The Starborn Saga (Books 1, 2, & 3) (5 page)

I extend my hands to see that I can command the knife to float anywhere in the shack. Whatever my mind desires, the knife obeys. 

How fast can I make it go?

With the speed of a bullet, I send the knife sailing to the wall behind me. It splits the wood sharply. 

I’m too stunned to move. It’s incredible. I know this doesn’t even come close to being able to command the cranes like yesterday, but then, I had been desperate and had cried out in passion. I’m calm now. 

I stand to go to the knife and pull it out, but a thought stops me. I don’t have to get up. I have to focus a little harder as the knife struggles to dislodge itself from the wall. At first, it shoots out but I’m able to slow it down quickly enough. With my thoughts, I make the knife float slowly down to the spot where it had rested when I first came into the kitchen. 

I don’t know what any of this means for me. I wish I did. 

My stomach rumbles again, reminding me that I’m starving. I look up at the cabinets in wishful thinking, and decided to move to the window next to the front door. I slide the curtains open ever so slightly so I can peek out into the colony that I had been mostly blind to because of the darkness the night before. There aren’t too many people out as I had anticipated. A scattered few move about, certainly with tasks on their mind. Most of the people here are farmers, so many would be tending the gardens probably some distance from the shack. 

I wonder what kind of meeting it is that Connor had to attend. Is he a farmer like the rest? Does he spend his days growing food for Screven and the Salem colony? 

Though I can’t see much of Salem from inside the shack, I can tell that it isn’t faring too badly. The few people that I see are well fed and have an appearance of happiness. 

Unlike Springhill. 

Even though I’ve only been gone for a short period, I can’t help but miss home. I know my grandma is worried about me. I know little Jake is wondering what I’m up to. The village leaders will assume that I have made it to Screven by now. Th han by noey probably believe that I am getting them help at this moment. Though none of them would have advised me to set out on this trek across the sandy wastelands, they are no doubt relieved to eventually gain protection. One thing people of my village fear the most is leaving the village. They fear leaving more than they fear being attacked. I suppose yesterday gives credence to that fear, yet I was the only one willing to go and get help. So far I’m failing. 

None of us knew how far Screven was exactly. We thought that surely a full tank of fuel would have been enough. Obviously it hadn’t come close.

To the right and up the hill a little ways, I see a small vegetable stand. An older woman is sitting at the stand, peeling something, I can’t tell what. But it’s food. I look back to the kitchen at the note resting on the table. I know I shouldn’t go out. Connor will be back soon and he’ll probably have some food for me. My eyes travel from the note to the kitchen cabinets, and almost as if it’s urging me to go outside, my stomach rumbles again. 

I twist the knob and slowly open the door. From here the old lady seems nice enough. I’m sure she would spare an ear of corn or a tomato or something. I look from side to side and see that the street is clear for the most part. In the distance there are guard towers at the colony wall, as well as a few guards walking across it. They definitely won’t notice me from here.

I cross the dirt road and do my best to look natural like I’m part of the colony. Of course, my slight limp isn’t helping anything. When I come up to the old woman, she looks up at me and smiles. 

“Beautiful day isn’t it?” she says. 

“Sure is,” I reply. I didn’t really think about what I was going to say before I came over here.

“Are you alright, sweetheart?”

We both turn our heads at the sound of a low growl and see a black SUV kicking up dust. It drives by too close for comfort. I tuck my chin and squint my eyes to keep the dirt out. The old woman mouths curses at the vehicle until it passes. 

“Screven guards,” she shakes her head and looks back at me. “Are you lost, sweetheart?”

“Of course not,” I say. “Why?”

“You look lost.”

“Just hungry. Wondering what’s good today.” I know it’s a stupid thing to say when she cocks an eyebrow at me. Her eyes narrow as she looks me over. She stands and I take a nervous step backward.

“You’re not part of the colony are you?” she asks. 

“What makes you say that?” This is not a situation I want to get into and I suddenly regret leaving Connor’s shack. 

The woman holds up her arm, revealing a black wristband that looks identical to the one Connor was wearing last night. “You’d be wearing one of these if you were one of us.”

I take another step back, but she waves me in with her hands. “Come on. I think I can rustle up some porridge for you.”

I can’t believe her generosity. I’m surprised first by the fact that she instantly knew I wasn’t part of Salem, and second that the fact didn’t bother her. I thought being discovered by anyone would be terrible, but this lady makes me think differently. 

She leads me through the door to her shack. It’s similar to Connor’s but it’s much tidier. She walks to the kitchen and starts pulling out the necessary ingredients. 

“My name is Evelyn,” she says.

I tell her my name. At first I’m not sure it’s a good idea to tell her how I came to be here, but there’s really no other explanation I could come up with that would be believable. As she r eyle. As eadies the hot porridge, I tell her about last night’s events and why I was out in the first place. I even tell her how Connor snuck me in and took care of my injury. For some reason, I trust her. Of course, I say nothing about my ability to move cranes and knives. That, I will keep to myself. 

She places the hot bowl in front of me and I don’t wait for it to cool. I’ve never thought porridge to be delicious, but it is now. Though it’s already a warm, summer day, I can’t help but enjoy the cozy feeling it provides for my insides.

Evelyn reaches into her cabinet and sets a small bottle in front of my bowl.

“Whenever you get a chance, put some of this on your wound. It’s a special concoction I came up with myself. It’ll be healed up in no time.”

“Thanks,” I say with a mouth full of food.  

“That Connor is a devious one indeed,” Evelyn says as she sits down in front of me with a hot cup of tea in her hands. “Better watch out, he’s pretty friendly with the guards.” 

“So, why don’t you care?” I ask, shoveling in more porridge. 

“About what?”

“About me sneaking into the colony.”

Evelyn smiles at this. “You aren’t breaking my rules, sweetheart. Just Screven’s.”

“They seem pretty tightly wound.”

Evelyn lets out a sigh and nods. She wraps her hands around the cup and looks as though she is choosing her words carefully. “Jeremiah runs a firm business. He asks a lot from the colonies.”

“That’s what I hear,” I say. I look down at my bowl, surprised to already be finished.

“I’m not going to try and dissuade you from helping your village,” Evelyn says. “I’m sure Connor has talked to you about Screven guards.”

“He doesn’t seem to hate them.”

“He tends to believe that it’s good for them to be here. His brother isn’t too fond of Jeremiah and his Screven guards, though.”

“Do a lot of people feel that way?” I ask.

Evelyn nods. “For the most part.”

“If people no longer want Screven to be a part of the colony then why don’t you tell them you don’t want their help anymore?”

“Because we have already aligned ourselves with them,” Evelyn says. “We are colonies because, at some point in the past, we became a branch of Screven. We’re under their control now.” 

“But you said it’s a business. Can’t you stop doing business with them?”

“It’s not that easy,” Evelyn says. “Jeremiah has gotten used to having colonies like us feed his city. In the past it was a welcome gesture, but over the years he has asked for a higher percentage of our crops. His population is growing while ours isn’t allowed to grow.”

“What happens if it starts to grow by accident?”

“You mean by birth?”

I nod.

“It’s happened before,” Evelyn says. Her eyes wander from her cup to the wall behind me, seemingly deep in thought. “It’s not pretty. Jeremiah doesn’t allow the colonies to grow because then they would need more of the resources that he wants allotted to Screven. It isn’t fair, but it’s life. They keep those awful creatures away.”

“That’s all I want for Springhill.”

“Well, if Springhill has anything to offer Jeremiah, then no doubt he will protect you. I wish all the best to you in that.”

“Thanks,” I say. It’s good to hear some encouragement.

She reaches out and touches my arm warmly, but her sudden startled look doesn’t match her affectionate touch. 

“Are you okay?” I ask, noticing her newly furrowed eyebrows. 

She lets go of my arm quickly and puts her hands together on the table. She then looks at me in the eyes for a very long moment and shakes her head as if to erase the thoughts that had just entered her mind. 

“It’s nothing, sweetheart. Old joints acting up.” She stands and I do the same. “You might want to head back to Connor’s place. I wouldn’t want you to be seen by Screven guards and get caught. It will do none of us any good.”

She leads me through the tiny house and out the front door. Briefly, I turn and give her my thanks for the morning meal and the salve for the wound. She smiles half-heartedly and waves me off. I don’t really understand why her mannerisms have changed since I first got here, but now it seems that she doesn’t want me here at all. 

I give one last wave and turn to cross the dirt street. To my left I see the black SUV coming back around this way, still kicking up clouds of dust. I lower my head and walk forward. The SUV drives past me and I’m almost near the door of Connor’s shack when it comes to a halt in the middle of the road. I reach for the doorknob when the driver gets out and yells at me. 

“You there, stop!”

My first instinct is to run, and I even turn my body to do so, but then I realize there isn’t anywhere to go. If I try to run, they would catch me easily – I wouldn’t get far with my bum leg. 

I turn to face the guard and see that there are now three of them moving toward me. I glance across the street and see Evelyn walking into her shack as if pretending she had never seen me. 

“Is something wrong?” I ask the guards. 

“You’re not wearing your wristband,” the guard says. “That’s in violation of the laws of Screven.”

“Sorry,” I say. “It’s just so hot out here, I hate getting a sweaty wrist.” It’s the best I can come up with. 

“Sorry doesn’t work for me,” the driver says. Suddenly I wish these were the guards that Connor had sweet-talked last night, but they definitely aren’t.

The guard to my right pulls out a contraption from his belt and grabs my ponytail to jerk my head back.

“Excuse me, but…” I’m cut off.

“Shut up,” the guard says. He pulls the contraption up to my eye and I see a green beam shoot straight into it. It doesn’t hurt, so I don’t struggle too much, but it does blind me momentarily. He lets go of my hair, but instantly trips my feet out from under me, shoving me to the ground. I try not to scream out as I land on my hurt leg. 

He’s got his knee digging into my back as he cuffs me.

“She’s not a colonist,” the guard says. 

“I’ll call Krindle,” the driver says.

With my face in the dirt, it’s difficult for me to see what’s happening. How could I be so stupid? I knew I shouldn’t have left in the first place. I should have stayed put.

I hear the guard say something about an intruder. The guard that had me on the ground pulls me up and sets me on my rear.

I try to shake the hair out of my face and wipe the dust off my cheek with my shoulder. That’s when I see Connor and a group of men running toward me. I also hear several vehicles drive up behind. 

“No, no, no,” Connor says when he reaches the commotion.

To my left, from one of the black vehicles that pulls up, emerges a small man wearing the same dark uniforms as the other guards, but with more badges on his shoulders. His wet hair is slicked back. He looks down his long, skinny nI cng, skiose at me with his bulging eyes. He then turns to Connor and holds up a hand. 

“Back away.”

“I can explain, Krindle.”

“I don’t want an explanation from you,” Krindle turns back to me. How did you get into my colony?”

“Your colony?” the man next to Connor asks. 

“Heinrich, give it a rest. Answer the question, girl.”

I look up at Connor, not knowing what to say. How much trouble could he get into for this? He helped me when I needed it the most. He saved my life.

“I snuck in for food,” I say. 

“You what?” Krindle asked. 

“At the west wall of your colony. I snuck in.”

“Mora, you don’t have to do that,” Connor says. 

Krindle turns sharply to him. 

“I brought her here,” Connor continues. 

“Is she the reason you were past curfew last night?”

“I found her trapped in one of the abandoned towns. I didn’t want her to have to go through your stinking inspections.”

“We have the inspections for a reason, Connor,” Krindle says. “I grow tired of your disregard for the laws of Screven. I understand you’re upset about your brother, but it does not justify your foolish behavior.”

“Punish me, but let her go,” Connor pleads. 

“Absolutely not,” Krindle says. “She will be inspected.”

The man, Heinrich, steps forward. “There’s nothing wrong with her Krindle.” He looks from side-to-side and lowers his voice. “We’re all going out today to look for Aaron. We’ll take her with us and drop her off where she came from. No harm, no foul.”

Krindle’s stern look doesn’t leave his face. “That would be a violation of the laws of Screven.”

“And who enforces those laws? Who has the choice to decide what is overlooked?” Heinrich asks.

Krindle gives a long stare at Connor and points. “He’s getting out of control.”