Lies & Harmony Trilogy

Chapter Eight: Rush

     We begin to make our way through the canopy of the trees again with the added company of Rush whom I still do not like very much. The path is wider now, enough for two people to walk side by side. Tabitha and Gordon take the lead while Mallory and Kasie come in the rear. They don’t look too happy about it, but they comply without argument. That leaves me and Rush in the middle.

     I realize why they want this formation: they’re still not sure whether to trust us or not. It’s better to have both enemies in the open where they can watch them.

     Rush attempts to make small talk with me. “So which city do you come from?”

     I need to speak when someone asks me a question. That was a rule of the hospital. I don’t follow it any longer. Though the habit is a little hard to break, I feel a rush of exhilaration when I think about the rule I am breaking. I would be punished for this. But I’m not.

     Rush isn’t deterred. “Hello?”

     I feel rude now, and a voice inside of me urges me to speak. “Hi,” is my curt reply. I remember that I hate speaking when I’m not earning any answers.

     Rush grins at me, showing teeth, and I flinch visibly. He notices and smirks at me. “A little jumpy, aren’t you?”

     I don’t answer. I avert my eyes and keep marching straight ahead. A short giggle emits from behind me, and I’m sure that Kasie or Mallory finds this amusing.

     Rush continues talking. “So I was wondering what your name is. We were rudely interrupted before I got your name, if you remember.”

     I do remember, but it isn’t the fact that we were ‘rudely interrupted’ by Tabitha that he hasn’t got my name. It’s the fact that I really don’t know what my name is.

     I know who I was. I know who I became. I don’t know who I am.

     Being quiet won’t stop Rush from prying. He is too persistent about his answers to stop if I’ve been quiet for too long. Instead, I come up with a different tactic. I look at him and force a smile. “You’ll just have to guess,” I tell him, imitating Ana’s lilt.

     Ana. My heart sinks at the thought of her. What is she doing now? Is she being punished for not being able to stop the trespassers for killing a nurse and taking one of their patients?

     But I am not a patient at the hospital. I’m just a volunteer someone was willing to use. The bitter thought resides in me and blocks out all goodness that I used to see in the hospital.

     Since when has the hospital become bad and since when have the people I am accompanying become good?

     “Eva?” he asks me. I shake my head.

     “Winter?”

     He elicits no response from me and continues listing off names while he walks on. I wonder what I will say if he gets lucky and mentions one of the two names that I have left behind.

     He gives up too soon and glances at me with those unnerving light eyes. I’ve never seen anyone with irises so startlingly light before. Then his eyes drop down to my collarbone. I panic, and begin to pull the collar of my shirt higher to cover the mark. But then his eyes dart away, and I can breathe again.

     But I can’t. His hand has found my left wrist, and he pulls it towards him. I try to jerk my hand away, but he tightens his grip—surprisingly strong for his scrawny build or maybe it is because I’m weak.

     He reads the words out loud and then gives me an expectant look, eyes alit with curiosity. “What does this mean?”

     Tabitha turns around to give us a quick look before marching on ahead. She knows more about the wrist band, but she’s not going to tell Rush. I’m thankful for that.