The Queen of Bones by G. Zimmerman

Author:G. Zimmerman [Zimmerman, G.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: J. Ellington Ashton Press
Published: 2016-03-29T00:00:00+00:00

***

The men each take four hour shifts on guard duty while the others sleep. I’ve decided to sleep outside the club house, near the embers of the fire. I can’t let go of the fear that the reeking smell of my clothes will be noticed. This is a huge problem that I’m going to have to take care of soon. Marcus’ guard duty is the second shift. After he’s relieved he joins me next to the dying flames. I’m half asleep, rolled up in the blanket they’ve assigned to me. I feel his touch on my shoulder. “Sara, follow me,” he whispers.

I stand up, my blanket still wrapped around me, and follow him without a word. He leads me to a level stretch of ground next to the lake. He sits down, patting the ground next to him with his hand. I obediently sit by his side.

“Sara,” he says quietly. The light here is not good but I see the outline of his shape next to me. “You were superb today. You held up beautifully under pressure. I so admire you.”

“Thanks for accepting me,” I say. “It’s been my dream to be part of something bigger than me. I’m so tired of wandering, Marcus. You have no idea what I went through to get here.”

“I can only imagine. If you can teach us how you survive the Sunthrobs – teach the whole Mariner clan – our world will change, Sara. Our whole world will change.”

“Of course I’ll teach you.” I pause for a moment. “In case you have doubts, I pledge my life that all I’ve said is true. If I’m lying you can execute me in public. Or kill me with your own hands if you choose.”

He grasps my shoulders. His hands are strong, but his touch gentle. “I’m not going to kill you, Sara. No one will. Even if you turn out to be the world’s most shameless liar, you’re such a convincing actress that we’ll find another use for you, ha-ha!”

“Thanks, Marcus. But I’m not lying.”

“I think the hardest part to believe is that you can breathe the air on the surface during a Sunthrob. So many people have died.”

“That was the hardest part for me too. One day standing next to Pine Lake in Sammamish with a Sunthrob forming I felt the breeze from the lake. It was a hard breeze and it felt cool on my face. It got me to thinking. I ran home to the fallout shelter and joined my family. But my mind kept working on that cool breeze from the lake. The supply of fuel oil that powered the generator was beginning to run low and I knew we would need to leave the fallout shelter. No generator, no air conditioner. No air conditioner, and we wouldn’t be able to survive in the fallout shelter.”

I notice that Marcus’ fingers are caressing my shoulders. “Your voice is sweet and lovely, like music,” he says. “Keep going. What you’re saying and how you’re saying it both give me joy.

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