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Chapter 1
Em
Slim fingers close over my ankle. I shut my eyes and swallow my frustration before looking over my shoulder and meeting Tan’s eyes. Her green irises stand out amidst her dirty face and tangled locks.
“Don’t go, Em. I got a bad feeling,” she whispers.
The duct is too narrow for me to turn around, and I refuse to shuffle back into the room I once thought was my sanctuary. After the last storm, it feels too much like a death trap to pretend it’s safe anymore.
“You always have a bad feeling. I gotta go, Tan. Boon is sick,” I say.
She tightens her grip on my ankle as she glances at the pile of rags in the corner. Barely big enough to make a bump in the pathetic mound, Boon whimpers and shifts in his fevered sleep. The bruise covering the side of his face stands out in stark contrast to his pale flesh. My heart aches as I think about the large gash across his back.
I failed him. We should never have stopped strapping ourselves to the wall at night, but I let us get too complacent. The last storm was so violent, he flew across the room, hit the far wall, and almost fell through the massive hole in the hull. I caught him before the waves swept him out to sea, but the terror on his face haunts my nightmares.
Salt rubs my skin raw underneath my damp clothes, but I haven’t had time to clean myself. Caring for Boon has kept me too busy to even forage for food.
I found Boon only a few weeks ago, but he’s part of our mismatched family now. I’ll do anything for him.
Even sneak up to the market on the main deck and steal medicine.
“Let me go instead,” Tan says. She pulls my ankle, but I shake my head.
“No. You’re too hurt to run if you get caught. You’ve got enough food for three days if you stretch it. Don’t go foraging until you gotta. I’ll be back in a few hours,” I say before crawling forward.
“You can’t say that and then leave. You sound like you ain’t coming back,” she says as she tugs harder on my leg.
“Tan, stop. I’m the oldest, strongest, and the best pickpocket. I’ll get him the medicine he needs and then find us more food.”
“What if an alpha scents you?”
The concern in her whisper sends a shiver down my spine. I reach back and cover her hand with mine.
“They won’t. I’m covered in motor oil and wearing the smelliest clothes we’ve got. I’ll even go roll in the trash heap before I head up,” I promise.
She squeezes my leg before letting go and sitting back.
“If you ain’t back by nightfall, I’m coming to look for you,” she says.
“Don’t you dare leave Boon alone,” I hiss.
The anger drains from her expression, leaving fear in its place.
“I’ll be fine. Take care of you and Boon. Promise me you won’t leave him,” I demand. My voice echoes through the vent.
“Fine. Get back as fast as you can.”
“I will. Be strong, Tan.”
She grunts and uses the wall to stand before limping to the corner.
I swallow my despair. Her leg refuses to heal. I don’t know if it’s fractured or just bruised all the way to the bone, but at least she can put weight on it now.
Praying they hold out until I get back, I turn my attention ahead and crawl through the tunnel. My bulky clothes catch on the jagged metal, but I push onward until I reach the rusty vent. I lift the bottom corner and check both ways before crawling out and quietly lowering the grate back into place.
Flies swarm the mountains of garbage. I weave my way through the broken trash compactor and pull a filthy cloak from the pile in the corner.
Off in the distance, a woman screeches. The sounds of fighting filter through the closed door. I wrap the disgusting garment around me, pull a tattered cap from my pocket, shove it onto my head, and slip into the hall. No one tries to stop me as I weave through the maze of discolored metal. They’re all too busy trying to survive to bother a scrawny orphan running through the halls.
