by S. S. Segran
“Um…” Kody adjusted his vision. “Those hills are two or three miles away. If there’s an accident, couldn’t we, I dunno, drive around it? It’s just one long road and a wide desert. It’s not like there’s nowhere to go.”
Dominique conversed with the men, whose voices rose as they signaled angrily with their hands. She nodded at them, but even from the backseat Kody saw distrust in her eyes. “I’d rather not cause trouble,” she whispered to Marshall. “Let’s take the other route.”
As they turned onto a dry riverbed to the right, Aari opened up a map of Sudan he’d referred to throughout the excursion, the paper unfolding across both his and Mariah’s laps. “Unless I’m mistaken,” he said, “these hills are part of a game reserve.”
Tegan combed her fingers through her dark hair uneasily. “I’m not the only one getting weird vibes from this, right?”
“Definitely not,” Marshall muttered.
The rocky ride didn’t ease as the dry riverbed narrowed through the hills. The tall sandstone mounds pressed in on them. Claustrophobia squeezed its grip around Kody. He checked to see if the Sudanese men were following them, but all was clear except for the clouds of dust the Land Rover’s tires kicked as it crossed the uneven terrain. A few hundred feet ahead, they saw the muddy banks of the Nile.
Marshall turned left onto a dirt road that ran parallel to the river, then slowed. “Oh, boy.”
Four uniformed men emerged from the bushes on either side of the path, rifles pointed straight at the Land Rover as they blocked the way. Two of them held up their hands, motioning for the car to stop. When it didn’t, the men fired warning shots over the roof of the vehicle. Kody and the others ducked instinctively.
Without taking his eyes off the human barricade, Marshall said, “Domi?”
When the other Sentry spoke, a snarl escaped her. “Do not stop. They will rob us of everything, including Asa’s artifacts.”
“What’s our best option?”
“Drive straight through.”
“You want me to run them over?”
“Trust me and do it.”
“Well, here goes nothing.” Marshall white-knuckled the wheel. “Everybody down!”
Ducking so only his eyes were above the dashboard, he stomped on the gas and the Land Rover charged forward. The bandits unleashed a torrent of bullets, puncturing the hood and shattering the windshield. Glass shards flew inward, invoking cries, but Marshall kept his foot on the pedal. When the bandits realized their target wasn’t slowing down, they leapt, rolling out of the way. The vehicle sped past, narrowly missing one of the men’s legs.
Kody peeked through the rear windshield. Two of the bandits were already up, weapons leveled at the receding car. He heard the popping of gunfire and dropped down just as the rear screen was obliterated. A bullet tore right through his headrest and lodged itself in the back of Aari’s seat. Another blew the rearview mirror away entirely, the shards cutting the Sentries up front. Marshall held firmly onto the wheel as bits of blood trailed down his scalp.
Two more pops sounded. Kody thought they were bullets hitting the body of the car until the vehicle lurched abruptly.
“They shot our back tires!” Dominique shouted.
Kody gripped his seat tightly as the Land Rover fishtailed out of control. The rear end swung onto the muddy shoulder of the dirt road. As sludge caught onto the destroyed tires, the car slid sideways toward the incline by the river.
“Hold on!” Marshall yelled.
The drag on the tires threw the Land Rover to an unexpected halt, tipping the vehicle over. Screams erupted as the car tumbled over the shoulder and down the shallow slope. Kody lost his bearings as the world around him vortexed.
The car flipped over and over, parts flying off mid-fall until it landed upright in the shallows of the Nile. Water sloshed in through the broken windows. Marshall unbuckled himself with one hand and pressed the other against his head. “Everybody alright?”
Kody felt as if his brain was still rattling around in his skull. “Define ‘alright’.”
A quick headcount determined that they were all fine except for some minor injuries. Marshall opened his door and more water sloshed in. “We’re sitting ducks in here,” he said.
They hastily waded out into the river, using the Land Rover as cover and making sure their heads weren’t visible through any of the broken windows. Kody pulled a face at the murky, chest-high water around them. “Ugh, I didn’t think the Nile would be like this.”
“We have a bigger problem at the moment,” Tegan said, cautiously peering around the car. “They’ve just split into two groups and they’re coming down the slope on either side.”
“What do they want?” Aari asked.
“They’re highway bandits,” Dominique said, growling. “The detour was nothing but a sham. They want whatever we have.”
“But they’ll kill us if we don’t cooperate,” Kody ventured.
Dominique gave him a tight-lipped look, then turned to Marshall. “I’ll take care of this.”
Marshall was appalled. “There’s four of them with guns. Even if you take down the first two, the others will get the drop on you before you reach them.”
As the Sentries exchanged rapid, tense words, Kody’s ears picked up a low rumble. He slowly turned around. On the mud flats a couple of hundred yards behind them, four burly Nile crocodiles slithered into the water, their bone-plated backs and tails the only thing visible as they swam toward the group.
“Uh, guys…” A chill crept into Kody’s every nerve. “Incoming.”
Expletives escaped all of them. Mariah pressed up against the Land Rover. “Four men with guns in front, four crocs behind. We’re screwed.”
Tegan spun toward Dominique. “What if Aari covers you while you take the men out?”
“I’ll need line of sight,” Aari hissed. “If I show my head, it might get blown off!”
Dominique broke off the car’s side mirror in an easy snap and passed it to him. “Use this.”
Aari fumbled with it. “Uh, alright, but—”
The second Dominique stepped around the front of the car, gunfire shattered the quiet of the hills. The Sentry slammed back into cover, biting back a cry as she held her shoulder. Blood dripped between her fingers into the water.
“Domi!” Marshall made a move toward her but she waved him back.
“I’m fine,” she said, jaws clenched. “It just grazed my shoulder.”
“I’ll do this, okay? Just—”
“You’re not fast enough, Marshall.” Dominique ripped off the hem of her t-shirt and Tegan helped tie the strip around her wound. “Ready, Aari?”
Aari focused on her and the Sentry shimmered until she disappeared. He stretched his arm past the car’s fender, using the mirror to keep Dominique concealed as she flew up the slope. Kody looked into the glass, watching the unsuspecting bandits continue down.
Without warning, one of the men on the right flank found his gun being ripped out of his hands. The pair watched in astonishment as the rifle pointed down at their boots. A report sounded and the first man dropped to the ground with a scream, holding his foot. The other moved to help but there was another blast. He hopped around before falling, cradling his own foot while yelling what were most likely obscenities to the invisible spirit that attacked them.
Aari started unexpectedly. “Kody! Make sure we don’t lose the canister!”
“On it!” Kody stole a look at the scaly, primordial beasts traversing the halfway point of the river. Their reptilian green eyes ogled the group. He swallowed. “Hey, uh, the crocs are closing in…”
Tegan faced the oncoming creatures. “I’ll handle it.”
The crocodile to the far left suddenly whipped around, snapping its jaws around the neck of another. The second beast rolled, catching the attacker’s front leg and ripping it clear off. The first crocodile let out a roar that reverberated across the dull gray water.
Stunned, Kody had to be thump
ed on the back by Aari. “The letters, Kody!”
Trusting that Tegan could handle the crocodiles, he glided through the side window of the Land Rover, trying to stay out of sight of the two remaining bandits on the left flank. He searched around frantically, barely able to see through the mucky waters. The straps of their bags were caught around the seats, keeping them from floating out the rear windshield, but the canister was nowhere to be found. He popped his head out the window, gasping for air. “It’s not there!”
“Check again!” Aari barked, keeping his eyes on the mirror.
Kody returned inside, working from the front to the back. Water splashed against his face and he wiped it away, face contorting. Oh, I hate this. I can barely see anything. He searched around the center seats. When he stood up to get some air, he saw something glinting in the sunlight fifty yards downstream. No!
He pushed himself out of the broken rear windshield to give chase but someone grabbed him by the collar, hauling him behind the vehicle just as a spray of bullets erupted in the water.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Marshall demanded, holding onto the teenager.
Kody pointed shakily. The Sentry spun around. His eyes widened when he spotted the canister rolling with the waves. He put a firm hand on Kody’s chest. “Stay here. I’ll get it.”
With that he was gone, disappearing underwater.
A yell broke out. Kody risked a look over the hood of the vehicle and gaped. One of the bandits had been thrown two stories into the air. He hung mid-flight, flailing frenziedly before plummeting to the ground, He landed with a thunk and was knocked out.
“Wait, Domi!” Aari cried. “You’re moving out of my sight!”
Too late, Kody saw her shimmer into being some ways from the final bandit. The man witnessed her sudden appearance and nearly stumbled over himself but quickly recovered. He reached for the trigger. Realizing that she was no longer hidden, Dominique froze.
“No!” Mariah screamed.
The bandit’s rifle was yanked upward by an unseen force the second he pulled the trigger. Bullets and shells hailed down around him. He yelled, trying to let go of his weapon. Before he could free himself, a blur rocketed toward him and Dominique bodyslammed him. He flew backward through some shrubs and conked his head against the hillside, sliding down unconscious.
“Ohhh! That looked like it hurt!” Kody rubbed the back of Mariah’s head. “Quick thinking with the rifle.”
She had paled. “That was too close. I wish I could have done more, but I…”
“Hey, it’s okay. You’re still recovering.”
Tegan returned to herself and leaned against the car for support, breathing a little hard. The two crocodile she’d locked into battle had rolled away from them, back toward the mud flats on the other shore. The other pair had disappeared entirely.
Kody fidgeted anxiously. Where did they go?
Tegan finally caught her breath. “Where’s Marshall?”
All eyes turned downstream. The Sentry had reappeared near the canister, now a hundred yards away from the teenagers. As he swam toward it, the remaining crocodiles emerged, their dark-colored backs and powerful tails slicing through the water with fearsome speed.
“Tegan!” Aari bellowed.
Tegan roared as she threw herself into the novasphere. Kody watched, hands on his head, as both crocodiles vanished underwater again. He could barely breathe.
As Marshall’s hand gripped the canister, one of the beasts broke through the surface like a torpedo. The crocodile snapped its jaws shut, narrowly missing the Sentry as he dove under. The animal was about to follow when an explosion of water brought the last crocodile out. It was smaller than the other but it threw itself at the aggressor, clamping down on the other’s snout.
Tegan let out a choke when she returned to her body; Mariah caught her before she slipped under the water. “They’re so powerful,” she said, panting.
“You did good, Teegs,” Aari said.
Kody pushed through the water, scanning around. “Guys, I don’t see Marshall.”
“His abilities let him stay under for a while,” Tegan assured him. “I know, it looks like it’s all wrong but I’ve seen it. He’ll be back.”
Minutes passed and the Sentry still hadn’t appeared. Kody treaded further into the Nile. Come on, man…
Marshall shot to the surface in front of him, water cascading down. He shoved the canister into Kody’s arms, turned away from the teenagers, and retched. Kody blew out the breath he’d been holding.
The group allowed themselves to relax as they grabbed their bags out of the Land Rover. When Kody realized one was gone, he punched a headrest and it snapped off the seat.
“Whoa, Rambo,” Marshall said. “What’s up?”
“We lost one of the bags. It had our personal test kit.”
At his words, Kody felt the group’s heartbeats collectively skip. They all looked up the river as it gurgled past them.
“Nothing we can do now,” Tegan said tightly.
They trudged up the slope toward Dominique, who’d made quick work of tying up the men and leaving them with a piece of dull flint to cut the ropes. “We’ll be long gone by the time they free themselves,” she said.
“You know, none of this would have happened if the guy that flew you to Egypt would’ve flown us out here,” Aari said.
Dominique gave him a brilliant smile. “That man’s a stickler for rules. If Egypt grounded all flights, he can’t be persuaded otherwise. I know a bush pilot outside of Khartoum who can get us where we want to go, though. He’s an old family friend.”
“Have you considered MMA, Domi?” Kody asked. “Because that bodyslam was deadly.”
“I think I’d be disqualified immediately for having an edge on everyone else.”
Marshall took out a water bottle and dumped it over his face and hair. “I am so glad we decided to get waterproof bags.” He nodded at the canister. “The letters are fine, right?”
Kody opened it, fearing the worst, but was delighted to find the letters perfectly dry. “Everything’s good here. Except for the fact that we don’t have a ride.”
“There are settlements along the river,” Aari said. “Maybe we can find some other means of transportation.”
Dominique started up the bank. “Come. It’s a long walk and we’re burning daylight.”
46
The hike through the hills to the nearest village had been a long one. By the time the group found a family willing to part with the older of their two boats—for a fee, of course—it was already mid-afternoon. It took them three hours to travel up the Nile to their destination in the eighteen-foot aluminum vessel. The teenagers had parked themselves at the front, making use of the breeze to keep cool. Aari and Mariah didn’t mind the hot weather, but Tegan and Kody looked about ready to melt. The Sentries sat at the back by the antiquated, noisy outboard motor.
Aari looked up from his map, then back down, and up again. “I’m confused,” he said. “Are we in Khartoum or what? Because that city to our right is apparently called Omdurman.”
“Omdurman is the largest city in the state of Khartoum,” Dominique explained. “And Khartoum is the second-largest city in the state of Khartoum.”
“Why do they have to confuse people like that?” Kody grumped.
On either side of the boat, the banks of the Nile were matted with what must have once been verdant grain fields. The disheartening scene had been their view the entire ride up the river. Behind the fields were expansive, dusty cities.
It’s so quiet here, Aari thought. Too quiet.
Dominique must have noticed, too. “The Alpha strain is prevalent in Africa,” she said bitterly. “Something tells me that’s why it’s so lifeless here.”
“The Alpha strain is the aging one, right?” Mariah asked.
“Yes.”
“I see a few cars on that bridge up ahead,” Kody said. “That’s a good sign.”
Dominique absently
tugged at her single braid. “Perhaps. From what I know, most of the interior is somewhat safe from the outbreak, but population centers like this are hit mainly by the aging strain.”
“That’s a bit of a relief for us,” Aari said. “We’re immune to it, right?”
“Well, yes, but there are some cases of the Omega strain, too. Which is why for your sake, we need to keep as far away from the cities as possible.”
“Hey, Aari,” Tegan called. “Didn’t you say your last vision was of Lucius and Carmel in a boat, and they’d stopped where the river split?”
Aari sighed. “Technically, it’s where the two rivers converge—”
“Aari!”
“Sorry, sorry! Yeah, that’s what I saw.”
“Then come check this out.”
Aari sidled up to the bow. A few kilometers in the distance, the two arms of the Nile met in a hug around an island. Aari retrieved one of the letters from the canister and, as he did, a static flashed behind his eyes. He waited for a vision but nothing came. “We’re still too far away,” he told the others.
Marshall patted the outboard motor. “Then let’s get you closer.”
They crossed under the bridge and followed the right arm of the river. The static continued to occur but faded in and out. “We’re going in the wrong direction!” Aari exclaimed. “I must have missed something where the merge happened!”
Marshall guided the boat around the island, passing by a handful of rundown boats with silent fishermen watching them, and completed the loop. As they neared their starting point, Aari was hit with a blinding flash. He flinched. “It’s around here somewhere!”
“We’ve made a full circle,” Dominique said, bewildered.
Tegan stared hard at the island as she tied her hair into a high ponytail. “Maybe they docked?”
