Cursed by the Gods

Chapter 19

They were moving fast. I could feel them now, drawing further and further away. I spun on my feet, narrowly missing a passing dweller, and sprinted through the dining hall toward the back doors. People jumped out of my way, but the furniture wasn't so intuitive. I smacked hard into the side of a table, which sent me spinning in the opposite direction. I went over a chair, and then my face was slamming into the ground. Dark spots flashed over my eyes, the pain seizing up my body into small convulsions. I could hear Emmy and Willa screaming my name. She was getting closer.

I forced my head to clear, forced my body to stop shaking as I drew myself to my feet, and then I was struggling toward the door again. There was a cut on my leg, blood dripping down my calf. It reminded me that I wasn't wearing pants, only Rome's shirt, which admittedly looked like a dress, but still ...

"Riles" It was only a statement. Not a question. An acknowledgement. I needed help, and my best friends were going to give it to me.

Willa linked her arm through mine and I leaned a good deal of my weight on her, raising a shaky finger to point toward the back door. She started to drag me that way, her head tucked down and her stride purposeful.

For once in her life she didn't trip over. Emmy lead the way, as though she would be able to trick the surrounding sols and dwellers into thinking that there was nothing out-of-the-ordinary going on. It almost seemed to work, too. Some of them turned away from us, going back to their meals.

We cleared the dining room and I pointed again, showing Emmy the way to the Abcurses dorm rooms. It was much faster with her and Willa half carrying me than it was to walk on my own. I gained strength with each step, which meant that we were moving in the right direction, if nothing else. When we were in the hall outside their rooms, I tugged on Emmy's arm, and we stopped moving. I drew her to one of the supply closets, able to walk on my own now, and gently pushed her inside. We sent two of the cleaning carts into the hallway to make room and then closed the door, sitting against it in the darkness.

I realised my mistake too late after the door shut on us.

"Riles ..." she started again.

"I'm okay." I sighed, dragging my hands over my face. "I need a bath, and something to wash out my mouth, but I'm okay."

"Don't tell us you're ok after watching that spectacle. You nearly passed out in the middle of the hall!" Willa shouted. I smiled and shook my head at her, yeah, we had a lot in common. Her clumsy curse was as well renowned as my ability to always land us in trouble.

"You can tell us what's going on, or I can sing Leader Graham's stupid Settlement Anthem until your ears bleed. Your choice."

"Harsh." I cringed, but followed it with a laugh. It was almost nice to think about Leader Graham and all of his hair-brained plots to make the dwellers more like the sols. Life had been much simpler then.

"Hey don't drag me into this torture I thought we were supposed to be interrogating Riles not me" Willa said inching away from Emmy.