Beneath the Shadowlanders

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Genevieve

Seeing Orion and Calista with their father makes me miss my mother even more. I can't help but feel jealous, and I know it's unfair to them, but I hate them just a little bit for having what I will never have again.

I glance over at Gabriel and I know he's feeling it, too. The look on his face tells me everything I could need to know. I summon up all of the strength within me to smile encouragingly, even though deep down my heart is breaking all over again.

After a long while, we hear a rap on the door. We all look at each other nervously. I know we're all thinking the same thing.

If it's Nashua, we need to open it immediately to let him in so he doesn't get caught by the soldiers. But what if it is one of the soldiers? We could all end up arrested. It's David who finally makes the decision. He stands and opens the door just a crack. As soon as he does, the door bursts open and three soldiers come in, guns at the ready.

Calista screams. Gabriel and Orion rush up to help David. The soldiers start shouting orders and profanity. Everything is a blur. I don't know how we finally all end up sprawled out across the floor in a line, but we do. The soldiers handcuff us together and lead us out of the shelter. I turn around at the last second and see one of the other soldiers throwing books off my shelves into a pile.

"Hey, be careful with those!" I shout, but I'm shoved roughly out the door before I get a response. Deep down, I know I'll never see them again anyway, but it's the principle of the thing.

We're dragged down the street like a chain gang and led into a transport vehicle driven by a gruff-looking officer who appears to want to be here even less than we do. The back doors of the vehicle are closed and we can't see out at all as we're whipped around corners along the way to wherever we're going.

What seems like hours later, the doors are opened to reveal blinding sunlight coupled with blinding floodlights – overkill, much, guys? – and a massive field of tents and scouts. There must be hundreds of people here. Most of them ignore us, but a few stare as we pass. It occurs to me that other than David, we're still mostly in our scout uniforms. They probably think we were deserters or something. I suppose we technically are, I realize. We're led down a dirt path to a large tent with a table in front of it.

"Found them over in sector sixteen," announces the soldier leading our way. "Hiding out in some kind of shelter. We think there's a chance there may be more of them."

"Are those scout uniforms?" asks the soldier manning the table, looking us over. He doesn't wait for a response. "Maybe they're deserters. We'll have the commander come take a look-see. In the meantime, we'll put them in the tent with the others."

"Yes, sir."

They ask for our names and we give them false ones, and then we're shoved inside the tent, which is already surprisingly crowded. About half of the people inside are in uniform like us. Deserters must be a common problem, I suppose.

We're seated on the ground along one side of the tent and one side of each of our handcuffs are transferred to a metal bar that appears to have been half buried and packed down tightly – so we can't escape, presumably.

As soon as the soldiers leave, the bickering starts.

"This is all your fault," Gabe whisper-shouts at David. "You never should have opened that door."

"I had to," he responds at the same volume. "It could have been Nashua. If he'd been left out there and spotted, it could have been a disaster."

"Yes, and now he'll end up stuck out there anyway. Or worse, he'll get into the shelter, only to find half a squad of soldiers in there ransacking the place. Just how calmly do you think he'll react to that?" The contempt is dripping from my brother's voice.