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Back The Drowned Cities
Chapters (53)
  1. Welcome
  2. Dedication
  3. PART ONE
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. PART TWO
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  52. Contents
  53. Copyright

Mahlia slashed through more vines, and the trail opened before her. Instinctively, she paused, examining it for signs of danger.

Sometimes trails went wrong. Auntie Selima’s daughter had blown off her legs that way. She’d followed a little-used trail and ended up in a minefield that dated back to the very beginning of the fighting in the Drowned Cities. The explosion had been loud enough that people heard it in town, but by the time Mahlia and Doctor Mahfouz picked their own way through the mines, the girl had bled out.

Mouse peered over Mahlia’s shoulder, examining the trail with her. “Look good?”

The dirt was hard-packed. Lots of people and pigs and coywolv had wandered this way before. “Yeah. Looks safe.”

Mahlia handed over the machete and wiped her sweaty face as the redheaded boy took up the blade and the lead.

“So?” Mahlia pressed again.

“So, what?”

He was being deliberately dense. “So, it was stupid,” she said. “You just stood up and started throwing rocks at a whole platoon of soldier boys with guns. It didn’t make any sense. You could have just snuck away, and you threw rocks?”

Mouse laughed. “Yeah. You’re right. That was stupid.”

“So why?”

Mouse took an idle whack at some kudzu as he passed, but his face was serious. “Hell, I don’t know. Why do you care? That was right after our farm burned. They got everyone. Mom and Dad. Simon. Shane got recruited. I saw that. They shot Simon because he was too little, but they took Shane.” He knocked aside more kudzu. “Maybe I was hoping they’d just shoot me and get it over with. I was so sick of hiding and scavenging. I think I wanted the bullet.”

He shrugged. “And then it turned out that they missed. All those bullets they shot at me, and I didn’t take a single one, like the Fates put a hand down between me and them. And then it turned out that you got away, too… Well, you were bleeding out, so there was something to do. And you were hungry, and I knew how to get food. So then I had something to think about, other than… you know.” He shrugged again. “Maybe you saved me, right?”

“Yeah,” Mahlia joked. “You owe me, big time.” She let the subject drop because she could tell Mouse wasn’t going to give her any more, but as they continued down the trail, she still wasn’t satisfied.

She’d survived the Drowned Cities because she wasn’t anything like Mouse. When the bullets started flying and warlords started making examples of peacekeeper collaborators, Mahlia had kept her head down, instead of standing up like Mouse. She’d looked out for herself, first. And because of that, she’d survived.