Year One (Chronicles of The One #1)(103)

“She’s afraid of that, too. We saw a party of Raiders, headed south. They didn’t see us. We found no one but Starr. Some dead, but no living. We brought some supplies, but we felt we should bring her back. We can go out again tomorrow.”

“I don’t know if that’s…” Lana trailed off, then gestured. Beside the door of a house across the street, a light flickered on.

“Hot damn! And I’m talking hot food, hot showers, and hot damn!” Eddie slung an arm around Flynn’s shoulders. “Dude! Let there be some frigging light.”

*

In the kitchen of the house she shared with Arlys, Fred set out a snack bag of potato chips and a can of Coke she chilled.

“You should probably have something healthy, but this is quick, and what I’d want. I’m a faerie,” she said easily as she got a bag of chips for herself. “But you’re like Flynn, right? I’ve gotten pretty good at guessing.”

Starr eyed the chips suspiciously. And longingly. “I don’t know what I am.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I was totally freaked when I first got these.” She brought her wings out, fluttered them while she munched on chips. “People wanted to hurt me, too, and Arlys. But we found more people, good people. Now we’re here.”

Helpfully, Fred opened Starr’s chips, popped the tab on her Coke.

Warily, Starr reached in, took a single chip. After a tiny, testing bite, she stuffed it into her mouth, grabbed more.

And began to weep fat, silent tears as she ate.

“I’m not going to touch you.” In sympathy, Fred’s eyes filled, spilled over. “But you could imagine I’m giving you a hug. I’m sorry for whatever happened to you. I wish bad things didn’t happen.”

“It’s all bad.”

“No, it’s really not. But it can feel like it.”

“It killed my father, my little brother, the bad. The Doom.”

“I’m hugging you again. Your mom?”

“They killed her. The ones that hunt us.”

The shiver jumped up Fred’s spine. “Raiders.”

Starr shook her head. “Not them. Others. We tried to run, but they caught us. They raped us, again and again. And laughed. We’re Uncanny, and they can do what they want to us.”

Fred’s wings drooped, receded. “I’m going to sit down with you. I won’t touch you, but I need to sit down.”

“And they hurt us.” The words tumbled out of Starr, bitter and barbed. “Kept hurting us. My mother said—inside my head, she told me to run, and go into the tree. To stay until it was safe. Not to come out, no matter what.”

Starr swiped at her face, smearing dirt with tears. “My mother screamed and fought and tried to run—away from me so they left me to hurt her. And in my head she screamed, RUN! So I ran and ran. When I heard them coming after me, I went into the tree. I heard her screaming, but I didn’t come out. I didn’t come out until they went away.

“They killed her. They hung her from a tree.”

“Oh, Starr, I’m so sorry. It’s not enough, but I’m so sorry. Your mom loved you. She wanted you to be safe.”

“They killed her because I ran away.”

“No.” Fred got up, dug up a paper napkin, tore it in two to share. “They’d have killed both of you, and she knew it. She loved you and made sure they didn’t kill you.”

“I didn’t have a knife then, so I couldn’t climb the tree and cut her down. But I found one, and I went back. I tried to find them so I could kill them. But I couldn’t find them.”

“I think your mom was as brave and loving as any mom ever. I think she’d be glad you’re here with us now. You could live here with me and Arlys if you want. We have room.”

When Starr just shook her head, Fred tried to think of the best solution. “Maybe, at least for now, you’d rather have your own place. We have apartments. You could have one. You’d be with us, but on your own, too. I can show you one, and get you some clothes and supplies. You could, you know, clean up, get some real food, maybe rest for a while.”

“I can leave whenever I want.”

“Sure, but I hope you won’t want to. New Hope’s a good place to…” She trailed off, glanced up at the ceiling light. “Are you doing that?”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“The light’s on. If you didn’t … Holy cow, I think they got the power back.” Fred swiped her tears away, smiled. “I think that makes you our lucky Starr. The day you come, we get the power back on.”

*

When Max and his crew rolled into town, cheers greeted them. People rushed out to flock around the truck.

Max saw Lana laughing, running toward him.

Caught her when she jumped into his arms.

“You did it.”

“I gave them the spark. They did the rest.”

She pressed her lips to his ear. “We’re going to take a hot shower. Together.”

“Best prize in the box.”

Someone thumped him on the back; someone else pushed a beer into his hand.

Eddie whipped out his harmonica. A woman sat on the curb with a banjo. When Jonah drove in, people danced in the street.

“Power’s on.” Jonah said it like a prayer. “They got the power on. Go on, Aaron, find Bryar, and give her a whirl. We’ll get this unloaded later.”