BORROWED [Watty Awards Finalist/NEWLY EDITED!]

Chapter Nineteen

|Prisoners|

Another week has gone by. The camp is getting restless. Everyone is wondering when Adam plans to take action against Sylas. Tonight, I will be taking action, slipping out of camp with Hanna, and hitching a ride back to the man who created me. The man who can kill me.

My body and mind feels numb to it all. I'm not scared to face the unknown. It might be because I know I'm going to be given a chance to figure out why I was created me. Although it seems strange to feel at peace with this notion. I'm okay, especially with this rifle strapped over my shoulder.

A week now, I've earned my right to guard certain post areas around the camp. Adam has even backed down, his accusations subsiding. Just the other day, he offered to get me water when I was keeping post on the outer perimeter. He's in a better mood I think, because Finn has had more good days versus bad.

I walk to my post near the middle of camp, where I can see a large perimeter of all the tents, and the wash area where Finn is heading now. His shirt drapes unevenly over his shoulder, exposing his lean muscular body. I can't look away. Even from this distance, I can see the beads of sweat trickling down between his shoulder blades, the sunlight glistening off his skin. I blink my eyes, squeezing them shut to make sure his glowing body isn't an illusion. No, my eyes aren't playing tricks, all of him is real. Nervously, I pace back and forth, forcing myself to look away from his half nakedness.

My eyes pull back to him as the sound of the water splashes inside his bucket. He disappears inside a small area squared off by walls, but his height exposes his head while he washes. He looks skyward, pouring water over his face, both eyes are closed. My pulse quickens. A rush of adrenaline sparks inside me, running tingles up and down my arms and legs.

"Like what you see?"

I turn way from Finn washing, finding myself face to face with Polly. She stands with a rifle slung over her right shoulder. Looks like we're going to be perimeter buddies today.

Great.

With a roll of my eyes, I say, "I'm just guarding my post." Polly laughs, the strap of her rifle slides down her arm. She adjusts it and walks towards me, closing the gap between us.

"Well, I like what I see," she says smoothly, looking over her shoulder at Finn.

I sigh. "What do you want, Polly?" She inches closer, standing a foot taller, casting her shadow over me.

"You're a Borrowed, aren't you?" she asks, straight to the point.

"Excuse me?"

Tilting her head to the side, contemplating, Polly says, "You heard me loud and clear. When the others and I went to pick up Finn back in the city, you were standing outside the Department of Draftees with him." She looks right, left, and then straight at me, whispering, "Right before you got into the vehicle, there was a Borrower running straight at us." I back away from her with an overwhelming feeling of guilt squeezing at my lungs.

"He was obviously after all of us," I reply, trying to breathe evenly.

Polly shakes her head. "No, now you're getting the story wrong," she says, pausing. "I recall hearing the Borrower yelling your name, telling you to not get into the vehicle. Is this helping refresh your memory, Irissa? Is that even your real name?"

"What do you want from me?" I ask, trying not to sound concerned with her open knowledge.

Polly steps close again, the tips of our combat boots touching. "I'm going to be nice about this and give you a couple of options," she states. "First, you can leave quietly out of here, never to return. Two, I'll kill you myself, making it look like an accident." My palms feel sweaty as I bunch them into fists at my sides.