Prickling tension moves up my back like spiders on a web, itching at the roots of my hair.
Shit.If I faint, they will take me to the private room.
I take another bite, nibbling at the crumbs when theBleeders announce it’s time to head to the courtyard for some sun.
“Welp,” Emily whispers as we make our way towards the doors. “Time to see if I’ll burn.”
Emily suspects they want to make sure we are still alive and haven’t turned into nightwalkers overnight. I think it’s silly, but Emily will be Emily.
We step into the sunlight. Beams of light slice across us, and with only six hours of daylight and little opportunity for exposure, the sun can quickly scorch our skin. The half of me I hate most becomes irritated by the heat, but thankfully not enough to die like a nightwalker would.
“Do they burst in the sun?” I muse.
We sit under one of three willow trees, close to the sandpit Cole used to play in when he was younger. The flat grass stretches until it meets the high stone walls—tall enough for anyone to climb if they had the guts, but with Bleeders guarding the perimeter on the other side, anyone who tries wouldn’t get far. As I lean against the trunk, I note our differences from the other groups. Cole is always the first out the door, claiming a tree. Because my brother isn’t well-liked—not able to give as much blood as the rest of us—most groups choose to sit in the sun rather than be near him. But our group is slowly expanding. Julien joins us, although he looks more like a zombie than a companion. And to make matters worse, Jax stares at him like a hawk eyeing dinner.
“Do what burst?” Cole asks as he picks at the grass, his words reminding me that I’d wondered that out loud.
Manni sits next to him, gazing into the distance through the twisted, vine-like leaves hanging down likestringy ribbons. A warm breeze brushes against them and sunlight cracks through, striking my face. I wince, and Jax guides my head to his shoulder and back into the shade of the branches.
“What? The nightwalkers?” Emily asks, peeking out of one eye. She lies on the ground, half in the sun and half in the shadows. Her skin burns, and the reddening, tomato-like hue is already in stark contrast to her usual pasty complexion. “Dan reckons he saw one melt into the ground after a wooden stake to the heart.”
“Dan is full of shit,” Jax mutters. “They don’t burst or melt. Nightwalkers just age until they turn to ash.”
Julien looks up, suddenly appearing more human than zombie, and says, “You’ve seen one die?”
Manni snaps a look at Jax as we all wait for his answer. I have never even seen a nightwalker aside from the one in the mirror. No one here has.
“Nah.” Jax’s shoulder tenses beneath me. “But I came from a settlement near a Prayer Sanctuary, and a slayer there told me.”
A Prayer Sanctuary. I’ve heard about them from others in here. It’s a place where slayers guard a statue of Mother. There’s one in most cities, and it radiates light. Nightwalkers can’t enter the light without burning, so the only people able to destroy the statues at the centre would be humans.
“A slayer?” Emily shoots up into a seated position, energy radiating from her. “Arealslayer?”
Jax nods, a ripple of confidence seeming to surge through him. “Yeah, he’s the one who’s gonna help us get out of here. That’s how I know this run will work.”
Manni keeps her brown eyes steady on him, as does Julien. I suspect Manni has given him hope about Bianca. But as we are about to press Jax for more information, Cole storms off.
I press my hands into the soil. Blades of grass slip through my parted fingers, and I push myself up to follow until Jax grabs my shoulder and says, “I’ll go,” before following Cole. I don’t argue. With every small movement, my head spins, tingling with dizziness.
Jax catches up to Cole near Dan’s group by the sandpit. Jax talks fast, but I can tell by my brother’s face that he is brushing off every single word. He stares blankly at him. Round hazel eyes inherited from our mum glaze over, and he nods blandly as if somewhere else entirely.
“That seems to be goingwell…” Emily says, as if to reassure me.
“No,” I sigh. “Cole isn’t listening to a word Jax says.”
“Well…” Emily faces me. “Jax thinksit’s going well.”
Jax confidently rests a hand on Cole’s shoulder. In reality, my brother is likely spinning in mental circles, calculating how much he despises Jax.
“I had the strangest dream last night,” Manni interjects, diverting our attention.
Emily leans back on her elbows, sinking them into the mulch. “Oh, yeah? About what?”
Manni claws at the grass. Her dark eyes waver like she’s being pulled back into her dream. “The ground cracked open like an egg, and all these monsters crawled out.”
Time seems to slow to a complete stop. The wind,once a warm breeze, turns frigid. The only sound is the rustling of leaves.
We all have nightmares here. Most are about the nightwalkers, while some linger on how they got here. Mine is a recurring dream of dancing on stage, entertaining an audience with countless red eyes. However, the way Manni shares her dream sounds both detached and yet somehow profound. A chill skitters up my spine like spiders on a disturbed web.
