the rocking chairs sat clear plastic bins on carts. Along the back wall were metal cribs. This was a nursery. I found an old metal cupboard and opened it; inside were canisters of old formula. I checked the expiration date: they expired years ago.

“Tanner, do you know what this is?” I set the formula down and gestured at the room. The other boys explored, playing with random objects, and blowing clouds of dust into the air. He shook his head as he watched the others.

“It's a nursery. For babies. Young babies and their mothers.” I took a quick estimate of what would be needed to clean and fix this place. “But it's not safe now, and would be too crowded for all of us to live here.”

“You’d never live here. I wouldn't let you.” He sounded so sure of himself. Maybe Miller was right to warn me. Tanner took my hand, and led me to a steel door. “Besides, this isn't why we’re here.” He opened the door to complete blackness and lit a lantern. We stepped in, and he shut the door behind us. Cool air rushed from somewhere below. He tugged my hand, and we descended down a metal staircase.

I shivered when we reached the bottom. The air was cold and damp, like a cave. Tanner used the light to find a door handle and pushed it open. When he turned a key in a panel, a light came on overhead and he set the lantern down. He pushed a lever down and turned a knob. Green and yellow lights flashed. He pushed a red lever completely up, and a sound I recognized buzzed in my ears. Tanner flipped a small white switch next to the door and the stairwell flooded with light. The door he held open had large red and black lettering that read “generator.”

“Magic,” Tanner whispered, quite pleased with himself.

I giggled. “Electricity.”

He let the door shut and strode to a white door across from the stairs. Once inside, he flipped a set of switches. Light after light illuminated the room. Metal bunks were arranged neatly in two rows. Tables and chairs ran along each wall. In the back there appeared to be a kitchen. The bunker looked set up to hold at least a hundred people. Though I knew it was made by women, from a city like my own, I'd never seen anything like it before.

“Well,” I sighed, “at least it's better than a basement.”

Storage closets lined the walls of the bunker, so I decided to explore them. There were sheets, blankets, and towels folded neatly in one. They smelled musty, but seemed in good shape. The other closet had tunics of all sizes, leggings, slacks, even nightgowns and underwear. Soap, cleaning supplies, and toiletries were stacked in a third.

I found Tanner digging through a closet of dishes. “You know this place belongs to a city like mine, a women's city. Right?”

“Yeah. Probably the abandoned one close by.” His answer was nonchalant as he opened another closet door. More blankets and pillows.

“Abandoned city? Where? I've never heard of an abandoned city.” I thought back to all of the history lessons I had sat through. No teacher had mentioned a city recently abandoned, or any recent struggles at all.

Tanner still had his head in the closet. “I haven't been there. Too far, even from here. But they stopped hunting a few years ago. Men from the other clan say that the village is dark, but they’re afraid to go any further than the edges.” He closed the door. “We’ll sleep here tonight. I'll go get the others.”

While he was gone, I thought about the city and how everyone there could have disappeared. Different scenarios ran through my head. They could have found some environmental problem with the city and evacuated. The fertility rate could have dropped and they could have meshed with other cities to survive. There could have been a deadly illness. I wasn't sure what bothered me more, the fact that there was an abandoned city, or that I didn't know how or why.

The boys streamed in the bunker, chattering excitedly. At first, they ran around the room, opening every door, checking out every corner. After a while, they settled down and Tanner led them over to the closet full of bedding. Each boy picked a bunk, threw a pillow on it, and lay down with a blanket. Soon, there were boys scattered in beds through the room. Tanner brought a blanket and pillow to a bunk near the door and plopped down.

He motioned to me. “Lea, let's get a good night's sleep before cleaning this place tomorrow.” I walked toward the closet to get a pillow and blanket. Tanner called me again, “Lea! Right here!” He scooted over and patted his bed.

I glanced around. The others watched me intently. Suddenly, I felt unsafe. Everyone was waiting, hanging on my every movement. I searched eyes until I met Miller’s. His sharp blue eyes magnified his hatred, and warning seethed out of them. My heartrate sped up, and my palms were sweaty.