Eternal Dawn

VIII

Thomas followed Kate Sullivan into her building. Silence gripped them as they trudged up to the third floor. A child scurried away when they caught sight of Thomas’ uniform and a slamming door echoed down the hall.

Miss Sullivan went rigid, but never stopped walking. “How did you find me?”

Thomas kept a calm pace, trying not to think about the possibility of an ambush from rebels in the apartment. He was alone and his uniform was a target. “You have a file. I wasn’t sure if it was a misleading address and you lived in...”

“The Edges?”

He gave a sheepish smile as she pulled out her key. “For those with your work, it would be a safer location, Miss Sullivan.”

“Call me Kate.” She lifted her eyebrow as she unlocked the door. “Safer isn’t the word I would use. I hate to burst the bubble of Eternal servants, but we don’t all hide in shadows. It’s cold and miserable. No one ever knows when the Dark will move. No one would choose to live there.”

“I know.” He shivered, even though the apartment was warm. “You stay there long enough, you forget the sight of the sun. You may call me Thomas.”

She gave him a curious look, then gestured for him to follow her inside. He stepped into a small apartment with an assortment of secondhand furniture. Surrounded by little porcelain figurines, a small clock ticked on a shelf. The only suspicious item was a bookcase overcrowded with books. The volumes looked innocuous, but Thomas could imagine what they contained. He almost wanted to look at one, but restrained himself. He stopped at a monochrome photograph on the wall. In the center was a much younger Kate Sullivan with long, flowing hair. She was dressed all in white in what must have been a wedding gown. Two men were on either side of her. One was a young blond lad who had a blissful elation that was too rare in the world. The other was a dark-haired man with a much more somber expression. There was something familiar about him that left Thomas uneasy.

“Sorry if it’s cold.” Kate set her satchel down on a wooden table. “It gets colder in the fall now. And I can’t afford to keep the room heated. But if you were assigned to the Edges, you’re probably used to the cold.”

Thomas turned from the picture. “Clever, but you’re off the mark. I’ve never been assigned to the Edges.”

Memories threatened to unearth themselves. Gray fog permeating everything, muting colors until he couldn’t remember the brightness of crimson or the soothing of sapphire. Distant screams fading and people disappearing as if they were never there at all. His eyes squeezed shut, hoping he would live to see another day.

Hope growing futile that he would live to see sixteen.

Kate slipped off her coat and hung it on the wall. “So you know someone who patrolled the area?”

He kept a steady gaze on her, refusing to show that she unsettled him. The Edges were a dangerous area, only the most expendable guards were sent there unless there was a serious situation. Close to the Dark, an almost permanent mist hung over the Edges. People were prohibited from residing there, but it was one of the most ignored sacred laws. Abandoned buildings and rundown homes hosted criminals, heretics, and the desperate. A patrol would be sent periodically into the Edges to round up people if there was a shortage in labor camps. It was vile work, and he understood the reporter was trying to get his measure when she brought up the Edges.

“Of course I know guards who patrolled,” he said. “If you’re asking if I lived in the Edges, I didn’t. I’m from the Virgo Illuminated Community. It was so dark it might have been the Edges.”

She folded her arms. “Wasn’t that community lost to the Dark ten years ago?”

“It was.”

Her forehead creased. “I wasn’t aware anyone survived.”