Children of Ash: A Meridian Six Novella Read Online Free PDF

the reminder that without him and the others I never would have survived the first week of my freedom from the Troika.
    But there was something else there. The threat flashed between his words like neon. If I refused, I would be shunned. No shelter offered, no food provided, no protection from the elements or the monsters who hunted us every night. I’d be alone in the world.
    “You’re right,” I said, finally. “I need to rest.” And also to think and plan. Tomorrow, if after listening to the scheme I still didn’t want any part of it, I’d need to know my next steps. I’d need to prepare for them to try to force me through blackmail or physical violence. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.” I tried to summon an apologetic smile, but my lips felt too stiff to pull it off.
    He patted my shoulder. “That’s a good girl.”
    I turned to walk away. My legs wanted to run out of the room, but I forced them to walk slowly. On my way past Dare, she caught my eyes. Her yellow irises glinted dangerously with an unspoken threat. No doubt she was hoping I’d refuse again tomorrow so she could unleash hell on me.
    I didn’t react to her expression. Instead, I simply nodded and tried to look as exhausted as I suddenly felt. I knew it would gain me no sympathy, but maybe it would buy me some time.

Seven
    M atri

    T hey brought the girl to me just after dawn. The other children were already asleep but when the door burst open, the heavy clomp of boots on wood woke everyone up. Judging from the lift of the girl’s chin, her first few days in the camp hadn’t damaged her too much.
    That was why I’d requested her to be assigned to my bunker. She had a toughness to her that spoke of hard living in the Badlands. But she was sturdy and certainly had plenty of spirit that only begged for a little taming to be truly useful.
    She struggled against the guards holding each arm until they tossed her to the ground. I didn’t move forward to help. It was safer that way. The boy, Mica, who’d been with me for the last week and a half, tried to come forward, but I grabbed him and pushed him behind me.
    “Here’s your helper ,” said Judas, placing scornful emphasis on the last word.
    Judas wasn’t his real name, but it was what all the prisoners called him behind his back. He wanted us all to call him Captain, but we all found ways around it. He wasn’t a vampire, but one of the humans who’d betrayed their race to work for the Troika. Since vampires couldn’t function in the daylight, they relied on traitors like him to oversee the camp. Meanwhile, the traitors were under constant video surveillance from inside the vampires’ underground bunkers. If any of the humans betrayed the Troika during the day, it was a simple matter of unleashing the bat drones to take out and kill them and any other humans not following Troika rules.
    “Is she healthy?”
    He shrugged and laughed. “Healthy enough.”
    I looked him in the eye. “We’ll need extra rations, and uniforms.” The uniform she’d been issued was already in tatters from toiling in the fields every night. The stench of her body odor filled the space between us like a green fog. A bath would be required immediately. Luckily, I had some lye soap I’d traded for from the laundry workers.
    The captain laughed at my request. “You’ll have what you need. Just be sure your output increases. The doctor will be very disappointed if you do not meet quota.”
    The threat was useless. I’d lived under constant knowledge that disappointing the good doctor would be very bad for my health as well as the health of the children I protected. “Understood. Now leave us so I can get her working. The children need to be ready to work at sundown.”
    He watched me for moment with the look I suppose he considered threatening. But I’d survived in that camp too long to take the bait. “Good day, Captain.”
    He and the other guards turned to go. As he passed the girl, he elbowed her in