»» BOOK #2 of the X-MARKS: Shadows Series «« Valen and her friends are on the run once again. After their camp is disassembled, they take shelter in a series of traveling homes and meet hosts that will shape their journey in unexpected ways.
When...
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Exile.
For all former members of the Eastern council.
All remaining children will be forcibly donated.
Effective permanently.
Those poignant words rolled around my thoughts and burrowed in my insides like hungry teeth. I wished I could spit it all out. It made my stomach ache to keep it all in there. Exile. This had been the fate of my parents, as Hideki had told me. And it all made sense.
This was why I was here. Wasn't it?
I had found the answer, and now I didn't want any of it. I just wanted to take it all back and be okay with what I had. Now, it didn't seem enough. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. None of this was.
In the days that followed, after chores were over, I built my fortress with the pages of my book and a bowl of crispy crackers to keep me company. It was the last place I had to myself. Where it all made sense. Where the fish always swam with the stream and never against.
"Ocean," Nate said and peeked his head through the door of the bunker, "Hideki brought out some books, we were all wondering if you -"
"I'm fine," I said and raised the book over my face with my cheeks flaked with dried tears.
The hinge of the steel door closed softly, and I was glad. I was exactly where I wanted to be.
Under Hideki's orders, it was a week before we were set to leave. The constant sitting had left me restless. Though I had tried to fight it. The lack of standing and the uninterrupted darkness had made it harder to feel sleepy at night. A walk through the empty home to visit the restroom couldn't hurt?
I lifted from the dark corner of my bunker and hurdled my stiff legs around the others as they slept in their sleeping bags on the floor. I then walked up the stairs as quiet as I could be. Which now that I was standing after all this time, wasn't very quiet at all.
As I left the bathroom, I halted in front of a little shadow and watch it form.
"Evee?" I said and squinted my eyes as they adjusted.
"Sorry," she said with her eyes twitching about, "I just need the bathroom."
"Oh," I said and opened the door for her, "I'll, um wait out here. Make sure you're okay."
Evee turned towards the bathroom and mumbled words I could only guess. Her speech was now fully slurred. In my isolation, I had not seen this until now.
Guilt settled in my chest. Evee was always the one to help us but were any of us trying to help her. As upset as I was she still needed all of us right now.
I forced my hand on Evee's back to guide her through the bathroom door and waited outside the hall. After some time, what sounded like every item in the bathroom fell to the floor.
