The Mountain Ch. 08

It was unlikely that Sheera's father would be in town even if everyone had gathered together for safety. Ioanni was somewhat of a loner, especially since Sheera's mother had died. Skirting the town square, Lucy took a beach pebble path that wound behind several rows of houses. The island felt abandoned. Lucy pulled Warder's jacket more tightly around her and started to jog, eager to reach the old, rambling beach house where Ioanni lived. She had spent hours and hours there as a child, breaking apart pieces from Ioanni's giant collection of electronics and then, with Ioanni's help, putting them back together.

She was almost to the path that led exclusively to the house when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned and saw a middle-aged woman standing in the road behind her.

"Hello?"

The woman stared and Lucy tried to place her, flipping through her internal database of names and faces. Slowly, the name surfaced.

"Mrs. Crisp? Lori Crisp?"

The woman frowned and swayed slightly, her eyes fixed on Lucy.

"Are you all right?" Lucy asked. "Did something happen?"

"My son." said the woman. "My son went inside the mountain."

Lucy took a few steps towards Mrs. Crisp. The woman looked like she might collapse and Lucy thought to catch her. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I think-I think most of them are okay. I wish I knew more."

"He's gone. And then the food didn't come. We're all going to die." The woman's voice was strangely flat. Trying to piece together what she meant, Lucy realized that it must be the day when a food delivery was expected from the mountain. A poorly timed rebellion, she thought.

"I'm sure something can be done," said Lucy. "Please, where is everyone? Can I help you? Can I take you somewhere?"

"No," said Lori. "Get away from me." She ran then, heading towards the woods. Lucy started to call after her, but she didn't know what to say. The people living on the outskirts of town had always been odd.

She continued towards town, shaking off the strange encounter. As she drew close to the town square, she noted the empty streets, but that wasn't unexpected. With some of the strongest islanders inside the mountain, people would be cautious.

Following an instinct to avoid further unplanned encounters, Lucy stuck to paths she expected to be deserted. It hurt to bypass the road to her parents' house. But advising Ioanni of her success with the antenna needed to be her first priority.

Arriving on the porch of Ioanni's beach house outside of town was its own kind of homecoming. She had been friends with Sheera for several years before the warriors came, ever since Sheera and her family started spending time on the island. She braced herself as she knocked on the door, afraid she might cry at the sight of a familiar, beloved face. But the house stayed silent.

Slowly, she crept around the side of the house to check for Ioanni in his workshop. He had set up the workshop in what had once been the garage. Now, it was filled floor to ceiling with electronics. Over the years, more and more of the islanders had been willing to give their electronics to Ioanni as hope of their future usefulness has waned.

Lucy heard the sound of metal against metal before she even turned the corner. Ioanni was wearing a helmet and using a lit candle to melt some kind of wire.

"Ioanni?"

He looked up and, when he saw her standing there, dropped the candle. Mercifully, the flame winked out before it landed on the cluttered workbench. "Lucy!"

"Ioanni!"

In a moment, he had vaulted around the workbench and pulled her into an awkward sideways hug. "Are you well, Lucy? How did you escape?"

The reality of what she had to tell him washed over her, causing her to be momentarily speechless.

"Lucy, sweet girl, what happened?"

"Sheera got me out," she said. "She found a tunnel into the mountain inside the old power plant."

Ioanni shook his head. "She insisted. I guess she was right. Is she with you?" He peered around her in the direction of the house.

"No," said Lucy, her voice choked. "There was an accident when we were trying to leave the mountain. She was trapped in one of the tunnels."

Ioanni's grip on her shoulders tightened painfully and then fell away. "Is she all right?"

"I don't know," Lucy answered honestly. "If she survived the cave in, she's trapped inside. Ioanni, I'm so sorry. If I could, I'd trade places with her."

"You survived," said Ioanni slowly. "Sheera is strong, too."

Lucy was surprised to hear Ioanni call her strong. She wiped at the tears that were starting to fall silently down her face. "I'm so sorry."

Ioanni gripped her shoulder again, squeezing hard. "My daughter made her choice," said Ioanni. "We must hope that she survives."

"I placed the antenna," said Lucy. "Last night, before the rebels attacked. If it's working, we might be able to find help. For Sheera. For all of us."

Lucy wondered, unbidden, what would become of the warriors if help reached the island. Perhaps Warder would die. Perhaps many humans would die before they neutralized the threat.

"You placed the antenna?" asked Ioanni, sharp interest in his eyes. "Where?"

"On some kind of balcony high up on the mountain. I could see the lights of the town, but I don't know if the antenna is high enough or clear of obstacles like you instructed."

"I'll start trying to make contact," said Ioanni. He brushed her hair out of her face, wiping awkwardly at the tears on her cheek. For a moment, his gaze lingered and Lucy imagined that he was examining the marks on her neck where Warder had bit her. Self-conscious, she tugged her sleeve down to hide the worse mark on her wrist. "You did a good job," said Ioanni, snapping her out of her worry. "This may be the break we need."

"What else can I do?" asked Lucy. "How can I help Sheera?"

"Keep yourself safe," said Ioanni. "Tensions are high in town right now. You shouldn't go home until we know more of what became of the rebels."

It bothered her that Ioanni had also realized she might be in danger from her own people. Bothered her more than it had when Persephone and Cenia had suggested it. "I'll be careful," she said. "When will you know if the antenna is working?"

"A few days at least," said Ioanni. "Lay low until then."

#

Lucy kept to the same back paths on her way back to the cave. This time, she wasn't lucky enough to go unnoticed.

"You have some nerve coming back here," said a cold voice. "It's her, isn't it?"

"It's her."

Lucy whirled at the sound of a the voices to see a small group of islanders coming towards her from around a blind corner.

"Our best men and women went into the mountain to save you. Avenging your death. Now here you are, and our sons and daughters are gone." Lucy recognized the man who was speaking. Evan Reede, a man she had known her entire life. A life-long islander who had been a member of the Coast Guard before the invasion.

"I ran away," said Lucy. "I was held captive."

"Can't imagine they'd let you escape." This from Lori. "Why are you really here? Gathering intel for your mountain people?"

"You're looking quite a bit healthier than most of us," said Evan. He appeared to be the ringleader.

These were islanders. Her people. Evan had served as crossing guard as she walked to her first day of school. He had sat in the living room with her father discussing the tourists and the tides. So why was he looking at her now like she was an enemy?

"One has to wonder if you were working with them all along. Why else would a young woman go up on that mountain, knowing the danger?" This from Ashley Starrish, the woman who ran the library.

"I'll do anything I can to help," said Lucy. "I'll go back and talk to them."

"We have our own ideas about what you can do," said Ollie Park, advancing. Unlike some of the others, his face showed thinly veiled excitement more than fear or pain. Lucy remembered him from school. He had always been a bully-not the leader, but the follower, happy to follow orders to chase or to hurt.

Lucy took a step away from him. They circled her, these islanders-her people. The accustations began to fly thick and fast, so fast that she couldn't even tell where each of them were coming from.

...working with them all along...

...played the whore...

...thought you were dead, but here you are. Working with them all along...

As they closed in, she felt a hand at her back and was shoved to her knees.

"No one else has ever come back," said Ollie, looming over her. "What deal did you strike?"

Lucy raised her hands-to defend herself, to ward off the noise. She felt something hot flow through her arm-the light? She couldn't let whatever that was master her here. Couldn't hurt these people-her people. They were only grieving. They were afraid. She bit down hard on the side of her cheek, tasting blood. The voices around her were, blissfully, drowned out as she focused every ounce of her control on keeping that light-the strange, hot, terrifying light that seemed now to live inside of her-from hurting anyone else.

"Get back!"

The order was given in the confident, mannered voice of a warrior. A woman. Immediately, the crowd fell away. One islander screamed. Lucy kept her eyes shut, focusing on holding in the heat, pushing it back down to wherever it came from. Someone grabbed her arm and she cried out, afraid of what she might do.

"No!"

"Lucy, it's all right."

Cenia.

"Please, don't touch me," she bit out through clenched teeth. Immediately, the hand fell away.

"What is it? Did they hurt you?"

Lucy waited in silence for a good thirty seconds before she was reasonably certain that it was safe. "No, they didn't. Please don't hurt them."

The crowd had instantly dispersed as much as they were able. Lucy saw now that the only thing keeping them from heading for the hills were the other warriors ringed around them, watching from trees and behind sand dunes. She hadn't seen any sign of them on her walk in the deserted town. How could such large people be so stealthy?

"I do not think there is really any need," said Cenia with a light shrug. She glanced over her shoulder to where Ollie cowered under the gaze of a male warrior Lucy didn't recognize. It looked as if he had wet himself.

"While I'm asking for things," said Lucy. "Please don't make me go back to the mountain. Not yet." She kept her voice low, hoping that only Cenia would hear. From the way the other warriors were watching her, she suspected that it did no good.

"The others are here to secure the town," said Cenia. "I'm here for you."

"You're-what?" Lucy had expected to be taken captive again. She had scanned the crowd for Warder despite herself, but she knew he wasn't present. It was difficult to accept how certain she was that she would feel him if he were.

"It would be best if we left the town for now, but if you wish to stay..."

"No," said Lucy, looking around at the islanders. Her people. What would they have done if Cenia hadn't appeared? "I should go."

Lucy started walking. Even as Cenia fell into step next to her, she expected someone to stop her, but no one else-not islander or warrior-moved. She felt her skin cool and only then did she realize that it had been crackling with heat as she was cornered, the strange light burning just under the surface. Had anyone been able to tell?

#

They made their way back to the cave in silence. With as little discussion as possible, Lucy suggested that they stop at the beach on their way back. She had imagined being near the water again so many times while she was trapped inside the mountain. She had never imagined it like this. When she turned and started to walk back towards the cave, there must have been more in her expression that she had wanted to give away. Cenia took her in, her pretty, pale face suffused with worry. "We can stay awhile, if you want."

Too overwhelmed even to be properly grateful, Lucy retreated along the rocky beach until she found a shady spot and collapsed into the rough sand, turning her face to the waves. She felt Cenia settle a little ways away and as grateful as she had been when the woman had shed some light on the strangeness of her people-omegas and alphas and hidden worlds - she was even more grateful for her silence now as everything that had happened - and could happen - ran through her mind. When Cenia finally did speak, it had been hours. High tide was creeping towards them.

"It's getting dark," she said.

"Yes," said Lucy. She didn't move.

"Will the water get much higher?"

Lucy turned to look at Cenia, realizing that there was a note of concern in her voice. Did they have oceans where the Sylphen came from?

"It won't come much closer this time of year," she said. "Could I-would you give me a few minutes alone? There's only one path down to the beach. If you're at the top, no one will be able to come down without you knowing about it."

"Alone?"

"Please," said Lucy. She didn't know why Warder wasn't here. With warriors in town, the fighting was clearly over. The warriors had won out against the islanders. There had never really been a question, but now it was done. If Warder wasn't here, there was a reason. She was as certain as that as she was certain that when he did appear, he would lock her away again. She wouldn't even be able to fight him on it. Not really. Her own people had treated her like a stranger today. Like an enemy. She didn't belong anywhere-with him, where Persephone sneered at her and Ysabel tried to kill her. With her own people, who would always blame her for lives lost inside the mountain, even if most had been spared. She wanted a few moments alone with the sound of the water and the feel of the sand beneath her feet. Because she would always belong to the ocean and the island, even if the people were strangers and enemies. This was familiar. This, after so many weeks of captivity and fear, was a balm.

"Of course," said Cenia, breaking into Lucy's reverie. "I'll give you a few minutes."

Cenia was barely out of sight when Lucy stood, walking to the water and sitting down again with her legs in front of her, letting the waves wash over them, gasping at the chill.

She was still without shoes. The realization made her laugh. It was a small inconvenience among so many. And it had been Persephone's idea, hadn't it? To make it harder for her to run away?

Well, she had run anyways. And been caught again. And again. This island-the whole place was a trap. There was no such thing as being free-only choosing the one who held the chains. As the sun set and darkness fell, Lucy knew she should make her way back to the cave. To "safety." But she was so grateful to be alone and outside. The salt air seemed to be washing the dust out of her lungs. The sand was comforting on her battered feet. She watched the place where the fog seemed to gather on the water-it was common to see a cloud cover there, about as far out as the barrier.

That had always been the strangest part of the islanders captivity. At the beginning of their captivity, the warriors had left all of the island's boats in disrepair, smashing through hulls and shredding sails in the night. After a few months, enough of the boats had been repaired that a contingent were named to set out to sea and get help from the mainland. It was a perilous journey without electronic instruments and radio, but there was some hope that those things would work when they got outside of the immediate vicinity of the island.

Except, they couldn't. About a mile out, the boats stuck as if they were trapped in an invisible net. There was no navigating around it. Hopeful friends and family watched from shore as the boats tried again and again to advance. After a while, they watched in horror as the sailors abandoned ship and tried to swim through. In vain.

Ioanni had posited that the barrier was electrical-part and parcel of whatever the warriors were using to keep radio and television signals off the island-some kind of advanced electronic warfare. Even he had no answers as to what, exactly, the war was against or why they had been trapped only to eventually be left mostly to themselves.

The moon broke through the clouds, throwing light onto the water. The movement was hypnotizing and for a while, Lucy just watched. Then, in an instant, she became aware of the fact that her clothes were still stained with blood, her hair covered in dust and debris, her feet dirty and bruised.

In an instant, she shucked off Warder's jacket and her leggings. After a moment's hesitation, she kept on the flimsy dress, just in case Cenia came back looking for her. It was cold-the water would be freezing, but Lucy didn't care. She made it a few feet going step by step and then she immersed herself before she lost her nerve. Once she was completely submerged, the water didn't feel as bad. In fact, it felt warmer than the air. Smiling to herself for the first time in what felt like ages, Lucy began to swim, giving in to the powerful stroke of a life-long islander. When she was deep enough, she floated, watching the moon. When her foot grazed the barrier with a soft thump, she wondered if she had been swimming out to it on purpose the whole time. Testing the boundaries of her cage.

Laughing, she pushed off the invisible wall, did a flip in the water and then swam for it again. She felt as high as she could for some sign of weakness. It felt like trying to press against a strong wind although the night was still. Now and then, she felt a light electrical shock-like static electricity. That wasn't uncommon-it was the bedrock of Ioanni's theory. A thought occurred to her and Lucy dove down, using the invisible wall as a guide. Of course, islanders had tried to swim under it, but she was suddenly seized by a need to see for herself how the wall worked. When she was too afraid to go any further without air, she could still feel the wall all the way down to her feet. She bobbed back up, gasping for air, and then dived again, driven by a consuming need to explore.

It was on her third trip down that the wall started to respond. Or Lucy did. She felt the electricity again, the strange light, flickering in her body. She opened her eyes in the water and watched it spark in her hands. Electricity and water should react-they shouldn't slip past each other without any recognition. If the wall really was made of the same stuff as that blue light-as Lucy now suspected-shouldn't it react?

Almost as if she had willed something into being, the wall seemed to spark in response to the light in her hands. Lucy felt an odd tug in her core and she experimented, holding out her hands to the barrier and pressing as hard as she could. She was pushing the limits of how long she could hold her breath, but she persisted a moment longer, feeling something in the barrier change. What if she could get through? What if she could truly escape? She thought, if she did, she could easily swim all the way to the mainland without breaking a sweat.

Of course, she did need to breathe. Reluctant, Lucy began to follow the barrier back up to the surface. Just as her head was about to break through, the barrier changed. It seemed to melt around her, flowing into the water and covering her. Caressing her.

Holding her down.

Lucy struggled to continue towards the surface, but it was suddenly as if she were swimming through jello. The water was viscous, heavy. Forgetting where she was, she tried to scream and water rushed in. She tried to concentrate with the little breath she had left and use the light to push herself to the surface. She made some progress and then slipped back down.

I'm going to drown, was her last last clear thought. After everything, I'm going to drown.

As a final insult-or at least a reckoning-she imagined Warder's arms around her as the world fell away. She clung to him even as she struggled to breathe, unaware if she was helping him or fighting him. Changing her mind from one moment to the next.