The One

by J. K. Accinni

  How in the world would his plans to take over the tribe work out now? As the evening had come to its conclusion, Seth had found himself alone in the dark catching suspicious eyes glancing his way. What the fuck? The rest of his people had either gone back to their temporary camp or joined in conversations with the new people. But no one had bothered with him.

  He had overheard Clyde and one of the winged Elders propose that they join forces on Lily Pond Road. Seth had to admit their dwellings looked a hell of a lot more substantial than those back at the mines. It should all be his, anyway.

  He was Doc Benjamin’s son! Lafe, where are you when I need you so?

  Pulling his hand from his pants, he had a thought. As he had sat ignored in the darkness, he had felt eyes studying him. Squinting into the gloom. he had caught glows from the orbs of the two winged nightmare creatures that sat with the dogs. One in particular had been curled up with a white dog’s head on its lap. He had noticed the dog stuck to the creature like glue. It was clear they held a favored place in the hierarchy, as several times the Elders showed deference to the creatures.

  A germ of an idea began to form in his brain; a passing wish that drew power from the demonic force of his hatred. If he couldn’t win the tribe just yet, why should Lorna be handed this opportunity to make hay out of the probable Lily Pond merger? She would only gain more power, defeating his plans for ever.

  What if he were to kill one of the winged golden nightmares? The image of his newfound harpoon danced in his head. If it worked in the water, why not on land or in the sky? He wondered how fast the golden bugger could fly.

  If he was successful, and he made it appear that Lorna was the culprit, the merger would be postponed, maybe even cancelled. The thought of the chaos and distrust that would be directed toward the tribe by the new people warmed his heart.

  Would there be retribution? A battle perhaps? Seth preened. He had always fancied himself a general that could lead troops into battle. He sat up abruptly, pounding his claw into his fist. By God, I think I’m back in business.

  Chapter 16

  Lorna sat with Clyde and Salina, her arm around Jennifer as they watched the last of the animal release. It was near dinnertime, and Dezi and Crystal were carting food to the tables to feed the hungry wranglers.

  Bonnie sat astride Tobi as they encouraged the huge skittish herd to move along toward the old swimming hole at the rear of the field.

  The cats had long departed, breaking for freedom and slinking off into the bushes. Scotty and Kane lugged the last of the feed for various animals to pre-arranged staging areas far from the settlement with Nettie’s well-used cart.

  Dezi crawled on the ground with Maya on his back. The little Elder screamed with delight as she rode her new horsey around the tables.

  Lorna and Jennifer laughed as Kimir regaled them with the antics and obstacles of the now thousands of beloved creatures as they first tasted freedom.

  It had been a long day of tears and happy smiles as Clyde’s fragmented family took the entire day to get to know one another. There was so much to tell . . . so much pain and loss . . . so much horror.

  The difficulties of the truth about Seth and Suzy’s kidnapping had taken their toll on all of them. But the joyous healing was well under way. They were all alive . . . safe . . . and optimistic about the future.

  Lorna filled the blanks in with what little she could and explained the dangers of their new territory, including that of the flamer.

  “Clyde, I have a special favor to ask, if I may.” Lorna shyly turned to her great-grandfather. “I’m sure you noticed how Seth hangs back and fails to join in.”

  Clyde visibly tensed at the mention of Seth’s name.

  “He has a debilitating complex over the deformity he was born with. He hides his hand, but it’s difficult for others not to stare and be put off by it. Most of us in the tribe are used to deformities by now, but Seth can’t seem to get over it. It caused many . . . difficulties . . . in our relationship as children, and I fear he’s still nursing a grievance.” She held out her two perfectly-formed hands.

  “Since I now understand the principals of your healing tendrils, I was hoping . . . praying really, that if I spoke to Miss Netty, she might allow Seth to sleep in the Hive and have his hand healed. Just as mine was as a baby.” Her voice pleaded as she added, “Miss Ginger Mae filled me in. I am honored by her sacrifice . . . giving me up and hurting for my mother. I’m grateful for the sake of my tribe, but . . .” Lorna’s sad and wistful voice trailed hints of the preference she might have enjoyed had she grown up in the Hive with her family instead of the mines.

  Clyde looked at Salina blankly, searching for an answer. Turning back to Lorna he said, “I don’t see why not. It’s no big deal. You’d better get him back here soon. The Elders are fixin to leave soon, and the Kreyven and Hive membranes will go with them and return to the Womb.”

  Clyde leaned in and lowered his voice as other survivors began to gather for dinner. “Why don’t I go with you to talk to Wil and Netty after dinner?”

  Lorna’s eyes lit up with excitement. She stood and threw her arms around Clyde in a hug. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this will mean to Seth.”

  Salina reached out to rest her arm on the older woman. “We’re happy to help, Lorna. It’s the least we can do for one of Suzy’s children. We’re family.”

  *

  Three hours later, the survivors and their guests sat around a huge bonfire in the middle of the settlement. Scotty and Kane had planned the surprise. As they carted food to the outer reaches of the settlement, they had scavenged wood and kindling for the celebratory fire which would mark the passage of their treasured wildlife into the real world that would become their home.

  Many of the animals failed to go far. Lorna could discern the dark shapes of members of the elephant herd in the gloom. She watched a huge amount of dogs scatter themselves in and around the group, and a creature called a monkey skirted around looking for mischief.

  Lorna had never even seen a dog in her lifetime as they had all been eaten long ago. She was understandably frightened when two large pit bulls named King and Queenie strolled by to give her a sniff.

  Running to her rescue, an Elder named Jose gathered the pair. “They can’t hurt you. They may look fierce, but they’re as gentle as babes and as trustworthy as anything you could hope for.” He leaned down to hug them to his chest, receiving a tongue washing for his efforts. He looked back over to Lorna, pure love for the big dogs in his reflective eyes as he cleaned his cheeks of the zealous traces of canine affection.

  “They’re part of our family.” At the sound of a broken lawnmower, they stared across the fire. A tiny brown dog was leaping like a hot potato from group to group, finally settling down on a large brown and white dog named Penny. He made a bed in her deep, flowing feathers and promptly fell asleep. Next to the content dogs sat Scotty, Chloe, Kane and Kenya with their entourage of more dogs and the creatures called Echo and Baby. Of course, Echo lay possessively wrapped around the body of the curly-haired dog, Barney.

  “What’s the story of the golden creatures, Jose? Why are Echo and the white dog so inseparable?”

  Jose eased down next to Lorna, folding his wings tight into his body. “No one’s filled you in yet? That’s such a long story. I don’t how much Clyde and my mother told you, but let me fill in some of the holes.”

  Lorna started with surprise. “Your mother? Is Netty your mother?” Jose chuckled lightly.

  “No, no, Salina. She’s my mother. My stepmother really, but she raised me since I was very young . . . another long story.” Jose broke off, his forehead knotted.

  “Do you hear that?” Lorna looked around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, just groups of survivors laughing and horsing around. She watched as Wil, Netty, Abby, and Scotty turned their faces to the sky. Jose stood up, concern puckering his face as he glanced toward Baby and Echo. The two golden creatures tottered to their feet
, alert and expectant.

  Listening deeply, Lorna began to panic as she picked up the sound of wings in the sky. The flamer! She jumped to her feet screaming. “We must hide. Run.”

  As she and her inner circle women leaned to run, Jose grabbed her around the waist. The sounds got louder and louder, Baby and Echo taking wing low over their heads, the dogs barking.

  Everyone looked up to the sky to witness dozens of white four-legged creatures with tight curly hair flutter overhead, Baby and Echo in the middle, their wings beating in synchronization with the strange creatures.

  “Relax. Echo says to relax.” Jose sat her back down and took a seat next to her. They watched as the golden creatures dipped and swayed in the air as the oddly familiar-looking creatures greeted them. As if tired of play, the swarm took to the ground, everyone relaxing and waiting for an explanation.

  Echo’s dog, Barney, stood near the fire, every fiber of his small body taut with emotion, his tail wagging, tongue flickering and back legs doing their own harried assessment.

  “Oh my heavens,” exclaimed Jose.

  Lorna scanned the circle, observing similar looks of amused astonishment. As she beheld Baby and Echo making such a fuss over the new creatures, it hit her.

  With the exception of their more rounded bodies and vaguely reptilian heads, eyes that sat on each side of their skull and extended snouts that gave five or six inches to a steel-trap mouth, they looked just like dogs. Plump dogs with curly white hair, that looked just like the eager Barney, who vainly continued his eager prancing, anxious to be noticed.

  And wings, of course. They wore well-muscled white wings, tight with short feathers curling back toward their tails, which wagged just like Barney’s.

  High-pitched whining could be heard from deep in Barney’s throat as Baby and Echo pranced and fondled the new creatures, who preened and bowed to their attentions.

  Netty joined the throng, letting the creatures jump on her and dance back as she lounged toward them. Her musical laughter rang loud in the darkness, the flames from the fire setting her long golden hair afire.

  “Don’t worry, anyone. These are nooglets. From Oolaha. The Womb sent them here to see if they would be an asset to the environment. Back on Oolaha, they are the most habituated creature on the planet. They learned long ago they could derive benefits for their species by intertwining themselves into the fabric of the Oolahans’ lives.” She lurched forward as Echo fell against her after an enthusiastic pounce from one of the nooglets.

  Without warning, the nooglets took to the air, followed by Echo. An aura hit all the survivors, including Lorna and her inner circle.

  “Don’t worry, Brothers and Sisters. I will return. I have been called.”

  And they were gone, leaving Lorna shaken and astonished, her hands to her head with wonderment, questioning her own senses.

  Baby tottered over to Wil, hands out begging to be lifted into his arms.

  Lorna gazed at Barney as he stood silent and stunned, his tail curled tight and his head downcast. She followed him with her eyes as he crept away from the warmth of the fire to find solitude on the fringes of the gloom, his friend, the ever-present moon, vanished behind nocturnal clouds.

  Quickly dismissing him from her thoughts, she turned back to Jose to urge him to begin his stories, the din of the happy survivors returning to its normal clamor.

  *

  It wasn’t long before the survivors decided to retire to bed. The comfort of their new dwellings may not be as relaxing and luxurious as the Hive, but they belonged to each of them, fashioned from their own labors, their own hopes and their own plans for the futures of their families.

  The various primate tribes bedded down on their respective trees, chosen by the troop as the most beneficial for nocturnal safety. A distant chuff echoed from afar, alerting Tobi as her herd rested for the next day. Heaps of dogs bedded down in and out of shelters, alphas ever alert for the slightest sounds.

  A hurt little dog named Barney trudged alone in the woods. Forlornly hoping to pick up the smell of his beloved Echo, who had not returned, the confused canine instead followed the human trail left by Lorna and her inner circle women as they began their overdue trek back to the Franklin Mines.

  *

  Seth stood before the gathering of the tribe. In Lorna and most of her inner circle’s absence, he had called an emergency meeting of the tribe to announce his plans over the objections of the rest of the inner circle.

  Scanning the faces of the worked-up crowd, he glowed with satisfaction.

  Only a born leader like him would be able to pump them up like this. Keeping his deformed hand inside his layers of rags, he raised his good fist high over his head.

  “We too can have finery to adorn our backs like the Others do. We too can have magic that will heal us as they did my misguided sister as an infant. We too can rule the power of their beast as my mother claimed to so long ago.” He stalked the stage like a political orator of bygone days, promising riches and the easy living of the Others. Unfortunately, human nature had failed to evolve far in the last century as his promised goodies had them eating out of his hands.

  “Are . . . you . . . with . . . me?” Seth shouted with maniacal rage. He could feel himself get hard as the crowd shouted back his name. Now all he needed to do was capture one of the golden creatures. That was the surest way to demonstrate his powers. With the creature as his captive, he would be successful in his negotiations to secure access to the loot that remained in the Hive. If Lorna refused to go along, his harpoon would speak for him.

  Searching the screaming tribe, his eyes lit on Andrew who stood wetting his greedy lips at the edge of the stage. Seth felt his erection strain, begging for release. His glittery eyes signaled to Andrew, then he left the stage amid chants of his name, the voices mostly those of the men. Ignoring the significance, Seth hurried passed Andrew to hasten their beckoning moment of hot primal sex.

  *

  The next morning, Seth and his men set out for Lily Pond Road. His men dragged the harpoon behind them, slowing their progress to a crawl. Seth trudged along, wondering what his next step would be, distracted by the long night with the subservient Andrew.

  And where was Lorna? She’d been due back days ago. His blood boiled at the royal treatment that had no doubt seduced her into delaying her departure from Lily Pond Road. He pulled his claw from behind its protective rags.

  I bet they wouldn’t treat her so royally if she had one of these. His claw twitched as if it could hear his thoughts. Shoving it back under his clothes, he continued on, puffs of dry red dust layering his worn boots. He took a swig of water from his bag, his parched throat adding to his discomfort and misery.

  Through a stand of trees, his scout stealthily emerged. His entourage stopped, the harpoon gun catching up slowly and nosily. Seth turned, his face hostile with annoyance as the clatter of the heavy wagon reached his ears.

  “You might want to take a breather. Lorna and her inner circle are up around the bend, headed this way,” announced the scout.

  Seth clenched his jaw. Great. Signaling his men, he motioned for them to join him. He took stock of their weapons. A few old rifles, some chains and Andrew’s machete. His claw tingled as he enjoyed the sight of Andrew stroking it absentmindedly in the sun.

  It didn’t take Lorna long to arrive. Confusion and the hot sun prevented her from seeing clearly as she rounded the bend and was confronted by the sight of her brother.

  “Seth. What are you doing here?”

  He approached his sister carefully, not wanting to alarm her. His men circled around her back to the rest of the women.

  “Here, Lorna, you must be thirsty.” He held out his bag of water. As she reached out to the bag, Seth’s men seized the other women before knocking them to the ground and relieving them of any weapons.

  Seth reached over to grab Lorna’s gun at her belt. She slowly lowered Seth’s bag of water from her wet mouth.

  “What do you thi
nk you’re going to do with my gun, Seth?” She pierced his eyes with her own, her glacial reflection goading him with its dismissiveness.

  Cocking the pin on her revolver, he moved swiftly to the women who lay on the ground and pulled the trigger on each one before his shocked men could blink.

  Lorna stood frozen in shock as the red dirt displayed the spattered brain matter of her most trusted confidantes.

  Seth signaled his men, who quickly surrounded a defiant and uncomprehending Lorna.

  “What’s gotten in to you, Seth? There was no need for this!”

  Seth slowly circled Lorna, his nerves on fire, his claw twitching a dance inside his rags.

  “Get on your knees, Lorna.”

  Her eyes filled with confusion. “So you’re going to kill me, too?”

  Seth laughed briefly; short and crisp. “Get on your knees, now.”

  Lorna slowly lowered herself to the dirt, never taking her eyes off Seth.

  “You didn’t need to do this, Seth. I had a surprise for you. Something special. I just wanted you to be happy.”

  Seth eyes flared his mouth in a grimace. “You just want to belittle me, just as you always have. You with your perfect hands.”

  Lorna sat back on her heels, comprehension dawning. “Is that what this is about? Your hand?”

  Seth removed his deformed claw from its hiding place. He reached out to his sister, slowly drawing his claw down the side of her face. “Is this what you call a hand, dear, favored sister?” Seth’s eyes glittered with fever as Lorna flinched when the claw caressed her face. Inflamed, he reached for Andrew’s machete. “Hold her down.”

  Lorna struggled and screamed as Seth’s men stretched her out on the dirt path. Seth loomed high over her, blocking the sun and, with one strong stoke of the machete, he removed her right arm, four inches down from the elbow.

  “Whoops, I guess I got more than I planned.” He giggled manically. Lorna lay in shock, her heartbeats spilling her life’s blood out on the hot red dirt, staining it black.