“Not one I have ever seen,” Tuko commented. “Right now, we need to get out of this town and away from all of this.” He gunned the engine, but as we approached, we noticed one car appeared to be stuck.
“Don’t get too close,” the driver warned. Whatever had eaten through the wall had pooled at the bottom. The right side of the car and tires looked like it had been eaten away. It wasn’t going anywhere.
“They’re closing the gate!” Tuko pointed. I wasn’t sure if they were trying to keep the dinosaur in or whatever had disintegrated the wood out. They were moving some barricades nearby to reinforce the wall. “We need to get through, or we’ll be stuck in town. Another clan will come looking for Pene as their reward.” I nodded and looked back at the dinosaur. One eye was burned from the flames, but the monster was no longer focused on itself. Its one good eye was locked on us.
“Get through the wall now!” I commanded and pointed back to dinosaur. Tuko looked back and needed no further motivation. We gunned toward the opening, but others on the gate saw what was coming and abandoned trying to close the door. Once we drove through, the dinosaur would just follow us. And it was faster. We needed a new plan.
“Stop the car!” I yelled.
“Are you trying to get us killed?” Tuko answered.
“No — we can’t outrun it, but we could lead it into that.” I pointed to the large pool at the far side of the wall. The car wheels were literally melting inside it. Jinn nodded, and Tuko drove to the far side of it. I jumped out of the car.
“How do you know it won’t just walk over the lagoon and bite you in half?” Jinn asked.
“I don’t.” I looked at Tuko. “Drive on past the wall. I’ll meet you there afterward.”
“No way. You can’t face that alone!” Jinn cried.
“Don’t argue with me! I’ve put you both in enough danger.” The ground rumbled as the dinosaur bounded on all fours toward us.
“Come on!” Tuko ordered Jinn. I didn’t know whether to be glad he listened or to be offended by his eagerness to leave. None of it mattered. I stood well back from the chemical pool, which reeked of rotten flesh. But the dinosaur was racing toward the gate; its momentum was too much. It was going to slam into me.
Bullets whizzed overhead from the top of the wall, its defenders trying to find a weakness in the animal’s skin. None of them found the mark, bouncing off its hide, but they did distract the beast. It roared and looked up, slowing down. It was puzzled by the weapons, not knowing where to strike first.
“Hey, big ugly. I’m over here!” I waved my arms, and it looked at me with death in its eyes. It slowed and stepped toward me, getting closer to the pool. It sniffed the air, as if smelling my trap. It stopped and cocked its head, considering its options. I was worried that it wasn’t going to take the bait. A rock went sailing in the air and hit the beast in the snout.
“What’s wrong, tasty meal right in front of you? Come and get it!” Jinn stood beside me. I was so glad that she hadn’t listened. She took my hand. The dinosaur took a tentative step forward and then another. Its right foot splashed forward, and the liquid went into the air. I jumped back and evaded the spray. The beast took another step forward and then stopped, as if it realized something was wrong. Its eye filled with terror, and it bellowed, trying to leap out the liquid. In its panic, it tripped and rolled over, getting its side wet as well. We ran as spears from above impaled the beast while it writhed in pain. We didn’t stick around to see what happened next. I grabbed Jinn to run and she winced. I looked at a burn mark on her arm.
“Flesh wound,” she murmured, but I could see she was in pain. “I’ll be all right, I’m a survivor.” We jumped into the car.
“Where to?” Tuko asked.
“Anywhere but here,” I answered, and the car accelerated, the town disappeared behind us as we drove away. Neither the clans nor the dinosaur had gotten me. We had won. Before I could relax and enjoy a moment of freedom, the car radio sparked to life. Both Jinn and Tuko focused on the speaker.
“Attention all clans. This is an emergency broadcast. Major disaster at the Trall stadium. Many deaths, hundreds are injured.” The announcer’s voice was young, confident. His voice was polished, used to talking to an audience. Not as strong a speaker as Luther, though.
“Who are we listening to?” I asked. The radio had been silent on our drive up.
“Diga. Usually he plays music before some of the major events. Has some clan leaders come on and discuss political stuff. There are some panel discussions before major events. His voice has a lot sway in influencing clan decisions,” Jinn answered, cradling her arm.
“Please take a moment to reflect on those we lost tonight.” His words were solemn and respectful. “Our great clan leader Luther is dead. Killed by those who wanted him silent. Just before he was making a major announcement.” The radio went quiet, as if he was waiting for the news to be absorbed by his listeners. “Young girl with unknown clan affiliation is responsible. Waiting for Hunter clan to provide more details.” Now he had my attention. “Large reward for her capture. Alive preferably. Dead acceptable. Any news of her whereabouts, please contact me and I will report her location to all of you, my listeners.” Jinn and Tuko looked at each other with concern but didn’t speak.
“To our killer. If you are listening to me, know this. There is no rock you can crawl under that will stop us from exposing your cowardly crime to the light. Wherever you go, someone is going to see you. And they will tell me. And then I will tell all of you.”
He hung on the last few words for effect. My day had gone from bad to worse to horrific. Instead of a prehistoric dinosaur with twisted DNA after me, I had a price on my head and an entire world gunning to collect it.
4
Runners
I was out of breath, my lungs heaving. Every step was an extreme effort, like my feet had added weight. My heart throbbed so hard, my ribs felt like they were going to explode. I turned my head and scanned down the quiet street. The homes were dark, and I could see no one inside of them. I felt pursued, but when I turned around, I saw nothing. I dodged around debris on a driveway and leaped into an open door of a house.
There was a crash. Whatever was chasing me smashed into the side of the wall. I didn’t look back and ran on, weaving left and right. I threw a vase from a table to the floor, hoping to create a broken obstacle to slow down my attacker. I was afraid that if I glanced back, I would see my pursuer and give up.
I heard boards creaking from upstairs, as if someone was crossing a room. I scrambled up the steps, my feet slapping on the wood. I ran down a hallway and stepped into the first bedroom. It was Spartan; a pair of man’s shoes sat at the end of bed and a white shirt lay draped over the sheets. It was so familiar, but a fog hung in my brain, preventing me from remembering. Then the haze began to fade. I was home. The shirt was just like the one my dad wore to work.
I heard water splashing. The shower was running. Was my dad in there? How could he still be alive? I stepped toward the bathroom, steam filling the air as I entered. The shower was on my right, and a small window was open. Water rushed down from the showerhead into the stall. I took two steps and knocked on the frosted glass.
“Dad? Are you in there?” Silence. Then a tap. Another tap. A steady tap, like a bird pecking repeatedly on a tree. But the sound wasn’t coming from the shower glass — it was coming from the window. I looked out and was momentarily blinded by the crimson flash. The red eye of a drone. It was an oversized bee, tapping on the window glass with it head. Its red eye ignited a beam that would cut a hole through the window glass in seconds. “Dad!” I pushed the shower door open to an empty stall. The water pooled at the bottom and swirled down the drain. Where was he?
The window cracked, and I knew there was seconds before it broke. I ran back into the bedroom, straight into my father’s arms. His face was aged, with gray whiskers. Something was wrong. Dad shaved everyday; his appearance was always immaculate.
“Dad! How are you here?” He held me tight and then released me suddenly.
“Pene. Find your mother. There isn’t much time. She will you take you home.”
“We are already home. What do you mean?” The bedroom window smashed behind us, and a metallic arm grabbed him, pulling him into the air. One second he was in front of me, and the next he was gone. I ran to the broken window but tripped over the nightstand. I cursed myself for my stupidity but was glad I didn’t cut myself on any broken glass. My relief was short-lived, because when I reached the window, he had disappeared. What was going on?
I felt warmth on my back and turned around. Red lights illuminated the ceiling and wall. The bee drone had returned, and dozens of its followers were hovering with it. They floated as one mind, as if I was their sole objective. They would move no closer to me, as if they were waiting for something. Someone. The stairs creaked as that someone came up the steps. My pursuer had taken its time reaching me. As if meeting my dad was part of its plan. I yelled out the door into the hallway, the drones slowly hovering in front of me, blocking my exit.
“What do you want? Who are you?”
* * *
A hand nudged me awake. I swung my arms defensively and connected with someone’s face. “Ouch! What is your problem? You’re screaming! Are you trying to alert the other clans to us?” Tuko looked down at me, and I pulled myself up from the car seat. I had fallen asleep, and he had woken me up. I shook my head.
“Sorry. Nightmare. I thought someone was chasing me.”
“Well, that part is true. You have a lot of someones after you,” Tuko jeered. “I hope you are worth all of this trouble. Come on, Jinn’s got a fire going.” He walked away. The sky was dark. What looked like stars glimmered in the sky. I pulled myself out of the back seat as stiff muscles protested. I walked to a small stove adjacent to a rock outcropping. I sat down next to Jinn.
“Was Tuko scaring you? I thought I heard you yelling.”
“No, something else scared me.” I looked at a boiling pot. “Can I have some? I’m starving?” Jinn scooped some stew in a bowl. The smell was intoxicating, and my mouth instantly began to water. I sat down on a rock and gulped down my food. Something about almost dying seemed to increase my appetite. I finished my bowl and looked up at Jinn.
“Want some more?”
“I’m good for now. Do I ask what type of meat was in that?” I pointed at the bowl. “I hope I didn’t just eat dinosaur.”
“Tuko was the cook. Don’t worry — he wouldn’t use anything that wasn’t safe.”
“The way you cleaned that bowl, you didn’t have any problems with it.” Tuko appeared suddenly, dropping a pile of wood to the side of the fire.
I looked closely at the stove. “I guess we can’t have any fires for the risk of being seen?”
“Yes.” Jinn nodded. “Tuko didn’t even want to stop in case another clan caught up with us but I argued we needed a break to plan our next move.”
Tuko stared at me. Even in the dark, I could tell he had something on his mind.
“What?” I asked, uncomfortable.
“Jinn and I risked our lives for you. Hell, half the clans want you. And we know almost nothing about you. What if we’re wrong about you? What if you are involved with Luther’s death? You need to be honest with us about who you are.”
“I-I’m trying,” I stammered, but I really couldn’t tell them the whole truth. It was hard for me to believe what I had experienced in my home, and I had lived it. I had to make sure my lies didn’t catch up with me. “Listen, I didn’t ask for your help, but I wouldn’t be alive now if it wasn’t for the two of you. If you want, leave me at the next town. You don’t need to take care of me.”
“It’s too late now, Pene. We backed you.” Jinn looked at Tuko. “And we have no intention of changing our minds. But what Tuko is saying is let us in. You can’t do this alone. Is there any family we can take you to?”
“My father is dead. I don’t know where my mother is. I’m searching for her.” They looked at each other. I imagined that if their parents were so dominant in their lives, it would impact them a lot if they were missing.
“We’re sorry. What about the rest of your family, friends? Can no one else help you find your mom?” Jinn asked. I shook my head and thought about my life and everyone in it. My grandmother, my friend Austin (or was he only a friend?), and my best friend Lacey. They had their own lives, and I wouldn’t find my mother by staying at home.
“No, this is my journey. I’ll find her and learn why she had to leave me.”
“In the meantime, we got a lot of clans gunning for you. It’s not going to be easy to make it to the Cradle without someone trying to pick you up. We need to find some support,” said Tuko.
“Is going to the Cradle my only option?” I asked.
“No,” Jinn answered, “but is likely the wisest choice. It is sacred ground, and no one can hurt you there. I don’t think we can stay safe in any other direction we choose.”
“Okay. What do you have in mind?” I asked.
Tuko pulled out a map and pointed. “We’re here, and we need to go there.” The distance on the map seemed vast. “There are a lot of settlements between here and the Cradle, and we can’t avoid them all. We’ll need supplies, and we had planned to meet up with our parents here.” He pointed to a mountain range. “If we can make it to them, fewer clans will be likely try to challenge us. Once we get to the Cradle, we can plead your case.”
“Plead my case! Please. I’ve done nothing wrong. Your buddy Abraham is the one who caused this whole mess.”
“Makes me wonder if he doesn’t have a reason to blame you,” Jinn added.
“What you mean?” I leaned forward.
“The clans are very political. Tuko and I know firsthand with our families. Every clan wants to be viewed as top tier. It gives the leaders more clout in making decisions for all clans during the annual pilgrimage.”
“You’re saying that Abraham wanted me to be a scapegoat so he looks strong in the eyes of the other clans.”
“Maybe. If he makes you the cause of Luther’s death and captures you, he becomes a hero.”
“Or he could have just made a mistake,” Tuko added. “There were a lot of people; he could have seen someone else.”
“Oh, please.” Jinn laughed. “Abraham only cares about himself and whether he looks important to others. You give him too much credit as a son of an elder. Sometimes I think you’d rather be in his clan.”
“Well, he’s not afraid to make a commitment,” Tuko said defensively. “Our parents take so much time to make decisions, they miss a lot of opportunities.” He waved his hand in resignation.
“They’re probably just weighing their options. My dad always liked to understand all the information first. Sometimes it takes time to make the right decision.” I felt a stab of sorrow, remembering him before he was killed by a machine for a crime he didn’t commit. Then I remembered something I saw at the stadium.
Jinn saw my puzzled look. “What are you thinking?”
“Before Luther was shot, I saw a flash of red light. Maybe someone sighting up their rifle before it was fired. You said that they checked for weapons at the entrances. I bet it was hard to smuggle a rifle in, but how do you sight and fire it without anyone seeing you?”
“You can’t do it alone,” said Tuko. “From that distance, you would need the time and space to line up the scope of a rifle.”
“Someone would see you,” Jinn replied.
“Not if you had a whole clan supporting you,” I interjected.
“What do you mean?”
“Well,” I started scrawling in the dirt with a stick, “if you had a bunch of people standing around you, blocking the view of any onlookers, you could line up your target. You could even have someone stand in front of you and have them move at the last second or shoot between their legs. The group could muffle the sound so that the shot would be barely audible in the noise of the crowd
.”
“So you’re telling me that instead of one person with a grudge against Luther, we’re talking a whole clan did this.” Tuko was dismissive. “That’s pretty out there.”
“Or is it?” Jinn said. “Think about it. Hard for one person to smuggle a rifle into the meeting when everyone is searched, but each member of a clan could easily take in a piece at a time.”
“But why? What would Luther say that would scare a clan into a killing him?” Tuko needed more persuading.
“Only they and Luther know. Maybe it would have diminished that clan’s standing in council. Maybe Luther was finally going to explain how the Cradle was created.” Jinn raised her eyebrows, trying to make her point.
I thought about this. What if someone discovered their world was self-contained, as I had learned about mine? Would people be willing to kill to keep this information secret? I was pretty sure they would. They might not have a power-hungry judge trying to run everything, as in my world, but no matter where you go, people covet power. Maybe the people here in this technologically backward world weren’t as dumb as I thought them to be. This could be the power play by one of the clans.
“What are you thinking?” Tuko asked, looking at my focused face.
“Which clans would benefit the most from Luther’s death?” I asked. The two of them looked at each other.
“Depends on who would benefit. A strong clan trying to stay powerful or a weak one trying to raise its profile,” Tuko answered.
“Our clan is one of the more powerful, along with Abraham’s, the Armors, and about five others,” Jinn said.
“And the weak ones?”
“Everyone else. Too many to count. Maybe your clan?” Tuko questioned. I didn’t take the bait.
“Did you see any of the clans in our area that could have been hiding a shooter?” They both shook their heads.
“I was looking at the stage like everyone else,” Jinn said. “Remember, Abraham was in front of us. It couldn’t have been his clan.”
Clan World (The World Series Book 2) Page 4
