The Reaping by Annie Oldham

Author:Annie Oldham [Oldham, Annie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

The sub shudders as it docks, and creaks and clicks echo all through the metal. Nell grips Red’s arm. Her eyes whirl around like she’s expecting a monster to rip its way through the hull at any second. Red encircles her protectively and gives me a long look.

Safe, I say. I promise.

“You’ll be fine,” Jack says. He’s lying down on a bunk built into the hull, and his left leg is elevated. The bullet grazed his thigh. It took a good chunk of flesh with it, but the bleeding has stopped and the doctors in the colony will be able to patch him up in no time. He’s in a lot of pain, though. He grits his teeth every time he shifts his weight. “The people are kind. Different, but kind. It definitely takes some getting used to. Dave’s still here.” Jack hesitates over the words, but I don’t think Nell or Red notice. “You’ll be able to see him.”

“He’s here too?” Nell’s eyes brighten. “I’ve missed that boy. I was so worried about him.”

All I’ve been worried about is getting Red to medical so they can put him on an IV and a tailored diet and get him back to health. We’ve tried to get as many protein bars and sips of water into him as we can, but he’s so exhausted he doesn’t even want to spend the energy on that. His arm around Nell looks like a skeleton’s, and I’m worried he’s too brittle to even step out of the sub onto the platform.

The sub comes to a stop, and I take a deep breath. Jessa sits next to me.

“Are you ready?”

I nod, and she squeezes my arm.

“Dad’s probably up there right now. He knows you’re coming home.” She sees the look on my face. “Coming back.”

I study my hands. There’s nothing for it—I can’t put this off forever. I stand up and rub my palms on the legs of my pants. Why do my hands always sweat so much?

How many others know?

“I don’t know.” She half-smiles at me. “I doubt Dad got on the intercom and told everyone the prodigal was coming back.”

The hatch hisses open and light floods the sub. Jessa is up in a flash, scurrying up the ladder. I hear her talking to the sub techs.

“There are four more down there.”

“How many from the Burn?”

Jessa stumbles over her words. “Well, Jack has come back. You remember Jack?”

A few words I can’t make out.

“And an elderly man and woman.”

“Elderly my foot,” Red mutters.

The sub tech speaks, and he sounds too impatient for my taste. “That’s only three. Who’s the fourth?”

“My sister, Terra. But she’s not from the Burn. She’s from here.”

If only it were that easy.

“Don’t get worked up, Jessa. We just need to ask for quarantine purposes. Terra will have to go into quarantine just like the rest of them.”

I’ve had enough of this listening in on the conversation. I want to see who’s out there. I climb the ladder and as soon as my eyes clear the metal rim, I see them.

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