“Avery, you’re doing great,” Sully says gently.
My eyes are drawn to him. He looks up from what he is doing and I am amazed by how nimble his hands are. Long, slender fingers continue to move agilely even when he is not watching them. “Last time I did this for Jericho, he cried like a baby.” I open my jaw and allow the wood to drop. I smile at him and his eyes lower to where he works.
“How do you do that?” I ask of his ability to sew through flesh and bring it together as it was before.
“Sully can fix anything, even people,” Jericho says. His voice flows like a mighty river when he speaks, surging with truth and loyalty.
I wince briefly as the needle pricks through my flesh yet again, losing my concentration. “What about the guns? Those were guns you had at the arena, right?”
Sully nods absently, his gaze fixed on an intricate knot he is fashioning.
“Where did you find working guns?”
Before Sully answers, Jericho says, “I told you, he can fix anything.” He beams with pride, much like a father would at his child.
“Whatever he said,” Sully says and arcs an eyebrow mischievously. He moves on to the cut on my arm. He cleans it and begins stitching it as well. “I learned a long time ago to just agree with him. No one ever wants to get on his bad side.”
Jericho chuckles. It’s a hearty sound that fills the barn.
I look down and see that my largest wound is closed and the next is well on its way to being closed as well.
“Wow, that’s amazing!” June gushes. “Thank you!” she says and throws her arms around Sully’s neck.
“My pleasure,” he says and watches me over June’s shoulder. Then to himself, he says, “Just a few more here, and done.”
My sister releases him and wipes tears that have spilled over her lower lashes.
“I can’t thank you enough,” I say. “What you did for me, it’s, I don’t know, just incredible.” I fumble for the right words. No one has ever done anything for me as momentous as what Sully just did. He healed my broken body. I doubt a simple “thanks” is sufficient.
From the corner of my eye, I see that Will’s brow is furrowed. The small muscles around his jaw are flexing and his posture is tense.
“Isn’t it incredible, Will?” I ask so that he knows I am okay, that there is no need to worry any longer. But his stony demeanor does not change. In fact, it hardens when he glances at Sully.
“Yeah, Sully is terrific,” Will says without the slightest bit of enthusiasm or sincerity.
I narrow my eyes at Will, searching his face for a reason for his suddenly sour mood. I am all better now. He shouldn’t be concerned. But he is.
“Listen, Avery, I know you’re still in pretty bad shape, but we need to get out of here. Urthmen don’t stay gone for long, not when they’ve been humiliated as they’ve been today,” Sully says. One side of his mouth tilts and forms a half-smile. “They’ll find us if we stay.” His smile wilts and his expression becomes serious. “Think you can run?”
“Uh, I think so,” I answer honestly. Sitting up, I twist. The stitches pull with every movement. But compared to the pain I felt before, this new discomfort is trivial. “I can run. My life depends on it.” I slide from where I sat and stand. I still feel shaky.
June approaches me cautiously and hugs me so lightly I can barely feel her willowy arms circling me. “I’m so glad Sully fixed you. We’re lucky to have met him,” she says quietly.
“Ah, you keep complimenting me, you’ll never be able to get rid of me,” Sully teases.
June’s cheeks blush and her mouth twists to one side. For once, she is speechless.
“We’re not looking to get rid of you,” I shock myself by saying. I don’t blush, which is all the more shocking. Instead, I meet his gaze and stare directly into his eyes.
Colored a deep, dark-brown hue that matches winter trees at twilight, I see something in them that lures me. His eyes are rich with secrets and loss, pain and sadness. They communicate darkness that transcends the color of his irises and delves to uncharted depths. I cannot explain why, but I feel compelled to ease that ache in him, and a little scared too.
Sully smiles a broad, almost defiant smile, though I am at a loss for what exactly he is defying. “Good,” he says.
“Great. We’ll have that to look forward to,” Will says in the same inflectionless tone he used before.
“What’s the matter, Will?” Riley asks. “Why are you so grumpy?”
Embarrassment flickers across his face before a tight smile stretches his lips. “Grumpy, why would I be grumpy?” he asks.
“I don’t know.” Riley shrugs and appears baffled.
“We need to leave,” Jericho says. We’ve been here too long.”
“Ready?” Sully asks me.
“Ready,” I say.
He slings a backpack over one shoulder and leads the way out of the barn. I take June’s hand and follow him. Will, Riley, and Oliver are close behind us, and Jericho picks up the rear. We venture out into the brilliant daylight. I do not know where we are going or what the future holds, all I know is that we’ve found two more humans. Sully and Jericho risked their lives to save us. I would’ve died if they hadn’t acted. The debt I owe them is great, and owing another is unfamiliar. But for now, I cannot think about repaying them. That will come later. All that matters now is that we survive, one moment at a time.
Chapter 12
I move as fast as possible, running despite the constant tug at my waist.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“We live about three miles from here,” Sully answers.
“You live here with Urthmen? How do you not get caught?” Will asks and does not temper the incredulity in his tone.
Unbothered, Sully replies, “You’ll see.”
Even though I am not looking at Sully’s face, I can hear that he is wearing a half-smile when he replies to Will. Neither says anything further and we continue to run.
June is ahead of me. Lengths of coiled gold trail behind her, glistening in the warm, buttery sunlight. She pumps her arms as her legs work and her feet take turns hitting the ground. Watching her streak across the field, I am reminded of how fast she is, and how beautiful she is.
My throat tightens inexplicably. I swallow hard against the lump that has gathered there. June deserves better than the life she lives, all of us do. Peace is what we crave most, peace and a semblance of normalcy. We do not have either. Instead, we are fleeing for our lives; where we are fleeing to remains the question. Only Sully knows. Somehow, I doubt it will be as picturesque as the scenery before us.
The landscape is far different from where June, Will, Riley, and I first entered from the forest. Even though I am running, I am not oblivious of it. Covered in lush grass with full trees interspersed intermittently, low hills roll as far as I can see. The vibrant green stretches, reaching until it meets the horizon line. There, a vivid blue sky greets it. It is hard for me to imagine the earth I run on is the same place I arrived at yesterday. It is harder to imagine that creatures as vile as Urthmen reign over space so lovely, especially after seeing how they entertain themselves.
I push the arena, and the sight of humans being dragged with a trail of blood in their wake, to the back of my mind. It will haunt my days and nights for years to come. Urthmen, always Urthmen, are responsible for my nightmares, both when I sleep and when I wake.
We continue down a gentle slope that drops to a roadway lined by stout, closely spaced shrubs. The bushes are not much taller than Will or Sully. Jericho would have to crouch to be concealed by them.
“Now what?” Will asks.
“Shh!” Sully shushes him and holds up his hand.
A rumble sounds in the distance, the crackle and crunch of something heavy rolling over gravel. Faint at first, it grows nearer quickly. Sully’s head snaps in the direction of it.
“Everybody get down,” he says. “We’ve got company coming.” His eyes are ha
rd but his mouth curves upward on one side to what resembles a partial grin.
A roar and crunch, familiar to the one I heard days earlier, swells. Vehicles are approaching. My heart shoots from my chest to my throat. My skin is suddenly cool and clammy and my breathing becomes short and shallow. But they are not a result of the weather or running, and they are not a result of my newly stitched wounds. The threat of being caught again is too awful to bear.
As if intuiting my quiet panic attack, Sully lightly grips my upper arm, careful to avoid the stitches on my forearm. “You won’t be taken in again,” he says, his voice low and gravelly.
His touch is a ribbon of fire that curls its way up my arm and blazes through my core, and his gaze is fixed on my face. Beyond him, I see Will. He is watching us; his eyes pinned on me as well. I shift uncomfortably, uncertain of what is happening, why they both watch me so intensely. But the crunch of wheels on gravel, an approaching vehicle, demands everyone’s attention.
“Ah, here come our guests,” Sully comments grimly as he parts a portion of the bushes so that I can see.
Thin limbs laden with prickly spines block much of my view. Still, I am able to make out that a convoy led by a wagon is passing.
I feel June edge up next to me.
“Oh my gosh,” she gasps as she peeks from beside me. “Not another one!” Her hands fly to cover her mouth.
I follow her line of vision and suck in a harsh breath. “I can’t believe it.”
The scene before my eyes is revolting. Six humans, caked in filth and wearing little more than cloths to cover their hips, are affixed to the cart with thick leather straps. Almost as revolting as the sight of humans pulling the wagon is the crowned monster perched atop it. His small, malformed head with closely set eyes the color of boart dung, and wide holes where a nose should sit, bobs along.
The features are similar in appearance to how every other Urthman looks. However, this particular Urthman possesses a dramatic difference. Thick, blubbery lips bounce as the wagon jostles him. They resemble twin tube-shaped animal skins stuffed with moss or another spongy substance. His mouth looks a lot like that of the gilled creatures that reside in lakes and streams. On them, it is commonplace. On the Urthman, the oversized lips look absurd.
But his lips are not the only strange aspect of his appearance. As he moves closer, I see him clearer and notice another. Shiny clothing crusted with a glittery substance I have never seen looks as if it will burst at the seams, his swollen belly straining against each article. Bloated legs and bulky arms end with hands and feet that look inflated.
The crown-wearing Uthman holds a whip in his meaty hand, flicking it sporadically across the backs of the humans. They flinch when the whip bites their skin. Each lash leaves behind a red welt. Swollen and bleeding, the welts cover raised, discolored flesh on their upper bodies.
Though I saw a similar scene unfold when we first arrived at the edge of the forest, my eyes still struggle to process what I am seeing, that the image before me is of humans pulling the Urthman’s cart like beasts of burden. My mind can’t seem to catch up and reconcile the view.
I look away, unable to watch the abuse any longer. I see Sully. His lips are pressed to a hard line and the color has drained from his face.
“What is that?” June whispers to Sully and points to the Urthman.
Sully laughs bitterly. “That’s a well-fed Urthman,” he says through his teeth. “See that crown on his head?” He points to golden wreath on the Urthman’s head. “That means he’s royalty.”
“Royalty?” June scrunches her features.
“Yup, that means he’s really important,” Sully spits resentfully.
June’s eyebrows look as if they will disappear into her hairline at any moment.
“I know,” Sully says when he sees her surprised expression. “Seems ridiculous that one particular Urthman is special, right?”
June nods. “So being special means he gets to beat the humans pulling his wagon?” she asks, her eyes wide and shining with tears.
“Dammit!” he snarls
My pulse quickens. He raised his voice louder than a whisper.
“Humans pulling that fat boart’s cart like animals, like Urthmen are above them!” Sully says and does not keep his tone quiet. He reaches to the holster at his waist and retrieves his gun. From his pocket, he produces bullets and begins loading them into the open chamber of the gun. He repeats the process with his other gun.
“What’re you doing?” Will asks him, echoing my exact thoughts.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Sully snaps.
“Whoa, calm down,” I say softly.
Ignoring me, Will continues. “You can’t do anything, Sully. There’s about twenty Urthmen in that convoy, and she’s hurt.” He jabs a finger in my direction. “And we have little kids here. We can’t risk it.”
In a swift, single motion, Sully reaches out a hand and grabs Will. For a split-second, I worry he will strike him. But instead of fighting, he twists Will’s head toward the cart. He opens the bushes and says, “See that down there? You see them? Those are people, humans, our kind. Our brothers are being used like animals.” He releases Will’s head. “You’re damned right I’ll risk it. If it were you down there, or your sister or brother, wouldn’t you want someone to ‘risk it’ to save them?”
Will’s jaw works from side to side. His eyes are smooth, turquoise stones. His gaze slides to Sully. “But we are outnumbered.”
One side of Sully mouth slants upward. “Jericho, toss one into the ten Urthmen at the rear of the convoy.”
“With pleasure,” Jericho replies with a wicked grin. He digs into a satchel attached to a long strap that crosses his chest. He pulls out a rectangular package and throws it over the bushes and into the procession.
The line of Urthmen stop and look toward us. Sully stands and aims a small metal device at them and depresses a button at its center. The package detonates and a blast rocks the world around me. Limbs careen through the air and rain from the sky, landing all around us with gory thuds.
“I think their numbers just shrank,” Sully says with impish cheer just before he takes off toward the Urthmen.
Will looks from Sully to me. His expression is hard, but tenderness sparkles in his gaze for the briefest of moments, sending a wave of flutters pulsing through my belly. “Stay here,” he says to me and pleads with his eyes.
He dashes off after Sully and Jericho, and my fluttering stomach plummets to my feet.
“No, no! What’re they doing?” June asks me, a deep crease forming between her eyebrows. “Why are they going?”
I worry that they’re charging in to their death. Hot tears scald the backs of my eyelids. I feverishly blink against them. “They’ll be back,” I say. My voice cracks. “I hope,” I add.
I turn my attention back to the scene on the street. Dismembered legs and arms litter the road along with fragments of other body parts that I cannot identify. A few heads are intact and roll down the road. Sully immediately fires into the crowd. Three Urthmen fall before they even raise their clubs. The remaining seven swarm and he squeezes off another five shots. Three more fall. Confusion and mayhem ensues and I panic thinking I’ve lost track of Will and Sully. Jericho rises like a mountain, among the beasts. He grabs the first Urthman he sees and picks him up over his head. The Urthman squawks, a horrid, shrill sound that claws at my ears, just before Jericho slams him into the side of the carriage. Bones crack loudly. The Urthman slumps to the ground in a broken, lifeless heap.
Jericho turns and yanks his mallet from a sheath at his hip. He swings it in a wide arc. It connects with the head of a nearby Urthman, sending him flying to the pavement with half of his skull missing.
Seeing the carnage all around them, the two remaining Urthmen in the convoy drop their clubs and raise their hands in surrender.
The Urthman with the crown watches, wide-eyed, his fatty lips parted and jiggling. His pasty skin is flushed to an unhe
althy shade of magenta. “What is the meaning of this?” he demands, spittle spraying in every direction. “You must defend your prince! That is a royal order!”
The surrendering Urthmen do not respond.
“This is treason! You will be punished! I am Prince Neo and I hereby accuse you of treason!”
“We surrender,” one of the Urthmen says.
Sully approaches them, his gun aimed between them. “There is no surrendering,” he says. I hear two loud pops and both fall. He then leaps onto the cart. He slowly walks to the portly Urthman.
“So, you’re a prince?” he asks, his voice dripping with malice.
“Yes, and I can give you wealth beyond your wildest dreams. My father is King Leon. He will pay you whatever you want. Name your price.”
“Money, huh,” Sully says and scratches his chin with one of his weapon-wielding hands. “Hmm, that’s some offer.”
“I know it is, especially for a human. But I can arrange it.”
A long pause passes between them, I start to believe Sully is considering Prince Neo’s offer. The notion nauseates me.
“See, I don’t want money from your father or you. I only want one thing.”
“Anything! Land, food; name it and you’ll have it!”
Sully lowers his head and makes a clucking sound with his tongue. When he lifts his chin, he is unnervingly still.
“Nah, I don’t want any of that,” Sully says through his teeth. “All I want is your life,” he adds with icy certainty before two more pops ring out and I see Prince Neo collapse to one side.
Excitement rings through me with the clarity of a bell tolling. It resonates through my core and vibrates to my fingertips and toes. I am glad to see him die. If that makes me as bad as an Urthman then so be it.
Not everyone shares in my happiness to see the prince fall, however. A quick look at Will reveals that he is among those who do not. He stands eerily still, a troubled expression veiling his features.
Planet Urth: The Savage Lands (Book 2) Page 14
