Resist (The Harvest Saga Book 2) (8 page)

The chances of me being held anywhere near Gray were decreasing by the second. We made our way into the building, past rust and peeling paint. Overturned file cabinets and rolling chairs littered the hallways and rooms that we passed.

Soon, Ardis pulled me to the right and quickly unlocked a barred gate. He pushed me inside. Grunting, he slammed the same door into place, locking behind me with some sort of blue glowing chain, which he sealed with his fingertips, much like the ring Crew had sealed on my neck. That was the first gate we passed through. A shiver crawled up my skin pebbling it with goose bumps.

Seeing their technology in such a rustic, decrepit place was creepy. I guess I should have been more worried about what was about to happen, but seeing the lock, completely freaked me out. We passed through barred gate after barred gate until finally, Ardis led me halfway down a long hallway and then ushered me into a cell. The door was constructed of metal bars, from which cream-colored paint had long ago begun to try to crawl off.

The smell of rust and mold slammed me in the face. And some sort of small animal scurried into a corner, diving beneath a pile of dried leaves.

There was a metal bed chained to the wall and a matching toilet in the corner. A tiny square window let in the ghostly blue moonlight. “Home sweet home.” Ardis untied my hands, but whispered in my ear before he locked me in, “We’re going to find out who hacked into the feed tonight. That person is going to be beheaded in the square, along with anyone we found out helped in this evening’s little escapade. I’ll tell Kyan you said ‘hello.’”

“Ky didn’t have anything to do with tonight. He’s as honest as they come.”

“We’ll see.” He smiled, calling my bluff. That was before he backhanded me, sending me sprawling onto the floor.

“Gotta stay back from these doors when guards approach.”

The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth. I watched him lock the door with another blue glowing chain and listened as his footsteps faded down the hallway.

I wiped the back of my hand across my mouth. Glistening crimson spread across it.

“I want to know every
detail. Who was involved? How did they do it? I want any Olympian involved brought before me immediately. Do you understand?”

“Yes, King.”

My father paced back and forth in his study. After the ceremony, someone had noticed that the camera feed coming from Orchard had been hacked. It was being broadcast to all of the five greater cities, Olympus included. What I never imagined was that Abby’s face, her words, would fill the screen.

We couldn’t see it live, thank goodness, but during the ceremony, someone alerted my father to what was happening. He dismissed everyone from the palace and we’d been in his study ever since.

We knew that the Lessers had help from within Olympus. I had a good idea who that particular hacker was, but would not betray his confidence. Senn had helped me get Abby to safety.

We also knew that my father was in deep trouble. He had kept our secret from the four other Greater Cities in hopes to find a quick solution. Olympus had developed the vaccines. Supposedly, they had been rigorously tested. But when the infertility problem was found, my father did not stop the vaccination program. Instead, he covered it up. Apparently, he had done so for as many years as he could. People had begun to notice. They started talking about why no one was conceiving.

He had to find a solution. After much deliberation, it was determined that The Lesser Harvest was the best solution. What will haunt me forever is the secret that I carry. My life had always been full of them.

The Harvest was my idea. I was young and stupid. I believed the lies my father had told me, what he told everyone: The Lessers were barely human. We only needed them for labor. They were too stupid to do anything else. My wife would have to be Greater, but he had said that I could choose a lover from among the Lessers if I wanted. I followed his orders to perfection. Why did I not question whether my actions were right? Why couldn’t I see that the Lessers were our equals, not beneath us in any way. Besides, both groups had survived the plague.

Orchard Village and the people therein, changed my world, turned it on its head. I found that I was actually much less of a person than most of them were. Most Lessers were kind, generous, and hard working. They loved and lived more than anyone I had ever seen. 

My mother sat to my left on the long, white leather couch. Marian sat to my right, holding onto my hand while my father’s temper spilled into the early morning hours. She was frightened. As a resistance member, she knew the basics of what my father had been capable of in the past. Now, she saw the beast himself, in action.

I squeezed her hand offering comfort. Though she tried to conceal it, she was shaking. My father was calling for the heads of anyone found to be in “this silly resistance,” which meant that he was calling for both of ours.

A stream of communication was set up between the Orchard guard station and Olympus. I recognized the background of the picture immediately. They were in Abby’s old house, the house she had shared with Lulu.

A stern face filled the screen. “Commander Ardis, what have you to report?” my father barked.

“King, we were forced to take down one of the Councilmen to stop the broadcast. He has been pronounced dead and is being buried as we speak. A Councilman Stephens, who was also involved, has been arrested and detained, as has Abigail Kelley and one of our own guards who was working with her.” I could bet on which guard had been helping her. It made my skin crawl. I shouldn’t have let him leave with her.

“Where is she being held?”

“In the prison with the others.”

Prison?

My father responded immediately. “Do not harm her. Understood? She is important. Or her eggs are. We will come and get her soon, but for now, just keep her imprisoned.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Have you found out if any others were involved?”

“We’re working on questioning villagers now. I believe we will find others, but I doubt there will be many.”

My father blew out a breath. “This girl has caused enough trouble for one night. Look, do you believe there is a resistance?”

Commander Ardis straightened. “A small one, yes. I don’t believe they are large enough or organized enough to do any real damage to Olympus though.”

“They already have. What I’m asking you is if they are militarized. Are they a physical threat to our city?”

“I have no evidence of that, sir. It seems that they just wanted to cause you trouble. We’ve seen no weapons, no training, or anything that would suggest that any sort of organized resistance exists. We work the Lessers from dawn until after dusk. They’re tired. Weary. We have them taking care of our chores as well as theirs. They clean, cook, and basically do anything we tell them to do. They’re too busy to organize themselves. And even if they did, they’re so far away from the city; I can’t imagine how they would get a mile out of Orchard without someone noticing. Our wall would prevent invasion if anyone would amass a force against us.”

“Yes. It would protect us against Lessers. Now, we need to put out the fire she’s caused with Greaters, in our city and in the others.”

Ardis chuckled. “How can a lie from such a tiny girl cause such trouble?”

My father did not laugh. It was not a lie. Ardis stopped laughing. “It
was
a lie?”

“Find the others. Squash any resistance. Report through your superior. This conversation is over.”

A look of disbelief washed over the commander’s face before the feed was severed.

Father looked over to his commander within our city. “Has the Lesser section been secured?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Any disturbances?”

“Only minor ones.”

Father’s brows collided. “That surprises me. Start tomorrow. Have your guards question the Lessers. If there is a resistance within our walls, I want to know about it.”

“Yes, sir.”

Marian clung to my hand, squeezing it slightly. I swallowed. We were in trouble and both of us knew it.

Dawn trickled in through the
window. It had been freezing through the night. The metal bed did little to provide warmth, so I huddled in on myself and hoped for the slight respite the morning sun might bring. Metal got hot in the sun, so I hoped this place would transform into a steaming-hot sauna by noontime.

Several sets of footsteps echoed down the hallway growing closer. I jumped up and ran to the door, pressing my forehead against them to try to see who was coming before they got too close. Four guards approached with someone in the center of them. I couldn’t tell who it was.

“Back away from the door, Lesser.”

I backed up into the corner behind the bed frame. At least it provided a small barrier.

“You get a new cell mate. He needs some help, so it won’t be all fun and games for you two.”

I watched them unlock the blue serpent and slide the heavy, rusted door back. They moved forward as one and dumped someone onto the bed. “He’s all yours.”

One left a jar of water and lump of something covered by cloth near the door before they sealed it shut again. I watched from my corner until they were out of sight and the sound of their footfalls had faded to almost nothing. Creeping over to the bed, I could see it was a person, but they were covered in black; black pants, black hoodie zipped tight, hood overhead.

It wasn’t until he groaned that I realized who
he
was. “Gray?”

I rushed to his side. “Gray, oh my God!”

Easing him onto his back, I took him in. His face was bloody and swollen. Even his nose was crooked. He groaned deeply and tried to curl back in on himself.

Oh no
. I grabbed the water bottle and ripped the cloth off what had been a hard loaf of bread. “Gray?”

I sat down gently beside him easing his head onto my lap. “Gray, it’s okay. It’s Abby.”

“Abby?” he gurgled. Blood trickled out of his lips, landing on the frigid metal beneath him.

“Shh. Don’t talk—just let me help.”

I wet the towel in the cold water and used it to soak up the blood from his face and hair. I cringed to think of how the rest of him looked. He was already turning black and blue. “I’m so sorry.”

He moaned and quickly fell back asleep.

I sat holding Gray’s head in my lap until late afternoon. When the shaft of sunlight seeping in through my window, moved across the room and began to fade, I got worried.
He should wake up soon, right?
“Gray?”

“Mmmm.”

“Are you okay?”

I stroked his silky, dark brown hair with my fingers gently to try to wake him up. His dark lashes fluttered and opened slightly. Both eyes were badly swollen. The whites of his eyes were red. He sat and looked at me for a long time. “Do you need anything?”

He licked his dried lips and rasped, “I need to use the bathroom.”

“Okay. I’ll help you.”

He looked at me and tried to wag his eyebrows. He could barely move them, but I was glad that he still had a sense of humor. I rolled my eyes.

“I mean I’ll help you get over to it.” He looked from me to the toilet. It was only a few feet away, but that must have seemed like too much. He groaned. “Fine. Help me up.”

I helped him sit up, waited for him to catch his breath and then stand. When he was ready, I let him use me like a crutch. He shuffled over to the toilet and steadied himself with the wall. I turned my back while he relieved himself and then helped him back over to the bed. He sat down on the edge of it and then laid back down. “I can’t sit up. I can barely breathe.”

His breaths were labored. “Did they break your ribs?”

“Yeah.”

“Anything else broken, other than your ribs and nose?”

He felt his face. “Son of a...they broke my nose.”

“Aww. You’re still pretty,” I smiled.

He grinned. “Damn right, I am.”

His grin turned into a grimace when he tried to move into a more comfortable position. On that cold slab, there was little comfort to be had. I grabbed our water and the loaf of bread.

“I’ll be your pillow,” I offered. I helped him lift his head and scooted backward until my back hit the cinder block behind me. “This is my fault, anyway.”