Read Edge of Mercy (Young Adult Dystopian)(Volume 1) (The Mercy Series) Online

Authors: C. C. Marks

Tags: #Young Adult, #Dystopian, #Paranormal, #Romance, #Post-Apocalyptic, #Apocalypse

Edge of Mercy (Young Adult Dystopian)(Volume 1) (The Mercy Series) (3 page)

BOOK: Edge of Mercy (Young Adult Dystopian)(Volume 1) (The Mercy Series)
9.18Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

There was one question though that I’d asked within the first few weeks of coming here and instead of a comment about how the amazing, wizened Council had already covered that particular tidbit, I was told never to ask
that
question. I shook my head at the memory because that question just wouldn’t die, not as long as my sister and I continued to shelter here.

In the community, there were exactly thirty-three men between the ages of eighteen and sixty, fifteen boys between the ages of eight and seventeen. That count included me. To everyone here I was a boy. Star made one baby girl, but there were no women or other girls.
Where were all the females?

Zeke shifted a shovel and hoe to his other shoulder and continued to hum a tune as we walked together. I watched him out of the corner of my eye and noticed how all the hard work in the fields had filled him out in the past couple months. He’d been the first one to befriend me, and my impression of him then as a scrawny, simple boy made me feel safe enough to ask questions. Unless I was visiting my sister in the inner sanctuary or taking care of my personal needs, I rarely left his side.

Should I ask the question again? Did I really want to know the answer? Would he even give me more than that first hushed whisper?

Something told me whatever happened to the females was too painful for Zeke and the others to talk about. Once, I’d even overheard some of the boys discussing the toll it had taken on Zeke’s father. Apparently, he refused to leave his room since the incident, and he was mentally and physically ill as a result. For now, the Council tolerated his behavior, but I had to wonder what could cause such trauma. What happened here?

I shook my head and glanced toward the copse of dark trees across the fields. Another time maybe. I pulled a deep breath into my lungs. The fear churning in my belly wasn’t enough to keep me from doing what I had to do.

Yeah, I was a boy to all those around me, but that didn’t stop my body from reminding me just how female I really was. I’d volunteered for laundry duty, so I was able to gather scraps of fabric for the inevitable that happened each month. Although I still didn’t grasp why I had to hide my gender, my mother’s insistence when we moved into our own underground bunker years ago, and the fact no women were here kept me silent on the subject, and everyone seemed convinced that all was as it appeared, except maybe Thomas with his sharp, dark eyes.

“Zeke, I’ll catch up to you later. I forgot to take care of something.”

“Forgot to drain the lizard, didn’t you?”

As if. One of the problems I encountered on a daily basis was the ease of vulgarity. Men didn’t censor themselves when women weren’t around. It was eye-opening and plain gross most of the time, but I just smiled and nodded as I headed off toward the forest. I’d lived here long enough to catch a few eyefuls and knew what a man looked like, but I had no idea how draining a lizard was anything like…it wasn’t even worth thinking about.

A few of the boys I passed called out to me as I wandered toward the other side of the work area. Once I was inside the line of the forest, I continued to pick my way through the overgrown brush until no obvious openings appeared. I couldn’t chance someone coming across me while I tended to feminine needs.

Two overgrown pines created a wall on one side, and a few, low bushes gave me some cover on the other. The cloudy day along with the cover of the canopy darkened the area around me, and a sense I was being watched came over me. Silence ruled the forest, but it had for a while now. Life was rare above ground.

I stood still for several more moments, listening for any sounds and watching for any movement. After I felt assured there was no danger, I worked my way out of my large, bulky overcoat and began to work the leather belt free from my pants that were two-sizes too big. Once I’d removed and lowered my pants, my hands shook as I worked quickly, worried someone else would decide he needed to “drain the lizard.”

I completed my business and discarded the used scraps and wrapped new ones in their place. I dug a shallow hole, buried the evidence as best I could, then dressed as fast as my fingers would fasten.

Just as I turned to go, satisfied that I hadn’t left any trace, the sound of a branch snapping came from above me. My heart beat a furious pace as I whipped my head up and glanced through the cover of the leaves, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There was nothing, no birds, no squirrels, no chipmunks. Nothing moved in the trees, but I hadn’t expected anything natural.

I took a few silent steps forward, but kept my gaze on the long branches full of leaves slipping to golds, reds, and browns above me. With one last glance over my shoulder, I turned and began to run toward the open fields, feeling thin branches and thorns tear at my clothes and exposed skin, but before I broke the line of trees, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow moving silky fast among the trees.

I broke through the forest’s edge and threw myself onto the ground right at the feet of Thomas. I reached out, and he grabbed my arms. I gripped him tightly and hugged at his legs, still on my knees. He looked me over for a moment before staring into the trees behind me.

“You’re all white, Charlie. Are you okay? Was something in there?”

I couldn’t catch my breath and sucked in great heaping gulps of air. My heart was racing, and I felt like I needed to run, get away, and never look back.

Thomas pulled just free enough to meet my gaze. “Hey man, you got a tight grip there. People are staring. You okay?”

My terror abated just enough that I realized what I was doing. I jerked my hands free in a sudden motion and nodded my head vigorously.

“Yeah, just got spooked. I didn’t really see anything, but just so we’re clear, it’s a good thing I emptied my bladder before that happened.”

Thomas made a strangled sound, and for a moment, I thought he might be laughing, but as I looked at him, his usual grim line planted itself where his mouth was. He grabbed me under my arms and lifted until my feet were under me and I could stand. He’d always been big, with a broad chest and long, spindly legs, but the ease with which he pulled me from the ground took me by surprise.

I watched his eyes and for just a moment, I thought I caught an interest that wasn’t usually there. Instead of the midnight iciness that kept him so distant, an instant of warmth lit up, but before I could take it in and figure it out, it faded back to coldness.

“So stupid! You shouldn’t go into the forest alone.”

“I’m a big…boy. I can handle a little spookiness.”

“Then, don’t be such a girl next time.”

My heartbeat halted a moment and I cocked my head to the side. Did he know? Was he trying to make me admit it?

I shoved a hand at his chest, getting no reaction.

“Whatever.” I turned to walk away, but stopped when he touched my shoulder lightly before dropping his hand back to his side.

“Get me next time you need to go into the trees. I’ll stay a short distance away, but you won’t be alone.”

I didn’t turn around. “You’re starting soldier responsibilities tomorrow. You won’t be here to ask.”

He blew out a frustrated breath. “Then ask Zeke. Just don’t go back in by yourself.”

I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t have anyone else in the forest with me, but the thought of going into that creepy, soundless space again gave me serious heebie-jeebies. At some point, I would have to go back in, and maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take someone with me,
if
he stood out of eyesight. I wasn’t going to give Thomas the satisfaction of knowing I’d thought his idea was probably a good one though, so I shrugged my shoulders and walked away.

I couldn’t wait until he started his training. Though their mothers were sisters and they were cousins, Thomas was so different from Zeke. Zeke was fun-loving and impulsive, while Thomas scrutinized every little thing he encountered. He watched me too closely, and I knew it was only a matter of time until he figured out the truth, if he hadn’t already.

The sun made a short appearance as we loosened the dirt around the towering plants and pulled the ever-present weeds. My callused hands throbbed and my back ached, but I didn’t complain because I was safe and the food would fill Star’s and my bellies through an otherwise lean season, like the one my mother and I barely survived last year.

Zeke worked beside me, and we talked occasionally about things we remembered before the infection. He mostly brought up foods he missed, like prime rib, cheeseburgers, French fries, macaroni and cheese, and beef-a-roni. I thought he was hung up on roni’s and red meat, but I just smiled and agreed.

I remembered television, computers, music, phones, and microwaves. I could spend hours with my head in front of, over, and on any or all of those at once, and I never imagined a time when I couldn’t just press a button and be set for an afternoon’s entertainment. Now they were memories, gone forever.

“And school. I actually miss school. Who would’ve thought?”

I looked at Zeke’s smiling profile and agreed. “Yeah, I miss the routine and my friends.”

“Oh, and the rectangular pizza with the little red pepperoni cubes.”

There he went again thinking about food and “roni’s.” I rolled my eyes, but nodded.

“My friend Tabitha and I went to the mall on the weekends and spent hours walking around the shops, sipping cokes in the food court, and flirting.”

“You? You had a girlfriend?”

I stared open-mouthed for a moment. Of course, he would think that, and I nearly slipped
again.
I was my own worst enemy, and I had to be more careful.

“Yep, first love and all.”

He paused in the middle of pulling a weed and stared at me for a moment. I could feel my cheeks heat, and I prayed I didn’t look as hopeless as I felt.

“You are kind of a pretty-boy with those blue eyes. I guess girls were into you, huh?”

I busied myself over a particularly stubborn weed and shrugged my shoulders. What could I say? The girls were into me for make-up tips, shopping, and sleepovers. That’s what I remembered most, but that was so long ago it felt like another lifetime.

I could hear the smile in his voice as he thankfully changed the subject back to himself and said, “Well, there was this one girl I was into. All the guys thought she was hot though, so I didn’t have a chance. I was too skinny and short. I hadn’t developed the guns yet.” He laughed and flexed his right arm.

I laughed with him and not for the first time, felt a warm rush in my abdomen as his gaze met mine. His eyes shined a deep brown and laugh lines crinkled around them. I loved Zeke’s eyes. They never looked at me as if I were a creepy bug crawling on the back of his hand or like I was the stupidest person allowed to live. Thomas’s dark, condemning eyes stared at me in my mind’s eye, and I shook my head to clear it. Zeke was nothing like serious, diehard Thomas.

Zeke was funny and carefree, and he made me feel everything would be okay. At times, he was rude, a little full of himself, even gross, but the longer I lived among men, the more I realized they constantly battled for power. Boys proved they were the strongest, biggest, smartest, smelliest or in some other way, the best. As a natural leader, Zeke was more the rule than exception to this, and often he was showing off with a race or some other physical feat. Back in school, I’d bet he was the star athlete and let his cocky-flag fly on a regular basis. It wouldn’t surprise me a bit.

I didn’t mind though, and put up with his brainless behavior. He was my best friend here and other than Star, of course, the closest thing to family. I could almost consider sharing my deepest secret with him, but my mother’s warning held me back. No one could know the truth if I was going to keep Star safe.

“You might want to pull a few more weeds there, Slim. Then your muscles will become as big as mine.”

I laughed again. “Are those muscles under there? I just thought you were wearing bigger hand-me-downs.”

“That might be true, but it’s because whenever I flexed, my arms busted right through the sleeves of my old clothes.”

I was cracking up, holding my stomach when Peter Bannon strode toward us. “Weeding too easy for you? Do you need something harder?”

Zeke and I stilled. Peter topped my list of people I avoided. He was a class
A
jerk, but I’d be better off keeping that to myself because his father was Jonas, the head councilman.

“Shut-up, Peter. You might be fun-impaired, but doesn’t mean you have to bring everyone else down.”

Apparently Zeke didn’t feel the same intimidation. Of course, his uncle Noah was also on the Council, so it probably never crossed his mind that he could be shown the final exit at the dead of night. I wasn’t quite so confident. With a restraining hand on Zeke’s arm, I tried to calm him.

I pulled a few more weeds. “We were just getting back to work.”

“You better, outsider. Never know when you might end up on the wrong side of the wall.”

Zeke took a threatening step forward. “Don’t talk to him like that. He’s one of us now.”

Peter’s face twisted into an ugly sneer, although it wasn’t much prettier when he smiled. “Oh, I didn’t mean to insult your
boyfriend.

Zeke lunged toward Peter and grabbed his head in the crook of his arm. Peter released a high-pitch scream and struggled earnestly to get out of Zeke’s tight grip. I swallowed the shriek that welled in my own throat and searched the area desperately for any boys willing to break them up. Hope that someone would come and stop this madness was my best plan, but only a few people stopped and stared. No one seemed able to shake the shock, or maybe two members of the community brawling like wild animals wasn’t that unusual.

In a frantic attempt to stop them myself, I reached my hands in and tried to separate them, but I might as well try to lift a tree out by its roots. I clasped Zeke’s arm between my fists and yanked with a grunt like my life depended on it. Maybe it did because Zeke had been my only advocate from the beginning. Without him, the Council probably would’ve expelled me from the community from the start, but Zeke went to his uncle and convinced him to let me stay. Of course part of the reason the Council said yes was because they thought me another able-bodied male for the laborious tasks that kept the community going.

BOOK: Edge of Mercy (Young Adult Dystopian)(Volume 1) (The Mercy Series)
9.18Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Nocturna by Guillermo del Toro y Chuck Hogan
Darkest Day (StrikeForce #3) by Colleen Vanderlinden
Echo Park by Michael Connelly
Summer Lies by Bernhard Schlink
DW01 Dragonspawn by Mark Acres
3 by Shera Eitel-Casey
Claimed by the Grizzly by Lacey Thorn
The Butterfly Storm by Frost, Kate