Naomi Grim: Complete Novel (Parts 1-4) (The Silver Scythe Chronicles)
Tiffany Nicole Smith
Naomi Grim
Book One of the Silver Scythe Chronicles
(Part 4)
Naomi Grim
Book One of the Silver Scythe Chronicles
(Part 4)
Other books by Tiffany Nicole Smith:
Books 1-4 of the Fairylicious Series
The Thing About Scorpions (Scorpions 1)
Naomi Grim (The Silver Scythe Chronicles)
Book 1
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.
Copyright © 2013 by Tiffany Nicole Smith All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be copied or reproduced in any matter whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Printed in the United States of America.
Cover Design by Damonza
Twisted Spice Publications
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Summary:
The assignment:
Collect lifestones from humans after they die.
Rebellious, sixteen-year-old Naomi craves a normal life, but unfortunately, she's a Grim by birth. That's right, she sees dead people and hoards their living essence in a stone. Not a fun occupation.
In order to be good at her job, she must live among human teenagers for weeks at a time. But Naomi soon becomes attached to the kids she's been assigned to watch over. And knowing that these teens are gonna die under less than ideal circumstances, she has the opportunity to prevent their deaths from occurring. Only one big problem--interfering with death is the worst crime a Grim can commit. If she intervenes, she'll put herself and her family in danger.
Naomi must make the hardest choice of her career, go against the sacred covenant or watch her new friends walk blindly to their deaths.
Only one thing is for certain--Naomi has a grim knack for finding trouble and she's about to break all the rules...
Naomi Grim
Book One of the Silver Scythe Chronicles
(Part 4)
Tiffany Nicole Smith
Naomi Grim
Part 4
Chapters 34-43
Part 4
The Rebellion
Table of Contents:
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 34
Guards walked through the halls yelling, "Lights out!" I turned my light off and curled up on the cot. It hurt my body, and there wasn't even a pillow to rest my head on nor a blanket to cover myself with. I thought about my comfortable bed at home and how I would never sleep there again. I prepared myself for a restless night.
I forced myself to close my eyes. I heard the murmur of snoring coming from the outside cells. I envied their ability to fall asleep. I wasn't sure what time it was. If I had to guess, I would say it was about two or three o'clock in the morning when I heard a knock on the door of my cell. I rose from my cot and went to the door. No one was there. I figured it had just been a guard passing by so I turned back toward my cot.
"Naomi," called a gravelly voice.
I turned. I knew that voice. "Dunstan? You got your cloak back." I remembered the last time I'd seen it; it had been in the hands of Doyle. I wondered how he had gotten it to Dunstan without Dunningham noticing.
"Are you okay?"
"For now. They're going to kill me in three days."
"Don't worry, my dear. Everything is going according to plan. Your execution will be the perfect distraction." "What? What does that mean?" I wished Dunstan wasn't invisible right then. I needed to see his face.
"Naomi, you cost us a lot. It's only right that you pay us back. The day of your execution, every Grim in Nowhere will be in one place at the same time. Their guard will be down. It'll be the perfect time for us to attack."
I heard Dunstan's feet drag across the floor and assumed he was leaving. "Wait!" I called. "Is that going to be before or after my execution?"
Dunstan breathed deeply. "I can't be sure, dear."
I would have appreciated a definitive answer to my question.
A noise came from the end of the hallway. "I have to go," Dunstan said hurriedly.
The sound of a guard's heavy footsteps made their way closer and closer to my cell. A bright light shone in my face. I shielded my eyes with my hands.
"Back in bed!" the guard ordered. I couldn't see him because of the light, but I backed away and returned to my cot. My growling stomach wouldn't allow me to sleep. I lay awake hoping for breakfast time to arrive.
* * *
After what seemed like an eternity later, deep voices bellowed throughout the hallway. "Up! Wake up!" The yelling was accompanied by a loud clanking sound. I rose and looked out of the small window of my cell door, my body sore from the hard cot. The guards ran their nightsticks against the bars of the cells.
I sat on my cot, wondering what would happen next. It had been a sleepless night for me. I would fall asleep for a few minutes and then wake up, hoping this was all just a nightmare that would be over when the sun came up. But sunrise came and I was still locked in a filthy prison cell. After a moment, my cell door popped open. "Let's go. Hop in line," said a surly-looking guard.
I followed his instructions. When I exited the cell, a long single-file line of men were headed downstairs. I was last in line. A guard stood directly behind me.
I wished for shoes as my feet slid across the gritty concrete. The bottoms of my feet were already blackened with dirt, and I wanted to wash them. Feeling filthy, I wondered when I would be able to shower again. By the offensive odors being released from the men, I concluded that showering wasn't a daily thing.
We went down two flights of stairs to get to the cafeteria. There I joined the massive line waiting to be served breakfast. I spotted the women prisoners—less than ten—already eating at a table on the far side of the cafeteria. I guessed my offense was too great for me to be included with them.
I stood in line for what seemed like forever, only to receive a bowl filled with gray gruel and a hard piece of bread. Being famished, I was thankful for even that. By the time I had received my food, most of the tables were full. I squeezed myself on the end of one bench. The men gave me strange looks.
My eyes stayed on one man in particular who had tattoos all over his face. He caught me looking and nodded at me. I nodded back and then looked away. I noticed no one spoke throughout the room as guards stood around tapping nightsticks in their hands.
I dug in to my breakfast. The mush had no flavor whatsoever. It at least filled me so my belly stopped making noises. I gnawed on the bread, but it was almost impossible to tear. I eventually gave up and left it on my tray. A man with long stringy black hair sitting across from me pointed at the chewed-on bread. I nodded, and he took it from my tray with a grateful look. I wondered when the next meal would come and if the food would be any better.
A bell rang. It reminded me of the school bells at Kennedy High. At once, everyone stood and took their trays to the large containers that stood aga
inst the wall. I grabbed my tray and followed the men from my table. There were separate containers for trays, bowls, cups, and silverware. Under the watchful eyes of several guards, I put my dishes in the proper bins.
"Block C, you have dish duty," a guard announced over the bullhorn. I heard a few groans. Guards stood around as the prisoners dispersed into different locations. I stood in their midst, getting pushed and jostled. I had no idea where to go.
"Naomi, you go back to your cell," said a voice from behind me.
I turned to see Ravi, the guard who had escorted me to my cell the night before. "Where's everyone else going?"
"To do their jobs. But you don't get to do that."
Gattica's main purpose was free labor. The prisoners were trained to make almost everything we used in Nowhere—clothing, jewelry, furniture, you name it.
"I have to just sit in my cell for the rest of the day?"
Ravi put his hand on my shoulder, pushing me along. "That's solitary confinement. You're lucky you got out to eat."
Ravi escorted me to my cell, and I stood in the doorway. I would go crazy if I had to spend the day trapped in that room. "Ravi, please. I only have three days to live. Give me a break."
He shook his head. "Can't. Orders are orders."
"Come on. What's going to happen? It's not like I'm going anywhere."
Ravi thought for a moment. "I'll let you in a work room for a half hour and that's it."
At least that was something. "Thanks, so much."
Ravi took me to a room filled wall to wall with long tables. Men hammered an assortment of metal objects and fit things together. "This is the room where they make automobile parts. Or I could take you where the women are making jewelry."
"This is fine," I said. I figured if I could get any information about the upcoming rebellion, it would be from the men.
"There's an empty seat over there." Ravi pointed at a table closest to the east wall.
I took a seat in the hard, rusted chair.
A man in a guard's uniform came over. "We're making carburetors today. You want to fit—" The rest of what he said sounded like a foreign language.
I watched the man sitting next to me. His filthy hands did their job effortlessly. I'd just copy what he was doing.
"Got it?" the man asked.
I nodded and dug into the box in the middle of the table for some parts. All around me, men worked like robots focused on their tasks. No one said a word.
"Pssst," someone hissed.
I looked down the table. It took me a moment to place the familiar face.
"Starkin?" I asked a bit too loudly.
A guard against the wall looked in my direction and then continued to look straight ahead. Starkin was the boy Bram had fought when we went to Litropolis. He was here because of my brother.
Starkin leaned over. "What the hell did you do to get put in here?" It was hard to hear him over the hammering and the clanking of metal parts.
"Long story. I told your mom you were here," I whispered back.
A flash of sadness crossed his face. "Thanks so much. How'd she take it?"
"She took it well," I lied. No point in making him feel bad.
"Shhhhh," said the man in front of me. He was an older-looking man with no hair. He didn't look at me. His eyes stayed focused on his task.
I shut up and fiddled with the parts in front of me. I tried to mimic the men sitting around me, but the parts just wouldn't fit. When my thirty minutes were up, I had accomplished nothing. Ravi came back and took me to my cell.
I plopped down on my rock-hard cot. "Later on, there's exercise time. You might be able to get out then," Ravi said.
"Thanks, Ravi. I appreciate it."
I lay on my uncomfortable cot and took a nap. There was absolutely nothing else to do but count the cracks in the wall. Having a book to read would have made the situation more bearable.
I was awakened by a guard shaking me. It wasn't Ravi, but someone else. "It's your block's turn to use the workout room."
Groggily, I pulled myself up from the cot and followed the guard. He led me to a large room with gray cement walls filled with men lifting weights and using all sorts of exercise equipment. The room smelled awful, like nothing I'd ever smelled before. Perspiration mixed with something else. Several guards were planted around the room.
Searching the room for a treadmill or something easy, I noticed Starkin lifting weights with DeCarlo spotting him. I weaved my way through the crowd of grunting, sweaty men.
When I approached, DeCarlo took the weights from Starkin and rested them on the bar. "All right. My turn."
The boys switched places. Starkin raised his eyebrows at me. "You better get busy. They like to keep us strong for manual labor."
I thought the workout room was either a really good or a really stupid idea. On one hand, they were strengthening the prisoners so they'd be better workers, on the other hand, they were making the ones who were about to rebel against them stronger.
"I'm being executed, so it doesn't matter."
Both boys looked at me. DeCarlo whistled.
Starkin looked around and then edged closer to me. "Don't worry, there's a rebellion being planned. We're all getting out of here soon."
I scanned the room. Just about everyone in Gattica was either a Forager or a Litropolite. "But I'm being executed in less than three days."
Starkin's eyes widened. "Oh. What did you do?"
"I interfered with death," I answered simply. No need for details.
DeCarlo shook his head. "That was stupid. There's those of us who actually want to be sent on assignments and then you actually get them and mess it up."
"Shut up, man," Starkin said to his friend, but I knew DeCarlo had a point. "I'm sorry."
I appreciated his sympathy. "I made my bed so I have to lie in it. I feel sorrier for my family than I do for myself."
Starkin lifted the weight off the bar so DeCarlo could take it. "Don't give up yet," Starkin said, winking. "Trust me, anything can happen."
Chapter 35
That night proved to be another restless one. I thought about the reason I was in Gattica to begin with—humans. I thought about Roxy and Hunter and wondered if they appreciated what I had done for them. Of course they didn't. They didn't even know. I had given up my life so they could have theirs, and they didn't even know it. I wondered how Hunter felt about the fact that I had just disappeared into thin air. I wondered if he thought of me at all.
I had two days left to live. I was informed that morning that my family would be visiting that day. I had no idea how I looked. There were no mirrors, but I figured I looked terrible. I didn't want the last time my parents saw me to be like this.
After eating another tasteless breakfast, I was led by Ravi to a small room. The room contained nothing but a steel table and a chair with a torn cushion. Ravi gave me no directions other than to sit and be quiet.
I had waited for almost thirty minutes, resting my head on the cold table when I heard Kora's voice. "You'll have half an hour. I'll be back then."
The door opened and the people I loved the most in the world entered, looking pale and graver than usual.
I ran straight to my father's arms. He squeezed me so tight it hurt. I held onto him for a long time. "I'm so sorry. When I did it, it felt right. I wasn't thinking about what would happen afterward."
Father stroked my hair. "It's okay, Darkness. It's not your fault."
Finally, I let him go and looked into my mother's eyes, which were red and swollen from crying. "Mother, I'm sorry for the things I said to you." There was no point in holding on to that anger any longer. This would be our last time together. My mother had made a terrible mistake, but she had done everything she could to make it right afterward.
She placed her hands gently on my cheeks. "I'm the one who's sorry. I'm sorry that you have to pay for my sins." Mother looked into my eyes for a long time before turning away as if she couldn't look at me any longer.
>
I hugged Dorian next. He seemed to be even taller than before. I wondered if he would end up being as tall as Bram. A tear rolled down my cheek because I wouldn't be around to see my little brother grow up. His body shook as I hugged him. I hated to see my little brother cry. I looked him in the eyes. "Dorian, you're the best little brother ever. I love you." Then I hugged him again.
Bram leaned against the wall, with his hands jammed in his pockets, studying the ground. I wasn't sure how to handle him.
"Bram?" Father prompted.
Bram didn't look up. "What?"
"Don’t you have something to say to your sister?"
He shook his head. "Nope."
Father sighed. "Bram—"
"It's okay," I said. Bram had his reasons to be angry, and I didn't want our last time together to be a fight.
"Are you scared?" Dorian asked.
I wasn't sure how I felt. I kept saying I was going to be executed, but I didn't think the reality of it had hit me yet. In a couple of days, I would cease to exist. "No," I said, more for my family's benefit.
Father smiled sadly. "That's it. Don't cry. Don't show them your fear. Just take whatever they're going to give you with bravery."
"You too," I muttered. Every Grim was required to attend every execution. My family would have to be there front and center to watch.
Mother talked about how she wished she could take my place since this was all her fault. Father told her to stop dwelling in the past. I asked Dorian about his latest experiment just to change the subject.
"I'm trying really hard to acquire a couple of rats. I have something I want to try out."
I had no idea what he wanted to do with rats, but he would have to go to Litropolis for those. We didn't have rats in Farrington, or at least I'd never seen any.
After what seemed like only five minutes, Kora came to the door to tell us our half hour was over. I couldn't process the fact that this was the last time I would be able to touch and speak to my family.
