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Sting
by Cindy R. Wilson

Copyright © 2020 by Cindy R. Wilson. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.

Chapter One

Inventory: Ball cap, shirt and holey jeans, two bots and a receiver, and a belt sheath with my favorite knife—the really sharp one.

A girl who’s been living on the streets for eight years is always aware of her inventory, and right now mine is too low. Which is why this mission tonight and the one later this week are so important.

I shift my satchel to my back as I climb the metal ladder on the side of the warehouse, taking me up two stories in the midst of shadowy high-rises in the Dark District. I hitch my leg over the top rung and stay low as I creep across the pavement, my feet sticking to the melted pieces that have baked onto the top. The scent of tar stings my nostrils, a reminder that we haven’t had any rain in weeks—something I hear we used to get a lot of in our country. Now, it’s an endless summer.

Summer for the Darksiders also means pitch blackness once the sun goes down. Electricity is strictly for people inside the ring. The Light District. From here it looks like a giant glowing dome that’s making the smattering of stars overhead fade into a dull haze.

It’s dark this far out—which is how I know something is wrong the instant I get to the other side of the roof. There are four flashlights carried by four Enforcers.

They also have guns.

I hiss in a sharp breath and lower to my stomach to watch them from my vantage point. I need to hurry. Elle is waiting for me below, and I don’t want her to get caught.

It’s two against four. Me and Elle versus four Enforcers who’ve ventured out to the Dark District, clearly hunting for something.

Probably me.

With slow movements, I crawl back across the rooftop and down the ladder to find Elle. The moment my feet hit gravel, a hand closes over my mouth. My heart shoots straight to my throat until a familiar arm reaches around me to point.

“Sorry,” River says, releasing me just after a pleasant shiver slides the entire way down my body. “Just wanted to make sure you saw him.”

Off to my right, there’s another Enforcer who’s searching near the dumpsters on the opposite side of the warehouse. Crap. Five Enforcers.

“Of course I saw him.” No, I didn’t. My heart thumps hard in my chest. What’s wrong with me? I’m usually more careful.

River motions, and we duck behind the shell of a car as the Enforcer continues his search. River is dressed in black from head to toe, just like me. But I have my ball cap on, the one I never take off. It rides low on my forehead and makes me less self-conscious about the scar lining my cheekbone. Especially around River. I know I shouldn’t care what he thinks of me, but I do.

Even more lately, when my heart dances around in my chest when I see him and all I can think about is touching his cheek. His lips.

“What are you doing here?” I whisper, shoving aside those thoughts.

“You left without me,” River says.

“Because you should be at home with your family.”

His dark brown eyes glint from the light of the moon as they meet mine. “I want to help.”

I sigh at the frustration in his voice. “You know what I mean. If you get caught, you’ll go to Decay. Your family won’t ever see you again.” And neither will I. “And what about your sister?”

He glances away, running a hand through his dark hair. Stubble peppers his jaw, and for once he looks tired. “What about you, Tessa?”

I straighten and wince when my boots scrape the gravel. I distract myself by peering through the empty window of the car. It looks like it got caught in a fire. Even the tires are missing. Somebody probably stripped it for parts. That’s what I would have done.

The Enforcers move farther away, voices carrying in the darkness. I wish I could hear what they’re saying.

“I don’t have any family—nobody to miss me,” I tell River, tugging my ball cap lower on my forehead so my face is shielded.

River’s eyes are fathomless in the dim lighting. “We’re your family. And trust me, you’d be missed.”

I exhale, then freeze when he reaches out. His fingers are a breath away from mine, an electric spark shooting between us. First, River was a friend. Then a partner in crime. But lately I’ve been wanting more. I’m both thrilled and terrified that he might want the same thing.

Our fingers are almost touching when we’re interrupted by the sound of footsteps. River and I swivel at the same time, and I stand in front of him, my hand clenching the knife at my belt.

“Hey there.” Elle approaches from the street, her curly blond hair hanging out of her dark cap. She doesn’t have any holes in her clothes, and where she lives in the Light District, her inventory is full. Like everyone else on the Light Side.

My shoulders relax.

River steps to my side, a whole head taller than me, and raises his eyebrows. “What was that? Trying to protect me?”

Heat blooms in my cheeks. Yes. “I’m sure you can manage.”

“That’s right.” He holds my gaze long enough that I look away.

Okay, maybe River doesn’t need protection any more than I do. He’s a year older than me. But that’s what I’m used to doing. Taking care of people. And River… He’s important to me. More important than I want to admit.

Elle smiles at River. “What are you doing here?”

He stuffs his hands in his pockets. “Apparently I need protection.”

I huff out a sigh, but the way his eyes twinkle makes my stomach flutter in an uncomfortable way. I’m not supposed to have feelings like this for him. I know only too well that caring about someone makes you vulnerable.

It only takes one instant, one Enforcer, one thing going wrong, and the person you care about can be taken away.

That’s why I’m glad our group is so small.

We’ve only got six people. Six of us who are brave enough—or desperate enough—to sneak into the Light District and take what they refuse to give us. And Elle is the only one who doesn’t really belong here. She belongs in the Light, where her dad is a leader of Victor, with money and influence. He oversees trades with cities outside Victor. She secretly gives us much-needed information.

“Is the sensor already inside?” River asks.

I nod, stepping close to the gutted car again. “I put it in there a few days ago. I didn’t think it was smart to come back on the same night.”

On the other side, the rest of the Enforcers are grouped at the front of the building, talking loudly. Woo-hoo—party in the Dark District! They clearly have no clue we actually come out at night.

“And it looks like it’s not smart to be here now,” Elle says, frowning. “Tessa, it’s only a matter of time before they find something. Or someone. It might be a good idea to lay low for a while.”

I bite my tongue. Elle can say this because she doesn’t know what it’s like to have hunger clawing at her belly. To be weak from lack of food and water. But if one of us gets caught, one of us who lives outside the ring, we’ll be thrown into Decay—Victor’s only prison. Or worse.

Opening my satchel, I pull out Atticus and Magellan, my mechanical scorpions. They’re programmed to find the sensor, a small black object no larger than my fingernail, and patrol a specific circumference I’ve plotted for them. They’re also sensitive to vibrations, so if someone moves nearby, they freeze. And since they’re dark, nearly camouflaged at night, they usually aren’t detected.

I set them on the ground and activate them by pressing a button on the receiver at my wrist. The tiny cameras in their tails transmit to the small screen. The bots are stealthy as they scuttle in the direction of the warehouse. Most of the building is intact, with the windows boarded up, but they can scale walls and find openings most of us can’t see.

“What are we looking for this time?” River asks.

“More scraps. We need metal to make the lanterns I showed you. Bags or containers. Pieces from those computers they were building.” I glance down at my outfit with a grimace. “Clothes.”

The Enforcers start moving again, and I lower my voice.

“Even if you’re not sure, take it anyway. As much as you can carry.”

We need everything we can get. We barter for food within the Light District or find work on a limited basis, but for the most part, we’re the outsiders. On the bright side, the Enforcers and those who live within the inner city usually leave us alone.

Until a few weeks ago.

I check the screen on my receiver. It took me a year to get the transmitting system into place, but it was worth it. We’ve used it on three warehouses within the Light District and various places on the outskirts to scavenge for parts and food and whatever else we need.

I touch the scar on my cheek, renewing my anger. The one who did this to me deserves to know what it’s like to have everything taken away.

Atticus transmits a clear view of three conveyor belts, which makes me proud because his tail broke last week and I just fixed it. Magellan sweeps the far side near a stack of wood that must have fallen from one of the windows. If there was anyone inside, my scorpions would have found them.

“We’re clear.” I keep my gaze from River’s. We have a job to do here. He’ll be safe as long as we focus and stick to the plan. “Let’s get in there quick. And be careful.”

…

Inside, the air is musty. Dust tickles my nose, and I fight back a sneeze. I pull my cap down tighter on my head and watch the beam from Elle’s flashlight sweep the floor. I use the light from my wrist camera.

Atticus is suspended by the conveyor belt, since he feels my footsteps. It’s so dark, I only find him because I can see where his camera is pointed. And it’s right where I want to be.

The floor is littered with pieces from machinery, like someone dumped a box of scraps right where I’m standing. Screws and bolts and nuts. There are even tools scattered near the pile. I start to reach down, then freeze.

The hair on my arms stands up. Elle is scooping up item after item where she stands. River is near the window, head cocked as if he hears something outside.

There’s a plethora of scraps everywhere, and the door was open when we came in. Almost too easy.

“River,” I whisper.

My voice is swallowed by the darkness. Something isn’t right here. The Enforcers…the floor scattered with items we’re looking for… My stomach clenches.

Elle swoops down for more scraps. My brain screams, Get out of here!

I swivel by the conveyor belt and hiss when something sharp slices through my cargo pants and into my thigh. I grasp my leg but don’t have time to check it.

“River.”

His head whips around. I gesture to the door. He understands my message right away and turns. He’s closer to Elle, so he gets her attention while I limp quickly to the exit. I peer out into the night as a tepid breeze blows by. My hand sneaks down to pull my knife discreetly from its sheath.

I should have put a sensor out here, too. I creep a little farther.

“Don’t take another step.”

My breath catches. My fingers curl around the handle of my knife, but my feet are glued to the ground three steps outside the door.

There’s only one Enforcer, but the others can’t be far away. His gun is aimed at my heart, and a dark smile plays on his lips.

“Are you the only one here?” he asks, voice deep.

“Just me.” I hope River and Elle are already hiding. Or maybe they left through the back. I resist the urge to look at Atticus’s and Magellan’s transmissions on my watch.

He narrows his eyes. “Out here all alone. What is it you’re doing at an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the night?”

“Delivering a pizza.” I give him an easy smile, but my voice isn’t as steady as I want it to be. When he glares, I shrug. “I saw the warehouse and got curious.”

But I’ve heard pizza is really good.

“In the middle of the night,” he says. “Hmm. And what’s in the satchel?”

It’s not my satchel he should be worried about. It’s the throwing knife in my hand. “Nothing special.”

“I’ve been hearing stories about a girl they call the Scorpion,” he says.

My heart stops. The Scorpion. How do they know? I pinch the blade of the knife between my fingers.

He smiles. “Is that you?”

My throat is too dry to answer. There’s movement behind him. He whips around as River appears near the dumpsters, hands up. Crap!

With a flick of my wrist, I fling the knife at the Enforcer. It lodges in his thigh, and he howls in pain. Before he can recover, River yanks the gun from his grasp. Elle is right behind him, eyes wide.

“Out of here. Now,” I growl, racing away from the warehouse.

River and Elle are close by my side as we rush through the streets, dodging dumpsters and bags of trash. The slow burn of asphalt from the heat of the day reaches my nose. Lanterns shine in some windows, but it’s late, and, for the most part, we can only see our path by the glow of the moon. From here, the Light District is countless blocks away, a firefly of light buzzing with energy.

“Are you hurt?” River asks, glancing over.

“Not as bad as the Enforcer.” I brush off his concern even though my leg throbs and blood rolls down my calf. I shut down my receiver to save power. I’ll summon Atticus and Magellan later. “Lost my favorite knife, though.”

One of the few mementos I have from my dad.

He lifts his arm. “Got a gun.”

“I told you this was a bad idea,” Elle says, breath short. “I heard what he said. The Enforcer.”

I slow down after we’ve put some distance between us and the warehouse. My heart still races, and my mind whirls. The Enforcers know about me.

“So did I,” River says. “That’s why they were there tonight. They were looking for the Scorpion.”