by J. Thorn
They’re wild, he thought. I did the best I could. Hopefully they’ll get a few before the hunters fill them with arrows.
There weren’t many skilled bowmen in the clan, Gaston knew. Unlike his northern kind, the southern clans seemed to lack the coordination required, except maybe the girl. Seren. Twice already on the journey she had taken down a fleeing deer at a hundred paces, and Gaston had come to realize that she had the skills and the eye to protect the clan from wolves, but so many others appeared fat and weak. They hadn’t even placed watchers with bows on the upper floor.
He had spent hours on The Walk, moving from one family to another. During that time, he had watched and listened, taking mental notes on who might be swayed by White Citadel and who would be strong enough to get him there.
“…like last year.”
He stiffened and then leaned his head around the wall to better hear the guards’ conversation.
“He ain’t his old man.”
“He’ll grow into it. They always do.”
Before they could speak again, another howl reverberated across the desolate asphalt of Summerville. Gaston watched as the men gripped their weapons, mostly knives and blades, useful in close quarters.
Rather than wait, or worse yet, be one of the first attacked by the pack, Gaston ran back around the wall and entered the atrium through another gap in the brick. So much for sealing all the gaps, he thought, as he grabbed a burlap cover sitting on top of a cart and wiped his hands in it, trying to remove as much of the blood as possible.
He moved swiftly through The Mall, quietly avoiding others as they slept or talked, dodging through gaps between tents instead of walking through the midst of the small gatherings dotted here and there, until he reached the alcove under the stairs, the spot he had picked out purely for its concealment. He found his bedroll and climbed inside, clutching his long knife, his heart beating and his lungs burning. He had to remind himself of White Citadel and what it would take to get there. Gaston would need to absolve himself of the guilt. These were not his people, not his kin. He felt the book press against his ribs, and he removed it from beneath his coat. Gaston held the book up in the dark, recognizing the worn cover without even seeing it.
“John would be proud,” he said, the words nothing but a light touch from his lips. “I’m going to get there, and I’m going to take the book with me.”
Gaston pulled the bedroll up to his chin when the first screams of the men punctured the camp.
Chapter 33
Seren saw the whole scene unfold, unable to prevent the first vicious attack, still confused at what she had seen.
At the first sound of the wolves howling, she had grabbed her bow and arrow sheath, thrown her hooded shawl over her shoulders, and headed for the broken stairs just twenty feet away from her camping position. Others were stirring from slumber and gathering together, some grabbing hand weapons, but others still slept on. She climbed the broken stairs, carefully at first but then more swiftly, as the noise of the wolves’ howling filled the night air.
The stairway was strange, and unlike anything she had seen before. There were rusted bars crossing over the rising gap rather than solid stairs, and equally rusted metal plates hung down into a cavity that ran the whole height of the stairs. It was as though the stairs had once been made out of some kind of metal that had now degraded, leaving little to tread upon, but the edges were solid and she could shimmy up those easily enough if she leaned over the rail.
It led out onto a second floor, as she had hoped. A lot of the flooring was broken and fallen away, leaving large gaps between old tiles, and she had to tread carefully as she made her way along what maybe had once been a corridor on the second floor of The Mall. Finally, after jumping over several large gaps, she made her way to the crumbling wall at the front of the building, overlooking the spot where three guards stood over a barrel filled with flaming wood. They blocked the only entrance on this side of the ruins.
It was from there that she watched the next few minutes go by, puzzling as they were. In the darkness beyond the fire of the barrel, which was placed just beyond the gap, she could see the flat, cracked ground of the road, and beyond that darkness. Tall grass and weeds grew up between the cracks and along the edge of the road. Across the open space, dark trees loomed over the edge of the road, casting strange shadows.
The howling of the wolves had ceased minutes before, as she had been making her way tentatively across the broken floor, but now as she watched from her perch above that gave her a clear view of both the area outside the entrance and the camping area on the inside of the walls, she could see movement out there in the darkness.
Then something distracted her from the road, and she peered down into the camping area just off the main walkway, about fifty yards into the ruins.
Someone was moving around among the tents, but she couldn’t see who. It was an adult, and the figure stopped at the entrances to each tent, and then crouched before moving onto the next one.
Someone checking on the sleepers? she wondered, trying to figure out who would be in those tents.
It’s nothing, she thought. Don’t be silly. It’s not important. But then the figure stepped out into the main walkway and headed away into the darkness, and just for a moment she saw the person’s face in the light from the fire barrel.
Gaston.
Seren’s stomach churned uncomfortably.
What was he doing by those tents?
Chapter 34
Jonah felt Sasha’s leg brush up against his and it brought him fully awake. His eyes shot open and he stared through the gaping hole in the structure and into a starry sky. Jonah felt his heart pounding and he quickly glanced at Gideon and Keana. His children remained asleep on the other side of the smoldering fire.
The howling forced him to sit up and he cursed beneath his breath. He was not dreaming.
I should have stood guard. I did not need to sleep tonight.
He grabbed his axe from where he’d stuck it in the ground before lying down. The wolves were coming, and he would need to be at the entrance when they arrived. Jonah remembered his father talking about them, and they had spotted several lone wolves on previous trips to Eliz. But the beasts seemed to get more brazen as time wore on. Fewer clans making The Walk meant the wolves expanded their territory beyond the lonely, uninhabited forests. They now challenged the humans for whatever scraps the old world had left behind.
Jonah heard the voices of the guards, the men no longer concerned with not waking the camp. He ran through the debris and around trees growing up through the ruined structure, practically running over Roke as the young man stepped out of the darkness like a shadow.
“Wolves.”
“Yes,” said Jonah. “Come.”
Roke nodded at Jonah and followed his leader through the darkened maze until they stood at the entrance, where the three warriors stood guard. They all looked at Jonah and then Roke, the warriors holding torches and looking out into the forest.
“The howling. It is coming closer.”
Jonah nodded at the man and then crossed his arms over his chest, the axe still in his hand. “How many?”
“A pack,” said another warrior. “Hard to say. They’ve learned how to disguise their numbers. Not all the beasts howl.”
“Seren is a good shot.”
Jonah turned to look at Roke, and even in the low light, he saw the look of regret on the boy’s face. He knew his father would have backhanded the boy for speaking out of turn. Jonah repressed the urge and asked Roke a question. “Where is she?”
“Above us in the ruin. In the top section of The Mall. I saw her.”
“As an archer would be,” Jonah said. “We should have placed more up there.”
The warriors stood, waiting for Jonah’s next move.
“I’m sure she already has an arrow trained on the entrance. We must be ready when the pack arrives and hope we don’t need her to fire in our direction…in the dark of night
.”
The warriors smiled, and Jonah saw a slight grin break on Roke’s face.
“You know a lot,” he said to Jonah.
“Because I listen. Even to young men who only last year would be in their bedroll and not standing with the warriors.”
Another burst of howling rolled through the valley. Roke took a step back into The Mall, while Jonah and the warriors stiffened.
“I’m going to check the perimeter. You stand guard and shout if you see them approach. I don’t think they will yet, but they are wild beasts and unpredictable. Roke, come with me.”
Jonah led the boy back down the pathway and into the interior of the camp. He felt Roke on his heels, breathing heavily.
“Will they attack us?”
Jonah kept moving, thinking about how he wanted to answer the question. “I have no way of knowing. I need to check the perimeter.”
“Why? The wolves are approaching the entrance.”
Jonah spun and grabbed Roke’s shoulder. He shoved the boy against the wall and stooped down to meet his eyes.
“Do you believe wolves are the only threat we face on The Walk?”
Roke shook his head but did not speak.
“You and your sister are brave, but you are still young. You don’t understand how things can be on the road. At one time, before The Event, men trained wolves to be subservient. The beasts served their masters.”
“Dogs,” Roke said, the whisper drifting from his lips.
“Yes. Those dogs were once wild, as they have since returned. And if man could break them and breed them before The Event, he could do so again.”
“Are you saying men sent the wolves?”
“No,” said Jonah. “I’m saying men have used the beasts in the past and they can use them again in the future. Every second I stand here, explaining this to you, is one when I am not securing the perimeter. If men unleashed their trained wolves on our camp, those same men are now skulking through the trees and surrounding The Mall.”
Roke’s eyes widened as he contemplated Jonah’s words.
“Right,” Jonah said. “We can handle wolves, provided they are not cover for murderers and thieves.”
Jonah let go of Roke’s shoulder and ran deeper into the camp. He saw families awakening. Men searched for their weapons while women and children huddled together.
“Wolves at the gate,” he said to those he encountered. “Secure the perimeter.”
Roke ran until he was at Jonah’s side. Jonah stuck his arm out, barring the boy from moving again.
“Stop. Find your sister and remain with her. Do not come out unless I come for you.”
“But I want to—”
“Now!”
Roke nodded at Jonah and ran into the dark recesses of The Mall. Several warriors appeared on Jonah’s left.
“The entrance?” one asked.
“Not yet,” said Jonah. “The warriors there can handle the wolves until we secure the camp.”
“You don’t believe that scavengers are using the beasts to distract us, do you?”
“I observe. I don’t believe,” Jonah said. “Let’s go.”
Jonah led the men through the odd mix of rusted steel and trees twisting through the rubble. Most of the camp had woken up, and Jonah thought briefly of Sasha and his children. He wanted to return to them, and he would have, had his father still been alive. But he wasn’t. And neither was Nera, with his accumulated wisdom. Jonah would have to lead the clan while putting the safety of his own family second, as much as that pained him.
They ran from one wall to another, moving counterclockwise through The Mall. Jonah had to recognize that men could be so well hidden that they would run right past them. However, even the most devious thief would show himself in one form or another.
The warriors followed Jonah into what he believed was the deepest portion of The Mall, an area so dense with rubble that even a wolf would have difficulty climbing through it all. He stopped and the warriors faced him. Jonah used the two fingers on his right hand to point at his own eyes and then extended his arm into the darkness. The warriors nodded and hopped over rocks and other debris, heading for the rear wall.
Jonah heard the shouts of the clan coming from the entrance.
I hope I’m wrong, he thought. Please let it be just wolves.
He waited five seconds, the time unfolding like slow, thick mud. The warriors reappeared in front of Jonah.
“Nothing,” one of them said.
Before Jonah could reply, another round of howling broke through the black void, followed by cries and shouts.
“I see no evidence of marauders. Let’s go.”
The warriors fell behind Jonah as he ran out of the recesses of The Mall and toward the main entrance. Torch light sprung from the night as the clan members left their tents and brought burning branches to the entrance.
More howling, this time leaving no doubt the wolves had arrived.
Jonah ran faster, leaping over rocks and fallen trees. He turned one corner and made eye contact with Sasha. Silver lines of tears ran down her face as she stood facing the direction of the howling wolves, the children clinging to her. Jonah followed her eyes as she looked toward the entrance and he kept running, understanding the meaning of their unspoken communication.
With the howling came the low, rumbling growls of hungry beasts. Jonah no longer cared whether the pack was a tactic used by bandits or whether they found the clan on their own. Either way, the threat was real, and Jonah would have to lead.
“Jonah. They’re here.”
The call from the warrior shook Jonah from his thoughts as he ran toward the entrance, the axe in his hand and his family in his heart.
Chapter 35
There was more movement farther into the ruins, and Seren saw a group of figures—armed—heading toward the gap that she sat above. More guards coming to defend the walls? She thought she glimpsed Jonah among them. There were shouts from several other locations in the ruins, but then...
The scream sounded from just a few feet away, and she turned, staring down to the street below in horror, as the ground just past the men erupted into movement.
Dark shapes swept over the three men, who began to lash out and struggle, fighting against what she could see now was a mass of fur.
This was no usual sized pack; there were dozens of wolves.
The first man disappeared into the midst of the pack, but the other two managed to back away and block the entrance.
She pulled an arrow free from her sheath and aimed. No targets. She just fired into the movement outside and was satisfied to hear a yelp of pain.
She loosed another arrow, and another.
She saw one of the men go down, pulling the barrel with him. The fiery contents scattered across the ground and lit up the area, just as she saw two of the wolves jump the gap and land inside the ruins.
Only two got inside. Others were now backing away and she could see the faces staring, growling at the fire and the remaining defender.
There were shouts from behind, and she glanced to see Jonah and his reinforcements just thirty feet away, but the two wolves were inside already, the lone defender now torn between defending the entrance and going after the two that had got past him, but he had no choice but to hold his ground.
Seren saw the two wolves move swiftly, vanishing for a moment, but then the first reappeared next to one of the tents, sniffing at something on the ground.
That was enough of a pause for her. An arrow was notched and lose in two seconds, hitting the wolf full in the side, piercing through its chest. The creature yelped, stumbled, and tried to run, but it could only limp.
Then she saw the second wolf appear not far away, heading for another tent. It also stopped at the entrance, distracted by something on the ground instead of rushing into the tent.
Another arrow flew, hitting the creature in its back, just missing its spine but piercing deep anyway. This one yelped loudly, and tried to move away,
but found that its back legs no longer worked. It tried to drag itself back toward the entrance, to where the other wolves now howled and growled. But then Jonah was charging at it with his axe, bringing the weapon down hard, and the rest of the men were rushing at the other wolf as it tried, weakly, to scramble away.
Seren spun back to the entrance. The second fallen man, though avoiding the fire, was trying to crawl back to the entrance, but several wolves had him by the legs and were pulling him into the darkness as he screamed.
Then she saw a large wolf, much bigger than the others, jump out and clamp down on his neck. The huge beast shook him once and dropped him, then it turned to face the single defender, a small man who now trembled with fear, but still managed to point his knife at the wolf.
The creature stepped forward and began to approach, just as Seren rushed to grab for another arrow. Behind her, she heard shouts. More people coming to defend.
Come on, Jonah, get to this entrance, she thought. Get there or they will rush the camp this time.
The wolves were preparing; she could tell. They seethed behind this huge leader, waiting to pounce and rush into the ruins.
She pulled back the arrow, aimed, and fired.
The arrow wavered as it left the bow, and for one terrible moment, Seren wondered if she had fired a dud. Just when she needed accuracy the most, the arrow would fly off in some random direction, or slam into the floor below her.
But it didn’t. It caught the air and shot forward, dead on, slamming into the huge wolf’s left shoulder.
The huge beast howled and staggered back, then limped.
And she saw it happen, surprised at how quickly the massive wall of offense could crumble. The wolves, one moment facing the single man, standing in a gap much too wide to defend alone, broke and ran en masse. The huge wolf also turned and vanished into the darkness, but as it went she could see that it was leaning heavily to one side.
