Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 110757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
46
“Flying bombers is a job with a beginning, middle, and end. The mission is clear. But working undercover can mess with your mind. We can reassign you at any time if it’s too much.” -- Decoded message from ILF handler Hiro Tanaka to ILF undercover operative Nightingale
One Week Later
Briar
“Did you hear about Chance’s new slogan for this place?”
Amira walks into Marcus’s treatment room in the Sub, setting her bow down on an empty chair.
“Not yet,” Marcus says, sitting up in his bed.
“Fifteen arms and unlimited possibilities.” She grins at me. “Perfect, right?”
I laugh because it kind of is. The day after the New America soldiers left, we held an election. Those of us who are leaving the island didn’t take part. A council of eight leaders was elected—four from the Dust Walkers and four from Rising Tide.
The eight of them have been meeting in private for several hours a day for the past few days, working out new rules and setting priorities.
The Tiders proposed that if they all agreed to destroy the aromium shield, a leader for the council could be elected from the four representatives from our camp. Chance got the job.
I understand why the Tiders wanted that, but it still scared me. They all agreed on another thing, too, though—everyone on the island, now and in the future, must get Ellison’s stabilizer.
It works even better than Ellison hoped it would. Marcus woke up within twenty-four hours of his first dose, and the others who have gotten the stabilizer have all reacted well to it.
The stabilizer allows people to retain the positive effects of aromium, like speed, strength, and less need for sleep and food, while eliminating the negative ones.
No more volatile rage, jealousy and thirst for violence. And no more primal need to fuck any willing partner to create aromium-enhanced babies.
We have a lot of pregnant Tiders in camp, but moving forward, the numbers should drop off.
“Chance is funny,” Marcus says. “Who knew?”
“Are you ever planning to get off your ass and help around here?” Amira asks him dryly.
He scowls while I roll my eyes and say, “Ellison says one more day of bed rest.”
“I’m fine,” Marcus says. “And the sooner we get this place back on its feet, the sooner we can leave.”
He and I are taking Pax, Olin, Amira, and Evander back to the mainland with us. Evander isn’t healthy enough for the trip yet, but he’ll have at least another week to rest and recover.
After his one-man sub docked in the grotto the day after Ingrid’s soldiers left, he somehow managed to crawl onto the beach, where one of our fishing crews found him. When they carried his badly beaten body back to camp and Ellison examined him, she said she didn’t think he’d make it.
He held on, though, and now he’s recovering well. He’s in a room not far from Marcus’s, but he only gives one-word answers when we try to talk to him. It’s clear the New America soldiers didn’t just brutalize his body, but also his mind.
“If Ellison lets Marcus take a walk, you guys should go to the garden,” Amira says.
“Why?” I ask.
She shrugs. “You have to go if you want to find out.”
“Ellison barely lets me get up to take a piss,” Marcus grumbles.
He’s not great at resting.
“You’ve taken a walk every day for the last three days,” I remind him. “And how about some gratitude for the woman who saved your life?”
“Of course I’m grateful.”
“Does he need to eat?” Amira asks. “He seems hangry.”
“He ate an hour ago. This is just his personality.”
“You being a bastard again?” Pax asks from the doorway.
“To what do I owe the displeasure?” Marcus fires back.
Pax comes in, moves Amira’s bow from the chair, and sits down.
“Just wanted to see your shitty face,” Pax says. “How’s it going?”
“Good,” I answer. “This is his last day of bed rest.”
“We’re taking a vacation tomorrow,” Marcus says.
“Who?” Pax looks between us. “You two? For real?”
“No,” I say. “He thinks we’re going to spend a night at the beach, but we’re not. He’s not ready yet.”
“I’ve been ready for six days,” he says, smirking.
He’s asked me to lock the door and “ride him into the sunset” at least once a day since he woke up. I keep telling him an elevated heart rate isn’t part of bed rest, but he won’t listen.
“Stop rubbing it in that you two are the only ones getting any around here,” Amira says, standing. “I’m going to visit Evander.”
“Thanks for doing that,” Marcus says.
“Olin’s been spending lots of time with him. He’s worried about him.”
“I think we all are,” I say.
Evander was adamant about coming back to the mainland with us. I think he still fears retribution from Island Three.
I don’t think it’ll come, though. We put the bodies of Ingrid and her dead soldiers from the sub on the beach for the animals, since so many of them are starving.