Page 35

Chapter thirty-three

Forest

M ud coats our shoes, turning their polished black soles into a mosaic of muted browns. I stop myself from covering my nose to avoid the stench lingering in the air. It smells of rotten fruit and metal mixed to form a nauseating amalgamation that unsettled my stomach. My body feels drained, leaning on Kai more than I’d like for additional support.

Mark quickly pulled away once we got off the tram, leaving us in front of a massive, barbed wire fence. Jagged pieces of wood supported the dilapidated partition, and a thin layer of sheet metal encased the ruins to keep outside eyes from being able to look inside. Black smoke circles the air in small puffs, only adding to the odor. I hear the busy chatter of Unfortunates on the other side of the fence. Some are getting yelled at, and others are begging for help. Beyond this wall is one more line of security. Scanners are utilized in this sector for people to come and go. It's the only way to regulate the Unfortunates enough to keep them confined here. The fence here is far from the sturdy structure we were shown in school when we were learning about our two sectors. Everything seems to be falling apart, and I wonder how much worse it is inside the perimeter.

“Over there,” Kai says, pointing to a small opening on the side of the fence. “That must be the other way in Mark was talking about.”

It's a small opening, shielded by a few wooden planks leaned up against the structure. I hear the chatter of Officials conversing near the fence. Their voices grow closer the longer we stand here. Kai grabs my hand, moving us along the muddy path. We slip occasionally, our eager pace sabotaging our footing. I help Kai move the slats, both of us doing our best to keep our grunts as quiet as possible.

I’m the first to duck my head, forcing my body through the hole and into the other side of the fence. My hoodie protects my arms from getting scratched. Kai’s hand continues to hold my own, following behind me as we both breach the first wall. A pile of junk hides our sudden arrival from the Unfortunates. Some stand in groups, others in lines waiting to make it past the security check with their IDs. Several people shiver in the brisk cold, their coats full of rips and tears, while some others are completely void of proper clothing altogether. Women and men of all ages rub their skin, shaking uncontrollably, being ignored by every Official wearing more clothing than they need. Their faces are hollow here. Where a youthful glow and healthy tints of red are predominant in my people's complexion, the Unfortunates have skin that’s sallow and taut across the bones, with bruises and dark spots. The mask of malnutrition covers the lot like a plague.

“Looks like that's where we need to get through,” Kai says, motioning to the scanners that allow people to enter the sector.

I nod, pulling down his hood before guiding us forward. I look back to the first entrance we avoided, watching the Officials shove down citizens, ransacking their pockets, all while carelessly stripping away whatever valuable items they have. An Official drags a little girl away from her mother, grabbing the woman's hair as he begins hurling insults at her, slapping her hard across the face. Kai has to stop me from pausing, pushing my back to keep me moving forward.

“You can’t interfere,” Kai whispers, visibly disgusted the longer he allows himself to look at the scene around us, “I had no idea it was this bad.”

Stomaching my regret, I turn my back on the woman and her little girl, keeping my head down as we move past a few lingering Officials, both bragging about the vile shit they’ve been doing to these people. I keep the ID face down as I tap it on the scanner, watching the green light flash brightly before quickly tossing it back to my brother. I slip past the entrance, hoping no one sees us use the same ID twice to get inside. My eyes are too focused on Kai to look forward, watching the sweat collect on his forehead as he scans my father's ID once more. Again, the scanner lights up, allowing him to pass through our final barrier to the sector. I quickly take back my dad’s stolen ID, tucking it deep in my pocket. Kai’s eyes are set forward, absorbing the horrific conditions around us. He pauses. I keep my eyes on him, feeling his heartbeat quicken beneath my fingertips.

“What have we done to them?” he silently questions, his mouth nearly hanging open.

I turn around to look at the sight he’s fixated on, my knees threatening to give out in shock as I take in what he sees.

People lie in the streets, clothes barely holding to their bodies as they begin an attempt to cling to what bit of life they have left. Vendors sell food that looks days past what is considered safe, some even eating moldy bread to satisfy their hunger. Children kick around a tattered ball, all of them dirtied and marred with enough scrapes and bruises to last a lifetime. Women are whoring themselves out in alleyways while others trudge through the mud, exhausted from wherever they’d come from, the pained expressions from hours of back-breaking labor abhorrently obvious. The buildings here are worn down, none with the same advancements we see in our sector. Wells surround the grounds. Some people on the streets resort to that as their source of drinking water. I see the small splotches of blood painting the cobblestone roads. Even from here, the stench of death clings to this place.

Someone shoves me forward, using the end of their prod to jab my back, nearly burning through the hoodie to my skin.

“Keep walking, pigs. The workday isn't over yet,” a voice hisses, shoving Kai along with me.

We keep our heads lowered, not uttering another word as we nod to the Official. Slowly, we begin moving, weaving through the filth, doing our best to hold our stomachs. We make it out of the Official’s earshot, our hands shaky.

“They told us they kept up the Unfortunate sector,” Kai says, messing with the small hole in my hoodie the prod had left.

“They told us a lot of things, Kai, none of it was true-”

My brother's eyes flash with apprehension. His hand comes flying across my front, dragging me into the closest alleyway. He slams us both into the nearest wall. His hand clamps down over my mouth, creating a moment of silence for both of us.

Given his frantic behavior, it's a silence I don’t dare try to break.

Eventually, the noise of others fills my ears, breaking my concentration from him and moving to the group of men silently descending the worn walkway. My father leads the group. His knuckles are bloodied, his hands scuffed and torn. My heart races as I think of Fallan, wanting to run out and force him to tell me where he is. Adam’s miserable figure trails behind, cursing up a storm toward the one man who I trust in the group. Xavier’s hands are clean. I can see him fidgeting with something in his pocket as he ignores Adam’s words.

“You let them off easy,” Adam yells toward Xavier, trying to get in his face. Xavier shoves him back a few feet, finally pulling his hand away from his pocket, dangling my necklace between his fingers.

I take a moment to observe the small part of me Fallan had taken, wishing now more than ever it was still in my possession. Had he given it to Xavier? Had he rid himself of it without ever explaining why he took it from me in the first place? Xavier carefully tucks away the necklace, pointing his finger at Adam's chest.

“They didn't deserve punishment just because you’re a sadistic fuck-”

“I’m the sadistic fuck? Should I tell everyone how you keep-”

“Shut your mouth,” Xavier shouts, grabbing Adam's collar, ready to throw the man down to the ground.

“Enough,” my father yells, pulling out the pistol strapped to his side and pointing it between both men.

I feel the air leave my lungs at the sight, reflecting on that night again like a distant fever dream. “Either you both get in line right now and stay silent, or I put a bullet in both of your knees, and you can reflect on your actions together in the med unit,” my dad says, releasing the slide, loading a fresh round into the gun’s chamber. Xavier releases Adam, giving the man one final shove. Adam releases a frustrated grunt, burying his animosity towards Xavier for the time being.

My father lowers his weapon, shaking his head at both men before continuing his walk past our position in the alleyway. The men trail behind him, both staying silent as the trio turns the next corner, finding themselves closer to the main entrance we avoided.

We take the opportunity to leave the alleyway, following the direction they came, looking back as often as we can.

“All these people are dying in the streets while we’ve got unlimited resources in our sector,” Kai mutters, observing each of the feeble citizens who move past us.

Regardless of how tired they look, they take the time to smile at us if their eyes catch ours.

“Why are they allowing themselves to live like this?” Kai finally questions, his curiosities only growing the longer we stay here.

“They have no choice, Kai. No one has a choice,” I say, squeezing my brother's hand.

We find ourselves in a less run-down part of the sector, filled with buildings that seem more up to date. Shops line this part of the sector, busy with the most life we’ve seen so far. Merchants and patrons come and go. Unlike the sleek gray concrete of our sector, buildings here rely on sturdy wooden slabs that have been meticulously carved and fitted together, and a patchwork of metal sheets and salvaged shingles make up the roofs above. By some miracle, the grounds here are more upkept, surrounded by less filth, making the air much easier to breathe.

A group of children run past us, chasing each other with wide, toothy grins. Their shoes are filled with holes, toes threatening to break out and embrace the mud. All of them are skinny, their hands already marked by hard labor. One of the children lingers behind the group, tripping on a log that had managed to slip away from the carts of one of the vendors. Their knees collide with the dirtied ground, skidding across the cobblestone, making their small faces wince. I move to help him up, surprised when I realize Kai is already working to pick him up.

My brother crouches down to observe the child, peeling back the material of his pant leg to unveil a nasty cut. The child sighs, leaning his mangled head of hair into my brother's arm.

Still so trusting.

“You should get home and put something on the cut before it's infected,” Kai says, both of us internally cursing at ourselves for forgetting something as essential as a Cure-All at this moment.

“Silly, you know we don't have any more medicine,” the boy begins, giving a shifty-eyed look to the few Officials lingering near the shops. “They gave it all to the people on the other side of the fence,” he whispers, my contrition growing as I think about the unlimited supplies available to the Untouchables in our sector.

The boy takes my brother’s hand to help him up, brushing himself off with a smile.

“You both are the cleanest people I've seen in this sector,” the boy starts, squeezing my brother’s hands. “Softest hands too,” he finishes, dropping my brother's grasp. Kai's clean hands are now dirtied, both palms caked in a film of grime.

I survey the many shops lining the street, eventually landing on the small bakery in the middle of what looks like the downtown square. If memory serves me well, Hunter works in the one bakery in this sector, giving us the slightest opportunity to figure out where Fallan is. I begin dragging my brother closer to the building, feeling the searing gaze of two Officials as they whisper about our cleanliness, just as the boy had. I pause, looking down at the muddied ground with a large sigh.

“Can you believe what that kid said-”

I crouch to the ground, dragging Kai down letting the dirt coat him. He looks caught off guard, pulling the front of my hoodie as we both hit the cobblestone.

“Pretend we're fighting,” I whisper, watching the Officials pause their walk toward us. “We look too out of place,” I continue, forcing my brother's neck down.

Both Officials smile at the exchange, watching my brother and me silently as they bet on who will win. Kai feeds into it, flipping me onto my back as our clothes are soon covered with dirt. Eventually, I stopped putting up a fight and let Kai win. Dirt streaks his face as we hoist ourselves up from the dirt pavement. The Officials both let out moans of disappointment before walking away once they realized our squabble was over.

“Forest?” Hunter's familiar voice questions, both me and Kai snap our heads to the right.

The bakery door is swung open, revealing a very startled Hunter rubbing his floured hands across his apron. His eyes are wide, barely able to process our sudden arrival into his sector. Hunter's face is bruised, his wrists worn as if he had a struggle. I slowly rise to my feet, wanting nothing more than to drag my father and Adam back here and beat them until they can no longer move. Even Kai looks distraught by the sight in front of him. He kept his hands at his sides in an attempt not to reach for Hunter.

“W-what are you two doing here?” Hunter questions, taking another step closer to avoid speaking too loudly.

“What happened?” Kai questions, unable to control his hand any longer as he reaches up to touch the Hunter’s bruised face.

Hunter closes his eyes when he feels my brother’s touch. I wonder if it’s the first kind touch he's felt in a long time. Kai quickly retracts his hand, his cheeks growing flush as he realizes what he’d just done.

“I don't know if speaking out here is the best idea,” Hunter starts, rubbing his hand across his face and pausing his gaze on me.

Kai and I both look around, ready for yet another Official to show up.

“Don't worry if you look like one of us; they won't bat an eye at anything you do as long as it isn't in the Untouchable sector.” Hunter moves closer to the door he’d come from.

“Hunter, where is Fallan?” I question, his body tensing.

“I think it's best if you come inside, Forest,” he continues, looking back at me with despondency.

“Please, say something,” I yell in the empty cavern of my mind, feeling my palms begin to sweat. My heart races the longer I look at Hunter, wondering if my father's bloodied knuckles are the source of his new wounds.

Why is he not here with Hunter?

“How the hell did you even get in here?” Hunter questions, holding open the door and releasing a burst of warm air from the bakery. It smells of freshly baked bread, and the vile smells from the streets are quickly banished as we follow him inside.

“I stole my father’s ID,” I start. Kai is already cutting me off.

“Where is the re-establishment program?” Kai questions.

The re-establishment program was New Haven’s promise to rebuild the Unfortunate sector, giving them the same quality of living we have had for years. Cleaner food, new buildings, and more supplies are just some of the items promised to them as part of this project.

“You mean that empty promise New Haven has been making for years when they can't even patch up our broken ward,” Hunter says, closing the door to the small bakery, struggling to close it all the way.

I look around the small space, half expecting to find Fallan sitting at one of the tables, throwing me a brooding gaze. There are no cameras in the shop, or anywhere nearby for that matter.

“If you're looking for cameras, they only keep them in some parts of our sector. Makes it easier to dish out punishments when there is no paper trail,” Hunter says, arranging some of the pastries behind the clear cabinet.

Each one looks made with love; the artful details are noticeable in the colorful rows of cream-filled delicacies that are no doubt bursting with flavor.

“Your ward is broken over here? How is that possible? There's no guarantee of anyone's safety!” Kai questions, my mind running to the two Shifters I’ve seen within the past few weeks.

“They only know it's unsafe because they only draft Unfortunates to go beyond the ward, and for some reason, they keep doing it,” Hunter says, pausing his work in the cabinet.

Both men are blatantly unaware of the dangers that lie behind their ears. I can't imagine how much has been stolen from Hunter in this lifetime.

“You never answered my question about Fallan,” I say after a moment, watching Hunter’s eyes dart to me.

He shifts uncomfortably, crossing his arms while letting out a deep sigh.

“He doesn't want to see you, Forest,” Hunter says, my heart sinking at his response.

“Fallan doesn't want to see who? That boy is nothing if not social,” an unfamiliar voice says, pushing past the curtain behind Hunter, unveiling the last person I ever expected to see again.

The woman from the tram.