Red as the Dawn

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

It was midday when Shade appeared in the tiny camp that Gisa and I had occupied for the past hour. He looked agitated and jumpy, his eyes searching the shadows around us for something, and his lips were drawn down in a deep frown. The toddlers all screeched in joy and ran towards him, forcing him to crouch down and give each and every one of them a fake smile. He ruffled the hair of a small boy and made his way to me, with no deviation from his path. Gisa oohed next to me, and then teased me, her words barely a whisper, "you must be in very deep trouble."

I scowled at her and then straightened up from my knees where I was playing with a small girl to catch a glimpse of Shade as he made his way to us. It had taken a few weeks for the kids to persuade me to play with them, and there hadn't been an incident yet, but I was waiting for one.

As my brother continued to approach me, I rose to meet him head on. He stopped when he was almost toe to toe with me and murmured, "you're needed in the war room."

My brow rose in surprise and Gisa glanced at us from her prone position next to an old woman who she was sewing with. The little girl I had been playing with leaped to her feet and grabbing onto my leg, cried up to me, "do the lightening thing Mare!"

I offered her a weak smile and pulling her arms off of my legs I replied sternly, "I'm feeling a little too tired, maybe another time."

She pouted at my avoidance and then slipped over to Gisa, and after climbing into her lap, began pestering her with questions about me and everyone in our family. Shade watched the toddler sadly for a moment and then motioned for me to follow him. I pursed my lips tightly and we began the trek back to the heart of the compound. Shade glanced over his shoulder at me and then advised, "you shouldn't use your ability around the kids, they'll get ideas-"

"I don't, I'm not stupid Shade." I chided, as I side stepped a young man who was watching his mother sew up the patches in his uniform. Shade seemed to see the worry that flashed through my eyes, and with a soft tone he whispered, "no one under the age of twenty is allowed out of the compound, we learned our lesson with the capital."

"Kilron goes out," I argued, my fist clenching at my friends stupidity. Shade frowned at my reply and then with a shrug, he pointed out, "he has a death wish, and Farley lets it stand, but it won't for long." His eyes turned downcast as we passed the small infirmary that housed the sick and dying. A few distinguishable moans could be heard and I saw Shade's shoulders tense as we passed it. Sometimes I forgot that Shade had fought on the front lines, and that he had seen more death than I had. He hid his memories of the front so well.

As we were leaving the edge of the camp, a small form slipped out of the shadows and whispered, "Mare?"

Shade glanced to the side with me as we both paused and saw Maggie step out to intercept us. She looked so tiny, and she was shivering slightly, her empty eyes staring between me and Shade. My brother blinked in surprise at Maggie's ability to know it was me, and with a soft whisper, he questioned her, "I don't believe we've met, what's your name?"

She blinked at him for a second, her brows furrowing before she whispered, "Maggie, and I know you, you're Shade."

To my brother's credit, he didn't freak out as much as I had. He blinked though, dumb found for a second at Maggie's knowledge. Instead of speaking to him again though, she stepped towards me and motioned for me to crouch down so that I was eye level with her. I followed her unspoken command and as soon as I was low enough, she whispered, "be careful Mare, something bad's coming."

I raised my brow in question and replied softly, mostly to appease her, "what's coming?"

She shook her head as if she were shaking water out of her ears at my uninterested tone, and replied, "I couldn't tell you, something bad. It hurts my head to think about it."