Page 82 of Juniper Unraveling

Frowning, I push myself up to a sitting position, and flinch at a dull cramping deep inside my belly.

A pool of blood surrounds me. Not a speck. Not a splash. A pool, sapped into the dirt.

“You ate the berries. You weren’t supposed to eat the berries!” The panic in Raymond’s voice corresponds with the tightness in my muscles and the realization that he’s right.

I crawl toward the mouth of the tree, but my arms feel like noodles, so weak and useless, I tumble forward, chin knocking into the unearthed root below me.

“You’re weak, Dani. You’re going to die.” Raymond’s grim tone echoes in my ear, as my view shrinks to a pinprick.

I blink to the sounds of a growl and chattering teeth.

Kneeling just outside the tree is a Rager, dragging her hand through the dirt and licking her fingers. Feeding on my blood. A hard thump beats over top of me, juddering my muscles. A growl. Another hard thunk draws my attention upward, where something is slamming the trunk of the tree above me.

The growls intensify, and I snap my attention back to the one eating my blood. As she crawls closer, my mouth opens to a weak scream, and I will my legs to kick her away, but they won’t move at my command. A cold hand grips my ankle, tugging me out of the tree, and as much as want to fight and claw to get away, all I can do is let it take me.

Chapter 24

Wren

Head tucked into my knees, I sit on the cot, avoiding Arty’s probing stare.

“You don’t even know how close you came to getting killed, Wren. That kid could’ve snapped your neck without thinking. And Albert’s, too.”

“That’ll be enough.” Papa’s firm voice washes over me—along with a blanket of relief, when I see him approach. “She’s safe now.”

I frown at him, dressed in a strange uniform, as he stands outside of the cell. Two Legion soldiers salute him, the way they did back at the house, and Arty follows suit.

“I want her released immediately. And the boy is to be taken into custody once he’s found. Terminated on sight.”

I lurch toward the bars, the disbelief of Papa’s words stamping out the relief from moments ago. “What?”

“In times of my absence, she’ll be placed on watch.”

“What are you doing? Where’s Six?”

Stern eyes sear into me, the kind of anger I’ve not seen from Papa, and I take a step back from the bars. “Not another word,” he warns.

A Legion guard unlocks the cell and nabs hold of my arm, tugging me out of it.

I wrench my arm from him and storm out of the guard station, hoping the ride home will provide some answers.

Instead of finding Papa’s truck outside of the station, a sleek black car awaits, and two guards escort me inside. Papa squeezes in beside me, and across from us, a man in a polished suit sits sprawled.

“Wren, this is Alexander Szolen.”

Szolen. Szolen Technologies. He’s the brainchild behind the community. The one who designed the self-sustaining city, the self-proclaimed leader of this place. I’ve read about him in the articles provided by the library. How he partnered with some of the largest companies in the world, to build Szolen prior to the outbreak.

“I understand you had an encounter with the young man who escaped the hospital. Tell me, Wren, what was the nature of your encounter?” There’s an oily texture to his voice, stiff and robotic, and it’s as out of place as his clean and fancy appearance.

I glance over to Papa, who doesn’t bother to look at me, but keeps his gaze toward Szolen. “He saved my life. Albert and his friends tried … they were going to … they tried to hurt me.”

“Ericsson has become a problem,” Papa cuts in, his voice laced with anger, and when Szolen’s eyes land on him, his gaze falls away from the man.

“Wren, your father is a very respected physician. A very useful person in our little community. So, if you can overlook the transgressions of young Albert Ericsson, I will overlook yours, as well.”

“What transgressions? I’ve not done anything wrong!”

“Wren,” Papa warns beside me. “Enough.”