Control (Book Seven) (Fated Saga Fantasy Series) (10 page)

She had chosen to rememb
er Jae for the good brother he had been, and nothing more. She missed him. Now more than ever. Now that her parents had checked out, now that Ivan was gone, now that Jae was gone, now that Meghan and Colin Jacoby had gone... her once vibrant household had been reduced to a shadow of its former self.

Mireya left her father and stood at the front door. She was not permitted to leave until
9:01am, and she had to be at her destination by 9:15am. This left a few long minutes for her mind to keep wandering. She was almost glad it was a workday; she needed to keep busy.

It made her
sick to think of that first day after her brother’s death. After Juliska Blackwell had killed Garner and Ravana, in the process revealing that she had created the Scratchers. Juliska ordered an attack on that first day, against her own people.

Mireya was not sure in the end how many Svoda had died or how many had been taken prisoner.

Many prisoners were released a few days later, after the Stripers had arrived. Adults were put under house arrest. They were not permitted to leave their homes. Ever.

School was permanently canceled. Businesses closed.

Children under the age of sixteen were the only ones permitted to leave their houses and that was to work. Each had been given a specific job in order to keep the island operational.

The worst part though
, were the sessions.

Each Svoda, no matter
how young or old, had to attend mandatory sessions in that first week. One by one, they were lined up and taken to the school building; only it wasn’t a school anymore.

The Stripers had
used magic to change the school, turning the classrooms into prison cells. In these cells, Svoda were subjected to a magic she, nor anyone on the island, knew little about.

Mazuruk stones.
Nicknamed Mazy Stones.

Mireya
had studied the war behind the stones, but as the stones were believed extinct, that is where the lesson ended.

No information about how to destroy them.

Nothing about any way to combat their use.

Or how long it took the stones to completely drain someone’s magic.

Now, not one member of the Svoda was strong enough to perform any sort of respectable magic. They still had the capability of using magic, if their magical strength could be renewed.

This didn’t happen though.

Each member of the Svoda was required to go through a session twice each week. Stripers would fetch them and drag them away to the prison, only to leave hours later, weak and unable to use magic.

Even Mireya was smart enough to know this meant the Stripers
were storing up magic. Treating the Svoda like food, to feed the stones.

Why? No one knew for sure.

Only that Juliska Blackwell was behind it.

Sessions were the only
valid reason anyone over the age of sixteen was permitted to leave their homes. At all other times they were under house arrest.

If someone over sixteen
did need to leave for any reason, they were escorted the entire way by a member of the Striper guard. Only children between the ages of seven and sixteen were permitted to leave, and that was for only one purpose, to go to work.

The moment for Mireya to leave her house arri
ved. She stepped outside, sucking in her first breath of frosty morning air.

Her fr
iend, Joseph, should come up along side her any second, the one bright spot in her day. He lived just a few houses down from her and they walked together to work each morning now.

He
sidled up alongside her and mouthed hello, tossing her a feeble smile. They did not speak. It was not forbidden, but no one dared talk about much anymore.

They walked side by side, in silence, towards Juliska Blackwell’s old home, the one she had stayed in when th
ey’d first arrived back on the island.

This was where she and Joseph worked. Her job was in the kitchen preparing
and delivering food to each home on the island. It was an endless job. Each day they prepped and delivered food to a specific zone on the island. There were four zones, so each house was delivered food once every four days. In the mornings, they prepped, and in the afternoons, they delivered. Sometimes deliveries took them late into the evening.

A scream stopped them in their tracks.

A sinister shadow jetted over their heads.

They ducked
, backing away until they hit a fence and could go no further. They huddled in front of the fence, Joseph grasping Mireya’s hand, holding it firmly in his.

Neither took a brea
th as the shadow lowered, a Scratcher peeling out of the dark clouds hovering over the island. It thudded to the ground just feet in front of them, wings outstretched, threatening to close its wings around a woman running wildly down the middle of the street.

“I won’t go!” she shouted
hysterically. “I won’t go.”

T
he Scratcher lurched forward, gnashing its wolf-like teeth.

The woman screamed again, tripping over the edge of a cobblestone. She sobbed, just lying in the street.

The Scratc
her clicked its raptor like toenails on the cobblestone, letting out unnerving shrieks as the Striper guard caught up to the woman. They dragged her to her feet, holding her up by each of her arms. They were about to take her away when another Striper materialized seemingly from nowhere.

It was KarNavan. The
ir leader.

The Svoda had yet to see Juliska Blackwell step foot onto the island since her initial tak
eover. However, KarNavan made it clear that when he appeared, or spoke, it was by her order and command.

KarNavan never walked down the street and
appeared. Like today, he preferred to materialize as if coming from nowhere.

T
he fact that the Stripers could blend in with any background was just as frightening as the Scratchers looming ominously overhead.

Their ch
ameleon-like ability allowed Stripers to pop out from anywhere, at any moment. And the point was emphasized almost daily, to remind the Svoda that no matter where they were, they could be watched at any time. Another reason to be careful when speaking. 

“Wait,” KarNavan
ordered his guards.

They halted, waiting for him to approach.

“What is your name?” the leader
asked the woman, unkindly.

“Mary,” she squeaked in reply.

“Mary Mary Mary. Do you have any idea what the penalty is for running away from a session?”

She did not reply. A far away look covered her eyes and she lowered her head, accepting whatever was to happen.

“Sessions are law, Mary,” he spoke loud enough that anyone within earshot could hear. “And the penalty for violating this law is to have magic stripped from you. Drained. Sucked out. You’ll join the other prisoners, Mary.”

She was hauled away
to the old school, the new prison.

“Get to work,” someone
suddenly shouted at Mireya and Joseph.

“C’mon
,” Joseph whispered, encouraging Mireya.

They ignored t
he woman as she was dragged by, hurrying along to work. A short while later, they stepped inside Juliska’s old house and directly into the kitchen, where other youngsters were just starting work as well.

The
boss of the kitchen was pulling an apron over her towering frame and barking out orders.

“
Morning, Daveena,” said Joseph, upon seeing her.

“Yeah, morning,” added Mireya, although with less enthusiasm.

Daveena
nodded back, approaching them. “Heard someone tried to run. Anyone die?”

They shook their
heads no.

Joseph added in a low voice, “New prisoner.”

Daveena nodded again and returned to barking orders. She was a gal of few words, but Mireya had come to enjoy her company these last weeks. She could not believe she was saying that. Just weeks ago she would have run the other way if she’d seen Daveena Troast coming her way, but now, they were almost friends. At least as friendly as this place allowed.

“Where do you need me today
?” Joseph asked Daveena.

“Rations
just delivered. Everyone’s putting together sacks for delivery. You can both help me with the baking.” There was a slight questioning rise in her tone.

They followed her into the baking area.

Joseph took off his coat and offered to hang Mireya’s as well. He was a taller, lanky kind of boy. A year older than Mireya and she had only met him a few months ago, when his group had returned and he had started school again.

“My coat came in very handy wit
h the cold weather this morning,” said Mireya.

Joseph added, “Boots too
.” He glanced around, weary someone might be spying and added, “Feels like it might snow.” He wanted the conversation to sound as normal and mundane as possible.

However,
Daveena’s mouth turned in the tiniest of smiles. She had gotten her question answered. The three set to work making large batches of dough.

She kept the other youngsters busy outside the baking area. Only herself, Joseph and Mireya were allowed.
She claimed it was to keep any of them from burning themselves on the hot ovens. However, most worked in other parts of the kitchen using sharp knives and woodstoves, things that children their ages should not be using. Or at the very least, needed adult supervision to use.

As it turned out, Daveena had a natural gift for making bread.

Who knew a talented baker was hiding inside the rough and tough, Daveen Troast?

She also had another knack;
for hiding things inside the loaves of bread. Under the guise of baking, no on ever noticed when she accidentally dropped something into the dough.

They spent the morning
baking loaf after loaf.

C
onversations were kept light. Guards came inside periodically to check on them and continually made rounds encircling the house.

Daveena always kept a steaming
loaf near the front of the kitchen; this kept the guard from venturing too deeply inside. The smell of freshly baked bread always stopped them in their tracks. Even the Stripers could not resist a freshly baked loaf.

It did not make them any nicer.

But it did keep their eyes from lingering too long on things Daveena, Mireya and Joseph did not want them to see.

In the early afternoon, a cart pulled up in front of Juliska’s old house, the new makeshift kitchen, and parked itself a few feet from the front doors. It was pulled by a horse
, and driven by one of the Striper guardsmen.

Daveena ordered the youngsters to start loading up the cart. One by one, they grabbed hold of the
burlap food sacks and took them outside. Two of the children hopped up into the cart, gently stacking the sacks as they were hoisted up.

Daveena herself brought up three sacks that were noted as special delivery sacks. The
y were going to the new prison to feed the prisoners. She also had a fourth sack marked for the guards at the prison; it contained a few loaves of fresh bread. The heat made the sacks warm to the touch. She shoved it underneath the others to keep it that way.

The cart operator blew out impatient grunts as he waited for the loading to finish.
After awhile he jumped down off the cart shouting for them to hurry up. He rounded the corner and came face to face with Daveena. Her height equaled his.

She just stared
into his eyes, as if to egg him on and dare her to get angry. He grunted something under his breath but backed off, huffing and puffing his way back to his seat atop the cart.

Not too long after
, the ration-sacks were loaded and ready for delivery. Inside each sack was just enough food for each house it was being delivered to. Just enough.

Mireya guessed that was the point.

There may have been a new prison, but in reality, they were all prisoners. And were given only what they needed to stay alive. Only what was needed to keep them strong enough for the Stripers and Juliska Blackwell to feed off their magic.

Before the cart pulled out, Daveena barked orders to the youngsters that would remain behind. They would need to clean up the mess created by that mornings prepping, in order to do it all again the next day.

Only three made the deliveries.

Daveena. Mireya. And Joseph.

The cart pull
ed away, with Mireya steadying herself inside the back of it, while Daveena and Joseph walked alongside it. They stopped just a few feet later. Mireya handed each of them a sack and Daveena and Joseph stepped up to a front door, knocked and then left the sack.

They were not permitted to wait for someone to answer the door.

They were not permitted to speak to anyone that came to the door.

T
his went on for hours, until finally, they reached the final stop of the evening. The prison. A guard met them just outside the oversized double doors. The one thing they had left the same: the life-like statues of the Scratchers.

Mireya, Joseph and Daveena each grabbed hold of a sack.

Daveena also grabbed the extra sack of loaves meant for the guards. It was not really warm any longer, but still fresh.

Mireya let out a soft groan
. Not just because she was tired from the long day, but also because a snowflake fell, melting on her nose. It wasn’t bad enough that it was cold, and that the sun never came out over the island anymore. And that when they looked up to see if the clouds were lifting, all they saw were the silhouettes of the Scratchers, flying high overhead amongst those dark clouds. Now there would also be snow to trudge through as they made their deliveries.

“Maybe we’ll luck out,” whispered Joseph. “First snow rarely sticks.”

“Luck, what’s that?” Mireya replied in a sarcastic tone.

“Just saying,” he replied
.

S
he couldn’t help but cast a smile at his attempt at enthusiasm. They marched up the stairs and underneath the statuesque Scratchers, into the prison.

They could not help but
stop and stare after stepping through the doors. The newest prisoner, the woman from the street earlier that morning, was being dragged down the hallway to join the rest of the prisoners. She was barely conscious.

The three youngsters followed before anyone could notice them gawking.
They had no choice but to do so, it was where they needed to go to make their final delivery of the day.

Rooms that at one time held classes were now session rooms.

And at the end of the hall, where once they had a gym large enough for school gatherings, was now the general prison. At the backside of the prison was a small courtyard, made out of what had once been a playground.

The prisoners were permitted to be anywhere they wanted inside the large cell, indoors or outdoors, but most were stationary, trying to reserve their strength, too weak to bother moving around.

In just over a week’s time, a trial was to be held, which all Svoda were required to attend. During which, the youngsters assumed that each prisoner would be found guilty of treason to Juliska Blackwell.

As for their punishment, one could only guess what she had in store.

Most of the prisoners had been here since the first days of the takeover. Most for crimes they did not commit. Or because they had caused a ruckus and refused to give in to Jukliska in those first days. Many had just plain been confused and had no idea what was really happening until they had been dropped into the prison cell and heard the tales about Garner and Ravana Sadorus and Jae Mochrie.

Everybody
was clear as to what was happening now.

A couple
of the prisoners waited near the front of the prison, where they could see the youngsters’ arrival. They were not permitted to speak to them, but were searching for any information they could pass on, with a look or a movement, about their families or children.

Mireya looked up to see the face of Dr. Stamm
peering through an iron wall. His eyes begged to know if his son Oliver, was okay. She knew without him voicing the words. What else would he want to know? He had no wife. Only a son. He looked terribly sad.

Mireya tossed him a quick smile
, meant to indicate,
Oliver is okay
.

Was he really? She had no idea. Oliver lived in a
different zone and did not work in the kitchen, so she never saw him. 

The doctor closed his eyes and walked away.

Mireya was okay with lying.

It was unsettling to see a grown man cry.

And what good would it do? If Oliver was not okay, what were any of them to rush out and do about it?

One prisoner had been selected to meet the children and
take the food. He was responsible for rationing it out to his fellow prisoners. The youngsters didn’t know his name. He looked to be around forty and had a scar on his left cheek; it started just under his eye and reached his chin.

They
called him Scarface, when referring to him outside of the prison.

The
prison got three burlap sacks delivered every other evening, with just enough food for each prisoner to live on until the next delivery.

Joseph caught his foot and tripped.

His burlap sacks emptied onto the floor.

“Sorry!” he called out. “Sorry!” he said to the guard, while scrounging around to pick up all the food that had fallen out.

Mireya set her sack down and assisted him.

“Really, Joseph, be more careful!” she scolded.

The guards grunted their agreement in that sentiment.

Daveena had already made it to the prisoner and the moment Joseph fell, she leaned in
and whispered, “Bread’s well done.” She leaned back before the guards had taken their eyes off clumsy Joseph.

The prisoner did not reply
to Daveena, not even with a nod. It was too dangerous. He took the sack from her and set it down while he waited for Joseph and Mireya to hand over theirs, too. Once he had all three in hand, he turned and took the sacks to a small, makeshift kitchen.

Daveena handed the extra sack filled with fresh bread to the guards.
As usual, their greedy hands dug right in.

The prison kitchen was a mockery of a kitchen.
There was a table. A wood stove. A single large pot to cook with, along with a handful of bowls, plates and spoons; this is all they were permitted. Plus, one very dull knife. There wasn’t even enough tableware for all the prisoners to eat at one time. They had to eat in shifts.

A
woman followed in behind the man nicknamed Scarface. She assisted him in emptying the food sacks, and set in to throwing things into the pot, to create whatever remotely edible thing she could.

Scarface
cut up the bread into pre-sliced portions. This was hard to do with a dull knife, but he kept his head down and cut the best he could. When he heard the slightest clink as he cut, he stopped and looked from side to side, with only the smallest of movements.

No one was watching that he could s
ee. The woman cooking made loud clanking noises with the pot and the lid, keeping any outside attention on her. Scarface slid his hand into the loaf and gently pulled out a vial hidden inside, tucking it under his shirtsleeve.

T
wo loaves this time. She had hidden two vials and a knife inside. One vial was marked, medicinal; the other was labeled with a black letter X, with the word boom, written by hand underneath.

Scarface left the slices, ready to be eaten as soon as the stew was finished, making his way to the outhouse, which was outside near the back of the courtyard.
Once inside the outhouse, he kneeled down and pulled up one of the floorboards, where a hole had been dug a few inches into the hard, frozen dirt. He placed the vials inside, next to six others the youngsters had successfully delivered. He replaced the floorboard and turned on his knees to the opposite side, lifting another floorboard. In that hole, he put the knife, alongside another knife and a small pair of scissors.

When that board was back in place, he sank to the floor. It was cold.
It smelled. Three-inch-wide barn spiders lined the area surrounding the toilet bowl, like gray-skinned, eight legged statues. To this day, he had never actually seen one move. And he’d been sharing space with these spiders nearly all his life.

He took in the moment, feeling thankful.

Thankful that these youngsters were putting up a fight.

That they were being smart.

That they were not just giving in.

They didn’t have much time, though.
All he’d been able to pass along to the children was that they needed to escape.
Children
, he thought.
Certainly don’t act like children
, he decided. They were taking major risks doing what they were doing.

He got up and exited the outhouse. He nodded a greetin
g to each prisoner he passed by. The nod was meant to tell them today’s exchange was successful. To give them hope.

They had
just over a week until their public trial; which meant just under a week to make their escape.

Would they succeed
?

He did not know. He only knew they had to try.

He leaned up against the tall metal fence and started whistling.

Outside the prison, the
food delivery cart pulled away leaving Daveena, Mireya and Joseph to walk home on their own. They stalled, Mireya kneeling down to tie up her bootlace.