Human Bait

Chapter 21: Family

When I awoke in the morning, Rekkan had already searched the house for any remaining supplies and was boiling a pot of oats over the fire. His bionic leg leaned against the wall beside the closet. He had taken it off before sleeping the night before, but seeing it in the morning sunlight unsettled me. Attached to him, the leg exuded power, intrigue, and allure. Without him, it was a chunk of metal—a manufactured corpse.

"Morning."

I tore my eyes from the leg to glance at Rekkan. The hand stirring the pot of oatmeal draped over his bent knee, and his other hand propped on the ground beside his stump leg. A posture with such easy grace. He smiled faintly, but something shrouded his eyes.

"The leg will come off every time we need a fire, so you'll have to get used to seeing me without it."

I shook my head. "Seeing you without the leg is fine. It's seeing the leg without you that scares me."

His brow furrowed. "Why? Pretty sure that microchip is inactive right now."

I shrugged, struggling to explain. "It's not about that. It just scares me to think of you being missing... to think of losing you."

He cocked his head, brow furrowing further. "Well, I'm not missing, and like it or not, I plan on sticking around." Then he nodded at the oatmeal. "Now come eat."

We left the farmhouse as soon as we finished eating. For twenty minutes, we trekked along the highway. Then we turned off the highway onto a wooded road. Slender tree shadows striped the pavement, and patches of melted snow revealed coarse gravel. Birds chirped, and tree branches rustled with bushy squirrel tails.

I wanted to enjoy the scenery, but the peacefulness unnerved me. Beside me, Rekkan's shoulders bunched, jaw ticked, and gaze flicked left and right. When I touched his hand, he squeezed my fingers and shot me a smile, but tension lined his forehead, and I knew the same question rolled through his mind.

Where were all the Infected?

By the time we stopped for lunch, the sun beamed down from directly overhead. We cut into the woods a ways and then perched side-by-side on a log. While Rekkan opened cans and divided food into bowls, I resumed poring over the book from my mother.

The closer I came to the start of the book, the more vague the allusions to the Infected and to the Noble Forces. I reached the front cover without finding anything of interest. When Rekkan offered me a bowl of beans, veggies, and crackers, I released a sigh and started to close the book...

And stopped.

I stared at the jotted note on the inside cover. My hands clasped the book hard enough to tear a page, and tears swam over my vision, blurring the words.

Rekkan drew in a breath and withdrew the offered food. "Zaf? What happened?"

"I just never expected she'd—" Unable to speak, I shifted the book to show Rekkan the note.

Dedicated to Zafaru, who shines brighter than Ether. I will never stop until I have secured the future you deserve.

"Oh," said Rekkan, voice hesitant and stilted. He tapped two fingers over the bowl still in his hands. "So, are those happy tears or sad tears?"

I jerked my shoulders in a shrug. "I used to dream of something like this, but it's somehow... disappointing. It's nice to know she was proud of me and cared this much, but I just..." I swallowed and shook my head. "A dedication in a book is nice. More time with her would have been better."

Rekkan's shoulders lifted with a breath, his mouth opened and shut, and his chest deflated again. Then he set the bowl on the ground and grabbed my hand, slotting his fingers through mine. "Is there anything I can do?"