The Divide (The Divide Series Book 1) (30 page)

I nodded my head. “Okay.”

Gregory put his hood up and reached in his back pocket, pulling out a black hat. Placing the hat on my head, he pulled it so far down that my eyes could barely see out. I raised an eyebrow that he couldn't see as he stepped back. “It will help us blend in.”

“Right.” 

“Ready?”

I nodded my head. Gregory walked around the wall of the building with me on his heels. I got right up next to him, our arms slightly touching. 

Gregory had been right. Some type of festival was in full swing. The place was lit up, and people were gathered around talking, dancing, and laughing. Cheering erupted farther down the road, and as we got closer we walked past vendors that stood every five feet, selling food, brightly colored beads, furry hot pink and dark green hats, and a type of feathered scarves.
Who will wear those?
We passed a bunch of women and young girls wearing beads and the scarves around their necks. Everything looked tacky, but it was like no one cared. I didn’t get it.
That’s because you aren’t from here.

There were just as many kids out as adults. My jaw dropped as we passed two women walking completely topless, men whistling at them as they walked by. My cheeks burned, I could never do that.
That’s because you’re no fun.
I tried to keep my gaze off of them, but it was like I couldn’t control my eyes. It was a strange sight. This was something I definitely wouldn’t see back home. As we walked further into Minonia, women were dancing with snakes on their shoulders, men threw sticks lit with fire in the air, and women grinded on men while children watched in fascination. It was official: I didn’t like this place. Too much chaos. Beads of sweat started forming on my forehead, as my shoulders tensed. I clasped my hands together and swallowed down the unease that started to trickle up.

In the middle of the road, people were cheering, booing, and yelling out names. Gregory moved forward into the crowd, and I had to grab his jacket so I wouldn’t get lost in the wave of people. My hand slackened as we got to the front. Two men were punching each other, blood spurting all over the pavement. I could hear people yelling, but everything turned into one giant white noise. With each hit the men threw, I flinched. How could people be cheering them on? I felt sick. Nausea reared in my stomach, I took a couple of swallows to keep it from coming up. I looked over at Gregory, and my stomach dropped. He was enjoying it. He was laughing. He bounced from foot to foot as he gestured fake punches. How could this excite him? People were yelling and jostling behind me. I wanted out but couldn’t move. I was horrified that this was what Gregory found fun. Wasn’t it enough that we were literally running for our lives? Did he have to be excited about fighting?
You don’t really know him. Why are you so surprised?
For once I didn’t shut myself up. I was right. I didn’t know him.

I looked over at the two men just in time to see one of them grab the other and slam him to the floor, the man’s head bouncing off the pavement. A sickening crunch echoed in the streets as it hit, and I flinched while everyone—including Gregory—cheered. I stared at the man just lying on the ground. He wasn’t moving, and blood was coming out of his mouth and nose; his eyes were wide open. He should have moved by now.
Not with a hit like that.
I wanted to cry for this man lying lifeless on the ground. I wanted to run. I wanted to puke.

I pulled on Gregory’s arm and stepped up on my tiptoes so I could reach his ears. “We should get going.” I wanted to get out of here and find somewhere safe. And maybe puke. 

Gregory looked at me, elated. “It might be better to stick around. Maybe find out information.”

I shook my head. “Shouldn’t we do that tomorrow?” I really, really wanted to leave.

Gregory didn’t answer me as his attention focused on the announcer.

“Ladies and gentleman,” the announcer said. “We need more fighters for tomorrow night. If you feel you have what it takes to be a champion, step right up and sign up tonight.”

Gregory looked excited. “I think I should do it.”

“What? No!” I grabbed his hand and tried to drag him out of the area, but he didn’t budge. “We need to get out of here and find somewhere to stay. I’m tired and hungry, and this is just all too overwhelming.”
And I don’t want to see your dead body on the ground.
 

“Oh, come on,” he said. “We should have some fun while we’re here.”

I gapped at him. “Are you serious? We should have some fun? We are on the run for our lives, and you want to have some fun by fighting? Well, how about when we run into everyone who is after us you can fight them!” I placed my hands on my hips, trying to look intimidating.

“No one will recognize us,” he said, raising his voice. I watched as his eyes flashed with irritation and his face tightened.

“Fine,” I said. “You go and be stupid and fight. I’m going to find a safe place to hide. Because I don’t have a death wish.” I screamed the last part in his face. People glanced over, but I ignored them. I turned around and walked away from Gregory. Every part of me wished I would pull him with me, but I knew I was too weak to physically pull him along.
Maybe you shouldn’t trust him.
I ignored my annoying inner sidekick and moved along. I was so angry. What had gotten in to him?
He just doesn’t care about you. You are running for your life. He is helping you. He could stay here and blend in and no one would notice or care. Maybe he’s tired of running.
I gulped. I didn’t want to think that. 

I pushed my way through the crowd, bumping against others. It was stifling trying to get through. I heard grunts as I finally made my way out and looked around. There were way too many people out. I didn’t know which way we came from or which way to go. The streets were completely packed with people, and I was only a short distance away from the crowd when my shoulder was yanked back. I fell slightly backward but caught myself from tumbling all the way to the ground. Looking over my shoulder, a man stood behind me and I could smell—almost feel—the fumes of alcohol rolling off his tongue. His eyes were bloodshot, and I noticed a long, slim scar on his right cheek.

“’Ey, girl,” he slurred. “’Ere ya goin’?”

Taking a step back, his hand slipped from shoulder and slid slowly down my arm. Chills danced up my spine and as I stepped back again, and his hand dropped away from my arm. I moved backward even further, keeping my eyes on him.

“’Ey, I asked ya a questin!” he yelled.

I kept moving backward until I was far enough away from him and then turned around and ran down the street. Covering my ears with my hands—to block out the noise—I continued running, bumping into people in the process. I ignored their nasty looks and made my way down an alley that was empty. Halfway down, I sat down on the ground, with my back up against the side of a building and I let out a breath and buried my head into my hands. This was a nightmare. How could I ever think I could survive living like them? 

My head shot up as I heard footsteps running toward me. Gregory grimaced as he got closer to me. He stopped and kneeled in front of me. “Hey.”

“Hey.” I looked at him suspiciously. Was he going to try and make me go back? Because I would fight him before that happened. 

“I forgot. You’re not used to this kind of stuff.”

“This happens?”

He nodded his head. “I’m surprised you never heard stories about the festivals. It used to happen all the time in Gildonia, but things started to get really heated, so it stopped a few years ago.”

"Why did it stop?"

Gregory shrugged his shoulders. “I should have warned you or something. I just got really into it, remembering the days I used to go to the festival. We’ve been running for what seems like forever, and I thought we both needed some fun. I wasn’t thinking. I forgot about everything for a few minutes,” he said. “We should find someplace to stay.”

“How long does the festival go on?” I asked. 

“A week,” he said. “But I don’t know when this one started.”

I gulped. “Maybe if it’s going on a few more nights, we can go.” I could be nice. This was the first time Gregory seemed like he was enjoying himself. Of course, I wouldn’t watch the stupid fights. But maybe I could get a hat or scarf or something.

Gregory smiled. “That sounds like a deal. And I promise we’ll have fun.”

I grimaced. “I’ll hold you to it.”

“We should go.”

“Okay,” I said. We walked down the rest of the deserted alley. I was ready for a place to sleep.

As we made our way down to the end of the alley, we could still hear the laughter and hollering from the other end. Gregory stopped and glanced around the corner before he walked over to the next street. It was much quieter, the sounds from the festival muffled from the looming buildings. Only a few people mingled in the area, still I kept my head down and watched my feet take one step at a time, wanting to be as inconspicuous as possible. 

Gregory stopped and tugged on my arm. Looking up from my feet, I noticed we were standing in yet another alley, with buildings looming high over us on both sides. Gregory glimpsed around, first at the buildings and then at the alley, trying to figure out where to go next. He must have made up his mind because he led us down the middle. The alley seemed more foreboding than any of the others we’d been in. As soon as we walked into it, it seemed all the noise from a couple of streets over were cut completely off. As I strained to hear the festival, I couldn't. When I peeked up at Gregory, his shoulders were tight and his hands were clenched in a fist: I took it as a bad sign. Wanting to get out of there as fast as possible, I kept up my pace with Gregory’s.

Every time I heard a squeak or a crunch, my head would whip around and my eyes would dart all over the place, looking for the object or person that had caused the noise. I had a feeling we were going to get murdered, but no one came jumping out at us. My hands were sweaty and I crossed my arms, bunching the sides of my jacket in my hands. My muscles tensed and my heart raced. I could feel sweat dripping down my face. It wasn’t particularly warm out, but I was sweating like I was walking through a desert. My heart thumped erratically in my chest; something didn’t feel right about this alley. Chills crawled up and down my spine while the hair on the back of my neck stood up. My gut screamed at me to get away from there as fast as possible.

I didn’t even realize I was running until Gregory shouted something at me, his voice muffled. Gregory grabbed my hand and stopped, keeping a firm grip on it. I slipped forward, my knees hitting the ground; I didn’t even feel the pain. I looked up at him trying to catch my breath. He wrinkled his brow and bit his lip, looking worried. “What?” I asked. I looked behind us to see if someone was after us.

“What’s wrong?” Gregory asked. He cocked his head to the side, his voice tense. 

I looked back up at him. “Huh?” I slowly made my way back to standing, wiping the dirt from my knees: a small hole formed in the left knee of my pants.

“A minute ago you picked up your pace and started running. I’ve been trying to talk to you since, but you wouldn’t respond. Are you okay?”

I shook my head. “Something’s not right.”

  Gregory furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “Something just isn’t right. I know this is going to sound weird, but it’s like my gut's telling me something’s been wrong ever since we walked into this alley.” I started to pace back and forth. Couldn’t he feel the danger in here? Was I going crazy?
Probably.
 

“What would be wrong?”

I looked behind us again as I paced. Just as I turned my head to look at Gregory, something black slithered across my peripheral. I turned quickly to see if I could make it out clearly. I didn’t know how long I stood there staring, but I couldn’t make out anything. Gregory lightly touched my arm, causing me to jump. I put a hand on my chest and could feel my heart trampling inside. “Yeah?” I almost shrieked.

“What is going on?” His concern grew.
I wouldn’t blame him; you’re going crazy.

I closed my eyes as I tried to take a deep breath. I didn’t know what was happening. Maybe I was going crazy. My chest tightened, and it was getting difficult to breathe. My hands shook, and my body felt like it was ready to collapse. Opening my eyes in horror, I realized I couldn't breathe, so I picked up my pace, trying to catch my breath. I clawed my neck, my fingernails digging deep into my skin, and I bit my lip until I tasted blood. My gaze darted all over the alley and I could hear Gregory's voice, but I couldn't differentiate what he was saying. I put my hands on my head, looping my fingers around large chunks of hair and pulling.
Breathe, Mia, breathe.
I couldn’t. Tears welled up in my eyes and dripped past my eyelids. How was this happening? Gregory grabbed me by my shoulders, stopping me. Tears were streaming down my cheek. My heart twisted as if a hand was in there helping it.

“Mia, what is going on?” His eyes were full of worry.

“I…I can’t breathe,” I made out between gulps. I put my arms around my upper body, rocking back and forth.