Free Wasteland (Flight) by Lindsay Leggett Page A

is petite, wearing a ruffled top that she probably made. Her straight hair hangs to each side of her face, and her eyes are welling up with tears.
    “Hi Shelley,” I croak. She rushes toward me and wraps her light arms around me.
    “What took you so goddamn long?”

    I keep my eyes closed as the cool fresh air weaves around me, over my skin, slicing its fingers through my hair. This is real purity. This is the world’s masterpiece. And it is totally off limits.
    “Just a bit farther, Pie,” David says. I open my eyes and follow him through the rocky crag of the high-peaked mountains. After the incident in the village, I just couldn’t get my head on straight. Then David told me about a place—an Elder Corp location that was untouched, or recovered from radiation.
    After we climb over some steep terrain, the mountain opens into a large meadow. Here there is perfect green grass dancing in the wind, trees that aren’t petrified, but are growing, and wildflowers everywhere. The scent is the most amazing thing I have ever smelled.
    David grins as he grabs my hand and we run through the grass, giggling like morons. After we’ve touched and smelled every tree, flower, and blade of grass, we finally plop ourselves right in the middle of the meadow. I spread my arms wide and look out into the black night sky. The stars are so bright, I feel like I could just reach up to grab one and hold it in my hands.
    “How did you find this?” I murmur. David shuffles beside me.
    “I overheard Rupert and Charlene talking about it, so I decided to come check it out. Do you like it?” he asks.
    “I love it,” I reply.
    “Then this can be our place. Where we can come to get away from the stink of Central,” he says with a chuckle.
    Our place. It’s perfect.
    We lie there for a while, just breathing the fresh air and counting the stars, but before long the faces of the villagers creep into my mind. It’s like they’re haunting me, blaming me for the deaths of all of their family and friends.
    They would still be alive if not for me, after all.
    I roll over to face David. His eyes are closed, the moonlight shining over his peaceful, freckled face.
    “David, what happened that day? Why did Rupert kill all those people?” I ask. His eyes shoot open, and he eyes me curiously.
    “Pie, we thought you were dead. When you and Essa didn’t report back, we just assumed the worst. I felt so lost without you,” he says quietly. Pain lines his eyes now, even the memory of losing me—even if just for a short time—clutching him. I reach my out for his, squeezing it tightly.
    “I’m here now,” I say. But something still doesn’t sit right with me. “I just don’t understand why the entire village had to die. They’ve never been a threat. I mean, I didn’t even know anyone lived out there,” I continue.
    “You can’t blame yourself for that, though,” he replies, “Rupert had intel that the village held a faction that was preparing to strike against the people of Central. I know that not all of them were bad, but can you imagine the repercussions if they’d been left alive?”
    “But if we’d captured them, Fig and Eir and Brin, then we could have gained more information,” I protest. David’s eyes soften, and he squeezes my hand back.
    “That’s one of the things I love about you. You have so much faith in people, even if they’re preparing to kill you. But one day that compassion is going to get you into a lot of trouble. I already lost my sister briefly. I don’t think I could go through that again,” he says, barely a whisper.
    I try to put myself in his place, to imagine how I’d feel if he were the one kidnapped and in line to be killed. Even the thought of it shoots terror through me, and anger.
    I wouldn’t have let them live either.
    “I guess I’m just confused. I really thought they were going to let us go,” I admit.
    “The only important thing is that you’re okay, Pie. Nothing else matters,”