by Michael Ford
Kobi grinned. “That’s nothing.” He raised his own hands, making the shape of a lynx, forming the creature’s long ears by extending his thumbs.
“No one’s impressed,” said Niki. She turned away, and as she did so, Fionn caught Kobi’s eye, placing his palms together, the fingers forming a snout, and the space underneath the thumb making an eye. A wolf. Fionn made the shadow wolf bite down on Niki’s head. Asha and Kobi stifled laughs.
Niki turned around, frowning. “Honestly, you guys are such babies, laughing at shadow puppets.”
“Hey, do you mind if we look around?” asked Asha.
Kobi frowned. “Of course. Help yourselves. Just don’t touch any of the window or door seals.”
Niki remained flopped on the sofa, but Fionn went straight to a set of shelves that Kobi used for his books and old comics. He started taking them out and staring at the pages in wonder.
“Don’t you have books at your place?” Kobi asked Asha, who was looking at one of the medical posters still tacked to the wall.
“Not many,” she said.
“There’s a whole library here,” said Kobi as he stirred the beans.
“Shame we won’t be staying long enough to enjoy it,” muttered Niki. “Do you have any sort of radio transmitter? We need to get in touch with the Guardians.”
“Just a receiver,” said Kobi. They’d used it to pick up electromagnetic disturbance emitted by Snatchers rather than any distress calls. He stirred the beans again, ignoring Niki as she rolled her eyes and made a huffing sound. It did make Kobi wonder: Why hadn’t his dad ever tried to contact anyone with some kind of radio? If they could receive radio frequencies, why couldn’t they send them out? Who knows, Kobi and his dad might have met up with these Guardians years ago. He pushed the thought from his mind. What was done was done. “We shouldn’t leave it more than an hour before we head back to the transport. There are tools we could use to break open the door.”
“Go out there again?” said Niki. “No way. The Guardians will find us here. We can create a smoke signal or something. Anyway, I’m exhausted. I’ve been up all night.”
“A smoke signal wouldn’t be a good idea,” said Kobi.
“They’ll be out there looking for us soon,” said Asha. “We need to stay near the transport.”
Kobi spooned out the beans and sausages onto four plates and handed them out with forks.
“Thank you,” said Asha.
Fionn nodded and smiled, and began to eat at once, gasping as he shoveled the food into his mouth.
“Careful!” said Kobi. “They’re hot.”
Niki looked at the plate doubtfully. “What is it?” she said.
“Just eat it, Nik,” said Asha. “Or I will!”
Kobi forced himself to take his time, savoring every mouthful, but it was still over far too soon.
“I have some hot chocolate too,” he said.
“What’s chocolate?” asked Asha.
Kobi stared at her in disbelief. “Seriously? You’ve never had chocolate?”
Asha shook her head.
“So what do you eat in Healhome?” asked Kobi.
“We’re self-sufficient,” cut in Niki. ‘The Guardians take care of our diet with a mixture of synthetic protein and vitamins, supplements, plus vegetables grown at the facility.”
“Right,” said Kobi. “Well, wait until you try Chocoholic.”
As he waited for the water to boil to mix the drinks, he tried to find out more about the place they called Healhome. Apparently it was built in an old military skyscraper, with many floors dedicated to a different aspect of survival in the Wastelands—Waste research, living quarters, food production, technology, transport.
“Healhome is totally quarantined,” Niki finished explaining. “Totally.” Her gaze swept slowly around the hall. “There are decontaminated chambers with vacuum suction pipes, herbicide baths for haz suits, guards who protect us twenty-four-seven, computerized perimeter guns, all that kind of stuff. Guess it’s what you’d expect from scientists and ex-military.” She squinted as she inspected the school gym, as if she might suddenly uncover a secret platoon of guards or robotic sentry guns that she’d missed. “This place must be teeming with Waste.”
Kobi was too absorbed by Niki’s description of Healhome to rise to her obvious goading. “We have our protocols,” Kobi said. “We tape the doors, and the vents. We shower—”
“Oh yes, the showers!” said Niki. “That’s totally foolproof.”
Kobi’s hand tensed on the kettle and water spilled over the side of one of the cups. He put down the kettle.
“I risked my life to save you from the Chokers,” he said. “I invited you back here to look after Fionn when I needed to go find my dad. The least you could do is be nice.”
Asha tensed, Fionn looked alarmed, but Niki just glared for a moment. Then her eyes softened.
“I’m sorry,” she said, as if suddenly tired. “This is strange for us. The mission was just to locate survivors. We never expected any of”—she waved her hand around the room—“any of this.”
Kobi wiped up the spilled water. “It’s okay,” he said. “It’s weird for me too. My dad and I thought it would always just be us. I guess he didn’t want to give us false hope.” He handed around the steaming mugs. “But I don’t get it. Why bring you out here to find us? No offense, but you’re just kids.”
“No offense taken,” said Niki. “But we’re not normal kids. And you’re not either. We saw what you did to the handle of the transport door. What else can you do?”
“What do you mean?” asked Kobi.
“What other abilities do you have?” asked Asha. She sipped the hot chocolate. “This stuff is amazing, by the way!”
Kobi shrugged, a little embarrassed. “I can jump long distances, run fast. I heal quickly. I bench press four hun—”
“I mean besides strength and enhanced regeneration,” said Asha. “Those are baseline abilities. We all have those, at least to some degree. Maybe not as much as you, but do you have any specialty?”
“Oh,” said Kobi. “I don’t know. That’s it, I guess.” He recalled the shock Niki had given him. “The thing with the electricity—is that a specialty? Because of the Waste?”
Niki nodded, then reached across toward Fionn. She wiggled her fingers, and Fionn’s hair fluttered up to stand on end. The young boy giggled. “I can create and pick up electrical signals,” said Niki. “The Waste changed my nerve endings. The Guardians thought that if survivors were using an electrical device, I’d be able to sense it.”
“What about Fionn?” Kobi asked Asha.
“He’s a Projector,” replied the tall girl, taking a sip of her drink. “Seriously, we need to tell the Guardians to get some of this stuff.”
“They’ll never go for it,” said Niki.
“Fionn’s able to transmit his brain waves to other organisms that have been affected by Waste contamination,” said Asha. “If the connection’s good, he can communicate. Manipulate, even. We thought he might be able to talk to survivors from a distance.”
Kobi stared at the young boy, who smiled back. If he was trying to communicate now, Kobi couldn’t sense it. Then he remembered the voice he’d heard in his dream at the medical center—a boy’s voice. In all the terror, it had been the one comforting sound. Could that have been Fionn? He thought of the odd, prickling headache he felt as he woke. Recently, he’d been having other headaches like that. Maybe that was Fionn trying to contact him from afar . . .
“And you?” he asked Asha.
“I’m a Receptor,” said the older girl. “A sort of empath. I can sense the presence of organisms that have been contaminated with Waste. It means I can kind of understand Fionn, because he sends his thoughts to me.”
“She’s a mind reader!” said Niki.
“Not really,” Asha protested. “Most of the time, it’s more like getting vague emotions.”
Kobi grinned. “Can you tell what I’m thinking now?�
��
Asha cocked her head. “I don’t need to. You’re thinking you’d like to be able to do this too. But trust me—it’s not that great.”
“And the Guardians thought you could find me?” said Kobi.
“I did find you,” said Asha. “That’s why we were in the vicinity.”
A thought leaped into Kobi’s head. “So you could use your powers to sense my dad too!”
“I could,” said Asha. “But I didn’t pick anything up when we were in the city.”
“Oh,” said Kobi.
“That doesn’t mean he’s not there,” added Asha quickly. “I sense all Waste-infected organic material, flora and fauna, so sometimes it’s confusing.”
Kobi tried to put on a smile. He knew that with every moment that went by, his father would be growing weaker. But with the four of them, and maybe the Guardians too, they had a great chance of tracking his dad.
“So have the other kids all got powers too?”
“The ones who survived,” said Niki, her tone blank.
Kobi felt the mood in the room darkening. Asha spoke quietly. “We came to Healhome over a period of about three years, all babies. All Waste-infected and potentially contagious. They give us the cleansers to try to wipe the Waste from our bodies, but they aren’t completely effective.” Kobi noticed Asha called the drugs used by the Guardians cleansers—just like Kobi and his dad. Must be a coincidence. “Some died pretty quickly,” Asha continued. “The rest of us are still alive, but our conditions are getting worse. The cleansers don’t completely destroy Waste from our systems, and nothing can heal the damage Waste does each time.” Her eyes took on a sorrowful sheen, and Kobi realized what she was saying.
They’re all living under a death sentence. That’s why the Guardians keep them so tightly quarantined. And why they only get fed healthy food.
“I have plenty of Waste cleansers here,” he said. “They last six days max on my dad, depending on how exposed he is to Waste, but if you’re already resistant, they’ll probably work even better for you.”
“Thank you,” said Asha. Fionn jerked his head. “Fionn says he feels better than ever, by the way. Your dad is obviously an amazing scientist.”
Kobi blushed. “He is.” He wondered if any of his visitors knew anything about their parents, but he guessed not, if they’d been at Healhome since they were babies.
“You said the drugs would probably work better for us,” said Niki. “Does that mean they do for you?”
“I don’t take them,” said Kobi. “I’m immune.”
Their faces all jerked toward him.
“Very funny,” said Niki.
“I’m serious,” said Kobi.
“Completely?” said Asha. “So you don’t take any medication?”
Kobi nodded. “Only some vitamin pills because our diet’s not great. Dad’s paranoid about me getting sick. But I stopped taking those not long after he left. Seemed pointless.”
“But how is that possible?” said Niki. “No one’s immune.”
Kobi shrugged. “That’s why my dad goes to his labs. He runs tests on my blood samples, looking for a cure.”
“I guess that explains why the Guardians’ dart didn’t bring you down,” said Asha. She pointed to the rifle leaning up against a wall. “The compound reacts with Waste-contaminated cells in the nervous system. They only had it on the lowest setting, D-One, but it should have been enough to bring down a person.”
“But you must be infected,” said Niki. “Your enhanced strength and speed . . .”
“Dad says my mom became infected while she was pregnant with me, that’s all. She had me just in time, before she . . . well, y’know.”
“I’m sorry,” said Asha, lowering her gaze.
“It’s okay,” said Kobi. “I never knew her. It was harder for him, I think.”
“We need to get you back to the Guardians,” said Asha. “They’re going to go nuts when they hear about this.”
“I need to find my dad, though,” he said.
“So you keep saying,” said Niki. “How do you even know he’s still alive?”
“Nik!” cried Asha, shocked. She turned to Kobi and smiled. “With the Guardians’ help, we’ll track him down in no time,” she said.
“I’m not moving,” said Niki. “They’ll find us here eventually. We’ll find a way to make a signal. Anyway, we can’t go outside. You saw what those plants did.”
“I know how to avoid the Chokers,” added Kobi.
Asha nodded. “And we’ll be prepared this time.” She picked up the rifle and cracked out the magazine. “Seven rounds left.”
“Can I see?” asked Kobi.
Asha paused, shared a glance with Kobi, then said, “Sure.”
She flicked the safety and handed the weapon over. Kobi’s dad had sometimes carried a hunting rifle, but he didn’t like to use it because of the noise. “We normally just use crossbows,” he muttered. The dart rifle looked like much more advanced tech—it was made of some sort of hard resin rather than metal, lightweight and sleek. There was a dimmed digital display on the back. It was only as he turned it over to hand it back that he noticed raised letters on the stock, black as well, and almost invisible. He almost dropped it, blood draining from his face.
The letters, in a familiar font, read CLAWS.
“What’s the matter?” asked Asha.
Kobi stood up, backing toward the door. That didn’t make any sense. CLAWS—just like the Snatcher.
“Hey, give that back!” said Niki, climbing off the couch menacingly.
Kobi fiddled, fingers awkward, and took off the safety, pointing the gun at the younger girl.
“Whoa!” said Asha. “Kobi, what are you doing?”
“Who are you?” he asked.
8
“WE TOLD YOU,” SAID Asha. She moved, but only to position herself in front of Fionn, who was trembling. “We’re from Healhome.”
“You’re from CLAWS!” said Kobi.
“Just put it down!” Niki shouted.
Kobi stood in the doorframe, trying to think. If they wanted to take him, they could have done it at any time. But why did their gun have the same manufacturer as the Snatchers? Looking at the stock, he saw there was some sort of dial, ranging from one to nine. It must control the dose of the toxin.
“Please, Kobi,” said Asha. “We’re on your side.”
Kobi wasn’t sure of anything, but he believed Asha was telling the truth. He lowered the gun.
“What’s your problem?” said Niki, breathing a sigh.
Kobi turned the stock around and ran his finger along the raised print. “CLAWS,” he said. “They’re the ones who made the Snatchers. We thought they were long gone.”
“What are these Snatchers?” asked Asha.
Did she really not know? Seeing the confusion in her eyes, and the fear on the faces of the others, he felt suddenly foolish brandishing a gun at them. They weren’t Waste cougars. They were people. Kids, like him. They were all just trying to survive.
He turned. “Follow me,” he said.
In the woodwork room, they stood in front of the hunched metal creature. “That’s a Snatcher,” he said.
Niki took a step back, and Fionn even scurried behind Asha.
“They patrol the sky over the city,” Kobi continued. “They’re kill drones, taking any Waste-infected creatures for extermination. My dad deactivated this one.”
Asha approached closer, inspecting the letters on the Snatcher’s carapace. There was no doubt—even the lettering was the same as on the gun. “Who told you that?” she asked.
“I’ve seen it happen,” said Kobi. “Yesterday, one took an infected wolf right in front of me.”
Asha circled the drone. “And you saw it kill the wolf?”
“Well, no,” said Kobi. She didn’t sound at all convinced. “But . . .”
“So how do you know that’s what it’s for?” said Niki. “It’s probably just designed to pick up organic material
for testing.”
Kobi paused, suddenly feeling like a little kid. Did she have to be so condescending? The blood was rising in his cheeks. “My dad told me. He was terrified of them.” He walked over to the Snatcher and lifted up the end of one of its legs. It was hooked in a vicious steel claw, razor-sharp. “Doesn’t look so friendly to me. Oh, and there’s their sting too.” From underneath the carapace he pulled out an extendable metal rod, which ended in a long needle the size of Kobi’s forearm. “I’ve seen it use this. The animals look pretty dead afterward.”
Silence fell for a few seconds. Kobi’s grip was sweaty on the gun.
“How come we didn’t know about these things?” Asha asked Fionn and Niki. Fionn’s face was grim, and he looked at Asha, and Kobi wondered if he’d sent her a message telepathically. She looked unsure.
“Oh, come on,” said Niki. “So what if the Guardians don’t tell us stuff. We’re just kids. We need to focus on getting healthy.”
Asha looked at Fionn again, and he was shaking his head slowly. “I don’t know what they’re for,” said Asha, “but CLAWS isn’t evil. They’re not killers. It’s the opposite. I think your dad might have been wrong.”
Kobi shook his head. Dad is never wrong, about anything. He can’t afford to be.
. . . Except about there being survivors close by.
Doubt began to creep into Kobi’s mind. But no, he had to trust his dad over these kids. The Guardians had shot at him with their dart guns, when Kobi had only been trying to talk with them. He was just glad he hadn’t been captured. He’d probably be a prisoner in this Healhome place now as well.
“Can’t you see he’s brainwashed?” said Niki. “We’d be safer out there!”
“Shut up!” said Kobi. Without really thinking, he jerked the rifle toward her.
“Hey!” said Asha. “Be careful, Kobi.”
He realized, whatever the truth was, that he shouldn’t be acting like this. They hadn’t tried to hurt him once, even though they’d had plenty of opportunity. He pointed the gun at the floor instead.
