POSSESSION, Book 1 in the Possession Trilogy

Chapter 10

10.

“Vi,” Jag said when I finally stopped shaking. “Where is he?”

I pushed away from him, angrily wiping the tears that wouldn’t stop. “I don’t know.”

Jag frowned. He opened the book and scanned the front page. “Well, this was published last year. He has to be alive.”

“He’s an inventor—my mom told me he went to the Badlands to search for a piece of tech. I’d always thought…well—” I couldn’t tell him my theory about the Baddies abducting him. Because I didn’t believe that anymore. “I think the Greenies must have taken him or something. I mean, that picture doesn’t look like him at all, yet this was published recently.”

Jag cleared his throat.

“Tell me,” I said, brushing away the last of my tears.

“The Badlands published this book.”

I stood up and paced toward the door. I needed time to think, to reason through what this meant. My first thought was to message Zenn. He always knew what to say when I had family issues.

“This makes no sense,” I said. “If he’s in the Badlands, why—why?”

“Maybe he didn’t want to come back,” Jag said.

I blinked, his words slicing into my heart. “If your precious Badlands are so much better, why wouldn’t he take us too?”

“Maybe They wouldn’t let him.”

“But why? They wouldn’t want him to invent tech for the Badlands.”

“Maybe he’s hiding.”

“Yeah, and maybe you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. My dad loves me.” I glared at him, daring him to say something else that started with “Maybe.”

His face hardened as he clenched his jaw. He shrugged before lying down, flipping the book open and finding his place. I didn’t want to fight with him—I needed him to survive in the Badlands and find my way to Seaside.

I also needed air that wasn’t filled with Jag and his maybes that morphed into facts. Without speaking, I left the shack and turned away from the street. Behind the building, away from prying eyes, I composed an e-comm to Zenn.

I miss you. I miss you so much my lungs have forgotten how to breathe. I can’t tell you much, other than I’m alive and I just found out my dad is too. Or at least he was last year. This guy I’m travelling with thinks my dad left the Goodgrounds for the Badlands and lives there now. But why, Zenn? Why would he do that? Why would he leave me behind?

I erased it as soon as I finished it, knowing I couldn’t message Zenn. Not only would it make him look bad, it could be traced to my location. But how I longed to hear his voice again, even if it was only in my mind.

And so I imagined what he would say in response. Vi, I miss you like crazy. I’m glad you messaged, but you worry too much, beautiful. I’m sure your dad would come get you if he could. I dunno about the Badlands, I’ll look into it…

The fake conversation only served to remind me how much I’d lost, so I cut it off and took a deep breath to rid my head of the lingering fantasy. My head ached along the cut, and I felt like I could easily sleep forever. Once I returned to the shack, I dabbed some more ointment on my cut.

“Jag?”

He lowered the book, his beautiful eyes guarded.

I held up the tube. “You want me to do your cut?” That’s Vi-talk for “I’m sorry.” Good thing Jag understands me. He put the book down and sat up.