Fire

by Cheryl Twaddle

"Okay, then," Poppy went over to the tractor thing and pulled a lever which made a rope ladder drop from the cab above. "Who would have thought they'd look so normal? I guess I go too, then."

  "Yes, you do," Niko said. Robert's knee seemed to be doing pretty good as he made his way up the ladder. He took a seat by the window, near the back of the cab. Marshal needed help making the climb but, once he got in, there was a bench seat that had been set up as a bed at the back so that he could lie down and try to get some sleep. A bed, I thought, we must be going pretty far if Marshal was going to sleep. The rest of us sat in seats that were made more for convenience than comfort. Poppy got in last and made her way to the driver's seat and turned a key. The whole tractor shook into life but never made a sound. Poppy put on a helmet, sat back in her seat and grabbed what looked like joysticks on either side of her armrests. If we weren't running for our lives, I would have thought she was just another kid playing a video game.

  "There's an image projected inside her helmet. It shows a path outside the Sky Crawler; she's able to drive without ever having to look out the window," Niko explained. "That way she doesn't have to use the manual engine, which is very loud, and she doesn't have to turn on any lights, the perimeter of the land around us is illuminated inside the helmet no matter what the visibility outside."

  "Impressive," said Colonel Al.

  "It is," said Faelen. "It's all technology that was around before the Collapse. Poppy's the only one I know of who's been able to recreate some of it. She's a genius when it comes to techno mechanics. She started building this particular vehicle three years ago."

  "Three years ago?" Robert sounded shocked. "How old is she?"

  "Twelve," answered Niko. "She's my sister but she's lived with one of the country families since she was six months old. I have nine brothers and sisters and my family always struggled trying to feed everyone so, they sent some of them to sub-families. Do you know what sub-families are?"

  "Yeah," said Robert. "Gregorius explained it to us."

  "Well, anyway, Kai, Lexi, Tag and Bee all died when their sub-families were given the poisoned sugar. Poppy's family was never visited by the First so, she's still alive."

  "Why didn't Amelia go there?" asked Robert.

  "Too scared," said Gregorius. "My sister is afraid of them."

  "Why?" asked Robert.

  "Poppy's sub-father is a little crazy and violent," said Niko. "He drinks the alcohol which makes him experience fits of rage. He often beats his wife and used to beat Poppy all the time, too. She would spend as much time as she could away from him, out in the shop, teaching herself how to build and fix things. Then, one day, I came to visit her. I found her in the shop, hiding in a corner, covered with a dirty blanket and whimpering like a wounded animal. When I pulled the blanket off of her, I saw bruises up and down her arms and all over her face. There were more but her clothes covered them up. I was livid, so I went to the house and killed her sub-father; slit his throat with a knife I found on the counter. That's the day I told Poppy about the Foes of the First and asked her to join us. That's when she started building the Sky Crawler."

  "What about her, uh, sub-mother?" asked Robert.

  "Poppy stayed with her," said Niko. "She was beaten far worse and more often than Poppy. There wasn't much of a woman left. Poppy couldn't bring herself to leave her so, she stayed and helped her around the house."

  "Is she coming with us, too?" asked Colonel Al.

  "No," said Niko. "She died last week."

  "I think we have company!" said Poppy as she turned the Sky Crawler quickly to the left.

  "Who?" asked Niko as he picked up another helmet and pushed it on his head, flipping down the face shield. "Shit!"

  "What is it?" Gregorius asked. "Is it the Guard?"

  "Who's the Guard?" asked Colonel Al, ready to put his military training into action.

  "The First's new personal guard who replaced the old group after they burned down Jesse's house," answered Faelen. "They're a group of ten men, mostly the younger Huxley men, trained for combat and armed with very powerful weapons."

  "How powerful?" asked Colonel Al.

  "Powerful enough to destroy this vehicle and everyone in it!" said Niko who had taken off his helmet and was opening a box that lay in the centre of the cab. He pulled out three guns and five small black balls that looked like some kind of grenade. I looked into the box to see what else he would take out but it was empty. That's it? I thought. That's all the weapons we had?

  "How fast can this thing go?" I asked, speaking for the first time since we had fled the Huxley House.

  "Not fast enough," said Poppy and then turned to her brother. "I need to let it fly!"

  "Not yet!" Niko said and reached out and held her arm back. "Let them find the hole."

  "They're going to find us!" yelled Barney. "We have to fly! Now!"

  "No, Niko's right," said Poppy who had taken her helmet off so she could look down on the floor in front of her, searching for something. "They'll find the hole, they have..." We were rocked by something big hitting the side of us. Marshal woke up and quickly sat up.

  "What, what, what...?" he asked. Robert went to the back to help him when another blast hit us. This time one of the back tires got hit and started to deflate quickly, tipping us over on the back right side.

  "How did they...?" Poppy grabbed her helmet and pushed it back on. "They have helmets on! Niko, how do they have helmets? Who showed them how...? Niko, they saw the hole and are coming around it! We have to fly!" Niko turned to look at Barney.

  "You turned?" he questioned his friend and started to raise one of the guns.

  "Fire that weapon," smiled Barney who was sitting right next to me, "and you blow up everyone in here. Better to just turn yourself in and save all of your lives."

  "How could you betray us?" asked Niko and I could see the anger on his face.

  "My father was loyal to the Foes," said Barney. "He always did whatever they asked him and then he killed him and you guys let him."

  "Gregorius was only trying to save..." Niko started.

  "His own father!" Barney cried and I could tell that he was getting very angry.

  "His father knows where the data is!" Niko explained. "He needs to survive! Faelen...!"

  "Faelen's an asshole!" said Barney. "You guys are fools to think he's this great person who can turn into a dog and is going to save the universe! He's an asshole and he's only trying to fill his own pockets!"

  "Your father volunteered his life," said Gregorius who had been very quiet over the last few minutes. He had been sitting in the seat directly behind us but was now standing and looking down at Barney who had tilted his head back to see him.

  "I doubt my father would willingly die and leave his family with nothing," Barney said.

  "Well, he did," said Gregorius. "And I've had enough of this conversation. Either you're with us or you're not; in or out."

  "Out," said Barney as he turned his head and sat with his back straight against the seat, puffing up is chest and sticking his chin out in an act of defiance.

  "Fine," said Gregorius and then pulled out a knife and plunged into the top of Barney's skull. I felt blood splatter across my face and I quickly tried to wipe it away.

  "What the hell?" I cried out.

  "Sorry about that," said Gregorius as he took a cloth out of his pocket, ripped it in half and handed it to me to wipe my face.

  "Terrance's father, I presume?" I asked.

  "Good guess," said Gregorius as he wiped the blade of the knife with the other half of the cloth. "I knew there was a traitor. I was just hoping it wasn't someone who knew so much about our plans."

  "That's why I didn't tell him where we were going," said Niko. "I had my suspicions, too. Unfortunately, however, I showed him the helmet before I suspected him. He even took it home to study it and see if he could make one. I thought it would help Poppy if someone else could make helmets, take some of the burden off of her. She's had so much to do
over the last few months. That was over two months ago and he didn't even have for very long. He gave it back to me the next morning, said it was too complicated. Damn! I had a feeling it could be him, I just didn't want to admit that one of my best friends could betray me. Thanks for saving us."

  "He hasn't saved us yet!" cried Poppy as she reached down and pressed a red button with her foot and pulled out another with her right hand. "Hang on!"

  I felt the whole cabin shake and then drop about a foot before being lifted way up in the air. I felt my stomach jump with the sensation, making me feel nauseous for a split second. It was like we were on some kind of reverse roller coaster, speeding uncontrollably up into the air. I squeezed my fingers into the armrest and hoped that Marshal wasn't going to fly out of his makeshift bed. Now I knew why they called this thing a Sky Crawler. We seemed to go forever before we slowly stopped and started to level off. Poppy kept her helmet on and continued to steer us through the air.

  "Did we lose them?" asked Gregorius.

  "I think so," said Poppy. "Barney must have given them the helmet. That's the only way they could've known how to build one; they copied it. That's why they could see the hole. Good thing Barney didn't know this thing could fly, otherwise they'd be able to chase us up here as well."

  "Get rid of him," Niko told Gregorius. He was disgusted by the sight of Barney lying dead in his seat.

  "Nicky, can you go to the back with Marshal," Gregorius directed me. I gladly got up and made my way to the back. I didn't really want to sit by a dead guy. Gregorius got up and leaned over Barney's body. He pulled a lever to open the window. The cabin filled up with a gush of air that whipped our faces and blew everything around. Gregorius lifted the body and pushed it out the window and then quickly closed it again.

  "What is that smell, smell, smell?" coughed Marshal. I could smell it too, it was like something was burning, something rotten, something that was making my eyes water and my lungs feel like they couldn't get enough oxygen.

  "That's the toxins," said Gregorius. "They're getting worse everyday. Poppy did you bring the masks?"

  "I could only find three," she said. "You'll have to take turns. I'm good without one."

  "Where is she taking us to?" I asked.

  "The Dark Lands," said Gregorius. "Well, as close as we can get anyway."

  "What about Max?" I asked. "You said we'd be going back to get him."

  "And we will," he answered. "After we get to Hell Crossing."

  "Hell Crossing?" The name didn't fill me with any kind of joy.

  "Yeah," said Niko. "Hell Crossing is a canyon that leads to the wall of the Dark Lands. It's full of strange looking animals that have poisonous venom in their spit. It's another barricade keeping the people inside the Dark Lands. I have relatives there who'll let us stay with them until we're ready to cross."

  "Cross?" I asked. "How are we going to cross a canyon full of poisonous animals?"

  "That's why we brought the Sky Crawler," said Poppy. "Except now I don't know if I can do another flight right away. We might have to wait a few days while I do a check up on everything."

  "That's good," said Gregorius. "We're going to need a couple of days so Faelen can go get Max."

  "Faelen?" I asked. "Is he going to be at this Hell Crossing?"

  "Of course," said Gregorius. "He wanted to meet all of you before he goes back for Max."

  "He's already met us," said Colonel Al. "I've known the Private for years now."

  "That's true," said Gregorius. "But he would like to meet you in his human form."

  "That should be interesting," I said. I wasn't sure if I wanted to see what Barker looked like in human form.

  Chapter 19

  I must have fallen asleep. I opened my eyes, not knowing where I was at first but then felt the gentle bobbing of the Sky Crawler as it made its way through the air. It was dark inside the cabin and quiet. Almost too quiet. I quickly looked around to see if everyone was still there. They were but they all seemed to be asleep. I looked over to Marshal and jumped as I realized he was staring right back at me. I smiled at him and he just stared back. Was he okay? I thought. He didn't look right. Maybe he was dead. People's eyes stay open when they die, right? I reached out to touch him and he jumped as if I had tasered him.

  "Nicky?" he whispered.

  "Jesus, Marshal!" I tried to calm my thumping heart. "You scared the shit out of me! Do you always sleep with your eyes open?"

  "I don't know, know, know," he said. "I'm always asleep when I sleep."

  "Well, you scared me," I said and then looked around the cab. "When did everyone else fall asleep."

  "Not long after you," he said. "The girl, girl, girl said we had about two hours before we came to Hell Crossing. She said we should sleep because it might be the last time we do."

  "What does that mean?" I asked.

  "It means that, sometimes, the people who live in Hell Crossing are a little less accepting of strangers," Gregorius joined in our conversation. I had no idea he was awake. "Especially if someone from the Huxley family is one of those strangers."

  "But you're part of the Foes of the First?" I asked.

  "Doesn't matter," said Gregorius. "The people that live there have a very good reason to hate the Huxleys."

  "Why's that?" I asked.

  "If they live in Hell Crossing, it usually means someone they love was sent to the Dark Lands," he said. "And the only way they could get sent to the Dark Lands is if someone from my family sent them there."

  "They move to Hell Crossing when somebody they love goes to the Dark Lands?" I asked. "Do they have to do that?"

  "No," said Gregorius. "But they have no reason to stay in their home. Usually the crime of overusing is committed by the man of the house, or at least, he's the one that takes the blame. The Dark Lands are unforgiving and many believe that women or children would never last there. So, the men go and the rest of the family pray for him to come back."

  "And the women?" I asked.

  "After the men are gone, the responsibility of providing for the storage facilities are all put on the backs of the mothers and their children," he explained. "It's hard for them to fill their quota. The penalty for not providing enough is a trip to the Dark Lands. That's when the women are sent and, almost always, the children move to Hell Crossing."

  "Your system is pretty bullshit," I said. "You know that, don't you?"

  "Yes, I know," Gregorius said as he looked out the window. "The families in Hell Crossing wait for years for their loved ones to come back but no one ever does. They waste their lives there, becoming old too fast. They learn to hate everything; their hearts blackened forever. They drink and fight and kill, living in a nightmarish limbo, numb to everything around them. They die before they ever have a chance to live. So, you can understand, they're not really fond of the Huxleys. I'll be a target and so will you because you're with me so, it might not be a good idea to call me by my name."

  "Geez," I said. "This is going to be a fun family vacation isn't it?"

  "Nicky?" Marshal looked at me, confused. I guess he didn't get my sarcasm.

  "It's a joke," I said. "If we can't call you Gregorius, then what should we call you?"

  "Ben," said Niko. I guess he was awake too.

  "Ben?" asked Gregorius. "Where did you pull that name out of?"

  "I don't know," said Niko. "I kind of like it though, don't you?"

  "Whatever," said Gregorius and then turned back to us. "I guess you call me Ben."

  "Okay, Ben," I said. "So, this Faelen guy is going to be there when we land?"

  "He should be," said Niko. "I know he wants to use the portal there to go back for that pirate guy."

  "Max?" I said, suddenly very wide awake. "He's going to go back for Max from Hell Crossing?"

  "That's what he said," Niko said.

  "Where will that put him out?" I asked, trying to calculate how far we were from Algar. "Will he be close?"

  "About a four day walk," sai
d Niko.

  "Four days?" I looked at him in disbelief. "Max is not going to last four days! Can't you bring this thing through the portal and fly there."

  "He could," said Gregorius. "But Faelen told us that nothing requiring power works in the Nowhere Lands."

  "Oh, yeah," I said, realizing that Max would have to survive another four days with Howling Wolf. I sat back, frustrated yet again. "I guess, we have to walk then."

  "Maybe," said Niko.

  "What?" I asked, getting my hopes up again. "Is there another way?"

  "Horses," he smiled.

  "Horses?" The thought of riding a horse again brought a sharp pain into my chest. Cocoa had been the only horse I had ever ridden and she was gone. I could still see her body lying on the cold ground in the woods. She had been slaughtered by Howling Wolf, her heart ripped from her chest. I looked down at my hands and closed my eyes just for a second before getting my mind back on the conversation. "There are horses here? How did they survive the Collapse?"

  "They didn't," said Gregorius. "Faelen has brought some here through the portal. It's part of the plan to overthrow my sister. I think he has over twenty in a pen in Hell Crossing. Some of the children look after them. The horses have brought great pleasure to a lot of the children there. It gives them joy and purpose in their lives."

  "That's good," I said. "I guess we're riding horses back to Calgary, then."

  "Yeah, or as we call it, Algar," Gregorius smiled.

  "Wait, what do you mean as you call it?" I asked. "Algar isn't Calgary! It's in a totally different world! It's not even close to being Calgary!"

  "Are you trying to tell me that you don't know that Algar is Calgary?" asked Gregorius.

  "No, it's not," I said, starting to get angry. "There's no way that's the same city I came from!"

  "Faelen said you guys were smart," Gregorius said. "I had no idea you didn't know."

  "Know what?" I asked.

  "About the worlds," he said.

  "The worlds?" What was he talking about? I looked at Niko and then back at Gregorius. "What about the worlds?"

  "Did you know Faelen hadn't told them?" Gregorius asked Niko who just shrugged his shoulders.