First World (4 page)

I was speechless.

And the eyes, those amazing eyes, fringed with incredible, and probably unappreciated, thick black lashes. Every time he blinked, the lashes cast shadows along his defined cheek bones. My mouth hung open as I continued to unashamedly gawk. He was aesthetically beautiful but somehow still masculine. I felt extremely inadequate in the face of such perfection; it wasn’t natural.

“Sorry again.
I didn’t expect anyone to be in the forest. Well, other than Lucas.” His words brushed over me soothingly.

I guessed Lucas was the first person, the one I had actually avoided. I attempted to pull myself together. As a distraction, I began brushing off the leaves, pulling a few strays from my braid.

“I’m fine, no harm done.” Avoiding his gaze, I couldn’t help myself. “What’s your name?” I voiced the question I’d been waiting years to know.

“Brace
... Brace Langsworth,” he answered in a relaxed manner. A smile spread across his features.

Of course he had flawless white teeth; a blemish wouldn’t dare
mar his perfection. I had the uncanny feeling that he was somehow connected to the man from the alley. In small ways he reminded me of him. Something about the cadence with which he spoke and manner he held himself.

“Feel like returning the
favor? Your name?” His gaze never wavered.

“I’m Abby.”

There was so much more to say. Questions flew through my mind. But he had me stunned; I’d never met any person as instantly appealing as Brace. And it wasn’t the looks, which, don’t get me wrong, were a hundred percent sex appeal, yumminess. No, it was something more. Like the man from the alley, there was a comfort that shouldn’t be possible from a stranger. Shaking my head, I attempted to act like a normal person; I doubted Brace was privy to our dream familiarity.

As h
e stood, I couldn’t help but notice his grace and coordination. He offered me his hand. His eyes were daring me to trust him. Briefly hesitating, I placed my hand into his. He smirked as he engulfed my palm and pulled me to my feet. Expecting to be set free, I was stunned when he wrapped his right arm around my back and pulled me closer. Looking up into his perfect face, I knew there was nothing romantic in this embrace, nope, more like kidnapper.

“What are you doing in the royal forest, Abby?”

His tone was suspicious, which in no way detracted from the appeal of his accent. Who is this guy when he’s not making dream appearances? The forest police? Wiggling impatiently, I worked to free myself, and the entire time Brace scrutinized my features.

“I am going to say this one time o
nly, you giant behemoth. You have, like, thirty seconds to get your hands off me or we are going to have an issue.” I attempted to throw an elbow into his gut, but somehow he anticipated the move and managed to avoid it.

As I continued my pointless struggle
, his expression remained stern, but his eyes had lightened slightly. And, strangely, he relaxed his grip.

“Your accent is foreign. Where are you from? Surely you know that it’s a crime to be without displayed papers, especially in the royal forest.”

As he locked me in his stare, I forgot to breathe. Damn those amazing eyes. His brow was wrinkled slightly. Reaching forward, he brushed a lock of hair from my face. One of those wayward curls had escaped my braid.

“Who are you?” He said it
as more than a simple question.

Realiz
ing it was either breathe or pass out, I sucked in some air.

“I don’t understand your
ques –”

I didn’t get any further. Pain and darkness pressed in on me again and the disorientation was back. My v
ision blurred and I was pitched forward. Landing on my hands and knees, the concrete bit painfully into my palms. Where had I landed now? I opened my eyes. Just in time to be pulled to my feet.

“Where the hell have you been, Abby?” Lucy was furious, staring down like a tiny possessed demon.

She was shaking and tear tracks were defined on her cheeks. Her blond curls stood up, as they did when she was stressed and had been running her hands through them. She looked like hell.

“What do you mean?” I said calmly. “I was here, just passed out in the alley.”
Delusion, thy name is Abby.

“No, Abigail, you disappeared right before my eyes. You disappeared.” She confirmed our combined insanity. “I’ve gone crazy
...” She trailed off before bursting out again. “What the freaking hell happened?” She clutched my arm.

“You will not believe me.” I barely believed me and I was there.

“Try me.” Her tone was dry. “After the last twenty minutes, my mind’s wide open.”

Sinking down against the alley wall, I shook my head.
Lucy slumped down beside me.

“It started with this wicked head spin and pain; so much pain I blacked out. And what do I see when I open my eyes – forest.”

Lucy pulled back, her expression calm but her eyes turbulent.

“F
orest ... there are no forests near New York.”

“I know what I think happened. And if some type of hallucinogenic gas wasn’t just released in this alley –”

“And we can’t rule that out,” Lucy interrupted.

“Then I was just transported to my dreamland.” I finished in a rush.

Silence echoed throughout the alley.

“
I ... uh ... what?” She finally croaked out.

“Your expression right now says it all.”
I guessed that was the last thing she’d expected me to say.

“We are insane, Abby. This doesn’t happen in real life. People don’t disappear or transport to dream worlds.”

“Well, what’s your explanation?”

S
he stood and, with hands on her hips, looked around.

“We both died, dead as a doornail, and now we’re living in some type of weird alternative dimension of purgatory.”

Tears of laughter ran down my face. The shock had caught up to me. Lucy wasn’t really that funny.

Pulling myself together, I stood and attempted to straighten my clothes. As I brushed at my shoulder, three leaves drifted to the ground.

“Do you see them?” I said in barely a whisper.

“Holy mother of gold, Abigail.
Are they leaves?” She turned to me in horror before clutching me close. “Tell me everything.”

“I woke in the forest. It was the same as my dreamland, but so much more real. It was tactile. I could hear, smell, and touch. More three-dimensional than any dream I have ever had.” I paused for a minute. “And then he was there, Luce.” I winced at the painful memory. “It wasn’t exactly the first-meeting I anticipated.”

She knew precisely who I was talking about.

“You mean
... with your dream-world hottie?” She stomped her foot. “This is bull. All I ever dream about is horses dressed as knights, who are riding horses into battle, and weird little worms building mud houses. But Abigail gets to have full-on man-candy fantasies, which then come to life.”

“Seriously
, Luce? Let’s be grateful your dreams don’t come to life. Horses riding horses? How exactly does that work?”

“So the hottie finally has a name.” She ignored me.

“Yep, Brace Langsworth. And no man-candy fantasy was re-enacted. Although, it was sweet,” I smiled cheekily, “and just a little confusing.”

“Disappointing, more like
– if he’s as good looking as you say, then you wasted a perfect opportunity.”

I smiled. “He was better, Luce.”

She pouted. “That’s just mean. I want one, Abbs. Get me one.”

“Oh, yes, your majesty, I’ll get right on that.” I smiled. I wanted one too.

“But, more seriously, did I mention that he has the accent too?”

She shrugged. “Everyone you meet lately seems to have this accent.”

She made a valid point.

“You want to know what I
think? Something really strange is going on.”

She laughed. “Did you come up with that all on your own?”

Elbowing her, I bounced on my feet. “I think this place actually exists. Somewhere that is peaceful with green plants and hot jerky guys who run you down in the forest.”

“A secret, peaceful place that has escaped this war and we need to find it immediately.”

I glared, before realizing she was dead serious. No sarcasm at all.

She continued speaking
. “We also need to find the alley man. He said he was your watcher, and I’m going to loosely interpret that to mean guide slash taxi to dreamland.”

“Well,
color me shocked. I did not predict that reaction from practical old Lucy.”

While she
was an optimistic person, she didn’t do fantasy very well.

“Hey, I
’m open-minded. I’ve believed your crazy for years. What’s one more thing?” She smiled, her expression thoughtful. “I know how much you love your dreamland and I never said anything, but I’m secretly a little jealous. You had this whole world I could never be a part of, even if it was just in your crazy mind. But now, well, I’m going on a little bit of faith.”

“So we’re agreed
: stalk this alley until the man appears again.”

“Agreed.
And let’s call him Ralph. Alley man is not working for me.”

“Agreed.”

Ralph was not manly enough, not even close, but it would work for now.

We were both bouncing. Never for one moment of my life had I believed my dreamland was real. But now ... well, for the first time I was excited to turn eighteen.

It was reckless, but we hung around that alley as much as possible over the next three days. For once the streets were eerily quiet. No Gangers or rebels crossed our path. There was probably a rebel mission somewhere, which was a big-time Gangers’ distraction. That morning we waited as long as feasible before we had to leave to make it back in time for fight class.

Relishing the chance to work off some of my frustration, I stepped onto the blue mat with Chrissie. As one of the few girls near my height, we were often teamed up to fight. The compound
utilizes a combination of many old martial arts and defence styles. That day it was Muay Thai. Which was one of my favorites; it suited the long-limbed and toned litheness of my body. I might lack Lucy’s curves, but I utilized what I had.

I flexed my fingers; I may have wrapped my
wrists a little tightly that day, but they would loosen during the fight. We fight no-holds-barred; they prepare us well for the possibility that we are going to get our butts kicked as soon as we step onto the streets.

Chrissie and I faced off before bowing in the traditional manner. Our instructor nodded and as soon as Chrissie slammed her knuckles into mine I started to dance.
Muay Thai is light on your feet and constantly moving. She came straight at me; her style was direct.

I dodged the first jab from her left and kicked out. I managed to make contact with her thigh before she darted away. I followed close behind, throwing my own right hook, which she blocked. We continued in this manner, but
with my unrelenting direct attacks Chrissie was starting to slow. I had so much extra energy; there was no way she was taking me down.

After a few minutes of blocking, jabbing, back
-and-forth sparring, I managed to pass her guard, throwing out my right elbow and connecting soundly along her cheek. With a squeal she went down and appeared to be staying there. Looking up at me, one hand to her face, she grimaced.

“I concede. Abigail
’s on fire tonight.”

I laughed, rubbing a painful spot on my arm.
“You got quite a few good hits in yourself. I’m just glad that elbow missed your nose.” Reaching down, I pulled her to her feet.

She shook her head. “Tell me about it, plastic surgeon; I like my nose just the way it is.”

It’s not the nicest nickname; I’ve rearranged a few noses in my time. I might be a little competitive.

Bouncing off the fight floor, I dropped down next to
Lucy. I proceeded to unwind my straps, before throwing them aside.

“Well
, you enjoyed that a little too much.” She was lying on her stomach, arms tented in front of her with her face resting on her hands. Two other girls had stepped up for their round.

“I love fighting. I’m just glad my ribs are finally pain
free. It was so frustrating sitting out for the last few days.”

“I wish they would change the blue mats. They smell like sweaty ass.” She screwed
up her tiny nose. “Although it is incentive to stay on your feet.”

Gasping loudly, I shot to my feet. Gesturing to Lucy, I ran from the room. She was right behind me. How could I forget something so important? The moment she’d mentioned ‘blue mat’, the memory had been triggered. Reaching our room, I waited for
Lucy to step inside and then slammed the door shut.

“What.
The. Hell. Abbs.” She gasped each word out.

“I’m such an idiot.” I tried to keep the panic at bay. “I forgot until you mentioned ‘blue mat’. The woman in my dream, Luce, she told me to find the blue stone.”

“WHAT! How could you forget that?” she screeched. “Next time, write your dream down or something.”

She stopped scolding
; her expression was now shrewd. “Because if you had mentioned it before I could have told you that recently I’ve heard reference to a large sapphire rock.” She paused. “During some innocent eavesdropping. Could that be the stone you’re looking for?”

I narrowed my eyes in disbelief.
“Innocent? Don’t be ridiculous. What were you really doing?”

“Never
you mind, Abigail. More importantly, it was Olden I overheard; on a communication radio. I only caught the last part, but she said the sapphire’s location had been compromised.”

Well
, that was interesting. “Do you think it could be the same stone? Why would Olden have it?”

“No idea. As far as I know, Olden hasn’t left New York in twenty years. Maybe she’s from dreamland.” She shrugged.

“Yep, that would be my luck. Knew there had to be a catch.”

Lucy laughed. “Maybe the stone’s not significant to your
dream world, just something we need for our journey there.”

“Significant as in we need to sell it and make lots of money, or significant it will lead the way like a giant bat signal?”

Lucy shrugged. “Either way, we need to find it.”

“Easier said than done.
Olden doesn’t exactly advertise her secret hiding spaces.” A sudden thought gave me some hope. “Possibly, though, if her last hiding spot was compromised, then she may have moved it here for the interim.”

“
Although it’s suspiciously convenient, it was only last week she mentioned it.”

“Luce, what day is it?” I had a flare of excitement.

“It’s the twenty-sixth day of the eleventh month.”

“And what does Olden do for the last five days of every month cycle?”

Her face lit up in understanding.

“She leaves the compound to meet with the resistance.
Giving us all a much needed break from her delightful presence.” She smiled. “And we’ll have our best chance to find the blue stone.”

“New plan
– blow off all of our classes till we find the stone.”

Lucy
smiled and nodded. “Awesome, I like this plan. First thing we should do is pack a getaway bag.” She was way too excited about a possible mission.

Rushing around like a crazy person, I managed to gather my meagre possessions and haul them into a bag. Lucy was on her side
of the room, surrounded by clothes and shoes, moaning about what to leave behind.

“Just wear five sets, one over each other.”

She glared. “You’re not taking my pain seriously. It’s like leaving my children behind.”

She held up a pair of faded denim shorts with an intricate white cotton patterning over the pockets.

“These shorts are from 2010, Abigail. Do you know how difficult it is to get hold of vintage clothes?”

“Probably less difficult than trying to run through the streets with two tons on your back.”
I smiled at her glare. “Just saying.”

“You only ‘just say’ that because you have no idea what I do for them.”

I knew exactly who her contact was, but I let her have this little mystery.

“Toss a coin, Lucy, and let’s get this show on the road.”

I left her grumbling about being an orphan, having no coins to toss, best friends who have no idea of fashion, and went to have a quick shower.

Feeling so much better, I was jumping out just as Lucy appeared.

“You’ll be relieved to know I am now packed and have said my goodbyes.”

I heard a few sniffs as she closed the frosted glass door to the shower.

“That
’s a relief. The stress was almost too much to handle.”

There was no answer as I dressed in comfortable black sweats and runners. Either she was ignoring me or hadn’t heard
above the sound of the water.

Standing in front of the mirror, I ran a brush through my red hair, although when it was wet it was dark enough to look black. Once again I went for my trademark braid down my back. Lucy was finished now and dressed. She pulled her curls back into a high ponytail.

“I am so glad we got clean, only to start searching through god-knows-what to find a hiding spot.”

I laughed. “If we
’re lucky, the stone will just be sitting on her bed.” I held open the bathroom door for us to exit. “So, first obstacle: where do we begin looking? I was always under the impression that Olden sleeps in the rafters like a bat.”

Lucy
snorted. “Actually, Abbs, her room is on the next floor.”

“Good to know you’re clued in to where evil rests.”

“No special evil radars here. I helped her move some junk up there once. And by help I mean she stood to one side and gave orders while I lugged her crap up three stories.”

I
laughed drily. “Sounds like Olden. She thinks we’re her personal slaves.”

Dumping her towel down the chute
, Lucy nodded. “I cannot wait to be rid of this place.”

Leaving our packs on the bed, we shut the door to our room. It was easy to make our way unnoticed through the halls. And not because, as Lucy put it, we were stealthy. Everyone was still in class. Lucy led the way up a narrow staircase, before pausing at a small landing at the top.

“This is her suite.”
Grand gesture to the doorway.

“Of course Olden would have a suite,” I muttered. “Is the door locked?”

While lock-picking is in my repertoire of skills, I didn’t have our kit on hand. Lucy leaned forward and twisted the knob; it rattled a little but was definitely locked up tight. Reaching up, she brushed her hands along the doorframe. There was a tinkle and a small key fell into her palm. Smiling in triumph, she held it up.

“
Olden’s laziness finally came in handy; she didn’t bother changing her hiding spot.”

Leaning forward, she clicked the lock, pushed
open the door and bravely stepped into the unknown.

“Taking one for the team, Luce?” I followed her in.

“I got this one but you can have the next,” she smiled, “which is sure to be much worse,” she finished under her breath.

Over her head, I was visually exploring
Olden’s suite.

“One thought has immediately sprung to mind.”
My voice echoed around the room.

“Is it
– ‘what a thieving bitch’?”

It was a big room, huge actually, and it was full of very valuable food ration boxes.

“What is she doing with these ration boxes?” Lucy was outraged.

“If we find donu
ts or coffee in any of them, Luce, Olden’s a dead woman.”

At least thirty boxes were scattered haphazardly around a humongous four-poster bed. There was one other door.

Threading my way through the boxes, I yanked it open. Dull white tiles reflected back at me from the empty bathroom. There was a sheen of soap scum and dust layering the entire room. Moving inside, I opened the few drawers on the washstand, but they were all empty. Poking my head out, I saw Lucy was checking out the bed.

“I don’t think Olden stays here much. The
bathroom’s empty.”

“And there aren’t any sheets on this bed. So where does she sleep?”
Her voice was strained as she lifted the heavy mattress off the frame.

“My ‘bat in the rafters’ idea’s not so crazy now, is it?”

Moving toward the closest rations’ box, labelled in large black letters as ‘noodles’, I ripped off the tape. I stared at the contents. Shaking my head, I moved back to see the side again and then the contents again. There was something very wrong going on here.

“Uh, Luce, you better
get over here and see this.”

Finished her inspection
, she moved across the room to stand next to me and stared down in shock. “There appears to be some labelling mistake here.”

“Yep, I’ve never seen noodles quite like these.”

The box was full of hundred-dollar bills. Neatly bundled into huge chunks. Money still ran the rebels and gangs, so it was an incredibly valuable commodity.

“Holy shit!
We have to get out of here, Abbs. This is bad; very, very bad. People kill for much less money than this.” Panicky tones threaded in a high-pitched manner through her voice.

I grabbed her arm before she took off.
“We need to check the rest of them. I have to make sure the stone is not here.”

“Well, only one way to find out.”
Lucy shook me off and without pause upended the box onto the floor.

The bundles tumbled out in an avalanche.

“Nothing else in this one,” she said. “Let’s move on.”

We continued throughout the room.

“Why would she keep all of this money here? Not exactly a safe spot.” I wiped back a strand of hair that had fallen in my eyes.

Lucy
laughed sarcastically. “Where could be safer than in her bedroom that has a spare key sitting above the door frame?” She gave a shout. “I found something.”

Looking up from my box, I saw
Lucy had a chain dangling from her hand.

“It’s an engraved pendant. ‘
To our darling Lucinda. We will be back for you’.”