by Ramona Finn
“But you are the leader,” I remind Wolf. “You don’t need to prove that to anyone!”
He shakes his head as he waits in the training room, which today will also act as an arena. People have already begun to gather to watch the fight. I think it’s sick to want to watch, but Wolf assures me it’s necessary. The fight needs to be watched to prove who won without a doubt.
“You’re wrong,” he tells me, sounding much calmer than I feel. “I have to prove it to everyone.”
I make a frustrated sound in my throat. “That’s ridiculous! They chose you—”
“And now they’re not sure if that was a wise decision. This is one of the ways to prove that I am still the man they think I am.”
I want to correct him and say he’s not a man, but a boy. Mostly because I think it will be a sharp jab to him, though it’s not true. He’s been through enough that he is a man, even if he’s technically only my age. Instead, I take a steadying breath and try to reason with him. “Shouldn’t there be a better way to offer them proof? Something less violent? Why should anyone follow someone just because they can beat someone else?”
He finally glances over at me instead of staring at the door, waiting for Komodo. His eyes are dark, but intense as always, and maybe just a little sad. “It’s not about the violence,” he assures me. “The violence just tags along. It has to be there, but it’s not the reason for the trust in the leadership. I have to fight to prove I’m still their leader.”
“Why?” I demand hotly.
“It’s the reassurance that I’m strong, but more than that, it’s a promise that, should the time come, I am willing to fight to the last for them. If I surrendered or refused to fight, then I would be a leader willing to run away for fear of his own life.”
I fall silent. I don’t like this. It doesn’t help that I’ve seen Komodo and I know he won’t be easy to beat. But I let Wolf’s words sink into me, and there’s a trickle of understanding. I don’t know if I agree with the reasoning—but I think I can respect it.
Frowning, I nod once at him. “Fine. But… but be careful. This isn’t worth your life.”
He smiles a little at me, and I worry more because he doesn’t make me any promises or tell me that of course I’m right. Nothing to indicate that he’s heard me and taken it to heart. “Don’t worry,” is all he says, which does absolutely nothing but make me worry.
Time is up. Komodo has arrived. There are murmurs rippling through the crowd that’s formed, but there’s no outright cheering or yelling. It’s difficult to tell which side people are on, and it gives me hope that, if Wolf wins, this will be the end of it. I give Wolf’s hand a squeeze, and then I leave his side to go and join the rest of the crowd. I find Alis and sit with her. She seems uninterested in all of this. “You don’t agree with the challenge?” I guess.
She lifts her shoulders. “More like I don’t care. It’s between two Rogues. Either way, nothing changes for us.”
I don’t say anything in response because I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m done trying to figure out which people I belong with, done worrying about the dynamic between the Rogues and the Glitches. Right now, I’m only focusing on the fight.
Wolf and Komodo step into a crudely drawn circle, there in the middle of the room. Dust kicks up at their movements, but settles quickly enough. Wolf offers his hand to Komodo, but Komodo only smiles in response. Then they begin.
Komodo strikes first. I learn two things about him in this strike: he’s fast and he doesn’t care if he hurts Wolf. His strike is a fast, swinging kick aimed at Wolf’s kidneys. It doesn’t quite land, but skims along Wolf’s side instead. It doesn’t look like Wolf even notices it, though. I expect Wolf to throw a punch or maybe return with a kick of his own, but he does nothing. He simply moves carefully around the circle, his eyes locked on his opponent.
It looks like Komodo says something to him, but I can’t hear anything. I’m too far away, the bleachers designed more for watching than listening. Wolf’s body tenses, but otherwise he doesn’t react. Komodo comes at him again. A swift hand strike connects with the ball of Wolf’s shoulder, but again it doesn’t hit exactly where it’s supposed to. Instead, it skims and actually throws Komodo off balance. He falls forward slightly. Not enough to make him really fall down, but enough that he has to take a step to regain his balance.
That’s when Wolf finally moves.
His arm comes out straight as though to catch Komodo, but it remains rigid as Komodo stumbles forward. Wolf’s arm bends, capturing his enemy’s neck in the crook of his arm. I can tell this has caught Komodo off-guard. There’s a widening of his eyes, and then his hands are scrabbling to get ahold of Wolf’s arm. But Wolf has stepped behind him to tighten his hold. For a second it looks like this fight will be over quickly, Komodo tugging at Wolf’s arm desperately.
But then Komodo seems to get ahold of himself. Instead of pushing away from Wolf, he backs into him, and with this movement comes a quick elbow to Wolf’s ribs. I can see Wolf wince at this as air is forced from his lungs. Wolf’s grip loosens enough that Komodo is able to slip away. He rubs at his throat, but only for a second. Then he charges Wolf again. This time, he lands a punch in Wolf’s face, hard enough that Wolf takes a second to recover. A precious second, because another punch follows the first. It’s sloppy, though, and catches his collarbone instead of his face.
Not a preferable alternative, I guess. Wolf staggers back from the blow and I know it hurt. The collarbone is one of the worst places to break something; I hope he hasn’t.
When Komodo comes after him again, they begin to exchange blows in earnest. Wolf blocks when he can, but Komodo seems only interested in attacking. Fast and determined, I can see his need to defeat Wolf. But Wolf is calm, though Komodo is landing hits that are beginning to draw on Wolf. He’s bleeding. I can see trickles of red on his face and on his hands. But he doesn’t slow. He takes a hard kick to the stomach, falling from the force of it. Komodo is fast upon him.
They grapple on the dirt floor, each trying to pin the other for a quick victory. Bird told me there are only two ways to end the fight. Concession or unconsciousness. And I know Wolf won’t take up the first.
The dust comes up around them, covering their bodies from our view as they continue to struggle with one another. I hear the murmuring crowd, as anxious as I am to see what’s happening. I don’t realize it, but I’ve taken Alis’s hand in mine and am squeezing it tightly. I know she doesn’t care who wins, but I do. Which is why she returns the squeeze.
It takes what feels like forever before the dust finally begins to settle. As it does, it feels as though the entire room is holding its collective breath. Then I see him. Wolf is on his back with Komodo on top of him. At first I panic, thinking this is it, he’s lost. But then I see that Wolf has an arm once more around Komodo’s throat. His legs are wrapped around his middle and Komodo seems unable to move. He struggles once, twice more, and then he just taps Wolf’s arm.
Instantly, Wolf releases him and the whole crowd stands. Wolf stands victorious, looking around the entire room at each of us. Then he offers a hand to Komodo, to help him up.
The other man doesn’t accept it.
…
After the fight, Croc insists on taking both men to the infirmary. He uses a sheet to separate them, but it doesn’t matter. Komodo is checked out and then he insists on leaving. A couple of Rogues assist him—I presume to a place where he can sleep off the fight. Croc orders him to report back to him again when he wakes. I don’t know if Komodo is even listening.
I sit beside Wolf as Croc tends to him. Croc grumbles to himself as he patches Wolf up, sealing up smaller cuts with a paste and putting bandages across the bigger ones. He informs Wolf that he likely has at least one broken rib and that there are bruises blooming across his body. Croc says he can’t prescribe anything for them—it isn’t as though we have ice. But he does tell Wolf to take it easy and insists that he stay the night. I want to point o
ut that he didn’t insist that Komodo stay the night, but then, I actually do want Wolf to stay and be taken care of. Besides, I’m pretty sure that Croc doesn’t much care for Komodo.
Finally, Croc declares that he’s done all he can for Wolf. The rest will just take time to heal. He eyes me and adds, “Which means rest. Lots of rest.” When I only stare at him in response, he sighs and says, “So don’t stay too long.”
He leaves then, muttering about youth and stupidity, like he’s ancient. Which he’s not.
When he’s gone, I turn to Wolf and offer him a soft smile. “I’m glad you won.”
He nods, winces, and then decides not to do that again. “Yeah—me, too.”
I stay for a while and we talk. About the fight, and our hopes that it will settle a lot of the unease amongst the Rogues.
Instead, we keep the conversation short. He seems tired and I know he’s hurt. “I should go,” I tell him. “But I’ll come back soon. If Croc will let me.”
He laughs a little at that. “His bark is worse than his bite.”
I nod. I’m feeling bold and, before I go, I lean forward and press a gentle kiss to his cheek. I tell him again that I’ll be back. When I leave, I feel both better and worse than I have in a while.
CHAPTER EIGHTTEEN
In only a few short days, Wolf is better and able to leave the infirmary. I’ve been helping to take care of him, which really only amounts to watching Croc take care of him. But I’m there to talk with him and spend time with him while he recovers.
It’s during this time that I finally bring up the Norm and my plan to save Raj.
“I need to talk to you about the Norm,” I bring up hesitantly as I sit beside his cot.
He sits up a little and asks, “What about the Norm?”
I hesitate a breath, and then decide to just get it out. Quick, to get the inevitable fight over with as fast as possible.. “I’ve been taking several of the Rogues and Glitches out on missions. To watch the Norm.”
Anger flares in his dark eyes, and his lips purse into a thin line and he grinds his teeth. Running a hand through his dark hair, he curses. “What were you thinking?”
My own anger jumps back at him. “I was thinking that the AI is intending to blast off into space soon and destroy us in the process! I was thinking that we need to know what it’s doing—before it’s too late!”
Which, really, is true, but not the only reason I’ve been planning. I want to save Raj, too, but I’m not sure how well that’ll go over. After all, it’s widely accepted that Raj is dead.
Even though I don’t want to believe that.
Shaking his head, he mutters something I don’t catch. In a louder voice, he demands, “How could you not tell me?”
I wince. His anger I expected, but amidst that I now hear the hurt lacing his voice. He’s upset not that I went, but that I didn’t tell him. But I couldn’t tell him, I remind myself. And I tell him as much. “How could I tell you? Half the time you were telling me that I was being reckless. The other half, you just insisted that I was being dangerous. And then you were barely talking to me at all!” I hear my own hurt. It’s unintentional, but I can’t help it. I remember being so confused over what he was feeling for me—and what I was feeling for him.
He still looks angry, but it lessens fractionally. His eyes soften. “You should have come to me.”
“You didn’t seem to want to talk to me,” I mumble, sounding like a child even to myself. I should have found a way to make him understand, I realize now. I should have been up front with him. But he seemed so set against me!
He winces, and then sighs. “You’re right. You still should have come to me, but… but I shouldn’t have pushed you away. That wasn’t fair.”
My shoulders slump. Silence floods the space between us. I’m not sure what to say now, but I don’t want to focus on the problems that have put so much distance between the two of us. Instead, I want to put all that behind me and try again. I’m not sure how it will go, but I want to move past this moment and on to the next.
Finally, he clears his throat and asks, “What have you found out?”
I think about the Norm and what we’ve learned. I realize that, truly, I have so little information. I feel like I barely know anything at all and that leaves me frustrated. Letting out a whoosh of air, I admit, “Not much. It’s building right now. Drones and scabs are working out there to add to the wall around the dome. I think it’s meant to be a protective shield against space, but it’s impossible to tell right now.”
He frowns, considering this. After a moment of thinking, he asks, “How far along is it?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I honestly don’t know. We haven’t gone often enough to really see—and we never get close enough. There are drones everywhere and—”
Wolf nods. “You can’t risk getting too close. No point in getting information if you just get yourself killed in the process.”
I nod. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“Do you think the AI is working on outer weapons, too?”
I know that he’s thinking of my promise that the AI wants us all dead before it leaves this world. But, as I consider weapons, I wonder if it’s been developing them. Of course, it must be, but I don’t think we saw any. I hope this is a good sign. “Not that we could see. I’m hoping that the AI is focusing on the wall first and is too busy to add in weapons, too.” Even to my own ears this sounds unlikely. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m wrong.”
He nods. “You said there were a bunch of drones and scabs. Do you think they’re the weapons?”
I think about this. “Yes and no. They’ve always been after us, so I’m sure the AI will continue to use them, but I don’t think they’ll be the means of destroying the world. That seems like a pretty big task for them.”
“But you said there were a ton of them. Maybe it’s been building like crazy to have enough to destroy us.”
It doesn’t sound quite right to me, but I don’t immediately disregard it. At this point, I think anything is possible, so I say, “Maybe.”
Wolf makes a frustrated sound and begins to pace. He does so for several moments before speaking me again. “We don’t have enough information. We need to know what’s going on before things get worse. Before the AI gets the chance to really do something.”
I hesitate. “I could take my team out again. Scout out the location. See if we can’t learn anything more.” I hope he’ll go for it especially since I’ve technically been doing it with no hiccups this entire time.
Wolf frowns and I can tell that he doesn’t like this plan in the slightest. He opens his mouth and I think the word ‘no’ must be about to fall from his lips. But he surprises me. “It’s very dangerous.”
Not a flat-out no. Not a yes, but not a complete and utter refusal. Hope flutters in my chest. “That’s why I wouldn’t go alone. I have a whole group, and they’re good—” I break off as he frowns. I feel suddenly bad for talking about my group. After all, they went against him, too. And they weren’t being ignored by him, either.
Eventually, he sighs and nods his head. “I don’t like it. But you’re going to go anyway.”
I want to put him at ease and tell him that I’d heed whatever he tells me—but he’s right. We both know it. “We need to know,” is all I say in answer.
He smiles a little. “Alright. But these are just scouting missions, right?”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
It’s been a week since I overheard Bird and Skye whispering in the night. In that week, there have been five scouting missions. I’ve been on each and every one of them. Wolf tells me that I’m pushing too hard, that I’m being reckless again. I worry that maybe he’s right. That maybe I’m only doing this because of the guilt I feel for leaving Raj. But I also know that we need more information on the Norm—and I can’t ask anyone doing something that I’m not willing to.
For now, we’ve taken the ATVs to the top of the hill where we can watch the Norm and its c
onstruction. They’re parked several feet away in different directions, hidden beneath brush, sand, and canvas.
We lie prone, watching as the drones and the scabs continue their work on the outer shell of the Norm. Alis is beside me. She tinkers with the gear she brought, testing out our latest design. It’s supposed to enhance both sight and hearing, picking up on minute vibrations on the air and movements through the ground. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of static and background noise. We’re still trying to filter it out. It’s difficult for me to make improvements on the design because I can’t test it myself.
Beside me, Alis curses. “I can’t get this thing to focus!” she mutters. She adjusts the sight that hovers over her eye.
“Adjust the outer bevel,” I tell her, and then ask about the latest hearing adjustments.
She shakes her head. “I’m getting way too much interference. And I think it’s a moot point anyway.” She jerks the little sensor out of her ear and looks at me. “They aren’t talking. Just making beeping sounds. If they’re communicating, it’s not something I can understand.”
Crow glances at me. “We should try to get closer and—”
“No,” I tell him. “Wolf ordered us to stay clear. And he’s right. It’s too dangerous. There’s no point in finding anything out if we can’t relay it back.”
“But—”
I hold up a hand to stop him. “Like Alis said, they aren’t speaking anyway. If we want to figure out what’s going on, we won’t do it by eavesdropping.”
Although reluctant, Crow agrees with me and we decide that we need a new plan. Watching and listening isn’t enough. We pack up to leave, knowing we won’t learn anything more today. As we do so, I pull Alis aside. “What if we tried hacking into the system?”
She looks over at me. The guys are uncovering the ATVs, checking to make sure we have enough stored juice to get them started. “What good would hacking do?”
