Ethereal

Pluto

A deafening boom shook me awake, the noise so loud that I clasped my hands over my ears in an effort to dull the sound. The ground below the car shook, causing Jax to slam on the brakes. We skidded to a stop, Jax and I sitting silently besides each other as we waited for the shaking to stop.

I looked around us, expecting an onslaught of officials racing towards us to drag us back to Camp, their guns aimed at Jax and me. But there was no one.

A second wave hit, this time more powerful than before. The earth shook and a powerful gust of wind swept over the car, so strong that Jax pushed my head down so we were both on the floor of the car to avoid being tossed around.

“What’s happening?” I said, nearly screaming as I tried to yell over the wind.

“I don’t know!” Jax said, his voice equally as loud.

The ground grew still, the wind settling down enough for us to climb back into our seats. I brushed the dust and sand that clung to my clothes, shaking out my hair to rid it of the grainy texture. Next to me, I felt Jax stiffen.

“What is it?” I said, turning around to see what he was looking at.

We stared, unmoving. I felt all of the blood drain from my face and sink into my hands and feet, making them feel sluggish and heavy. An icy chill crept over me, clawing over my skin until it sank its teeth deep into my muscles and lingered there for several minutes.

The Citadel was on fire.

We were several miles away from Camp by now, it’s towering walls incredibly tiny in the distance. A little ways beyond Camp walls, was a giant plume of smoke rising up into the air. The Sacramento Providence was on fire, its once twinkling lights now nothing but ash and dust.

I sat there for a moment, unable to think as I watched the mushroom cloud rise up into the sky until it reached the clouds. Jax jerked to life next to me, his hands on the steering wheel as he put the car back into gear and began speeding down the beach once again.

“Jax,” I said, tugging on his sleeve to get him to look at me. “the Citadel –“

“I know,” he said.

“Is that why Eli told us not to go there? Did he know this was going to happen?” I said, my voice turning shrill.

“He told me that he believed the rebels were marching on the Citadel. They’ve taken over Salt Lake and the Colorado River Providences, and with the last Citadel gone…” he said, his hands tightening on the wheel.

“They won.” I said, finishing his sentence for him. Jax nodded his head.

“But what about the Camp? What are they going to do to everyone there?” I said, turning back around to look at the walls of Camp that were growing smaller by the minute.

“I’m not sure,” Jax said. “Eli mentioned something about getting the sailors and their families out before sunrise. Hopefully they’re all on their way to the beach now, and they can take the ships and leave before the rebels catch up to them.”

Just then I remembered Stew and Carlo, their faces flashing into my mind. My heart gave a painful tug when I realized I hadn’t said goodbye to them. I may never see them again. All I could do was hope that they made it out before the rebels reached the Camp. Another thought struck me, and I reached out and grabbed the collar of Jax’s shirt in a panic.

“What about Charlie?” I said, my hands shaking. “We have to go back, we have to go back and get him!”

Jax gave me a look that was both somber and perplexed, his eyebrows pinching together in confusion.

“How do you know about Charlie?” he said, his voice clipped.

I opened my mouth and closed it, my embarrassment rising into my cheeks. “I saw you two together yesterday, while I was out looking for – exploring the rest of Camp, I mean.” I said.

Jax shot me an odd look when I corrected myself. I could see in his eyes that he wanted to ask me what I was going to say before I caught myself, but he let it go.

“Charlie will be okay. Eli will make sure he and his mom will make it out.” Jax said, though I caught a slight break in his voice. He hoped Eli would get them out, but he would never know for sure unless we turned around.

“How can you say that? He’s your son! We have to go back and get him!” I said, shaking him by the shoulders. How could he just abandon his child?

Jax gave me a wild look until his eyes suddenly widened in understanding. “Ah, I know why you’re confused.” He said. “You heard Eli say that he would make Charlie a sailor, just like his father.”

I nodded, my tongue feeling dry in my mouth.

Jax let out a small chuckle. “Nor, Charlie isn’t my child.”

“Wait, what?” I said. The moment he said it, however, I felt myself relax a bit. Knowing that Jax wasn’t leaving behind his child took a weight off my mind.

“Charlie’s father, Victor, used to be a sailor on my crew several years ago.” He said. Jax’s jaw suddenly went taut. “It was my first time as captain. Eli appointed me his replacement after he was made Ship Master.”

Jax went quiet, the only loud was the wind blowing over us. Though we were several miles away from both the Citadel and the Camp, I could smell the heavy stench of smoke hanging in the air.

“Everything went smoothly. It was on the return back to Camp that we suddenly hit a storm.” Jax said. “Victor wanted us to drop anchor at Sailor’s Cove. Wait out the storm and continue in the morning. I refused. I thought we could make it – I was too confident in myself and thought the ocean would be merciful.”

I nodded, seeing that his hands were turning white against the steering wheel. I placed one of my hands over his, making him ease up his grip.

“We were only a mile or so from shore when we hit a sand bank and began to sink. Normally I would’ve been able to spot it and circle around it, but the storm was too strong, and the ocean was darker than I had ever seen it. By the time I realized what we had hit, the crew was trying to untie the rowboats to get back to shore. The waves were too big, and the ship filled up with water before any of the rowboats could be untied. So my crew decided to swim for it.” He said, pausing to take a breath. He dropped a hand from the steering wheel and wrapped it around mine, pulling our hands onto his lap.

“Some of them made it to shore, including me. Others drowned, and some were pulled under by a sea creature I couldn’t see.” Jax said.

“Was it sharks?” I said, but Jax shook his head.

“I would’ve been able to see their fins. They like to circle their prey before they attack. Whatever these creatures were, they weren’t any kind that I had seen before.” He said.

I remembered the stories the Matrons would read to the girls and I back at the orphanage, some of the tales about sailors who were lost at sea and would discover horrific sea creatures that preyed on lost souls and shipwrecks. One girl had once asked a Matron to draw one of the creatures out for us to see, as we could only picture the creatures in our minds. The resulting illustration gave me nightmares for weeks – the strange, crooked heads with pitch black eyes that were three sizes too big for their heads. The jagged spikes of bone and cartilage that lined their backs, their scales the size of an adult’s hand. But the teeth were what I remembered the most. The way they jutted upwards, shaped like a pointed saw.

“Charlie’s dad didn’t make it. It’s my fault he didn’t – had I not let my pride blind me, Charlie would still have his father. And I wouldn’t have lost so many men. They were good men, Nor. They didn’t deserve to die like that.” Jax said.

I rubbed my thumb over his knuckles, my heart bleeding for his. No wonder he had been so frightened the night I had ventured topside during that storm while we were still on the ship. He thought he was going to lose me the same way he lost his crew so many years ago.

“That’s why you saw me with Charlie. I try to help his mom out as much as I can, but it won’t bring Victor back. No matter what I do, I can’t replace what I stole from them.” He said.

“You didn’t take Charlie’s dad away, Jax. You made a mistake, but now you need to move on.” I said, giving his hand a squeeze.

Jax let out a breath, glancing down at me and giving me a half smile. I combed his blonde hair back over his head, the strands feeling like silk in my hands. He grabbed my hand and kissed my palm before letting me drop it back into my lap.

“Go back to sleep,” he said, and draped his arm over my shoulder so I could lean against him again.

I settled back against his side, feeling the warmth of his ribs as I pressed into him. Just beneath my palm I could feel his steady heartbeat, its rhythm drifting me off to sleep.

. . .

The next time I woke up, the sun was already high overhead and steadily sinking back towards the horizon. The car was parked by a cliffside with Jax no where to be found.

I stretched out my arms and legs, my joints popping awake after having a long sleep. My hand rested on the door handle as I pushed it open, searching for Jax. Though the sun was out, it was surrounded by a thick blanket of smoke, turning it into a hazy red color. I looked back towards where the Citadel and the Camp would be, and though we were too far away to see any building structures, I could still see the unmistakable tunnel of black smoke rising up off the ground where the Citadel should have been.

“We need to keep moving.”

I turned to see Jax digging through the car’s compartments, pulling out a few items before striding over to me. In his hand was a brown bag with frayed straps, and I watched as he stuffed a flashlight, a box of matches, and a folded map stained with coffee into it.

“Where did you go?” I asked him as he shouldered the bag.

“There’s a trail that leads down the cliff and onto the beach. I was hoping there was a cave that we could hide out in for the night, but I didn’t see anything.” He said, then nodded towards the car. “We ran out of gas. Whoever drove it last forgot to fill it up with gas. We might be able to find a car in Solomon’s Port, but we’ll have to walk the rest of the way there. It’s about thirty more miles.” He said.

“Well,” I said, “at least the weather’s nice.”

Jax smiled as he took my hand. We continued on by foot, trailing along the coast as the day wore on. Jax wanted us to get as far as we could before we stopped for the night. Though it was unlikely that the rebels would notice a car missing from Camp and would try to pursue us, the possibility of it still lingered in the back of my mind, as I’m sure it did in Jax’s. Our worried thoughts pushed us onward, but by the time the sun was setting over ocean we had only hiked for a couple of miles before we were forced to stop for the night.

Jax started a small fire, using only the small twigs and grasses that surrounded us. He nearly gave up on it as the wind kept blowing the fire out, but I knelt down and cupped my hands around his and slowly breathed life back into the dull embers.

“How much more water do we have?” I asked him, my back on the ground to let the fire warm my face. Jax was laying by my feet, his fingers twisting around long blades of grass as he pulled them from the ground and deposited them on my shoes. Once the pile grew to be too big, I would shake the grass off, and Jax would begin his pile again.

“Enough,” he said, not meeting my eyes.

I felt my lips purse into a tight line, looking away from Jax and up into the night sky so he couldn’t see the worry written on my face. Though Jax’s plan to get us out of Camp had gone brilliantly, neither of us had thought to bring any supplies. The lack of preparation left us with three bottles of water Jax had found in the back seat of the car and a jar of peanuts that I had found in the middle console of the car.

We finished off the peanuts for dinner and by the sounds of it our water was quickly running out as well. Solomon’s Port was too far away for us to keep traveling on foot, and I had no idea where we were going to find any fresh water.

“Can I see your bag?” I said, a thought suddenly coming to mind.

Jax tossed me the bag, his eyes filled with questions, but I ignored him as I dug through its contents and pulled out the map. I scanned the shoreline until I found Sacramento Providence, then continued south as I circled the area that we were most likely in. There was a thin blue line that curved a few miles away – fresh water.

“Okay,” I said, laying out the map as I sat down next to Jax. “if we keep following the shore, there’s a river about five miles or so that feeds into the sea. If we get up early tomorrow morning, we’ll be able to refill the water bottles and maybe even find something to eat by lunch.” I said.

Jax nodded, his eyes following my fingers as I showed him the route that we should take.

“Sounds great,” he said, his eyes giving me a sly smile.

I folded up the map and threw it at him. “You already knew that, didn’t you?” I said.

“A true explorer never reveals his secrets.”

“That’s a magician, you dumbass.” I said, chuckling. Jax’s smile turned into a toothy grin as he grabbed my wrist and tugged me towards him, bringing me flush against his chest. I let out a graceful oomph as we collided, Jax brushing the air out of my eyes as I folded my arms over his chest.

“Tell me something about yourself.” Jax said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“What do you want to know?” I said, drawing small circles into his shirt. A chill wind swept over us, but his skin tingled with warmth beneath me, keeping the cold at bay.

Jax considered my question for a moment, looking up at the stars as he thought of what to ask me. Finally, he looked back down at me, his brown eyes melting in the firelight as he stroked his thumb across my cheek.

“What’s your favorite color?” He said.

I laughed, unable to hide my surprise. “That’s what you decide on? My favorite color?” I said.

“Come on, Mousey. Be a good sport.” Jax said, giving my nose a light flick.

“Yellow.” I said after a moment.

“Yellow?” Jax said, wrinkling his nose.

“Not like a bright yellow, like the sun.” I said, rolling my eyes. “But the color of wheat fields when the sun is setting and the wind is blowing through them. The way the wheat curled under the wind kinda reminds me of the waves.” I said, closing my eyes at the thought of home. It wasn’t until now that I realized how much I missed the dry heat and the loosely packed earth under my toes.

“You came from one of those places?” Jax said, considering me with a curious gaze.

I nodded. “I was born in the Colorado River Providence.” I said. “But now it’s my turn to ask you what your favorite color is.”

“That’s easy,” Jax said, “it’s blue.”

I laughed. Of course his favorite color as the color of the ocean. I shouldn’t have expected anything else from him.

“How old were you when you came to Sacramento Providence?” he said.

“I’ve been here for almost a month,” I said, resting my chin on top of his ribs. I could hear his heart beating under my fingertips.

“What?” Jax said, sitting up on his elbows. I sat back on my knees with a huff, holding my arms around my middle from the sudden loss of heat.

“I came down here to look for my family.” I said, “We were separated when I was little. A government official told me that they were being sent to the Camp, so I decided to try and find them.” I winced at how watered down my story was. I made it sound like I woke up one morning and decided that visiting a slave camp would be a nice weekend getaway.

“You came all the way from the Colorado River Providence?” Jax said, his voice unbelieving.

“I got a ride.”

“From who?”

“A government truck.”

“And let me guess – you got caught.”

“Not because of my lack of ingenuity.”

“So that’s how you ended up at Camp.” Jax said, lying back down on his back. I followed him, resting my cheek against his chest. I felt his chest rumble beneath me as he let out a chuckle.

“What?” I said.

“You’re the only person I know who ended up inside Camp because you hitched a ride in government car just so you could get to the Camp in the first place.”

“Like I said, I didn’t get caught because of my lack of ingenuity.” I said. There was a momentary pause before I opened my mouth again, my fingers drumming against his skin as the words left my mouth. “How did you end up at Camp?”

Jax let out a long breath that almost sounded like a sigh. “I was born there.”

I waited for him to continue, my eyes focusing on the fire as I counted the rise and fall of his chest.

“What about your parents?” I said finally, breaking the silence.

“They died.” He said simply. I felt my fingers twitch in irritation. I was telling him everything about my past, and it still felt as though he were keeping secrets. After everything that has happened, he still didn’t trust me.

“Good talk.” I said, my hurt getting the best of me. I pushed off him as I moved away. Jax frowned at me as I took a spot across the fire, one that was the farthest from him.

“Nor,” he said, my name floating off his lips. I ignored him as I flopped onto my back and turned to face the darkness, my back to the fire. Several minutes passed before a deep chill settled into my bones, making me shiver. There went my chances for falling asleep tonight.

I heard Jax sigh as he sat up from his spot. I jerked away when I felt his fingertips brush up against my arm. He pulled them away, but I didn’t hear him move to leave.

“They died when I was young.” Jax said. “I don’t remember if it was the sickness or starvation. I can’t even remember what they look like.”

There was a stiff pause, as though Jax was trying to recall their faces from his memory. His hand settled back over my arm, and I didn’t move away.

“Eli found me soon after. He got me a job on one of his ships before he became Shipping Master. He taught me how to tie off the masts, tell the time from the sun, and navigate with the stars.” He said. Then added, “I wish I could remember my parents. What they looked like, what their voices sounded like.” His voice broke.

I threaded my hand through his, pulling his arm so that it was draped over my middle. He laid down behind me, his chest pressed firmly against my back.

“You were young.” I said, “I wouldn’t have remembered my parents and brother unless I had a picture of them. I lost it though,” I felt my throat give a painful squeeze as I tried to swallow. “now I’m worried that I’ll forget what they look like.”

“They died in the Camp?” Jax said. I nodded.

“During the Riot Season. A couple years ago, when the rebels were trying to take over the Citadels, the government placed a curfew to keep everyone contained. If an official caught you out after dark, they automatically assumed you were working with the rebels. Some people were shot on sight, others were taken to the Camp.” I said, pulling Jax’s arm tighter around me. “My parents tried to take us to the mountains. They were worried the rebels would overthrow the Citadels, and we’d be killed. The officials found us, and the only reason I didn’t go to the Camp with them is because they used girls to harvest grains and collect berries in the orphanages. So that’s where I went.”

“How old were you?” Jax said.

“Six.”

He let out a breath that fanned my hair over my face. I flipped over so that I was face to face with him, his hair a golden halo over his head the way it caught the light.

“We make quite the pair, huh?” I said, letting out a weak laugh.

“Yeah,” Jax said, leaning down as he pressed his cheek against my hair. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

I smiled against his shirt, my eyelids drooping closed as I breathed in his familiar scent of sea air and earth.