Desert Born

by Dawn Chapman

  “I’m sorry about your mum,” I said. Suddenly concerned for these two, who was looking after them? “I’m Maddie. I’m just trying to figure out what this place is. Looks nice.”

  The fact the two children shared a look of horror, their already pale faces turning even whiter.

  “You’re scared. Can you tell me, what you do know of this place?”

  “It’s a huge genetic experiment,” he replied. “They breeding out certain things in their stock.”

  “Bit complicated a thing for you to understand, but what do you mean?” I moved to sit before them, wincing as my hip groaned at me.

  “I listen and watch what they’re doing. There are differences in the way the cattle behave. What they eat, what they do to each other.” He actually physically shivered, he was so terrified.

  I touched the girl’s hand. “What have they been eating?”

  The girl pointed to herself and her brother. . . I froze.

  “The cattle have been eating humans?”

  When he nodded, I rubbed the side of my head. Where had they been able to get these people? How could the mayor sanction this? Did that mean the cattle they wanted to give us were tainted? What was the plan for afterwards? What would happen if the Tromoal ate bad food?

  “Is there somewhere I can see for myself? Find out what we’re really looking at? Are they cattle monsters or what?”

  “You don’t really want to see.” The kid sighed. But, yes I did, I not only wanted to, but I needed to see.

  I followed the kids out into the hallway accessible through and then deeper down into the main house. The dank smell coming from them and the walls stung my nostrils. The girl reached out and grasped my hand. I wanted to pick her up, so she wasn’t walking barefoot on the splintered, dirty floor in the wretched house.

  The young boy pushed the door open, and we slid inside the walls of the building where there were small peeps to look through. I now had a much better sense of why this place went into the mountainside and was lit from internal lights.

  Several voices ahead got me really worried, but they were inside the rooms in the building. The boy stopped and pointed to the highest hole to him. I had to lower my head to see through it, but I was looking in a white room with several pieces of equipment. I could see weird screens with glass boxes containing terrible un-thought of creatures. Suspended in animation somewhere. There was an Ebolos, crossed with it—a monster. The creatures he was scared of in the day were theirs—they were a defence. To protect the farm.

  Then I saw something else, and my heart stopped. There was a Tromoal egg. The final glass box pride of place on the wall had the most precious commodity in the world inside it.

  I had to get it. I had to rescue that egg. I remembered Riezella telling me an egg was stolen many years ago. I shivered.

  I pointed to the room, to the kids and then the egg. I bent down as much as I could in the small space, and I whispered to the little girl, “I will speak to them, and I will rescue that egg. Do you know where it is?”

  Her eyes opened wide, and then tears. She nodded. Her brother was shaking his head and tugging my arm. “You can’t.”

  “Yes, yes, I can. And I will.”

  Chapter 9

  The young girl led the way down into the depths.

  A voice echoed in my head. Maddie, where are you? What is going on? You’re angry. Why?

  Don’t take this the wrong way, I spoke to him, but remember that missing egg?

  I heard him choke. And then he spoke clearly. Maddie, what are you saying?

  There’s a Tromoal egg. It looks like it’s in some kind of suspended animation. I need to know whose it is, Dalfol.

  He didn’t answer me straightaway. He seemed to freeze inside my mind.

  There’s never been an egg go missing. Not for many, many years.

  So it was the one Riezella had spoken of. A shiver ran down my spine. Then you know who this is?

  There was no answer.

  I wanted to get a message to Candice. I contacted Josh.

  “Tell Candice’s party member to contact her. The message is this. ‘All hell is going to break loose. This place an abomination. The cattle aren’t coming with us.’”

  Josh’s response was simply, “What?”

  There was no time for me to answer. The girl was nodding ahead. I peeked through a hole to get my bearings. The room had one door and a guard.

  How could I get out of the internal walls? The girl tugged my hand and then pointed at the ceiling. A small hole to squeeze through, crawl over and drop on the guard.

  Could it be that simple to get inside and take something that was so precious?

  I’d find out soon enough.

  I pulled myself up and kicked my way into the roof space. Across the hallway, I could see through the slats in the roof to know what he was reading. Porn, of course.

  I prepared myself to jump through with maximum impact and surprise him.

  I sucked in a breath and then counted.

  Three.

  Two.

  One.

  The guard tried to jump up from underneath me, but I stuck my blade in his throat. He gurgled once, and blood gushed forwards when I pulled it out. I wiped it on my trousers and slid it back in its sheath Then I opened the door.

  I stepped inside and carefully closed it. The box had the beautifully coloured egg inside. I’d not been this close to one before. I had seen them before, but wow, this one glistened. The sides were golden and black crystal, shining in the light of the outside corridor. I held up a hand, my ring hand, and the ring started to hum, and I felt something, a presence in the room with me. This was so strange. Then there was a voice.

  Hello. . . is someone there?

  I’m here. Do you know where you are?

  No, I just woke up. It’s cold.

  It won’t be cold much longer. I promise.

  Maddie, who is that? Who is with you?

  I could sense the terror inside Dalfol. So I turned my focus to his voice. I don’t know, but it’s a young male, and he’s scared. Could he be from another clan?

  There wasn’t an answer from him, but I moved closer to the egg. There wasn’t a crack in it, the surface glittering in the light.

  I noticed a camera was in a position to view the egg. I had to grab the egg and make a run for it and hope to get away before anyone missed it.

  The roof creaked. Looking up, I noticed the boy, a slow glowing bright light emitting from his hands as he whispered, “Turn the camera forty degrees right.”

  I wanted to question everything this young man knew, but I complied. He dropped to the floor, beside the glass box. He worked quickly, but then stopped. “You’ll have to carry it. I can’t.” His hands were still glowing. He was some kind of mage, but I’d no idea on type.

  I reached inside the box and lifted the egg out. It wasn’t light. About the size of the kid’s sister. I held it against my sore hip and said to the boy, “If you get us out of here, you can come with us.”

  The kid nodded, and we turned to the door, his sister motioning us on.

  I followed, hoping I wouldn’t drop this darned egg. It really was heavy. We managed to get quite far, almost to the front of the house and out the door, before the alarms went off. The whole place erupted into a frenzy of activity. Lights, everything.

  Josh’s voice came over quickly. “I don’t know what the hell you did in there, Maddie, but get the hell out! Candice and the others are under attack.”

  “What do you mean? From who? The workers?”

  “No, the cattle. They have no intention of letting them come with us. They’re trying to eat her!”

  I shouted to the kids, “Run! We’ve gotta hustle now! Get us to the gate!”

  The youngsters sprinted, and I followed, just as a main light shone off the top of my head. It lit up the path, which was much better for me as I could actually see where I was going now. I grinned and ran faster. Overtaking the kids, I could see the H
og, and I sucked in breath after breath to try to get there.

  They both stopped behind me as I palmed the panel and the doors opened. “Get in!” I watched as they hopped in, and then I heard something else entirely. Footsteps—no, not footsteps. The pounding of many hooves. Had they just let the herd out? Where were Candice and the others?

  Then I saw her. She was running full pelt towards me shouting, “Get that piece of shit started!”

  She was running for the gate, which was closing. I guessed they didn’t want to let the zombie bovine out the main doors after all. At least, not yet.

  I climbed in, resting the egg as well as I could on my lap, and started the engine. By the time she got to the door, I could see the mess of animals behind her. The herd was chomping and gnashing. She leapt inside the hog, slamming the door, and I spun us around and headed out as fast as I could.

  “Where are the others?”

  “Dead.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She looked to the kids behind me, then at what I was cradling, while driving. “Is that what I think it is?”

  “Tromoal egg, yes.”

  “And you thought it was a good idea to steal it?”

  I shrugged. “I like to think I rescued it.”

  “They’re going to come after us. You know that, right?”

  I nodded and patted the egg. “I have no doubt whatsoever. Let’s see if we can get back to Chip and Alex first, though. They shouldn’t be able to catch us.”

  The herd had been stopped, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t get the bikes. We had to hope they couldn’t.

  “The bikes?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Like your Hog.”

  I let out a sigh. “Good.”

  We had more than a chance then. They wouldn’t catch up.

  The egg rattled, and I could feel the creature moving inside. Every instinct running through my body wanted me to protect him, nurture him, love him—and I would.

  Chapter 10

  I drove for as long as I could and let the chattering and whispering from the kids settle my nerves. Candice handed me some potions after she saw me wince. She offered to take the egg from my lap. It did kind of get in the way, but I wasn’t letting this out of my sight for anything—or out of my grasp.

  We met with Chip and Alex, and they rode ahead. I could see Alex glancing back now and then, and eventually, we stopped so he could get back in with me. We couldn’t talk much with the kids in the back, though. In the end, I noticed they were all asleep. I sighed. Josh was manning our guns again, and I took solace in that fact someone other than me was alert and watching. The riders in front and back stuck to us like glue. It felt like we were a real team, and I liked this. As much as I had loved working alone up to now, this was good, too.

  Routing through my mental voices, I found the one I needed. Riezella.

  Dalfol’s told me all he can. We’re going to meet you at the edge of the village.

  If you’re seen, there will be more than talk, I replied, but it was already too late.

  Yes, it is. It’s time your friends understood. There’s also a marching army gathering at the edge of the plains. We’ve too much to deal with already with the shortage of food without trying to keep them at bay.

  You’re allowing them through.

  It’s not that we have a choice, Maddie. I don’t think you realise how weak we are.

  I did. I could sense it within her.

  How many are left?

  There are less than a hundred of us, but there are three hundred eggs.

  If we had only gotten the cattle! If there hadn’t been some horrible science experiment. Ugh! I slammed my fist on the side of the door and woke the passengers. “Sorry,” I muttered.

  “How much further are we from the village?” Alex asked.

  “About thirty minutes,” I said. “Not long.”

  “Want me to drive?” Alex placed a hand on my arm.

  So I could do what? Cuddle the damned egg till it hatched? I thought moving it again wouldn’t be a good idea. The fact was since I’d grabbed it, the egg had gone quiet, very quiet.

  “I just need to get us there,” I said. Looking down so he could see I was talking about the egg. “He’s too quiet. I think something is wrong.”

  Alex placed a hand on the egg, and instantly, there was life. The egg moved, cracked. I almost swerved as I wanted to jerk the wheel, but managed not to.

  “I guess he likes you.” I smiled, but the nerves inside me were worrying. Then I noticed Alex’s health bar was back up.

  ALEX DUBOIS – 80%

  “You feeling all right?” I watched his reactions.

  “Yeah, why?”

  If I voiced my concerns, would it give them more tangibility?

  “Let’s get to the village. You guys can rest properly, and we’ll call a meeting first thing.”

  No sooner had the vehicles approached the town could we see something was going down. Alex shouted up to Josh, “What do you see?”

  Josh poked his head back in the cab. “A lot of movement. I think one of the teams is back early with their cattle.”

  Waves of relief washed over me. It wasn’t some kind of attack then.

  It was a mad dash of people running about everywhere, though.

  I pulled the Hog to a stop at the outskirts, and Dresel ran straight for us. I managed to slide out from under the egg and give Alex a knowing nod. He covered it up.

  “What’s been going on?” he asked, his face white.

  “Why?”

  “There’s Tromoal sitting outside our ground lines. . . no one dared approach them. The cattle are terrified.”

  I felt sorry for them. Yeah, brought to slaughter. Not nice. I motioned to Josh, who hopped down from the back of the Hog, and I started to shout, “They are here just to talk. Please get the cattle to their fields. Get them some Dros Grass. It will calm them down. Then get everyone else moved inside. This is not the time to do anything but listen and keep calm.”

  There were a few grumbles, and I noticed Abel rallying them all, his large frame standing out amongst most people. I grinned when I saw one of the only other Runners I fully trusted. Sarah.

  “Dres, let me deal with the Tromoal. Get the kids somewhere safe for me.”

  He looked to the back of the Hog and then nodded. But he didn’t move. “You’ll let me know what’s going on fully after, right?”

  I didn’t answer, just waited while the kids hopped out and followed him into the village.

  Alex turned to me. “We taking the egg with us?”

  I nodded and moved to take hold of it. That’s when I heard the little voice once more.

  Are we done bouncing about now?

  I smiled inwardly. Do you not like being moved?

  No, came the reply. I’m tired and cramped and want to get out. Can you take me somewhere safe while I negotiate getting outside of this egg some more?

  Gently picking up the egg, covered in a blanket, I motioned to Alex. “I need to take him to my home, somewhere I think is safe for him to hatch. Will you stay with him?”

  Alex nodded but moved to my side. “I’ll take him. You go talk to the Matriarch first.”

  I didn’t want to let the egg go, but I added, “Don’t let anyone near you, at all, hear me?”

  I could hear Riezella and some of the others, and their bellows and pawing at the ground weren’t doing the village any favours.

  I walked out, stretching my hip as I did so, the muscles and sinews around my lower leg were twisted, bent and ached. Hurt much more than I wanted them to, and I wished I’d managed to save Alex and keep my healed body.

  Riezella and her flanking guards, Dalfol and his sister, were bickering amongst themselves as per usual. I instantly smiled as I walked on over, their sheer size able to crush me in an instant. I put a hand on my hip and shouted at them, “Going to keep on screaming at each other or are we going to talk?”

  Riezella’s beautiful eyes turne
d my way, and her body quivered. Maddie, I am glad you’re here. The stunning creature moved to my side, but her eyes didn’t waver. They dimmed, and I followed the haze as her humanised body formed. Slim, flowing white dress, and red hair. Beautiful.

  “It is good to see you again,” she said. “I’m hoping you might take me to see the egg.”

  She had probably seen my exchange with Alex. “He’s not going to be an egg for much longer. I think within the hour, he’ll have hatched.”

  “He?” She looked puzzled, but she moved me to one side, and a hazy blue shield grew around us. I reached out to touch it, but she didn’t falter the power to it.

  “Maddie, I do not know who you found or how long he’s been inside the egg. There could be dire retributions if we do not find out.”

  “I was right to think he was from a rival clan?”

  “Maybe he is, but there’s been no chatter amongst the world to say an egg was stolen for many years. I don’t know where or when he’s come from.”

  Was he really the missing egg from a thousand years ago? “I can take you to him like this,” I indicated her body, “but I won’t allow the others to come. Is that okay?”

  She nodded. “They would not leave my body unguarded anyway. They must protect me while I project outwards. I accept this condition. Please, let us go and find out this mystery.”

  Riezella walked by my side as she observed the movement around the village. “They’ve done well to get so much of the herds down from neighbouring towns and cities. That will help alleviate the problem, but I must warn you that I am going to send Dalfol and his sister back in the next day before she’s ready to lay. She can absorb the young on her flight back. She will not be too weak then. She’s past her time here.

  I stopped walking. “But doesn’t that mean. . .”

  “No, it doesn’t mean that her young will die. It just means it wasn’t their time just yet, as it wasn’t for some of the others. They will get a chance, thanks to my decision to send them home and your help in securing us enough food for these eggs.”

  “The eggs. What about you?”

  “I will not survive this transition, Maddie.”