by S. J Woods
“Ok.” Alyssa pulled up again and the craft shifted through ninety-degrees. “Are you all ok, kids?”
Dane felt another rush of love for his mother as Rose answered for the still-terrified Coles children.
“We’re ok, Mama.” Rose smoothed the curls from Norah’s tear-streaked face and gave her mother a brave smile.
It was a tense few minutes as they watched, silently, as Alyssa navigated the air-capsule over the tops of buildings, so close Dane felt he could reach out of the craft and touch them. In the back of their minds, they knew they weren’t out of the woods. The glass and metal structures kept coming and they prayed for the sky to open up away from the crowded buildings, before the craft dropped any lower.
“There!” Rico spotted it first, face pressed against the transparent walls.
The end of the city was in sight. Ahead of them lay an empty road, bordered by acres of barren land.
“I see it.” Alyssa acknowledged him, and she braced herself as the craft swooped lower and lower, the ground rushing up to meet them. “This might be bumpy. Everybody needs to hold on.”
Teonie and Rico slipped back into their seats, and Dane took Norah from Rose, holding her tightly into her seat.
“In three, two, one.” Alyssa counted them in as the craft ducked, nose first, to meet the earth below.
Dane felt himself flung from side to side, but he held Norah tightly, using his own weight to keep her safe as his head bounced against the walls of the capsule. Teonie was thrown clear from her seat, banging hard against the opposite wall and back again. Rose and Tommy managed to hold on, and Dane heard a sickening crack as Alyssa, still at the helm, flew forward with the impact of their landing. There was a blur of bodies as the craft slid along the ground before it skittled to a stop side-on.
“Ma!” Dane reached for Alyssa, who was dazed and bleeding on the floor of the capsule, and she tried to rearrange her face into a brave smile.
“I’m ok.”
“Everybody ok?” Teonie was on her feet, pulling Alyssa up. “We need to get out of here. Everybody in the city will have seen our landing.”
Dane took his mother’s hands in his, pushing back her hair to take a look at the wound on her forehead. “You’re hurt.”
“It’s just a scratch,” Alyssa pulled away. “Teonie is right. We need to get out of here now.”
Rico was already in action and was prising the doors open. He helped the children down from the craft and they stepped out onto the dusty, bare land.
“Is the tech on here?” He looked at Teonie, with desperation in his eyes.
Teonie was the last on the craft, passing down bags to the others, and she glanced at the screen she had been carrying.
“I’ve got nothing,” She replied anxiously. “Did you get a good look at where we are?”
“I did.” Dane, always planning ahead, had made out a forest further south. “There’s forest to the south. We might be out in the open for a few miles.”
“Let’s not waste time,” Alyssa peeled the bandage from the back of her neck, smoothing it over her fresh head wound. “Let’s go!”
The edge of the city was less than a kilometre away, but nothing was moving back or forth the empty road, and with just a backwards glance at the scuffed-but-intact capsule, they started moving away from the highway.
Rico and Rose led the way, keeping up a stream of chatter to Tommy and Norah, who were still pale and quiet from the traumatic landing. Dane, Teonie and Alyssa followed, each taking a heavy bag, and Teonie discreetly handed them both a stun-gun.
Alyssa glanced at the palm-sized device but said nothing. She seemed to have accepted the bombshell he had dropped on her only an hour earlier.
“I managed to get my hands on these.” Teonie said quietly as they strode towards the cover of the forest that had appeared in the distance.
Alyssa and Dane turned to look at her, and she held up two regulation knives, similar to the ones they had been issued in training, still sheathed.
Dane reached for one, securing it to his belt.
“What did you use those for?” Alyssa asked, her eyes widening.
“They’re for non-tech combat.” Dane said, before turning to Teonie. “Tee, would the stun-guns work during a tech-out?”
“No.” She replied, shaking her head. “And what Seraphine taught us was trash anyway. Even these blades won’t work against Artificials.”
The image of the shards of glass breaking uselessly against the impenetrable Sadie flashed through Dane’s mind and he relayed the full story to his mother and his friend.
“Why do you think she bothered putting you through all that training?” Teonie wondered aloud. “Gia told me about Cami. The bodies of the Attendants are crafted from one of the toughest materials out there and, besides, you’d have to be lucky to cut through the shell and the wires. Like you’ve seen, Dane, all the good stuff is in the left foot.”
“Yet she made such a big deal to us about aiming for the chest.” Dane shook his head slowly, trying to make sense of her actions. “Do you think she was on orders? Because they knew that Gia knew?”
“Maybe,” Teonie mused. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. At first, I thought maybe they were filling the Officers full of propaganda too, but from that little home visit, and that audio, Seraphine is calling a lot of shots for a mere, lowly Officer.”
Alyssa had been quiet for the duration of the conversation, but she cut in, seeming interested and alert.
“They trained you on how to take down an Attendant?” She looked shocked. “But, if the rebellion is because of the families impacted by what they did to those babies, why would anyone need to fight an Artificial?”
Dane heard her voice tremble slightly and he touched her shoulder lightly, acknowledging that he knew how hard it must have been for her to hear, and feeling guilty for his angry reaction when she had been slow to process the shock and get back into the aircraft.
“They were training us for a Latheian invasion.” Teonie told her. “Allegedly, Latheia are about to invade the country. They have Organics and Artificials posing as Apatian citizens and Attendants. I’ve seen intelligence, as part of some of the behind-the-scenes work we were doing, but even that could be a smokescreen for all we really know.”
Alyssa was quiet for a moment, processing Teonie’s words.
“Cam thought there was something more to it all.” She said suddenly.
Dane’s head whipped to the side to look at her. She never spoke about their father. This was the first time he’d heard her say anything since after the funeral. He remained quiet, silently willing her to go on, but too scared to push it in case she clammed up.
“I don’t remember much about when they came for Arielle,” She continued, her voice small and shaky. “I’m sorry that I can’t talk about it, and that I wasn’t there for you. It’s all a blur. Cam was the same as me at the start. We were trapped in a numb grief, but then when Tatianna was taken ill, Cam seemed to find a purpose again.”
“So did you!” Dane couldn’t help but interject. He remembered the vivid change in her, in them both. He had just been a child himself, but he had seen passion in both his parents as they rallied to take in Tommy and little Norah.
“At first,” Alyssa nodded. “I was so worried about her. She was my best friend, but she had some crazy ideas. She talked about some of these crazy underground theories about how the government had it wrong. Latheia was still poisoning us. If we stopped taking our pills we would be able to conceive. She didn’t say it to me. After Arielle, I think she didn’t want to upset me, but then her husband died, and then in the space of a few months, she became so ill. They said it was because she wasn’t taking them. Around that time, Cam had stopped taking so many. He just took the minimum, but when she died, I never missed one again.”
She gave a bitter laugh. “Although we got Sadie around the time the children came to live with us, and she would never have let me miss one.”
&
nbsp; “Dad wasn’t taking all his though, was he?” Dane cut in suddenly, seeing the link between Cam’s death for the first time clearly. He thought of the military weapons that his father had kept, tucked away in the bag, and wondered why anyone would feel the need to keep hold of them. “They said that’s why he died.”
Alyssa bowed her head, looking at her feet as they continued to move rapidly, not even the heavy weight of their conversation slowing them.
“He didn’t want me to, either.” She admitted. “He said they were making me like a zombie. I think he was right.”
“Do you believe that that’s what killed Tatianna?” Teonie interrupted, leaving “and Cam” unsaid.
Alyssa didn’t look up. “I never really thought about doubting it. But out here, where my head is clear, it makes sense that maybe there was more to it.”
“How long do you think it’ll take to get to the National Park from here?” Dane said eventually when nobody had spoken, and they were edging closer to the protection of the forest.
“Sutton is the next-but-one city before the Park and the coast.” Teonie replied. “I guess we’re maybe five days away from Port Layton if we were walking in a straight line.”
“Which we won’t be.” Dane cut in.
“I know.” Teonie flicked his arm and shot him a dirty look. “I’m just answering your question.”
“Calm down.” Dane couldn’t help but grin in response to her annoyance. “Judging by the terrain of the park, I would estimate we’ve got a week, maybe ten days, based on what you’re saying.”
“Even with the children?” Alyssa looked between the soldiers.
They exchanged concerned looks. This had been playing on both their minds.
“Maybe a little longer.” Dane admitted.
“And you know the National Park isn’t manned?” She pushed them for an answer. “If we’re going to be struggling through there for two weeks with small children?”
Teonie swallowed nervously. “No, it’s going to be manned.”
Alyssa stopped dead in her tracks, whipping around to face them.
“What?”
“Ma!” Dane stepped back, shocked at the furious disbelief on her face. “It’s just a small team. Teonie checked the postings. There’s, like, one squad in the whole park. It’ll be like a needle in a haystack.”
“Honestly, Alyssa!” Teonie held up her hands in a display of surrender. “This is the safest crossing.”
Teonie looked away from the woman, blazing with anger, and over to the others who had stopped at the boundary to the trees, waiting for them to catch up.
“It’s the only crossing.” She admitted quietly.
“We’re going to be fine, Ma.” Dane reassured her with more confidence than he felt. “We’re the best soldiers. We’re armed. We’ve got you, too. We can do this.”
Alyssa regarded him, her anger and her fear still clear in her expression. Dane reached over and took her hand, feeling relief and guilt when she let him.
They didn’t have a choice. They had to do this.
TWENTY-THREE
The sun blazed fiercely through the canopy of evergreens and the effort of beating through the miles of tangled, knee-deep undergrowth took its toll on them all. Without any technology, it was hard to guess how much time had passed; the sun seemed to remain directly overhead, not shifting to mark out the passing of the day, but they pressed on, drenched in sweat and on the brink of collapsing, fear pushing them forwards.
When night fell, they set up a makeshift camp. The temperature dropped rapidly and, without the military sleeping bags, they had no choice but to cover up as much exposed skin as they could, to protect against the night insects, and huddle together for warmth.
Dane and Teonie took turns keeping watch; every nocturnal noise making their hearts race, paranoid that they were being tracked and the AMS would be upon them at any moment. Rico, Rose and Alyssa all volunteered to take turns, but they both agreed they couldn’t risk it. They should have been used to the sleep deprivation, but between the harsh conditions of the forest and the constant state of alert, they were both exhausted.
By the third day of keeping up what felt like a never-ending trek, Dane felt every nerve in his body was stretched and tattered. Every rustle or insect chirp still had him spinning towards the sound, body tensed, weapon drawn. They were surviving on the meagre rations that Teonie and Rose had brought from back home, too scared to waste time or take risks foraging for food and water when time was of the essence.
They conserved their energy, barely speaking as they trekked. At times, Dane felt their progress was unbearably slow, biting his tongue to stop him snapping at the others to hurry. He could see in their sweaty, fatigued faces that they were doing their best. They were putting their blind faith in him and Teonie, he told himself. He needed to keep his patience.
Teonie sidled up to him as they took a quick break for Rose to adjust the boots that had already cut and blistered her swollen feet. Dane watched as Alyssa tightened the bandages and supported Rose wedging the heavy footwear back on.
“We should have seen the mountain by now,” Teonie said in a low voice to him. “I’m worried we’ve gone off course.”
Dane nodded.
Last night while the others had been sleeping, they had discussed the difficulty navigating without any technology. They were working purely on instinct and memory. The land had started to rise during their journey today, which told them they were on the right course, but they had both hoped that the mountain range of the Keys would have come into view before their third full day was done.
“Shall we risk using the Central Network?” Teonie continued, her face pinched with worry. “We’ve managed three days without detection.”
“Give it a few more hours?” Dane suggested.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being tracked like animals. Connecting to the Central Network was a risk he didn’t want to take as tempting as it was to gain reassurance that they were making progress.
Teonie opened her mouth, and he could see from the flash in her eyes that she wanted to argue with him. He braced himself, not so much for her response, but to stop himself snapping back in irritation. Tired and on edge, he wasn’t himself. She surprised him when she closed her mouth and simply said nothing.
“Ready?” Dane called over to Rose, who was grimacing as she took a couple of tester steps.
She twisted her face into a smile, burying the pain she was obviously in, and gave him a thumbs-up.
They walked on, slowing as the gradient of the land became sharper. Dane bumped Norah onto his back when he could see she had no more miles left in her legs, and despite the increased struggle, he felt his heart lighten.
His eyes scanned the horizon, waiting for a mountain range to appear like magic in the distance, but none came and with every passing mile, he felt himself growing weary and hopeless. Night was beginning to fall and, as much as Dane wanted to keep pushing forward, he knew that they needed to stop while they still had enough light to be able to settle themselves.
“Shall we stop soon?” He called back to the others behind him.
“Please.” Rose replied, her voice almost pleading, and Dane drew to a stop.
The forest had fallen away some distance ago and they moved between sporadic patches of woodland, conscious of hurrying when they were out in the open. They had a little cover, in a small grove on the hill. Dane moved around, as the others settled themselves, checking their surroundings as he and Teonie did each evening. He went ahead without Teonie, feeling too irritated to wait, and she made no attempt to follow him.
As his trained eyes swept the land for hidden dangers, he heard the tiniest gurgle and moved towards it cautiously. The undergrowth was a thick tangle of treacherous brambles and Dane, finding he couldn’t pass through without the thorns catching and tearing at his clothes, took his knife from its sheath and slashed through with more force than he needed. Drenched in sweat from the day�
�s hike and his efforts, it crossed Dane’s mind to give up after five minutes of vigorous hacking, but just as he was close to stopping, one final slice revealed a tiny stream.
He stepped over the hacked branches, squatting to look closer at the trickle of clear water, running over a rocky path from underneath the endless brambles. He dipped his fingers into the stream, savouring the refreshing coolness on his skin. He cupped his hands, letting them fill with the liquid before lifting his hands and letting the water fall back to its source. He hesitated before repeating the action; this time dipping his head to touch his lips to the water. The few droplets tasted clean and fresh, and so he drank some more. Surviving on the hydration capsules was fine, but they could never match the sensation of water for quenching a deep thirst.
He submerged both hands into the steady trickle, taking care to balance carefully on the edge of the tiny stream. He waited for the water to pool into his shaped palms and drank deeply from it, relishing the cool liquid in his parched throat. He repeated this several times before he rose slowly to his feet and searched his bag for a suitable container. There was only a small flask-sized bottle and Dane filled it to the brim before securing the lid. He drank once more from the stream and splashed the water over his face before he turned back towards the camp.
Teonie was stood, on high alert, turning circles in the grove as the others laid out jackets and bags, clearing undergrowth in preparation for another night’s camp. She spun in the direction of Dane as he moved into sight, and he saw her face was tense, her hand was at the weapon on her hip.
“Hey!” He called quickly. “Everything ok?”
She visibly relaxed, the tension in her body melting away at the sight and the sound of him. She crossed the space between them quickly.
“You were ages.” She said reproachfully.
“Sorry.” Dane said guiltily.
He had realised as soon as he saw Teonie’s reaction what must have been going on inside her head.
“I’ve found a stream.” He held out the bottle to show her.
