Chapter 12 — The Emerald City (Part II)

It took Natalie a full hour to find the park Cinza was talking about—assuming it was the right park. It was more than two blocks away, but Cinza hadn't known what store she was at, so Natalie had to hope it was the right one.

The park was much darker than the rest of the city, with the trees blocking out so much of the city and only the paths having any actual lights. Even those were forlorn, many flickering or broken altogether. Trash littered the area in every direction. As Natalie walked into the park, she noticed people left and right with tents or air mattresses, or even just laying on the dirt with ragged blankets.

The entire place made her feel uneasy.

She quickly made her way through the trees dotting the park to the west side. It couldn't be called a forest in any way. Though they'd grown fairly naturally, most of the trees had obviously been cut down. It was a pretender to the real thing. Natalie didn't draw any comfort from it, not when the hum of the city still surrounded them and ragged people stared at her from every direction.

She stood out too much. These people were wearing very practical clothes, in varying states of overuse and decay. Windbreakers, rain jackets, layers upon torn layers. Natalie, in sharp contrast, was still wearing the last dress she'd picked out from the store, a very soft and comfortable blue with swathes of patterns that faded in and out, reaching down to her knees. She had dark jeans and her new jacket on too, but she desperately wished she'd changed back to her t-shirt. The dress marked her to the crowd, too nice and too pretty.

Natalie tried to tuck it into her jeans as she walked, but it stubbornly fell back out again after only a few steps. Frustrated, she gave up and just zipped up her jacket tight, so that only the lower part of the dress was visible.

She kept walking, trying not to look around at the groups of people. Their eyes were sunken and glazed over, their faces gaunt and dead-looking. She'd seen dead people before, and these people reminded her of the same glassy-eyed, empty look. A few called out to her as she passed, but she ignored them and sped up a little, as fast as she could manage without actually running.

A nook set into one of the trees beckoned to her. There wasn't anyone within a few dozen feet, and she could sit against the trunk so that no one could sneak up on her, just like Cinza said. She sat down, brushed the dirt off of her clothes, and settled in to wait. She had no idea how long it would take to get from Rallsburg to Seattle.

Natalie didn't have any books, or any music, or anything to do at all. All she had left was magic, but there were so many people around. They kept giving her odd glances, too. There weren't any other kids around that she saw. Are they looking at me because I'm just a teenager? Is it the clothes?

...Or do they know what I am?

She was feeling pressure again, the relentless foe she'd avoided all day. She wanted to get rid of the dress, in the vague hope that they might stop looking at her, but she couldn't. She didn't have anything else to wear.

Cinza said to wait here. I don't have any way to get back to the house. I don't have my bus pass and I don't have the money to get another one. I have to wait.

She tried to calm herself down, taking deep breaths like Hailey always said. She wanted to close her eyes and retreat again, but she was too afraid to look away for even a moment. Her vision kept darting back and forth across the space in front of the tree, checking on each of the small groups visible from her little spot. They were preparing for bed, or having a last minute meal, or just talking in low, dull voices.

Again, there was a quick glance across the space to her little corner.

Is he just looking at me since I keep looking at him?

Cinza had told her no one there would hurt her. She'd also said they weren't friendly people. The two didn't seem to mesh, but Natalie trusted Cinza. She didn't like Cinza, but she trusted the strange girl. The difference between the two was something she'd learned over the last few months, and she really didn't like it.

Cinza had always struck Natalie as too weird to be anything good. She seemed fake in a lot of ways—like she were constantly pretending and lying to everyone. Natalie wondered how much of that opinion was her dad's, after the group had become public knowledge in the town, but she found herself agreeing with him even after everything that had happened.

The Grey cult was just weird. They wore weird clothes, they all talked in weird ways in public, and they always seemed to be giving Rachel headaches. The few times Natalie had actually interacted with them, Cinza had been weirdly eager to talk to her, and it made her uncomfortable.

But Cinza and her people had helped stop Jackson, so maybe they weren't all bad. Just so long as Natalie didn't have to talk to them.

What's going on, Hailey? Where are you? Why can't you come help me?

"Hey." A gruff voice from her side. Natalie looked around, a spike of fear driving through her brain. A middle-aged guy, wearing two different coats and two shirts underneath. He had hard eyes, the kind that only scary people ever had. "You."

Natalie wasn't sure she should talk to any of these people. The less she interacted with anyone, the better, right? She should just stay totally still and wait. But the guy didn't seem to be leaving…

"What're you doin' out here?"

Natalie still didn't answer. She thought that answer should be obvious, anyway. Why wasn't this guy asking everyone that?

"You don't belong out here. Go back to your parents' place. Running away isn't gonna solve anything."

He's not gonna give up. "I can't."

He grunted. "'Course you can. Just go back there. You walked here, di'int you? Don't see anything on ya."

"I don't have any money or bus passes."

He frowned. "What if I gave you one?"

Even if you did, I have no idea how to get home. And I can't tell you where it is. "I still can't."

"Why not?"

She didn't answer. Cinza wouldn't want me to tell anyone about her. Not even that she's coming to get me. Don't reveal anything. Keep it all quiet.

The guy sighed. He crouched down next to her, but still a good half-dozen feet away. Even so, she felt like he was too close. She shifted away pointedly. He shook his head. "I'm not gonna do anything. But seriously, you don't belong here. It's obvious. Go home before something happens."

"What's gonna happen?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Something to ask your parents about."

"Hey Tom!" called another gruff voice from somewhere Natalie couldn't see. "Everythin' all right?"

"Yeah," he called back.

Another guy emerged around the tree, glancing down at her. "Oh hey, what've you got here?"

"Runaway, probably. Being rebellious and shit."

The other guy whistled. "Damn, she's young. Girl, what the hell you doin'? Go home already. Mommy's waitin'."

"No, she isn't," Natalie snapped.

Both of them looked surprised she'd finally spoken with actual force. Tom rubbed his stubbly, ill-kept beard. "Mom's out of the picture, huh? Sorry, kid."

"Big fuckin' deal, who doesn't have a dead mom?" sneered Tom's friend. "She probably went with a needle in her arm like the rest of the retards around here."

"Knock it off," said Tom.

"Girl needs to learn." The other guy crouched next to Natalie and reached out a hand to grab her arm. Natalie reacted, slapping his hand away with a bit more force than she meant to. He jumped back, wringing his hand in pain. "Jesus."

"What?"

"Hurt like hell. That girl's got an arm."

"Serves you right, asshole." Tom shot him a dark look. "She's just a kid. Ten year olds don't need to hear that kind of talk."

"I'm thirteen," Natalie put in, unable to stop herself. She'd always hated how young most people assumed she was.

Tom looked surprised. His eyes slid over her again. "Sorry. Thirteen, not ten. Either way, you don't need to hear this idiot's stupid shit."

"Whatever, man." Tom's friend stood up. "Just get her to go home already. Shit, I'll even walk her there if it's not far. Might get a reward."

Natalie watched him carefully as he walked away. "He doesn't seem like a good friend," she commented.

"I wouldn't call him a friend at all." Tom sat down on the dirt against the other half of the tree, keeping a thick root between the two of them. "He's just someone you gotta live with, you know?"

Natalie thought about Quinn, and Kendra, and all the other people she had to live with. "Yeah."

Tom smiled. "You're way smarter than most kids your age, aren't you?"

Natalie shook her head. "I'm not. I screwed up. That's why I'm here."

"It happens." He sighed. "So you really can't go home, huh?"

"No." Even if I knew how, I can't go home without finding my bag. I need it.

"Well, if you're gonna stay the night, I'm stickin' around. Is that all right?"

Natalie hesitated. Better to have two people watching out than just one, right? Plus I'm pretty sure I could take him in a fight if I had to. "...Okay."

"Cool." He stood up. "I'm gonna go get a blanket. You want one? I've got a spare."

The chill really was starting to settle in. Her jacket wasn't really doing that much, and the blue dress was thin and light. Natalie gave him a quick nod. He smiled again.

"Be right back."

Natalie tried to make herself comfortable while she waited, but there was only so much she could do. The tree was a bit too stiff and straight to make for a good place to rest, but she didn't want to move and lose her spot. She wished she knew Cinza's trick for shaping trees with magic, but she'd never gotten to learn it. Not that I could do it with all these people around…

Luckily, Tom returned pretty quickly, with two reasonably intact and thick blankets. He started to hold one out for her, but paused. "You know, if you took your jacket off, you could use it as a pillow. The blanket'll do better at keepin' you warm anyway."

It made sense, so Natalie started to take it off. As she did, she noticed Tom's eyes drifting down to her shoulders. Her dress only had two very thin blue straps to hold it up, and she didn't have anything else. She didn't like how he was looking at her, but he was the only person to offer her any kind of help in this awful place. Natalie quickly grabbed the blanket out of his hand and wrapped herself up in it, leaning against the bundled jacket.

A headache she hadn't noticed began to fade, thanks to the cushion between the hard bark of the trunk and her head. Natalie finally allowed herself to relax a little, right up until Tom took the seat next to her. This time, he was sitting on her side of the root instead of staying separate. The blanket offered her a small buffer, but she could feel his presence nearby. Something indescribable, somewhere between a scent and a warmth. It was unpleasant, and she wished it would just go away.

But if she made him go away, she'd be noticed. She couldn't get him to leave without her real power, could she?

"Tom?" she asked quietly.

"What's up?"

"I'm kinda used to sleeping alone."

He shook his head, and her heart sank. "Can't do that. It's not safe out here."

"I can take care of myself."

"So can I, but I still wouldn't want to sleep alone. Too many people around here are willin' to take advantage of ya." He yawned, and as he did, he crept incrementally closer to her. "Don't worry. Everyone here knows not to mess with me. You'll be okay."

Natalie wanted to bolt away, but she felt like that would provoke him. A woman walked by. One of the gaunt-faced walking dead Natalie had seen earlier. Her expression was so flat and empty. Natalie wondered if she could feel anything at all. When she looked over at Natalie and her unwanted companion, her eyes drooped slightly. She opened her mouth slightly, and Natalie felt a small burst of hope.

Then the woman's mouth closed, her arms dropped back to her sides, and she wandered away again.

A weight dropped on Natalie's shoulders. Tom had put an arm around her, as if giving her a side-hug. She felt a burst of panic. She felt trapped, so trapped, and there was nothing she could do about it. Every instinct she had started shouting over each other at once, telling her to run, to fight, to summon a massive burst of lightning and force Tom to get away from her.

But people were still looking at her, and Cinza had told her to wait. Natalie couldn't stop him physically, and she couldn't use magic in a place like this. There was nothing she could do.

"Everything's all right," Tom murmured. His hand had taken hold of her shoulder.

Natalie tensed up. If he moved an inch further, she was going to stop him, no matter what the consequences might be.

Tom's hand moved an inch down her arm, and she did nothing.

Why can't I do anything? she cried out in her head. Why am I just sitting here?

Why isn't anyone else doing anything about this?

"Stop," she said aloud.

"Stop what?" Tom asked, and his hand did stop, but only for an instant.

Natalie didn't know how to say it. She just repeated the word again. "Stop."

Tom didn't answer that time, but his hand kept moving regardless of her words. She finally, reluctantly acted. Her hand moved up to push his away.

His hand caught her own in a vice grip.

"Stop!" she said, louder.

"Shh." Tom nudged her closer to him with his grip. She felt surrounded, trapped, overwhelmed. "Everyone here's trying to sleep. No one wants to be woken up."

She didn't know what to do. His hands kept moving. Touching. She held as still as she could, but every muscle in her body screamed at her to run. To get away as fast as possible and not look back.

Why was he doing this? What had she done wrong? Why was this happening to her?

"Please stop," she whispered.

He didn't stop.

I'm sorry, Cinza.

Natalie finally let open the floodgates. She murmured a spell as fast as possible, and magic surged into her arms.

She shoved Tom aside. He tumbled away sputtering, rolling ten feet across the grass. Natalie grabbed up her jacket and fled. She ran, as fast as she could, away from the horrible park and back again into the city streets.