Marked

She woke up with a hand clamped over her mouth. She made a startled noise, her instinct to fight kicking in.

“Shh!”

Blinking rapidly, her eyes adjusted to the darkness enough that she could make out the person standing over her.

It was Simone, clad in a black cape that covered her from head to toe and made her look like a shapeless, moving mass.

“You scared me!” Rachel whispered. “I thought you were a poacher.”

“I’m sorry,” Simone breathed back. “But I thought you might want to do something fun after everything that happened.”

Rachel glanced behind her at the sleeping form of her mother and placed her finger over her mouth in a shushing motion.

Her best friend nodded and gestured for her to get up and put her shoes on.

A few minutes later both girls were creeping across the narrow cave, hoping not to disturb Ruth.

Once outside, Simone pulled back her hood and looked at Rachel with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Where are we going?” Rachel whispered.

“Oh, you’ll see. Just follow me.” Simone was already walking away, leaving her with no choice but to follow.

As they climbed their way up the mountain, it was clear that they were headed into the place where the caves let in cool night air.

Rachel could already feel the cold of the mountain rock seeping in through her shoes and she shuddered in her nightgown, thinking it might have been smart to change first.

“Come on, we’re almost there,” Simone made an excited gesture.

They climbed over gray rocks and pushed their way through small crevices barely big enough to fit a person. And then suddenly-- after much cramming and squishing-- the rock opened up into a wide, flat surface.

They moved closer to the edge of the cave where the entrance was huge and wide, like a gaping mouth, and overlooked the city. From here you could see the glimmering lights of the capital buildings, dotting the darkness like stars that had fallen out of the sky.

Jed could be there somewhere.

She shook her head.

Hope was a slow-working poison and she would not let it kill her.

The night sky was sprinkled with a few wisps of cloud, the stars and moon dancing in and out between them.

She hadn’t noticed the others until a voice said, “Come on girls, we’re not getting any younger!”

Casting her eyes down, she found the Hernandez brothers lingering near a small fire along with two other girls from the compound.

Rachel glanced at Simone, her eyes wary.

“I don’t know about this, Simone...“Rachel began.

“Oh come on, Ray. They don’t bite and they know how to have fun!”

“They’re never up to any good,” Rachel muttered.

Simone rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Live a little, Ray! Come on.” Rachel let Simone pull her over to the others, her protest dying on her lips.

Eyeing the group, she suddenly felt self-conscious.

She was only wearing a thin pajama set that left her exposed to the cold and the stares of the three brothers in front of her.

She wrapped her arms around her chest tightly and sat down next to Simone.

“Took you forever,” The one named Juan said.

There were three of them total.

Jose, and Juan, the two youngest were sitting next to one another. Hector, the oldest of the three, was spread out on the ground, leaning back on his elbows and gazing up at the roof of the cave.

“Look what we got our hands on, ladies.” Juan chimed while he produced from his pocket a bag of make-shift cigarettes that looked haphazardly rolled.

“We’re gonna have us some fun tonight! “Jose cheered.

“Pass one over here,” Hector said, waving his hand. He took one, lit it, and popped it into his mouth. He closed his eyes and blew out a long string of smoke that drifted lazily into the air.

The two other girls that she only knew by name -Mira and Mila- started giggling.

Rachel wondered what Hector had done that had been so funny.

One of them reached forward and plucked a cigarette from the bag. Mila lit it up and brought it to her lips. Rachel saw her inhale deeply and then she was laughing again.

Was there something in those cigarettes that turned girls into blubbering idiots?

“I want one too,” Simone piped.

Soon, the smoke from her best friend’s cigarette wafted across her face, making her cough from the overpowering aroma of burning plants.

“What about you, Rachel?” Juan asked. He inched toward her and shimmied the bag close to her face. “Take one. It’ll make you relax.”

Rachel shook her head no and Juan shrugged.

By now all the others were smoking and there was a hazy cloud hanging over them.

“This feels soooooo relaxing,” Simone murmured.

“That’s the point.” Jose replied, with a content sigh.

Juan was getting a little too close to Rachel for it to be comfortable and she knew where all this was headed.

First it was Mira and Hector whispering things to each other near the cave’s mouth, their legs dangling over the side into the abyss. Then Jose grabbed Simone by the hand and Rachel was sure they were kissing, though they were deeply shrouded by shadows.

Mila ventured across the cave, as if trying to balance on an invisible beam only she could see. The smoke from her cigarette rose and rose, creating billowy clouds of white which mixed with her breath, each time she exhaled.

All that was left was Juan and Rachel, sitting awkwardly in the puff of smoke the others had left behind. He lit up another white bud, his elbows resting on his knees as he looked at her like she had three heads.

“You’re not a normal one, are you?” He blew out a cloud of smoke while he rubbed the stubble on his jaw with one hand.

“Is anyone really normal?” She countered.

He laughed a little and held the cigarette out to her. She knew he must be laughing at her and not because he thought she was funny. Rachel was looking at the cigarette as if it were a poisonous snake, after all.

Maybe Juan was right.

Maybe she wasn’t normal.

With new determination, she snatched the thing from his hand and inhaled a big puff. Almost immediately she began to cough and splutter.

Juan chuckled again.

As a lightheadedness began to creep into her head, the cold gnawed at her bones. Juan’s shoulder touched hers and almost without entirely meaning to, she leaned into his side for warmth.

Before she had a chance to register what was happening, Juan slipped his fingers into her hair and pulled her into a kiss. Reaching behind him, he snuffed out the cigarette butt with his palm and leaned further into her.

She sat frozen, unsure what had let him to believe she wanted this.

But this was all her fault.

She should have never listened to Simone. Her best friend was, after all, notoriously known for not making the best decisions. Plus, it was obvious the only people having fun tonight were going to be the Hernandez brothers if they managed to get ‘lucky’.

Well it wasn’t happening with Rachel.

She dug her nails into Juan’s shoulders, trying to push him away from her. He must have mistaken it as an act of passion because the kiss became more furious.

“Get off!” She ordered against his mouth.

“What the--”

Rachel elbowed him in the nose and he jerked away while cradling his face in his hands.

“What the fuck?” He spat at her.

The others were all staring at them; she could feel their confused gazes burning holes into her skin. She saw he shadow that was Hector stand and stride over to them. He took in Rachel’s expression then whacked Juan over the back of the head.

“You always ask,” He muttered. “You don’t just assume.” He extended his hand to Rachel. “Are you okay? I’m sorry, my brother hasn’t fully learned manners yet.”

Rachel stared at his hand for a second before taking it.

She stood, smoothed out her nightgown, and tilted her chin up.

“I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry,” Juan said, still rubbing at his nose. “You were leaning into me. I thought--”

“You always ask,” Hector repeated.

“I should go--” Rachel said as she fiddled with the sleeve of her pajama shirt.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait!” Simone ran to her and caught her by the arm. “You can’t go yet!”

“The hell I can’t. This may be your idea of fun, Simone but it isn’t mine.”

Simone didn’t look offended. “I know that was a little crazy back there,” she gestured behind her at the guys.

“A little? He had his tongue in my mouth!” Rachel hissed.

“He got caught up in the moment. I mean, c’mon what else is there to do on this wretched mountain?”

Rachel opened her mouth to reply but Simone interrupted.

“Look, I’m sorry, Ray. It’s been noted that you’re not into this but I promise you you’re gonna wanna stick around. Listen, we’re gonna go meet the guy who does the fake marks. You can’t miss this!”

Rachel hesitated for a moment.

The mark maker was a sort of legend among the compounders. He was said to be able to replicate the mark. At least, long enough to fool a poacher.

There was a nagging curiosity in the back of her mind. It was that hope again, trying to resurface but this time she wasn’t able to squash it down.

She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t interested in finding out more about this mystery man. Mostly she wondered if maybe Jed had gone to him. It wasn’t like the fake mark maker was a secret and maybe Jed had heard of this and gone there instead of the city. It was a long shot but...

“Okay,” She consented after a few minutes. “You just keep that grubby-fingered Juan away from me.”

Juan was glaring at her when they got back. It gave Rachel a sense of pride to know she was the reason he had a bloody nose. It served him well for getting so handsy with her.

Hector chuckled. “I like you. Anyone who can render Juan speechless has my respect.” He grinned and motioned for her to sit down while patting the spot next to him.

Rachel shot him a withering look.

“Let’s talk about the Mark maker,” Simone interjected, trying to diffuse the tension. “How do we find him?”