by Josh Hayes
"I don't know," John said, "they look fairly docile to me."
"Maybe, but out here I wouldn't take anything for granted. The Graft didn't fortify the city for no reason, so something out here must have put them on edge, and that alone should be enough to scare the crap out of you."
John couldn't argue that point. There were plenty of predators on Earth that he'd just as soon not come across in the wild, and he decided those sentiments applied here in Neverland as well, perhaps even more so. He stared down at the animals, wondering if this was what Earth had been like before the corporations took over everything and turned the planet into a gigantic factory. What a life it would have been to live when there were actually untouched lands, where wildlife still dominated the landscape.
"Is all the water in Neverland that clear?"
Michael frowned at him. "What do you mean?"
John nodded at the pool below them. "The water, it's probably the clearest water I've ever seen, and it was the same back in the river that cut through the city."
"You have different kinds of water where you come from?"
Wendy snorted.
John grinned. "Well, no, but some are definitely nicer than others."
"Well, I can't say that I've actually thought about that before, but I'd say yes, they pretty much all look like that."
"Hey, look," Wendy said, pointing at one of the large creatures, who'd suddenly lifted its head from the water and was scanning the tree line behind the herd. Even from this distance, John could see the fur from the base of its neck to mid-back change color to a considerably darker green, and stand on end.
A moment later, several more of the bigger ones turned, fur mimicking the first. The smaller ones didn't seem to notice, keeping their attention on their meals.
The sage elephant that had bellowed "hello" to them let out another high-pitched call, then shook its head back and forth, its thick mane waving around its head.
"You think we spooked them?" John asked, sitting forward in his seat.
"No," Wendy said. "They aren't looking at us, they're looking into the jungle."
John tweaked the controls a bit, bringing the skiff to face the tree line.
Now more sage elephants joined in their leader's call, several different pitches and strengths echoing around the small clearing. Their trumpeting was loud, reverberating inside the noisy skiff.
"They're pissed about something," Michael said.
The herd shifted. Now, even the smaller ones seemed to take notice, and began moving in and through the larger creatures' massive legs. Near the back of the herd, a baby moved back through the legs of an adult, almost five times its size. The adult bellowed and stepped sideways, apparently started at the little intrusion into its space. Its back leg came down in a powerful stamp, kicking up dust around a large round pad, missing the infant by inches.
"Shit," Michael said, "that one almost got crushed by Daddy. Did you see that?"
"Or Mommy," John said.
"Whatever it is, it's got them pretty riled up. Let's back off a little bit. If it's got them spooked… "
"Right," John said, giving the engines some power. With all the extra gear they'd loaded on, the craft wasn't anywhere near as responsive as he'd like, but over the last day's travels he'd adapted, and worked the controls accordingly. He maneuvered them so they were directly over the falls.
"That's an impressive sight," John said, looking down at the clear blue water cascading down to the pool below. "Don't get to see things that that too often. Especially not where I'm from."
"Don't get to see things like that around here too often either," Wendy said, without taking her eye away from the spooked animals.
John nodded in silent agreement.
"There." Wendy pointed.
A blue, cat-like head, barely visible in the tree line, appeared through the thick green underbrush. Its reptilian skin was covered in blue and grey scales. Two long ivory fangs extended down from its upper jaw to either side of its smaller lower jaw. Another set of horns sprouted out from behind erect ears and curved forward around either side of its head.
It was hard to tell for sure, but from the size of its head, the animal had to be at least as big as a horse. Two more blue heads appeared, each about fifty feet to either side of the first, all three eyeing the herd of sages intensely.
The sage elephants went crazy, trumpeting warnings and stomping up and down with their forelegs.
"There's always a bigger hunter," John said, not surprised.
"That's not a hunter, that's a nightmare," Michael said.
The saber at the end of the tree line emerged slowly from the thick foliage. Angular pieces of bone protruded from the blue scales along its shoulders, giving the animal a hellish look. The scales, which became less pronounced the further down its back they went, gleamed in the sunlight. Despite its size, the saber moved gracefully, keeping low to the ground, eyes locked on its prey. A long leathery tail flicked back and forth purposefully.
"Nightmare is right," John muttered.
The closest saber emerged next, moving around to the north. It kept abreast of its companion, keeping low, poised to strike. Its mouth opened and closed, but it either didn't make a sound, or it was too soft for John to hear.
The herd of sages bellowed and pounded the ground mercilessly. Divots formed underneath their powerful blows, filling the air around them with dust and grass. The large sage took up position at the front, shaking its head and trumpeting loud warnings to the advancing sabers.
Both advancing sabers hesitated at the show of strength, but quickly regained their composure. One lowered its head and let out an earsplitting roar, exposing enormous fangs. Its companion repeated the battle cry. They continued to circle around the herd, backing the sages into a tight cluster with the water at their backs.
One of the bigger sages trumpeted and rushed toward the closest saber, stomping down hard with each step and turning its head side to side. The saber snarled and backed up a step.
The sage elephant stopped several feet away from the saber and reared back on its hind legs. It trumpeted and slammed its feet down again. The saber shudder-stepped and answered with a fierce roar of its own. The sage elephant shook its head, turned and hurried back to the herd.
"There's no way those things can take on the entire herd like that," Michael said. "They'll be flattened before they get one or two down."
"Eh, I've seen lions do the same thing to antelope back home," John said. Wendy and Michael gave him identical looks and he shrugged. "I like National Geographic."
Wendy pointed. "Look, the tree line."
Four more sabers emerged from the jungle, all moving with choreographed efficiency. Taking calculated steps, they crossed the clearing, forming a veritable line of death with the first two. They advanced toward the now frantic herd, each seemingly keyed onto a specific target, but all working in unison.
Five of the adult sage elephants stamped forward, pounding the ground and trumpeting. The rest of the herd had backed into the water, the little ones now clearly panicked. The five charging sage elephants rose up simultaneously. When they slammed back down together, the ground shook.
"Damn," John said.
The sabers stopped, exchanging glances as if second-guessing their plan.
"Not lunch today, fellas," Michael said.
The sabers circled in place, snarling, clearly agitated.
Wendy leaned forward in her seat. "I don't think they're through yet."
John opened his mouth to agree, but words didn't come. The saber on the far end of the line moved, crossing the distance with unbelievable speed. It leaped into the air, baring razor-sharp claws, jaw open wide, ready to sink its long eyeteeth into flesh. Its target never had a chance.
The sage elephant wailed as flesh tore and teeth clamped down through fur and muscle. Its long neck whipped around, trying to pummel its attacker, but scored only glancing blows. The saber didn't even seem to notice.
&nbs
p; "Holy shit," Michael said.
At once, the other sabers advanced. Two took on the largest sage elephant, attacking it from both sides. The sage elephant bucked and stamped its feet, but all the posturing in the world wouldn't save it now. Within a matter of minutes, the large animal collapsed, only able to kick its legs feebly in defiance while the sabers ate.
When the dust settled, one of the sabers lay dead, its head crushed beneath a sage elephant's powerful leg. The herd, however, lay in a decimated mess of dismembered bodies and sliced flesh. Several managed to escape the slaughter, mainly some of the smaller ones and one or two of the average-sized adults.
The largest sage elephant lifted its head, gave a final defiant roar, then flopped down on the blood-stained grass and lay still.
A stunned silence hung around the tree travelers as the sabers milled around the dead sage elephants, picking and choosing their bites. Their speed and agility was truly amazing for their size.
"They move so fast," John said. "I thought they'd be able to snag one or two, but six? That's incredible."
"Did you see how those claws just sliced through them? Almost like they were paper. They never had a chance."
"I can see why people are reluctant to venture outside the city," John said.
"You know, I have to admit," Michael said, "I've always thought most of the rumors that circulate about the wilderness were all just a load of crap. Stories the Graft made up to scare everyone into not leaving the city. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine anything like that."
"You mean nightmares," John said.
Michael grunted. "You got that right."
"We should probably be going," Wendy said. "I want to give us enough time to set up a good security perimeter tonight."
"You really think anything we set up will defend against something like that?" John asked.
Wendy sighed. "It's better than nothing."
Shaking his head, John pushed the throttle forward, and they lifted away from the devastation below.
After several minutes of silence, Michael laughed. Both John and Wendy turned around, giving him questioning looks.
"What?" Wendy asked.
Michael held up a hand as he suppressed another round of laughter. "I was just thinking," he cleared his throat. "I was just thinking, that if Tom was out here and you said that shit to him, he would've probably flipped his lid."
A mischievous grin spread across Wendy's lips. "It's true."
"You do that shit to him on purpose, don't you?"
"Of course I do, how else do you think I'd survive his constant bitching? Bella does the same thing."
That made him laugh again. "Shit, yeah, she does, for Graft's sake. Sometimes I think she's trying to get him to stroke out."
John tweaked their course slightly, then said, "She's definitely got spirit."
Wendy scoffed and looked up at the scattered clouds above them. "You have no idea."
Chapter Ten
Then
Wendy pulled her jacket tight against the rain and shivered. Even tucked back into the alcove, the torrential rain was finding ways of reaching her, and she was beginning to regret her decision to become more involved in their operations. Of course, they decide to do this on the rainiest day of the year, she thought. What she wouldn't give for an umbrella. Though, according to Peter, that wouldn't have been very tactically sound.
But I'd be dry. She wondered how Michael and Ace were doing. They were probably holed up in some nice dry place, out of the wind and rain, quietly laughing at her for being stuck out in the storm. She didn't have any room to complain; after all, she had been the one to request the assignment, and even after Peter had attempted to dissuade her, she'd insisted. Now here she stood, cold and wet, cursing the rain and her own dumb stubbornness.
She clicked the small radio in her hand. "Anything?"
The earbud crackled. "No," Ace said.
"Shouldn't he have shown up by now?"
"I don't know."
"He should have shown up," Wendy repeated. "Do you think he spotted us?"
"Quiet," Peter said. "He'll be here. Just keep your eyes open."
Wendy suppressed a sigh. His confidence was one of his most attractive attributes, but damn, it could be annoying. "I am."
"Besides, if he had seen us, this place would be crawling with Enforcement. I haven't seen a patrol yet, which means he doesn't suspect a thing."
"He'll be here, just give it time."
Or so you hope, Wendy decided not to say.
"Remember, it's not just Jukes we're looking for either," Peter reminded them all. "Black's out there somewhere, and where the dealer is, that maniac won't be too far behind."
Everyone in the underground was talking about the Blackhand, even though no one really knew anything about them. They'd appeared out of nowhere, bringing smaller, less-prepared clans under their umbrella of power, and over the last several weeks had been consolidating their power throughout the whole of Midtown. They were disciplined and well organized, and thanks to a mysteriously well-connected weapons dealer, they were well armed. People were calling them the "Vengeance of Neverland", and the way they'd torn through that Enforcement brigade, it was hard to argue the point.
It had taken three entire brigades for Enforcement to finally turn the tide in battle of Vatair, and even then, the City's Army had taken heavy losses. The entire town was talking about it. Some were complaining about the increased Enforcement presence throughout the city, but most were cheering their defeat. The last three weeks had seen a significant rise in anti-Enforcement sentiment, and the amount of support for the clans waging war against them increased. The war for Neverland was in full swing.
Jukes, however, had been an entirely different story. Carter and Harry had searched for weeks, and called in several favors, in an effort to uncover who had made this new rebellion possible. The weapons dealer was surprisingly difficult to track down, and even now, Carter wasn't entirely sure they'd located the correct person. But as soon as they'd presented their findings to Peter, he'd been absolutely sure Jukes was the one responsible.
The dealer, much like the Blackhand, had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and even now, many had no idea who he was. His name was growing in familiarity, however, and now that they'd finally caught up with him, it was easy to see how he'd kept such a low profile. Unlike a lot of the businessmen through the majority of Midtown and Baytown, Jukes kept to himself. He wasn't flashy, and made it a point to never boast or brag about any of his accomplishments. A single bodyguard was with him at all times, and he never stayed in the same place for longer than a week.
Michael had used his last contact with the Enforcers to pull the man's record, which was surprisingly clean. "It's got to be a mistake," the ex-cop had said. "After ten years of dealing with these scumbags, I've never seen anyone with the connections and product this guy has, and have not so much as a speed citation."
"Maybe someone's wiped his record," Ace suggested.
"No way," Carter said. "Harry would have found traces of that during the search, there's no way to wipe out that much of someone's life. Not even the Committee has that much power."
"Don't be too sure about that," Peter said. "See said the same thing a couple of months ago, and now look what he's doing. Dissolving the police because 'they represented a hindrance to the continued security of the city'. I don't put anything past him or his damn Civic Action Committee."
"So where did he come from?" Ace asked. "How did he get his hands on all these weapons?"
Wendy's answer had caused a small uproar within their small group, and Carter had joked with her about it for several days afterward, but it was also the only one of their theories that actually fit the facts. "Maybe he just found them."
Nobody really knew what had happened when the Graft left, or why. But they'd gone in a hurry, and left almost everything behind. There were a lot of Graft strongholds and secret facilities that had been inaccessible to humans before th
e exodus, and as long as the CAC didn't catch wind of it, if you found it, you kept it. The idea that Jukes just happened to come upon a secret stash of highly advanced weapons was borderline crazy, but not unbelievable.
That stash had been Peter's goal as soon as Wendy had voiced her theory. They'd been following the dealer around Baytown and Midtown for the better part of two weeks, and he'd yet to lead them to it. Ace had suggested it might not even be in Barreen, but Michael had been adamant that it was somewhere within the city's walls.
"He's not going to want to be that far from his treasure," Michael said. "And moving those kinds of weapons around would be a surefire way to get yourself caught, or worse. No, the stash is here somewhere, but he's smart, he's not to know people are on to him, he's not going to lead anyone straight to his honeypot."
"Okay, heads up," Peter said, interrupting Wendy's thoughts. "Wendy, he's heading your way on the north side of the street, should pass you in another minute or so."
Wendy's heart pounded in her chest. Her eyes, that had been dropping for the last twenty minutes, now shot wide-open, scanning the passing crowds. The chill she'd been battling all evening was replaced by white-hot anticipation.
"Wendy, you there? Did you hear me? He's coming toward you."
She shook herself. Get hold of yourself, Wendy. "Yeah, yeah, I heard you. I'm ready."
"Okay, just stay calm. He'll be there in a minute."
"Peter," Michael said, "you want us to move to the backup spot or hang tight?"
"Hang tight. Looks like he's heading home."
"He's running a bit late," Ace said. "That's not like him."
"Forgot about it," Peter told him. "Focus on the plan. Carter, you in position?"
