Arclight by Josin L. McQuein Read Free Book Online

burned again.
    “You’re hurting me,” I say, as though a monster can be moved by words.
    “Do you understand?”
    Each time it speaks, my wrist burns hotter. Much more and I’ll black out.
    “Do you—”
    “No, I don’t understand! What do you want from me?”
    Stupid question. Stupid, stupid, stupid question.
    Instinct takes over, and I’m wheeling, jerking, punching—anything to loosen the creature’s grip. I kick through it, hitting air where there should be a solid body. I scream, and don’t stop, raising my pitch until my voice threatens to mangle the inside of my throat, hoping to drive the monster away.
    The red rims of its eyes bleed toward a silver center while what I assume are its eyebrows pull closer together. I throw all my weight behind one, hard kick, setting my aim for the very solid arm holding mine. But it lifts me off the ground by my wrist before I make contact.
    “Let go,” I order through clenched teeth. My life won’t end like this. I didn’t survive the Dark to die in the Light. “What do you want?”
    “Help,” the Fade says finally, releasing me so I fall to the ground, where the world shatters into a thousand shards of light as I sit up in bed and pull my blankets from my face.
    There’s no Fade. The room’s as bright as ever, with sunlight streaming through the sheer curtains, and my alarm’s right there on the side table. Under the covers, my leg’s fine, if a little sore from last night’s escape; my wrist is the only thing that really hurts.
    I let my body crash back against the pillows, wondering when the nightmares will finally end.

CHAPTER 6
    T HE world consists of three things: the Arclight, the Grey, and the Dark.
    The Arclight is human territory, existing under the protection of perpetual day. A solid wall would create shade and shadows, so we have a barrier of light. Massive lamps embedded in the ground and mounted on posts and buildings shine through the night to keep us safe. We’re packed inside with buildings and gardens, a few pens for dwindling animal stock, and stories of the world that was. They say it takes more than a day to walk the perimeter, but I’ve never tested the theory.
    The Grey is a wide expanse where our lights blend with the darkness beyond, a buffer zone created when those who came before set a ring of fire to clear the brush and flatten anything that could be used for cover. That was before we knew the Fade could fade, and we thought we’d see them coming.
    The Dark is lost to us, filling the gaps on the map between areas of light. To get from one to another, you must first believe there’s somewhere to go. And should you be so stupid as to believe that, you still have to cross the Dark and pray the Fade can’t see you any better than you can see them. That was the mistake my people made, and now there’s nowhere left to run. Only the Arclight remains, and I’m its only immigrant.
    A dozen men and women risked the Grey the night I ran out of the Dark. Nine of them never made it back, including Tobin’s father and Jove’s mother. They were all volunteers who had no way of knowing if the anomaly on the perimeter sensors was human or not. All they had was hope, and all they found was me. One stupid teenager who didn’t know where she was going, or why she was alone. I just saw light and ran toward it.
    Light is safety; light is life .
    The first rule of the Arclight.
    The second rule is that things taken into the Dark don’t return. It’s not an official rule, and our elders have tried to make me an exception, but it’s not easy overriding programming that’s been in force for generations. Maybe if I knew what happened out there, I could make them understand that I’m no different than they are.
    Mr. Pace said once that I should count my amnesia as a blessing, like the truth could be worse than what I imagine piecing together the fragments, but any past is better than the void, no matter how horrible the details.
    After hours