Read Online The Burn by Annie Oldham - Free Book Online Page B

most—memories with
her, doing nothing, talking, singing, laughing. The only fun I ever
managed to have in the colony was with her. Because of her. And now
that part of me will be buried forever.
    “Terra, do you understand?”
    Gaea has a look of knowing in her eyes, and my temper
flares. How can she know what I feel?
    But I bring the anger to a simmer and I nod. I will
bury the feelings for Jessa, the longing and sadness deep in a
grave in my heart and leave those skeletons there for always.
    “Not a problem.”
    Then Gaea reaches over to a table by the monitors and
faces me with a gleaming scalpel.
    “I don’t think you understand, Terra. You will be unable to speak of the colonies. Open your mouth.”
    My jaw clenches. I fall over myself and scrabble
along the floor. Now I seriously doubt Gaea’s sanity and her
ability to help me. My mouth runs dry as she stalks me with the
scalpel held by white knuckles.
    “That’s the only way?” I choke out, never taking my
eyes off the sharp blade.
    “I think your sister is the most precious thing to
you. What would you do if you accidentally gave her away? If you
were sleeping one night and spoke out in dreams of her at the
bottom of the sea? If those sleeping by you heard such a thing?
Would you risk Jessa that way?”
    I stop at the door. This is the sacrifice she wants
me to make. She must have dreamed of it all along. This is the
price I will pay to earn my way to the Burn and protect the
colonies. To protect Jessa. To seal her away forever. My dad’s
words come floating to me again. “Anything worth having is never
easy.”
    I stand up, taking an hour-long minute to straighten
my knees and shoulders and look Gaea in the face.
    “Fine.”
    Gaea’s green eyes bore into mine, and they flash once
as they look for any trace of—what? Regret? She will find that
etched all over me. Or maybe deception. To know that I can keep
everyone down here a secret. Or maybe certainty. To know that this
is what I want. Whatever she finds on my face leaves her satisfied,
and she motions for me to sit on the wicker chair again, next to
the burner. The metal piece on it shimmers in the heat.
    “Now that’s settled,” she says, wrenching open the
door to the supply room. She rustles for a few moments in there,
and comes back with a syringe and a vial. She smiles
condescendingly at me.
    “I’m not a complete witch, you know. I will give you
a little anesthetic.” She stabs the needle into the vial and pulls
back on the plunger. “Now open your mouth.”
    The moment of hesitation grips me before I can steel
myself. I freeze to the chair, icy fear seizing my muscles into
paralysis. Gaea clucks her tongue.
    “A tongue is a small price to pay for your dream,
isn’t it?”
    My tongue is the only muscle I can move. “What will I
do up there if I can’t talk to anyone?”
    Gaea rubs down the scalpel with a disinfecting wipe.
She shrugs her shoulders. “My dear, you have a lovely face and a
lovely figure. You have very expressive eyes. You’ll do just
fine.”
    She tosses the wipe on the floor and steps closer to
me with the scalpel in one hand and the syringe in the other. The
burning in my stomach moves to my chest, and suddenly I can move my
arms. But still they grip the arms of the chair. She binds me with
her logic and my burning need to leave the colony.
    “Now open your mouth.”
    Slowly I unclench my jaw and open it just a fraction.
Gaea chuckles.
    “That will never do. Do you want me to wrench it open
for you?”
    I open the rest of the way, and Gaea pricks the
needle into the top of my tongue at the back of my mouth. I wince
at the sting. Then she pricks with the needle again and again
around my tongue, numbing the whole area. By the time she’s done, I
can’t feel anything. She puts the syringe on the dresser and pulls
a white towel from a drawer and holds it under my mouth.
    “There will be quite a bit of blood, so keep your
mouth open wide as you can. I’ll