Whispers in Autumn by Trisha Leigh

Author:Trisha Leigh
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Speculative Fiction
ISBN: 9781475235944
Publisher: Createspace
Published: 2012-07-20T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19.

“I have an idea, but I don’t think you’re going to like it.” Lucas glances sideways at me, refusing to break pace. It’s almost time to be back in the houses.

“Well, try me. We have things to discuss, and a twenty-minute chat through paper cups isn’t getting it done.”

“Okay, well the only thing we know we can control is the cold and the heat. I think we should practice. We could use it, maybe.”

“What are you, totally banana balls?” The thought strikes me as dangerous above everything else. “I could hurt you. And we could attract too much attention.”

“The Wardens are going to interview us soon—do you really think they’re going to miss the way we smell? Or what if they look inside your head and you don’t fool them this time? We either try to find a way to fight them or we might as well give up now.”

Sadness over the loss of Mrs. Morgan mingles with lingering anxiety over Greg’s death. The memory of the barely restrained glee on the Others’ faces at the prospect of disposing of a human trembles in my mind. They’ve taken a dozen of our Cellmates this autumn and they’ll do the same to Lucas and me if they catch us.

The surging determination to not only live myself, but to keep Lucas alive too, surprises me with its ferocity.

We reach the Morgans’ front door and stand awkwardly on the porch. It gives me flashbacks to the night of the mixer, when we were both desperate to believe the other could be a Dissident too. What Lucas says makes sense—being captured and Broken certainly isn’t on my to-do list either, and the prospect of rebelling against what is Acceptable brings a thrill akin to the one offered by being outside the boundary.

“Fine. But we figure out a way to do it safely. I’d hate to set you on fire.”

Lucas offers a self-satisfied grin, then pulls me into a hug. His arms are cold around me at first, but the heat from my body balances us out. Instead of pulling away quickly, like usual, he holds me until I relax against him, resting my head against his chest. When he lets go, a sense of loss shifts over me like a heavy blanket. I want to know what it’s like to kiss him, to feel something other than our hands touch. The play of hot against cold, heat and chill passing between us. To know him even better.

Years of using distance as protection ensure I don’t have a clue how to know anyone.

He turns to go, but I remember my idea and it pops out of my mouth. “Oh. Speaking of crazy ideas, what if we could somehow figure out what the Wardens are asking in the interviews? That way we could prepare for our own and it might tell us exactly what brought them here to begin with.”

“How? No one remembers what happens during them.” The previous hopeful tone in Lucas’s voice turns dubious, but I don’t see how his idea of igniting and freezing things is any more helpful.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.