1 Chapter One

*Author's note:*

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this story. It is one that is near and dear to my heart, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

WARNING:

This chapter does depict the death scene of a young girl which includes vivid descriptions of blood and slicing into the skin. It is NOT a violent death, but for those who are sensitive to those images, please be aware. I have placed two asterisks (**) at the beginning of the paragraph where this take place. Feel free to skip the paragraph and continue on reading :)

Thank you again! Enjoy!

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Candra ran through the Garden on rough callused feet, ignoring the harsh light from Sola beating down on her neck. She had to move fast. There was only an hour left until she had to return to the Orphanage, and she had barely collected the required rations. She needed more.

They called it the Garden because it served as the primary source of food for the Orphanage, but it would be more accurate to describe it as a forest. Trees with leaves of red and gold lined the small dirt paths, littered with tall stalks of plants that circled their trunks. If it weren't so deadly, it may even be considered beautiful.

"Candra, wait up!" Candra turned to see a young boy with shaggy black hair struggling behind her. His feet were raw and bloody from slipping over the jagged rocks that littered the path of the Garden. He wasn't used to it yet.

"Shang, I told you to wait for me back in the Groves," Candra said with a sigh. The Groves were a smaller and much safer part of the Garden. The younger kids stayed there and collected small fruits while the older ones ventured into the more dangerous areas. Just touching some of these plants could kill them.

"But I wanted to help," he said, stopping just shy of her. He rested his hands on his knees, trying his best to recover his breath.

Candra smiled, thinking how hard he must have run to be able to catch up with her. But then her eyes caught the burn the size of a large handprint that cupped his neck. A reminder about what happened when Shang tried to be helpful.

Candra rubbed her eyebrows and tried to think of a way to get Shang to go back. Unfortunately, Shang was as stubborn as he was excitable. If she tried to send him back, he would probably just continue to follow her deeper into the Garden. Might as well keep an eye on him.

"Fine," she said, "you can come." Shang's face lit up, and Candra couldn't help the warm feeling that spread through her chest. She had a soft spot for the boy who carried positivity like a weapon to be wielded. His attitude was infectious; there weren't many in the Orphanage that could muster a smile like that.

"But," she continued, "You stay right next to me. Do not touch anything unless I say so." Shang nodded so fast that Candra doubted he was really listening. It was as endearing as it was frustrating. She often found herself at this kind of impasse with Shange: keep the kid happy or keep him alive. Candra sighed; this was going to be a disaster.

She continued down the path, and Shang trotted along beside her. Though Shang was several years younger, he already came up to her chin. It wouldn't take long for him to pass her. The thought made her sad. It's unlikely that she will be around to see that.

"All right," Candra dropped the bag of food she carried at her feet, "the blue stalks are poisonous. If you touch its outer sticky layer, you'll be caught up in night terrors and a high fever until your body eventually dies. Do not touch it." Shang gave a very serious nod, then opened his mouth to ask a question, but Candra cut him off.

"The maize comes from the green stalks and is the most valuable item in the Garden. The more of those we have the happier the Masters will be." Shang flinched at the mention of the Masters, and Candra felt an overwhelming despair weigh down on her. There was one thing she couldn't protect him from. Shang took Candra's pause as permission to speak, but she continued on before he could say anything.

"The maize only grows high above both of our heads. We must use the trees to climb up and pluck the maize from the top of the stalks. Understand?"

Shang nodded, and then spoke, "How are we supposed to get the maize when the green stalks are wrapped around the blue?" Candra smiled. Shang was right. The blue and green stalks are interwoven in a helix. That's what made the maize so valuable.

"The green stalks grow much higher than the blue stalks—"

"So, if you go high enough," Shang interrupted, "you can pick the maize without the risk of touching the blue."

"Yes," Candra replied, "That is why the Masters send the older children to retrieve it. It is easier for us to maneuver through the trees and retrieve the maize." The lie felt bitter on her tongue. The Masters sent the children in only because the children were more expendable. But it was better for Shang to believe in the Masters. He will avoid more beatings that way.

"So, all we have to do is climb the trees." He said, placing his hands resolutely on his hips.

"No," Candra said, "I will be climbing the trees. The blue stalks still intertwine with some of the trunk and low branches, and you are too young."

Shang clutched his hands in fists at his side. No doubt he was tired of hearing it, but it was true. Even the tiniest touch of the plant could kill him, and Candra wasn't willing to take the risk.

"But," she continued, "you can help me by collecting the fruit that I drop toward you. If the maize stays on the ground too long, the bugs will get to them." The bugs wouldn't even smell the maize by the time Candra descended from the trees, but it made the task sound more important to Shang. The smile returned to his face and his fists relaxed.

"I can do that!" he responded, lifting Candra's bag with so much enthusiasm that some of the food toppled onto the ground. Candra scowled, but Shang, undeterred, returned it with a sheepish grin. When Candra turned to climb the nearest tree, she was smiling.

She grabbed onto the tree, propelling herself up toward the lowest hanging branch. The branch scratched at her arms and legs, but Candra paid it no mind. If there was no blood, then it wasn't worth her attention. Though, Candra thought, she had seen injuries that could kill without spilling a drop.

"Watch out for the blue!" Shang called up toward her. Candra looked down and saw that one foot was positioned precariously close to one of the blue stalks. Normally, this would not concern her, but with Shang examining her every move, she would have to be more careful.

She reached one of the higher branches, taking care to test its strength before wrapping her legs around it, and hanging from it like a bat. There were several green stalks within an arm's reach which had the small, oval-shaped food speckled about its surface. Candra started to pluck and toss them down to Shang waiting below. She worked quickly, there was very little time left until they were called back to the Orphanage.

The worst thing about such a menial task was that it left the mind open to wander. Candra thought, as she often did in times like this, about escaping from the Orphanage. Leaving, and never having to think about the Masters, or blue vines, or the Sickness ever again. But even if she was able to escape the Masters, there wasn't much in this world for an orphan. Sometimes, Candra wondered if this life was even worth living.

"Candra!" The alarm in Shang's voice knocked Candra from her thoughts and caused her to falter off the branch she was settled on. She grabbed for the other branches as she fell, but her fingers barely grazed them. It wasn't long until her body made full contact with the ground.

"Ouch," she breathed. She tried moving her fingers and toes to determine her injuries. There was pain, but she didn't think that she had broken anything. She let out a sigh of relief. She'd never fallen that far before.

"Are you okay?" Shang's face swam into her vision, concern etched in its creases. Candra couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, I'm just peachy," she responded. She raised herself into a sitting position. There was some pain, but it was already fading from her body. She looked up at Shang, squinting against the light of Sola above him.

"Was there a reason you screamed at me while I was hanging in a tree?" Candra asked, irritated. She rolled her shoulders as she attempted to warm the muscles and help the pain recede. Shang's mouth was hanging open, his eyes wide in shock.

Candra stood and waved her hand in front of his face.

"Hello, Shang? Are you in there?" Shang blinked a few times and snapped his head back and away from her hand.

"You just fell." Shang sputtered.

"Yes, I did."

"From a tree."

"Yes."

"A very tall tree."

"Was it?" Candra asked, shielding her eyes with her hand as she attempted to find where she fell from. It wasn't hard as there were a trail of broken branches and displaced leaves left in her wake. She had fallen from a height several houses tall.

"Your hand!" Shang yelled. Startled, Candra looked at the hand Shang was pointing to, and she felt her heart sink when she saw the thin film of some substance sticking there. She dropped it and hid it behind her back, brushing it off with a smile.

"Just some tree sap from the branches. Did you need something?" Shang narrowed his eyes at her, continuing to scan her body for injuries. Finding none, he moved on, though his expression remained puzzled.

"I-I found something." Recalling his purpose seemed to renew Shang's urgency. Without a word, he turned and ran. Candra, still shaking off some of the residual pain, did her best to follow him.

They did not have to go far before Candra saw what Shang had been so concerned about. Resting at the base of one of the trees was a girl, barely older than Candra. But she resembled more a skeleton than a human being. Her cheeks were sunken in so that the shape of her skull was pronounced. Her skin was red and blotchy, peeling in some places and forming small boils in others. There was no telling how long she had been out here.

"Shang, can you make it back to the Grove?" Candra whispered.

"I can but—"

"I need you to go get Thane."

"But I can help you get her back," he resisted.

"No, I need you to get Thane. Tell him what you found. He'll know what to do."

"But Candra—"

"Go, Shang. Now."

The deadpan tone of her voice caused Shang to start, within seconds he was running toward the South. Candra breathed a sigh of relief. At least he was going in the right direction.

Candra walked to the girl on the ground. Candra recognized her as Natara, the only girl in the Orphanage that was close to Candra's age. Unlike most of the children, Natara still had memories of her parents. Often, Candra would hear her crying in the night, calling her parents' names in her sleep.

Natara was still breathing, whimpering in pain. Candra sat next to her against the tree, pulling Natara over so that she was cradled softly in Candra's arms.

"Meme, Meme." Candra swallowed hard. She wondered for a moment, if Candra were the one on the brink of death, would she also call out for her mother?

"Shh," Candra said, "You're all right now. I won't let you be alone." Natara blinked. Her eyes looked toward Candra in a moment of clarity.

"Please," she wheezed, "please help me." Candra felt a sharp pain in her chest. She knew what Natara wanted from her. The Sickness was not uncommon among kids in the orphanage. Her body must have given out while she was in the Garden working. The environment did the rest.

Candra took a small knife from her pocket and palmed it in her hand. She clutched Natara tighter and began to sing to her the words that every child received when close to death.

"Usekhaya. Leave behind the pain that you knew. Remember those who left before you, they are waiting. Know that you are safe now. Usekhaya." Two pairs of footsteps approached the area. There were tears now running freely down Candra's face. Natara had fallen into a deep sleep. There was no telling how long she would remain alive, it would all depend on how long she has been out here without food or water. It could be days or hours.

Candra looked up, and her eyes met Thane's standing a few feet in front of them. His blue eyes were hard, and his shoulders were heavy with a weight beyond his age. Thane was the oldest child at the Orphanage, almost a man at 15. He knew just as well as Candra did what needed to be done. He nodded once, his grip tightening on the shovel in his hand.

**She lifted the knife in her hand and moved Natara's forward so that her back was available. Candra sliced into her shoulder and into the spine. Natara's body went completely slack. Candra moved out from behind her and placed another cut along the inside of her knee. Then she sat to the left and took Natara's hand in hers. Thane, Shang, and Candra all watched as the blood seeped from her body, and her chest rose and fell in shallow, strangled breaths. Eventually, her chest stopped moving.

Thane came forward. Shang followed on the back of his heels, his eyes downcast and tears trailing down his face and onto the ground. He also held a shovel. Candra had hoped that it would be a long time before Shang saw something like that. This, in fact, was the first time that Candra herself had ended the life of someone infected by the Sickness. Though, she had seen Thane do it on numerous occasions.

Thane and Shang began to dig the hole at the base of the tree. It took them several minutes while Candra continued to hold Natara's hand. Eventually, when the hole was dug and the sun sat a little lower in the sky, Thane came over and extracted Natara's hand. Candra's hand fell numbly to the ground by her side. Thane and Shang lifted the body and placed it in the hole.

Candra stood while Shang and Thane began to fill the hole again. She walked over to the tree and picked up a few of the rocks that were stained with Natara's blood. She placed them at the base of the tree to mark where the girl had died.

When the boys finished, Thane lifted the shovels and began to walk back toward the Grove. Shang joined Candra at the base of the tree, staring at the bloodstained rocks that now laid there.

"I thought," he said, his voice hoarse, "that they were just normal rocks." Candra put a hand to Shang's shoulder, and he lifted his head to meet her gaze.

"And now you know," she said, "they're not."

Together, they retreated down the path that led back to the Grove. As they returned it was hard not to notice the rows of bloodstained rocks that glowed in the light of the waning day.