Horrified, I shoved my hip back sharply into my assailant’s crotch. He muttered something unintelligible, as I used the momentary lull in his hold to force a half-turn. But as I caught sight of the figure behind, I wished I’d stayed ignorant. I was staring straight into the reflective glass of a black ventilation helmet.
I tried to pull my knee up, but my assailant was too close and deflected the move easily. He caught my wrists and pinned them in an iron grip between us, before slowly shaking his head.
‘Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t screech like a squirrel monkey this second.’ I hissed. ‘There are far more of us than you can see!’
Blood pounded in my ears as there was a small click of response, then the black glass rolled upwards to reveal a pair of startling blue eyes and dark bushy eyebrows.
‘If you want to live, you need to restrain your primate impressions … for now.’
His voice was calm, but his tone mocking.
I dug my nails into the fleshy part of my restrained hands, itching to lash out, but I didn’t get chance. There was a burst of fresh shouting below.
One quick glance sent a fresh wave of adrenaline flooding through my body. The bodysuited Insider below us had twisted out of Eli’s hold and was pointing a short cylindrical device at Max’s head. Fear twisted my stomach, and with a surge of strength, I yanked my hands free with the intention of launching my own artillery.
Instead I found my wrists caught with a thin black wire, which shrank and seared my skin painfully. When I opened my mouth to yell, a thick cloth was quickly pressed against it until it felt numb and useless. I fumed over the top of the itchy material.
‘Allow me,’ he whispered, his eyes glinting blue in the moonlight.
I kicked out with my legs, only to find my fury deflected by his tough bodysuit. I paused to catch my breath, and instantly he took advantage, pulling another thin wire from his bodysuit and clipping it to a branch above us. Then he paused only to hold a gloved finger against the mouthpiece of his visor, before disappearing into the black branches below.
Seconds later, he strolled out from the trees below, and greeted the Insider familiarly. Incensed, I twisted with all my strength, ignoring the painful red welt that formed as I worked away at the wires binding my wrists. Finally, with thin rivulets of blood running down my wrist, the clamp gave way and I whipped off the gag. I reloaded my catapult, trying to calm my shaking hands. How dare he leave me trussed up in a tree like live bait!
I watched the new exchange below me, waiting for the right moment to launch my ambush. I longed to let my fingers do the talking now, but Eli had taught me the value of waiting for the right moment. Then, just when I thought the moment had arrived, the Insider barked an order and the snarling creatures retreated. Shaking, I lowered my leather.
Eli and Max were the only men left in the clearing, but they were alive. I exhaled slowly, watching the Insiders negotiate, and for the first time I noticed how tall they both were – a head taller than any man in Arafel. Their voices rose in dispute, and I could tell the first Insider, who appeared to be the Leader, was determined to let the monkeys dispense of the prisoners without delay. I lifted my catapult again, and readied myself for the worst. But the command didn’t come.
As the Leader’s body language grew less rigid, I scanned the bushes for the rest of the task force, including Grandpa. A team of twelve had left Arafel, but I’d seen only three in the last half an hour. Were the rest hiding and watching, like me? I had no time to think further. There was a rustle from the bushes, and five pairs of eyes swung towards the thick foliage. Slowly, a weak figure shuffled slowly into view, and there was a mutter among the captive men. It was Grandpa, and my gut twisted as though I’d fallen upon a fired torch.
‘Let them go; it’s me you want.’ His feeble voice was barely audible, and I burned to rush to his side. Eli clearly shared the same instinct and started towards him, only to find his path blocked by one of the aggressive monkeys.
‘What is your name?’ the Leader demanded.
‘George Lucas Hanway,’ Grandpa responded with quiet dignity, ‘direct descendent of Thomas Hanway and last keeper of the Book of Arafel.’
The Insiders fell silent, and scrutinized Grandpa intently, while I felt my heart flame with pride. He was so frail, and yet still the strongest person I knew.
‘I am what you seek, am I not?’
A slow, sardonic smile spread across the Leader’s face. ‘You have the Book with you?’
Grandpa mustered a short, gutsy laugh. ‘Do I look like a green youth, my friend? No, I’m afraid the legend always made the Book far too precious to keep. I destroyed it many years ago. And good riddance – it brought our ancestors nothing but torment and darkness. I can tell you nothing except that the people of Arafel have no fight with you. Let us part in accordance with the truce, and if not as friends – then with respect.’
The Leader brought his right arm up so swiftly I barely had time to register what was happening. He flicked his short cylindrical device against Grandpa’s shoulder, causing him to cry out with sudden pain and drop to his knees. I gasped, almost losing my footing, but my slip was smothered by Eli and Max, who surged forward as a furious rattling filled the air. The Leader raised his left arm ominously as Eli and Max flanked Grandpa, helping him to his feet.
Eli’s silent fury was clear, and Max shot him a warning look. I bit my lip, forcing myself to think. I had to change up the odds, but a girl with a catapult wouldn’t prove much of an adversary on the ground, and I couldn’t pick a direct fight with the Insiders. Then the idea stole into my head. There were a couple of ugly monkeys to whom I’d taken a bit of a dislike …
Grimly, I selected a couple of stones and took careful aim, before releasing first one stone and then the other, in quick-fire succession. My targets were two of the largest creatures, and my aim for both was true. The stones found their targets within a millisecond of each other, causing the creatures to jump up and snarl ferociously, before settling their malevolence on each other. As I’d hoped, their intense rage was all the invitation the rest needed to join the frenzy.
Max acted immediately on the advantage, stepping forward to kick the thin device from the Leader’s hand, and push his arm in an upward twist. I watched intently as Eli followed up with his own lightning manoeuvre, crashing into my steely-eyed assailant and forcing him to the ground in a heavy tumble. To my amazement, Grandpa shuffled forward, and grasped his lower legs while Eli sat on his chest, pinning his arms behind him.
Then another shrill whistle punctuated the air, and everyone’s gaze swivelled in the direction of particularly dense, entwined trees at one side of the clearing. The thick foliage was being cracked slowly and ponderously. Briefly, I wondered if the Leader had summoned a Sweeper, and I braced myself for another ambush. But I was wrong. It was something entirely different, something that sent a winter chill stealing across my sun skin.
I could only watch as the ferret-faced monkeys backed away from the protesting bushes, my skin creeping. And then finally, something mammoth, dark, and foreboding crashed into the clearing. As it drew to a halt, it threw its head back and released a rough, bloody snarl that made the ground vibrate, and trees rustle in trepidation. I inhaled a short, painful breath, and knew instinctively this creature had come from the same malevolent place as the rattling monkeys. It was the biggest, ugliest hound I’d ever seen in my life.
I stared at our new adversary with creeping horror. Its well-defined muscular haunches were as high as Eli’s chest, and it had to be at least twice the weight of the tigress. As it lifted its thickset head to sniff, it pulled its wide, thick lips back to reveal a terrifying set of long, sharp, yellowed canines that dripped with saliva. Then it swivelled its gaze to snarl menacingly at the party on the forest floor, its disgruntled resonance making my muscles freeze. It was the most bone-rattling sound I’d heard any animal make in my life.
Max and Eli scrambled backwards towards the protection
of the bushes, as the Leader lifted the visor on his helmet, and greeted the animal. I stared in disbelief at his cruel face twisted with ugly triumph.
‘Easy, Brutus, I didn’t want to disturb you but these fools have no idea who they are playing with. The old man is useful; the rest are yours … Playtime!’
He pulled Grandpa to his feet roughly, and after filling the air with one final, piercing whistle, strode from the clearing with the rattling monkeys and my assailant in close pursuit. For a split second there was complete silence, and then the slavering beast snarled and sank back on its powerful haunches. As Max and Eli spread out, I scrambled down the scratching branches as fast as I could. I had no idea how I was going to help, but I wasn’t going to stand by and watch my brother and best friend get eaten alive. Max yanked his machete from his belt, just as the beast snarled again and readied itself to spring.
‘No!’ The cry left my lips before I could stop it, and Eli looked up with a quick scowl before running to Max’s side. It didn’t surprise me that Eli had sensed my cry. Although he lived in a silent world, he’d always been able to detect my voice. I leapt down the remaining branches as fast as I dared, frantic to do something, anything. Even if that meant dying with my family.
I crashed through the undergrowth, no longer caring who heard me, and burst through the bushes into the moonlit clearing. On the ground, the dog-beast looked even bigger than it appeared from the air, almost as though someone had moulded a clay version of an ancient Greek fighting dog, and magnified it a thousand times complete with distorted jaws, teeth, and claws. Only this one was real. And staring right at me.
I watched in disbelief as it lowered its head and began advancing menacingly, its black lips drawn back furiously over its huge, arched, yellowed canines. My legs buckled with fear; its ebony eyes were empty, angry, and soulless. Backing up against a nearby trunk, I yanked the small mirror from my leather pouch. It was the smallest of hopes, but better than closing my eyes and waiting for death.
Then in a heartbeat, a powerful thrust sent me sprawling into the thick bamboo canes at one side of the clearing. I caught my breath, and ignoring the scratches burning my legs and arms, crawled forward to see Eli staring straight into the eyes of the snarling beast. He eyeballed it intently, before slowly lowering himself into a completely submissive crouch. Not this time, Eli, I wanted to scream. I’d watched him calm an animal in this way so many times before but this was completely different. He was so, utterly vulnerable.
The huge creature lowered its bulbous forehead so it was level with Eli’s own, and then slowly tilted its weight forward. Eli held his ground, but it was easy to see how the colossal beast could take Eli’s head off in a single snap of its mighty jaws if it chose. My heart faltered as its breathing slowed, and the nanoseconds crawled by. No one moved an inch.
Finally, it let out a rumbling growl and moved in. Blood drummed in my temples, and I willed my legs to move, to provide some distraction, anything. And then, something entirely unexpected happened. The beast started covering Eli’s entire body with long, wet, pink-tongued licks. As it nuzzled into his shoulder, my chest started to hurt and I realized I was holding my breath. Slowly, I released my captive breath and flexed my fingers, bloodied from holding the old mirror too tightly.
‘Tal … Tal.’
The urgent whisper finally penetrated my foggy thoughts, and a warm hand closed around my upper arm. I panicked and twisted out of the hold, scrambled up into the low-hanging branches of a nearby tree, pausing only to kick at whoever was in pursuit.
Max yelped.
‘Hey hey, calm down, it’s me OK?’
A pair of familiar hazelnut-green eyes peered anxiously into my own, making my knees feel weak with relief. Frustration quickly followed.
‘Max! What the …?!’ I whispered, shaking his hand off.
‘Don’t give me crap, Tal; I’ve never been so worried!’ he returned, swiftly scaling the branches to crouch beside me. ‘What in the name of Arafel are you doing here?’
A whistle stilled the response on my lips, and my gaze swung back towards the clearing as though in slow motion. Even the birds and trees seemed to be holding their breath. I willed my arms and legs to move but nothing seemed to work any more. Eli was still out there, still silhouetted in the moonlight, but no longer looking at the monstrous dog-beast. Instead, he was staring straight out across the clearing to the thick bushes on the opposite side.
I tried to move, but my limbs were too heavy, and then I was only conscious of the unusual rush of tunnelled wind as a small blue dart fell away from Eli’s strong, athletic body. He looked down as though momentarily confused, and I opened my mouth to scream, but there was a hand, always a hand.
Somewhere in the distance a ruffed lemur howled, and the bamboo stirred in the breeze; but I could only watch as my precious brother crumpled heavily to the floor.
Chapter Four
I could see Max’s lips moving, but my head was filled with a muffled drone. It had to be at least a minute since Eli were taken by the long arm of a Sweeper, and I could only assume it didn’t have time to scour the undergrowth for us. I couldn’t focus. It felt as though I was underwater again, and everything was distorted. I struggled to breathe, fighting the weight of my own conscious desire to stay under and pain-free. But it was impossible. An image of Eli’s stony-white face surfaced, and grim reality swiftly followed.
Gasping for air, I pressed back against the tree trunk and felt Max’s grip finally relent. I exhaled, and something between a guttural sigh and a racking sob came out. He caught my hand, trying to offer comfort, and at once it was wrong. All wrong. I brought my feet up beneath me and, in one swift movement had spun on the branch to face him, my pain morphing into blazing anger.
‘What the hell do you think you were doing?’ I yelled, not caring if we were overheard, my fists railing down furiously on his head and shoulders.
He pulled away from my attack, and eyed me cautiously as he stepped backwards onto a less stable branch.
‘Doing, Tal? I was doing exactly what Eli asked me to do – protect you!’
The words resonated with his usual unapologetic honesty, only making the situation worse. Fury scorched my lungs, followed swiftly by new steely purpose. I needed to move fast if I was to stand any chance of rescuing my family, assuming any of them were still rescuable. I scrambled up through the tree, needing to get away from his uncertain gaze, aware I’d never looked or felt so feral in my life.
‘Don’t follow me!’ I spat, watching his green eyes narrow with hurt before I leapt onto the accommodating branches of a nearby oak. My years spent running and melting into trees took over instinctively, and it wasn’t long before I’d picked up the Sweeper’s tail. It wasn’t hard to track it, and I knew the route to the Lifedome better than most. I also knew Max would be keeping pace a safe distance behind, but all I could think about was Grandpa and Eli.
I reached the Great Oak on the edge of the forest as dawn was breaking, and halted before the brown dirt stretch that separated my world from theirs. I’d overtaken the Sweeper a while back, and had time to prepare myself.
Across the vast expanse of soil lay the Lifedome, reaching up beyond the colossal security wall, the white metal of the closed roof glinting in the iridescent light. I could never work out whether the security wall was intended to keep the Insiders in, or the Outsiders out. Either way the colossal, imposing structure had always been there – familiar and yet a world apart from the forest in which I’d grown up.
Watching now, its ivory silhouette seemed almost ethereal, but I knew that was just an illusion. There were so many fragmented whispers of what life was like on the inside, and they did little to form a cohesive whole in my mind. The truth was: no one in Arafel had any idea about life on the inside. And how any human being could choose a life shut away from the warm sun and red earth seemed unfathomable. Grandpa had always said my feral nature would lead me into trouble. Well, perhaps that moment had arrived.
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The rumble of the Sweeper alerted me it was close and I crouched in my treetop position, assessing my chances. The barren land surrounding the dome was under constant surveillance, and trespassers from the outside were either lasered or ripped apart by the many land mines buried in the area.
We’d lost a number of foragers in the early days to the vaporizing effects of the dome defence systems, a reality Grandpa still found hard. We would have retrieved their bodies, had there been anything left to retrieve, but their loss had taught us one thing at least – the Insiders considered us as game as any of the other animals in the forest.
Judging the Sweeper to be seconds away, I scuttled midway down the tree. There was no thinking to be done. Grandpa and Eli were on board. I shimmied along a branch as far as I dared, ensuring I was concealed by foliage, and made myself wait until the monstrous tank crashed into view.
I was always taken aback by the Insiders’ armoured vehicles. They were solid, and bulbous green, with caterpillar tracks rotating over their entire base. This seemed to enable them to drive even in the roughest forest terrain. There was also a black viewing window, beneath a fringe of laser guns on the roof, and their accuracy left little doubt as to the precision of the onboard scanners. My only chance was to stay high, to time a leap perfectly, and to hope the lasers weren’t capable of turning one hundred and eighty degrees.
As it continued to rumble towards me, I offered a silent prayer and briefly closed my eyes. Eli’s face flickered into focus, and as I prepared to jump, I forced myself to count as he had always made me.
‘… three, four, five.’
I touched the Great Oak for the last time before taking a deep breath, and then took the biggest, longest leap of my life. My feet touched down dead centre and I broke my fall with a short tumble. I exhaled with relief as I came to a halt beside one of the large front lasers. The surface was strangely warm, but not uncomfortable, and thankfully the gun seemed uninterested in my arrival. I flattened my body out, aware I could still attract the attention of the surveillance equipment outside the Lifedome. Then, just as the Sweeper exited the perimeter of the forest, there was a heavier thump behind me.
Book of Fire Page 5
