The Scourge (6 page)

I frown. Dancing, and particularly dancing with a Lofty, isn’t on the agenda now or anytime soon. Surviving the Three is, and so is getting through another day of the Scourge. The creatures should be leaving soon. Unless they don’t. The unpredictability of their behavior is what makes staying in the caves so frustrating—we have no control. The darkness and deprivation is difficult, and each day that passes creates a greater strain on the people. Not to mention on our stores of food and supplies.

I hear footsteps, and the quiet tapping of a cane. Aloe.

“Fennel,” she says, and I know she knows of my deceit. I don’t even pretend to be asleep. “Come with me. Now.”

I rise and follow the sound of her stick, trying to avoid the small groups of sleeping people. I’m nervous, but resigned. I made a decision. I’ll have to live with the consequences.

Aloe doesn’t speak as she leads me into one of the passages off the main cave. It’s even darker here, and colder. I’m wrapped in an extra blanket from the storeroom, and I burrow into it, my hands trembling. I sense the low-but-concentrated light of a torch ahead. Whispering voices fall silent as we approach.

“Fennel, did you give your Keeper our message?” Sable asks. He sounds as unfazed as always, but there’s an unexpected note in his voice, like stepping into what you think is lukewarm water and finding it’s chilled.

I take a deep breath. “No.”

“Why not?”

“I wasn’t sure I’d filled those sacks to the top. I didn’t think it was fair to accuse the Lofties of stealing the water, when it might have been my mistake.”

“So you deliberately disobeyed our orders?” Adder almost hisses. I think it’s fairly clear that’s the situation, so I don’t answer. “How much water did you give them?”

“What they asked for—two sacks,” I say.

They all gasp. “Two? Two sacks?” Aloe says. “When you only brought one to us?”

I hadn’t thought about how that would sound. “I was following the rest of your orders, to bring one sack back with me–”

“You bring more water to the Lofties than to your own people?” Adder says. “Are the flesh-eaters affecting your mind?”

“No!” My shout rockets back and forth across the narrow passageway. Adder touched a nerve. The Scourge has been known to drive people mad from seconds of exposure, and I’ve had more than my fair share of intimate contact with the creatures in the last few days.

“Why did you act against our wishes?” Aloe asks.

I think of telling them about Peree’s gift to me. I want to explain how much that swim meant, how it helped return me to myself, so I could do my duty for my people. But if the Lofties hear about it, Peree could be punished. He might be replaced as my Keeper. And I’m not sure I’m ready to admit, even to myself, how much I already rely on him being in those trees.

I reach for Aloe's hand, but I can’t find it. I turn my palm up in a gesture of pleading. “I did what I thought was right.”

There’s a sound behind me, in the tunnel.

“Who’s there?” Sable calls. Footsteps shuffle away.

“Stop!” Adder demands, moving toward the sound. There’s a short scuffle, then two sets of footsteps come back.

“What’s this about?” Sable asks.

“I thought she knew something about when they were leaving,” a familiar wheedling voice says.

It’s Thistle, a middle-aged woman who helps with the washing and repairing of the community’s clothing. She isn’t well suited for laundering—she’s known to be careless and prone to laziness—but she enjoys her duties. The constant stream of people dropping off and picking up their washing means she’s never short on gossip. I’m not surprised to find her eavesdropping on a meeting of the Three in the middle of the night, in the black of a frigid tunnel.

“The Council always lets the community know when the Scourge shows signs of leaving,” Aloe says, her voice stern. “You know that.”

“Yes, but there’s been talk. Rumors that the Lofties are taking our water because they know the flesh-eaters aren’t leaving quickly this time,” Thistle says. “I thought Fennel might know more.”

“The girl doesn’t know anything,” Adder says coldly. “But you, on the other hand, know better than to snoop around, listening to the Council’s private proceedings.”

“We’ll inform the people the moment we have news of the Scourge’s departure, as always,” Sable soothes. “Now come with me.” He and Thistle walk back along the passageway, toward the main cave.

“She’ll talk,” Aloe mutters as their footsteps fade. “The community will know everything we said by breakfast.”

“I hope you’re proud of yourself,” Adder says to me. “They’ll know of your disobedience and deceit now. We’ll discuss an appropriate punishment for you, but in the meantime you might want to sleep. I have a feeling you’ll need every bit of your strength tomorrow.”

I nod and follow them back down the passage. When we reach the cave, I call to Aloe in a low voice.

“I’ll speak with you in the morning,” she says. Her voice is flat, but I hear a hint of regret. I creep back to my bedroll, where I lie awake again, wondering what the morning will bring.

“What happened last night?” Calli says from my other side.

I want to pull my bedroll over my head and block them out, but instead I reluctantly sit up. “What did you hear?”

“We heard the Three told you not to get water for the Lofties yesterday, but you did anyway. We heard you’re giving them extra water because somehow you know the flesh-eaters aren’t leaving. And we heard,” her voice drops lower, “you gave the Lofties more water than you brought us, but we knew that part wasn’t true.”

“That’s about the only part that
is
true.” I raise myself up to my elbows. “So Thistle and her prying nose and big ears overheard, and now everyone knows?”

“Yes, but that’s not all,” Eland says.

“What now?” Neither of them answers. “What is it?”

“You tell her,” Calli says, her voice breaking.

“Jackal snuck out of the caves this morning and set a fire under one of the Lofty walkways,” Eland says.

“What?” I shoot all the way up, the bedroll dropping off my shoulders.

“They shot and killed him.” Calli whimpers. “And when Rose heard, she sort of lost her mind and ran out to look for him. She hasn’t come back. Aloe went after her, but she couldn’t find her.”

“They’re both gone?” I ask.

“Mother thinks so,” Eland says.

Nausea grips me, like I swallowed one of the nasty brews our herbalist, Marjoram, concocts. Rose, Jackal, and their unborn child. I can still feel the warm swell of Rose’s belly under my hand. “This is my fault.”

“No, it’s not,” Eland says, squeezing my shoulders. “No one made Jack go out there. He took being in the caves really hard, because of Rose and the baby and all. He kept saying he wished he could make the Lofties pay for their theft. I guess this was how he decided to do it.”

“But if I’d done exactly what the Three told me to do, maybe he wouldn’t have felt like he needed to set the fire.”

“Why
didn’t
you do what they said?” Calli asks gently.

“I didn’t think it was fair. I didn’t think the Lofties stole the water.” I try to explain my actions without telling them about Peree and the swim. My excuse sounds as weak this time as it did with the Three. Given the consequences, no explanation will be good enough now.

“Adder’s furious,” Eland says. “I thought his head was going to pop off when he heard about Jack and Rose. He chucked his cup against the wall. Barely missed Bream.”

“Were any Lofties hurt in the fire?”

“No, they put it out with their water,” Calli says.

Was that an accusatory note in her voice?
“Then why did they kill Jackal?”

“Ask your Keeper,” she says. “Father said he was the shooter. Looks like he proved how good he was with a bow and arrow.”

Peree shot Jackal? The grief intensifies, clarified by anger. How could he kill a defenseless Groundling, especially when his people had the water—water I’d provided them with—to put out the fire? How could he do it? And why did I ever think I could trust him?

People move out of my path, murmuring. Some voices sound angry, some sympathetic. I keep my head up, but my heart stutters, and sweat musters under my arms.

“Fennel—being honored with Sightlessness and thus protected from the Scourge, you have more responsibility than most of your peers. Normally you perform your duties in a manner that makes our community proud. Yesterday, however, you displayed a serious lapse of judgment that may have contributed to the deaths of several Groundlings. I know you regret this lapse, and I know you will not allow it to happen again.” I nod, not trusting my voice. “Still, there must be punishment,” Sable says. “Today you will collect six sacks of water and transport them here without assistance. You will not collect any for the Lofties.” He pauses. The crowd is silent. The torches on the wall flicker and crack. “And you will spend the night in the forest, among the Scourge, as a reminder that you can either stand together with your community . . . or you will stand alone.”

Shocked murmurs roll through the cave.

“Do you understand what’s expected of you?” I nod again. “Then go and perform your duty.”

I’m burning with guilt, anger, and fear, but I must obey the decision of the Three. Legs trembling, I push through the silent stares to the tunnel entrance. As I step into the dark passageway, someone presses a pouch into my hand.

“Bread, dried meat, and herbs—from Mother,” Eland whispers in my ear. He sounds like he’s crying. I kiss his cheek and thank him, then I walk until the tunnel swallows me, hiding my own tears in its familiar, comforting blackness.

I should go; it’s going to be a long day. I have no idea whether Peree will be waiting for me, or what he’ll say, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve already decided I’ll collect the six sacks of water without his help. After last night, it’s obvious I can’t trust him, as much as I had hoped otherwise.

I wipe away my tears, stand up, and march into the sunlight toward the forest. The creatures scream all around me. I scream back, until it occurs to me I must look mad having a shouting match with a pack of half-humans. I stop, and realize Peree’s yelling, too. I can barely hear him over the flesh-eaters’ furious noise.

“Fennel! I need to talk to you.”

“Go away,” I shout, and continue on to the clearing. Sweat trickles down the back of my neck. It’s steaming, even at this early hour.

He follows me through the trees. “I didn’t want to shoot him; it was my duty. I was the lookout this morning–”

“Your duty? To kill an unarmed man? He was frustrated from staying in the caves for days. He didn’t do any real harm!”

The creatures groan. I notice, not for the first time, that the more upset I am, the more agitated they become.

“Did you know his partner was pregnant?” I say. “And that she left the caves to find him, and that she was taken by–” I choke on my tears. I don’t want to completely break down again.

“I heard,” he says. “I’m sorry.”

“Sure you are,” I say. “You Lofties are known for your compassion, aren’t you? Always looking out for us, up in your safe little nests. More like looking
down
on us.” I’m going too far, but I can’t seem to stop now that I’ve started. “Why are you even pretending to be my friend, with your swim and your compliments? You said I don’t need a Keeper, and now I don’t want one. Stop following me around. Leave me alone.”

“I can’t do that.” His voice is low.

“And I can’t do anything to stop you, can I? Then do what you have to, but you might not want to exert yourself too much. You won’t be getting any water from us today.”

“We anticipated that.”

“Aren’t you the clever ones.” I clamp my lips shut. I’m probably close to getting shot, too.

It’s time to get to work anyway; I’m at the sled track. I grab the sled and run down the hill with it, hoping to have several trips completed before the temperature goes from steaming to blazing. The scraping of the sled along the track brings a fresh wave of creatures to me.

Once, while searching for a patch of wildberry bushes in the forest, I put my foot through the rotting carcass of an animal. The foul odor clung to my shoe for days. This stench is much, much worse. It’s going to be a very long day, and an even longer night.

Peree still follows. He hasn’t tried to talk to me again, but I hear him up there. Whenever the creatures crowd me he clears some space with his arrows. I don’t even stop walking as he shoots.
What’s the death of another Groundling to him?
I think bitterly.

I ease my leather slipper off and touch the angry blister on my heel. Moisture bursts out, and one of the creatures moans hungrily. I shove my shoe back on, disgusted, and limp into our shelter.

The creatures follow me in. There’s no way to secure the door against them. I’ve fetched items from other people’s homes in the past few days since the Scourge came—favorite toys, water sacks, winter clothes, Bear’s extra spear—but I haven’t been inside ours. Something about having the creatures in our home makes me feel even more revolted. I won’t be able to sleep here tonight. I go back out and press my forehead to the wall. Spreading my fingers wide against the warm wood, I search for the will to collect the last two sacks.