The Unfavorable Read online

  I squeeze through the bars, tossing the keys on the floor below where they normally hang then dart straight to the blueprint room. Men and boys are still hard at work shoveling coal into the humongous Boilers, not even looking at me. It wouldn’t matter if they did. I’m now, by choice, one of them.

  Not skipping a beat, I open the door to see Ryder sitting behind the desk playing with a small piece of coal. He doesn’t even notice me until I giggle at the sight. His face glows seeing me standing in the threshold.

  “Miss me?” I tease.

  He doesn’t answer. Instead, he launches himself over the desk, his left hand helping to propel himself toward me, so there’s less than a foot between us. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close for another, tender kiss.

  I drop my things and hug him tight around the waist, loving the tea lingering on his lips. His uncertainty as to whether I would actually return is clear in his kiss, along with his relief that I really am here in front of him.

  It deepens, and a deep moan escapes his throat. Suddenly extremely uncomfortable from the unfamiliar territory, I have to pull away from him, but he doesn’t let me go far. There’s concern in his gaze as I look up at him.

  “Sorry,” he consoles. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, thank you,” I nod. “Let’s go home.”

  Ryder smiles and all my anxiety fades. This rollercoaster he has me on is starting to make me dizzy and want more. He lets his arms fall from around me, leaving his left hand outstretched for me. I take his firmly in mine, squeezing gently. We walk back to Landow hand in hand.

  The sun begins to set as we stroll. I know the way back rather well now, but without the sun to light my way, I trip over every rock, stump, and root in our path. Ryder is always there to catch me and keep me on my feet. He teases me about being clumsy for a Favorable, and we laugh together. I’ve never been this happy before.

  There’s a dull ache in my heart for leaving my parents, but it’s barely noticeable.

  The journey through the marketplace is unlike anything I’ve seen previously. There are men and women of all ages celebrating the return of their loved ones from a hard day’s work supporting the unseen citizens of Geha. Some, like the Burners, are still out working, but to see these people embrace one another in a ceremony that happens every single night is simply magical.

  Music is playing off to the left of the main path where the crowd is slowly pushing towards while Ryder and I continue towards Micah’s hut. I can’t help hoping that I’ll be accepted into the village as everyone else seems to be.

  Everything seems to speed up as we go. The closer we get to Micah again, the faster time flies around us. The rush of a new beginning, one that won’t leave me lonely the rest of my life, has finally hit me.

  As soon as Micah’s hut is in view, I let go of Ryder’s hand and sprint to the front door, knocking excitedly. My brother opens the door, confused and befuddled when he sees me standing before him. He glances behind me at Ryder, as if he’s not sure I’m real, then back at me with fresh tears in his eyes.

  “You came back,” he whispers, tears caught in his throat.

  “Yeah, I did, big brother,” I acknowledge. “I’m home.”

  Chapter 17

  Ryder

  Last night was sleepless for me. Micah and I helped Alora get set up in his bedroom for the night, and he took the couch. I left them alone for the evening to spend time together and get reacquainted. After six years apart, it’s the least I can do for them. My hut isn’t far away, but knowing she’s here, within reach? I laid up thinking about her.

  It was really difficult not giving into the urge to get up and sneak over. I wanted to cuddle with and kiss her. To simply have my arms wrapped tightly around her and let her know that she’ll never have to deal with anyone who doesn’t love her for exactly who she is, rather what she can accomplish for the ‘greater good’. That she can be whoever she wants to be.

  I left them last night while they were bickering. He was telling her she isn’t allowed to work anywhere, while she was debating why it’s a good idea for her to help. She wants to contribute to the society since she’ll be living here. He argued that it was too much like Geha and, instead, said something about an adventure, like old times, before I snuck out for the night.

  Right now, Micah and Alora are still in Landow building Alora her own room while I’m stuck pretending to work in the scroll room. Well, I’m supposed to be working since one of the Boilers is on the fritz, but I can’t focus.

  They need time to alone together but knowing that doesn’t ease my frustration for wanting all her attention to myself whenever I can get it. I’ve always been rather selfish but it’s still strange that the focus is on her.

  With a sigh, I get up from my seat at the desk and walk to the shelving at my left. I might as well try to work while I’m here. Grabbing a random scroll, I remove it from the shelf. An old, dusty roll of parchment comes along with the one I chose but I’m unable to catch it, so it bounces down to the clay floor in a cloud of dust.

  This isn’t the first time one of these blueprints has fallen from the shelf when I wanted a different one. Most of them are packed three or four in a cubby hole. However, this one is faded from age.

  It’s crinkled from being folded over and over again in different patterns before rolled and placed on the shelf where I accidentally happened upon it. The paper itself looks thin, as if worn away by the years being unused.

  Curious, I pick it up, replacing the scroll I originally grabbed. I lay the plans out onto the desk and it takes up the entire space. It takes me several minutes of looking over the paper before I realize why the layout seems so familiar. On the upper left corner, it shows the Boilers and how they will provide energy to a structure above it.

  No, not just any city. Holy Tesla, these are the original blueprints for the entire city of Geha.

  My lonely predicament forgotten, I take a fresh look over the plans, finding secret passageways in and out of the city mapped out in various positions around the hill. I’ve never seen anything like this before. The passages must have been covered up and hidden for centuries like this scroll.

  I’m about to start committing the plans to memory when I hear some kind of ruckus out in the Boiler room. With a frustrated growl, I fold up the old scroll and place it as neatly as possible in my back pocket before seeing what the problem is. Most problems are made worse if I’m not around to help people calm.

  Still, Burners don’t fight with each other, so the only possibility is a couple Loyals are creating complications. Today was supposed to be easy and quick so I could go back and help Micah and Alora with the hut. Mostly be close with her while Micah tries to be subtle about him killing me if I touch her. This Loyals drama is not something I want to deal with.

  The door swings open easily, and I walk out of the room to find the Burners crowded up around the gate muttering to each other about something. When I make it to the edge of the group, I see several Loyals with Taser sticks pointed at us.

  I push my way to the front lines, making sure the older men are safe behind me. My senses are on high alert with the confusing scene unfolding before me.

  What could possibly be their problem now? One malfunctioning Boiler isn’t going to kill the electricity in Geha.

  It isn’t often Loyals come down here trying to get our attention, let alone with weapons such as these. Normally they carry a thin metal club for intimidation that works well enough. I’ve seen them break a skull with it before.

  One of the Loyals is yelling at us to quiet down and pay attention to him as he flails his Taser around. The Unfavorable settle down rather quickly with the threat of mortal injury or even death waved in their faces.

  “Unfavorable,” the lead Loyal spits. The word is like venom on his lips, as if saying it will burn away his tongue. “We know that a Favorable girl was brainwashed and brought down here, kidnapped from her family. We, the citizens of Geha and Arbiter Cloudore, order t
he return of one, Alora Travene, by noon tomorrow. She will be brought to the gate or we will unleash a bioweapon that will kill everyone with Unfavorable DNA.”

  “So that you know we are serious,” the Loyal continues, “we have brought proof to ensure your belief.”

  The man advances on the crowd, picking someone from it and dragging the man into the middle of the Loyal group. He picks the Unfavorable up around the neck so that everyone can see the face about to be sacrificed. It’s Hawk.

  Before I have time to cry out or react to the fact my friend is about to die, there’s a needle shoved into his neck. The Loyal lets him go, and Hawk drops to the ground. His body spasms and he screams in agony from the unseen pain wreaking havoc on his muscles.

  He squirms kicking up coal and clay in his fit of torment, I’m grateful when his body stops convulsing knowing he doesn’t have to endure the pain any longer.

  The men around me begin to mumble at the sight of their fallen brother. I try to lunge at the Loyals for killing my friend, but the men behind me hold me back while the Loyals train their Tasers on me. The weapons don’t bother me.

  As long as I can rip the head off at least one of them to avenge Hawk before they got me, it would be worth it. I’m still fighting against the ones holding me back when the lead Loyal begins speaking again.

  “This same concoction has been made in aerosol form,” he explains. “It will be brought down upon you, killing every Unfavorable, if Alora Travene has not been brought to the gate to Geha by noon tomorrow.”

  The entire group of Loyals back out of the gateway and up the stairs to Geha with their sticks pointed as us the whole time. Arms don’t release me until the weapons are completely out of sight up the stairs. As soon as they’re off me, I rush the gate screaming profanity and punching the bars as hard as I can. All I’m left with are bloody knuckles.

  Most of the Burners run out of the Boiler room, scared and on the hunt for Alora. I’m grateful that no one has met her yet, so no one knows what she looks like. Others are still in shock and go back to working. I slam my knuckles against the bars of the gate one last time before running past those still working and the elderly attempting to leave, pushing anyone in my way to the side. With Hawk dead, Micah, Alora, and Aukai are all I have left. I’m not ready to let anything happen to any one of them.

  I drive myself forward so that I advance on anyone who left the Boilers before me, running as fast as my legs will take me. With my mind focused on saving my only family left, the trees pass by me in a blur. I can’t get the image of my friend writhing on the ground from the injection the Loyals gave him. It pushes me faster toward the village.

  Wind rushes past me as I continue through the main path and toward Micah’s hut. Not even the trade posts are manned. It’s too early to make any money off the villagers. Once his hut comes into view, I slow down so I can catch my breath before going inside.

  They don’t know what’s going on yet, but there’s no reason to cause chaos just yet. I don’t want to bother Alora when she’s trying to settle in here.

  More anxious than I’ve ever been, I walk up to the door and open it as nonchalantly as possible to make it look normal. I stand in the doorway, left hand still on the door, and see that the table has been moved back into its original position and the siblings are sitting there eating an early dinner.

  They look happy and as if they’ve finally stopped arguing. They are getting along and here I have to give them the worst news they could possibly hear. I’ll tell Micah first, so we can come up with some sort of plan so Alora doesn’t go running back to Geha.

  “Hey, Ryder,” Micah greets me, cheerfully. He gets up and starts putting some stew into a bowl for me. “Finish up early at the Boilers?”

  “Micah, can I speak to you outside please?” I ask, doing my best to keep my voice steady so it doesn’t give away my panic. Unfortunately, I’m still breathing heavily from my run and it betrays my façade.

  “Ryder?” Alora inquires. “What’s wrong?”

  “Micah. Now, please,” I insist, ignoring Alora. She shoots a death glare at me, but it’s for her own good. She can be mad at me all she wants.

  Micah sighs, but follows me outside. Alora grunts before the door shuts behind us though, stopping her brother in his tracks.

  “Are you kidding me?” she demands. “I’m not a child, guys. If you’ve got something to say, then you should be able to say it in front of me.”

  “Not now, Al,” Micah coos gently.

  She calms down slightly but crosses her arms in protest. He passes by me and I shut the door behind us. Stepping away from the hut, Micah stands close to me, so we can whisper without Alora overhearing.

  “What’s going on, Ryder?” Micah questions, worried.

  “It’s bad, Micah,” I begin, allowing my panic to run rampant. “Loyals came into the Boilers today demanding Alora be brought there. They killed Hawk with some kind of bioweapon that can supposedly kill anyone with Unfavorable genes and will use it if she isn’t brought to them by noon tomorrow. More than half the Burners ran off after the demonstration to start looking for her. If it weren’t for the fact no one knows what she looks like, I would have dragged her out of the village by now without a word.”

  “You’re joking,” he breathes.

  “I wish I were,” I say honestly. I can’t even look at him as I speak.

  “Why do they want her so badly? No, it doesn’t matter. They can’t take her away, I just got her back…”

  “I know, Micah.”

  “You know? You say that, but you’re probably going to say we need to hand her over anyway to save everyone.”

  “You haven’t been paying attention then,” I hint. For this, I look straight into his eyes, so he knows I’m not lying or exaggerating the slightest bit. “Micah, she isn’t like any other girl I’ve ever courted. I wouldn’t give her up even if my own life were on the line.”

  “I’m sorry about Hawk,” he sighs, some of his anger deflated. “He was a decent guy.”

  “Thank you, he was. But we have more pressing matters to take care of right now. We can’t let anyone take her away.”

  “I agree.”

  “Then what are we going to do?”

  “Well, we need to figure out why they want her so bad,” Micah strategizes. “We need to see if she knows why they might be after her.”

  Chapter 18

  Alora

  Seething with anger, I pick at the stew in front of me with a flimsy fork. I got myself here mostly on my own, I can’t believe they are treating me like a child. Especially Ryder, whom I thought would be better to me. I’m about to stomp out there and give them both a piece of my mind when the door opens. The men walk in with an aura of awkwardness.

  What on Leda did they talk about out there?

  “Al, I need to ask you something,” Micah says first, looking at his feet. “It’s completely hypothetical, so don’t freak out.”

  “Really?” I ask incredulously.

  I never believed that sort of thing when we were children, why does he think it’ll work now?

  “Just humor me,” he requests, keeping his head down but eyes trained on me.

  “Fine,” I groan. “What’s your ‘hypothetical’ question?”

  “If we were to say, hypothetically,” he emphasizes. There are even hand gestures that go along with his speech, but he looks ridiculous. “If we were to say that Loyals were asking Burners to bring you back to the gate…do you know why they might do that?”

  “Loyals are telling Unfavorable to bring me back to Geha?” I repeat, dropping the fork onto the table. It clatters loudly, tin against wood, filling the void between my thoughts. “Why are they telling that to Burners? No one got hurt, did they?”

  “No, no, Al, this is just hypothetical--”

  “Micah, cut the crap,” I interrupt, my tone a little harsher and my voice a little louder than I anticipated. “Tell me the truth. What is going on?!”

  “It
’s okay, Al--”

  “It’s clearly not--”

  “Calm do--”

  “Don’t you dare tell me to calm down right now, Micah.”

  “Nothing is going to--”

  “Stop treating me like a child and tell me what’s going on!”

  “Al, just--”

  “I’m not ten anymore, Micah!”

  “Okay, fine, but shut up long enough so I can explain.”

  “Spit it out, then. From the sound of it, we don’t have all day to mess around or argue like toddlers.”

  “You have got to be kidding me…” he mumbles, rubbing his left hand on his forehead as if it’ll remove the tension from his body.

  Sibling rivalry. I missed this, but definitely not the time for it. Ryder is just leaning against the front door like he’s blocking me from making a run for it. Once Micah regains his composure, he turns to me and points at me like he’s laying down the law. His tone is strained, as if he’s struggling to contain his agitation.

  “Yeah, okay, a bunch of Loyals showed up at the Boilers and threatened them with some kind of bioweapon. A friend of mine and Ryder’s died. Why would Geha want you so badly that they would threaten all the Unfavorable? The people that make sure they have power and food without working themselves?”

  “I…” my voice gets caught in my throat.

  Someone died because my parents want me back in Geha?

  That sounds a little farfetched. They’ve never shown me that much affection, so it doesn’t make sense for them to go this far.

  “I have no idea,” I admit. “I’ve only been officially Favorable for four days, I hadn’t even picked a career path yet.”

  “What?” Micah asks, confused. His brow crease deeply, trying to comprehend the concept of a Favorable going longer than a day without starting their path. “You went four days without picking a career? What was your score on the Rite?”