Claimed Read online

  Claimed

  CLARISSA CARTHARN

  Claimed

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Clarissa Cartharn

  Copyright © Text Clarissa Cartharn 2014

  Copyright © Cover design Cyma Rizwaan Khan 2014

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Claimed

  He wasn’t human. He was a chimera; part human-part animal. And yet he knew her, he felt her like no man had ever done

  In the year 3035, where corporations rule the world and everything is merchandised, freedom rides on the hopes of one man- and he isn’t human.

  The moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she was mine.

  But the fact was, Ellie was a Callum. Her father was Aaron Callum, the corrupt governor of Sector 8- an entertainer of the rich and an oppressor to the poor. I was certain he was involved in the disappearance of my da. I would be darned if any of my family worked for the Callums.

  But then I saw her. I wanted her. I had laid down my principles and now I was breaking them. Was I willing to risk the freedom of my people for her? The success of a possible revolution? Or could I claim it all even if she discovered who I really was? A brother, a son, a revolutionary, an enemy. Would she love me if she discovered I wasn’t human?

  Jared Ryder

  Claim your liberty of conscience

  Claim your liberty to live

  Claim your liberty to love

  Claim your liberty…

  Claim

  Claimed

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  Also by Clarissa Cartharn

  SCENT OF ROSES

  CHAPTER 1

  COMING SOON!! AFFAIRS & ATONEMENTS

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 1

  Jared Ryder looked out the window of his small, run-down cottage. It was going to be another hot day.

  The sun had an hour or so to fully rise in the horizon. Its amber rays shined through his window and onto his cold fireplace. When had he used it last? He couldn’t remember. Perhaps, as a child. He was seven then, and that was the last winter he had seen since. He recalled large drops of snowfalls from the heavens above blanketing everything on the dry and dusty earth. Ironically, winter was then a season of better health. Food was still scarce but at least they had water they melted from the snow. His memory traced how families waited eagerly for the season, longing for the cold to crawl upon them. And when the first snow did fall, they poured into the streets with cheer and dancing.

  And then just as suddenly, one year, it simply stopped. It would come the next year, his mother would tell him but it seemed she was only assuring herself instead. “The climate’s been too hot and dry this year,” she had reasoned. “Next year, it will most definitely be better.”

  However, the next year was so much worse, as was the following year and the years after that. He was twenty-seven now and he had still yet to see the trees lose their foliage to the icicles of prismatic snow.

  “Uncle Jared!” shouted out a tiny voice. A five year old girl ran up to him, hugging his legs. “You woke up.”

  “I sure did,” he smiled, picking her up. “Where’s Nan?”

  “In the kitchen,” she said while sucking on a small, homemade stick candy.

  “Yeah? Well, let’s go get Uncle Jared some breakfast then.” He tucked his chin into her neck, tickling her.

  He heard the rumblings of dishes even before he entered the kitchen. A slender, middle-aged woman hovered above the sink, peeling potatoes.

  “Morning, Ma,” he announced.

  “You’ve woken a little later than usual,” she said, pouring him a tea of boiled water and pine needles. She placed a tiny ball of loaf on his plate.

  “I was tired,” he muttered, frowning at the small piece of loaf. It appeared that it would have to be his only meal for the day.

  “We’ve run out of flour,” his mother said flatly, as if she were reading his thoughts. But it was in fact his frown that hadn’t escaped her watchful eyes.

  “I’ll talk to Baker Felix and see if he could spare us some. Have the kids eaten?” he asked as he gulped down a sip of his tea.

  “They have and don’t you worry about them. They’ve had enough. That’s your share,” she sighed. “It’s tomorrow I worry about.”

  “Ma,” he said, rising up to hug her waist. “We’ll be fine. I promise you.”

  A tear ran down her cheeks and she sniveled, wiping it away. “I know, I know. Sometimes, it all just gets to me. It’s become harder since your father disappeared.”

  His hands fell away, his face growing grim. “He’s dead, Ma.”

  “He’s not dead,” she protested in a loud voice. “He’s disappeared and they’ve taken him.”

  He didn’t answer. His father had been arrested because he was suspected for hunting in the woods. Why couldn’t his mother accept that? No one dared hunt in the woods. The woods didn’t belong to them. They were the sole property of the corporations. They had also suspected he hunted with a weapon and not traps. And hunting weapons were strictly illegal.

  “Your father was an expert marksman,” his mother continued. “Everyone knew that. That’s why they arrested him. They don’t like people who can defend themselves. They don’t like people who can fight back.”

  Jared fixed up his boot laces. “He was hunting in their woods, Ma. It’s forbidden and the penalty is death. That was also known to everyone, including Da.”

  His mother wrung her hands nervously. “That’s why I always fear for you. You’re always hunting in their woods. Jared, we can make do with what we have. If we ration our food out better…”

  “How much better, Mother?” he interrupted her impatiently. “We’re already at our brink. We need the meat. It’s our only source of survival. And since when have the deer and moose only belonged to the corporations? It is wrong. If it’s a law, then it’s an erroneous law too. They are God’s creatures and they belong to all of us just as much they do to them.”

  “And who will change this law? You?” his mother growled.

  He shrugged. “Whoever- does it matter? Besides, we have two little ones to feed. How do you think we’ll manage that?” He sighed and wrapped his arms around his mother. “We’ll be fine, Ma. I’ll be careful.”

  “If anything should happen to you, I don’t know what I’d do,” his mother sobbed. “I’ve already lost your father. I couldn’t bear to lose you too.”

  He gathered her face in his hands and peered adoringly into her eyes. “That’s why I always am ultra-careful,” he teased and kissed her forehead. “And will you stop the waterworks? The way you go on crying, you’d fill up a dam. You should make better use of your tears.”

  She smoothed his shirt affectionately. “Take care, son.”

  “Where’s Tara?” he asked as he reached the door.

  “Your sister’s got
some work at Governor Callum’s mansion. She’ll be back later in the afternoon.”

  He frowned disapprovingly. “Ma, she shouldn’t be there. He’s a government official and we all know the government works for the corporations. We don’t need their money.”

  “She wants to contribute to the house. She’s got her own two little ones to feed too. What harm could some menial chores do to a woman? It’s what she does here anyway.”

  “I don’t trust them. It’s dangerous. When is she ever going to learn that?” he growled. “First, she goes off with that two-bit idiot who got her pregnant and then left her to fend for herself and their two kids. And now, she’s slaving at a man’s house; a man who may possibly be the reason for Da’s disappearance. And when has the Governor represented us fairly without an agenda of his own?”

  “It’s bad enough that the government has laws that bind us. Must you also have rules?” she grumbled.

  “There is nothing bad with rules if they’re meant to help you. Their rules though, are made to enslave us,” he let out angrily.

  “Jared, keep your voice down. If anyone should hear you, they’d report you,” she whispered, her eyes darting about in fear. “People will do anything for money these days.”

  Jared let out a frustrating breath. “I’ll be back in the evening, Ma. I’ll see if I can get some flour from the baker then. Is there anything else you need?”

  “No,” she said, her eyes sunken in by her worries. “Bread and meat should do well for now.”

  He nodded and stepped outside the door.

  “Bye, Uncle Jared,” said Mae, Tara’s little daughter.

  He bent down and kissed her on the cheek. “Where’s your brother?”

  She shrugged.

  He ruffled her blonde curls. “Very well then, I’ll talk to Fern when I get back home. But when he does, tell him to help Nan out with the chores, okay?”

  She nodded.

  He gave her a small smile and made his way towards the woods. They were protected by high fences, installed only to keep out the poor from gaining any access to it and to hold back its natural treasures for the government and corporate wealthy.

  Chickens pecked at the dry ground about him. Wolf, his Siberian husky, jumped onto him.

  “There boy,” he said, patting him. “You’re up for some hunting? But you’ve got to be real quiet, okay?”

  Wolf licked his face excitedly. He laughed.

  “Okay, okay, let’s go then.” He slung his bag over his shoulder as his dog ran eagerly before him.

  *****

  They weaved their way through the dry and dusty village. It hurt his eyes to see the children thinned to their bones from starvation. He and his mother did what they could to help them. They tried as much to share any meat and bread with the children whenever they could afford it.

  In the distance, on the crest of Callum’s Hill, he spotted the luxurious Callum House. It must be a sore sight for the Callums, seeing the impoverished village lie at the foot of their beautiful hill, he smirked. And yet, their daily reminder of all their suffering did nothing to the conscience of Governor Callum.

  He finally reached the circumference of the corporate woods. They were called corporate woods for good reason. They belonged to corporations which now ruled the world. The government only held titles to poor sectors such as theirs. Even the lakes were owned by wealthy businesses. Everything was traded and merchandised. Earth, water, air and all that lived in and between it.

  But he wasn’t for sale. In fact, he was going to steal back from the corporations. He was going to take back what was rightfully his all along.

  He scrambled over rocks with sharp, jagged edges. It was difficult to access the woods from this spot but that also made it the lesser patrolled than other parts.

  “Come on, Wolf,” he whispered, glimpsing tiredly at it. “I know boy. But we don’t really have a choice.”

  The large dog nimbly worked its way over the rocks. It had been doing it since it was a pup and Jared had to work damned hard in training it to silently hunt with him.

  At the top of the rocks, he removed the net of hay he had intricately woven, disguising the hole underneath the fence. He lay low down to the ground, giving a quick look around before he belly crawled under the fence after his dog.

  As soon as he reached the other side, he raced into the thickness of the trees before he could be spotted by anyone.

  Hiding behind a large tree, he assembled his long bow. He always made certain that he pulled it apart before leaving the woods. If he ever got caught with it, he would most definitely be arrested and taken to trial. Some, like his father, were never heard of again after being taken to a trial in the Capitol.

  He strung his bow and tested its tightness. Satisfied, he slung it over his shoulders and trekked his way towards the river. It’s where he always skinned his hunt. The water helped to wash any traces of the blood and the meat.

  As he approached it, he could hear the river gurgle behind the thickness of the bushes. Parting the leaves, he could now see the crystal clear water that ran over the myriad of rocks. He wished his mother could see that such beauty in nature still existed in the harshness of the world. She’d only ever seen the struggles in the world and never what he was relishing now. He leant over the bank and cupped his hand into the pureness of the water. He felt the rush of the chilly water against his hand. He took a sip of it and he could feel it run down his throat, quenching his thirst. If only people knew the rich resource that lay within the woods, they wouldn’t let anyone hold them back from it. The woods had been forbidden for several hundred years that now its treasures were only a myth to ordinary people.

  Wolf leapt into the water, gleefully, wetting him. He laughed as he tried to avoid the dog from jumping onto him.

  “Enough, Wolf! Time to get some work done.”

  He treaded into the thickness of the woods leaving Wolf to follow him, like he always did. He pulled out a couple of arrows and hooked them between his fingers with one readied into his bow.

  The woods were damp from its last rainfall. There was a moist heaviness lingering in the thickness of ferns and slush, its foliage weighed down with water droplets. The greenery and dampness was a contrast from his village where dry dust continually flew about them. Over the years, rain clouds had become an expensive commodity, accessible to only the elite. If the villagers were in any luck, trickles of fresh creeks would run out of the woods, giving them a handful of buckets to last them a few more weeks.

  His eyes roved the trees, trying to spot his prey. He was quick to notice a clump of spoor in the soil. He couldn’t be wrong. The spoor was fresh. A deer had to be roaming somewhere close. Obeying his instincts, he trekked further on, carefully and lightly. Spotting a pair of fresh hoof tracks in the damp soil, he guessed he had to be close. He estimated them to be at least three inches in length. That would mean an adult deer. That would mean enough meat for his family and a good enough sale to the butcher.

  “Ssshhh,” he whispered to his dog and immediately his husky froze; its ears on alert, its eyes riveted on the target ahead.

  His arrow was well nocked and readied into his bow string. Jared drew his arrow back as the deer came into view. It was busily gnawing on mushrooms from a dead tree log. He pulled the bow, stretching it tightly, anchoring it to his cheek bones. His eyes focus on the little discolored spot on the deer’s coat. Something caught its attention and it perked its head to look in the direction opposite to him. Jared relaxed his fingers, releasing the arrow into the air. He held his spot until the arrow cut through the air, piercing the animal’s flesh in the rump. It bucked, startled by the attack. A split second later, a second arrow whisked passed it, stabbing the bark of the tree next to the deer. The animal groaned as it turned and fled.

  “There’s another hunter!” His eyes rapidly scanned the trees, finally catching a glimpse of the green hooded man staring back at him. The shooter stepped back and then raced into the dense woods. Ja
red chased after him.

  “What the heck am I doing?!” he shook his head as he jumped over yet another dead log. “He could be a corporate dog! No, he’s not! He’s clad in green! He’s masked. He carries a bow, for god sakes! Corporate dogs don’t carry bows!”

  The man ducked under branches, flying through the trees at a stupefying speed.

  Jared took another route, trying to cut him off. “Wolf! Get!!” he shouted at his dog.

  The husky obediently raced past him to catch the anonymous poacher. It stopped abruptly at a tree, circling it, its nose tracing the hunter’s odor on the ground.

  “Wolf!” Jared panted, catching up to his dog. “Where, boy? Where is he?”

  The husky growled, looking up at the tree.

  Jared searched it with his eyes but saw nothing other than its lushes leaves. He ruffled the dog’s collar. “That’s it, boy. Good job. He’s gone though.”

  What would he have done if he had caught the shooter? Make friends? Share the deer hunt? He sighed. He supposed his curiosity had got the better of him. He’d rarely met another person from the sector who dared poach in the woods. He hadn’t any idea who it could have been. No one he knew had any knowledge of maneuvering any kind of weapon.

  Now that his adrenaline had settled, new worries clobbered him. The hunter had seen his face. Would he report him to the authorities? The punishment could be as severe as death. On the light side, he might escape it for life imprisonment. Either way, there was nothing he could do about it. He had no choice but to risk his return to the sector. If luck had it, the poacher would do nothing- which was highly unlikely. With a scarcity of food, where people farmed rats for meat, where women cut out the fetuses of the pregnant varmints to feed their malnourished babies, where children were looked upon as possible food for the hundreds of severely starving adults and where the possibility of cannibalism was on its brinks of breaking out, there was a higher probability that he would be perceived as a competitor.