Assurgent

by nesoia

TW/CW: Language, Violence, S****de, Mentions of dark themes. No OCs. For one, Amity is a paradise; for another, it is a prison. Can a safe haven be found among the factions? AU following a parallel, 'equal' timeline (same setting, different characters). Rated M (dark themes & violence, reader discretion advised). Img Holly Sierra Art.

16. Chapter 16

TWO YEARS AGO

Rowan

The sound of the closing bell brings gratitude and relief. I heave the last bale onto the waiting truck bed. As it pulls away, I tip my head back and breathe in the clear, azure sky. Late-summer days are my favorite; midsummers are too hot, autumns too cold. But today is just right. The late afternoon has cooled the air, but there are still a few more hours before sundown. I smile to myself. Today's the perfect day to break a couple rules.

I'm not sure when we found it, exactly. Wade and I had stumbled upon it as kids and I never stopped coming back. It became my haven, distant and serene. I had to work for it, mind you—the wooded, two-mile trek was enough to leave me drenched in sweat on hot days—but the shady clearing and small lake were a well-worthwhile reward.

Now, as the familiar path opened into the familiar clearing, I let out a whoop and went running into the water. Minnows scattered and reacquainted themselves with my presence as I floated on my back, eyes closed, weightless. Paradise.

A startled gasp makes me gasp in turn. I flail about, coughing and spluttering, trying to get the water out of my eyes to see who has caught me. I'm in for it.

I turn to see her retreating back; she hurriedly gathers her dropped picnic basket and calls a name I don't recognize: "Dei!"

I stagger out of the pond. "Wait. Wait! I didn't mean to scare you. Don't go. Risa!"

She suddenly stops and looks back. "You know my name?"

"Well, yeah." A pause. "Do you know mine?"

"Yes."

"Good. No need for introductions, then."

She meets my grin with a cautious smile and counters, "We should always introduce ourselves when meeting someone for the first time." And she holds out her hand.

I laugh. And as I take her hand in mine, the sunny pasture dissolves into grey concrete and I am dripping in cold sweat and gasping for air. I try to discern where I am but the room is swimming before my eyes and there are stars in my periphery.

"Is that all?" A cold voice asks from somewhere behind my left ear.

"No, there's more," another voice responds. A fairly familiar voice.

And as I reach into my memory to try to place it, I am pulled back in.