doorway. “The noise you heard was probably just that branch falling.”
There’s no response from Daniel, or at least none I can hear, and the light goes off. The bar of light shining on the wall from the hallway narrows and then disappears as the door closes. A loud breath flows past my lips in one long whoosh. Daniel’s not one of the guards at the cells, that’s good news. Though if I get caught here… he’s the last person I want to run into besides Dane himself.
After a few more swipes with my fingernail, the edge of the tape lifts and I’m able to grasp it and pull it off, the key following. I scramble out from under the desk. My hands are shaky, so I miss on the first attempt to fit the key into the lock, but it slides in easily the second time. Another sigh of relief eases past my lips.
The drawer is nearly empty and I can tell at first glance that what I need isn’t in there. Still. No. Keyring. What is the point of the locked drawer if all it has in it is more useless paper? Dammit. I start to close the drawer, but something shifts in the back and I pull it back open. The drawer doesn’t open all the way so the far corners are hidden from view. Reaching my hand back, my fingers brush against cold metal. I grab the object and pull it forward out of the drawer.
It’s a….I have no idea. Vaguely round in shape and almost entirely smooth, the palm-sized object is not anything I’ve ever seen. It must have some use, maybe even something important, for it to be locked in the drawer. I pull it out, set it on the desk and reach back in.
Another brush of metal against my fingers, but this object is a little more identifiable. It’s a bracelet, no a cuff. Similar in style to what Lir called a kitu but with intricate engravings. It goes to the top of the desk as well.
The papers might be helpful too, so I pull on one of the stacks. Turns out it’s one piece of paper folded multiple times. The edges are yellow with age and it’s heavily creased. Placing it on the desk, I carefully unfold it. A map. Not just any map, one from before the Collapse. I trace the lines connecting all the cities, streets, roads, highways… The scope of it all amazes me. To think, there used to be so many people, so many cities, so much civilization.
My father taught me enough about before that I know this is a map of what used to be Virginia and I easily find what is now Bridgelake on it. Even better, I can navigate the lines and miles over to the nearest large city, the one taken by the E’rikon. A grin breaks across my face. This I know will come in handy.
My thumb pauses over a large red X, not something on the original map, but something written on it. I draw my eyes away from the route to Jace and study the rest of the map as well. There are four more X’s spread out across it, each one with numbers written next to it. 2,345… 1,506…3,124…3,003… And then there’s a large red circle around an area about 300 miles to our West. Inside it are the words “Population 11,537.”
Population of what? It can’t possibly mean people. Bridgelake is the largest remaining human settlement and there are only around ten thousand people here. And the X’s? Could they be population numbers too? Flint’s earlier words come back to me. The alien attacks. They’ve been wiping out settlements. All those people…. And they have Jace.
My hand slaps over my mouth to cover my gasp. I’ve got to get moving. There’s no time to waste.
I fold the map back hurriedly, cringing a little when it rips at one of the creases. It’s not going to fit into my dress, not without looking overly awkward. I need something to put it in. There are no folders or envelopes on the desk, but there’s a tiny, faded leather satchel sitting in the corner near the door. I cross the floor and grab it, tossing the map, the cuff and the metal object into it.
And there is the stupid keyring. Sitting in plain sight on a bookshelf to my right. It’s a
There’s no response from Daniel, or at least none I can hear, and the light goes off. The bar of light shining on the wall from the hallway narrows and then disappears as the door closes. A loud breath flows past my lips in one long whoosh. Daniel’s not one of the guards at the cells, that’s good news. Though if I get caught here… he’s the last person I want to run into besides Dane himself.
After a few more swipes with my fingernail, the edge of the tape lifts and I’m able to grasp it and pull it off, the key following. I scramble out from under the desk. My hands are shaky, so I miss on the first attempt to fit the key into the lock, but it slides in easily the second time. Another sigh of relief eases past my lips.
The drawer is nearly empty and I can tell at first glance that what I need isn’t in there. Still. No. Keyring. What is the point of the locked drawer if all it has in it is more useless paper? Dammit. I start to close the drawer, but something shifts in the back and I pull it back open. The drawer doesn’t open all the way so the far corners are hidden from view. Reaching my hand back, my fingers brush against cold metal. I grab the object and pull it forward out of the drawer.
It’s a….I have no idea. Vaguely round in shape and almost entirely smooth, the palm-sized object is not anything I’ve ever seen. It must have some use, maybe even something important, for it to be locked in the drawer. I pull it out, set it on the desk and reach back in.
Another brush of metal against my fingers, but this object is a little more identifiable. It’s a bracelet, no a cuff. Similar in style to what Lir called a kitu but with intricate engravings. It goes to the top of the desk as well.
The papers might be helpful too, so I pull on one of the stacks. Turns out it’s one piece of paper folded multiple times. The edges are yellow with age and it’s heavily creased. Placing it on the desk, I carefully unfold it. A map. Not just any map, one from before the Collapse. I trace the lines connecting all the cities, streets, roads, highways… The scope of it all amazes me. To think, there used to be so many people, so many cities, so much civilization.
My father taught me enough about before that I know this is a map of what used to be Virginia and I easily find what is now Bridgelake on it. Even better, I can navigate the lines and miles over to the nearest large city, the one taken by the E’rikon. A grin breaks across my face. This I know will come in handy.
My thumb pauses over a large red X, not something on the original map, but something written on it. I draw my eyes away from the route to Jace and study the rest of the map as well. There are four more X’s spread out across it, each one with numbers written next to it. 2,345… 1,506…3,124…3,003… And then there’s a large red circle around an area about 300 miles to our West. Inside it are the words “Population 11,537.”
Population of what? It can’t possibly mean people. Bridgelake is the largest remaining human settlement and there are only around ten thousand people here. And the X’s? Could they be population numbers too? Flint’s earlier words come back to me. The alien attacks. They’ve been wiping out settlements. All those people…. And they have Jace.
My hand slaps over my mouth to cover my gasp. I’ve got to get moving. There’s no time to waste.
I fold the map back hurriedly, cringing a little when it rips at one of the creases. It’s not going to fit into my dress, not without looking overly awkward. I need something to put it in. There are no folders or envelopes on the desk, but there’s a tiny, faded leather satchel sitting in the corner near the door. I cross the floor and grab it, tossing the map, the cuff and the metal object into it.
And there is the stupid keyring. Sitting in plain sight on a bookshelf to my right. It’s a
Similar Books
![Wendy's Wild Wolves [Shy River Pack 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)](https://fs.dianahicksbooks.com/527744/thumbs/152x264/wendys-wild-wolves-shy-river-pack-1-siren-publishing-menage-amour.png)
