Betrayed

Chapter Ten

I kick at a small pebble and send it flying into the field with a puff of dust. The warm air verges on cool, sending goosebumps down my arms. I'm going to need a jacket if the temperature drops much further.

I weave through the fields instead of taking the main road, in case anything might catch my attention. The question is, is there really nothing out there? Or is there more than we ever knew?

What's really beyond the fence?

I've just reached the poppy fields when a dark, looming figure poofs into existence in front of me. I shriek and scramble back, trampling flowers. My fingers curl into fists. A moment after I recognize Luuk with his hands raised in surrender and his eyes wide, as if I startled him, I realize I also have access to the water in the pipes below me.

I sense Luuk, too.

My heart thuds overtime against my ribs, but now that I've got my powers back, I should be able to sense any guards nearby unless they've got those power blocking shields.

"Shh... shh," Luuk waves his hands frantically. "Sorry. I wanted to talk to you without anyone around."

I straighten up and shoot him a glare. I can sort of see his embarrassed expression in the dark, and I can sort of make out his features, but that doesn't mean I'm happy to have been caught unaware.

"How'd you even find me?" I hiss.

"Lucky guess. I didn't see you at the barracks, so I figured you might be out walking. I got here and noticed something moving in the fields."

I grunt. Maybe I'm not as sneaky as I thought.

Luuk rubs the back of his neck and then plops next to the poppies. I sit in front of him, careful to stay on the dirt. "What'd you want to talk about?"

"Well, I've been trying to talk to the others around here, but they haven't been very forthcoming. Part of that might be because they were tired after moving all that iron ore, but any time I tried to see if there might be a way to communicate with my brother over in the facility, they said it was a bad idea and to leave it to David. They obviously trust him. But..."

I cross my arms. "You don't?"

He tilts his head, his lips twisted into a scowl. "Forgive me for being a little suspicious."

Wasn't he all for trusting David earlier? I frown. What changed his mind? "I'm pretty sure we're in the same boat."

"No one wants to talk to you, either?"

"Actually, I've gotten all the chatterboxes. But they said the same thing about leaving." I explain what I've learned so far, and how Roy is the closest I've found to anyone wanting to return to the Community. Luuk pulls his knees to his chest and listens as I mention the need for bribe money.

"Now that you mention it," he notes, "it's odd that the Kariz is so poor."

I raise an eyebrow, knowing I'll get an explanation if I give him even the slightest chance to talk.

"They're getting quite a bit of iron from their mines," Luuk explains on cue. "The miners I was helping transport ore for said it wasn't worth much, barely enough to help keep the settlement going, but that doesn't make sense."

"Why's that?" I ask.

"Because so much stuff uses iron. Sure, if the world out there was completely barren, then it'd make sense there'd be a surplus and the price would go down. But it's not. You said Roy mentioned having seen territories on the edge of the Community, and the Camaraderie is fighting the Oriental Alliance in Asia, right?"