Flare: Faction 13 (The Isa Fae Collection) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty - Six

  Flare

  by H. J. Lawson

  Copyright © 2017 H.J. Lawson

  This story within is a work of fiction. All events, institutions, themes, persons, characters, and plots are completely fictional inventions of the author. Any resemblance to people living or deceased, actual places, or events is purely coincidental and entirely unintentional.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the author.

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  Click here > www.hjlawson.com

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty - Six

  Chapter One

  “Are you sure about this?”

  Pocket’s tiny face was hollow, making her eyes look abnormally large, like a rat’s. Poor kid was only ten. Well, that was the age she thought she was; most of us didn’t really know. She was the reason I started scouting in the sewers. There was no longer any food in the normal places unless you were a Neotrist—they ran Italy—but none of our gang were. Pocket was fading away in front of my eyes. I couldn’t let her starve. It was my job to find food, and it would be my fault if she died. I couldn’t let that happen.

  “Have I ever led you on the wrong track? This is totally the biggest food snatch I’ve found in my ten years of scouting,” I told Pocket and the others.

  I’d been our scouter since I was eight. It was after my mom died and I had moved into the abandoned school where the other orphans lived.

  “We’re all hungry. If we don’t go in there, we’ll die of starvation,” I told Pocket and the others.

  “But the Mole People?” Pocket added as she stepped away from the entrance of the sewers.

  These were a network of underground tunnels that ran all the way under the city of Rome. The tunnels were a maze and an object of fear for anyone who ventured into them, because of the Mole People. It was because of these creatures they had stopped scouting for food down there and instead had changed their diet to human flesh, many now cannibals.

  “I checked already. There aren’t any near the tunnels we need to go to. Did you get the batteries we need?” I asked Pocket.

  I’d sent a message with Nadia, our runner, to go back to the school to tell the others of the find and to come prepared with their belongings and working torches. I’d stayed here blocking the entry from rival gangs, making sure no Moles entered, and the Neotrists weren’t watching the locations. We had too many enemies to take any risks. If anyone in those groups got us, we’d be done for.

  “I got them,” said Pocket.

  Pocket was the pickpocket in the gang. If you needed it, she could get it. Pocket wasn’t her real name, just what I called her when I found her about three years ago. She’d swiped my mom’s necklace out of my pocket. It took me months to find her and get it back. Since then, she’d always been by my side, like my shadow.

  Pocket searched deep in the bag; it was nearly as big as she was. She pulled out two torches, passing one of them to me.

  “Raven, they are going to kill me when I get back.” Pocket’s voice trembled with fear.

  “I’ll break Piero’s nose again, or any of the others if they come anywhere near you!” I tried to reassure her, my face a mask of anger. “I told you to get them, so if they want a fight, they can have it with me.”

  Piero was the leader of the other gang, who were also living in the abandoned school. We’d come to an agreement that we’d never steal from one another. This was our only rule, and I’d made Pocket break it.

  “You know it’s all going to kick off when we get back,” Carlo said. He was a runner like Nadia.

  “We don’t have to go back. There is enough food there to last years. It’s like a fallout bunker from the world war.”

  Everyone’s eyes lit up with that idea. Right, left, right, right, and finally left, I ran the route in my head. I couldn’t go the wrong way; I couldn’t run the risk of taking them down the wrong tunnel and leading everyone to their deaths or worse. The Mole Men were known to keep some females that ventured down here and do horrible things to them, eventually making them want to kill themselves. I would not let that happen to Pocket or anyone else in my gang.

  “Really? For years?”

  “Yes, for years. But if we hang around here any longer, someone is sure to see us,” I told them.

  They all agreed to give it a go, so we gingerly headed into the sewers. It was dark and wet. I just hoped it was worth it.

  Pocket and I flicked on the torches. The lights were dim, which meant that the batteries were running low. I was always worried about that. We glanced at one another but carried on walking. I shone my torch on the walls. They were filth-encrusted, curved brick walls, with a tide-lining showing where the water had gone up to. We’d had a lot of rain for the last few weeks. I’d bet these sewers were full.

  A shudder ran through me. I hated it down here. Pressing my sleeve to my nose, I tried to create a block. The overpowering odor of sewage was getting to me.

  Something touched my leg, so I quickly shone the torch to the water. It looked like a plastic bag. I pulled a “yuck” face and continued to walk carefully through the debris.

  I could hear dogs behind us. “It’s the Neotrists!” I tried not to yell. I didn’t want the Mole People to know we were here either.

  Moving quickly, we made our way deeper into the sewers. Water began to seep into my boots, which was no surprise, as they were riddled with holes.

  I could hear things running past us, but when I darted my torch in the direction of the sound, whatever it was, was gone. I knew it was rats, as there were dead ones floating on the water in places.

  Giovanni and Adele, the hunters in our group, used to catch rats for us, but over the years, there had been less and less. Even they didn’t want to live in Rome.

  “Thank God we won’t have to hunt for rats an
ymore,” said Adele.

  I’d be happy with that. It was almost impossible to take a bite without hitting on the bones. Although there was some…any meat there was on the rodents was minimal.

  We kept moving further into the tunnels. I led the group to the left, deeper into the heart of the sewers. The smell of urine and feces intensified along with the heat. The Mole People had been here. I pushed the group forward, encouraging them to move quicker. We had no option; we couldn’t go back because the Neotrists were now behind us.

  I could hear water sloshing somewhere. Someone or something, other than those with me, was following us. My senses took over…there was someone else in the tunnels.

  I spun around looking for whoever was there, but I couldn’t see anyone, but that meant jack. Mole People lived in the shadows; they hid in them. Shadows were their friends, and our fears.

  Shining the light of the torch over our group, my eyes grew wide as fear filled me. The others looked around too now, hearing the noise. They too began to scan the tunnels behind us.

  “Where’s Pocket?” My heart sank as I searched for her.

  Suddenly, out of nowhere, Mole People stepped out in front of us. Nadia screamed and took off running as one of them, a male, lunged for her. Erin, the other runner, wasn’t far behind her. Just ahead of them, Pocket was being carried by another male. His filthy hand was gripped over her mouth, stopping her screams from escaping.

  I moved to help her, but Giovanni gripped my shoulder and pulled me back. The Mole People had weapons with them, and some had bats wrapped in barbwire. A smack from one of those and I’d be knocked out and possibly bleed to death.

  My head told me that Giovanni was right to hold me back, but my heart cried out because it was Pocket and I couldn’t let them hurt her. But I had no choice; I had to run away along with the others. We would have to think of a way to get her back and quickly before they could do anything to her. Up ahead, the tunnel split into two.

  “Not that way!” I yelled ahead to Nadia, but it was too late. More Mole People stepped out of the shadows, their hands grabbing hold of her and pulling her back as she screamed. The rest of us headed for the other tunnel, the one I’d been down before. A heavy hand grabbed hold of me. I swung around to lash out at whoever it was, but before I could attack, I was hit over the head and knocked into darkness.

  My head felt heavy and groggy as I tried to understand where I was and what had happened. The first thing to hit my senses was the smell. Then I remembered I was in the sewers, and I was being dragged by the back of my jacket down through the tunnels by one of the Mole People. I searched frantically in my pockets for my knife, but it was gone. They must have taken it, and I was now weaponless.

  “Get off me!”

  My scream echoed through the tunnels as I thrashed around trying to free myself. I scrambled on the ground, trying to get to my feet, when something silver skidded over the ground beside me. It was a pen. I quickly grabbed hold of it and swiftly shoved it into my pocket. The pen was my only weapon now.

  My friends’ cries filled the air as they too were being dragged. We were brought to a large section of the sewers, a few trash cans all with flames raging out of them…we were in hell’s ballroom. My eyes darted around to see if I could find her. When I did, I gulped. Pocket was there, and she looked terrified.

  “Raven!” she screamed. One of the Mole Men slapped Pocket across the face with such force it knocked her to the ground.

  “Get off her!” I struggled to break free and get to her. I wanted to protect her.

  “Why are you bringing me cattle with no meat on their bones?” A deep male voice boomed down the tunnel, sending a shiver down my spine, and even the Mole Men looked fearful.

  A giant of a man stepped into the light cast by the fire; his teeth were yellow and jagged like tiny blades, and his beard was matted and full. He looked frightening, like the devil himself.

  “Jakub, they came down here. They can be a snack,” one of the Mole Men said to the devil of a man.

  “We will play with them before chewing on their bones,” Jakub sneered.

  The Mole Men wasted no time; they took that as a green light to take their spoils and so they ran at us, cheering.

  “You don’t need to do this! I can get you food, enough to feed all of you!” I yelled. I hated telling them, but I had no other choice.

  “Stop!”

  Jakub bellowed, and everyone froze. My breath felt trapped in my lungs as I waited to hear what he would say. He made his way swiftly towards me. He appeared to be their leader. His hand gripped around my hair as he pulled me to my feet. “What?”

  “I found a bunker. There’s more food than I’ve ever seen before. We can take you there.”

  “You…can take me there. Kill the rest!” he ordered.

  “No!” I yelled again, but he ignored me. Instead, he dropped me onto the wet ground.

  His men grabbed Giovanni, taking hold of his limbs. They pulled in opposite directions, stretching him as much as they could. He screamed in pain. Pocket and my other friends scurried to the tunnel walls, trying and failing to get away. There were just too many men to make any sort of escape.

  “Raven! Help me!” Giovanni cried out, terrified, and one of the men walked towards him, a sword held in his hands. He lifted it high, then swung it down with force, slicing through Giovanni’s arm. He screamed from what I could only imagine was such unbearable pain. I couldn’t shake the guilt; this was all because of me.

  I swiftly got to my feet as another man went for Pocket. “Get off her!”

  Jakub tried to stop me, but I grabbed the pen and stabbed as hard as I could into his eye. I yanked the pen back and quickly aimed for the other. I wanted to blind him, but I wasn’t successful. He was too quick.

  The others began to fight back, my actions a signal for them to react now or face the consequences. We had nothing to lose and our freedom to gain. Kids were fighting against men, screams bounced off the tunnel walls, and the sound echoed like there were hundreds of us. Rage ripped through my body as I fought. I had been in fights before, but this one was different. If I lost, I would die, and so would all my friends.

  It felt like lava was racing through my body, and a volcano was ready to erupt. I grabbed hold of Jakub by the neck. He yelped in pain as smoke came from where my hands were holding on to his skin. I gripped on tighter, causing his piercing cries to grow louder, blocking out the sound of all else. I was confused. I was burning him…but how?

  I slowly peeled my hands from his neck, revealing raw, bloody flesh. My hands had a glowing red ball of fire inches above the palms. My heart raced frantically like it was going to explode.

  Jakub got up; he was so blinded by fury that he was coming at me once more. I pressed my hands forward into his face, the flames forcing him to step back and arch his body away from mine. I stepped forward until he stumbled backward and fell to the ground, clutching at his fleshless face. I’d burned the flesh off his face.

  My hands were shaking, my body trembling. What the hell had just happened? I didn’t have time to think about it. I had to get to Pocket and the others. Before I could, there was another person standing in my way. He appeared as if from nowhere. He moved quickly, turning into a blur, the sheer speed taking my breath.

  One by one, the Mole Men dropped to the ground, blood pouring from them. This person had come to rescue us? Yeah, right, no one helped orphans like us.

  The man only stopped when all the Mole People were on the ground, either injured or dead. The only people left standing were my friends and me. Damn it! It was now that he was standing still that I could see he was dressed like a Neotrist. He was wearing one of their uniforms. Heavy felt gray coat with badges lining his shoulder, he appeared to be a high-ranking Neotrist too. He looked well fed, unlike us. He wasn’t fat; no, he was muscular and quite handsome with deep coffee brown eyes, black hair, and a strong jawline. He looked like an Italian god dressed in demon’s clothing. He wasn’t wh
at the rest of the high-ranking Neotrist members looked like, because they weren’t normally from Italy…traitor!

  “Leave now!” he said through gritted teeth.

  Everyone froze, not knowing if it was a trap.

  “Leave now, or you will end up like them,” he said impatiently.

  We didn’t need to be told again. Instead, we took off running.

  As I passed him, I caught the scent of clean lavender and musk. It was like he had bathed in it just before he’d come down here. He stank of money.

  He gripped hold of my arm, stopping me in my tracks. “I know what you are. I will find you.”

  He let go of my arm before I could pull away from him. I glanced quickly at him before sprinting away. What did he mean? He knows what I am? What am I? I looked down at my hands. The flames had now gone.

  Chapter Two

  I looked back. Part of me wanted to know what he meant, but I knew that I couldn’t go back. The mystery man was going through the pockets of the Mole Men, cursing at them. It looked as if he was searching for something.

  I had run towards the exit before he decided to come after me, slowing down only as I approached the exit. I needed to be careful that there were no more traps. There was no one there, neither the Neotrists nor my friends. I assumed the latter were hiding.

  Cautiously, I headed towards the sewer opening. Were there going to be Neotrists hiding in the shadows like Mole Men? I couldn’t hear a sound outside other than nature and the swirling winter wind. My heart pounded in my chest as I edged forward. I peered around the edge of the sewers. No one was there.

  Movement came from the bushes, followed by whispers that were carried to my ears on the wind. They were talking about the Neotrist man and not about my weird hands. Maybe it didn’t happen? Maybe the knock to my head made me think it had happened?

  “Guys, it’s me. Let’s get out of here,” I said.

  “It’s Raven.” Nadia peeked her head out from behind the bush and called back to the group. They all got up from where they had been hiding. Adele was supporting Giovanni, holding him upright, his normal, naturally tanned skin looking much paler now. He was alive, for now, but he’d lost a lot of blood.