Dispersion Read online

  Josie wails, and I push myself to run even faster.

  The Letum, attracted to her cries, changes course and reaches into the vehicle. I’m still about five feet away and can’t stop it.

  This can’t be happening. Not after everything else.

  Callie jumps through the air and pushes it on the ground. She tears out the flesh of the Letum’s neck as it snaps its teeth, centimeters away from her own neck.

  I push Callie out from its broken teeth and slam my boot on the Letum’s head, stilling its murderous efforts instantly.

  I grab Josie and hold her to my chest, her cries seeping through my shirt. I sit down on the ground, inches away from the Letum’s dead body, and use my free arm to pet Callie.

  “Good girl,” I say as the adrenaline exits my body, leaving me shaking. “Good girl.”

  Callie looks at me intently, as if she’s trying to say something, and licks Josie’s exposed arm, leaving a small trace of blood from where she tore out the Letum’s throat.

  “Yes, you saved her,” I say and hold Josie even closer to my chest. She starts to settle down her crying. Callie sniffs the Letum and growls.

  I’m still breathing heavily when Allison calls out, “Hello?”

  “Over here,” I say, my voice gravelly.

  She rounds the vehicle, with Jess directly behind her, and her mouth turns into a perfect circle. Her eyes dart between my gore-covered boots, the Letum, and her daughter in my arms.

  “Oh, her arm,” Allison exclaims and rushes forward.

  “Not her blood,” I say while her hand blurs as she wipes the blood away.

  Callie barks happily and runs—so proud of herself—toward Jess, who kneels down and feels through her fur. Callie tries to lick her face, but Jess jerks her head away from her bloodied muzzle.

  “I can’t believe I left her. I wasn’t thinking. I had to go to the bathroom so badly,” Allison says.

  “I wasn’t going to make it back in time,” I say through a daze. “It was heading right toward Josie. Callie took care of it.”

  “Elliot, I don’t know how to thank you,” Allison says, her expression alight with emotion.

  I shake my head. “If I hadn’t heard Callie bark…” I taper off, too afraid to even voice what almost happened. “Why did it take the two of you so long to get back?”

  “I didn’t hear her. We were talking and must’ve been farther away than you were,” Jess says, staring at the creature.

  Next to me, the Letum is lying there, its head ruined beyond any recognition. It looks like it used to have long, blonde hair. The infection and madness that followed has caused it to tear its hair out in random chunks, as if the hair got caught in something and it kept pulling. Its decaying smell is nauseating. I stand and throw up on the other side of the car. After a couple of deep breaths, I steady myself.

  I look up at Dominic strutting back through the trees, confusion shining through his features at the sight of me throwing up.

  He gets closer and peers over my shoulder. “What happened?”

  “You bastard,” I say and throw my arm back to punch him. Unfortunately, because of the gore on my boot, my foot slips and my punch bounces off of his jaw.

  He grabs my wrist and twists me down onto the vehicle’s hood, my face painfully hitting the metal and causing me to bite my lip.

  “What happened?” he repeats.

  When I don’t respond, he twists my wrist again—harder. This pain is easier to feel than the horror of what almost happened.

  “Let him go, you brute,” Jess says and flexes her hand on the knife at her waist.

  Dominic’s grip loosens and I squirm out from his hold. I wipe the blood off of my lip.

  “What happened, brother, is you left Josie alone and she almost got killed,” I spit at him.

  All of the anger leaves his face. “I was going to do a quick look around to stretch my legs.”

  “Why did you leave her with all of the doors open?” I ask.

  “I…I…” he drifts off. “She was sleeping. I completely forgot she was back there.”

  I shake my head in disgust, though it’s directed at all of us. We were so careless.

  “Let’s keep moving. The sooner this ride is over, the sooner I’m done with you,” I say.

  Dominic enters his opened door and slides into his seat, not saying anything.

  “Come on, girl,” Jess says, and Callie jumps into the vehicle. She’s definitely earned her spot with us.

  We start driving down the road again, picking up speed, with Allison fiercely holding Josie to her chest.

  “I wasn’t thinking,” Dominic mumbles.

  “Shut up,” I say. “I don’t want to hear it.”

  Though, Josie isn’t his responsibility. He didn’t swear to Matt to protect her as his own. Dominic was just the last one of us to leave.

  I reach back and pet the top of Callie’s head again.

  The next stops we make, no one ventures out far, and we stay in groups of two, which pairs me with my brother. Being trapped in such a small space with all of us makes the ride go by even slower than I thought possible.

  On the third day of driving straight through each day and night, we can tell we’re getting closer to Acroisia when the road starts to get better again. There was a stretch throughout the second night where the vehicle automatically slowed down due to the road conditions. The ride was so bumpy, we had to stop twice to let Jess throw up. Each time, Allison held her hand afterward as she recovered from her burst of sickness. She used to be the tough one, but now she’s not as strong as she used to be.

  When Acroisia finally looms in the distance, I’m so ready to get out of the vehicle, I welcome any danger that may come along with it. It has to be better than where we’ve been.

  Part Two

  Chapter Eight

  While the territory buildings were known for their height—our living quarters had almost one hundred floors—Acroisia is spread out horizontally with everyone connected inside one enormous central building. The windows are few and far between.

  Do they want to keep people from looking in…or looking out?

  There are no trees within a hundred yards or so of the massive building. After spending all of the time out in the cabin, this feels wrong and developed. Compared to the territories, it’s so much less advanced.

  The concrete walls of the building are unwelcoming…but not as much as the men with their guns pointed at us.

  “Stop your car and get out with your hands up,” the tallest man calls out, though his accent cheapens the use of the “r” so it sounds more like, “Stop yah cah and get out with yah hands up.”

  We don’t seem to have much choice, so I open my door and do as they wish. Behind me, the others do the same.

  The man that addressed us walks closer, his gun still raised. I blink as I take in his appearance. We’re about the same height, even though he looked so much taller than the other two. His wide features are set in a blank stare. He’s probably around the same age as my father would be.

  “I’m Elliot,” I start, not knowing what else to say. Allison steps up next to me, with Josie in her arms.

  “I’m Joseph,” he says in a tense greeting. “What are you here for?” His gun lowers at the sight of the baby.

  “We’ve come to join your society,” Dominic says.

  “Where are you from?” Joseph asks, still speaking quickly in this unfamiliar accent.

  “We’re from the territories,” Allison responds.

  While Joseph remains calm, his two companions twitch their guns. He holds his hands up to steady them. “We’ll take you to Jonah.”

  “Jonah?” I ask.

  “He’s the second in command here at Veritas.” Joseph gestures for us to follow him. “Don’t worry about your bags right now. We’ll take care of them for you.”

  Dominic ignores him and reaches into the vehicle. When he leans out, he hands Allison her bag.

  “You’re going to have
to leave that here, ma’am,” Joseph says, almost regretfully.

  “She is a new mother and has diapers and wipes in it, along with extra pacifiers,” Dominic responds evenly.

  “I’m going to have to at least search it or else I’ll get in trouble. Do I have your permission?” he asks.

  I raise my eyebrows. Does that mean we could say no or is he simply pretending to be nice? Either way, he’s at least acting a lot more pleasant than the guards at Potentia.

  Allison nods, keeping a close eye on him as he rummages through the bag. Once satisfied, he says, “If you have any weapons on your person, please drop them on the ground at this time.”

  I left my knife in the vehicle, so I don’t have anything to drop. Dominic, however, lays down his gun. Allison and Jess each set a knife on the ground.

  “Thank you for your cooperation. We’re also going to have to pat you all down to make sure you don’t have any weapons that you’re hiding,” he says as he holds the bag out to Allison. I take it instead and throw it over my shoulder.

  Jess takes a step back. “Is this necessary?”

  “Ma’am, we don’t know anything about you other than your ancestors were on the opposing side back in the Civil War. I can’t allow you to enter our compound if I deem you as a threat.”

  Joseph comes to me first, while his two companions keep their guard up.

  “Hands above your head and spread your legs,” he instructs.

  I set the bag down and comply as his hands pat down each arm and go down my body, until finishing around my ankles.

  He does the same thing to Allison and gets it done as quickly as possible.

  “That was odd,” Allison murmurs next to me, quietly enough so no one else can hear us.

  My smile diminishes once he begins patting down Jess. With her eyes closed she clenches her jaw as he makes his way down her body. When he passes her waist, her arms visibly shake. Callie whines at her side.

  I glare at Dominic, who doesn’t even seem to notice his handiwork. His focus is on the massive building we’re about to enter.

  “I’m sorry,” Joseph says, jerking my attention back to them. “You may join the others.”

  Jess wipes her face and stands on the other side of Allison, who puts one arm around Jess’s waist while she holds on to Josie with the other. Callie sits in front of her, not willing to leave her side.

  “It’s over now,” Allison whispers.

  Jess’s breath hitches. “It’s never over.”

  I instinctively take a step toward Jess, wanting to comfort her. Allison shoots me a warning glance and I freeze.

  “You’re next,” Joseph says to my brother.

  I glare at Dominic. This is all his fault, and I somehow keep letting him stick around. Who is worse—the person doing the action, or the one who allows it to happen?

  Dominic gets in the stance as instructed. Joseph struggles to check his wrists, but eventually works his way down his body. When he gets to his right foot, he cusses and grabs a knife out from his sock.

  “What’s this?” he asks, the kindness immediately leaving.

  “I forgot that was there. My mistake,” Dominic responds.

  Joseph’s eyes narrow in mistrust. He looks toward the three of us and they soften again.

  “I’ll take you to Jonah now. After that, it’s up to him if you get to stay here or not.”

  “What’s going to happen to our vehicle?” Dominic asks.

  “It’s no longer your concern,” Joseph says. His two shorter companions lower their weapons and open the door for us as we pass on into their compound.

  The fluorescent lights are dimmed. The concrete theme from the outside continues throughout the long hallway. Our footsteps, and Callie’s, echo across the stark walls. Since it’s windowless, it’s all extremely claustrophobic.

  “Sorry about the low lighting. This section of the compound doesn’t get a lot of traffic. We try to conserve energy,” Joseph says as we turn a corner.

  “Why do we have to speak to Jonah?” Allison asks.

  He considers her as he takes us down another indistinguishable hallway. “Honestly, culture is a big thing for Jonah. He wants to make sure everyone is going to support it so we can continue to thrive as we’ve been. Don’t be alarmed at his poker face though—he does it to everyone.”

  Joseph chuckles good-naturedly, though his humor rings flat. It’s like he’s trying to warn us.

  We turn a series of corners, all of them as bleak and dim as the last, more confusing than the genetic engineering building in Potentia, until he finally stops in front of a black door.

  He knocks and waits for a response.

  “What do you need?” a hurried voice asks. “I’m in the middle of an important project.”

  “Sir, we have people here wishing to join us.”

  There’s a rustle as papers are set down. “Bring them in,” he says.

  Joseph gestures for us to enter the room and we do so, piling in one by one, with Callie last.

  In the room is a middle-aged man with hints of white in his stubble. His calculating dark eyes watch every motion and interaction as we get settled into the small, bare room.

  The people here seem to decorate based on necessity, not design. In the middle of his desk is an outdated computer. He continues to type at something, though it appears like he’s doing it for show.

  “What are you doing here?” he asks in the same hurried accent as the guard. He tilts his head, causing his thinning, dark hair to fall to the side.

  Dominic steps forward and the man in control turns his chair to face him head-on.

  “We have come to join you,” my brother replies. “Who am I speaking with? What is your role here?”

  The man sits up straighter in his chair. “I’m Jonah. I’m in control of the operations of Veritas.”

  “Veritas?” I ask for clarification.

  “That’s the name of our compound here,” Jonah responds. His eyes narrow again. “You’re from the territories.”

  Dominic opens his mouth to respond, but Jonah cuts him off with his hand. I suppress an urge to laugh. Dominic isn’t going to get along well with him.

  “Don’t pretend otherwise. Your accent gives you away.” He cuts his attention back to his computer and keeps typing.

  “Yes, we come from the territories, but we’re Unplanned,” Allison says, following the script.

  Jonah looks away from the computer to her. “I can believe that with you. And looking at the other man”—he nods at me—“he is potentially as well, though he’s still taller than a lot of the men here. But the other two?” He shakes his head.

  “If someone is Unplanned, that does not mean he or she will not still receive certain physical attributes. When everything is left to chance, anything can happen—however unlikely it may be. For example, my brother and I, while we share the same parents, the only attribute we share is our eye color.”

  Jonah silently stares at our group. His eyes flicker between my brother and me. His comparison brings me back to one day in Potentia when Dominic compared the two of us in front of my classmates in a cruel example of how genetically superior he was.

  Now, he’s relying on my apparent Unplanned status for something different. He’s trying to blend in and pass for the status of something he passionately disagreed with his whole life.

  “While the two of you don’t look like siblings, I can’t deny the truth to what you said. My own sons look quite different.”

  Jonah leans back in his chair and crosses his arms around his bulging stomach.

  “What’s your why?” he asks suddenly.

  Dominic tilts his head. “What do you mean?”

  Jonah smirks and repeats himself. “What’s your why?”

  Completely sure of himself and his purpose, he responds, “I believe I was born to better society.”

  Jonah inclines his toward Allison. “What’s yours?”

  She looks down at her sleeping daughter. “I
want to provide the best life possible for my child.” She returns her attention toward Jonah. “It may not be super exciting, but that’s what it is. I want the best for her.”

  “And you?” he asks Jess.

  She shrugs. “To get through each day.”

  One of Jonah’s eyebrows shoots up to his receding hairline as he studies her. Callie, sensing her distress, nudges Jess’s hand with her nose. Jess absentmindedly pets her.

  Finally, he breaks his attention away from Jess and stares at me intently.

  “You?”

  My heart races as I try to decide what my answer should be. We’re in a sensitive position right now, and if he detects any lie in my voice, he may call us out on it. We seemed to get away with the deception regarding Dominic—and potentially Jess’s—status of Planned, but we can’t push our luck too much.

  I let out a deep breath and admit, “I don’t know.”

  From the corner of my vision, Dominic rolls his eyes.

  “You’re still so young, but that’s no excuse not to know yet. I suspect you will discover your why soon enough,” he says, not unkindly.

  “Did we pass your test?” Dominic asks.

  Jonah barks out a laugh. “It’s not my test you have to pass. I’m merely here chatting with you before our leader has time to meet with you. He’s busy and travels frequently. Whenever he’s gone, I take control of the compound for him.”

  “Why did you ask us that question?” Allison asks.

  “Just because you ultimately need to get through our leader, don’t discount my opinion and the power I have here,” Jonah responds.

  I furrow my eyebrows at his tone. I’m not sure if he’s trying to give us some advice and insight into the dynamics of Veritas or if he’s threatening us. Dominic’s tense body language tells me he’s taking it as a subtle threat.

  “How many people are at Veritas?” Allison asks.

  Jonah narrows his eyes. “Who’s asking? Someone who is looking to join our compound or someone sent to spy on us from the territories?”

  Appearing affronted, Allison shifts her body away from him. “What use would we have to spy on you for the territories? They’re gone.”