by Kelli Kimble
I frowned. I knew that as the queen, she had responsibilities—that might include turning on her only living relative. I didn’t need to hear that others had noticed where her loyalties lay.
Charity realized her mistake. Or rather, she realized she’d struck a nerve. She covered my hand with hers and squeezed it. “She does love you. It pains her, the gulf between the two of you.”
“She put it there. If she wants it mended, she needs to do something about it. And if she’s talking to Adam, then she doesn’t care to fix it.”
“We’ve got to kill Adam,” she whispered.
“What?”
“You heard me. We can’t let him do this. He can’t just have our hard work and cast us off. He needs to die.”
I slid my hand out from underneath hers. “You sound like my mother.”
“I sound like someone who wants to wake up tomorrow, safe in their own bed,” she said.
I made a pretense of picking at my food. She had a point. But killing him?
“I thought you said he was one of those engineered, tanker people,” she continued. “He’s practically not even human.”
“How do you figure that?” I asked.
“What has he done since he came out of the tank? He’s got no experience, no memories. Only whatever some gob of machinery told him. That’s not human.”
“Being human is more than experience and memories,” I said. “I’m not going to kill him based solely on the fact that he was born from a tank. He certainly had nothing to do with the circumstances that brought about his existence.”
“Fiona, if he manages to bring even a fraction of the people in the mountain here, they’ll slaughter us. If we’re lucky, we might get to live in slavery, but it doesn’t sound like it. He means to wipe us out.”
I massaged my temples. “I know. I know, all right?!”
“Then, we’ve got to get rid of him. Before he stirs up trouble. When he leaves the other village, we’ll wait for him. With enough villagers, we can kill off a dozen of them if we surprise them.”
“What about Port?” I asked.
“What about him? He’d want you to do what you can for the village.” She clasped my hand again. “I hope he’ll be home soon. I’m sure he’s just lost. In the meantime, we can’t wait around.”
We sat in silence. I could feel tears building. Frustration, anger, fear, and who-knew-what-else were bubbling under the surface. “I need to think about it,” I finally said.
She stood and snatched her mug from the table. “Well, don’t wait until it’s too late. We’ve got to get people over there and ready. Don’t miss this opportunity.” She started to leave. I grabbed her arm as she walked away.
“Wait,” I said. I blew out a little puff of air. “You’re right. We have to get rid of Adam. Do we have to kill him, though?”
“What other way is there to get rid of him?” she asked.
I dropped her arm. “I don’t know,” I admitted. I thought back to the night I’d last killed someone. How the knife had sunk in. The shocked expression on his face.
A wave of nausea threatened.
“I know you don’t want to hurt him. I know you think there has to be a way to work it out. And maybe there is. But at what risk?”
“You’re right,” I said. “Let’s get the best hunters together, and we’ll do what needs to be done.”
◆◆◆
In only an hour, I found myself marching towards the other village with a group of hunters, a crossbow strapped to my back. I led the way with the tablet, monitoring for the tankers, and anyone from the other village. Or maybe Port. We saw no one.
When we got close to the other village, we left half the hunters stationed in the trees, near the path leading back to our village. The rest of us skirted around to put ourselves on the path to the mountain. No matter which direction Adam chose, we would intercept him. And it would be done.
I climbed up into the trees with the rest of the hunters. I pulled my weapon from my back and loaded it. It was a small bow—small enough to be handheld. It could be fired with only one hand and would self-load up to three more arrows. Its size made it difficult to inflict a lethal shot, and that was the way I wanted it. The others could finish off anyone I wounded.
After an hour, the hunter in the tree next to mine whistled for my attention. “Maybe we missed them,” he whispered when he’d caught my eye.
“Marty said they planned to be there all afternoon,” I said.
“We should send a scout,” he said. “Make sure they’re where we think they are.”
“All right,” I said. “Go ahead.”
He nodded, and after carefully checking around us, he descended to the ground and moved off towards the village.
He didn’t come back for several hours. By then, the sun was setting, and in the dim light, he was difficult to recognize. His whistle gave him away.
“Wait,” I said to the other hunters. “It’s Stu,” I said. The others lowered their weapons. I waited while he climbed his tree and returned to his prior position.
“They seem to be spending the night,” he said. “They’re all in a single hut with the queen. I heard someone say they were arguing inside earlier, but that’s all anyone seems to know. I already let the others know. They haven’t seen any movement, either.”
“All right,” I said. “We’ll start a rotating watch when the sun goes down. Everyone else will try and get some rest.” I shifted uncomfortably in the crook of the branch I was sitting on. I was going to have to strap myself to the tree so that I wouldn’t fall out.
I got only snatches of sleep. When it was my turn to keep watch, I decided to stretch my legs and change my position. I descended from the tree and burrowed into a pile of leaves beside a fallen log. Unfortunately, the warmth of the leaves and the more reclined position made it difficult to stay awake. I shook off the sleepy dregs time and again, starting awake more than once as strange dreams began to unfold.
There was someone there. Not on the path. Not in a tree. Their arm lifted, and something shiny glinted off a stray ray of moonlight in their hand. A burst of something palpable and loud but invisible came from the shiny object. There was a yell, and a strange thud.
I shook my head, trying to come back into the night. The dream wouldn’t stop.
It wasn’t a dream.
Panicked, I lifted my bow free of the leaves and took aim. The person with the strange weapon wasn’t alone. The unpleasant sound repeated. And repeated. I could feel it in my chest, and my ears ached. I struggled to aim at just one of them. Even though I was lying on the ground, I felt unbalanced and dizzy.
Finally, I got off a shot. The bow clicked and whirred in my hand as the mechanism loaded the next arrow. I’d missed, so I tried again. And again. My aim was bad on a good day, and the sound invading my head made it worse.
“Are you happy now, Fiona?” Adam was standing just on the other side of my log, leaning down to look at me. His eyes glinted with moisture. It was all I could see of him, but his voice clearly identified him. “They’re all dead. All these people you brought out here. Those ones over on the other side, too. I got them myself.” He sat down on the log and pulled the bow from my grasp easily. I’d spent all the arrows, so it couldn’t help me anyway.
“There’s more of us,” I said.
“No. I know this is all you brought. I’m not stupid.”
In the darkness, I heard someone moan.
“Finish that one off, would you?” asked Adam. “I wouldn’t want Fiona to think I’m as much of a liar as she is.”
“I’m not lying. There are more, and they’ll come.”
“Let them. Another feeble attempt. It will only make our job easier.”
“You’re despicable,” I said. “How can you count yourself as human?”
“Maybe I don’t,” he said. He reached into the leaves and fished around until he got a hold of my arm. I tried to move away. He was faster. He wrenched my arm, pulling me to my fe
et as he stood. “All right, everyone. We’ve got her. We can get back to the task at hand.” He pulled me onto the path and shoved me towards one of the others. “Restrain her and keep a hold of her.”
Adam moved ahead on the path. Someone jerked my arms behind me and tied them together with something that bit into my skin. Then, they grabbed me by the upper arm and marched me ahead of them, towards my mother’s village. I stumbled on the uneven path, and my captor jerked me upright, then spun me around.
It was Eve. She pulled me towards her and thrust her face towards mine so that our noses were almost touching. I resisted the urge to pull back from her. “Stop trying to shake me,” she said. She hauled back with her free arm and punched me in the stomach.
My breath flew out of me, making a soft, “Oof.”
She laughed. “If you don’t stop trying to make this difficult, you’ll have bigger problems than that.” She pushed me towards the path, and I moved forward as best I could, while I worked at recovering from her strike.
When the village came into view, everything was quiet. Torches were burning along the hard-packed trails between the huts. There shouldn’t have been anyone moving around so late at night, but in the distance, I could see people milling around the center fire, which was burning much larger and brighter than I’d seen in many years.
“I’m glad you’ll be here for this,” said Eve. “You and your attitude won’t be around for much longer.”
We followed Adam towards the fire. When we came close, I judged by their dress that they were all colonists. There weren’t any villagers around at all.
Eve took me to a bench near the fire and pushed me onto it. Then, she tied my leg to the bench support. “Stay here, okay?” she said, laughing as she moved away. She went over to Adam, and I saw her indicate me. Adam glanced over and nodded. I watched the activity around the fire. It didn’t seem like anything was happening, really. Occasionally, someone would come and toss a few large logs onto the fire. Mostly, people milled around. They seemed to be waiting for something. What?
The adrenaline from the attack started to wear off, and the exhaustion of the night washed over me. I needed to get some rest if I was going to get through whatever was going to happen next. I worked my leg around the side of the bench and reclined onto my back. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was still better than sleeping in a tree. It didn’t take me long to fall asleep.
“Aw, look at that. Our prisoner fell asleep. How darling.” Adam poked at my shoulder. “She needs to wake up now, before I get angry.”
My eyes felt glued shut. I forced them open. “What?” I said.
“‘What?’ ‘What?’ she says. She’s got no idea what’s going on, Evie.”
Eve shook her head. “I told you she was stupid.”
“There’s no need to degrade her. We can’t all be born under superior circumstances,” said Adam. He squatted beside me so that we were eye-level. I was still lying on the bench, and my tied-up leg was burning with pins and needles. “You’re going to witness some things today. Greatness being born, as it were. I don’t think you’ll see it that way. It’s a good thing I don’t really care what you think.”
“Where’s Port?”
“Ah. Your mate. We’ve got him. Back in the mountain. Don’t worry about him. I doubt you’ll ever see him again.”
I gritted my teeth.
“I think you’re upset,” he mocked. “Are you upset? Does it trouble you to be away from him?”
I turned my face away. I didn’t want to admit he’d hurt me, though it couldn’t have been more obvious.
“Okay,” he continued. “You don’t feel like talking. That’s fine. Let me just tell you what’s going to happen today.” There was a snap, and the pressure on my leg released. “You’re going to stand up. I’m going to take you to see your mother. You’re going to witness some events. Then, we’re going back to your village. And you’ll watch, while we exterminate your friends. How’s that sound? It’s a pretty full agenda. I think we can pack it in.”
“You’re insane,” I said.
“Maybe. It’s probably hereditary.” He looked at Eve, and they laughed. Adam laughed so hard, he had tears running down his face. “She doesn’t even get it,” he said between long gales of laughter. Eventually, he calmed down. He stood and brushed off his shirt and pants. “I apologize, Fiona. How rude of me to keep you out of the joke.”
“I don’t care about your stupid joke,” I said.
“You will. Stand up,” he said sharply. I stood and balanced on the leg that was more awake. “We’re going to see your mother now. You’re going to cooperate, right? We’re all going to get along just fine right now.”
I nodded. He shoved me towards Eve, and we started towards my mother’s hut.
The guards weren’t stationed outside, and Adam went in without announcing himself in any way. “Ah, Your Highness. I’ve brought you a visitor,” said Adam. He moved to the side and revealed my mother, sitting at the royal bench.
When she saw me, her eyes widened. “Fiona,” she said. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m trying to save my village,” I said.
“Oops. There, I’m afraid you said it, Fiona. You’ve admitted to treason, and I’ve got no choice but to rid the world of you.” Adam pointed his weapon at me.
I stared at his hand, watching for the movement that would end me. He didn’t pull the trigger.
“You like it?” He held up the gun and twisted it slightly in the torchlight. “I invented it. It’s sonic. Doesn’t need ammunition. A direct hit is lethal. Any other sort of hit is incredibly painful. So much more elegant than bullets.”
“May I see it?” I said.
His hand dropped to his side. “Of course not,” he said. “I can’t give a weapon to a traitor.”
“Now isn’t the time,” my mother said. “You have other things to deal with, don’t you?”
My breath constricted. So, she was working with him. She’d betrayed us—me—to save her own group. I shifted my gaze to the floor, but rage boiled, and I couldn’t keep it in. I started screaming.
Adam and Eve stared at me, neither of them understanding.
“How could you?!” I yelled. “You’re colluding with them?! For what?! To save your own skin?!” I broke from Eve’s grasp and ran at my mother. I couldn’t hit her with my hands tied behind my back, but I was going to do what damage I could. I lifted a foot and kicked at her, knocking her from the bench. She raised her hands to block my blows but didn’t fight back. Her forehead crinkled as her eyebrows rose in surprise.
Someone took a hold of my neck and jerked me backwards. “I don’t think you really know what’s going on here, Fiona,” Adam said. He came around in front of me. “You think your mother is helping us beat you?”
“She’s betrayed me before,” I said. I turned away from him.
My mother gasped from the floor. “I’ve never betrayed you,” she said.
I peered around Adam at her. “You enslaved me, mother. More than once.”
“I granted you an extra choosing. I was nearly driven out of the village for that! And you ran off with that twit who refused to use the sacred oil.”
“You gave me tainted oil. So that I wouldn’t succeed you. You wanted it to be someone else.”
She started to cry. “That isn’t true. I don’t know where these ideas are coming from, but they aren’t true. I wanted nothing more than for you to succeed me. I couldn’t just ignore our traditions. You had to produce an heir—”
I cut her off. “You’re the queen! All you had to do was demand it be so, and that’s what would happen. Everyone would bend to your will.”
“I’m sorry you see it that way, but my power isn’t limitless. Barrow always insisted that traditions be followed to keep those who would rise against me in line.”
“Barrow was against you, Mother. He didn’t want you to be queen.”
“No,” she scoffed. “Barrow was my most trusted advisor. Until
you killed him.”
“I killed him to escape a harsh life of servitude. A life you condemned me to!”
Adam stepped between us. “Ladies, ladies. I think we’ve got to agree to disagree, here. It’s clear to me that this Barrow person was playing you both.”
“You killed him?” asked Eve, looking at me.
I didn’t answer her. Instead, I said to my mother, “He’s probably right.” I felt my anger starting to redirect. I wanted to hurt Barrow all over again. I wanted to stab him over and over, then watch him struggle and die.
“I know he is,” my mother said. “I never wanted to believe it. I turned a blind eye to things that I shouldn’t have. And I’m sorry it led to you believing that I would abandon you in such a way.”
I pushed past Adam and fell against my mother. She embraced me, and I slid onto the bench beside her. Tears—held back for so many years—coursed down my face. My mother loved me. She always had. It was I who’d let her down by not believing in her.
“I’m glad to see that your differences are all resolved,” said Adam. “Closure will make your future losses so much easier.” He smiled and pointed his gun at us. “Both of you can stand up now. We’re going to the center fire, and we’re getting this done. No more emotional outbursts, please.”
We followed him out of the hut with Eve trailing behind us.
Mother clutched my hand, which was still tied behind my back. “I did what I could,” she said as we approached the fire.
“No talking,” said Eve.
My mother’s villagers were assembled around one side of the fire, kneeling. The tankers stood outside their perimeter, each of them armed with one or two sonic guns. Except for the crackling of the fire and the gravel crunching under our feet, it was silent.
Adam walked around to stand in front of the villagers, and we followed. “Good morning, villagers,” he said. “I’m glad to see so many of you assembled. Is this everyone?”
One of the tankers nodded.
“Excellent,” Adam proclaimed. “I’ve brought you all here to witness something. Greatness is about to rise, and I’m pleased to say that each of you—thanks to my grace—is going to have a role in it. So, will the queen please step forward?”
