Resist (The Harvest Saga Book 2) (18 page)

She smiled slightly and motioned for me to step outside.

The trek to the prison would have been more difficult if my mother hadn’t had the red light stick she’d pulled out of the inside pocket of her jacket. We could see the gnarled, unearthed roots and rocks that jutted into the pathway. Kaia’s teeth were chattering when we finally arrived outside the wall. Seeing her light and dress, she was granted access immediately, without question. She outranked all of the guards that was for sure.

The rusted metal and peeling paint, combined with the musty smell inside brought back unpleasant memories. I shuddered as the final cellblock door slammed behind me. I had survived it. It would have taken a lot more than a tiny room to break me. But Crew? He was used to luxury and being pampered.

One guard led us down the deserted corridor, the sounds of our footsteps ricocheting off the steel cages that surrounded us. Toward the end, on the left, the guard motioned toward a cell. I looked into the tiny room and let my eyes adjust. As dark as it was inside the prison, it was even darker in there. I could see something move from the bed. Crew’s face was illuminated by my mother’s red light, his features distorted and macabre. Bruises, swollen scrapes, and defeat shone on his visage.

“Abby?” he croaked.

I screamed at the guard, “Bring him some water!”

Kaia looked from Crew to me and then nodded her head. The guard left us. He’d better be getting the water, or my foot would get very familiar with his man parts.

It felt awkward seeing him. “Kaia, Mom, can I please go in and talk to him for a few minutes?”

“I do not think that is a wise thing for you to do, Abigail.”

“He wouldn’t hurt me. I promise.”

She looked at him. “He could.”

“He won’t. I’m pregnant. It could be his child. Well, possibly anyway.”

My mother looked like a fish gasping for water. Finally, she spoke. “It is unconfirmed.”

“Well, it’s at least possible. You know it is. Please, please just let me speak with him. Ten minutes is all that I ask and then we can leave.”

The guard returned with two jars of water.

Mom looked at him and then at Crew and me. “Unlock the door and allow her access to him.”

“With all due respect, Madame—”

“I appreciate your respect, guard, and your subordination. Please open the lock.”

He looked uneasy, but slid his fingerprint over the coiled red lock and it separated immediately. Wrenching the door open, I slid inside and he closed the door behind me and locked me inside with Crew.

My mother paused but then left with the guard after a moment. When they were out of earshot, I walked over and sat on the metal bedframe. Crew followed me there, his water in hand. “Why are you here?” His golden eyes searched my face in the near darkness.

I cleared my throat. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“Everything.”

He laughed harshly. “You are with him, are you not?”

“I honestly don’t know. Before today, I would have said yes. Now, I’m not sure.”

“Why?”

I looked at him. “Why what?”

“Why him?” He took a gulp of water and wiped his chin with his arm.

“Why Marian?”

He blinked rapidly. “She was in the resistance with me. We decided that our marriage would provide a much-needed diversion. Until you stole the show that was our plan.” Another gulp.

“So, you didn’t love her? You weren’t intimate with her?” He glanced over at me and then across the room. His eyes avoided mine. “So, it’s okay for you to be with Marian in any capacity, but I’m not allowed to open up to anyone else?”

“I thought you loved me.” He answered simply.

“I thought you loved me, too.”

He looked at me and paused. “I did.”

“Yeah. You did. But you don’t anymore, right?”

He shook his head and laughed darkly. “I have no idea. All I know is that I am going to die. Vesuvius is going to use me as propaganda.”

I was disgusted. “You and your father brought this on yourselves, Crew. Is it true that you were the mastermind behind the entire Harvest? Was it really your idea?” The guilt in his eyes told me more than his mouth could ever say. “I just wanted to say that I’m so sorry, Crew. I feel sorry for you.”

“Why on earth would you feel sorry for me after all I have done to you, Abby?” It was almost whispered.

“I don’t know. But I do. I did love you, on some level, in some capacity. I wish things had been different. I wish we’d met under normal circumstances, or just had a wonderful summer love to remember each other by, but this...this is all we have.” I rubbed my blossoming stomach.

“May I?” Crew’s voice broke as he reached toward me.

I nodded. His hands were ice cold. A shiver ran up my spine at the contact that once had warmed me so much.

“May I ask one thing of you, Abigail?”

“Yes.”

“Please do not tell your child about what I did. I am so ashamed of it all. My entire life is shameful.”

“Do you really think you’re the father?”

“My father has lied about so much. I truly do not know. It is possible, but it is also possible that you may never know.”

“You helped me here, Crew. In Orchard. You loved me. Even if it was only for a short time. That was real. That’s what I’ll tell the baby. But, I promise, I won’t mention the rest of our history.”

He hugged me tight and a wail broke free from his chest that I’ll never forget. It rang out through the prison echoing down the hallway.

Footsteps rushed toward us. “I have to go.” I wiped the tears from my cheeks and stood up.

He hugged me one more time and whispered in my ear, “I am so sorry, Abby.”

I nodded and allowed the guard to pull me from the cell and lock Crew away inside. Sadness seeped into my bones as I forced them to carry me away, not because of what I left behind me, but because of what I’d lost before me. Gray was gone and it was all my fault.

The guard escorted us out of the prison, through sliding doors and steel bars, and ultimately outside the enormous wall encasing it. I’d never seen the Vesuvian guards mistreat anyone from Orchard. But the way they carried themselves and the air of authority that surrounded them left little question about exactly who was in charge.

My mother thanked him for his assistance and we started walking back down the same path that had taken us there. The smell of smoke from a few fires ignited in metal barrels in the prison yard snaked lowly through the valley and into my clothes and hair.

Kaia was quiet until we were well over half way home. She surprised me by grabbing tight to my hand and holding on with a vise-like grip. “I did not like leaving you with that boy.”

“I know. But, he would never hurt me physically.”

Her nose scrunched up. “It is not always physical pain that bruises, Abigail.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“He may not be the father of your child.”

“I know.”

“And, I do not think there is any way to tell at this point. Olympus was leveled. The city was burned and reduced to ash and cinder. The medical records were destroyed with it.”

I stopped abruptly. “How could you do it?”

She stopped and looked at me, her brows pinching together tightly. “Do what?”

“Kill all of those people. Most of them were innocent. How do you sleep at night?”

Her blue eyes widened a fraction. “After what they did to you, you would defend them?”

“Most of the Greaters had no idea what was going on.”

She huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. “Do you think they would have cared? Or tried to stop it? You are a Lesser in their eyes. You always have been and always will be to the Greaters.”

“To you.”

She shook her head. “No, Abigail. Not to me.”

“Because I’m part of you? Half Greater that makes it all okay? It justifies everything?”

“No. You forget that I was robbed of the pleasure of raising you. I am only now getting to know you, Abigail, but you are certainly not what I had expected you to be. And I am very proud of that, and grateful to Lulu and all she did to raise you and teach you right from wrong. You are a good person.”

She looked at me guardedly. “Sometimes to kill a monster, you must become a bigger monster yourself. You have to become more ruthless than your opponent and cannot let anything blur your goals, not even guilt or a false sense of morality. You simply must make yourself into a force to be reckoned with, keep your eye on the goal and follow through. If Vesuvius had, even for a moment, considered the innocent in the city, Olympus would still stand. Their King and Prince would likely have escaped punishment. Evil would have been allowed to survive.”

I shook my head. “But now, Vesuvius has become the evil in this world. You just don’t see it yet.”

Her eyes searched my own and she reached up and tenderly touched my cheek. “So wise for someone so young.

I swallowed thickly. She had no idea, no clue that she and the Greaters were wrong, that Vesuvius was wrong.

“We should keep going. It is much too cold out here for you. We must think of the new life growing inside you.” Her eyes sparkled, blue around the outside fading to a golden center. It was then I remembered another of Lulu’s sayings, “All that glitters isn’t gold.”

I awoke the following morning alone and dressed quickly. The sun was hidden behind thick, gray clouds that threatened to explode any minute. I was late. The trial would begin soon. I quickly braided my hair, grabbed my coat and an apple, and ran out the door toward the Main Hall.

The Vesuvian court justices weren’t coming to Orchard. The hearing would take place here and be broadcast to them. Their decision would be final. My heart slammed against my chest as I jogged the last several yards. Villagers were packed into every space open in front of the Hall. I searched for Kyan and Julia, for my mother and for Gray. But I didn’t see anyone. Standing on my tiptoes, I craned my neck to get another look. Surely, they would be here.

A collective gasp was expelled by the crowd of onlookers as they turned to the small hill behind me. I turned around to find a set of four guards escorting King Harrison Cole. Behind them, another set of guards, armed to the hilt, ushered Crew toward us.

I could literally feel it the moment Crew’s eyes found me in the crowd. He held his head up a little higher, pushed his shoulders back, and smiled lightly at me as he approached. His father’s voice punctured the bubble I’d built around us in my mind.

“Well, if it is not the little hybrid.”

I ignored him.

“Remember, Abigail, you are responsible for what happens here today.” My chest was heavy; my throat tightened.

“No. You’re responsible for yourself and if justice is served, you’ll get what you deserve. And you know it.”

He jumped toward me, but easily was jerked backward by the guards who trailed him. Snarling, he almost looked animalistic. He was backed into a corner from which there was no escape. For the first time in his life, King Cole was at someone else’s mercy. How the mighty had fallen. For the briefest of times, he would know exactly what it felt like to be Lesser.

I felt warmth at my side and a familiar hand clasped my own and pulled me toward his body. I breathed him in. “I thought you left.”

“I just needed to cool off.”

“You finished?”

“Yeah.” He squeezed my hand. I could breathe easier now. Gray was still by my side.

The guards in front of Crew paused in front of us as they waited for Cole’s guards to clear the way to the Hall. Crew looked back and forth between Gray and me, his jaw clenching and unclenching like the fists bound in front of him.

“Take care of her.” He fastened his eyes on Gray.

Gray could have said that he would, that he loved me. But he didn’t brag or boast. He didn’t goad him. Gray simply nodded once and then squeezed my hand again.

They escorted Crew into the building. I watched him disappear behind the tall, carved wooden doors. I almost jumped out of my skin at the sound of them closing. I didn’t know if I could handle what I knew was coming.

I was shocked when Abby
appeared in the prison last night. But that shock faded into a misery that has been eating and clawing at me since then. I had caused her so much pain. Not only emotionally, but it had been my idea that we harvest from her body. It was done coldly, callously, without respect or consideration of the effects upon her person. And what an amazing person she was.

I had not seen her for very long when they dragged me back to the village, through the crowds of people who watched as we were taken to the same prison that our guards had detained many of their own.

But, even through the chaos, I saw her. I saw her beautiful face and her strong spirit. And I saw her stomach swelling with child. What I had not expected was to see Gray standing by her side. The guard. The Olympian guard that my father insisted she have with her at all times while in the city.

I had seen so much violence between the disgusting amount of beheadings and the attack on the city. There had been so much blood. One would not have expected me to thirst for more, but that is exactly what happened when I saw him standing beside her.

If I could have reached him, I would have killed him. And, again, my selfishness would have hurt her. She was better off without me. She was better off with him.

The guards led me forward, down the frozen trail toward the Main Hall of Orchard Village. Throngs of people stood around wide-eyed, watching the scene unfold. Her auburn hair set her apart from them all. It was as if I had been electrocuted when her eyes met mine.

I wanted to claim her, to tear away from the guards. I wanted to shred the ropes that bound my hands. But this was the last thing I could do for her. I could be strong. I had never been strong before. I had always sought to please someone; my father, my mother, and lately even Marian. I wanted to keep my wife safe. I wanted to make her happy with me.

Even thinking those words stung. I knew my marriage and the ensuing intimacy with Marian had cut Abby deeply, but Abby was strong. In time, she would heal. She had already begun to do so. I could see it in her eyes. And now it was my turn. I would be strong so that she would not hurt more than necessary.

I squared my shoulders and noticed him fall in at her side. He reached for her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. It felt as if he was clutching my heart inside my chest. I did not want to say those words, but as we paused in front of the couple, my resolve strengthened once more. I looked right at him. “Take care of her.”

He nodded once in acknowledgement. I half expected him to break my nose. I would have deserved it. But, there he stood once again, holding her up with a simple squeeze of his comforting hand. Gray was able to be strong for her. He restrained his anger. I could see it in the tick of his jaw, the flexing of his free hand and the rigidity of his frame.

The guards pushed me forward as the sea of villagers finally parted. They led me up the few steps onto the porch and into the building.
Slam!
The doors closed behind me. I released a pent up breath and shuffled along toward the room where I would no doubt meet the judge, jury, and executioner.

I had expected the Hall to be filled with people, but the hearing room was mostly empty. Several guards stood sentry around the room’s perimeter. My father was ushered to a seat behind a long desk on the left side of the room. I was ushered into one on the right.

A woman, whose back was facing me, was making sure the projection system worked. She turned small knob after knob and pushed button after button. An image illuminated in the air and three callous faces stared back at me. The men were elders of Vesuvius, justices of their high court. All three had white hair, and they were draped in fine red robes. 

The woman turned around and I recognized that she had been with Abby last night. But in the darkness, it had been impossible to see her features. I may have ignored them in broad daylight simply because Abby had been in front of me. But I could see the resemblance as clear as day.

This woman was Abby’s mother. The fierceness in her eyes told me she knew what had been done to her daughter. She was a Vesuvian Greater. And she was out for blood. Mine.

Her sharp eyes met mine, and her lip, ever so slightly, snarled in disgust. She took a seat along the wall and crossed her legs and arms as the justices began to speak.

I could not stop myself from staring at her. I should have been listening to the hearing. I should have been mentally present. But it was fascinating. I could see exactly what Abby would look like in twenty more years. She would be beautiful.

It was almost a gift. Seeing her mother, who was almost more like her twin, was like glimpsing into the future I would never have with her. When my name was shouted, I snapped out of the daze I was in and asked the Justice to repeat himself. He was not pleased.

“Describe your part in the Harvest, Crew Cole.”

“Yes, sir. My father confided in me. I was one of his closest advisers. Although I was young, I had great potential, or so I was told. When he told me of the situation regarding the vaccinations and sterility, I came up with the plan to harvest eggs from the Lesser women and implant them into the Greaters without their knowledge. It seemed simple. What could go wrong, right?”

I fidgeted my bound wrists and cleared my throat. “We posed as Lessers in Orchard Village, invited women from other Lesser Villages to participate in the apple harvest in Orchard, claiming that the harvest was too bountiful for one village to handle. When we had gained their trust and all the women were accounted for, we forcefully removed them from the village and took them by train to Olympus. A portion of their eggs were removed by our medical staff. Most of the women were kept in the Lesser section of Olympus, as it was important that we have access to their eggs should we need more or something go wrong.”

The justices looked to one another.

“You’re admitting to your part in all of this?”

I looked at their shimmering images. Taking a deep breath, I straightened my spine and answered directly, “Yes. I am.”

The justice on the left spoke up. “Did you know of the virus?”

“No, sir. I had no knowledge of it whatsoever at the time. I have been informed of it since then.”

The justices turned their attentions on my father. He refused to speak, refused to admit his having anything to do with the harvest or the virus he unleashed upon the other Greater cities. Harrison Cole would never admit that he was wrong or submit to the authority of another. Never. An hour later, we were no further along. My father was stubborn. I would give him that. The justices saw that their time was being wasted.

The center justice spoke first, “We will adjourn for one hour and return with a verdict.”

The image faded away leaving only the air above the tiny, black box that Abby’s mother had been working on.

My father always paced when nervous or angry. He tried to get out of his seat to appease that habit, but he was quickly shut down. “Stay seated.” A guard stood directly behind him for the remainder of the hour. It is funny how time can seem to expand and contract depending upon the situation. Sixty minutes was nothing in a hard day’s work. My time posing as a boy from Cotton taught me that.

But, in a courtroom, when your life was hanging in the balance was an entirely different story. Perhaps, it is the universe’s way of making your last moments a bit longer; allowing you time to savor them.

When the justices’ reappeared, I did not jump or startle. I had been expecting it, just as I had anticipated the words that the center justice uttered. “Crew Cole, please stand.”

I complied with his request. The chair’s legs scooted loudly along the floor. The backs of my legs touched the cool wood of the chair behind me. He continued, “For your part in the harvest and for the atrocities that occurred under your watch on your father’s council, you have been found guilty of treason and are sentenced to death by firing squad.”

“Harrison Cole, please stand.” My father would not go down without a fight. He was scared, though he would never admit it. I certainly was. Death was something I had never had to fear until now.

The guards jerked him to his feet and held him upright. “For your part in the harvest, the vaccination cover-up, and in manufacturing and unleashing a deadly virus on your peers, you have been found guilty of treason and crimes against persons and/or property of the Greater Council. You are hereby sentenced to death by firing squad.”

The justice to the left concluded, “Sentences will be carried out immediately.”

Abigail’s mother rose to her feet. The justices nodded and looked at me and my father before the image disappeared again. “Take them away.”

For more than an hour
, we stood outside the Main Hall. Gray rubbed my shoulders giving me some much-needed warmth. He hugged me and blew warm air onto my hands. I was wearing gloves, but they didn’t help very much. When the doors burst open, everyone went crazy and chaos ensued. Harrison Cole was fighting the guards for control. He swung his bound fists wildly, kicked and punched, even gnashed his teeth at anyone or anything who came close to him.

Across the porch and down the steps, he fought. Tears burst into my eyes and I clapped a hand over my mouth. There was no doubt that he was fighting for his life. He thrashed through the crowd who now scurried and crammed tight together in an effort to get out of his way and out of his reach.

Gray looked at me and then back at the porch. Crew stepped out onto the planks calmly and looked around where I’d been standing when he came in. It didn’t take him long to find me. A slight smile pulled one side of his lips.
Was he okay? They didn’t find him guilty?

Crew regally descended the steps and followed in his father’s wake. When he came near, he said, “I am so sorry, Abby.”

“Crew?”

“I am sorry. Please know that.” He looked at Gray, who nodded briefly. He was reminding him of his earlier promise. He was telling him to take care of me.

My legs felt heavy and my head felt light. Gray noticed and tucked me into his side. His warm breath fanned over my hair. “You’re okay. Hang in there.”

The crowd started to follow behind them. My feet carried me closer. I knew what he had done. I knew it was horrific and wrong, and he’d broken my heart more times than I could count. But I didn’t want him to die.

I reached forward to him. “No!” he roared. “Gray, get her out of here. She doesn’t need to see this. Please! Get her home!”