Chapter 6
606 Words
Chapter Six
Nola sat alone at the kitchen table, poking at the food on her plate and trying to do her reading for school.
The medicinal applications of plants must be weighed equally with their nutritional value. Also included in the assessment must be other species that would be required to maintain a proper habitat, and their accessibility—
There was a tap on the kitchen door.
“Coming,” Nola called. Her heart dropped when she saw a giant shadow through the window.
Captain Ridgeway stood outside her door, his face somber.
“What happened to my mom?” Nola asked before Captain Ridgeway could speak. “Is she sick? Did she get hurt?”
Green Leaf is too far away. I don’t know how to get to her.
“You’re mother's fine.” Captain Ridgeway stepped into the kitchen. As tall as Jeremy, Captain Ridgeway’s well-muscled frame overwhelmed the tiny kitchen, leaving Nola no room to breathe.
“Oh.” Nola clasped her shaking hands together. “What happened? Is somebody dead? Is Jeremy okay?”
“There was an incident in the city last night,” Captain Ridgeway said. “There was a fight between two groups that accelerated to the point where the Outer Guard had to become involved.”
“But everyone’s all right?”
“There were a few injuries,” Captain Ridgeway’s voice dropped.
“Gentry?” Nola knew she was right before Captain Ridgeway nodded.
He’s not just an Outer Guard. He’s Jeremy and Gentry’s father.
“Is she going to be all right?” Nola pictured Gentry, tall and strong with short, blond hair framing her round face. Always laughing, but now she was hurt.
“She’ll recover,” Captain Ridgeway said. “But there were a few deaths. The packs that were attacking each other dragged in bystanders that shouldn’t have been involved in their fight.”
“Werewolves,” Nola breathed.
“Nothing travels faster than rumors in the domes,” Captain Ridgeway said without surprise. “When we searched the casualties for identification, we found dome medicine on one of the deceased.”
The room swayed.
“You lost your I-Vent?” Captain Ridgeway continued.
Nola nodded, not trusting her voice.
“Is there anyone who stood out to you at the Charity Center? Anyone who tried to get close to you?”
Nola shook her head.
“If someone is stealing dome medicine, we need to know,” Captain Ridgeway said, his eyes searching Nola’s face.
“I just lost my I-Vent,” Nola said, her voice shaking. “I think I...”
Kieran dead. Killed by werewolves.
“I dropped it. The person who had the medicine—”
“Is dead. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t someone out there trying to steal dome supplies. If a black market for our medicine is creeping into the city, it needs to be stopped immediately. Did you see anything suspicious? Anything at all?”
“I don’t know,” Nola said.
Captain Ridgeway nodded, his eyes still locked on Nola’s face. “If you remember anything, please come to me immediately.”
“But—” Nola stepped in front of the Captain as he turned toward the door. “No one we know, none of our people died?”
“No. All the guards will recover.”
He stepped outside and shut the door behind him with a sharp click.
Nola slid down the wall, her head in her hands.
All the guards will recover.
But what about Kieran?
Had he been trapped between the wolf packs?
What if someone had stolen the I-Vent from him? What if he had lied, and he was the one who needed the medicine? What if he was the one they had found the medicine on?
He could be dying. He could be dead, and she would never know.
Nola pressed her palms together, trying to stop her hands from shaking. Her breath came in panicked gasps.
Kieran torn apart by wolves.
I have to know.
Nola sprang to her feet, willing herself to move quickly enough she wouldn’t have time to change her mind.
There was only one way to know if Kieran was alive.
5th and Nightland.
- Writer
