Fair enough. But I’m not hungry. My organs are a mess. I don’t know how I’m even still alive. I was sure the devil pierced some vital parts.
I say nothing, and I don’t move a finger. Jude’s eyes turn murderous.
“Eat,” he repeats between clenched teeth.
When I fail to obey, he pulls out his army knife again and angles it over my dick. It looks like his favorite move. I must admit, it’s the only threat that could get through most men, myself included.
I close my eyes and try to lift my fork. I’m too fucking weak.
“Gods damn it,” Jude says.
Seconds later, I feel the fork push against my lips. I open my mouth and let him force-feed me. I choose my battles.
Or, more accurately, I’m losingallthe battles.
The food tastes like ashes. It takes me all I have to chew and swallow. After three bites, I shake my head faintly to inform him that I can’t take another one.
Jude groans and says, “Gods spare me from broken monsters.”
I chuckle. Broken monster indeed.
He disappears again, and he comes back with more medication. Like last night, he rams them down my throat. I bite his fingers and he punches me in the face. I groan, but I keep the tablets on my tongue. I’ll take anything that can help with the pain.
They taste bitter. Just like my entire life.
Jude pushes the bottle forcefully between my lips and gives me more water that I can swallow. I cough as the liquid runs down my trachea and into my lungs.
“I’ll kill you for all of this…” I say once I have regained enough strength.
Jude laughs. “Yeah, right. Start by holding your head first, then we can talk.”
Shithead.
He settles on the pilot’s chair and we’re off again.
TheFireflyuses a new generation of solar-powered engines. They are much more efficient than what the rest of the world was using before the Rise. It can recharge while we fly, and keep going for days as long as the sun shines. A true marvel of technology. And now it’s in the hands of this little shit.
I need to find a way to crash us before we can reach the Traveling Market.
We fly for hours, and I don’t have the strength to move, much less hijack theFirefly.
Traveling in the wastelands has never been so easy. Every hour, Jude checks the radio frequency, sending messages to his friends in the Traveling Market.
The time merges into one long agony filled with nightmares and pain. Jude’s voice is strangely comforting as he talks on the radio. It reminds me that I’m still alive and not a prisoner of my dreams for eternity.
Until, at some point around nightfall, a voice answers him.
“Jude, is that you?” says a man. Or it might be a teenager, judging by the tone.
Jude grabs the microphone hurriedly. “Hey, Perri. Yes, it’s me.”
“You asshole! I’ve missed you! I thought you were dead.”
“Sorry. I was in a bind. The slave trade and all that.” At that, he gives me a pointed look.
“Shit. Again? Are you okay?” asks his friend. He sounds genuinely worried.
“Yeah. I was just on my way to see you. I miss you too. And I have a little favor to ask.”
