I Alone by A.J. Britt

Author:A.J. Britt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-28T16:54:21+00:00

15

At the south gate, one of the ghost villagers stares into the fire. He takes a stick and pops it in and out of the flames, watching each time as the tip ignites. It burns for a second. Then his cheeks fill with air, and he gives it a big puff, extinguishing the flame. Like a wand, he twirls it around so fast that a streak of light chases after its glowing ember.

I walk up behind him with ease. His throat is no match for the blade of my knife. Grabbing his shoulders, I slide him to the outskirts of the firelight. Woody and I take his jacket off and throw it to Mac. Looking back down at the dead body, I see the markings on his hand. It’s the same one the two kids that killed Stick had, only his is scarred over, not fresh.

With quickness, Mac puts the jacket on and sits on the bench. He rubs white mud on his face and applies streaks in his hair. He picks up the stick and leans forward to light the tip on fire, mimicking everything the kid was doing, except this time, he is keeping watch for us.

Woody goes left, and I go right, staying hidden behind the shacks. The pungent stench of rot and feces seeps through the cracks of each shack. It reeks of those Loco Solo villages I avoid at all costs. Inside the crevasses lurk shadows. I have no interest in looking through them. I am too focused on the two cages I saw through my scope at the negotiations if one could call them that. If the girls are here, that’s where they will be.

Reaching the first cage, I take a knee in the mud. In front of me, red rusted metal wheels stick out of the mud. It looks like the cage is sinking in quicksand even though it rests solidly on the ground. How the hell did they get this massive thing over here, I wonder.

After more investigation, I notice half the shacks are old train cars. The wheels are so ancient. They’re even older than the non-contact, electric-powered Maglev trains that used to bullet at three hundred miles an hour across the states. I look through the bars for familiar faces. The cages are crammed full of girls. Every face is dirty. All I see are the whites of their eyes looking at me. I lift my index finger when they get restless and tell them to keep quiet. After scanning the first cage, I reach the second one. I see Number One and Kyle balled up on the ground, trying to stay warm. There are both males and females in this cage, but fewer bodies.

“Pssst,” I say.

They look up at me. Number One shakes his head, telling me no. I look around for danger, but I see nothing. Why is he shaking his head no? Ignoring his request, I step around the cage, kneeling to their eye level.

“Where’s Jaysi?”

“She’s in the other cage,” Kyle whispers as he pokes his head over Number One’s shoulder.

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