Night of Never by Megan O'Russell

Author:Megan O'Russell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ink Worlds Press

Chapter Fourteen

Nola peered out from her perch twelve feet up in a dying tree. Her arms didn’t ache from the climb, and her fingers had no trouble clinging to the crumbling bark.

Four men and three women marched up the road. Two of the men supported a third between them. The fourth man leaned heavily on a woman’s shoulder, while the other two women carried children in their arms. Soot stained all their faces. Blood and dirt marked their tattered clothes.

Nola shifted carefully on the branch that held her weight, ignoring the open air beneath her as she leaned toward Jeremy’s ear.

“Where are they going?” she whispered.

Jeremy loosened his grip on the limb he dangled from, pressing his shoulder into Nola’s. “I’m not sure they even know. They might not be running toward anything, just away from the city.”

The urge to call out and stop the group, to tell them to hide in the house with the broken red door until she could lead them safely to Nightland, fought to burst from Nola’s mouth.

The rats will sink the ship.

Anger tensed Nola’s fingers. The bark cracked beneath her grasp.

“We should talk to them,” Jeremy said, “find out what they know.”

“We should help them,” Nola said.

“We can’t.”

“We can go without eating for a day,” Nola said. “We can at least give them the food.”

Jeremy chewed his lips. “We keep an apple for each of us and give them one bottle of water.”

“Deal.” Nola let go of the tree branch and dropped to the ground, her legs holding steady as she landed.

The group looked toward her as Jeremy landed by her side.

From twenty feet away, the fleers looked even more pitiful than they had at a distance. Dark bags marred the skin under their eyes, and fatigue from years of survival marked their faces.

One of the children twisted to look at Nola. His tiny frame was no bigger than a toddler’s, but his face made him appear at least seven.

“Stay away from us.” One of the women pulled a rusted kitchen knife from her belt.

“We don’t want to hurt you,” Nola said. “We just want to know what happened in the city.”

“How could you not know?” the man being supported by two others croaked.

“We were far away when the ground started shaking,” Jeremy said. “We saw the explosions, but we don’t know why they’re happening.”

“The fire came down from above,” the youngest of the women said. “I was inside when the windows shattered.”

“I heard buzzing overhead,” one of the men said. “I looked up to see where it was coming from. A black and silver thing fell from the sky, then the street exploded.”

“Do you know who was doing it?” Jeremy asked.

“I didn’t bother trying to find out,” the young woman said. “I saw Outer Guard though, swarms of them. They’ll know.”

“Do you think it was them?” Cold rushed through Nola’s veins. “Do you think the domes did this?”

“Does it matter?” the wounded man asked.

“Where are you heading?” Jeremy asked.

“Away,” one of the women said.

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