Page 44 of Dissent

Simon sucked in a deep breath as a sly smirk overtook his face. “Girl, you’ve got balls going after him.” He let out a light chuckle. “Listen up, here’s how you find it…”

21: The Rock

Whythehelldoesthe Rock have to be back up that stupid trail?I had climbed this thing already once today…the last thing I wanted was to climb it again.

But I was determined.

I marched as quickly as I could, and once at the top, I looked for the marker Simon told me about. My eyes glanced around, roving over each boulder until I found a large granite one. I searched it, and on the side facing away from the trail was a painted symbol.

This is it.

Feeling a proud smile cross my lips, I went off the main trail, out into the wilderness. Scanning the ground, I searched until my eyes finally landed on tracks…the impression of a boot heading west.Perfect.Feeling confident, I followed the tracks deeper into the woods. I’d be lying if I was to say I wasn’t nervous. But I kept my eyes to the ground, focusing on never losing sight of those impressions. The last thing I wanted was to get lost.

I took my time, and after what felt like twenty minutes of hiking, a more defined trail took shape as the left side of me dropped off down into a canyon, and the right side of me became a steep wall of mountain. But I kept marching forward, following the little shelf of a trail and Wes’s boot imprints in the dirt. Looking out over the canyon, my heart quickened.

The forest fell down below me, pines and spruce reaching for the sky far below. And all around me were mountain ranges, rising and falling, jagged and smooth. The peaks stretched, almost touching the white puffs of clouds in the sky. It was breathtaking.If only Jacob could see this…

Inhaling deeply, I returned my attention to the path in front of me, only to notice that the dirt had turned to shale, leaving me with nothing else to follow. No more footprints.

Well, shit.

Halted in my tracks, I looked behind me and then forward again. There was no way he went down the ravine, and no way in hell he climbed the side of the mountain. So, the Rock must be in front of me. I just hoped I didn’t get myself lost.

***

It took a while longer, but I finally came to a slight turn in the trail, one that led up. With a groan, I ascended, needing my hands to help me from time to time as I practically climbed up stairs made of rock and exposed tree roots. And once I finally made it to the top, the ground flattened out onto an enormous expanse of granite. The boulder was so huge, it could have easily been the size of some homes in District 3. Nothing grew on it, and it jutted out over the canyon below like a shelf. And there, perched on the edge, was Wes.

He sat, one leg bent while the other hung over the edge of the rock. His one elbow rested on his bent knee while the other rested on the thigh of the opposite leg. My eyes took him in, and my breaths grew shallow as that familiar throb began. He seemed so calm, so peaceful, so still. After training with him for weeks in the arena, I had become accustomed to his harsh words and ever-present scowl. But to see him like this was to see something new. He looked…vulnerable.

“What are you doing here?” His voice came out soft… no malice or hard tone. But the sudden interruption of my thoughts startled me. He didn’t look my way, however. He just kept his gaze out over the precipice.

My lips parted, but no sound escaped them. Not even a squeak. I knew when I found him, I was going to have to talk to him, but I hadn’t really thought out what I was going to say. Part of me was preparing for him to be in a foul mood, but his current state was leaving me guessing.

“Well?” This time, he turned his head, our eyes meeting. And just like before, they were empty. The void that emanated from him felt wrong…numb. Like he had shoved a part of himself so deep that only anger could ever come out. And seeing him like this felt so…uncomfortable. I could feel my energy shift, my own angst causing my skin to crawl. And the sensation pushed me into action.

“I wanted to see if you were okay? You seemed upset when you left.”

“Does it look like I’m upset?” His words fell flat, his expression devoid of emotion.

“No.”

“Well, then you can leave.” He turned his head and looked back out over the canyon.

I opened my mouth to reply, but then closed it. I really didn’t know how to deal with this. Back in Telvia,Iwas usually the one with all the problems. It was Jacob and Chase who were always consoling me. And I was all too happy to soak it all in. But I didn’t really know what to do now that the tables had been turned.

“Well? Are you leaving or what?” This time, the tone carried just a hint of annoyance.

Sucking in an audible breath, I squared my shoulders. “You know, I’m not good with this kind of stuff. But just because I’m not good at it, doesn’t mean that I’m blind.” His head slowly turned back toward me, an eyebrow arched. But he stayed silent, so I pressed on, “I know you’re upset about your brother. I don’t blame you.”

“I’m fine.”

“Yeah?So fine that you walk around looking like you’re about to murder someone half the time. And the other half the time, you look…well….” I hesitated, the last word hanging on the tip of my tongue.

“I look likewhat?”

And then it just fell out, “Dead. You look dead. Like, there’s nothing in you at all. Like you died inside when he died.”

His gaze shifted away from me, down to the ground as his brows drew themselves into the center of his face, hooding his eyes. It was a subtle shift, but I could tell that I must have struck something within him. And the victory urged me forward.

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