Naturals (19 page)

“You think I don’t know what I mean to you people?” I yelled, my voice filling the room like I was some all-powerful being there to finally pass judgment on them.

Al stood, his chair falling to the ground behind him. “You mean nothing to us.”

“That’s a lie! I’m the only hope you’ve got. How many children has she borne you people?” I said, pointing at Sharon. “You really think she can keep going like this forever? What happens when she’s too old? Or even worse, dies? You bank on the slim chance that one of her girls will be like her? Even if that happens, all you’ll get is a bunch of inbred simpletons, and what good would that do anyone?”

Sharon paled at my words.

“You’ve already made your thoughts on the situation very clear,” Al retorted.

“Yes, I have. But I’m young. Who knows how I’ll feel in five or ten years, right? That’s what you all are hoping. That I’ll come to my senses and change my mind. Let each of your willing and strongest boys father my children. That’s why I wasn’t afraid to pull that gun on Eric. You were right, Al. I am selfish. I am powerful. And you need me.”

“That’s not true. We could for—” Al stopped himself before saying the word.

“Force me? You could force me? Just like the council forced me into servitude, or forced me to watch as my sister died? Forced my father to leave his family and never come back? Force me to leave my sister behind because they were going to kill me?”

This was the moment.

I shot out an arm and pressed the tip of the knife against my wrist.

Complete and utter silence.

Henry stared at me, his eyes wide, panicked, but unable to move from fear.

“I wasn’t allowed to be a part of the deal you made for me. I will never stop appreciating how you allowed me into your community, but I also won’t go through life feeling like I owe you my very soul for it. I won’t let you mold me into something I’m not. You need me—there’s no way around that. I won’t sit up here and promise to become another Sharon, but I promise to
think
about it. And that’s as good as you’re going to get from me for now. But if you vote to kill James, then I slit my wrists right here.”

Al’s lip twitched. I could tell he was trying to gauge how serious my threat was. “And what happens if I just have Eric shoot you in the leg, stopping you from going through with it?”

I pushed the tip of the blade into my skin, drawing blood. It was hard not to gasp at the pain. “Then I’ll just find another way. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but I swear I’ll do it. I will not go on living among people who would kill someone I love.”

“Isn’t this a bit dramatic?” the longhaired man asked nervously.

“Maybe. But so is killing a man for saving a girl’s life just because you’re filled with so much hate that you can’t recognize logic when you hear it,” I argued.

“I think it’s time we call for another vote,” said McNair.

“No. We voted. We’re not going to cower to some teenager,” spat Al. Now he was the one who had lost his calm.

“You’re out of line, Al,” Sharon said. “The situation has changed, and I agree with McNair that a new vote is in order. You’ve both made your arguments. All those in favor of letting the abnor—the chosen one live?”

McNair’s and Sharon’s hands shot up. I held my breath as I looked between the gray-haired woman and the shaggy-haired man. I knew Al would never change his mind. But if just one more person voted, he wouldn’t need to.

The woman slowly turned to Al and glared.

Her hand went into the air.

Chapter 24

“How much longer?” I whined. I was getting anxious and no doubt annoying to everyone around me. They had promised to release James today, but it was getting closer and closer to evening. While I trusted McNair to ensure the vote was upheld, there was a small part of me that couldn’t truly believe I had won.

I had won.

There weren’t a lot of events from my life that I could add to that list.

“Don’t get your panties in a twist. Robert’s in there finalizing everything. Once they’re done, you and your little abnorm can…ugh…do whatever it is you two do,” Eric said, making a face. He was guarding the door to the dining hall until the talks had concluded.

“And why couldn’t I have been included in these talks?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because Robert’s now responsible for anything your little boyfriend does. The less any of us have to deal with that thing, the better for everyone involved. Trust me.”

I sighed. “Sure is taking a long time. And haven’t we gotten past the whole calling the chosen ones
things
or
abnorms
?”

“Look, you’re lucky you don’t have a hole in that leg right now. Stop your bitchin,” he drawled.

“Thanks for that, by the way. You know, not shooting me and all,” I replied sheepishly, kicking at the dirt under my foot.

“Just don’t make me regret it. All right?”

I nodded. “All right.” The door opened and Eric left.

I no longer saw him. He didn’t exist. The world was only made up of James and me. It had been two days since I had seen him, and I was surprised by how much I needed him. The leaders had agreed to let him stay in the community. This wasn’t any sort of favor to me; they figured it was safer for everyone if they could keep him here and watch him rather than let him return.

That was perfectly fine with me. I was going to get to keep everything.

My new home.

My new friends.

My new life.

And James.

Robert walked out first, and my stomach dropped. He looked horrible. An array of bruises in colors ranging from dark purple to puke-ish green covered his face and arms. Had they done this to him as punishment for my actions? Some of the bruises looked fresh, but others looked old.

They had to have happened before the hearing.

James walked behind Robert. As soon as he was close enough, he took me in his arms. “You’re completely insane. Do you know that?” he whispered into my ear.

I nodded. I pulled myself away from James and turned my attention to Robert. “What…what did they do to you?”

“I’m fine,” he replied, offering a small smile.

“Fine? Have you looked in a mirror recently?”

“I’ve seen worse, believe it or not.”

“I don’t believe it. At least not as long as I’ve known you. Where did these come from?” I reached up and gingerly touched his face.

Robert caught my hand in his and gave it a quick squeeze. “My job.”

“Your job?” I asked with disbelief.

Robert nodded. He looked over at Eric, who was not so subtly trying to listen in to our conversation. Robert hooked his arm around mine and began to walk, James following closely behind us. “My job is quite a bit different than the one you and Henry were assigned.”

“Obviously,” I said.

“The leaders feel the war is getting closer and closer, and they’re starting to get worried. Perhaps this is the reason for their swift justice when it came to James. One less chosen one they’ll have to fight later,” he offered.

No. There was no excuse for their actions.

“When we negotiated the deal to bring you here, it was decided that I would help them learn how to defend themselves against chosen ones. Sure, they could use a gun, but you can’t rely on machinery alone in war,” he continued.

“So you teach them how to fight?” I asked.

Robert nodded.

James raised an eyebrow.

“Just defensive moves,” Robert assured him. “They know this place won’t be safe forever, so anything they can learn to survive…”

“The resistance sect? What are they like?” James asked.

“Small in numbers but strong in power. I’ve known that from my own work with them. The men here are connected to small sects of resistance fighters in other communities. Their reach is far, but they only want to protect the naturals, not take the council down.”

“You sure?” James asked.

“They know how powerful the council is. Any hope we had of overthrowing them was in its early days. These fighters just want to protect what’s theirs,” Robert explained.

I silently disagreed. The council would never stop taking what belonged to the naturals until someone stopped them. I knew Henry agreed with me, and I wondered if that was why they hadn’t asked him to join. He didn’t want safety; he wanted war.

And maybe I did, too. I remembered the mysterious message —the marked-up body of the dead girl. The poor, defenseless girl who was murdered because of what my body could do. The council had made her a symbol, a message that said they were waiting for me. Or at least that’s what Henry thought. I wasn’t entirely sure who the message was from. It didn’t matter. Whoever it was, the council or George, they wouldn’t have to wait long.

“Oh, Robert.” I sighed. “You don’t even fight back, do you? You show them moves, but you let them get all the hits in.”

“Of course he does. He could kill them without even trying,” James spoke up from behind us.

“It’s a very precarious situation living with these people, Tess. They’re not happy I’m here,” he said.

“And if you went in there showing what you really could do…”

“It wouldn’t go well.”

“So this is why you always come home so late and leave so early. You didn’t want me to know,” I said. How much was he going to sacrifice for my family?

A dark thought crept up on me. I stopped dead in my tracks and looked from James to Robert. “Don’t tell me they expect him to share in your job duties?”

Robert shook his head. “No, they want to pretend he doesn’t exist. They won’t assign him a job. He has to take his meals in his room.”

“Out of sight. Out of mind,” said James.

“These people really make it hard not to hate them sometimes,” I grumbled. “So, where is James staying exactly?” I asked.

“With us. Henry is moving in with Lockwood,” Robert replied.

“Oh. That should go over well,” I said.

“It was Henry’s idea.”

It was? Was he doing this to make up for what he did, or because he could no longer bear the sight of me? I decided it didn’t matter. I had no intentions of talking to him anytime soon. We went years without talking before, and we had both turned out fine.

Except we hadn’t. We had suffered. Alone. All because of the things we were too afraid to say.

I pushed thoughts of Henry out of my mind and turned my attention back to the two men walking beside me. “Makes sense they would room us together,” I said.

“How so?” James asked.

I grinned. “They think we’re all freaks of science.”

James and I lay entwined on my bed. I was on my back, his arm underneath my neck. His other arm was draped across my waist. I couldn’t tell where his legs ended and mine began.

I gently tossed
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
back and forth between my hands.

“It doesn’t look like you got very far into it,” James said.

“It’s a difficult story to read.” I shrugged. “Remember when you told me I wasn’t quite ready for it?”

“Yes, but that was back then. You’re stronger now. Different. You can handle it,” he replied.

“I’m not that different. I’m still like you,” I said, placing the book on the floor. It didn’t feel right to read it with James.

It felt like it belonged to Henry.

I shifted so I was on my side facing James. “Besides the general smell, I think you would find I’m very much the same girl I was back at Templeton.”

One side of James’s mouth pulled up. “You really can’t see it, can you? You’ve changed in so many ways. Marvelous ways. Robert told me what you did for me. How brave you were.”

I shook my head.

James brushed the hair off my forehead. “Don’t you worry. I love this version of you, too.”

I snuggled closer to him, laying my head on his chest. “I love you, too, James.”

James kissed my temple. “I can’t tell you how much I missed this. I feel like any second you’re going to have to run again.”

“I just got you back. If you think I’m letting you go that easily, you must be crazy,” I replied, tightening my arms around him. “We’re free now.”

“Are we?” he asked, tucking my head under his chin.

“Yes. You’re free to do with me what you will,” I teased, feeling the heat from my cheeks travel down my body. “What do you want to do with me?” I asked, trailing my fingers up and down his arm.

“I want to find you a piano and watch you play until you tire of it. I want to get you every book ever written, and stay in this bed the rest of our lives discovering what new worlds their pages contain. I want to be there when you’re sad and when you’re happy,” he replied eagerly.

Of course he would want those things. He always put me first. “But what do
you
want? Surely you wouldn’t want to read all the time?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I would be content with only that if it meant I was with you,” he said.

“But we can have more,” I whispered. I shifted and placed a gentle kiss on his scar. “We could have so much more.”