Genesis

Chapter 12

I shakily get to my feet, grabbing onto my mother's arm for support. My legs are definitely not in the best shape, considering the rigamarole they went through last night. I'll have to take a day or two off of buzzbiking. Shouldn't be too hard, since I don't even know what happened to my bike when I abandoned it. 

"I know this is going to sound harsh, but I'm glad you got locked out of the dome," says my mother. "If you hadn't, I would have never gotten to speak with you and tell you my story." 

I give her a small smile. I'm not sure whether to believe her or not about the One throwing her out of the dome. I have a hard time believing it because our dome fares so well through everything and it can't all be luck. I don't tell this to my mother, though. I wouldn't want any hard feelings between us considering we've just reunited after 15 years of me thinking she was dead. 

I embrace her tightly and unsteadily walk towards the ladder. I put my foot down onto the first rung when my mother stops me. 

"Wait!" she says, suddenly. "You have to promise me something." I nod, thinking she'll want me to say something to Drayk for her. 

"You can't tell anyone that I helped you in the woods," she says. "As far as anyone knows, you managed to hide from everything until morning. Do you understand?" My eyes blow wide open. 

"What? Why? Why can't I tell anyone?" I demand. "Don't you want Drayk to know you're alive? What about everyone else who mourned your death? Wouldn't you want them to feel more at ease?" 

My mother purses her lips. For a second, her eyes seem to gloss over in the light and I think she might cry, but the moment passes as quickly as it came. 

"Of course I want to. But, why would I tell everyone I'm alive just to crush them again when the One finds me to finish me off?" she says gently. I shake my head, but I know she's right. It would be cruel to force people to bear my mother's death a second time. 

"Fine," I say. "I'm going to go now." 

My mother nods and I start my descent. The sun is shining brightly over the horizon now and I know that all the forest's monsters will be hiding from its warmth. I trek through the forest towards the dome. 

As I go, I think about what my mother said. Could the One really make someone torture another innocent person? Could he really just throw someone out? I still do not have solid answers when I arrive at the gates of the dome. I wish I could ask Drayk for advice. Maybe I'll just tip him off about our mother. He can keep a secret.

I keep on half walking half hobbling out of the forest, across the sand dunes, and up to the dome gates. Finally, I'm here. I knock on the gates that will let me back into the only home I've ever known.