Aberrant (16 page)

"Leave me alone!" I pushed back, feeling the
slight nick of the blade against my throat. I swept my foot back and kicked the
thief hard. Joshua came barreling at us full speed dropping the man to the
ground. The knife fell from the outlaw's hands, lodging in Joshua's foot. His
eyes went wide as he swallowed the scream before it emitted from his lungs.
Joshua no longer had the upper hand.

The stranger pulled the knife from Joshua's foot. It dripped
with blood as the man laughed darkly. He tossed it to the grass, his grip
around Joshua's throat strangling him. The stranger leaned forward reaching
Joshua's ear. "Do you know all the fun things I'm going to do with your
girlfriend?"

"Let him go!" I shouted, grabbing the knife as I
lifted it towards the man's throat.

"Or what?" He laughed, pushing off Joshua's body.
I was relieved to see the rise and fall of his chest – he was still alive. With
my attention on Joshua, he yanked the knife from my grip as I stumbled
backwards. "Now, you've angered me," he seethed with dark eyes as he
lunged at me with the blade. I fell backwards onto the grass. The man loomed
above and bent down, trapping me against the cold hard ground. My arms flailed
and feet kicked as I desperately fought back.

"Get the hell off me!" I screamed.
"Joshua!" I shouted, pleading for help. I was trapped.

Gasping for air, Joshua stumbled slightly as he gripped a
large rock, slamming it into the back of the outlaw’s head. It only took a
second for the man to fall unconscious against me. "Help me up!" I
didn't want to lie anywhere near the freak who had attacked us. Joshua rolled
the man off my body, and I jumped and took a quick step backward. "We
should get out of here before he wakes up."

"Not yet," Joshua shook his head. "Help me
get his shirt off."

"What?" My eyes widened. "What are you
doing?" I asked helping pull the shirt from the man's limp body. He was
breathing, but he wasn't conscious.

"I need a bandage for my foot." He gestured
towards the car. "Think you can drive?"

"Yes." I nodded, my hands visibly shaking.
"Let me help," I insisted as I wrapped an arm around his waist and
gently escorted him to the car. Once seated, Joshua took the shirt and ripped
it into four strips. The first soaked through with blood as he wrapped it
around his foot. He grabbed the second strip of cloth and continued bandaging
his injury, tying the end off in a knot as he saved the last two pieces for
later.

I grabbed the keys from him and waited until he had buckled in
before I shut the door and rushed to the driver's side. "Let's go!"  My
attacker hadn't moved since Joshua had hit him over the head, but I didn’t want
to hang around and find out if he would regain consciousness. I grabbed the
pack from the backseat and handed it to Joshua. "You're in charge of
directions," I instructed, backing the car away from the stream as we headed
towards the mysterious town on the map.

CHAPTER 14

I knew we were close. Though the darkness had enveloped the
city sky, the moonlight shone down on the buildings guiding me the last few
miles to town. I glanced at Joshua, seeing his eyes closed, I didn't have the
heart to wake him. I knew his foot hurt and the last thing I wanted was to
remind him of that pain.

I stepped harder on the gas, thrilled we’d made it within
sight of the village. I ached from being in the car so long. I craved a hot
shower and a comfortable bed.

As we approached the town, Joshua stirred. "We there?"
he mumbled, rubbing his eyes and seeing the town a hundred yards away. We were coming
in fast, so I slowed down.

"Is there a guard entrance?" I couldn't find one. This
town had no walls at all. I'd never seen a town like this, unafraid of the
outside. Although I'd only seen two towns in all my life, Genesis and Haven,
both had manned gates and walls protecting the people.

"Just head in there," he gestured towards one of
the roads that looked well-traveled. I moved onto the grass and toward the
road, slowing more as we drove into town.

"Where do you think we should go?" I asked, seeing
a few buildings ahead. None looked as well kept as Haven, or as tall, but it
was evident people lived here. Houses stretched along the road as we drove
further into the community, but all were dark. I opened my mouth, about to ask
Joshua which way to go when an older gentleman step out in front of the car. I
slammed on the brakes, careful not to hit anyone, and both of us jerked forward
in the vehicle as we came to an abrupt halt.

"Who are you?" The booming voice echoed, and my
eyes widened seeing a giant shotgun staring back at us through the windshield.

"We seek asylum," I spoke up, hoping we hadn't
made a grave mistake in our decision to come here. "We're from Haven. I'm
Jacqueline, and this is Adam. The government destroyed our town."

"Why should we help you?" the man with the shotgun
answered. He was older with salt and pepper hair and balding. Two burly men
blocked our doors, guns drawn. I swallowed nervously and shut off the car,
trying to prove we weren't a threat.

"We seek shelter and food," I told the older man who
stood in front of our vehicle. The headlights shone bright and I shut them off as
well. The man watched with hooded eyes, and I could hardly see more than his
silhouette as the darkness encompassed us. He seemed to be the leader and I
groaned in protest as the man beside me pulled open the car door, forcefully grabbed
my arm and dragged me out. "We just came for help!" I pleaded as they
pulled Joshua from the passenger side. "We'll leave if we're not welcome
here."

"How did you find us?" The older  man asked. "We
don't get visitors." His tone was harsh, unforgiving. I glanced at Joshua.
Had we made a mistake coming here?

Joshua spoke, unafraid to answer their questions. "Your
town was on a map back at Haven." The large man, likely a guard, dragged
me to the other side of the car beside Joshua as the leader stood in front of
us. I noticed Joshua grimace as he stood on his foot.

"Adam needs medical attention!" I announced
pointing at his foot. "He's injured. The least you could do is help him. Then
we'll leave."

"That isn't an option," the older man retorted as
he and one of the guards dragged Joshua into the nearest building.

"Adam!" I screamed watching as they dragged him
away. I tried to break free, pulling myself from their grasp, running towards
him only to feel my feet pulled out from under me. I hit the ground hard,
groaning in agony, tasting dirt in my mouth.

The guard that had pulled me out of the car snickered.
"Little good that did you." He helped me to my feet, his grip tight
on my forearm. "You're coming with me," he insisted, dragging me
towards another building on the opposite side of the road.

"No!" I screamed as loud as I could. "Adam!"
I shouted, "Please! Let me be with him!" I begged.

The leader paused and turned around. "Fine, go ahead
and bring her in," he gestured. "She'll wake the entire community,
otherwise." The guard let go of me and I rushed to Joshua, following him
up the final porch steps and inside the small cabin.

My eyes scanned our surroundings. I reached for Joshua,
finding his hand and gripping it gently. "How are you holding up?" I
whispered.

"Sore," he admitted.

"Sit," the older gentleman pointed to the bench at
the end of the wall, and Joshua willingly obliged. The candlelight illuminating
the small cabin gave me a better look at the older, more distinguished-looking
man. I guessed he was in his sixties with distinctive wrinkles around his eyes
and down to his cheekbones where his gray mustache and beard covered his face. He
had a harsh look to him, thin and muscular as though he still exercised even at
his age. "I'm Chancellor Collins," he informed us. "I'll have a
nurse take a look at Adam's foot," he said before walking out of the
cabin. I heard a clasp and knew he’d locked us in.

"So, what are you thinking?" I asked Joshua, scanning
the cabin. I wandered toward the far wall, trying to find what I could. I saw
nothing that could be used as a weapon, not even silverware in the empty
drawers. The room itself held a wood burning stove on the side wall and a door
to the left of Joshua that I assumed led to a bedroom. My fingers moved over
every crevice, wondering if I could find a way to escape.

"Other than we're probably not welcome here?" he joked.
"I don't know why they won't let us leave, but I'm sure they have their
reasons."

"You're not worried?" I turned to look at him.

Joshua shook his head. "Not yet. After everything we've
already been through," he stared at me, "I'm just glad we're
together. "He always had a way of being optimistic even when everything
seemed to be falling apart.

"Yeah," I sighed, sitting down with him on the
bench. Across from us was a long wooden table, situated in the center of the
room. I wondered if anyone lived here. It didn’t seem like it. Which made me
even more curious, where had they gone? "Do you think I'm out of line if I
suggest something?"

"Don't know until you tell me," Joshua remarked.

I sighed. "I'm worried they'll separate us. Like back
in Haven," I admitted.

Joshua shook his head. "They won't do that."

I raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"

A hint of a smile played on his lips. "I won't let them,"
he promised.. "So, what was your suggestion?" He brushed me with his
elbow.

I glanced at him, biting down on my bottom lip. "What
if we let them know we're already together? Maybe they won't question it and
won't find the need to separate us?"

"Now that you're Jacqueline," he reached out
pushing a strand of red hair behind my ear, "I don't think anyone will
care." I knew he had to be right. The only reason Haven’s council had
obsessed with who I should marry was because they knew my true identity. I
could never let the people here find out I was Olivia Parker.

He softly kissed my lips, and my fingers trailed to the nape
of his neck, pulling him tighter. "Whatever happens," he breathed,
"I love you."

I laughed softly against his lips. "I know." The
grin spread across my face, matching his.

I pulled back hearing the latch on the front door unclasp. I
quickly glanced at Joshua, wondering who it could be when a woman in her
thirties opened the door. She stepped inside the cabin, looking Joshua over as
she saw the messy bandage affixed to his foot. I could only assume she was the
town’s nurse. "How did this happen?" She glared at him, then me as if
I somehow had caused his injury.

Joshua sighed. "We were bathing out in the river before
we found our way into town. I slipped on a rock."

"Right." She shook her head as she removed the
first piece of cloth and saw the blood had seeped through the second. "This
doesn't look like a little slip." her intense stare landed on me.

"It is if it was caused by a knife," I remarked
eyeing Joshua. Why was he lying to her? Even if he'd killed the outlaw, he'd
done it to protect me. It was our life or the stranger’s.

"You did this to him?" she accused.

My eyes widened. "What? No! Of course not." I
shook my head, vigorously, "We were attacked by the river bed. We'd just
finished swimming and some stranger demanded the car keys. He came at me with a
knife."

She raised one eyebrow, curious by my behavior. "And you
thought it was a good idea to fight him off?"

"I thought we'd die out there," I answered sharply,
defending what we'd done. "The man threatened to take me with him. He
would have killed us both if we hadn't stopped him."

"Stopped him." She nodded. "I see." She
grabbed a candle, handing it to me. "Hold this for better light." I
didn't object. I held it, careful not to burn anyone as she unwrapped the last
bloody bandage and examined the wound. "It's pretty deep. I'll put on some
ointment and wrap it for you. Don't put a lot of pressure on your foot, and
it'll heal faster. I'll be back tomorrow to check on your bandage."

"Thank you," Joshua breathed. She was careful and
precise as she tended to his injury.

"Don't thank me just yet," she replied. The nurse finished
wrapping his foot and without another word from her, she stood and headed for
the door.

I glanced at Joshua wondering what was going on. Could we
leave? The keys had been in the car. If we were lucky, it was still outside.

A moment after the nurse left, Chancellor Collins returned.
I was grateful the gun wasn't in sight. "Now that we have that taken care
of," his temper seemed short, abrupt. "I want to know everything
about where you've been and who you are," he stared intensely at us.

"I'm Jacqueline, this is Adam." I offered. "We're
from a town east of here, Haven," I repeated eyeing him skeptically. I
didn’t feel like confiding in him would help us, but I also knew we didn’t have
much choice. At the moment, we were prisoners, whether we wanted to be or not. I
sighed, finally answering him, "The government came in to Haven, drones
bombed the city and soldiers arrived on foot. We managed to escape by stealing
a vehicle." I wasn't entirely proud of what we'd been through but we did
what we needed to survive.

The Chancellor narrowed his eyes. "And you found us? A
city not on any map?"

Joshua spoke out, "Not true! I have the map in the car.
We found it at the museum in Haven."

Chancellor Collins considered his words, quiet for a moment.
"Why are you here?" his tone more than just slightly suspicious, and
I wondered why he cared. What did they have to hide?

"We're searching for a home together," I reached
for Joshua's hand. "Ours was destroyed. We're also seeking asylum. Can you
grant us that, please?" I hated begging, I always felt it was beneath me,
but if I had to get down on my hands and knees, and kiss Chancellor Collins’
dirty boots, I would. I did not want to go back to the Gravelands.