by Jason Letts
The liquid swished around and became still, catching Nemi’s attention and enticing him to scuttle over on hands and feet to take a closer look. Sierra was a short distance away under a tarp Razi and her raiders had set up. They were all lounging late in the cycle after another difficult day of little progress. Sierra could tell the raiders were annoyed by their new companion, who needed constant attention even after cycles of close care. Tommack was a drain on their limited resources, and he snored like he was about to choke on his own tongue. But Sierra didn’t care.
Tommack tapped on the bottle to make the surface of the water ripple. Nemi’s claw touched the thick glass and reached for the top. Sniffing everywhere, he put pressure on the hand to pull himself up and nearly spilled the contents of the bottle all over himself. Sierra watched from a distance, thinking it was cute that they were playing together. Nemi crawled onto Tommack’s leg to position himself near the top of the bottle.
Nemi first stuck a hand into the bottle, but his arm was just a bit too short to reach the liquid. His head went in next, and Tommack shifted his leg in an attempt to knock the dragon in, but Nemi caught the sides and pulled himself out in time. A low shriek rumbled through his throat, he took a careful gaze at Tommack, and he flew back to Sierra’s side.
“Not thirsty, I guess,” Tommack said, offering a pained smile.
“He doesn’t drink much,” Sierra said.
It was nice to have someone to talk to, especially after so long having conversations with the raiders composed only of gestures. Tommack’s voice had a husky quality to it that was hard to miss, and he seemed very comfortable outdoors, even in his injured state. The man had cuts along his side and bruises in places, but mostly it seemed like the storm had gotten the best of him. Sierra couldn’t blame him for taking a long time to recover. Hinkalo’s arm might never be the same after that long gash.
“Are you feeling better?” Sierra asked. Tommack shifted onto the other hip and sucked his teeth.
“I think I’ll make it,” he said. “You really worked wonders on me.”
“Oh, stop. I barely did anything,” she said, suppressing a smile and thinking about how much time she’d spent helping him hobble along and get comfortable.
Some chatter passed between Razi and the other guys, who shot her looks and started to chuckle. Suddenly self-conscious, Sierra sat back against the tarp pole and tried to appear less interested. When she glanced over at the others, she saw Maglum lean over and blow his nose on Razi’s sleeve. She swatted the side of his head and knocked him flat on his back.
“So are you ready to tell us what you’re doing out here in the middle of nowhere?” she asked. Tommack shrugged and scratched the stubble under his chin.
“Not too much to tell, really. I was teaching at Kodomoran University south of the Seasand Desert when a group of us got together and decided to go on a cartography mission along the ice shelf on the north end of Plagrass. The ship had engine troubles and we were forced to land and disembark. Not all of us made it through the brutal cold, but when we were attacked by a hammer-claw saurus in the middle of the night, I was the only one able to make it out alive. I’d been wandering east, hoping to make it to Iron City, when that storm came up out of nowhere and nearly caused me to drown. I’m awful glad you four found me though; otherwise I’d probably be dinner for one of the tribes around here by now.”
“Yeah, that’s not much of a story at all.” Sierra laughed, thinking about how her journey seemed like a stroll in the park compared to his. “But where did you get those overalls? You don’t look much like a professor.”
“Oh, these? I hate to admit it, but it was still frosty when we lost one of the ship hands, a mechanic, and I wasn’t above lifting his clothes. It was a sorry state we were in, and he certainly wasn’t going to get any more use out of them.”
Sierra nodded and petted Nemi, who settled in her lap. The raiders were settling down to sleep, trying their best to keep the blinding light of day out. There hadn’t been any signs of life around all cycle, and the group hoped they’d be able to catch up on sleep and continue on without any trouble.
“Are you going to be all right sleeping there or do you want to come under the tarp?”
“Under the tarp would be better,” Tommack said, and Sierra dutifully helped him get to his feet and move over. He hobbled less gingerly on his ankle than he had before. With any luck they’d be moving at full speed once they awoke.
Packing up and starting off at the beginning of the next cycle went smoother than expected, and Tommack needed only a walking stick to keep up with the rest of them. But it turned out that a sprained ankle wasn’t the only issue that would hold them back.
“Wait, we’re not moving west, are we?” Tommack asked, stopping in his tracks along a bare patch of land that seemed to be directly under the unyielding sun.
“Yeah, do you think I can have a sip of your water?” Sierra asked, not wanting to burden Razi any more with her frequent requests.
“But there’s nothing to the west other than miles and miles of rocky wasteland, canyons, and cliffs!”
“We’ll be just fine. I don’t think we have much farther to go.” Sierra reached for the pocket with his water but was brushed away.
“If we keep going this way, we’ll all die out here!” he said, his face becoming flushed. The noise got the attention of the raiders, who turned to watch, hands on their hips in annoyance.
“What was that for?” Sierra asked. Her temper was already rising, and the smack on the wrist didn’t help.
“You can’t have any of it,” he said.
“Why not? We saved your life and you can’t even give me a quick drink?” Sierra asked. Maybe she’d been wrong about this stranger. The wounded, sensitive man she’d seen was turning out to be an illusion. The only question was who was actually standing here next to her, staring her down.
“You can’t have it because it’s not water,” Tommack replied. “It’s alcohol for wounds.”
“That would’ve been really nice to know when we were treating your wounds. Why didn’t you tell us? Maybe Hinkalo could use it for his arm.”
“No, you can’t use it. It’s for emergencies only,” Tommack insisted. Sierra rubbed her brow, beside herself over the situation.
“Do you see where we are? I don’t know what things are like at Kodomoran University, but right now we don’t have the luxury of keeping stuff to ourselves,” she said, turning away in a huff and starting for the raiders. Razi had some sand in her hand that she let slip to the ground, eliciting a whisper from Sierra. “No, I don’t have a sandy vagina.”
Sierra found it embarrassing to be fighting with him in front of Razi and the others, but Tommack wouldn’t let up.
“I think you’re the one who doesn’t see where we are,” he snapped back. “Finding water and food for five people out here on a constant basis is going to be impossible. You’re marching to your death.”
“I think we’re almost there,” Sierra said, pulling the map out of her pocket and quickly glancing at it before putting it away.
“Almost where? There’s nothing out here!”
“Almost to Nemi’s home,” Sierra said, looking back and finding Tommack momentarily stunned. If Sierra had to guess, she would’ve said he looked like he was afraid of something. But the look passed and he came up to her with a new sternness on his face that made it clear he wasn’t going to be cooperative.
“That’s what you came all the way out here to do, find the dragon’s home? That’s craziness. How do you even know it’s out here?” Tommack said, raving.
“Nemi told me, and I made a promise to bring him here.”
“I hate to break it to you, but Nemi can’t talk and there’s nothing living out here for miles. No sauruses, no sunbirds, no lopers, and most of all no dragons.”
“And how would you know what’s out here and what’s not? Just because you came down from the ice shelf doesn’t mean you have any idea what’s out he
re in the wastes,” Sierra said.
“I’ve got a feel for the place, and I can tell you that there’s not a living thing anywhere in Plagrass that can’t find a way to kill you if you give it the chance, and wandering into some dragon hive has got to be a sure sign of having a death wish.”
Nemi was on Sierra’s shoulder, and together they glared at Tommack. Not only had Nemi never done anything to harm Sierra, he’d never done anything to Tommack either. Sierra had no clue why he was bent out of shape about it, but it was clear he wouldn’t budge.
“If that’s how you feel about it, you don’t have to come with us. Goodbye,” she said, turning away.
“No, we’re going back this way,” he insisted, forcing Sierra to turn again.
“You do not get to tell me what to do. Razi, Maglum, Hinkalo, and I are going to search for the dragons. You can go and do whatever the liquid hell you please,” she said. Something in the way she said it must’ve gotten through to him, because his expression softened.
“OK, I’m sorry about that, but you can’t leave me out here. We have a better chance of making it if we’re together,” he said.
Sierra pursed her lips. Suddenly managing to find food and water for five people must not have seemed that difficult if he wanted to stick around.
“Look, I don’t care what you do, but if you stay with us you have to accept that this is where we’re going and nothing will change that. So there’s no room for argument. You’re either with me or against me.”
“Well, I’d rather be against you,” he said, glancing at her from head to toe.
Grumbling, Sierra left him and caught up to the raiders, who were eager to resume the journey. The sounds of Tommack dragging his feet as he followed them stung her ears.
“I’m sorry about that,” she said to Razi. “The guy needs to get his head screwed on right.”
Razi, who’d unlaced her leather vest in an attempt to cool off, put her arm around Sierra and pulled her in for a hug. The large woman did have a motherly side to her.
The group continued on for another cycle, winding through treacherous outcroppings in the rock. The views were brilliant, but the fall would be deadly. It took them a considerable amount of time to follow the ledge around the middle of a cliff face that slowly declined into a deep canyon with arms stretching out in every direction, creating a number of striking plateaus.
As they progressed, Sierra made a couple notable observations. She was filled with the hope that they were getting close when Nemi began to roam farther ahead of them, taking to the air and scouting around. The walk had been so long, and she had a feeling Nemi’s curiosity meant it was almost over.
But she also noticed something unique about Tommack, who’d turned silent for a time after their heated discussion. He looked at the landscape with reverence, which wasn’t unusual, but the way he let his fingers touch the rocks as they passed made it seem like it wasn’t about feeling so much as listening. Tommack’s appreciation of Iyne was certainly an admirable quality, but it was far from the only aspect of himself he displayed.
“I think it’s got to be on the other side of the canyon,” Sierra suggested, map in hand. “If we keep going we might get there before nightfall.”
“What makes you think we’re close?” Tommack asked, plucking the map out of her hands.
“Granted, there aren’t a ton of geological features provided on this map, but the spot Nemi keeps going to is on the west end beyond these two loops, which I think are some of these plateaus overhead. It’s hard to gauge the distance, but we’ve got to be getting close,” she explained.
“I don’t know. There’s this here that looks like it’ll be blocking our path,” Tommack said. Sierra looked over at a line running straight down the map. She looked at Tommack, puzzled.
“I’m pretty sure that’s the latitude.”
“Oh, right,” Tommack said quickly, but it still struck Sierra as odd.
“I thought you said you worked as a cartographer. How couldn’t you know what the latitude was?” she asked, but Tommack laughed it off.
“This map is so old, and we do things much differently now. If someone who really knew about maps looked at this one, they’d think the thing was so old that the entire composition of the landmasses would be suspect.”
“Right,” Sierra said, taking the map back and folding it into her pocket. It seemed inexplicable that he would misread the map, calling into question everything he’d told her about himself. She spent the remainder of the cycle’s walk straining over it until they camped at the base of a towering cliff.
“I feel like I need a drink. Can I have a sip of your grain alcohol?” she asked him. Tommack immediately furrowed his brow.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t have any of it. It’s not grain alcohol, and it’s not for drinking,” he said.
“But you said it was alcohol.”
“Yes, I did.”
“But what kind of alcohol isn’t for drinking?” Sierra crossed her arms and shut her mouth before another embarrassing outburst would erupt. Nothing came to mind, and she was about to add the interaction to the list of grievances she had about him when he set his hand on her shoulder in a gentle way that made her think of her father. She turned to Tommack, who wore a contrite expression.
“Sierra, I know I’m not always an easy person to be around, and you didn’t exactly ask for me to be here, but I want you to know that you’ve got guts for coming out here like this. It’s earned my respect and that’s worth sticking around for. ’Course, it doesn’t hurt that you’re prettier than a magma flower.”
Pursing her lips, Sierra tried and failed to block out the kind sentiment. It almost made her overlook how little he sounded like a professor from a big university when he spoke from the heart.
“What’s a magma flower anyway?” she asked, not wanting the silence to drag on too long. From inside his overalls, Tommack produced something curious and intricate, a flower of volcanic stone that was mostly black with veins of red seeping through as if lava still burned inside. It was impossible not to gasp. The magma flower was nothing short of a natural wonder.
“You can have it,” he said, handing it over so she could feel the rough, stiff stem in her hands. She looked up at him and saw something akin to desire in his eyes.
“No, I can’t,” she said, pushing it back into his unwilling hands. The flower came with a price tag, and as beautiful as it was she wasn’t ready to pay. The wanting in his eyes never went away, even as they went to sleep under their tarp. Furthering her discomfort, Razi and the others seemed confused when she kept her distance from him, but they didn’t know that simple attraction was not enough for her. She still had her doubts about his story.
The next cycle brought them farther along the mammoth canyon, and in just a few hours they noticed an awful stench in the air that was enough to make them gag and retch.
“What died out here?” Sierra gasped. She felt on the verge of vomiting. Nemi didn’t smell like this, so it couldn’t be other dragons, could it?
As Sierra continued on, covering her mouth with her shirt and staring at the ground, she noticed tiny flecks of steel and glass strewn about. It was strange, because she hadn’t seen a hint of either since leaving behind the hill tribe. She dragged her foot over one and discovered it was part of a larger chunk buried in the ground.
The smell increased as they made it to the base of a cliff on the opposite side of the canyon. No doubt something rotting was around in the jagged rocks forming the canyon’s bed, but they couldn’t see it. Maglum roamed on ahead, and after a few more steps he pointed to an area of the rocks and shouted at the rest of the group. When Sierra came around, she nearly vomited when she saw the head of the corpse, which had been picked at by something until it was barely recognizable.
“We’d better not go near it,” Tommack said. “Let’s go around this way. There’s no telling what diseases it might have picked up.”
But Maglum and Razi didn’t get
the message, choosing instead to get closer and check it out. Sierra knew they needed to search it for anything valuable, but she was supremely glad she wasn’t the one who needed to do it. When the two raiders climbed onto a rock to get a full view of the body, something startled them and they quickly turned their heads back.
“Sirra!” Razi waved her over. So much for keeping the corpse at a distance.
“Don’t go!” Tommack urged her, but if Razi needed her to be there, she wouldn’t fail them. Despite the rancid smell, she approached the rocky nest supporting the cadaver, getting a hand from Razi who nearly lifted her out of her shoes. One look at the body made it instantly clear why they wanted her to see it. She gasped in all that noxious air when she realized the corpse was wearing the exact same overalls—in the exact same color—that Tommack wore.
What was more, from up on the rocks Sierra could see a huge contraption that had smashed and been blown apart a little farther down the canyon. Both the man and the device appeared to have fallen from the top of the cliff. The shattered device accounted for the smooth metal specks and shards everywhere, but not the rough, duller bits of ore sticking out of the ground.
“Sierra, I can explain,” Tommack said from below.
“Quiet.”
Sierra hopped from rock to rock closer to the device, which seemed like it had originally been round or dome-shaped. Some of the bits were from an antenna, and Sierra started to put together an idea that something unconfined to Plagrass and the hill tribes had happened here, and Tommack was involved. The device, baking in the sun, didn’t have much on it in terms of markings, but Sierra found some wires leading to remnants of a control box. When she found the front paneling, she noticed some writing in Cumerian, along with the name of one of the companies she loathed most in all of Iyne: Bolt & Keize.
She turned back to the others, and particularly to Tommack, who was still at the bottom of the rock heap. His head listed to the side as if he’d already been slapped. He knew what was coming.
“You work for Bolt & Keize?” she asked, accusing and indignant as she hopped down.
