Page 15 of The Quiet
“ROSE?” Mark said.
“You’re serious?” Kay asked, looking between them. “The Riders of Saint East? The radicals responsible for the Burning of the Strike?”
Ella and Mark both exchanged glances.
“That and an entire list of war crimes,” Kay said. “They disappeared after the war ended.”
They both simultaneously offered half-hearted explanations on why the mask pattern had seemed somewhat familiar.
“Yeah,” Kay said with a resigned sigh as he shut the book. “Ella, you clearly weren’t listening for the last few hours of our ride, were you? Honestly, the lack of understanding about history among the rest of the population amazes me. It’s like everyone is intentionally trying to forget learning about it. Let’s go.”
“Now?” Ella replied.
“Yes. Thanks Mark!” He walked out the door. As soon as it closed behind them, he snapped back toward her. “That’s not the weird part about all of this.”
“What?”
“You don’t get it? The ROSE?” he said, throwing his hands out with clear exasperation.
At this point, she almost felt sorry for him. “What about them?”
“You can’t tell me you don’t know about them,” Kay pushed.
“Apparently not enough. I thought we established that in there, alright? Get to the point,” she replied, crossing her arms.
“They were Strike hunters.”
“Yeah, sure. And?”
Kay ran a hand through his hair, “I don’t have time to give you a history lesson,” he said, but then explained what would have otherwise been a full lecture.
Ella was relieved he seemed so rushed.
“Their actions and brutality ultimately cost thousands of people their lives. They’re war criminals, but all that aside, don’t you see what this is? Someone must be trying to keep people out of those woods and creating this tall tale to do it. Something is going on. A ROSE apparently cursed by a Strike? I mean, come on. It’s theater. The capital should be paying more attention to this. It may not even just be one person in those woods. It could be a group, all just using the masks.”
“Well according to Samual, the capital is helping to bury it, so it’s us that needs to figure this out. It might be the capital that’s doing this in the first place. It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve taken advantage of people’s superstitions,” Ella said.
“Ella,” Kay said seriously. “I know you and Crow were always skeptical of the government, but let’s be realistic here.”
“I’m joking,” she replied with an unapologetic flatness.
“Well, we’re going in blind and now it’s not just because we don’t have a Listener. I mean a capital certified Listener. Your natural abilities don’t count.”
“Hey, I never said they did. And look, you can’t buy into this ghost story, Kay. Come on.” She turned off the side of the porch, hopping down onto the road.
“I’m not,” Kay said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Something about this just doesn’t feel right, though.”
Though she teased, Ella ignored the same nagging sense. She just didn’t want to find out what would happen if they both admitted they had it.
They paid a horse tend to care for the horses and started to cross the street.
“Hey, Stitches!” Mark called behind them.
Ella turned as he tossed her something. Catching it out of the air, she examined the coin.
“It’s my lucky coin. It saved my life out in the field more than once,” he said. “Take care of it and maybe it will take care of you.”
“Thanks, Mark,” Ella said, lifting it up with a smile before he nodded to her and shut the door. She and Kay started back to the inn across the street.
