Hope (Book 2, Harvester of Light Trilogy; Young Adult Science Fiction) (3 page)

“Things didn’t
turn out quite like we planned.  A lot of people ended up dying that night
instead of escaping.”

“How did you
survive?”

My father
snorted.  “Lucena’s people shot me in the back but it didn’t kill me.  Up until
a couple of weeks ago I wished they had finished the job.”

I wanted to ask
him what happened to Mom but couldn’t bring myself to voice the question.  Did
it really matter?  She was dead.  I didn’t need to know the gruesome details.

“How did you end
up here in the Southern Kingdom?”

“Lucena sent me
here.”

I felt like I
couldn’t breathe.

“You work for
her?” I whispered.

“It’s not like
that Skye.  She just used me to bring a message to them.”

“What message?”

“That she would
leave them alone as long as they didn’t try to invade the Eastern Kingdom.”

“But what about
the nukes the south sends over to destroy the breeding camps?”

“They’re just
nuisances to her.  It’s not enough to cause her any real hardship.”

“Then why do it?”

“The Council thinks
it’s a morale booster for the people here.  Most southerners want to help those
in the east but they’re not desperate enough to do anything substantial.  The
leaders believe sending the nukes to destroy some of the breeding camps makes
everyone here feel like their doing their part to help.”

“So it’s just a
publicity stunt to them?”

“Yes.  It appeases
the masses enough to let them still feel good about living in paradise while
everyone else in the world is scrounging around just trying to find a way to
survive each day.”

My father hung his
head and looked away from me, like he couldn’t meet my eyes anymore.

“You don’t know
how much I wanted to leave here and go back across the barrier to find you.”

“You would have
never found me,” I told him with certainty.  “Ash and I kept on the move
everyday.  It would have been worse than trying to find a needle in a haystack
because the needle would have kept moving.”

“But at least I
would have been doing something instead of living here safe and sound while the
two of you were out there fighting for your lives.  A father shouldn’t abandon
his child.”

I reached out and
touched my father’s arm, forcing him to look at me.

“You didn’t
abandon me.  It wasn’t your choice.  Besides, you gave me Ash.  He protected me
more times than I can count.”

“When Ash first
got here, I thought you were dead.  I knew he would never leave you on his
own.  And then when he woke up and told me what happened the last time he saw
you, I was sure you were dead.”

I squeezed my
father’s arm.  “Don’t think about that.  I’m not dead.”

“I wanted to bash
that Rose woman’s face in when she told me she left you in that library.”

“You and me both,”
I admitted.

My father smiled
over our shared dislike of Rose and placed his free hand over the one I had on
his arm.

“If she hadn’t
told me I would be seeing you soon, I’m not sure what I would have done to her
I was so mad.”

“How did you know
you could trust what she said?”

“Doc Riley seemed
to trust her, and I’ve always trusted Doc Riley.”

I wanted to tell
him what Rose proved to me the last time I saw her.  I hadn’t shared her ability
to time travel with anyone but Doc Riley because I knew Doc Riley already knew
the truth.  To think my future self was responsible for sending Rose and Simon
back to particular points in my life seemed ludicrous.  But the facts were
irrefutable.  They helped when they were needed and only then.  I couldn’t
fault them for doing what my future self was telling them to do.  And now I
understood why Rose left me in that library and made me spend time with Jace. 
But, I didn’t know why it was so important for me to fall in love with him.  Or
maybe that wasn’t the real reason.  Maybe we were just supposed to make sure
Ian made it to the Southern Kingdom to help us win the war with the
harvesters.  There were so many possibilities for why Rose left me.  Plus,
there were more than likely things which hadn’t even happened yet that might be
the real reason.  I just didn’t know.

Chapter 3

Because of the
dance that night, we were given the rest of the afternoon off from work. 
Apparently, the dance was an annual event for the younger crowd living in the
Southern Kingdom.  I couldn’t imagine living beneath a mountain for all my life
like most of the people my age here.  Every time I thought about it too much I
suddenly became claustrophobic and yearned to feel the great expanse of the
outside world again.  The surface was a far cry from perfect but at least it
didn’t feel like a prison.

As soon as I
arrived back home, Zoe practically ordered me to go take a shower before Kirk
and Teegan were to arrive.  I was just drying my hair with a towel when the duo
entered my room.

“You’ll be the
belles of the ball,” Kirk declared, a dreamy look on his face while he and
Teegan set out their hair and make-up paraphernalia on the vanity.

“Did you bring the
dresses we ordered?” Zoe asked, practically bubbling over with excitement.

Kirk pointed to my
bed and Zoe pounced, picking up her dress and twirling around with it against
her body.

The royal blue
color of Zoe’s dress accentuated the bright blue of her eyes.  It had wide
strips of chiffon hanging from the waist, spaghetti straps at the shoulders and
an ornate beaded top I assumed Teegan must have slaved over.  I knew it would
look perfect on her as she twirled around on the dance floor.  I, on the other
hand, chose something a bit more conservative.  It was a short and simple cap-sleeve
black lace dress over ivory silk.

Just like when I
was in Alliance, Kirk styled our hair and Teegan applied our make-up.

“Are you coming to
the party?” I asked Teegan as she dabbed a little foundation across my
cheekbones.

She nodded with a
big grin.

“You don’t think I
would let my girl be the only one not going to the biggest shindig on this side
of the barrier, do you?” Kirk asked.

“Kale really does
want to take you instead of me,” Zoe told Teegan.

“Pfft,” Kirk
rolled his eyes and continued using a large barreled curling iron on Zoe’s
hair.  “That boy can’t seem to put two words together around Teegan much less
form a complete sentence to ever ask her out.”

Teegan threw the
make-up brush in her hand at Kirk and hit him on the shoulder.

“Well it’s true!”
Kirk defended.

Zoe let out a
small giggle.

“I’m sorry
Teegan,” Zoe apologized.  “Kale told me he can’t even think straight when he’s
around you; much less get a coherent word out.  But at least with me you don’t
have to worry about him being pawed all night by another girl.  I’ll keep him
safe for you.”

Teegan winked at
Zoe sealing their pact to keep Kale safely out of the arms of the other girls
in the kingdom.

There was a soft
tap, tap, tap against my bedroom door.  I immediately knew who it was and asked
Teegan to excuse me while I went to answer it.

Blue stood on the
other side of the door wagging his tail eagerly, looking up at me with his one
good eye waiting to be let in. 

“Come on boy,” I
told him, reaching down and scratching him behind the ears.  I knew my father
must be back home since Blue was here.   He had taken Blue out for a walk
knowing how loud the four of us could get when we were together.

Blue walked in and
jumped on my bed to find his regular spot.  Even though we didn’t have to sleep
close together anymore to keep warm, Blue still slept against my back each
night.  It was all he knew, and I wasn’t about to change things between us now.

Once Kirk and
Teegan were through with their magic touches, Zoe and I surveyed ourselves in
the full length mirror attached to the back of my bedroom door.

Zoe looked like an
angel with her svelte figure and golden curls cascading down her back.  Next to
her I felt like a piece of raw meat while she was a surf and turf meal for the
eyes.

I didn’t look at
myself much, just a glance to make sure things were in their proper place.  I
was scared I might see the girl I once saw in the mirror in Alliance.  That
girl wasn’t someone I ever wanted to see again.

“All right ladies,
we’ll see you at the party,” Kirk said, gathering up his hair styling supplies
while Teegan put away the make-up.

As Zoe and I
walked them out of the apartment, I heard my father open the door of his
study.  When we turned to face him, the book he had in his hands slipped from
his fingers onto the floor.

Zoe giggled.  I
think I must have just looked puzzled.

“Sorry,” my Dad
said, leaning down to pick the book back up.  Blue walked into the living room
and went to my Dad as if he were making sure he was all right.

“You ok, Dad?”

“Yes,” he said,
clearing his throat.  “You just look so much like your mother.  I thought you
were her for a split second.”

I didn’t know what
to say so I mumbled, “Thanks, Dad,”

“Anyway,” he said,
casting the ghost of my mother aside.  “When are Ash and Kale arriving?”

“Any minute,” Zoe
answered.

Just then a knock
came to the apartment door.

“Speak of the
devils,” Zoe eagerly opened the door before I had a chance to compose myself.

“Hey guys,” Zoe
chirped.

Ash was dressed in
a black tuxedo with a matching bow tie
.
  The suit made him look dapper which
was a word I had never associated with Ash before.  His face was clean shaven
bringing out the strong angular features of his chin and cheekbones.  I had to
wonder if Kirk snuck into the boy’s apartment considering the neat style of
Ash’s slicked back hair.   
  

Kale looked like
Kale, just washed up.  He wore his usual Hawaiian shirt, except this one looked
like it had actually met an iron and ironing board.  He was wearing blue jeans
instead of cargo shorts, but he still had on his signature pristine white
tennis shoes.  His curly brown shoulder length hair looked freshly washed and
an attempt to slick it back was made but natural curls will not be denied. 

“Really, Kale?”
Zoe whined, crossing her arms.  “You couldn’t dress up just this once?”

Kale shook his
head.  “Women,” he nudged Ash with his elbow, “can’t even appreciate it when
you make an effort.  Am I right?”

But Ash wasn’t
paying attention to Zoe and Kale’s tiff.  He was staring straight at me like I
was the only person within a million miles.

Kale waved his
fingers in front of Ash’s face.  “Dude, snap out of it.”

Ash seemed to
remember where he was and looked over at Kale.

“What?” Ash asked.

“You were just
staring at Skye like some psycho,” Kale said in a low voice.  “Thought I’d help
a brother out and snap you out of it before you started giving off a stalker
vibe, man.”

Ash looked back at
me with a troubled frown.  “Sorry,” he mumbled.

My father suddenly
appeared at my side.

“So, I expect you
both to have my girls back home by midnight.”

“Yes, sir,” Ash
and Kale said in unison.

“All right,
then.”  My father turned to me and kissed me on the cheek.  “Have a good time,
sweetie.  I’ll be waiting up.”

I had a feeling
the last statement was more for Kale’s benefit than Ash’s.  After all, my
father had given Ash the responsibility of keeping me alive at one time.  I
felt pretty confident he trusted him enough to keep me safe at a dance for a
few hours.

Zoe and Kale walked
ahead of us cracking jokes and having a good time with one another.  I could
understand Kale’s behavior since he basically grew up in the Southern Kingdom,
but Zoe’s acceptance of everything around her troubled me.  I felt at least twenty
years older than the two walking in front of us and wished I could be what I
was supposed to be: a carefree eighteen year old girl.  But, my life hadn’t
been lived within a protective shield or inside a fortress which let you
imagine life as being normal when it was anything but.

“What are you
thinking about?” Ash asked me.

I looked up and
saw the concern in his eyes before I let my attention wander back to Zoe and
Kale.  “Sometimes, I wish I could be more like her.”

“Zoe?  Why?”

“She’s
so…comfortable with it all.  It’s like being here doesn’t phase her one bit. 
She wants to be here.  She can enjoy everything they have to offer and not seem
to care what’s happening outside.”

“You don’t like it
here?”

I sighed.  “It’s
not that I don’t like it, but I can’t just forget what’s going on in the real
world.  Eventually the people here are going to have to wake up and face the
truth.  The outside world is dying and they’re not even trying to do anything
about it.  They’re acting like nothing exists outside of this place.”

“I guess they’ve
just been here for so long they figure the rest of the world doesn’t matter to
them anymore.  Why face a nightmare if you don’t have to?  It’s easier to
ignore a problem than find a way to solve it.”

“I can’t do that,
Ash.  I can’t turn my back and pretend everything is all right because it
isn’t.”

Ash stopped
walking which made me stop and turn back to face him.

“Are you thinking
about saving the world or just one person in it?” He asked.

“I don’t forget
about the people who mean something to me,” I replied, hoping he would leave it
at that.

Ash stared at me
for what seemed like an hour but in reality was only a few fleeting seconds.

He walked up to me
and laced our fingers together, sliding his skin against mine intimately.

“I know what I’m
about to ask might be impossible for you to do, but for tonight, can we pretend
we’re like everyone else down here and forget about what’s outside of this
place?  We can figure out a way to save the world tomorrow.  All I want is one
night with you where I don’t have to think about anything or anyone except
you.  Can you give me that, Skye?”