UNBREATHABLE by Hafsah Laziaf Read Free Book Online Page B

as my pulse quickens.
    Five creatures surround me. Translucent, sickly, white. Mutants. Creatures that only existed in the stories Gage would tell me at night. They’re like the breathtaking horses of Earth, only uglier, because the Jute needed ugliness in their beautiful lives , he had said. The creatures stare at me with blood-red eyes and wheeze, a guttural sound nothing like the whiny of a horse I've read so much about.
    I shudder in disgust and take a step back. And slowly, holding my breath, I raise my gaze. Atop each mutant is a man. Their faces are unmasked, their beauty is striking—perfectly smooth skin, profound features. Like Julian, like Earth. I know what they are.
    Jute.
    I struggle to breathe and take another step back. My hands shake. One of them laughs.
    I will never be strong enough to stand up for myself. So I do the only thing I can.
    Turn and run.
     

 
    The mutants are fast. They surround me in a flurry before I have a chance to make it a few feet. I glance helplessly down the nearest row of houses as three women hurry into a house, one of them carrying a toddler against her hip. They whisper and throw nervous glances my way before the door slams shut. I’ll find no help here.
    I scan the faces of the Jute. Other than their unmasked faces and uncanny beauty, there isn't a way to tell they aren't human.
    But I can tell one thing: the dark-haired Jute in the center is the leader of the five. His long coat, rich and dark, billows behind him in the wind. The others stand slightly behind him, their clothes faded compared to his, but new compared to my own. He stands out. His features look familiar, but I’m too far to tell for sure.
    “We aren't here to hurt you,” he calls.
    His voice reminds me of Julian. Maybe it's because I’ve heard very few young men speak before.
    I think of the countless weapons in the training room.
    Why did I run?
    “What do you want with me?” My voice cracks.
    He laughs, the sound deep. “You. I want you.”
    “Leave her alone, Rowan.” Someone shouts behind me. Julian. Relief floods my veins. He raises a black bow, and I hear the sharp slice of metal as he draws an arrow back.
    “Didn't think I'd see you again in this life,” Rowan shouts back with a one-sided grin.
    Their voices. Rowan. Julian. The same.
    Julian narrows his eyes. “I said leave. Or they're all dead.”
    Rowan moves his mutant forward and his hair ruffles in the wind. He holds his arms out in mock defiance.
    There’s a swoosh of air behind me, followed by another. One by one, the Jute on either side of Rowan fall and oxygen seizes in my chest. The mutants groan and take off into the emptiness beyond human land.
    Rowan surveys the fallen bodies lazily. Carelessly. “I need her. Not them.”
    “Leave, or I'll shoot,” Julian says. His voice is tight.
    But the same arrow is nocked in his bow. Someone else killed Rowan's men.
    Rowan jumps down from the creature. “You. Shoot me?” He laughs. “No, Jules, not even if your life depended on it. But I—”
    He falls when two blasts of blue hit him square in the chest. His body jerks in silent spasms. Not dead.
    I turn to Julian, my eyes wide. The wind howls suddenly.
    “Teach me,” I say with a wheeze. Neither of us says anything else.
     
     
    I tremble as I walk. Julian looks at me with sympathy and I hate it. But I keep walking. The farther away I can get from the Jute named Rowan and his dead crew, the better. Every few steps, Julian glances back, as if he expects something. Someone.
    I just want to clear my mind. I just want answers. I need them.
    “You knew him,” I say. Fear pulses in my veins. Rowan wanted me.
    Julian clenches his jaw. “Yes.”
    An arrow sinks into the dust ahead of me and a cloud of red explodes over my clothes. I jump with a gasp but Julian stills as a defiant laugh sounds behind us.
    A girl about my age and height walks toward us. Her eyes are dark shards of glass. I’ve seen penetrating eyes like those before.