Vigo's Lament: A Dystopian Thriller (Age of End Book 3) (14 page)

She stopped pacing and sat next to him. “That’s a long time. What do you do? What have you seen?”

“I’ve seen many things. Oceans, deserts, mountains, valleys. You name it.”

Her face glowed with awe. “I want to see it all. I only know the Spire. Daddy never let me leave. I’ve seen a view of the City from his office, but that’s it. I’ve read books about different places. I can only imagine how beautiful they are.”

“You’ve seen the ocean now. What did you think?”

“It was amazing. The air. The smell. Everything about it was perfect.”

Vince nodded. “It was very beautiful. You’ve seen the beach, and the snow plains as well.”

She bounced up and down. “I know. It was so much fun. The sand felt really neat, and the snow was different than I imagined, but I liked it. The trees in the forest were pretty too. They smell really nice.”

“Yes, I suppose they do.”

“I want to see more. What’s the desert like?”

“For the most part, it’s miserable. The desert is not a place to get lost.”

Izzy shrugged. “I still want to see it. I want to see everything.”

“Well, I’ve seen just about everything in the time I’ve been given. It loses its thrill after a while.”

“Do you get bored?”

He thought about the question. “I get tired.”

“Tired of what?”

“Everything. Waking up. Traveling. It’s all so tiring.”

She looked up with a cheery smile. “Then go to sleep.”

“I can’t. I have to watch you. It’s important that you’re safe. I have to protect people like you from people like Simon and Jonah. There are always people like them who need to be watched.”

“I’ll be okay on my own. You don’t need to look after me. We can tag team. I watch you while you sleep and then we switch.”

“Tag team?”

“Yeah. You can’t stay awake forever. We can take turns.”

Vince gave it some thought. He had never considered letting her keep watch, but he saw no reason not to. Still, something about it made him uncomfortable. “I should stay awake. At least for now.” He watched her thumbs twiddle about. “You said you’re bored? Let’s play a game.”

She popped up with excitement. “A game? What game?”

“Here, we’ll make sentences. I’ll say a word, then you say one, and we’ll see how the sentence turns out. Ready?”

She nodded and flashed a large smile.

If. I. Had. A. Flying. Dog. My. Life. Would. Be. Complete.

They laughed at the ridiculous sentence they had formed.

“I’ve always wanted a dog,” Izzy said. “I’ve see pictures, but never one in real life.”

“They can’t fly,” Vince said, snickering to himself. “You know that, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. But a girl can dream. Let’s do another one.”

“Okay. You start this time.”

Whenever. I. Eat. My. Tummy. Tries. To. Escape.

They shared another laughing fit. This sentence was more ridiculous than the last.

“One more,” she said. “It’s your turn to start.”

How. Do. We. Know. What. The. Time. Is. If. You. Don’t. Go. To. Sleep.

Vince shot a suspicious glare. “Are you trying to get me to go to sleep?”

“Maybe,” she said.

“You’re a sneaky one. Okay, you win. I’ll sleep for a little bit. Not for too long, though. And when I wake, we’ll switch.”

“Tag team,” she said.

“Right. Tag team.”

He took his spot against the wall and stretched his legs. His fixed his eyes on Izzy, who stared back.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep watch. I’m good at it. I promise.” She spun around and vigilantly peeked through the bars.

“If anyone comes, wake me up.”

“Yes, sir.”

Vince’s eyes drooped as a wave of fatigue washed over him. He did not fight it, but instead, embraced it. After all, he had been through, it was nice to have someone else watch after him. His body slumped over, and sleep took control.

TWENTY-FOUR

THE SUN POKED out from beneath the horizon, as Alan steered the cage to the edge of the woods. He slowed to a stop and hopped to the snow. He gazed into the thick forest. With trees and roots scattered about, there was no room for the cage to fit.

“I guess I’m going on foot from here.”

He was exhausted, but he managed a light jog. The snow was hard to run in, but time was important. Puffs of breath blew from his lips with each huff for air.
I should really get in shape
, he thought. He had been awake for almost twenty-four hours. Sleep chased him, trying to pull him down, but he fought it off with all his effort. His joints ached. His head hurt. But he did not care. Lives were at stake.

He hoped to convince Rupert and Ella. He was not so much worried about Rupert. It was Ella who would need persuasion. If she was still sour at Vince, things would be much harder. But she also cared for Vince, regardless of how angry she was. It would take some effort, but he could convince her.

A part of him was excited to return, and the other was terrified. He wanted to see Ella and Rupert. He was sure they would happily welcome him back, but they might also scold him for leaving in the first place. Regardless, he was looking forward to seeing their faces. Fred’s, as well.

The sun was now up, and the tree shadows stretched far in front of him, causing a collage of light and dark on the blank canvas of snow. He stepped in the prints from their previous trip, but it was difficult to do so while running. He remembered Barnabus’ special snow shoes and regretted leaving them back in the cave. Then, he remembered the vicious wound on Vince’s feet and decided his boots were not so bad. It was better than nothing.

He reached the end of the woods and saw the cabins in the distance. Smoke rose from the chimneys, a sign that the cabins were occupied. The Spire folk were settled into their new homes. The vast difference from the City to Snow Peak would have been jarring.

“No more temperature control,” Alan said to himself. “Now just good old hand built fires.” He moved toward the village, yelling and waving his arms. “Ella! Rupert!”

Ella was chopping wood when she heard him. She looked up and saw him running out of the woods. She wiped the sweat from her brow and glanced back as Rupert stepped out from his cabin. Fred was comfortably perched on his shoulder.

Rupert crossed the road and walked past Ella. “What is this all about?” He marched out and met Alan in the middle. Ella leaned her axe against the wall and followed.

Alan stumbled in the snow and fell to his knees, gasping for air. Rupert bent over and helped him to his feet.

“Alan, you look terrible,” Ella said. She studied the streaks of blood on his face, and the deep red stains coating his hands. “Are you okay? You’re covered in blood.”

His breath leveled out. “It’s not my blood. I needed to get here fast, so I cleaned off that bloody cage.”

“What’s so urgent?” Rupert asked.

“Charlotte’s dead. Vince and Izzy are captured.”

Ella shook her head. “Simon, that bastard.”

“No,” he said, “Simon’s dead too.”

“What?” she exclaimed. “Simon’s dead? How?”

“Vince snapped. He went berserk and drained the man.”

“If Simon’s dead, who locked them up?” Rupert asked.

“Simon’s grunt turned on him. Jonah.”

“Good old crooked tooth,” Ella said.

“He wants to continue the tests, but he needed Greene out of the way. He said Greene was doing things wrong. He was holding back. So now Jonah is taking over, and he’s starting with Izzy and Vince. He wants to slice the girl’s head open.”

“Why would he want Izzy?” Ella asked.

“She’s special,” Alan said. “I have a feeling you already knew that. We found a journal written by Greene. It says she was an experiment. She was conceived in a lab and raised in a test tube. Her brain has mutated, and Jonah thinks it’s the key to immortality or something like that.” He shook his head. “You know, I’m getting really sick of this immortal mumbo jumbo.”

“He sounds much worse than Greene,” Ella said with disgust. “Delusional, even.”

“He is.”

“What happened to Charlotte?” Rupert asked.

“She saved Izzy, but she didn’t make it out. She bought both of them more time, but I don’t know how much. That’s why we need to hurry. We have to go back and help them. I can’t do it on my own. I need my family.”

Rupert looked at Ella, “This is something we need to discuss first.”

“What is there to discuss?” Alan asked. “Vince is our friend. He needs our help.”

“There are things to consider. We already know the City is dangerous. Two of our friends have died. We can’t charge in blindly at the risk of losing more people.”

“If we don’t go back we
will
lose more people. We’ll lose Vince. We’ll lose Izzy.”

“They’re not the only ones at stake,” Rupert said. He had a natural way of commanding authority. “You could die. Ella could die. That place is a deathtrap and every time we go, someone gets killed.”

“I know our track record isn’t great,” Alan pleaded. His voice was frail in comparison, “but Vince would do the same for us.”

“Would he?” Ella asked.

“Of course he would. What are you saying?”

“He let our whole village get murdered,” she said. “All he cared about was Greene. He didn’t consider us.”

“That’s not true, and you know it. What about the girl? She doesn’t deserve this.”

Rupert looked down at his feet. “It is a shame she got dragged into this.”

Ella had no answer. She knew Alan was right. They needed to save Izzy. It was something she had argued with herself for the past few days. Not long ago, she yelled at Trevor for not caring, but had since changed her mind. She knew her gut was right. She knew returning to the City would lead to more death, but now Alan’s words made sense to her. Regardless of how mad she was at Vince, he was a friend. She could not abandon him.

“If you don’t come, I’ll go alone,” Alan said. “It’s the right thing to do. Deep down, I think you already know that.”

She met his eyes. “Damn it. Okay, I’ll come.”

Rupert nodded. “I’m in too.”

Alan jumped in the air. “Yes! Come one, let’s go. There’s no time to waste.”

“Let us gather supplies first. I’ll pack some food. You look hungry. Ella, go find Trevor and tell him we’re leaving. Someone needs to be in charge while we’re gone. He’s a good candidate. The people already look to him for guidance. And take Fred with you.” He handed her off. “She’s not coming out with us. Not after what she’s been through.”

“Right,” Ella said, taking Fred and running off.

Alan nodded. “Make it quick. Time is ticking.”

TWENTY-FIVE

VINCE KEPT WATCH as Izzy slept. It was the second half of what Izzy had called their
tag team
. He sat against the wall, peering through the bars at the faintly lit void of the cell room. More voices had joined the single distant prisoner. Their cries and nonsense echoed through the hollow core of the room.

He ignored the faded calls from the surrounding cells and pondered about where he was. All of his life events led him to this cell, sitting with the daughter of the man he once hated. What was the point of it all? He had built a specific set of principles, but in a single moment, he threw it all out in a fit of rage. He had vowed to never drain a human, but he drained Simon in an instant.

He could call it revenge or justice, but he knew it was neither. It was something he had been running from his entire life. Something he denied ever existed. It was a fear of death.

For the first time in his life, he knew he was afraid. He was stuck in a loop that would never end. He would never stop draining. If he had no reason, he would make one up. While Saul found comfort in his last moments of life, Vince was not so sure he could do the same. Not if he kept on the same path. Jonah would force him to drain for his tests, and if he escaped, he would drain anyway.

He glanced at Izzy, who was peacefully sleeping at the other end. He pressed his fingers against the pill shaped lump in his pocket. Saul had a bullet lodged in his lung, forcing him to embrace his death. This pill could be Vince’s bullet. It could be his unstoppable force that drives him to death. It could finally end the vicious cycle. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out, holding it delicately in his hand.

He rolled it in his palm, watching the powder tumble inside. His arm was shaking against his control. He placed the pill on the ground to his side and glanced back at Izzy. There was nothing he could do. Her life would come to a tragic end at the hands of Jonah. She would die whether he was there or not.

No one would miss his presence. Saul was no longer alive, and he had betrayed the only friends he had left. It was his fault the people of Snow Peak were dead. Everyone was better off without him.

He picked up the capsule, this time firmly, and moved it toward his mouth. He touched the pill to his lips, ready to accept his fate in the afterlife. A tear dribbled from his eye.

Before he could bite down, he heard the sound of movement in front of him. It was Izzy. She was having another seizure, this one more violent than the others. He dropped the pill and trotted over to help her trembling body.

He held her head and applied a gentle pressure to her jaw. Her eyes rolled back, revealing only small glimpses of blue. Frightening sounds came from her mouth as her diaphragm contorted with sporadic movements. Her muscles tightened and relaxed in random patterns, sending her limbs into a flying frenzy.

He had seen it before, but it was still terrifying. The total loss of control sent shivers down his spine. It reminded him of draining. She moved the same way Simon did when he was sucking the life from his body. He pulled his hands away at the sight of her shaking body and then forced himself to bring them back in order to secure her head. He had to remind himself that he was not draining, just helping.

The episode lasted longer than the others. He was starting to worry. If something was truly wrong this time, he did not know what to do. He stared through the bars, deciding if he should call for help. He did not expect anyone to come, but it was worth a try. He opened his mouth, ready to yell, when the contortions finally stopped.