Kingdom Gone

THE EARLY BIRD

Circe awoke to the feeling of Jason's lips against hers.

Then came the water. A lot of it, along with the contents of her stomach. She felt Jason push her onto her side as she continued to color the sand with her vomit. Her whole body ached and cringed, and she could feel a migraine coming on. Basically, everything sucked.

After the retching finally came to an end, Circe woozily pushed herself into a sitting position, blood continuing to pound in her head. Her brain was starting to function again, putting things together. She knew she technically died, and she knew that Jason brought her back. To be honest, she didn't know whether to be mad, thankful, or embarrassed. So when Jason came back, she decided to hide her emotions. Something she'd learned to do over the years.

"Here." He held out a small flask.

Circe frowned. "I'm only 18. I can't drink, Jason. And neither can you."

He laughed. "It's not booze. It's clean water."

She cautiously took the small container. "Where did you get it?"

"I purified it from the river."

"Don't tell me you have a water purifier in that jacket."

He nodded. Circe added purifier to her mental list of Jason's jacket items and grabbed the flask. She unscrewed the cap and took a swig. The water tasted funny, and there was a certain grit to it, but it dulled the burning she felt in her throat. She downed the whole thing. She wiped her mouth, handing it back to Jason. "So. What next?" Circe asked.

All she got was a stare. Jason's dark eyes seemed to pierce her very soul, scanning every inch of her face. Uncomfortable was an understatement of what she was feeling. "Um," was all she could say.

"6 and a half minutes." He said.

Silence was her response.

"That's how long you were in that river. No oxygen. So, you should've died, but you didn't. I brought you back, and after 5 minutes you act like nothing has happened."

This level of seriousness from Jason unnerved Circe. He'd been non stop jokes and lunacy since she met him. She didn't know what to say. Jason stood.

"My prognosis: your mutation did more than give you powers. I think it caused physical alterations as well. Like your hair."

For the first time she noticed the dye had washed off, and embarrassment flashed across Circe's face before her emotional mask hid it. But Jason didn't miss a beat.

"Thought so. There's something special about you, and it's not just your lightning powers." He sighed. "But we don't have time to dwell on it now. Just promise me that you'll be honest with me on this trip, ok?" He held out his hand.

"I promise." Circe said, grabbing his hand. She was glad that awkward moment was done. But she knew it wasn't going to be the last time Jason would pry. She knew her hair color wasn't the only side effect of the mutation. But in just the past day, Circe had realized how much of a problem solver Jason was. If any secrets Circe had suddenly became a problem to him, Jason would find out immediately. So how was she going to tell him about her step-father's hand in the decimation of the Tenth Kingdom? Answer: she couldn't. At least, not right away.

Circe followed Jason up the hill, the mud making her slip more than once. The fields seemed to spread out for miles in every direction, with huge machines slowly crawling along between them.

"What are those things?" She asked, pointing at the nearest red behemoth.

"They're called Autonomous Farming Vehicles, or AFVs. They harvest the fields at night instead of people because-" His eyes went wide. "Oh shit."