The Wounded

The cars were brought to the entrance, and each team tried them out. Joseph was by far the worst driver. It didn’t seem to matter what he tried. He was awful at it, which frustrated him to no end and amused me endlessly.

Joseph flopped his head down on the steering wheel, his hair falling through its gaps. He turned his head so that all I could see was one emerald eye, splinters of gold sparkling in the afternoon sun. This was it. It felt like the last of something rather than the begi

Tonight would be our last night in the train station before everyone split away and headed to the different hideouts and shelters. Each one could only hold around a few hundred people. Some of the Monkey City dwellers chose to stay. But most had formed friendships, even relationships, with the Survivors over the last six months, and they wanted to leave with us.

We walked into the train station, the monkeys oddly quiet, just tracking us with their filmy, yellow eyes and picking at each other’s fur. I swallowed as I passed under a group of them. I would be glad to be rid of the shrieking, interrupting little monsters.

Joseph held out his hand, and I took it. “So are you sure you’re happy with Pietre taking Orry?” I asked.

He frowned and stared at the ground. “I’m not happy with any of this, but what choice do we have?” I closed my mouth. He was right. There were no choices we were happy to make. Right now, we had to grab at the only ones available to us.

We stepped carefully into the giant opening of the tu

*****

We jumped down several levels to where Rash and my father were staying, our feet skimming over slimy, black rocks. The fire burned high, and people were knocking cans of drinks together and talking excitedly about their plans. When Joseph and I walked into the light, everyone stared. The couple who would dare to break into the Superiors’ compound was quite a curiosity. Some clapped, others warned, and some congratulated. Someone offered me a can. I took one sip and screwed up my nose. It tasted like dishwater with a burn behind it. I handed it to Joseph, and he swigged it whole-heartedly, his eyes lit up as he swallowed.

We sat together with some strangers and the rest of our group. Odval brought Orry to us. He played with Hessa by our feet as we talked about what was going to happen. Fear was in the air, searing the rocks with electricity. Yet hope-tinged clouds clung to the spiky underbelly of this cave as well. The Survivors had been sitting around, tending their wounds, for too long. Energy surged through the space now that there was an aim. The wounds were our power, pushing us forward, up, over, and inside the walls to crack them open.

Someone tried to hand Joseph another can, but he declined. He shook his head lightly as if to clear it. “You ok?” I whispered as we nursed plates on our knees, enjoying the last taste of fresh meat before we were back to dehydrated jerky.

He ran his fingers over my knuckles gently. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just don’t like how that stuff makes me feel. A bit cloudy in the head, like I’m forgetting things,” he said, tapping his temple.

I leaned into him and tried to prepare. Orry wasn’t going to understand any of this.

Pietre sat opposite us, his eyes orange from the flame. He watched Orry carefully, like he was studying him. When Orry toddled over to him and tripped on a stone, Pietre’s arms shot out to steady the wobbly toddler. Orry smiled at him warily, clapping his palms over both of Pietre’s knees to stabilize himself. Pietre’s teeth showed in what I assume was a grin, but to me looked more like a grimace. Orry laughed. Careen snuggled next to Pietre and held out her hand for Orry to take. My heart felt stabbed clean through. They looked like a family. They might be if Joseph and I didn’t return. I wished we didn’t have to go, but no one else would volunteer who didn’t already have responsibilities elsewhere. It was like a devil was pushing me in the back, and an angel was ushering me forward. There was no other direction to go.

I approached them. Orry saw and ran towards me anxiously, collapsing in my arms with a gurgle. I nuzzled my face in his hair and breathed. I was collecting all these little moments. Storing them. They would be what I would hold onto later. Anchors.

“Can you do one thing for me?” I asked quietly.

Pietre nodded.

Careen smiled widely. “Anything.”

“Take him somewhere up,” I pointed to the ceiling, “on land. No more hiding underground.”

“Of course,” Pietre said soberly. “I know where we can go.” He reached towards my chest. I stiffened, red scurrying around my face, as he pulled my handheld out of my breast pocket and began typing in the coordinates. “When you’re done saving the world, you find us,” he said, without looking up, as he linked our handhelds. We would always know where the other was.

He placed it in my palm and returned his gaze to the fire. “We’re linked now,” he said softly.

Rash was scratching the earth up like a chicken. Essie watched him, her eyes round, her face warm and pink. Her adoration was so clear on her face. He’d obviously had plenty of those drinks. His speech was slurred, and he threw his arms around like he’d been shocked with a stu

Alexei sat back from the others; his legs crossed one over the other, his eyes blankly staring into the fire. I put my hand on his shoulder, and he started. “Rosa! I didn’t see you there. I… I was just thinking…”

“About Apella?”

“Well yes, I’m always thinking about her. But actually, I was pondering about the effects of the beer on your friend Rash. I know alcohol can relax people, ease them in to social situations, but I think in your friend’s case, it was, perhaps, superfluous.” He smiled up at me awkwardly. I kneeled down and threw my arms around him, pulling him close.

“Look after Hessa and Orry for me. Keep them together,” I whispered. “You’re the one I trust most of all.” I thought ‘finally’ and ‘too late.’ Tears pulled at the corner of my eyes but I kept hold of him, letting him breathe in and out with someone embracing him and reminding him that he was loved.

He patted my back lightly, and I released him. He sniffed and straightened his glasses. “Thank you, dear.”

*****

It was late. Orry was asleep in Joseph’s arms, his head tilted back, his lips parted like he was about to speak. Rash had passed out in Essie’s lap and was snoring loudly. Essie asked us very politely to help get him back to his room. Joseph handed Orry to me and grumbled as he threw an unresponsive Rash over his shoulder. I slumped over my sleeping baby and caught a hold of another moment to store for later.

“You were always so beautiful when you were sleeping,” Pelo said behind me. “All that energy, that pent-up frustration, disappeared from you face, and you became what I always knew you were—an angel.”

I didn’t look up at him, just continued to stare at my own angel in my arms. “And now what am I?” I asked

Pelo moved in next to me, his thin legs clad in mission-ready cargos and the classic Survivor sneakers. “Now, my darling girl… now you are a savior.”

My breath caught in my chest. I was not as big as that. That word was huge. Savior.

Joseph’s hand clapped around my shoulder and planted me firmly back on the ground. “C’mon, Supergirl.” I raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. “We need to get this one to bed.”

“What’s a supergirl?”

He chuckled at my ignorance. “I really need to show you some of the reading material available to us.”