Jay Posey - Morningside Fall

“Didn’t leave on great terms, though,” Swoop added. He and Sky shared a meaningful look.

“I doubt anyone would remember us.”

“Hope not.”

“I think it’s our best shot,” Gamble said. “It’s close; we have more firsthand experience with it than anywhere else. And they’re the type that might actually appreciate having a few extra steely-eyed shooters around.”

“Or, you know, they’ll open fire as soon as they see us and strip our gear,” Finn said.

“What do you think, Lady Cass?” Gamble asked.

“It’s what you would advise?”

“It is.”

Cass surveyed the others gathered there, intent on her. Hard men led by a hard woman. She had bristled at their dismissal of her before. Now it seemed foolish that she had ever doubted.

“When do we leave?” she asked.

Cass was up before the sun, checking and double-checking their gear to make sure nothing was left behind. She kept as quiet as she could to let Wren sleep as long as he was able. It felt strange preparing to leave so soon after they’d arrived, but Swoop had been right. They’d done what they could for the wounded. Any more time spent in the refuge was just a drain on people who couldn’t afford it. She’d felt it was only proper for her to be the one to break the news.

As dawn was breaking, Cass slipped out and made her way to Lil’s room. She tapped lightly on the door, uncertain if Thani was in there and not wanting to wake the child. Cass was surprised by how quickly Lil answered, fully awake and fully dressed. Lil stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind them.

Cass explained their decision, and though Lil listened patiently and seemed to understand, she nevertheless made every effort to convince them to stay.

“It wouldn’t be fair to you,” Cass said. “And as unlikely as it seems, there may be trouble following us. I couldn’t live with myself if we brought danger to your door.”

“We’re still the same people you sought before,” Lil said. “Fewer, perhaps. But the same.”

“It’s not that. Our situation’s changed. And you’ve suffered enough.”

“We’ve all suffered enough,” Lil said. “If by lingering another day or two, you, your son, or any of those with you can gain rest or restoration, I would welcome your delay. We all would.”

“I appreciate it, Lil. All of us do. But we have to move.”

Lil dipped her head. “If you must go, you must. But if you should decide to return, you’d be welcome.”

“And what about you? Where will you go?”

Lil looked off down the hall, back towards where the others from her compound were sleeping, and inhaled deeply. She shook her head. “I don’t know. It may be another week before all my people are well enough to move. And even then, some may choose a different path.”

“What about Morningside?”

Lil looked at her with mild surprise. “Is it safe?” she asked.

“I believe it would be for you.”

Lil nodded. “Perhaps. Time will tell.”

“Well, whatever the future holds, I’m glad to have met you at last. Wren has talked about you so much, I feel like I’ve known you far longer than a day.”

Lil smiled. “Wren is very special. I have to confess… my reluctance to let you go has a great deal to do with him. I’d really hoped to get to spend more time with him. If I’d known you’d be leaving so soon, I would’ve made more of an effort.”

“He’s very fond of you. It’s easy to see why,” Cass said. She paused, feeling the full weight of the debt she owed this woman. Cass shook her head. “I never really thanked you for all you did for him. I’m not sure I even know how.”

“Seeing him alive and well is enough. And knowing he is with his mother is more than I could’ve hoped.”

Cass shared her connection information and personal encryption key with Lil, and Lil shared hers, enabling the two women to pim one another. Each promised to update the other on any movement.

“I’ll see you out when you’re ready,” Lil said.

“Shouldn’t be long,” Cass said.

As Cass returned to her room, she found Gamble and her team making their final preparations. They exchanged a few words, and Cass let Gamble know that Lil would be waiting to let them out of the compound. When Cass entered her room, Wren was sitting up in bed, bleary-eyed.

“We’re leaving?” he asked.

Cass nodded. “Yeah, baby. Gamble thinks it’s best.”

He yawned. “OK.”

Cass was a little surprised. She’d been expecting Wren to put up some resistance, or at least to ask why. Instead, he slid out of his bed and started making it.

“Will we have to go far today?” Wren asked.

“A few hours.”

“That’s not so bad.”

He finished straightening the covers on his bed and got dressed. Cass was hesitant to push too much after his response the previous night, but she still wasn’t convinced that everything had gone alright with Painter.

“Everything go OK with Painter last night?” she asked, testing the waters.

“Yeah, it was fine,” he said. He glanced up at her quickly, and then Wren focused on his boots as he buckled them on. “I think he’s just trying to figure out how to deal with everything.”

Wren still seemed to be avoiding eye contact for some reason, but his mood was much improved over the night before. Maybe he had just been tired after all, Cass thought.

They loaded up their packs and went into the hall together, where the rest of the team had gathered. Even Painter was there, though Cass didn’t know who had roused him, or if anyone had.

Elan came to meet them, and though they initially tried to refuse, he managed to convince them to share one last meal together. They were joined by Lil and a couple of the others who they’d met at the village’s ruins.

It was a simple meal, but good and filling, and the conversation was sparse but genuine. Elan tried once more to encourage the group to remain for another day or so. But Gamble held firm. Mouse did insist on making one final check of the wounded, even though after his work the previous night the caregivers had everything well in hand.

Afterwards, Lil and Elan escorted them to the gates, where they said their goodbyes. Lil held Wren in a lingering embrace long enough that Wren actually blushed with embarrassment.

The team passed through the two iron gates back out into the open and assumed their usual positions, surrounding Cass, Wren, and Painter. Broken clouds streaked the sky above, the last remnants of the storm that had passed in the night. The air was cool and damp, and everywhere the soaked pavement glistened under the morning sun, and shone in places pooled with rainwater. The sunlight confused Cass’s vision, and she drew down her veil to reduce the glare. Beside her, Painter donned his goggles.

Wick led them off on yet another unexpected phase of their journey. Cass glanced back at the refuge and saw Lil and Elan still watching them as they left. She wondered if they would ever see one another again, and found herself hoping so. And at the same time, she doubted it very much.

The morning passed slowly, and the view changed little as they marched east and maybe a bit to the south. They certainly hadn’t intended for it to be quite so roundabout, but the path they’d taken from Morningside — to where they were now — would’ve thrown off all but the most determined of trackers. If nothing else, certainly no one would be able to anticipate where they were headed based on their previous movements.

As they walked, Cass mulled over all she knew about the situation in Morningside. No matter what she did, she couldn’t get the pieces to fit together in any way that made sense to her. She might have misjudged North altogether, but it still didn’t account for all that had occurred. There were too many threads dangling, too many unanswered questions. But then, maybe she was thinking about it all wrong. She’d been assuming there had been a single plan all along, perfectly executed. What if, instead, it hadn’t gone to plan at all?