Evadere (6 page)

Karn let out a hissing sound mixed with a growl as he looked the contributors over, sniffing them as he got his face very close to their bodies. “What do you have to say for yourselves, contributors?”
 

One of the captives’ head shot backwards at the odor coming from Karn’s mouth as a Scave removed his gag.
 

Karn let out a satisfied chuckle at his intimidation over these poor men before him.
 

“Who sent you?”

“We were just looking the land over.”

“Why?”
 

The contributor and his friend exchanged nervous glances, which infuriated Karn as he poked the contributor with his staff. “Don’t make me repeat myself,” he warned him.

The contributor looked as if he were going to cry. “For the possibility of a new beginning there,” the man stammered.

“Which group?” Karn pressed on.

“Water,” the contributor answered quickly.
 

Karn looked up at the other Scaves who had brought the captives to him. He squinted his eyes making his entire face wrinkle. “You’re lying.”

“No,” the man cried. “I’m not.”

“She sent you, didn’t she?”

The contributor raised his eyebrows, not understanding.

“Don’t play stupid with me,” he roared. “The queen. She sent you to spy on us, to see what we’re up to.”

“No …”
 

“You expect me to believe that water contributors would live so close to us? That’s absurd,” Karn went on. “No, you’re a liar. She’s getting scared, which means …” He looked up, satisfied by some idea that had just entered his mind. “He’s nearby.” He got lost in his thoughts momentarily before looking back at the contributors. “Get rid of them,” he ordered.

The Scave men grabbed hold of the contributors who cried out. What were they going to do, kill them? Surely the Scaves would have pity knowing that royalty used to kill them and hadn’t turned into killers themselves.
 

“Please!” one of them begged. “Don’t hurt us. We’re telling you the truth. We wouldn’t spy on you. We don’t even know the queen.”

“Have mercy on us,” the other squealed.
 

“Mercy.” The word rolled harshly off Karn’s tongue. He grinned, exposing his jagged teeth further, most of them blackened with decay. He placed a finger up to his chin, amused by whatever it was that was going on inside his twisted head, the beard still attached to his wrist as it was raised. “Perhaps we will have mercy on these two contributors. We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.”

Jo glanced my way and gave me an uneasy stare. I lowered my eyebrows at her and then returned my attention to Karn.

A Scave woman joined the crowd now carrying an elderly woman in her arms. She dumped her ruthlessly onto the ground. The woman groaned in pain as she made an attempt to sit up. I instinctively rushed over to the poor, old woman, and got down on my knees to help her up.

“Are you okay?” I whispered.
 

The sickly creature extended out thin arms and pushed me away from her. She moaned some more but then was able to get herself into a sitting position. I assumed she was paralyzed by the way her legs were wasted away and limp at her side.
 

“Who is she?” the woman shouted. “Get her away from me.”
 

I quickly backed away, realizing that everyone’s eyes were on me.
 

“What are you doing?” Jo asked angrily.
 

“I thought she was hurt,” I replied, feeling color rush to my cheeks.

Jo glanced toward the old woman. “Of course she is. She’s dying. Leave her be.”

The paralyzed woman seemed like she was in such agony, yet still had that ferocious beast of being a Scave within her. This was a glimpse of poverty in another world. These people couldn’t contribute and so they were considered useless, meaningless and left for dead. The ones that did escape had to forage for what little food and water they could. They had to steal in order to survive. And medicine, I assumed, was nonexistent to these cave-like creatures. It was really no wonder that they were as fierce as they were. They were true survivors, even living off a land that flourished with absolutely nothing where they stayed. I couldn’t even begin to fathom how lonely Evadere must be for them.
 

“Are you going to tell the others what you saw?” Karn asked the two captive contributors who were still terrified standing before the revolting Scave.

“No,” they both quickly answered, their voices quivering.

Karn exhaled loudly. “Very well, contributors,” he finally said. “You may go. Release them so they can go home.” He turned around and met glances with Rooney who pressed his lips together tightly.
 

The other Scaves cut the wires away that had been binding the contributor’s arms behind their backs. They made grunting noises as if dissatisfied with Karn’s decision to set them free.

“Thank you,” one of the contributors stammered.
 

“What are you waiting for?” Karn asked him. “Go.”

The two men scrambled almost directly into each other before turning to leave. They started off walking nervously at first, then went into full sprint after a couple of yards. I wished that was me, able to get away from this intimidating group, able to have somewhere to go back to. Part of me sympathized with the Scaves as I could understand why they were the way they were, but the other part of me feared their ferociousness. Then again, Karn had just let those contributors walk away. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as he seemed.

A sudden squeal like one made by an injured animal sent a burning sensation through the middle of my stomach. I looked out toward the two contributors as one had collapsed to the ground, a spear piercing his torso. The other contributor’s speed was now halted by the shock of seeing the now dying man by his side, blood pouring out all around him as, within seconds, he went from his knees to lying on the ground, dead.
 

A shrill scream escaped from my throat as Jo hurried to silence me by throwing her hand over my mouth. Rooney stood perched atop a large rock positioned on the side of the path, another spear in his hand. The contributor looked at the dead man and then looked up at Rooney in horror. He held his hands up in surrender, his feet stumbling backwards a little.
 

“Please!” he cried out. “Please, no …” Before he could finish, Rooney had thrown another spear. It zoomed through the air in perfect alignment with the contributor pleading for his life before making contact with his forehead. A stunned look appeared on his bloody face before falling forward in the dust.
 

The thud of his body against the hard ground sent me spiraling around in a circle as I now hunched over on all fours puking up what little fruit I had eaten, the once sweet juice soured by my stomach acids as I hurled it all back up, tears streaming down my face. How could I have possibly just felt sorry for the Scaves only moments ago? I had just witnessed the cruelest thing I had ever seen. Karn had told them they were free to go. He made them think they were able to return to their homes. Now I understood what that glance had meant that had been shared between Karn and Rooney. He wanted Rooney to kill them. The Scaves’ hatred toward the contributors was limitless.
 

“Get their bodies,” Karn instructed the two Scave men who had brought the contributors in. “Make sure nothing is wasted.”

Were they now going to use the contributors’ corpses as a meal? I wondered, my guts instantly repulsed once again as I bent over to throw up, merely dry heaving this time, saliva pouring from the edges of my lips. I listened to Karn’s heavy steps as he made his way back over to where I knelt, the end of his staff sinking in the dust in front of me.

“Get up,” he commanded.

I slowly made my way back into a standing position. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Weakness made its way through me as I felt as though I would collapse. I longed for a real meal and a real bed. I longed for Earth and the green grass of Seneca. A twinge of worry zipped through me at where Emry was now. He must be going insane without knowing where I was. I forced my head to move upwards so I could look the ghastly beast in the eyes, praying I wouldn’t become ill and go to the ground again, afraid I’d never be able to get back up.

“How is it that you’re so healthy after all this time out here alone?” he questioned in a mocking tone.
 

I closed my eyes momentarily, unsure how I was going to respond. My brain didn’t want to seem to cooperate with my lethargic body. I licked my lips, the taste of putrid vomit returning to my tongue. I smiled nervously at Karn.

He backed away for a moment, gasping.

I glanced back at Jo whose eyes were glued on us. When I looked back to Karn, his beady black eyes burned in fury. What was happening?

“I knew it!” he roared out. “Did you see that?”

A Scave woman quickly rushed up to me and stuck her repulsive fingers in my mouth, jerking up my lip. I backed away and attempted to spit out the filth.
 

“What are you doing?” I cried out.

The woman grinned revealing a mouth of rot, her gums sagging and covering up the majority of what teeth she did have. “Such a pretty mouth,” she said, her voice high-pitched and shaky.

Karn nodded. “Straight white teeth.”

My hand shot up to my mouth to cover it up. Why had I done that? I had mistakenly smiled. Jo had warned me not expose my teeth. Now I understood why.
 

“Another spy?” the woman asked.

Karn narrowed his eyes. “This one has to be in trouble. They sent her out here to die.”

“Please,” I said. I needed to plead for my life now. I had to think of something,
anything
to undo what I had just done.
 

“Get her!” Karn yelled.
 

I closed my eyes and cringed, waiting for the Scaves to capture me. Nothing was happening. Then the rustle of feet startled me into turning around. Jo had made a mad dash to get away, but Rooney was right behind her. He took a leap and tackled the poor girl to the ground. She kicked and thrashed, even bit Rooney to get him to release her, but he had his arms locked securely around her, his strength overpowering hers. She struggled for a few more moments and then gave up, succumbing to her sobs. Rooney began carrying her back to Karn.

“This really pains me,” Karn announced. “A traitor among us when I thought we were one.”

Rooney still held Jo in his arms. She hung her head in shame, her hair falling over most of her face.
 

“The contributors must’ve promised you things,” Karn continued. “What are you getting out of this?”

Jo remained silent, her body limp in Rooney’s arms, her head still cast downwards.

“Ashamed, are you? Do you think I’m a fool?” Karn’s voice was getting more intensely angry by the moment. “I took you in, raised you from a baby when
they
didn’t want you. They left you for dead. You’re alive because of me, and now you turn on me, on all of us?”
 

The group of Scaves behind us glared at Jo. Their faces held no sign of sympathy.
 

“What do you want me to do with her?” Rooney asked.

Karn scratched his hairy chin. “I never expected this to happen.”

“Let them fend for themselves,” the Scave woman with the shaky voice suggested. “See if they can survive on their own.” A smirk played on her lips.
 

Karn looked from Jo to me and then back to Jo. I wondered what he was contemplating. I was terrified, my palms now clammy and wet. He exhaled loudly. “Very well,” he finally said. The decision was made. “We’ll let them go.”

“Go?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yes, go.”

Jo’s head jerked up. I watched her look at Karn who exchanged a glance with Rooney behind her.
 

“No!” Jo screamed, wiggling her way away from Rooney and turning to face him.

They meant to kill us. We would have the same fate as the two contributors before us. I would never get a chance to gaze upon the wondrous face of Emry Logan ever again.

“You can’t do this,” Jo begged. “We’re friends.”

Rooney stared back at her, his usual cocky demeanor nowhere to be found. He didn’t want Jo killed and was even more pained to have to be the one commanded to do so.
 

Jo’s hands rose to her cheeks where tears now spilled uncontrollably from her eyes. She hurried to wipe them away, afraid to show any weakness in this time of despair. “Please, Rooney. This isn’t what it looks like. I’m not a traitor.”

Rooney swallowed hard.

“Don’t be foolish,” Karn warned him. “Leave,” he said sternly to us.

I grabbed Jo’s hand and headed down the same path we had come in, the same path where the contributors had been brutally murdered only moments ago, their bodies already taken away, but their spilled blood left to cool in the dust. Jo yanked her hand away from me.

“We have to go,” I paused to look at her terrified face.

“Go where? We’re going to die.”