The Ruby Locket

1 Saxon A coloured stain spreads across the sky in all directions. Tints of pink and purple blend together, sending a sign of the warm weather to come. I look around, but there’s nothing else to see, except the body slumped on the ground. Her legs are bent one way, while her body twists the other. The wasteland stretches out behind her. It gives no clues of where she has been. There are no footprints to show from which direction she’s travelled. The landscape around our town is barren, making it impossible for anyone to survive in. Yet, somehow this girl has made it all the way here to Nevertyre. Alone. ‘Do you think she’s alive, Manny?’ I say. ‘Nope.’ The ‘p’ pops from his lips, so confident in his response. ‘Well, she’s not from around here,’ I say. ‘She must be a rambler.’ ‘Shut yer mouth, Saxon,’ Manny says, looking around. ‘It don’t matter where she’s from ‘cause either way she’s dead. Now let’s go!’ I grab hold of Manny’s arm. ‘We can’t just leave her out here to rot.’ The mangy animals around these parts haven’t got to her yet, but that doesn’t mean they won’t if given the chance. It will soon be night and they’ll come sniffing around looking for their dinner. Manny checks his watch. ‘We’re already late and Constance will be gettin’ worried.’ The days are longer at this time of year, but it will soon be night. We don’t want to be out here when darkness falls. ‘Manny! We gotta burn her. It ain’t right not to and you know it.’ We stare at one another, each brother waiting for the other to give in. It won’t be me. It never is. ‘All right, fine,’ says Manny. ‘We’ll come back and get her early tomorrow morn, before work. But you can help me take her to the crematorium.’ Manny’s footsteps crunch on the gravel as he walks off, ending the discussion. I pinch the bridge of my nose. A habit of frustration picked up from my late father. It doesn’t sit well with me to leave the body out in the open all night, but Manny won’t change his mind now it’s made up. That’s something we both have in common. I squat and look at the girl, careful to keep some distance. Her long, black hair is matted and spills out around her head. Her skin is blistered and peeling. Dirt streaks her face with dark lashes crusted closed. She might have been pretty before death found her. I shake my head at a life wasted so close to sanctuary. I look at her face, willing her eyes to open, unable to move away just yet. I’ve seen dead bodies at Manny’s work before, but something about this one holds my interest. ‘Saxon, come on!’ I ignore the call of my older brother and move toward the girl. It’s difficult to judge her age. People that live outside the communities can appear older than they are. I’m in my seventeenth year so if I had to guess, I’d say this girl was a similar age. It’s hard to tell through the grit and grime though. I shuffle closer again, careful not to touch her. Sunlight glints off her neck where a silver locket is nestled on her collarbone. A single red stone sits in the middle, like an eye watching me. I cup the necklace and lean forward for a closer look. ‘Help me,’ whispers the girl. I scramble backward. ‘Manny! Get over here, she’s alive.’ I wait to see what she does next, but there’s no more movement. No other sound. Is my mind playing tricks? Did I imagine her voice? ‘Hello?’ I crawl toward the girl. My fingers shake as I reach out to push some clumped hair from her face. ‘Can you hear me?’ Her eyelids flutter open and light blue eyes pierce through me, the same colour as the day sky on a sunny morn. ‘Please … help me.’ I lean closer, but her eyes are closed once again. Footsteps grow loud behind me. ‘What game are you playin’ at, Saxon?’ Manny leans over me. ‘She’s dead, yer fool.’ ‘I’m playing no game brother. She spoke to me. I swear, on our parents’ graves, this girl is still alive.’ Manny’s face distorts at the oath I’ve given. He knows it is not offered lightly. ‘You swear it?’ I nod. ‘She asked me to help her.’ I stand eye to eye with Manny. We are identical in height, but nothing else. ‘Damn it! What are we gonna do now?’ says Manny. ‘Suppose we better take her home.’ ‘Take a rambler home? Has the sun scorched yer brain?’ ‘Calm down, it’ll be one night.’ ‘No way, Saxon. No bloody way. We don’t need Agents knockin’ down our door for housin’ a rambler and breakin’ the law.’ ‘Nobody will know.’ ‘Don’t be stupid, of course they will! Nothin’ ever stays quiet round these parts for long.’ ‘So what? I’ll deal with the Agents if it comes to that.’ I shrug. ‘Won’t be anything new for me.’ ‘No, Saxon. Absolutely not.’ ‘Come on, Manny! Let’s just take her home and see what Constance thinks.’ The defeat rolls over my brother as his shoulders droop. Manny always relents when Constance is involved. She’s his weakness, his Achilles heel. That’s why my sister-in-law is a good ally to have and no match for Manny’s stubborn ways. ‘Yer damn tinker, one night.’ Manny points a finger in my face. ‘One night and then she’s gone.’ I retrieve the wheelbarrow. ‘Good thing we sold all the veggies. We can move her in this.’ ‘I ain’t pickin’ her up.’ Manny crosses his arms. ‘This is your daft idea.’ ‘What are you afraid of? Look at her! She’s nothing but skin and bones.’ I scoop up the lifeless body. ‘She’s hardly gonna cause us any trouble.’ ‘She probably won’t last through the night,’ says Manny, kicking the ground. ‘Then what are you worried about? If she dies … well, we haven’t broken any laws, have we? We can just report her after that.’ I lay the girl in the wheelbarrow, taking extra care with her head. The girl’s crumpled clothes are like a pile of torn rags in the barrow. Her collarbones jut out from below her neck, ready to snap. One shoe is lost while the other is barely whole. Where did this girl come from to end up like this? Wherever it was, she must be some distance from home. ‘Ain’t nobody travels alone out there and survives,’ I say. ‘She’s a fighter, Manny, you’ll see.’ I push the barrow along the path, trying to avoid the bumps. There’s a story to go with this girl. I just hope she lives long enough to tell it.