Chapter 23
Law 37
Obey the Tree of Laws
“Truthfully,” Jara said, while pacing the cramped room, “we need a new leader. It’s time the Angels followed someone who is more interested in getting out of here than killing boys.”
“What does this have to do with me?” Quinn asked suspiciously.
“Piper spent years trying to bring change to the castle. Nobody really paid her much attention until Pox got so full of herself that most of us can’t stand her anymore. Piper figured with enough girls on our side we could stand up to Pox, make her stop fighting long enough to find a way out. Force her to change things or force her out. This was Piper’s passion. She dreamed of seeing us free. She didn’t want out for herself; she always said it was too late for her. She wanted it for those that still have people that love them waiting outside of the cube. This is her journal,” Jara said, holding up a large handmade book tied with strips of leather. “It’s filled with plans and ideas, diagrams of the castle, and maps of Fifteen. I haven’t had the stomach to read it all, none of us have,” she said, eyes welling with tears. She cleared her throat and continued. “She wrote down everything, hoping that someday it would help her find a way out. She told me if anything happened to her to give it to you,” Jara placed it in Quinn’s hands. Quinn looked down at it in disbelief.
“Why would she leave this for me?” Quinn asked.
“You hate Pox and Nishi, and you hate Fifteen; everyone in this room does. The thing about you is you’re not afraid to say it. You make Pox nervous. Piper wanted you to have her book because she knew you’d die before letting Pox get her hands on it, if only because you’re so stubborn.” Quinn didn’t bother denying it.
“Most girls that disagree with Pox or Nishi end up at the bottom of a pit trap, drowned in the river, or victims of mysterious accidents, but not you. You kicked Nishi in the face, and you’re still alive!” Kyla said, awed.
“The Angels will listen to you, they’ll follow you,” Marley chimed in. Quinn looked at the girls in disbelief. She was no leader. She was barely a halfway decent sister, and now these girls were looking to her for guidance. She had a hard enough time being responsible for herself. She shook her head wearily.
“I know it’s a lot to swallow. Just read Piper’s journal and tell us what you think, okay? If anything, maybe you’ll come up with some ideas on how to keep us alive,” Jara said optimistically.
“Piper said something to me before she…you know.” Quinn gulped.
“What did she say?” Jara asked eagerly, eyes once again brimming with tears.
“Book, tree, two days. Do you have any idea what she meant?” Quinn asked, looking around the room.
“The book is obviously the journal and two days seems obvious too; two days from yesterday. Tomorrow,” Moani said, and the girls nodded in agreement.
“There are a million trees though,” Cheyenne said while scratching her head.
“No, there’s a million trees in the Trapped Forest. That’s Dog territory, Piper would never lead us there. Besides the fruit trees in the garden, there’s only one tree in our territory,” Jara said.
“The Tree of Laws,” the phrase echoed around the room eerily as nearly every girl said it. Quinn suppressed a shudder.
“So, I guess I’ll be headed there tomorrow. I’ll leave before dawn; it’s probably the safest time.” Quinn fidgeted, picking imaginary dust from the cover of the book. “Umm, if anyone wants to come with…” she offered, and to her surprise every single girl said yes.
“Thanks,” Quinn said sincerely. She headed for the door but was stopped before she could exit.
“The journal shouldn’t leave this room, if somebody found it…,” a brown-skinned girl with a head full of twisting curls said anxiously. Quinn looked down at the book. There was no way she was letting it out of her sight.
“Well, Pox is pretty mad at me right now. If she lives through this battle, she’ll come looking for me.”
“Oh, she’ll live; we’re not that lucky,” Moani said.
“Then I guess this might be a good place to lay low for a while. Figure out what my next move is,” Quinn said, looking around hopefully.
“There are beds through that door; you’ll have to share with the rest of us. There’s no fireplace in there and it gets freezing at night, but at least it’s safe,” the curly-haired girl offered.
“Welcome to the Resistance!” Jara smiled broadly.
“Thanks, but…the Resistance, really? Yeah, we totally have to work on a new name,” Quinn said, shaking her head.
Quinn, Jara, and a few other girls slunk back through the castle to Quinn’s bedroom. They grabbed up everything they could carry before dashing back to the hidden room. She set up her things near a bed that she would share with two other girls and looked around the cavernous chamber. The walls, ceiling, and floors were solid marble with a few marble columns placed randomly around the room. Because the floor was too hard and cold to sleep on, the girls huddled together on the five feather beds they managed to steal from various locations in the castle. It was obvious that these girls had been hiding out for a long time. She sat down on one of the beds and opened Piper’s book. It contained loads of valuable information and once Quinn began reading it, she couldn’t put it down. She gasped in surprise and ran into the other room when she came across a particularly interesting bit of information.
“Did anybody know that Pox was the first girl in Fifteen?” Quinn asked. All of the girls nodded, taking the wind out of her sails. “Well, did you know that when she first arrived, boy’s lived in the castle and the boy that was in charge was some kid named Thaniel?” This shocked the girls and many rushed over to look at the book. “Piper arrived just a few months after Pox, and it says right here that when she came the boys welcomed her into the castle.”
“They lived together, in peace? What happened?” Jara mused.
“I don’t know yet but I’ll keep reading. I also found this,” Quinn said, handing Jara the journal. Jara began to read out loud.
“There is a reason we are here but only Thaniel knows why; he also claims to know a way out, but he won’t tell us because he wants us to stay. He believes we can make a new world here, a better world. Perhaps he’s right.” Jara finished reading and looked around the silent room, and every girl looked back, astonished.
“There’s a way out?” Moani gasped just as a short girl with spiked, pixy hair and a nose ring slipped inside the room. She was beaded with sweat and out of breath.
“What’s wrong, Chione?” Jara asked, jumping to her feet.
“They’ve gone. Pox and about seventy of our best Angels have left the castle. They’re headed to the Trapped Forest, they’ve taken the boats.”
Jara gasped. “What! She’s gonna get them all killed! She knows Dogs run the river, and they’ll never survive the forest. Angels are safer in the corn. What is she thinking?”
“She’s not thinking. She’s just running on blind fury, but this is good,” Quinn said excitedly. “Jara, how many girls are left in the castle?”
“Not including us or Nishi, about a handful that can be trusted. Why?”
“We need to round them up, tell them some of the things we’ve found in Piper’s book.”
“I’ll have them all in the great hall in twenty minutes; you be there,” Jara said before dashing out the door. The rest of the girls stared at Quinn expectantly, eager for something to do.
“Things are about to get ugly, girls, time for some prep work. Moani, Michelle, and Calista, grab a few more girls and raid the kitchens. That back room is cold enough to keep food fresh for weeks, and we just might need it.” The girls nodded before they left. “Cheyenne, Kyla, and Marley”—Quinn pointed at each girl in turn—“I need you to snatch up extra blankets and anything that will keep us warm. I’ve got a feeling we may have a lot more girls in here before long.”
“There’s an entire chamber full of winter clothes. We hav
e no use for them here,” Kyla said.
“Perfect, go get ‘em, girls!” Quinn encouraged them as the three girls rushed excitedly out the door. “And you,” Quinn said pointing to Chione, “I’ve got something special for you.”