The doorway led into a long, wide hallway. The floor was covered in speckled linoleum and the walls were a bland white. On either side of me were doors and transparent glass that looked into bureaucratic offices. I could still hear the angry voices, but there were fewer of them and they were quieter.
The hallway traveled for fifty feet before it intersected with another that ran perpendicular. To our left was the new hallway ran down to a lobby. I noticed a pair metal doors, and beyond them was the wintry world.
I broke from the men and made a dash for the exit. I covered a whole four feet before my arm was grabbed. My captor spun me around and I glared into Orion's strained face.
"You're only making this worse," he hissed.
"You're the one who keeps stopping me!" I snapped back.
"Hurry up. Everyone's waiting," Armel spoke up.
Orion pulled me down the opposite end of the hall. There was the same doors on either side, but at the end the hall widened twenty feet in front of a pair of open doors. The voices came from there, and I could see why they were so loud. There must've been two hundred people packed into the room and just outside. The interior of the room was a large council hall. Folding chairs sat on either side of a narrow aisle, and they were all full. The white walls and aisle were also covered by residents. At the front of the room was a curved table some twenty feet long. There were seven chairs, and each was occupied. The only person I recognized was the mayor. She sat in the center chair. The name plate in front of her read 'Mayor Darnell.' Off to one side in a small chair sat the tiny Librarian. His name plate simply read 'Librarian.'
Armel stopped our line of people five feet short of the doorway.
The mayor held a gavel in her hand and made ample use of it. "Order! Order!"
"You can't close the meeting! There's still people wanting to talk!" a middle-aged man protested. He stood in the middle of the sea of chairs and glared at the council members. A mumble arose from the crowd, and many were in agreement.
The mayor pounded her gavel and swept her eyes over the room. The noise quieted down. "There is nothing more to discuss. We have informed you of the latest developments and further discussion will lead us nowhere. There is also more pressing matters with which to deal."
"What could be more pressing than a bunch of us going berserk?" one of the women piped up.
"That's what I'm saying," argued the man who stood.
"A stranger has picked an apple from the Tree," the mayor announced.
A flurry of noise arose from the crowd. Everyone looked at their neighbor and fretted.
"But how did she find the Tree?"
"Has she escaped?"
"Should we evacuate the town?"
The mayor pounded the gavel on its small round platform. "There is nothing to fear. The Sentinel has brought her here." She beckoned to us.
Armel and Orion strode forward, and I was forced to follow in their footsteps. People of all ages, young and old, man and woman, turned and stared at us. Their eyes stopped on me and I got a mix of reactions. Most were curious, but some weren't too pleased to see me. We reached the blocked room and I saw it was a meeting room.
"Let us through," Armel commanded them.
Most of them stepped aside and I got , but a large man with arms the size of trunks blocked our way. I thought Armel was large, but this guy took the cake and ate it. He glared past Armel and at me.
"She's not welcome here. I don't recognize her scent," he growled.
Armel scowled at him. "We're here to fix that, now step aside-"
"Let's just squish her apple and get her out of here," he insisted. He looked over his shoulder at the audience. "Whadda ya say? She doesn't belong her, right?"
Some in the crowd cheered, but most watched the proceedings with silent disapproval. The burly man grinned and pushed past Armel. He reached out with his thick hands to grab at my neck, but Orion rushed past me and pulled me behind him. The burly man stopped dead in his tracks and a little bit of fear slipped into his eyes.
"I don't think you want to be doing that, Tom," Orion warned him.
Tom's eyes narrowed and he jerked his head at me. "So you're backing her, huh, Orion?"
"I'm not taking anyone's side. The Council will decide what to do with her," Orion replied. The room buzzed with voices as people agreed or, like Tom, disagreed.
I pushed past Orion and swept my eyes over the room. "Decide what to do with me? What am I, some sort of a broken traffic law?" I spoke up. The room fell into silence as people glanced at each other. "Well?"
Mayor stood and cleared her throat. "While you are not a law, you have altered one of our oldest traditions, Miss Lyal. It is a very important tradition for us, and that is why we insist on your appearing before us tonight."
I marched forward and the crowd cleared a path. Orion and Armel followed after me and were in back of me when I reached the front of the table. I slammed my palms on the table and leaned forward. the mayor raised an eyebrow.
"You think this tradition of yours gives you the right to kidnap someone?" I snapped at her.
She narrowed her eyes. "Yes."
I frowned and spun around to face the townspeople. "Is this some sort of conspiracy? I haven't done anything wrong."
"You found the Blessing Tree and plucked an apple. This apple." Orion handed her the apple and the mayor held it up for all to see. "By our laws you must take a bite and remain in this town unless given permission to leave."
I turned and glared at her. "I don't want your tree or your apple. I just want to leave."
"Let her get out of here! We don't need her!" someone shouted.
"We've got enough problems without an outsider!" cried another.
"Here, here!" another yelled.
The mayor narrowed her eyes and looked past me at the crowd. Any further suggestions died on their lips.
"The Blessing Tree has never been refused, and I would not have us start disobeying it now," she told them.
"We could try it," Tom spoke up. He lumbered up behind the two men who flanked me. "We don't know if it'll die or not. Maybe nothing will happen."
The mayor zeroed her eyes on him. "Would you take responsibility for the consequences?" Tom frowned. The mayor stood and swept her gaze over the room. In her hand she clasped the apple. "Would anyone care to risk the life of the Blessing Tree merely to remove this woman from our town?"
"But she's not from here. . ." came a whimpered response.
"Nor are many others," the mayor argued.
"But they came changed!" someone countered.
"And we will change her," the mayor returned. Her eyes fell on me and she held out the apple. "Take a bite."
The gleam of the apple caught my eye. Its smooth red surface invited me to taste its delicious flesh. Unbidden, my hand reached out.
"No!"
The shout came from my own lips. I drew my hand back and clasped both of them against my chest. My narrow eyes glared at the mayor as I took a step back and shook my head.
"I won't do it."
The room erupted in shouts and calls.
"Kill her!"
"Force her!"
The mayor pursed her lips and glanced over my shoulder. "Then you must be forced."
Armel came up behind me and wrapped me in a bone-crushing bear hug. He lifted my feet off the floor. I kicked and flailed, but to no avail. The mayor dug her long fingernails into the apple and pulled off a small piece. She set the rest of the apple on the table and walked around to me.
"Wait!" Orion spoke up. The noise in the room died down. You could've heard a pin drop. He moved to stand to the side of the mayor and me, and looked to the elected official. "I can get her to eat. Just give me some time to convince her at my house-"
The mayor shook his head. "Unacceptable."
"Then what about the motel? Troy can help me watch her and-"
"It will be done now," the mayo
r insisted.
She stepped up to me and raised the slice to my lips. I pressed them together and glared at her. She pinched my nose between two of her fingers. My lungs were deprived of air. I held on for a minute before I opened my mouth to gasp.
The mayor tossed the slice into my mouth. The piece of apple flew down my throat. I choked and helped it along with an involuntary swallow. The flavor was cool and delicious. Under any other circumstances I would've asked for the rest of the apple.
That is, until I felt a strange unease slip over my body. It felt like a muscle ache that I couldn't quite place, or the beginnings of a cold that threatened to throw me for a loop.
The mayor stepped back and nodded at Armel. He set me down and opened his arms. I stumbled forward and Orion caught me.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
I should've shoved him away, but I was too grateful for his gentle hands. The strange sensation inside of me pulsed with a stronger beat. I winced and clutched my stomach, the source of my discomfort.
"Do you offer to be her caretaker tonight?" the mayor asked Orion.
He nodded. "I do."
Her eyes narrowed. "And you won't encourage her to leave?'
He shook his head. "That's not an option anymore."
"Very well." She turned to the quiet room. "The meeting is adjourned!"
CHAPTER 8