Page 24 of Juniper Unraveling

As I lie on the forest bed, my gaze catches on the heavy branch of the sycamore overhead—the way it falls short of the wall, as if it’s been cut away, so as not to hang over the edge. Obviously meant to keep those on the other side from getting in. But it’s close. Close enough to tie a rope onto for tossing over the wall.

The urgency beats through me, and I twist toward the hole, where Six peers through, at me.

“Listen to me. I’m going to get you out of there.”

He backs away from the hole, shaking his head.

“Six, I can do it! There’s a tree on this side. I’ll tie a rope and toss it over the wall.”

Still shaking his head, he gives a quick glance back toward the guards.

“Tonight. Can you meet me out here tonight? The electricity will go out, and no one will see us. Promise me you’ll come out here when the sun goes down.”

Rocking back and forth, he rubs his skull.

“Promise you’ll be here.” I push my hand through the hole, offering my palm. “I don’t want them to hurt you anymore, Six. Promise me. Shake on it.”

Rough skin brushes over mine, and when he squeezes my hand, I smile.

“I’ll come back for you.”

Chapter 8

Wren

A chill climbs my spine while a fire burns in my lungs, as I run along the narrow road that leads to the North side of the community. I’ve heard the night Mediators are so stealth with stalking after criminals and those who try to breach the wall, that an unwitting vagabond like me wouldn’t even know she was being hunted down until it was too late.

My pack carries the rope and an extra set of Papa’s casual clothes—a pair of lounge pants and a T-shirt, so as not to set off a manhunt, should we run into any guards along the way. I woke Papa, who fell asleep in his study again, before I left and sent him to bed, waiting until I was certain he’d resettled before heading out. I also brought my sling in the event of trouble. Though, with the kind of trouble I’d anticipate from something like this, a measly pile of rocks won’t stand a chance against a firing squad.

Only the moon’s light shines down from the sky, when I reach the electric barrier to the woods, and I nab a stick, tossing it onto the fence. At the lack of sound, I hover my hand over the metal and take a deep breath. With the electricity out for the night, the fence should be shut down.

Closing my eyes, I grip the wire and blow out a sigh of relief when it doesn’t shock the hell out of me. I climb through the gap, but pause on the other side, at the sound of voices.

“Shit,” I mutter, darting for the cover of trees. Ducking low, I hold my breath as two Mediators sweep a flashlight over the trees. One tips his head, making a slow trail across the brush. If not for only the faint light of the moon, I might recognize them. Or worse, they’d recognize me.

The two of them keep on, and I exhale a shaky breath. I’ve no idea what they’d do if they found me. Aside from a few of the adolescent boys, sons of high-ranking officials here, no one’s ever broken the curfew law. And those boys walked away with nothing more than a slap on the hand.

Papa might be a respected family physician, but I doubt he has that kind of pull.

Twisting on my heel, I track through the woods, careful of the branches and fallen logs that seek to trip me up as I go. It’s one thing to traipse through the woods in daylight, but my skin crawls with thoughts of kangaroo rats and other critters that could pop out at me. Once I’m deep enough in the trees, I flick on the flashlight, and up my pace.

Excitement rushes through me, the anticipation trembling my muscles. When I reach the wall and find Six pacing on the other side, his steps almost in time with the Ragers’, the thrill that hums through my veins is so intense, it could light a spark. After propping the flashlight on the ground to give just enough light to illuminate my steps, I slip the rope over my shoulder and set my foot against the tree trunk. It takes what I estimate as five shaky minutes to climb high enough to reach the branch. Scanning the yard beyond the Ragers, I can make out a light bouncing in the distance, one I assume belongs to a pacing guard, but neither of the two in the tower can be seen from my position, so I’m assuming no one can see me in return.

Besides, the guards would never catch sight of me, not with the wall cloaked in darkness and the trees acting as a shroud. I tie one end of the rope to the branch, double-knotting it for good measure, and give a hard tug. With a gentle toss, the rope disappears over the edge of the wall, and the rising sounds of the Ragers moans momentarily squeeze my chest.

The rope jerks and tightens, and I hold it at the knot, to be sure it doesn’t slip.

Within minutes, Six’s face appears over the edge of the wall, and when he grips the branch stretched out before me, the buzz of excitement has me smiling as I reach for him. Once close enough, he grabs my arm and pulls himself up, bumping me forward.

His strength hasn’t wavered with his hunger, and at the scratch of my arm, I try to hold back the look of surprise and pain at the bruise that will surely be left there. Straddling the branch, he gathers up the rope from the other side, and I untie it from the branch. Once it’s tossed to the ground, we begin our climb back down the tree.

It’s not until our feet are safely planted on the forest bed that I realize how misleading it was peering into the small hole. Six towers over me, I’m guessing by a good six inches, which would put him over six-feet tall. His shoulders are broad, and his form is intimidating, yet my excitement doesn’t wane.

Across the small space that separates us, we stare at each other.

“Hi,” I say, choking back the ridiculous girlish giggle tugging at my throat.

His lips lift with a half-smile that damn near makes my heart leap right out of my chest, before his attention diverts toward the wall beside us.