Page 37 of Calico Descending

Her question takes me by surprise, and I tip my head, my attention bouncing between Bree and the bird. “Yeah. Momma birds never leave their babies alone for long.”

I stare at the wall, curled into a tight ball. Tears trickle onto the pillow beneath my head, as I try to recall every memory I still have of her. Ones as far back as when she was a baby, lying in my arms, as my mother sat beside us.

“She’s yours,” she said to me. “You need to help momma take care of her, okay?”

I remember the pride in my heart, as I held her hand in mine, kissing her forehead. My baby. My very own baby.

“How are you feeling?” The sweet memories of her darken to gray, as the voice of Medusa interrupts my musings.

I don’t answer her.

“I thought you should know … she made it out of surgery.”

On a rush of hope, I twist toward her, my heart beating to life once again. “She’s alive?”

“Of course. This is a hospital. Doctors here are well equipped to handle a few bullets.”

“But … but I saw her. I saw them wheel her away and … cover her with a sheet.”

“A doctor did this?”

“No. One of the transporters.”

“Ah, yes.” She shakes her head and paces beside the bed. “Idiot girl. Thought she was already dead.”

“Can I see her?” Trying to sit has me falling back against the pillows, and I clutch the throbbing ache at the back of my skull.

“I’m afraid not. Aside from the fact that you’re not quite back on your feet, it’s not a good idea.”

“I just … I just need to see her. To see she’s okay.”

“Your sister seems to do well when you’re not a factor.” Her words pierce my heart as the truth in them mingles with the thoughts I’ve had for a while. “It was your fault, after all, that she ended up wrestling with one of the guards. Had you not been so … uncooperative, none of this would’ve happened.”

“I … I didn’t mean to steal.”

“I know you didn’t. I know you were just trying to make friends, but stealing is not the way to make friends here. When you steal, it means someone else goes without. Would you have someone starve, just so you feel a sense of belonging?”

I shake my head, the guilt in her words worming their way into my conscience.

“I’ve advised the guards to let this be. All three of you have suffered enough consequence. I don’t see the need to invite more trauma. But you will go without rations for the rest of the week.”

A sharp breath escapes me at the thought of not eating for days. I don’t even know if I can afford such a thing, and perhaps that’s the point. Maybe I’ll die a slow death of starvation here, a subtle death, far less traumatic than having my fingers cut off, but still setting an example to the others.

“I’m going to have your sister transferred out. It’s best if the two of you don’t have contact. At all.”

Turning away from her doesn’t stop the tears from falling again. So many tears I’ve shed in the last couple of days, it’s a wonder there are any left in me.

“You understand it’s for the best, right? You do want what’s best for your sister, don’t you?”

“Yes.” I didn’t think this place could get any lonelier. Any darker. But I’ve just handed over my sister to these monsters without a fight. Because deep inside my heart, I believe that’s what is truly best for her. I honestly believe she’s better off without me in this place.

A thought that will haunt me for the rest of my time here.

Chapter 20

Present day

“Cali, wake up.” Bryani’s voice startles me awake, to the pitch blackness of the room. Hands over my ears, I refuse to open my eyes, for fear that, even in this absolute darkness, I’ll see her face staring back at me. “Wake up, Cali,” she taunts.

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