Chapter Seven: Safety and Peace
“WAIT!” Pierce said loudly.
His voice sounded different, kinder than it had been. I halted my footsteps and flipped around.
“Don’t leave,” he said, holding his palms out to the sky.
I was suddenly indignant of myself as I stared at his forlorn face, his sad eyes, and I realized, right in that moment, that he was truly heart-broken by something. I knew, with that moment, that I could not have done a bad thing to help out that pathetic situation, that sad man.
I walked up to them and then moved to the man on the ground. He could not be Undead. I felt myself wanting him not to be.
I was relieved after I checked his body. He was not delirious with blindness. I waved my hand back and forth in front of his eyes. The irises followed. It was not his turn to die. I thought this with strange relief. I then leaned over him. He stopped making noises in what appeared to be…nerves? I made him afraid, and he seemed ashamed. I didn’t understand it, so I ignored him. My hands moved to his side, lightly touching his clothing but not his person. I knew not of Outlandish customs in the matters of skin. I did see that he needed healing, though, and despite custom I would have to breach that space to touch his flesh
The only thing that I could think of was how extraordinarily lucky he had been to be bitten by a dog that was no Undead and pursued by others that were.
Suddenly, he reached out a hand to touch mine. I winced away in fear, but it made in me a small trust build. And he would die before the night was out if he was not given medicine. If I could trust him, I could heal him.
I heard my name.
“Myth!”
I stood erectly and felt my ears tune to the words. Even so, the man’s blood was on my hands. I wiped it off with an intense desperation, a need. It was on my pants then, but I was satisfied. As long as it was not on my hands. There was to be no blood on my hands. There couldn’t be.
“Myth!”
Chess. I walked off a bit, looked back at them, and made a motion for them to stay. They seemed to understand. Or at least they didn’t move.
I climbed as fast as I could back up to the tower. When I was close enough, Chess grabbed me.
“Oh, thank God!” He shook me a little. “You were out there? Are you crazy? Didn’t you hear –?”
“No, Chess, listen – you have to see –”
“I woke up and…and you were gone – dammit!”
He pulled me closer to him suddenly. I was surprised that I cared so much that he was worried for me as much as I was nervous to be in his arms.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
I pulled away from him. He held his hands on my shoulders. I smiled guiltily and found it hard to speak when looking into his eyes. The look in his eyes made me feel hot again – and dizzy this time. I couldn’t help myself. I put a hand on his face.
“I…listen…” I removed my hand and pointed over my shoulder uselessly. “I need you to come with me.”
“No. Not again. No more. You’re staying right here.” He glanced out into the darkness and pulled me to him again. “You really scared me, you know that?”
I pulled at his hand at my waist gently in an attempt to lead him, but he resisted.
“You’ll be with me,” I whispered.
I offered my most confident smile, and I could see that, while he was comforted, his fear overcame all else.
“It’s not just fear,” he replied firmly. “You’ve been through an ordeal today, Myth. Rest now.”
“No,” I said bracingly. “You have to see this. I wouldn’t ask you if I thought you weren’t safe. This, I swear to you. Come on.”
I squeezed his hand softly, remembering that it had just comforted me in more ways than I could explain. It had only been hours ago, but it felt much longer than that already. I found that I liked holding his hand.
“I won’t let anything hurt you, Chess,” I whispered.
I let go of his hand and climbed down. After a moment’s hesitation, he climbed after me. When we reached the ground, he hesitated again.
“I’ll be right here,” I whispered. And then, “Look…”
I motioned for him to follow me up to the group. They were silent again as I approached. Chess could hear, but he couldn’t see. His eyes hadn’t yet adjusted.
“What is it, Myth? What’s that noise? Who’s there?” He walked beyond me when I motioned for him to do so. His eyes widened.
“Where did they come from?”
“I’m not sure. They came that way.”
I pointed with my gun into the darkness, the abyss beyond which no waking eye had ever seen. I wasn’t even fool enough to go into the west. I went as far as my duty called me to go, to the edges where I was able to see the Great Gate through a scope on a gun. Beyond that, that land was far too wild for me. I heard a howl in that direction.
Chess stiffened.
“There’s nothing over there!”
“I know!”
I glanced at my new charges, ashen faced but clearly at a loss. Just as I had trouble with their words, they seemed to have trouble with mine. My nerves grow to excitement, thinking of their language and culture. I was frightened too. I wasn’t sure why. I cleared my throat, asking,
“What if –?”
“They can’t be Outlanders. Myth, that’s impossible. It’s just a story! I admit, they’re here, but there must just be another colony that way.”
“It can’t be a story!” I snapped. “Look at them!” I gestured exasperatedly. “Evergreen –”
“They can’t be from the outside, Myth, it isn’t possible. No one has ever gone through the Great Gate and lived.”
“Why don’t you believe it?” I demanded. “Why? Look, at them, Chess! They’re right in front of you!”
“It’s never happened before!”
“Just because it hasn’t doesn’t mean it won’t!”
I looked away from him to the dying man. There was a silence.
“They need help,” I whispered earnestly. “And I’m going to give it to them.”
He glanced back and forth between us.
“Do you have any idea how much Rhyme is going to kill you?”
“Like I could have done anything to –”
“You know what I’m talking about!” Chess said. He sounded concerned. “What he did to you today was only the beginning.”
“I don’t give a damn –”
“I do!” he whispered loudly.
I clenched my fists at how sincere he sounded, like my pain really did matter to him.
“You know what he’ll do to you for this,” Chess murmured.
I glanced at the wounded man. He was now unconscious.
“You know this is right, Chess,” I whispered.
I searched his eyes.
“I need you to help me with this. That man is dying!”
He looked into my eyes deeply, looking sad. Maybe he saw my resolve because he yielded.
“What would you have me do, Myth?” he asked.
“Can you get us through the Skyway without it making noise?”
“I’d have to loosen the –”
“I don’t care. Can you do it?”
“I think so,”
“Then do it,” I ordered.
He nodded, squeezed my arm affectionately, and jogged off into darkness. It was quicker than usual. He didn’t like the dark. For some reason, I didn’t think any less of him for it.
“Is there trouble?” Ali asked, standing taller as I looked at them.
I tried hard to interpret with little success. She asked the question again. I thought for another moment, trying to decipher the words – the accents were difficult but they were, contrary to my original belief, of my own language.
Finally, I shook my head. I put a finger to my lip and motioned for them to follow me. There was blood staining all of them, a thing emphasized by their obvious exhaustion and filth. My eyes went down to the youn
ger man. I decided I would commit them a further service.
“I will carry him,” were my first words.
“What are you doing?” the Elder man nearly yelled, stepping forward aggressively.
I backed up, glaring. I tried hard to remind myself that I didn’t know their customs. They could kill me in an instant. I saw it in their eyes. That sadness had passed, replaced with wrath I did not understand. I warned myself to be cautious and repeated my charge.
Paige seemed to understand and whispered my words to Pierce. He backed up and nodded a little. But he wasn’t happy about it. Indignantly, I took the mysterious man’s arms and wrapped them over my shoulder, holding his body across mine. He was heavy, and his armor more so, but even with all his covering I still felt his blood drip down my back. Further, he was heavier than I would have expected from strength I had not seen. I had to use the full capacity of my strength not to buckle beneath him, but I had volunteered, and to yield then before them would look weak.
We arrived at Hand through the Skyway, just hidden around the corner, and I hurried them down the small opening. They would have to stay at my place in the secret room in the back. My parents had made it for me when I was a child, but they had never told me why. To protect me, they’d said once. It was only after they’d died that I’d showed it to Foot, Skate, and Chess. But my normal one-roomed place was not large enough to fit all of my new charges, and I would have to extend the knowledge to them as well. It annoyed me somewhat, but I felt bad then for being so heartless.
I saw nothing of Chess until I reached the clearing before the collapsed hallways that led to homes we’d need to sneak by. There was a secondary switch here that he had seemed to rig to open at the same time (because two handles were required to open the Skyway, one in front of me in the clearing and one nearest the gate, where I assumed Chess was.) As I put my hand on it, he caught up with me, loosening the rigging, and the Skyway closed once more, sealing us in. He glared at me, but my eyes made him smile reluctantly. The way he smiled made me feel warm, almost like he was proud of me.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“Hurry up,” he whispered back. He glanced over his shoulder. “I’ll keep watch the rest of the night alone.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, you must heal the man,” Chess said gravely. “If he is exposed, promise me you will kill him.”
I smiled.
“I promise,” I said back.
He put a hand on mine before climbing up the ladder that led to the secret entrance I had used early that same day. It would lead to the balcony, and he’d sit out there alone in silence. Poor thing.
“Sorry!” I called in a whisper through the silence.
“Just go!” he whispered. Then, I could have sworn I heard him laughing and muttering, “You owe me…”
I hurried them along, feeling the need to get inside where it was warm. Their faces looked like they were stunned by a flash. Paige’s head turned continually, nearly spiraling at the place as if it were God’s Kingdom itself. Pierce stared straight ahead, swaying every few moments, and Ali had her arms crossed, almost like a child did when it was sour about something.
“Be silent,” I said to them.
I put the hand that wasn’t holding the injured man’s legs to my mouth.
They moved as quietly as they could with their gear and with the exhaustion that obviously plagued them. I saw the way they lugged their own bodies as if they weren’t used to such weight and I saw the way their guns were slack in their hands. I pitied them again.
We arrived at my house, and I hustled them all in. I closed the door behind me and locked it. Then, I hustled them to the side. I gently placed the man on the ground and removed a panel in the wall that led to a back room. It was partially blocked off by rubble and dust. I stopped and ushered them through, carrying the man to the back corner. I heard him moan a little with consciousness and I pitied him for the pain he would soon experience while he was awake. They all collapsed onto the floor, bags and all. I turned on an oil lamp and it burned brighter than usual. They squinted at it. Then, they stared as if they had never seen anything like it before.
“You will be staying here,” I said quietly. “I will be back in moments soon.”
“What?” Ali asked, barely opening her mouth.
I looked around for another explanation.
“Stay,” I said.
They nodded.
I ran to the front of my place and grabbed a thin piece of metal I used to undo locks. I ran out of the house again and crossed the clearing to the medicine hall that the Healer used. I knew most of the medicines by heart out of necessity, for I had gotten numerous scars over the years of my countless journeys. Having to operate on myself, as all Outsiders must, it had been something of a terrible pastime of mine. However, I was always supposed to ask for permission before medicine was issued.
With my discretion, I had no such time. I hustled in, adeptly ripping open the lock, grabbed the medicine box, and left without another word.
I was back with them in moments, as promised. But they did not trust me or my room. I saw this. I saw fear in the faces of all, and I felt bad for making such a poor first impression.
“Safety and peace, Outlanders, safety and peace.”
***