The Wanted

“How far?” I asked, my legs burning to run.

Deshi beamed. He understood. Soon, he would see Hessa and I would see Orry.

“Not far at all.”

ROSA

I stepped out of the chopper and slammed into a cold wall of air. The sun was deceivingly bright and glaring, bouncing off the white and stabbing my eyes. Denis quickly unfolded the solar panels and left the battery to charge. We piled on every item of clothing we had. With my overly padded arm, I snatched the handheld back from Deshi as soon as he pulled it from the chopper console, switching it on like a greedy child. I needed to see the red light. Search for it. Focus on it. The best of me was floating on a red light somewhere out there.

“Wait. Shouldn’t we turn it off now that we’re on the ground?” Joseph asked, placing his hand on the screen and resting it over my palm.

Denis gave a tight, condescending smile. “We are the Superiors last concern right now. I wouldn’t worry.”

I slapped Joseph’s hand away. The light blinked, still in the same place as before.

We shuffled on the icy concrete towards an old, green door that seemed to stick up out of nowhere. Joseph kicked the rotten wood, his foot going straight through without any effort. Rosa-May dug her fingers into his neck. I pushed the rest through with my hands. It felt like an old sponge and smelt about as bad. Flicking a torch on, we walked down the slippery steps. The thin streams of light revealed nothing but dingy corners and prints of people flying through the air with long planks attached to their feet. Black mold framed the edges of the shots, spreading like a disease cloud.

“I’m guessing this used to be a ski lodge,” Denis a

“You guessed right,” Deshi replied with a smile on his face.

Denis’ face lit up at Deshi’s smile.

I tuned them out as they politely conversed about a sport where people propelled themselves down a snow-covered hill on things called skis for fun. I was still trying to decide if Denis had made up for all the horrible things he’d done to me—let them do to me. Gripping the railing, I stilled as memories of every time he’d dropped me at that black door started assaulting my head. I swayed from side to side, trying to clear it. Like if I tapped hard enough, I could somehow evacuate the images from my head like sauce stuck in the bottom of a bottle. I lost my balance, and Joseph caught the back of my shirt before I fell down the stairs.

“Rosa, what’s going on? Are you ok?” Joseph leaned over me from the step above as Rosa-May’s small face peeked over his shoulder. She squinted under my torchlight.

Denis and Deshi froze a few steps above us, their eyes wandering as they tried to avoid intruding on our conversation.

“I’m fine,” I replied, because I didn’t know how to be honest with him. Even though he had hurt me, I had no desire to hurt him back with images he couldn’t rid himself of. The torture and pain were a steady flow of horror I still wanted to protect him from.

“You’re not,” he said flatly, his eyes rolling to the crumpled roof that sagged over our heads. “I want you to tell me what happened to you.” My face felt smooth like a rendered wall. I couldn’t. He sensed it and added, “But I’ll wait until you’re ready.”

I gripped his arm and gazed into his eyes, crisscrossed with torchlight, dark with shadows. “Thank you. I just want to get Orry back. After that…” I didn’t want to say ‘we’ll have time’ because I didn’t know what the future held. Once we had Orry, who knew what we would be returning to. Hot tears welled like a candle fighting the breeze, but I snuffed them before they could fall.

He seemed to understand. His eyes darted to the men behind us briefly, but then they settled on me. Drowning in gold would be a good way to go.

“I love you, you know.”

I didn’t say it back, even though I wanted to. Stubbornly, I pursed my lips, nodded, and turned around. But I let him keep his hand on my back, to co

We followed the very convenient green exit signs, traipsing through several levels of soggy roofs and mold spreading over the wall like art.

The last door, painted with zebra stripes, celebrated the end of the stifling building. The light seemed brighter when I pushed down on the big, metal handle and shoved the door open. I felt closer. I pictured wrapping my arms around Orry and never letting go. Fear pricked the edges though. What if something had happened to them? I peeked at my handheld. The red dot hadn’t moved at all. Shouldn’t it have moved a little?

I traced the dot with my finger as if it were him, pausing in the snow. “What if he doesn’t remember me?” I whispered.

Deshi uncharacteristically leaned his cheek to mine, his wiry hair brushing over my ear. “What if he doesn’t remember me?”

Joseph hoisted Rosa-May higher up his back and flicked his hair from his eyes. “You two worry too much. Who could possibly forget either of you?” I liked the old grin back on his face. Too much.

I glanced up from the screen. The arrow pointed towards lumps of white between old streetlights. I walked up to one and kicked the snow away from the base. A road. The arrow told me to follow it. “This way,” I directed with excitement and trepidation staining my voice.

As we left the ski village, as Denis called it, the road tipped off the edge of the world. Sheer cliff face above and below that the snow could barely hug. As I trudged upwards, my boots gaining layers of ice with every step, I wondered how they’d got up here with Pietre’s leg. It may not have been as snow covered but still, with two children, it must have been rough.

I turned to Joseph, breath clouds misting his face at every step. “Are you scared?” I asked.

“Of you? Yes! Of finding them? Definitely not.” He smirked and adjusted Rosa-May on his back. “You need to hold on tight, Posie.” The nickname ran warming hands on either side of my heart.

I snorted, rubbed my hands together, and walked. Deshi strode next to me, as anxious as I was. Denis lagged behind, his head down, watching his feet make imprints in the snow like it was a first. Like he was the first man to ever walk up here. I rolled my eyes.

JOSEPH

I know what she’s doing. Turning the idea over and over in her head. Trying to decide how she should act instead of doing what she feels. It’s unlike her. I kind of wish she’d just punch me and get it over with.

She brushed past me and pinched Desh’s elbow, whispering in his ear. It a

“So, you and Denis,” she started, awkwardly winding her fingers together, a blush appearing in her cheeks despite the cold. My fingers ached to touch those pink cheeks, but thankfully, they were holding on tightly to Rosa-May.

Desh’s head jerked up in surprise. “Huh?”

She pursed her lips. I could tell she was thinking of a way to back away from whatever it was she was going to say, but then she blurted, “You know. You and him, uh, together…” She clapped her palms together. The sound echoed over the desolate-looking land.

The Superior’s son was behind us, walking painfully slow. Desh jerked his head around to look at Denis and rolled his eyes. “Rosa, just because Denis and I have that one thing in common, it doesn’t make us a good match. Besides, he’s not really my type.”