Shymers (37 page)

All I can do is rub her leg and watch while she sobs, her hands covering her face. Why won’t she tell me what is going on with her and Kendall? It sounds like there are more secrets between them. Did they form some kind of relationship in the days they were alone? Does she feel something for him?

Suddenly I feel a massive stab of guilt. How can I have these ridiculous thoughts while she is going through all of this? Her happiness should be my only worry. I can’t stand to see her in this much pain. “I know this must be hard, Olive, but we have to get out of here before it’s too late. You can do this. I know you can.”

Suddenly, a hand clamps around my broken leg. Before I can say anything more, I am yanked backwards. I yell out instead, grasping for something to hold on to. My body is pulled from the mouth of the tunnel so forcefully that I fall to the ground with a bone crunching thud. My leg burns with so much pain that everything fades out around me. The last thing I see is a pair of legs going back to the opening.

As the darkness swallows me, I hear Olive screaming my name.

* * *

The room comes into focus with little bursts of bright light. Olive has wedged herself inside my arms, and we sit alone on the floor of a different cavern. At least I thought we were alone, until the hairless man’s voice barks at us to stand up.

“Harrison, can you hear me?” Olive asks, her dry lips brushing against my ear. “We have to get up. Thaddeous is coming.” Her voice brings warm waves through my chest. I become fully aware of our surroundings and stand with a great amount of her help.

Once on our feet again, I hold her face in my hands. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

A sad smile appears on her lips. “I’m fine. They just pulled me out of the tunnel. I was so afraid…when I saw you lying on the ground...” She sobs.

Holding her tight, I cover her face with kisses. “I’m okay. We’re both okay. We’re going to make it through this, Olive.”

Voices drift in from outside the cavern. I position myself in front of Olive just as Thaddeous steps into view. From the hazy look in his eyes, I wonder if they had pulled him from a deep sleep to tell him of our attempted escape. His lips curl at the sight of us. He steps close, hovering over my shoulder to leer at Olive. “So the two of you decided you could just leave my city without saying goodbye?”

Anger seeps through me. I want to push the dreadful man away from Olive, but I know if I do anything, it will only put her in danger. After the speech we heard him give to the members of the city, this may not end well for us. I grip Olive’s hand tightly, willing her to be strong. Her eyes flash to mine, full of fear.

“The accommodations you provided us with were becoming uncomfortable,” I tell Thaddeous, my voice brave.

His eyes grow hard as he takes a step backwards. A moment later, he forces a laugh, a horrible sound that I’ve come to despise. The hairless man stands beside him with arms crossed, smile wide. He seems to enjoy anything that involves pain or cruelty. I fear what this means for Olive.

Thaddeous shuffles to the side, facing me. “You mean to say you weren’t happy with the way your little girlfriend here was being treated?”

“No,” I answer coldly. My jaw clenches as the leader of the city stares me down. Every muscle in my body has tensed up from the silent threat emanating from his hard eyes.

He strides away. pacing back and forth, tapping the tips of his fingers together. His jittery movements make me all the more afraid. His mind may very likely be gone. “What do you suppose someone in my position has to do in a situation like this? Do you think the people in this city will have any respect for me if I were to just let the two of you go?”

“Your people probably don’t even know that you found us sneaking out,” Olive blurts. “You could tell them that you took us out in the forest and killed us. Then you would still look powerful and in control to them.”

Thaddeous stops pacing to glare at her. There is a glimmer of amusement in the pools of his eyes. “No
w
there’
s
an idea—killing you in the forest!”

Olive huffs. “That’s not what I meant.”

He steps close to her again. “Oh,
I
kno
w
what you meant. I know everything about you, Olive. It only takes the touch of your skin…” He lifts his hand to her face, but I slap his arm away before he can make contact.

“
Don’t. Touch. He
r
.” The edge to my voice is murderous. Whatever this man’s touch does to Olive, I know it frightens her and I won’t let him do it again.

Thaddeous whirls around to me and clutches his hand around my windpipe. A warm buzz passes through me from where our skin makes contact. I suddenly know what Olive was saying about his touch. It feels dark, empty. Unnatural. Yet the fear of his touch pales in comparison to the urgent need to breath. My eyes begin to bulge as I desperately try to pry his grip from my throat.

“Let go of him!” Olive yells. She beats on him with her fist, but her efforts are for nothing. Thaddeous is much stronger. Blood pounds through my head and there is a ringing in my ears. I try desperately to move Thaddeous’s fingers away with no luck. I am too weak after falling from the tunnel and reinjuring my leg.

“Stop!” Olive shrieks. “Please!”

Thaddeous’s eyes burn into mine like he is looking deep into my soul. He cocks his head to the side and laughs. “You’re not even worth the effort.”

Finally, his hand falls from my throat. Olive holds on to me, sobbing. I rub my neck with one hand and cling to Olive’s shoulder with the other. Wheezing and coughing, I fight for air to return to my lungs.

“Don’t ever try to stop me from doing anything again,” Thaddeous warns me.

“Kill me…if you want,” I tell him between gulps of air. “I don’t…have much longer anyway. But I won’t…let you…hurt her.”

Thaddeous laughs loudly again. “That’s sweet of you, but I think I prefer to kill you both.” He turns to the hairless man. “Keep an eye on the
m
yoursel
f
this time. Don’t let them leave. You ca
n
shoo
t
them if they try to get away, but don’
t
kil
l
them yet. The entire city is going to want to watch.”

With that, Thaddeous leaves us alone again with the hairless man. He stands rigid at the entrance, staring off into the distance. If I weren’t so weak, I would try to take him down on my own. Now that Thaddeous is on a mission, our lives are in more danger than before. I need to get Olive somewhere safe.

My weight buckles. Using the wall for support, Olive helps to slide me back down to the ground. We sit for countless minutes, cradling each other.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to see the Free Lands,” she whispers. “I hope you know just how much I love you, Harrison. My life wouldn’t have been complete without you. I don’t care if they kill me, as long as we’re together when it happens. Whatever you do, don’t let go of me.”

I rub my thumb across a patch of freckles on her soft, warm cheek. She is so beautiful, so innocent. Her big green eyes are not only filled with tears, but an unconditional love for me. Of all the guys she could have wanted to be with, she chose me. Luck was something that I never had before, never knew. Not until I met her. I failed my cousin and I failed Bree, but I won’t fail Olive. I won’t let anything happen to her. I will die trying to keep her alive.

“I love you, Olive,” I tell her. “But this isn’t the end for you. Not like this.”

Leaning in, I brush my lips against hers. She trembles against my mouth, yet her lips move against mine, soft and warm. Her fingers tug at my hair and she pulls me closer. The taste of her sweet tears on her tongue is another cruel reminder that this is most likely our last kiss. I will never get to hold her again. I will never get to run my fingers over her soft hair and smell her wonderful scent.

She doesn’t deserve to die like this. She deserves to be happy.

I know what I must do to keep her safe. Sacrificing myself will be worth it. I can’t live in a world where I will never hear her laugh or see the way her eyes light up when she says my name.

Our kiss is suddenly interrupted when someone enters the cavern.

Olive

26 – This is the End

My father moves in behind Joshua, once again hidden underneath the cloak. He takes on the unyielding pose the other guards all use as he stands before us. I had hoped since my brother got away with Bree, they would come up with another plan to save us. Not once had I thought of my estranged father coming to our rescue.

After all, he’s dead to me.

The fact that he is truly alive is still too much to absorb. Looking at him now makes me feel like I’m stuck in a dream. Could he really be the same man who told me stories and sang to me? He looks just the same as I remember him, only with a few more gray hairs sprouting at his temples. Yet the way he peers down on me with a solemn expression is different. It feels wrong. His appearance may not have changed much, but he couldn’t feel like any more of a stranger.

Why is he here? Has he been down in the city this whole time? Did he abandon me because I’m truly a Shymer, or is this all part of my mother’s plan to take over Society? Does he know about my mother? What could Thaddeous and his city have to do with any of it?

Only days ago, I thought all I had left was a mother who was possibly about to be murdered by the government. Now it turns out she’s this total stranger with a secret life I knew nothing of, and I have a father and a brother who both lied to me just as she had. If we somehow make it out of this mess, how will my life ever be the same?

“Thaddeous told me to take over,” my father tells Joshua.

From the tone of his voice, I wonder if he is seriously following orders. I had just assumed he was good since he is the same man who took care of me and loved me as a little girl. Maybe time has changed him.

Maybe being stuck down here in this horrible place has changed him.

The hairless guard shakes his head. “Thaddeous told me personally that I’m to keep my eye on them at all times. He didn’t say anything about someone taking over. I don’t think I even know you.”

My father glares back at him. “Do you want to go back and tell him you won’t follow his orders?”

Defeated, Joshua sucks in a deep breath. “Whatever, man. If anything goes wrong, it’s all on you.”

“Understood,” my father answers. He steps forward to kick Harrison’s sandal. “You two, get up. Now!”

I watch him as I rise, then reach down to help Harrison. As much as I search my father’s eyes, I am not able to find the familiar spark of the loving man who raised me. Is he only putting on a show for Joshua, or has he really changed?

My father watches us reposition ourselves so Harrison is able to lean on me again. Harrison is even weaker with Thaddeous’s attack. He leans on me now more than before.

“What happened to you?” my father asks Harrison.

“It was punishment for the first time he tried to escape,” Joshua says with a sideways smirk.

My father turns back to him. “I sai
d
I
was in charge now. I think you should leave.”

Joshua’s face darkens as he takes a step closer to my father, “Listen. I don’t know who you are, but…”

My father grabs his arm. Joshua’s eyes grow wide in shock just seconds before my father jabs him with an elbow, knocking him out. With a chill, I realize he moved much like Kendall had when he knocked the soldiers out in the forest. Am I the only one in my family who hasn’t been trained to hurt people?

My father stretches his hand out for mine. “We don’t have much time before he wakes up.”

I back away from him. “How am I supposed to trust you?”

His eyes close. “Olive, I’m your father. You’ll just have to
.
Pleas
e
. I can explain.”

Shaking his head, Harrison waves my father away from us. “There isn’t time for that now. If you are really her father, your priority is to get her safely out of here. We need to leave.”

My father’s cold eyes snap on to Harrison’s. “No
t
yo
u
. Just her.”

“Wait, what?” I ask. I wrap my arm around Harrison protectively. “No! I won’t go anywhere without him! If he stays, I stay!”

My father looks down on me with a degree of rage I have never seen before, only confirming my fears that I may not be able to trust him anymore. “He will only slow us down with his bad leg. We have to be quick.”

Harrison wraps his fingers through mine. “He’s right, Olive. You won’t be able to run as fast with me along.”

“I don’t care!” I yell. “I won’t leave you!”

Pure hatred for my father overcomes me all at once. He’s no longer the loving man who raised me. He has been replaced by something cold and ugly. I narrow my eyes at him. “If that’s my only option, then I choose to stay down here. I don’t care what Thaddeous does to me. I’m not leaving Harrison for any reason.
I
lov
e
him!”