The Sinners by Mark Gillespie

Author:Mark Gillespie [Gillespie, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-02-26T22:00:00+00:00

8

The Children pulled off their dog masks in a hurry. Frantic fingers clawed at straps and when the masks were removed, Eda saw a blurry wall of shocked faces looking at David. Their wide eyes twitched in disbelief. It was as if their minds couldn’t digest the sight of an arrow embedded in the young Seeker’s back.

All of a sudden, Eda heard a lone scream. Frightened murmurings. Mass confusion burst forth around the bombsite like water through a paper dam.

Eda spun around and saw the Children standing at the edge of the crater. They were looking over in Eda’s direction, too far away to get a grip of what was happening. Did they even know they were under attack? Eda’s question was answered when the Children started jumping around in manic half-circles of terror.

She strained her eyes. The gleam of distant swords winked back at her.

“What the hell?” Eda said. “What are they…?”

The Children were attacking one another.

Loud footsteps crashed towards Eda. Coming from behind.

Eda spun back to the front and saw a pale-faced David staggering towards her. A wretched groan spilled out of the man. His right arm was folded over at an impossible angle, hanging above his shoulder like he was still trying to reach the arrow in his back. To get it out, like somehow that would stop the pain. Now the arm just hung there, useless and frozen.

He looked like a ghost already.

“Help me,” he said.

Eda watched him drop to his knees in a crumpled heap. Sweat gushed off his yellowing forehead. With a look of disdain, Eda turned back to the crowd of dog heads gathered around the crater in the distance. They were attacking one another. Eda’s face creased up in confusion. It was like there was madness in the air, turning brother against brother, sister against sister. The screams were frequent; they were high-pitched and cut like a knife.

“What’s going on?” Eda said.

Was there a rogue faction at work within the Children? A pack of rebels attacking their own kind?

“Eda!”

It was Becky’s voice.

Eda battled through a foggy trance and came back to the present moment. She looked to her right and saw Becky’s panicked eyes staring back at her. Becky held up her wrists and Eda saw that she was still bound with rope.

She moved towards Becky but as she did so, David – who was back on his feet – almost crashed into her. He was a runaway boulder with arms and legs. Just inches away from Eda, from the edge. Eda saw the dazed look in his eyes and his arms reached for her still, like she was his only chance of staying afloat in deep water.

Eda caught a glimpse of the sacrificial dagger lying on the ground where David had dropped it. She dodged his wild advances, knelt down and picked it up.

“Help me,” David whispered. “Please Eda…I’m…”

Eda tucked the dagger neatly into her belt. Then she smiled, reached out and placed her hands on David’s shoulders, helping to keep him upright.

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