Blood & Bone [Book Three of The City of Eternity Series] [✔]

3.20: Malice

As I ventured deeper into the woods, the sound of Kalin grew quieter. Hopefully, he'd managed to get to his feet and breath through the pain, rather than the more heart-breaking alternative. The sprawling lights shimmered brighter as the distance between me and Central reduced; the heart of our city, the once beacon of hope, was beckoning survivors to the core.

The air was heavy with the acrid scent of smoke and decay, and an eerie silence hung in the atmosphere. The ground crunched beneath my feet, the soil parched and barren, the winter sucking the life from the greenery. A sickly haze hung low, the rays of sunlight barely penetrating through. As I pressed forward, I caught wind of a group just up ahead, their whispers being carried on the gusts of wind and reaching my ears just enough for me to follow.

I couldn't help but taste that disgustingly bitter scent of iron and sugar on my tongue. This group, I feared, was not a friendly one. The smell of smoke was growing stronger, my eyes struggling to cope as I made my way through. Each time I blinked; taking longer each time, I would open them to a far deeper, stinging pain.

I crouched behind the gnarled trees, hoping the elevation above the clearing was enough to keep me concealed at my vantage point. The group were dressed in tattered, black garments that blended into the shadows of the woods. Their movements were cautious, each one moving in uncanny unison, taking steps at a time while staring into the woods with eyes gleaming with malice. A chill ran down my spine as I watched them, their cloaks embellished with intricate golden thread; symbols I didn't recognise, but I had to believe belonged to the 'New World Order' that threatened the zone.

The majority of the group was loitering in the middle of the clearing; the ones not walking in circles were sitting on the ground, staring up towards the sky blindly.  I considered the reasons for the pause; why had they chosen this clearing to linger in? Perhaps they were waiting for orders? Maybe another explosion? Then again, so close to the walls, maybe they'd managed to get themselves stuck - it was more than possible Central had managed to draw enough forces to push them back.

What caught my eye were the two anomalies to the group; first, the two women in the back of the clearing. They were strewn over a couple of cages recklessly stacked on top of each other, whispering to themselves. As a pair they were missable; kept to themselves and held tightly to their cloaks. What was less missable, was the handful of people bound inside of the cages; most bloody and beaten. I didn't quite recognise anyone inside, which, if anything, made it slightly worse, simply because the people I knew of, ran in this direction, and yet none had ended up here.

The other anomaly, I presumed, was the 'leader' of the group, wearing a slightly lighter grey cloak, standing off to the side of the clearing. He was leaning against a stack of crates, glaring down at the woman who'd recently parted Kalin's side. He was gripping her hair tightly and seemingly berating her in hushed tones; her defiant expression speaking volumes to the conversation.

"I don't care, Chisi," The woman hissed, pushing him firmly, square in the chest. He raised his hand up, ready to strike the woman.

It was then I saw a man creep out from the tree line and gingerly walk towards the group, there was a minuscule amount of confidence in each of his steps - just enough to keep him upright, I imagined. They'd avoided the government patrols and informants and wilfully walked into the arms of their peers, only for those peers to be holding freshly sharpened daggers.