Page 83 of Juniper Unraveling

“Housing a criminal is grounds for execution, or abjection. It’s my duty to provide a safe environment for our community. It is your duty to abide by the laws, or pay the consequences. Now, I understand young Ericsson acted out of line. He will be dealt with accordingly.”

My jaw clenches with the effort of holding back the venomous words itching to escape. “Where is he? Where’s Six?”

“The prisoner managed to escape, but our soldiers tracked him about fifteen miles out, to a Juniper tree.” His gaze slides to Papa and back to me. “It seems he was well-equipped.”

A sob tugs at the back of my throat, but I refuse to cry in front of this bastard. I’ll save my tears for Six. For when it matters most. Not for the asshole in front of me.

“Rest assured, he’ll be promptly returned to the facility from which he escaped.”

“And tortured? That’s what he was kept there for, right? So you could starve him and beat him, and tear him open to sew him back together!”

“Enough, Wren!”

I turn to face Papa, the betrayal in his eyes inflaming my already burning heart. “How could you? How could you let this happen? How could you let them do this?”

Ignoring me, he lifts his gaze to Szolen. “I can assure you, we will cooperate. There’ll be no more issue to contend with.”

“Thank you, Doctor. Again, we are grateful to have you as a part of our community. It’d be a shame to lose such a talented individual. And perhaps in the future, Wren, you might be a contributor to our community, as well.”

* * *

I lie on my side, staring through the window at the moon high in the sky. A crescent moon. Its shape looks as if it’s been scraped with a tool, most of it carved away, leaving only a sliver with a dull shine.

The burn of my eyes tugs at me for sleep, but every time I close my eyes, all I see is Six, laid out for torture. Those monsters mutilating his body for entertainment. It took me nearly two months to pull him out of those nightmares, and now I’ve thrown him right back into them.

Pushing back the covers, I slip out of bed and pad toward the window, beyond which the pole barn sits in darkness. A part of me wants to run down there, to see if perhaps he’s returned. The sliver of what’s left of my heart knows he isn’t there, though. He’ll never sneak into my room again. I’ll never sing him to sleep. He’ll never kiss me, or smile his Six smile, or make love to me.

If he lives, he’ll be burned, cut, and sacrificed for the good of the whole.

I set my forehead to the glass and a new wave of tears breaks over me. As much as this hurts, I don’t want the pain to go away, because it’s all I have left of him. I’m so exhausted from crying, but I muster a sob that reaches deep into my ribcage, to the hollow there.

A place that will never be whole again.

* * *

Papa stands in the doorway holding a glass of water and breakfast. I’ve not eaten, or had anything to drink, in two days, so I’m not sure why he bothers. I’ve not gotten out of bed to see the guard who stands outside the door, when Papa leaves for wherever he goes. Each day, I lie watching the trees flutter in the breeze and the moon rise at night.

One day spilling into the next, with no end in sight.

He sets the tray down beside me, and unlike the mornings before, he rounds the bed to the other side and takes a seat on a chair he set out the day before.

“You have to eat.”

I don’t bother to answer him, just continue to stare past him toward the window.

“I know you miss him, Wren—”

“You sent me there on purpose,” I interrupt. “I didn’t realize it, at first. But you did. You knew Six would follow me. You knew he’d be seen. You sent me to deliver that poultice on purpose, so they’d find him.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Don’t lie to me. I’m so … so tired of the lies.”

I don’t even care if he yells at me.

To hell with him. To hell with this place. To hell with this phony life.

“I saw him climb into your bedroom window three nights ago. At the ease of his entry, I assumed he’d been doing it for quite some time. I heard the two of you in here.”