Valiant by Bradley Carter

Author:Bradley Carter [Carter, Bradley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-06T22:00:00+00:00

15. EITHER SIDE

A drowsy and confused Haylee lay flat on a bare twin spring mattress in an old room. The door sits open a few inches from the frame. The sound of sniffles and quiet sobs come from outside in The Hallway. Her blurred vision comes into focus. The urge to sit up in panic is held back by her grogginess. She has no idea how she got there, and no clue where she is.

The room is wrapped with shredded wallpaper from an old office. The light fixture is only a bulb socket with a small dangling chain as a switch. The wires curl out from under the ceiling tile. The carpet is a faded pattern, smashed so deep, it’s as hard as the concrete underneath.

Beside the posts of her bed frame, sitting Indian-style with her legs crisscrossed and holding her head over her lap, is a weeping girl of the same age—Cherish.

She’s startled by the squeak of the rusty bedframe, and rushes to Haylee’s side to keep her calm and tell her not to speak. It’s a hard task for anyone who doesn’t know my daughter.

“Don’t freak out,” says Cherish, covering Haylee’s lips with one finger. “You’re safe for now.”

Haylee’s wide eyes can’t look away as the strange girl examines her, flipping the collars of her shirt, the sides of her arms, behind her ears and neck.

“You’re not marked,” says Cherish. “That’s good.”

“What is this place?” asks Haylee.

Her new friend tells her again to stay quiet, to not move, not to attract attention, and it’s better that Haylee not know the details just yet. Instead, she needs to listen and follow instructions. Cherish explains if Haylee has no tattoos, no scars, no birthmarks, nothing out of the ordinary, she might survive long enough to find a way out. She explains El Toro’s rules, and how Haylee has nothing to worry about, at least not at the present time. Haylee doesn’t appear to be rattled one bit. She brushes her hand through her hair and drops it to her lap.

“My mom is a cop,” she says.

Cherish smacks Haylee’s face to the side.

“Shut the fuck up,” she whispers. “Here, you don’t have a mother. You’re not even a person. If you start talking about your life out there, it will put you in more danger.”

Haylee grabs ahold of Cherish’s arm and twists it to where it won’t bend any farther.

“Touch me again, bitch, and I’ll break your wrist.”

Cherish’s lips speak shaking words.

“I’m trying to save you.”

Haylee isn’t playing a game of secrets; she wants to know what’s going on. Promising Cherish she won’t overreact, she listens to what fate lies ahead.

Moments pass, and the more Cherish speaks, the more weak and frightened Haylee becomes. Yet, she stays calm as her thoughts race to find a solution.

“If I’m marked now,” she says, “they kill me, but what happens if you’re marked after you’re traded or sold? What would those people do?”

Cherish, frustrated to get Haylee to understand the severity of the situation, doesn’t have an answer.

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