Behind the Walls. NOVEL By Claire Darcy.

49. Somebody to Trust.

TYLER.

Ace grew still, her eyes trained on the water but seeing nothing. I waved my hand in her view, and when she didn't respond, my heart leapt into my throat.

"Wait," Zye spoke up, holding out his small hands to stop me. Andy gave the boy a sideways glance, but I obeyed him anyway. Zye moved carefully towards Ace, his hand held out to her. She stared straight past him, unblinking. Zye's caution as he clicked his fingers before her eyes - it was enough to make my pulse throb in my ears.

"What's going on?" Andy asked quietly.

"Is she alright?" I blurted out.

Zye gave me a funny look, his eyebrow tipped slightly upward like Ace often did, then looked back at her. "She's alright," he said quietly, "But... She's gone- not here.
Lost in time. Like a... a flashback."

"A flashback?" I echoed, "Of what?"

"I don't know," Zye shrugged, "But if I had to guess, I'd say of the Voyage. The river must have triggered it. She's terrified of the water."

I faltered. Had I heard correctly?

"Terrified... Of water?" I asked. Zye nodded. I breathed out slowly, an ache forming in my chest. I couldn't stop the tiny smile that pulled a the corner of my lips. There was something ridiculously endearing in the fact that Ace was afraid of water, and my heart melted.

"Hold up," Andy said, glancing around as the crowd thinned, "Ro said Ace was taken to the Camp six-ish years ago when she was ten. And you're twelve, yeah? Which means you were six then. You were an infant. How the heck do you even know her?"

Zye smiled a little. "Annual visits," he replied, almost drifting into the same reverie as Ace, "Camp Four held all us kids. Each year we were taken to the other Camps to see our families. Or whatever was left of them. Ace promised me the same thing every year. That we'd get out. And I guess we did... Only to be brought to a bigger prison..."

By the end of his explanation, the young boy had tears in his eyes. I had a strange urge to hug him but thought better of it.

"Still need to get out of here," Andy reminded us, nodding at Ace. As if on cue, she gasped, her eyes snapping wide into focus.

"Dad!" she yelled, lurching forward. I rushed to aid her, but Ace was already back on her feet, dusting herself off. There was no dust on her, to begin with- perhaps just memories she wanted to brush away. We all had some of those. Ace looked around for a moment, then was pulled into Zye's grasp.

"You saw him again, didn't you?" he whispered.

"As real as you and me," she answered. I wanted to stare longer- to etch the image of the sibling's embrace in my mind, but then I suddenly felt intrusive and quickly glanced away. I could remember a time when Frankie and I hugged like that. That time had long since passed, as close as we were as twins. Maybe desperation had brought Ace and her brother closer than the more comfortable lives of Frankie and I could.

Either way, I felt a little sad and the thought.

Ace stood abruptly, taking her brother's hand. It was then that it dawned on me how small he was. Surely I had been taller when I was twelve? Had my arms once been toothpicks, my shoulders once thin? I couldn't remember. Maybe Frankie could. I would ask her about it later, but right now, we had a job to do.

"The safe house is in the centre of the Other Side. Other Side with capitals, that is. It's a sanctuary surrounded by hell, understand? Keep your eyes forward, and walk quickly."
My voice was stronger than I suspected, my orders clear. I had been to the Other Side only a couple of times; Andy had been there a lot. He took the lead as we crossed the bridge. I dropped back, steadying Ace with my hand at her elbow. She didn't acknowledge the comfort but didn't resist it, either.