Shadowmarked, p.3
ShadowMarked, page 3
“I’ll take it easy the rest of the day, I promise,” I said.
She looked hesitant to believe me, but after giving me a second dosage of medication, she eventually said she’d come back and check up on me in a few hours. I rested back on the bed, watching as Theo stared off into nothing.
“Do you think it will work?” I asked.
Theo sighed. “I’m not sure. Even with every one of those kids, we’re not nearly enough. We need more help.”
I nodded. “If there was some way to convince Kuros to join us, we might stand a chance.” We all knew Governor Grayson was running Cytos, and they wouldn’t lift a finger to help anyone outside of themselves, but Kuros was a wildcard. If they would help, we might stand a chance.
“Yeah, if we could convince them…” Theo’s voice was distant, and he still stared off at the wall with his brow creased. He blinked and focused back on me. “You should rest.”
My eyes were getting heavy; the medication they gave me always made me tired. I tried to fight it, but my lids slowly dropped, and I fell into a deep sleep.
I couldn’t say how long I was asleep, but when I woke, Theo was gone.
GUNNER
We travelled in a tightly packed train for nearly three weeks. The place stank of unwashed bodies, and I was constantly pressed against someone on either side. We were taken to a location outside of Cytos the first week of travel. I only knew we were near Cytos from the small glimpse out the door I managed before it slammed shut. There, more genetic kids joined us, and the space around us lessened. Some were Marked kids from other locations The Six controlled, and some Pur kids, judging by their lack of marks and terrified expressions. We were packed like sardines, and I’d given up on trying to find some semblance of personal space.
We then moved from location to location, picking up more kids or guards along the way. At night the train would dock somewhere unknown, and they would blindfold us before filing us into a building or station where more than eighty of us were expected to sleep in a room with maybe twenty beds. I took the floor each time. It wasn’t worth the trouble to fight for more than that, and I hardly slept as it was. Sometimes, we stayed in one spot for a day or two, but we never saw anything outside of the blacked-out trains or the room we slept in.
“Where are you taking us?” one of the Pur kids had demanded. “What’s going on?”
I could always tell the Pur from the Marked, even if I never saw the black strikes on their arms. The Marked knew to keep quiet; we knew what consequences were, unlike the Pur.
“Sit down,” a guard had ordered.
“No, I demand to know what the hell is going on.” The kid crossed his arms and set his jaw. It lasted maybe five seconds before he was writhing on the floor, some invisible pain coursing through him.
The Six, and whoever else held our chain these days, had always had ways of controlling us. In the DEZ, it was strikes, in the Void, the trackers filled with venom… this time they’d placed metal collars around our necks sending pain coursing through our bodies with the push of a button. That was only the beginning.
The windows were blacked out, so I couldn’t see where we headed, but the cold against the metal exterior had arrived a week ago telling me we travelled north. I’d gotten used to sleeping cramped on the floor when I could. Guards brought us food that tasted like shit, and we all had to relieve ourselves one time a day, usually at a small station so hidden we could only see four walls and disgusting holes in the ground. To say it was undignified was an understatement.
When the train finally halted to a stop on the twenty-first day, I nearly smashed heads with Vic who was curled up beside me, her knees tucked into her chest. She hadn’t spoken one word to me, not one. And I’d given up trying to get her to speak. Still, I hadn’t left her side.
“Everyone up,” a guard called from the front of the compartment we were shoved into. I knew this stop was different when we weren’t blindfolded.
I stooped down to help Vic, but she pushed herself to her feet without a glance my way.
There weren’t many guards, two per compartment, but they controlled the collars secured around our necks, which meant they controlled us. Should we refuse to listen, they would make us comply. If we still didn’t listen, the collar would tighten until our heart stopped beating. It’d only happened once before we all got the message.
Sit down. Shut up. And don’t move unless ordered to.
“This way,” another guard shouted.
It took me a moment to adjust to the darkness as I stepped out of the train and into the cloud-covered night. My feet hit solid stone a foot below the train and I stumbled. I kept Vic in my sights the entire time. She walked with her head down, hardly noticing anyone around her, and I had to shove past a few kids to catch up. When I placed a hand on her arm, she flinched, pulling it away before realizing it was me. Not that it made a difference if it was me or anyone else, she hardly seemed aware of anything around her.
Outside of the train, I could feel the subtle hum of the magnetic pulse radiating from the train. There were no tracks for the train to sit on, only white snow disappearing into the dark night.
Cool wind swept in from somewhere, and as my eyes adjusted to the moon poking through the clouds, more snowcapped mountains came into view. We were in a mountain range that seemed to spread farther than my eyes could see in the darkness. A tremor ran through my body, and I hugged myself tight as I began to shake against the cold. We weren’t dressed for the winter weather we’d just entered. Each kid wore the same white cotton shirt and pants combo, but no one seemed to care about our wellbeing.
We followed the guards towards an enormous metal door, built right into the side of a mountain. It slid open to reveal a foyer carved into the stone. Much like Venzier, the rocks were shimmering black and grey. But unlike Venzier, this place was lit up with sconces and lamps on every wall, and lights hung from the roof.
“Males in this line, females over here.” The guard pointed to two lines now forming. I gave Vic’s arm a light squeeze, which she didn’t seem to notice, and moved to my line.
When Caspian left, I’d promised to watch out for her, but in reality I knew she would be my ticket out of here. If Caspian or Sienna were to come back for Vic, I’d be right beside her and make sure they got me out as well. I’d force them if I had to.
When I reached the front of the line, the guard gave an impatient gesture. “Arm,” he ordered.
I lifted my arm and a sharp pinch pierced my skin, causing me to hiss and pull back. My thumb grazed over the small lump under the skin where the guard had placed a new tracker. “Move.”
I stepped past him to where the next line was forming. Across the stone cavern where the girl’s line was formed, I noticed Vic was receiving the same treatment. A subtle hum sounded behind us, and I turned to see the large metal doors slamming shut. No other doors seemed to lead to the outside. The doors we lined up in front of moved farther into the mountain, and there didn’t seem to be any other exit. A rush of cold wind snaked up the back of my shirt and sent a shiver through my entire body.
Turning my attention back to the thinning line of guys before me, I realized why this foyer was so cold. A gap in the floor spanning from one side of the room to the other stretched out before me; it had to be at least twenty feet wide. It was jagged and uneven around the edges as if a crack ran through the entire mountain. It continued up the walls and to the roof where it narrowed in, not exposed to the outside as the base was. As I neared the edge, I saw the dark night below me. Sharp rocks and a steep cliff came into view, and the cold air slithered up and pushed me back with a whoosh.
The guard in front of me smirked as I shuffled back a few feet. He was clad in a thick fur-lined jacket, gloves, and tall boots.
“Name,” the guard snarled.
“Gunner.”
He scanned my new tracker with the tablet in his hand. It produced a number across the screen before he directed me to move forward. A narrow plank of wood stretched across the gap, like a bridge looking flimsy and unable to hold my weight.
“Step forward,” the guard on the other side ordered and my eyes widened.
When I glanced to the side, I saw a girl crossing the wood plank on their end. It bowed even with her small frame. A lump formed, lodging itself in my throat. I swallowed it down and tested the board with my foot. It creaked in protest, but I tried another step. The plank bowed under my weight.
As soon as I jumped back, the guard growled, “Get moving already.” He gave me a shove, throwing me off balance.
I swore under my breath, glaring at the guard, but stepping back onto the plank. My heart pounded in my chest as I stared over the edge. Cold air blasted from below, and I wobbled for a few seconds before catching my balance and creeping forward.
When I reached the other side, I felt my knees go weak, and I nearly fell to the ground. The guard on the other side just pushed me forward with an amused chuckle.
“Bloody hell,” I mumbled. “Are you guys trying to kill us?”
“Weeding out the weak, one way or another,” the guard grumbled with a snort before nodding for me to move again.
A gasp and a shriek broke the silence before the sound disappeared into the night like a whisper. I caught the others looking over the edge, and I followed their gaze where I couldn’t see anything, but I was sure a kid had just fallen to their death. A quick look to the other line told me it wasn’t Vic.
“If you can’t make it out here, you’ll never survive what’s waiting for you in there.” The guard smirked, glancing behind him to a door.
On this side of the gap there were two doors and a guard standing before each one. Small lamps hung from the walls and made the space seem almost inviting. Almost. Another short line had formed on this side as the genetic kids waited their turn to be let in to wherever the doors would lead. Stone walls surrounded them, so there was nowhere else to move outside of the doors before us or the way back, which was blocked.
My teeth chattered. I watched across the foyer to where Vic stood with her arms wrapped around her small body, shivering against the cold. Her eyes were locked on the drop of the gap.
Some part of me wanted to go to her, to comfort her, but a firm hand gripped my arm and tugged me towards the door.
“Arm,” a new guard ordered. He was just as sour faced as the rest as he scanned my tracker again.
“What? Do you think I somehow changed persons since I left the other side?” I asked.
The ox of a man didn’t respond as he scanned my arm before shoving me through the open door without so much as a glance back. I hesitated, looking back through the door to find Vic just as it slammed shut behind me.
The contrast of this room to the ones I’d seen for the last three weeks was night and day. White walls. White marble floors. So similar to the rooms of the Void it sent my pulse racing. A woman in the room wore a white coat, similar to the doctors at the base The Six kept us at. Outside of her, a chair and a small desk she leaned against, the room was empty.
“Have a seat, please,” her soft voice said.
The warmth of the room began thawing my frozen toes and fingers. Still I shook, though this time it wasn’t because of the cold. My eyes were heavy, and I was exhausted from the days of travelling and sitting cramped on the floor, yet my adrenaline spiked in this place.
In the middle of the room was a single chair and a basket full of dirty clothes against the wall. The short-haired doctor held a tablet in her hand, watching me from her spot against the metal desk pushed up against the wall. The room was small, and my breath became labored as I realized how close the walls were surrounding me. She wore the same fake, friendly smile as Dr. Merinda. At least Dr. Allard didn’t fake any kindness.
She pressed a button on her tablet, and I felt a click at my neck. The metal collar at my throat released. I quickly tore it off, and the woman held out her hand to take it from me. She placed it on the table with a clank.
She rested the tablet on the table next to it and picked up a long needle I hadn’t noticed sitting there and tapped the serum inside twice. The liquid was pitch black.
I flinched.
“Afraid of needles, dear?” she asked sweetly, rubbing a little cotton ball over the smooth skin in the crook of my elbow.
“Ones that size, I am,” I replied. “What is it?”
She didn’t reply; she just stuck the needle in without so much as a warning and pushed the black serum through. It burned, and I could see the black spread and move through my veins. “This needle is the least of your worries, child.” She stepped back, and I rubbed at the spot the needle had poked. “Remove all your clothing and place them in the basket,” she ordered over her shoulder.
I sighed but stood and removed my shirt, pants, and shoes, leaving my boxers on. The hundreds of black marks started at my wrist and covered nearly my entire body. They were a constant reminder of everything I’d been through, everything I’d survived. I’ll need to survive more still.
The nurse turned around, her eyes roaming over the marks covering the canvas of my skin. Then she glanced to my boxers. “Those too.”
“Ah, it’s that kind of appointment.” I winked as I pulled down my boxers.
The nurse smirked. “Afraid not. We just need to see every inch of you… so we know if the virus shows up.”
My heart thudded. “Virus?”
The nurse nodded, her eyes glancing to the empty needle formerly filled with black serum she’d just pumped through my body. Black, like the Reeks.
“Is that… did you just…?”
I didn’t have to finish my words for her to know what I was asking. I instantly felt sick to my stomach. The nurse just nodded again and directed me to a second door at the back of the room. “For your sake, I hope nothing shows up.”
The door opened, revealing a narrow hallway and a row of more doors. More guards were waiting in the small hallway and one gripped my arm, pulling me into the hall. I was aware I was standing naked before them and should have been cold, but my body had become suddenly so hot I was sweating. My ears rang, and I heard sounds echoing down the hallway, but I couldn’t detect what they were or which room they came from. The guard still gripping my arm pulled me to a door across the narrow hall, opened it, and unceremoniously shoved me in the room. My knees stung as they hit the stone floor.
The room was small like the last one, and I was entirely alone. A pallet and a dirty mattress lay in one corner. Stone walls were marred as if an animal had been caged inside of this place—claw marks lining the walls just like the black marks on my body. A clock counted down from twelve hours on one wall, and in each corner a small camera bot hovered.
The prick in my elbow began to sting, and warmth started to snake up my arm until it hit my neck and sent my head spinning. I had only enough time to crawl onto the mattress before my vision went blurry, and a pounding headache instantly formed.
My hands scraped at my head, clawing at my skull as the sharp pain intensified. What is this? What’s happening to me?
They’d put a virus in me… but we were supposed to be immune? The Reek virus didn’t affect the genetic kids, did it?
The flutter in my heart and sweat forming on every inch of my body told me the virus was doing something to me. And as I took a deep breath, trying to calm my beating heart, I finally heard the sounds from the rooms next to me and realized they were human.
Wailing cries. The sound of nails scratching against stone. Fists pounding against walls and then the sound of a single shot from a gun silenced everything.
SIENNA
My thumb rested softly against my cheek as I aimed the arrow at the bale of hay, my target. A throbbing between my shoulder blades was forming from the effort it took to pull the bow back, and after almost two hours of practice, my entire upper body ached.
I released my fingers and the arrow whooshed through the air before it hit the target thirty yards away with a satisfying thump.
“Not close enough. Try again,” Petra ordered. She sat a few feet away on the sand-covered beach with Leanna Wallace—the daughter of the former Governor of Cytos. The two had surprisingly become quick friends.
I sighed. “I’m too tired. My aim is getting worse.”
“Do you think the Reeks will ease up just because you’re tired?” the white-haired warrior asked, her bright eyes flaring. As a Guardian of Venzier, Petra’s training was ruthless, and she rarely offered any praise or compliments, yet I hadn’t said no when she’d offered her help a few days ago. “You can’t just rely on a gun or swords. Warriors must hone all skills, and right now your skills are crap.”
“Why aren’t you making her do this?” I pointed the tip of my bow at Leanna.
Petra had dragged me out here for the third day in a row, much to my protest, to teach me how to use a bow, seeing as I’d be joining them on their next scout mission searching for Reeks. I knew how to use a gun and swords, and I was skilled at hand-to-hand combat, even if my leg still throbbed, but I had never even touched a bow or arrow until today. And Petra had pointed out while a gun may be an easy weapon to choose, the bow was nearly silent, which was useful around Reeks drawn to noise and smells. Leanna had found us only a few moments after our lesson began, and she sat quietly observing us the entire time.
Leanna narrowed her eyes at me and tilted her chin up. “I’m not a fighter. I know my place, and it isn’t anywhere near those things.”
“What is your skill then?” I asked, picking up another arrow and pulling it back. I let it fly, and it hit the second farthest ring of the target. I grimaced.
“She’s the spy,” a voice cut through the silence.
I whirled around to find Caspian walking towards us through the crystal white sand of the beach behind the Sweepers’ Palace. The waves and wind from the ocean masked the sound of his footsteps, though from the unsurprised looks on Petra and Leanna’s face, I suspected I was the only one who didn’t sense him coming.
