Read Online Children of Ash: A Meridian Six Novella by Jaye Wells - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jaye Wells
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angled my head over the side of the cot and threw up the potatoes I’d eaten earlier. Once my stomach was empty, I actually felt a little better. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I looked up.
A scrap of damp cloth appeared in my immediate vision, and just beyond that, Matri’s stern face. Snatching the cloth with a mumbled “thanks” I made quick work of cleaning myself. When done, I pushed myself into a seated position, but instantly regretted it as the pounding behind my eyes intensified.
“Probably a concussion.”
I wasn’t interested in discussing my health. “You were there.”
She looked away.
“You were standing there, watching, while they drained those children.”
“I was.” That was it. No denial. No excuses.
I spat on the floor to clear the taste of bile from my tongue. “Does that happen to all the children you care for ?” I put mocking emphasis on the last two words.
“Yes, Bravo, it does.”
Her refusal to apologize or rise to my bait enraged me. “How can you do that to them? They trust you.”
She pressed her lips together and looked at me with patient pity. “They trust me to keep them alive. That is exactly what I’m doing.”
“By draining them?” My raised voice ricocheted around inside my head like a bullet.
“Before I convinced the guards to use the current setup, they would snatch children from their beds and drain them dead.”
My mouth fell open, but she wasn’t done.
“Before I came along and convinced the camp director that he’d have an easier time meeting his quotas with more order, this place was an all-you-can-eat buffet for the guards. A slaughterhouse.” She sat on the cot next to me. I scooted as far away as I could get, still unconvinced she didn’t deserve a beating for her collusion with the guards. “I know what you saw was upsetting, but I assure you it’s ten times more humane than what would have occurred a few years ago.”
“You expect me to thank you for that?”
“No, I expect you to work with me to make sure no children ever have to be drained again.”
“What?”
She grabbed my hand and squeezed it until I stopped struggling to pull it back. “Did you wonder why I had you assigned to help me?”
I shrugged. “I gave up trying to understand your motivations around the time I saw you watching innocent children get drained.”
Her hand contracted painfully on mine. “Watch yourself. You’ve been in this camp for a few days. I’ve been here for ten years. You don’t know what I’ve seen. What I and the others have had to do to survive.”
The ferocity in her tone gave me pause. I’d had to do some unsavory things, too, but if what she said about the state of life in the camp was true, then I couldn’t begin to imagine what sort of terrible choices she’d had to make.
Once she saw that I got it, she continued. “When you arrived, you seemed convinced that someone was coming to save you.”
I nodded. “Zed. He’s coming.”
“You’re the first new arrival in years. Most of the rebel groups that get raided now are small groups of high bloods that band together. If they’re caught, they’re sent directly to the blood camps or to the Troika headquarters. We haven’t had anyone with allies on the outside come in a long time.”
She stopped and sighed. “I guess what I’m saying is, we haven’t had a reason to hope for a long time. Not since Icarus escaped.”
“Who?”
“He was one of us. A leader in the camp. He made a plan to escape, go get help, and come rescue the rest of us.”
“So what happened to him?”
“He escaped all right, but he never came back for us.” The pain in her voice was palpable, like acid on the ears.
We were silent for a long, heavy moment. Matri seemed lost in bitter memories, but I was busy worrying about the future. Zed would come, right? He had to.
Finally, she cleared her throat. “After Icarus left, I waited for a long time for him to come rescue us. At that
A scrap of damp cloth appeared in my immediate vision, and just beyond that, Matri’s stern face. Snatching the cloth with a mumbled “thanks” I made quick work of cleaning myself. When done, I pushed myself into a seated position, but instantly regretted it as the pounding behind my eyes intensified.
“Probably a concussion.”
I wasn’t interested in discussing my health. “You were there.”
She looked away.
“You were standing there, watching, while they drained those children.”
“I was.” That was it. No denial. No excuses.
I spat on the floor to clear the taste of bile from my tongue. “Does that happen to all the children you care for ?” I put mocking emphasis on the last two words.
“Yes, Bravo, it does.”
Her refusal to apologize or rise to my bait enraged me. “How can you do that to them? They trust you.”
She pressed her lips together and looked at me with patient pity. “They trust me to keep them alive. That is exactly what I’m doing.”
“By draining them?” My raised voice ricocheted around inside my head like a bullet.
“Before I convinced the guards to use the current setup, they would snatch children from their beds and drain them dead.”
My mouth fell open, but she wasn’t done.
“Before I came along and convinced the camp director that he’d have an easier time meeting his quotas with more order, this place was an all-you-can-eat buffet for the guards. A slaughterhouse.” She sat on the cot next to me. I scooted as far away as I could get, still unconvinced she didn’t deserve a beating for her collusion with the guards. “I know what you saw was upsetting, but I assure you it’s ten times more humane than what would have occurred a few years ago.”
“You expect me to thank you for that?”
“No, I expect you to work with me to make sure no children ever have to be drained again.”
“What?”
She grabbed my hand and squeezed it until I stopped struggling to pull it back. “Did you wonder why I had you assigned to help me?”
I shrugged. “I gave up trying to understand your motivations around the time I saw you watching innocent children get drained.”
Her hand contracted painfully on mine. “Watch yourself. You’ve been in this camp for a few days. I’ve been here for ten years. You don’t know what I’ve seen. What I and the others have had to do to survive.”
The ferocity in her tone gave me pause. I’d had to do some unsavory things, too, but if what she said about the state of life in the camp was true, then I couldn’t begin to imagine what sort of terrible choices she’d had to make.
Once she saw that I got it, she continued. “When you arrived, you seemed convinced that someone was coming to save you.”
I nodded. “Zed. He’s coming.”
“You’re the first new arrival in years. Most of the rebel groups that get raided now are small groups of high bloods that band together. If they’re caught, they’re sent directly to the blood camps or to the Troika headquarters. We haven’t had anyone with allies on the outside come in a long time.”
She stopped and sighed. “I guess what I’m saying is, we haven’t had a reason to hope for a long time. Not since Icarus escaped.”
“Who?”
“He was one of us. A leader in the camp. He made a plan to escape, go get help, and come rescue the rest of us.”
“So what happened to him?”
“He escaped all right, but he never came back for us.” The pain in her voice was palpable, like acid on the ears.
We were silent for a long, heavy moment. Matri seemed lost in bitter memories, but I was busy worrying about the future. Zed would come, right? He had to.
Finally, she cleared her throat. “After Icarus left, I waited for a long time for him to come rescue us. At that
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