She figured they’d make it in five. Zeeka could be there already if she wanted. The Hawkoid rose above the sea breeze and raced far ahead to make sure the way was clear. It wouldn’t do to run headfirst into an ambush.
It wouldn’t do at all.
Arnie started to slow. Zeller, Tom, and Neeson appreciated the break. The seat was padded but after the bouncing of the previous two days, it wasn’t padded enough.
Neeson yowled constantly. Through the mindlink, he maintained a steady stream of profanity that Tom never knew the ‘cat commanded. Neeson had been easygoing until combining the unknown of going to space with one of the roughest rides they’d ever taken.
There was no western road. Theirs would be the first wagon tracks of the modern era.
Arnie continued to slow as the herd raced further ahead.
“Take good care of them, Bronwyn,” Zeller said aloud, knowing that the young woman would hear through her ever-present mindlink.
‘Always,’ Bronwyn replied.
Neeson stopped yowling.
“Are you okay back there?” Tom asked, trying to get a look at the ‘cat.
‘Finally,’ he said in his normal thought voice, without a trace of agitation. ‘I think we don’t have to go wherever they are trying to send us. I’ll be fine if I stretch a little and work at running. We can go back now.’
“We’re not going back. This will be good for all three of us. We’ll get the chance to go someplace where very few have gone before to do something that no one has done.”
‘That sounds like the perfect reason not to do it!’ the ‘cat retorted.
“Imagine the time when you’ll be able to hunt again, when you’ll be able to do what ‘cats do. I need you to say ‘yes.’ I need you to want to get better. That croc didn’t do you any favors, and you shouldn’t have to be punished for it for the rest of your life.”
Neeson didn’t reply. He curled up in the back of the wagon, on top of huge sacks of flour.
“Go ahead and sleep. We’ll be there soon enough, and you’ll need your strength.”
***
Braden carried a bundle of edible greens in his arms while Cygnus had two hands full of things that looked like turnips. The Rabbits would have been able to tell them if they were worth keeping or not. The group had little choice so Braden told Cygnus to bring them along.
As they were walking downhill to their camp, Braden saw something that looked familiar, yet strange. He took one more step and the vine laying innocently across his path started to worm its way toward him. “Look out! A mutie tree!”
Braden threw the bundle to the ground as he pulled his sharpened blade, two hand-spans of Old Tech steel. He waited until the vine got close then hacked through it. Cygnus backed up. Braden hacked his way up that vine, found the rest of it, and went on a tirade. He chopped and beat the vines and the tree it was attached to until nothing moved.
‘You could have used your blaster,’ G-War offered.
Aadi floated serenely, patiently waiting for the group’s return with dinner. His head was raised as he watched Braden’s antics.
‘Anything I can help with?’ he asked.
‘I think we’re good,’ Braden answered as he tried to calm his breathing. “Come here, Cygnus.”
The Wolfoid walked close, shying away from the chopped vines. “Is it wrong to kill the mutant vine creature?”
‘What?’ Cygnus looked from Braden to the vines. He didn’t understand. ‘I guess not.’
“Why?”
‘They’re bad?’
“They attacked first and would kill us without hesitation. They can’t be reasoned with; they can’t be soothed. As long as they stay away from us, I’ll leave them be. When they start coming toward us, that’s it.” Braden sheathed his blade, then pulled it from his belt.
He handed it to Cygnus. The Wolfoid looked at it without freeing a hand to take it. He continued to hold the root vegetables in his small hands.
“Here,” Braden insisted.
The Wolfoid shook his head.
“Next time, I may not see them and I will need you to have my back. I have a knife and my blasters. I am not unarmed. But you are, or should I say, you were. We’ll have a lightning spear for you soon enough. Until then, take my long blade.” With the sheathed blade extended, Braden stood and waited.
‘Take it,’ Bounder said into their minds.
‘Before we grow old,’ G-War added. Skirill and Zyena swooped low on their way down the hill, gliding until they backwinged to a landing on a branch above Forest.
Cygnus reluctantly took the blade, balancing it across his forearms as he refused to relinquish his vegetables. Braden’s look suggested he needed to say something.
‘I worked hard for these! I’m not just going to throw them on the ground.’ Cygnus looked purposefully at the greens that lay unloved where Braden had tossed them.
“Damn,” Braden replied, digging through the pile to rescue most of his haul. With one last look at the dead mutie vines, he turned and walked away.
Cygnus shrugged but didn’t immediately follow. Normal but in a different way. A new normal. The Wolfoid watched Braden’s light step as he walked toward the camp. It was as if a heavy burden had been removed from the human’s shoulders. Cygnus felt lighter, too.
He couldn’t wait to add the long knife to his harness, practice and use it to defend himself from the likes of the raiders. They wouldn’t have a chance next time.
If there was a next time. They’d be back on the trail in the morning. Success would mean twenty-five Wolfoid spears in the group’s possession. Whether they left any raiders standing or not was yet to be determined.
Cygnus hurried after Braden. He felt like eating cooked venison and talking. He knew Bounder and G-War were bringing a deer in. He’d heard the ‘cat’s scream. They all had.
Not the raiders. They were too far away. Tomorrow, they’d start to close that gap. Cygnus wanted the chance to make up for how weak they’d made him feel. But now he had something he could hold onto and proudly face his enemies.
Cold steel.
Tomorrow
“Take us in, Holly,” Micah said. She found herself again in the captain’s chair, on the bridge, alone with a great view and her thoughts.
“Of course. Will we have visitors again?”
“I hope not.” The horizon shifted as Holly turned the ship toward the harbor. The coastline came into view before the odd bow of the exploration vessel. “How long to docking?”
“No longer than an hour,” Holly replied.
“Thanks, Holly. You’re the best!” Micah jumped up and headed down the stairs. There was enough time for her to take a swim in the well deck. The twins were already there, playing with the Dolphins.
Micah remained inside when she reached the main deck, stripped to her underwear, and shrugged. Good enough. The scientists would stay below and the only other humans were her children.
The ‘cats were on the garden deck wreaking havoc in the Rabbits’ orderly lives. Micah was a master at ignoring the sounds of chaos. She smiled and strode boldly into the sunlight. Two steps into the open air, two waves of warm water slammed into her.
“I’m gonna get you!” She ran and dove into the water as the Dolphins sped away with tiny humans hanging on for a wild ride.
***
“I don’t know if you can make it,” Braden told the King of the Aurochs. The trail led along a rocky edge, barely wide enough for a man to pass, before it descended toward a grassy green valley beyond. Brandt’s nostrils flared as he drew in a deep breath.
‘I can smell it. Heaven is right over there.’ Brandt closed his eyes and reveled in the aroma.
“But you can’t get through,” Braden replied.
‘Leave that to me,’ Brandt’s thought voice boomed. Braden looked at the drop-off. Steep. Rocky. Certain death.
“I don’t think it’s a risk worth taking,” Braden argued.
‘How far away are the men?’
Aadi floated over the canyon and slowly swam around the corner. The Wolfoids had gone ahead and were already heading downhill to green plains that extended to the horizon. Skirill and Zyena were flying south, staying close to the western mountains as they looked for where the men might be headed.
Braden pulled up the window powered by his neural implant. “Far to the south. They continue to move, but they are slowing according to Holly,” Braden reported.
‘Go ahead. I’ll meet you on the other side.’
Braden pinched his eyes shut, the vision of the king’s broken body at the bottom of the gorge seared into his mind. He choked up. When he opened his eyes, he couldn’t keep a tear from escaping. He rubbed Brandt’s nose one last time and turned away.
‘Go on ahead, little man.’
G-War ran down the Aurochs’ face and jumped past Braden. He trotted ahead, seemingly without a care in the world.
Braden followed him along the trail and around the corner until the King was lost from sight. He blinked away more tears as the ‘cat ran ahead to the first level spot. G-War stopped and sat.
“What are you doing?”
‘Waiting for my ride,’ G-War said matter-of-factly.
“Why aren’t you worried?”
The ‘cat didn’t answer. The sound of rocks falling and an Aurochs snorting made Braden’s breath catch in his throat. He looked over his shoulder, slowly, because he didn’t want to see his friend’s death.
Brandt Earthshaker, King of the Aurochs, stood on two legs, rocking precariously over the edge. His right legs were in the air, on the side of the cliff above the trail. He hopped forward a hand-span at a time.
“I didn’t know he could bend like that,” Braden mused.
The full weight of the massive creature, balanced on two hooves. Above the trail, there was a ledge. Too high for Braden to reach, the King kept his right legs on it, helping him balance as he crept forward.
“I have never seen anything like that.” Braden held his breath as Brandt worked his way around the corner and into an area where he could stand normally. He limped down the hill. G-War ran straight for him, leapt, landing above his nose, and continued to the top of his head.
“A little respect, G! Can’t you see he’s limping?”
‘Legs aren’t meant to go that way. They’ll recover,’ Brandt replied. ‘Climb aboard. We’ve got some raiders to run down.’ The King jogged down the hill, flexing his shoulders while he ran.
While Braden climbed from the King’s leg to his back, G-War stuck his tongue out. ‘I told you so. You worry when you shouldn’t and don’t when you should. It’s exhausting.’ The Golden Warrior yawned in Braden’s face.
Braden recoiled. “What did you eat?”
‘The choice bits, as you call them. I guess I call them that, too. They are the best part of the deer. Then you had to spoil the rest of it by cooking it.’
Brandt picked up speed as he headed downhill, his nostrils flaring the closer he got to the flowing green grasses.
The Wolfoids pulled up and waited. Both the pups clutched their ribs as they stood.
“Wait!” Braden called, tapping the King on the head to stop and let him down. “This looks like the grass in Toromont’s Run.”
Brandt’s mouth fell open and he drooled, creating a stalactite hanging from his chin. Braden pulled a blade and put it in his mouth. Sweet. He held it against his tongue until it started to go numb. He spit it out and kept spitting.
“No go, my friend. It’s bad weed.”
‘NO!’ the king roared.
Braden slapped his hands over his ears, but the sound was directly in his brain. Even G-War winced, before retaliating with a claw jabbed into the top of Brandt’s head.
“Climb on. We need to get going because the raiders get farther from us with each heartbeat that we waste.” Braden gently slapped the King’s neck. “Now let’s go!”
The Wolfoid pups climbed onto Brandt’s back. Bounder handed his spear to them. ‘I need to stretch my legs,’ he told them. The two pups held the spear as Aadi swam up behind them and grabbed onto the end with his beak-like mouth.
‘Please do not kill me, King Brandt,’ Aadi said, trying to sound encouraging.
‘Ha!’ The King looked at the grass, so enticing, but poison.
Braden resumed his position across the Aurochs’ neck. He wedged his pack underneath himself to avoid getting his tailbone beaten by Brandt’s spine. The Wolfoids grabbed onto Braden’s waist, and the King started to run.
Bounder kept up by running to the side where there was less grass. He ran on all fours, his back legs and forelegs pounding an even rhythm, working in unison to propel the Wolfoid forward. His tongue flapped out of his muzzle, cooling his body as he drove it to its limits.
And they continued to run. Braden checked in with Holly. The raiders had stopped moving and Brandt was closing. He would catch them well before the day was out.
“A village!” Braden shouted to be heard. “They’ve stopped at a village.”
Which meant there would probably be families, and that made their mission of recovering the spears orders of magnitude more complex.
‘I know, Master Braden.’ Aadi bounced off the King’s back with every other step, but he kept his grip on the spear, not letting his physical trials interfere with his calm thought voice. ‘We will figure it out when we get close. Our friends above will show us what we need to see.’
‘Ess? How are you two doing up there?’ Braden asked.
‘It is a beautiful world we live in.’ The Hawkoid shared his view with the others. The green plain extended for as far as the eye could see. The mountains majestically overlooked the plains.
‘Can you see a village to the south?’
‘No,’ Skirill replied. ‘Not yet, anyway. I will let you know when we get there.’
The two Hawkoids stopped gliding and started beating their wings to pick up speed on a straight line to the south. They shrunk to dots in the sky and then disappeared entirely.
Brandt continued to run until he stopped to let Bounder climb aboard. The Wolfoid was spent. The King of the Aurochs started running again, slower this time.
He looked longingly at the grass, his stomach protesting its emptiness.
***
Arnie ran free along the ancients’ road. They’d be turning toward New Sanctuary soon because they were getting close.
Even though the road was smooth, Neeson started to yowl. Low in his throat, keening his anxiety.
Young Tom crawled into the back of the wagon and curled up with the ‘cat. The yowling got louder, before fading to something that sounded like a purr. Zeller had not intended to go to the spaceship, but decided at that moment that she would.
Her partner needed her.
Arnie needed her, too, but according to Brandt, New Sanctuary was rife with good eats, even if an Aurochs had to battle a Security Bot every now and then.
Whatever any of that means, Zeller thought.
Arnie turned off the road and aimed toward the oasis in the distance.
New Sanctuary.
***
The Warden lightly bumped the dock. The old man sat on the end, fishing as if he’d not moved in the days that they’d been at sea.
Hope and Chester were waiting on the deck, carrying a small basket. Micah waved them aboard.
“We saw the Warden on the horizon and knew you were returning. We wanted to give you a fresh breakfast.”
Micah didn’t have the heart to tell them that they’d already eaten. The twins shrugged. They could always eat. Second breakfast was sounding good.
“Come on up. I hear there are empty seats on the mess deck.” Strider looked at Micah sideways, not understanding.
‘There is no one on the mess deck,’ the Wolfoid suggested.
‘Exactly! Plenty of seats available.’
Strider chuckled to herself as she followed the humans up the stairs. The pups remained on the deck.
The
‘cats stayed close. Klytus and Shauna were on probation. Fea had caught them one too many times, so they had to stay close to her. Even though they were adults, their mindlink with the children tended to give them childlike tendencies. Fea referred to them as kittens based on how she insisted they were acting. Time to grow up since we’re fighting a war.
Hope and Chester had no information from the town’s leaders. They didn’t move in those circles. They were fishermen and craftsmen, like most of the people from Southport.
They rotated through who did the fishing while the others worked on their separate craft, whether it was woodworking, tanning, baking, or a myriad of other tasks that helped to support the town and its people.
They’d gotten the rolls from the baker and smoked fish from a neighbor. The ‘cats sniffed at the smoked fish before turning up their noses and walking away.
Micah politely tried the fish and was pleasantly surprised by the taste.
“This is so good!” she exclaimed to her beaming guests. The twins split a sweet roll between them. Micah ate one by herself, afterwards feeling like her stomach was going to explode the button from her pants. Strider tried the smoked fish and after the others had taken what they wanted, inhaled the rest.
“Thank you for letting us back on board,” Hope said hesitantly. She looked down while Chester rubbed her back.
“And?” Micah prodded.
“And we’d like to be your crew!” Hope blurted.
“Let me think about that. This ship operates well without a crew,” Micah replied, dashing their dreams. Their shoulders slumped as they hunched over, elbows on their knees.
“Let me talk about it with the others, and we’ll see.”
They perked up, a twinkle of promise in Micah’s eye was all they needed to recover their earlier joy.
“Treetis, stay here and protect the ship. When we return, I expect we’ll be taking the fight to Dunk’s Town. We’ll need you,” Micah said.
Treetis stood tall, stretching his back into the air. ‘I can’t wait.’
“We need to go ashore so I can talk with Gailey and the others.” Micah rose and the others rose with her. Together, they strolled off the ship, acting like they weren’t in a hurry, because Micah was trying to exude confidence when all she wanted was to join Braden to recover the spears.
Southern Discontent (Free Trader Series Book 7) Page 8
