A-19

Chapter Eleven

    The next month flies by in a blur. Every day all day the supernatural patrols search and thankfully, every day they come back empty handed. Onyx must be hidden well.

  She sneaks over every morning and I give her Gomlen, that way, I can know she's still safe. One of the times, Mother came out with me and got to see her. It was a very tearful morning.

  As for the Maze, the next human that gets picked is a tall, dark-skinned man named Gideon. He gave all of us emotional farewells, as we're forced to watch his turn in the Maze. His death is pretty gruesome, him getting burned to death by the flamethrowers on either side of the Maze.

  Everything is going smoothly. I meet with Onyx in  the mornings and Heath in the nights. No one gets hurt or caught. For the first time, I feel content on A-19.

  "See, Marina?" Heath tells me, hugging me tightly. It's midnight in my barracks, and we8re the only ones awake. "We did it. Everything is going to be fine."

  I squeeze him as tight as I can, holding in a delighted laugh. "I could've never made it through this without you."

  "I know, I'm the light of your life," Heath says jokingly, tossing his hair, and I laugh for real.

  The joy quickly fades though, and my stomach is sent plummeting. "It's not over yet," I remind him quietly. "We're still eventually going to be picked."

  "Marina," Heath whispers, tracing his hand down my cheek. His eyes look slightly watery. "Live every minute to the fullest. We have each other for now, and that's all that matters. We protect each other."

  I'm overcome with love for this boy in front of me, this boy who took a chance on me. This boy who will always be there for me. 

  I throw my arms around his neck and kiss him, wishing every moment could be as perfect as this. He kisses me back, grabbing my hands and squeezing them tightly. 

  For the first moment since we arrived on A-19, I feel safe.

  "Ahem."

  Me and Heath jump back from each other, panicked. My mind is frantically racing, trying to figure out how to get out of this. Someone has caught us. And since we can rule Onyx out, it is not someone good to see us.

  Afraid, I turn around. There's Mom, her arms crossed and her face murderous.

  "Get out of here!" She barks at Heath. "Stay away from my daughter!"

  I give Heath one last distressed look as he climbs out of a hole in our shabby roof. Mom grabs me by the wrist as pulls me back to her cot, glowering at me.

  "Mom-" I try to say, but she holds up her hand to stop me.

  "Marina," she snaps. "We need to have a little talk. Now."

   <~>

  "You deliberately disobeyed me," Mom scolds, her voice cold and commanding. She's pacing back and forth in front of me while I'm sitting on her cot, looking up at her.

  "I'm sorry," I whisper meekly.

  "Sorry doesn't cut it, okay?" Mom says, stopping to glare at me.

 "Then what do you want?" 

  "I want you to stay away from that boy. Just like I wanted you to. But you decided to do the opposite of what I asked. For what, fun?"

  "Because I love him, Mom," I snap, unable to hold it in. "He's the small ray of happiness I have on this miserable planet."

  "Love doesn't make you protected," Mom says to me, wringing her hands. "Love doesn't ensure that the supernaturals won't come for you."

  "They'll come for me eventually anyway," I say, hot anger rising in my chest. "Don't you want me to be happy?"

  "Of course, sweetie," Mom whispers to me, her face softening. She sits down on Onyx's empty cot, right across from me, grabbing my hands. "But I want you to be safe and alive more." She sighed. "Look, I know you love Heath. And I know he makes you happy. But it's going to drag you down okay? It'll be another weakness the supernaturals can exploit. They'll bring you to the Maze earlier."

  "Who cares if I'm going to die anyway?" I demand. "I'd rather spend my last days happy than having them be miserable."

  "Marina, you love Heath. And I loved your father. Look how that turned out." She takes a shaky breath as tears start to roll down her face. "I'm just trying to protect you. Not only physically, emotionally too. Losing your father was the hardest thing I've ever been through. I don't want you to face that kind of pain."

  I'm starting to cry too, fat tears trickling down my cheeks. I want to be mad at Mom, but I can't. As wrong as her reasons are, they're sweet and sentimental.

  "It's okay, Mom," I tell her, hugging her. "Me and Heath are careful. We know the consequences. But we're not going to break up just because we're afraid of getting hurt."

  "Marina please," Mom begs. "Even still, don't take the risk. Please, I can't lose anyone else. I've lost your father and I've lost Onyx. I can't lose you."

  "I think we should go to sleep," I suggest quietly, trying to change the subject.  There's no way I'm agreeing with her.

  "First promise me, Marina, that you'll stay away from Heath."

  "I... I..."

  "Promise."

  "I'm sorry, Mom, I can't do that. He's my livelihood."

  Mom sighs, but her face hardens. "Okay, I guess I can't force you. I just hoped that you would make the right choice here."  

  I try not to fill guilty as Mom lays down in the opposite direction. I take a few breaths, thinking, You made the right choice, Marina.

  But... did I really?