Shadowland Chapter 2

Unfortunately, my latest encounter with Calpurnia had left me lightheaded and dizzy so I’m pretty sure I looked like a crazy drunk as I left the chamber.

“What’s wrong?” Kam asked, catching my arm before I fell over.

“Can’t… breathe…” I gasped.

He sat me down and pushed my head between my knees. I choked and gasped for a solid minute before I started getting control of myself again.

“Are you ready to go home now?” he asked, his tone kind.

I nodded and allowed him to help me up. He didn’t let go once I was standing which was a good thing. I was still dizzy. Kameron lead me to the glorified cave that was my home. My family shared the cave with another family. Only a thin curtain separated the hall from the cave. He shoved it aside and practically carried me to my bed which I collapsed on gratefully. Nobody else was home at the moment.

“Are you going to be okay?” Kameron asked.

“Sure,” I said weakly.

Kameron grabbed my blanket and pulled it up to my chin. Before he could leave, I made a desperate grab for his hand.

“Could you stay for awhile? Please?” I didn’t mean to sound like a needy child but it certainly came out that way. Between the visions and the death assignment, I couldn’t bear the thought of being alone.

I had opened up the perfect opportunity for him to tease me, but he didn’t take it. He sat there and held my hand until I fell asleep. It was nearly perfect.

“Kameron? Is everything alright, son?”

Somebody had entered the cave, but I was still too asleep to really care. Kameron’s hand slid out of mine as he stood up hastily.

“Yes, sir,” Kam answered flustered. “She wasn’t feeling well so I brought her home.”

“Hmm,” my father grunted. “I appreciate you taking care of her.”

“Iwasjusleaving,” he said so quickly that it came out as one word.

They were both acting really peculiar, but I couldn’t figure out why. It wasn’t that important anyway. It can wait until I’ve slept awhile longer. Then I was pulled back into oblivion.  

Dreams similar to the vision I’d had earlier tormented my sleep after Kam left. The images were out of order and fuzzy. The words kept repeating phrases from the verse I’d heard at the council meeting along with some new ones, but they were too garbled and echoey to understand. I tried to scream. This was unbearable!

I jerked upright in my bed. Pieces of my hair were plastered to my forehead by a cold sweat. My breathing was shaky and uneven. I rubbed my palms against my eyes.

“What is wrong with me?” I muttered in frustration.

“Are you all right, baby?”

Dad was sitting in a rocking chair staring at me. The light reflected off the silver hairs that peppered the black ones. He looked oddly uncomfortable, which wasn’t like him at all. I automatically started straightening my hair and wiping the sweat off my face with my sleeve.

“I’m fine,” I lied.

“You look awfully pale. Maybe you should get some more rest.”

“No!” I answered too quickly causing him to arch one eyebrow quizzically. There was an awkward moment because he expected me to explain and, of course, that wasn’t going to happen. “Was… there something you needed?” I asked uncomfortably.

“Do you feel well enough to talk?”

Uh-oh.

“Kameron was in here earlier.” He paused. I didn’t say anything so he continued. “The two of you being in here alone wasn’t the smartest idea.”

I stared at him blankly, unsure of what he was getting at. He ran a hand over his face and tried again.

“I know this is a difficult time for you. Your body is going through changes…”

“Ugh!” I exclaimed cutting him off. “Are you trying to have ‘the talk’ with me?” I put ‘the talk’ in air quotes with my fingers.

“Listen.”

I scrambled out of my bed, the process being complicated because I got tangled in the blanket. Grabbing my shoes and my jacket, I raced for the door.

“Madison! You are practically a woman.”

“Exactly!” I said stopping by the door. “So I’m not going to talk about my relationships with my father! What were you thinking?” I shuddered before escaping into the hall.

“That boy is crazy about you!” my father called. “Don’t hurt him.”

I tried to tune out that last comment… actually, I tried to wipe the whole conversation from my mind. My feet started to freeze and I realized that I was still holding my boots and my jacket. I quickly pulled on my boots and had one arm in my jacket when a shout echoed down the hall.

“Maddie!” Charlie, with all of the energy entitled to a five year old, was barreling towards me at full speed.

He jumped into my arms; I had to stop putting on my jacket to catch him. He hooked his arms around my neck and his legs locked around my waist. Charlie hugged me exuberantly. He almost took me down in my weakened condition.

“Hey little man. What are you doing?”

“Mom, uh, sent me to ask if you wanted dinner, but not to wake you up if you were still sleepin’.”

“Dinner sounds wonderful,” I said setting him back down.

He grabbed my hand and started towing me towards the dining area.

“Everybody says that you losed to Kam, but I don’t f’ink so. You never lose at anyfing. They don’t know what they’re talking about, huh?”

“The match was never finished; hence, there is no way to know who won,” I said in my most reasonable tone.

“But you got punched in the face. Did that hurt a lot? I bet it did.” He jabbered easily.

“Nah,” I said waving it away dismissively. “It didn’t hurt.”

“That’s because you’re the bestest ever!”

I smiled at his praise. He was completely biased where his big sister was concerned. I couldn’t blame him. I thought the world of my older brothers when I was little, but they were gone now. Charlie didn’t really remember our brothers, which made my heart hurt. He was only two years old on the day when they didn’t come home from an attack on the Shadows. I try to forget about how much I miss them, but some hurts never go away.

“What’s wrong?” Charlie asked tugging hard on my arm to get my attention. 

I was spared a response when Kam snuck up on us. He grabbed Charlie and spun him around causing him to shriek and giggle wildly. I ducked out of the way of Charlie’s flailing limbs.

“Put me down! Put me down!” Charlie shouted between giggles.

Kam obliged and set Charlie on his feet. His eyes met mine. I smiled crookedly because the left side of my jaw was still swollen. His smile faded a little bit as he looked at my face.

“Stop it,” I commanded and pushed his shoulder playfully. “It’s not as bad as it looks.” It was a complete lie. I was in a lot of pain, but I would never admit it to anyone.

“I still feel guilty,” he said gently brushing the edge of my jaw with his finger.

“You wouldn’t feel so guilty if you could see your own face. I gave you quite a shiner.”

“I don’t have to look at my face all day, I look at yours.”

“You aren’t allowed to feel guilty. I forbid it.”

“You forbid it?” he scoffed.

“You heard me.”

I pushed on toward the dining area before he could argue about it. Everybody was already seated and eating at the various wooden tables. My mom dished up food for the three of us and we took a seat. The meal was simple. Soup that had been watered down to make sure there was enough for everyone and a rough hunk of homemade flatbread. The rations would be reduced tomorrow, so this would be our last full meal. Kameron was sitting closer to me than usual, not that I minded. Our shoulders brushed anytime one of us moved. An irrepressible grin stretched Kam’s face through the duration of the meal. Today, when I had asked him to stay, had been a game changer in our relationship, and I like the new game.

Charlie jumped up and ran to sit next to Dad when he entered the cave. Kam slid a more suitable distance from me.

“Since when did you become afraid of my dad?” I whispered in his ear.

His smile faltered briefly. “I don’t know what you mean,” he lied.

“You are a terrible liar. I know he chased you out earlier.”

“I wouldn’t say chased…” he hedged. “You’re father was just looking out for you.”

I snorted. It seemed a little preemptive to me. This is the first time we have done anything of the sort. I wanted to point out that nothing happened, but this comment probably wouldn’t have gone over so well. I took a large bite of bread instead. My stomach flipped queasily and my jaw ached, so I tried the soup instead. It didn’t fare much better. After forcing down a few more spoonfuls of soup, I had to stop before I started throwing up again. Kam watched my progress with keen interest and protested when I pushed my bowl away unfinished.

“This is our last meal with full rations. You should eat while you can,” he pressed.

I shook my head minutely. “Can’t. Here.” I slid my bread onto his plate, but he was already shaking his head.

His protest was lost as the strange voice and images started up again. I winced and forced myself to look around the room. She was here. She had to be. Sitting on the far side of the room in the darkest corner, Calpurnia sat staring at me with a bemused smile on her lips. I wanted to go over there and demand to know what she was doing to me and make her stop, but the dining hall was a very public place. I couldn’t risk a confrontation here.

“Maddie? What’s wrong? You have that look on your face again.”

With tremendous effort, I dragged my gaze away from Calpurnia and back to Kam. His brow was creased with concern. I focused on his eyes, their measured, steady look, until the voices fell away.

“I’m fine. Perfectly fine.”