What was this place? Why was it like the other underground lab I had found earlier? Some one must be in control of this?
“You must have lots of questions,” a voice said from behind me. I turned and recognized the speaker. “The assassin has come to me. It seems we didn’t even need to put a price on your head after all.” The scar over his eye rose as a smile crossed his face.
With the Chycle clan here, it made sense that their leader Dero would be too. But was he really the one in charge? And would I live long enough to find out?
15
Control
“You have been an incredible mystery to us. I still haven’t learned anything about your clan — that’s why you were perfect to mark as a target. But I’m glad you’re still alive.”
“Thanks. With all of the people who have tried to kill or capture me lately, you’re making me feel all warm inside,” I said with a sarcastic grin. Dero walked toward me, but not in a threatening way, and sat down. I stepped back to stay out of his reach — just in case. I had a feeling that this guy skirted the truth.
“Have a seat. Your friends will be captured, and then we’ll have the whole group together.”
“Thanks, but I’ll stand,” I replied, not giving him any respect. “What is this place?”
“Straight to the point. No pretense. So many of the clan leaders I deal with dance around the issues. It takes them forever to make a point.”
“Which you seem to be doing now. Maybe I should leave and come back when you are ready to get to the point.” I was about to leave when his arm came down on my shoulder.
“There is nowhere to go. You are in the middle of a desert. Let’s take this opportunity to get to know each other better.” Okay, this guy was getting creepier by the second. But my options were limited, so I’d play along. For now.
“All right. What do you want to know?”
“I’ll tell you a bit about me if you share information about you. You intrigue me. How you have survived so far is amazing. But you won’t get information from me for nothing.”
I nodded. I’d play whatever game if it helped me figure what was going on. Even if the information didn’t help me find my mother, it could help Jinn and Tuko. I just had to be careful not to give too much away.
“I’ll go first. What happened at Trall? Who killed Luther?” I demanded.
“Uh-uh.” Dero wagged his finger at me like I was a bad child. “That’s not how this works. You ask one question; I ask one question. I’ll tackle your first one. Changing leadership from within is very hard. Often you need an event that rallies everyone to the cause. Many leaders have created tumultuous change by their death. You just need to create the right cause.” Was this guy a politician? I swear he didn’t come close to answering my question.
“Which is?”
“No. No. My turn. Who is your clan?”
“Droniums,” I answered, not wanting to change my story, and this was a test.
“No such group. You are lying. Where do they live?”
“Isn’t that a second question?” I smirked, getting in the parameters of his game.
“Not if you aren’t going to answer truthfully.”
“Fine. I don’t live with a clan. My people have no affiliation.”
Dero studied me carefully. “You’re telling the truth. It’s a pleasant change. But how do your people coexist with no clan to follow? With no leadership to guide them.”
“My turn. I want to understand why you are doing this. Why create dinosaurs that kill?”
Dero stood up and folded his arms. He looked excited to share his story. “Coming from a people with no clan, this may be a bit hard for you to understand. Clans create a bond that can be stronger than any family. Members will do anything to keep their clan strong. It is our world’s greatest strength. Clans enable our people to grow and evolve.”
“But…” I interjected, trying to get him to move along.
“It can also be our greatest weakness. Clans war among themselves, wasting energy and resources. Some clans diminish and become prey for the stronger ones.”
“So you send dinosaurs to kill to unite the clans? That’s twisted. How does lying to them make anyone stronger?”
“Because we need to be reborn!” he yelled, vehemently making his point. “Clans have never been willing to take that step of maturity of working together. They would rather talk and talk while back stabbing each other. They needed an event, something to unite them against a common foe. A reason to work together.”
“Luther’s death? You’re so full of yourself. How long do you think his true killer will stay a secret? Then what will you do?”
“By then the old ways will be dead and buried. A new foundation laid for a new beginning. One that some will embrace and others will resist. Now I gave you a few bonus answers. My turn. Tell me where the rest of your clan is?”
This was what the conversation was really about and the reason why he hadn’t killed me. Yet. Could he comprehend another world outside of his that didn’t involve clans? A place where another leader thought he knew what was best for the people by controlling what they knew. I had come so far from home, but in the end, people weren’t much different from each other no matter where you went.
“You can’t reach my home from here,” I answered truthfully. “I’m not even sure I can get back to my people.” He studied my face, as if he had some internal lie detector. Rather than confirm or deny my statement, he stood, motioned for me to follow him, and opened a door that took us to a spiral flight of stairs that descended into the ground. I followed, although he could easily be leading me into a trap. I moved forward, believing my curiosity would be rewarded.
After the narrow stairs, the hallway opened and a glass dome appeared at the end. There were heat lamps emanating from the glass and I was greeted by a roar of pain from behind a post. Were they torturing some poor animal?
As I turned, I saw a small dinosaur lying on the floor, its legs strewn out in front. Its stomach was swollen, and its legs were wrapped around it as if it was in pain. Suddenly I realized what was going on. Only it was impossible — it was giving birth! I turned to Dero.
“This doesn’t make any sense. Unless I flunked basic history, dinosaurs lay eggs; they don’t birth alive like humans. What weird experiments are you doing here?” Dero walked to the side of the cage, oblivious to the animal’s agony.
“Evolution happens in many ways, sometimes without us understanding why it is occurring. The dinosaurs are evolving, becoming smarter, better hunters, more humanlike in their socialization. They are our biggest threat. If the clans don’t evolve to meet this challenge, we will be the ones who become extinct.”
“So you are creating a threat to eliminate all of the humans. Doesn’t seem like a bonding event to me.”
“That is because you don’t think big-picture. A war is coming and all clans will need to pick a side. The results will change our society. When you tear down an old building, you must build a new foundation, and the new structure will be stronger because of it.” Okay, this guy had a crazy brainwashed feel about him.
“But why have this place in the middle of nowhere, caging these animals? Did you create these dinosaurs, or have they always been here? Are you experimenting on them to make them smarter? Or are you trying to make them hate us?”
“My turn for a question, Pene,” he said.
“Enough of this pretending to be civil, the back-and-forth questions! People and animals are dying. All so you can play God. Don’t expect me and my friends to help you. Once people know the truth, your plan will be over!”
“You’re right, Pene. There are others who support our work, but I can see that you will never become one of them. The dinosaurs have always been here, a resource to be cultivated. You and so many other clans are too blind to see their use. I’m not going to learn anything more from you, and you aren’t listening. It’s a shame. It’s a brave new world and you’re too scared to see it.” He d
ismissed me like a student who had failed her teacher. Maybe I was scared, but this guy was many layers of crazy. It was hard to believe anything that came out of his mouth. He pressed a button on a wall and spoke into an intercom. “We’re done.” Suddenly I felt like I had run out of time. I backed away slowly while the dinosaur mother looked on with pain in its eyes. I heard footsteps on the stairs and turned to see two Chycle clan stepping down toward me. My audience was done.
“There will be others that disagree with you, Dero. They can’t all be swept away like me.”
“I’ll deal with them as they come. This is a long-term plan, but it will unite us into one strong clan. Thousands of lives will be saved. People like you are just too short-sighted to see.” He looked at his clan members. “Take her away.”
They approached me warily, and I raised my hands, signaling my surrender. They softened their stance, and the one on the right reached for my arm. I moved and kicked him in the shin and he immediately went down. I rolled forward as the second one instinctively reached for me. That was his mistake. If he hadn’t come down to my level, he wouldn’t have made such an easy target. I kicked at his knee and heard a yell of pain. I had hurt him, but I didn’t stick around to gloat. I ran hard up the stairs, hoping I could get out before reinforcements arrived.
As I charged up the stairs, I saw there were gaps in the metal rungs, and I tried not to trip and break my foot. At the top of the stairs, I checked behind me and didn’t see any pursuers. Because I wasn’t looking ahead, I slammed into the chest of a tall boy. He was solid, and I fell on my back. I had the presence of mind to keep my head up which prevented it from slamming into the floor. I was ready to kick my assailant between the legs when I recognized who was in front of me.
“Lucaz! I am so glad to see you. Guess who I just saw?”
“No time. There are too many of them, Pene. Abraham has already left the compound on the back of the dinosaur he was riding. We’re on our own.”
Great. He helped get us into this mess and now he’s gone with his dinosaur. We had no such defense. We needed an escape, which made me think about the tangled mess of motorcycles. Could we get one of those going?
As we exited the main door, my thoughts were answered. The main compound was a twisted pile of bikes. There were still two standing up that were hooked together, but I hoped I could pry one apart. Except there were half a dozen Chycle clan members standing less than fifty feet away. They didn’t look happy. One had blood dripping from his forehead while another was swinging a metal chain. And they were all looking at us. We had to run, but with no vehicle and in the middle of a desert, there was no way to get away. But a cloud of dust coming from behind them tweaked my interest.
“Please tell us that you don’t want to give up. I hope you want to run,” the clan member yelled, clearly wanting to hurt us. I just didn’t care.
“No sense disappointing you. Too bad Dero doesn’t care what happens to you or these animals.” Lucaz gave me a confused look. The Chycle clan weren’t here for conversation, and the clan member with the chain threw his end at us. I ducked and then braced for the rest of their attack. It never came. Before they could halve the distance, the dust cloud grew larger and a car emerged.
Tuko! My heart beat fast. I’d never thought I’d be so happy to see him. The clan members started to turn around as Tuko’s car skidded to a stop. The vehicle hit a clan member sending him flying. I had no sympathy as he slammed into the bike pile.
“Is he with you?” Tuko pointed at Lucaz. I nodded and the two of us jumped into the back seat as Tuko accelerated. One of the Chycle clan leaped into the back and hit Lucaz in the gut, making him double over.
“We have trouble.” I motioned to Tuko.
“I have to focus in front of us.” There was chaos everywhere, from loose dinosaurs to clan members running at the car. “He’s your problem,” Tuko responded. Ah, how I’d missed him. I turned and my attacker swung at me just as Tuko was turning. His fist passed by me, as his momentum pushed him forward. I kicked. He fell out of the car but grabbed the door. His feet dragged along the earth.
“Some help would be nice.” I moved past Lucaz, who was still clutching his stomach. I raised my foot and in one swift motion kicked at one of the guy’s hands. He moved at the same time causing me to hit metal. Just as I was about to kick again, his other hand grabbed my ankle and I fell on my back on the seat. I thrashed, but his grip was solid, and the more I squirmed, the tighter it became.
The car swerved sending the clan member and my leg swinging to the right. It would have been fun if I didn’t feel my leg stretch and his fingernails dig into my skin. I kicked with my other leg and missed. Suddenly the pressure on my leg relaxed and I saw Lucaz rubbing his fist. I checked over the side of the car. The clan member lay in a heap along the side of the road. I brushed the scratches on my skin. Good riddance.
“Thanks. Tuko, this is Lucaz. Lucaz, Tuko.” Neither spoke and I realized this wasn’t the time for introductions. I fell back into the back seat after another sharp turn. Tuko was almost clear of the complex, but several Chycle members had managed to get their motorcycles lose from the pile and accelerated toward us.
“What’s your plan?” I asked Tuko, expecting he might have some help from his clan forthcoming.
“Drive faster than them,” he said tightly, proving that if I expected anything complex from Tuko, I’d be disappointed. I began to look for anything to throw at our pursuers when another sharp turn almost knocked me out of the car.
Lucaz grabbed my wrist and pinned me down. “Focus on staying in the car, because your friend drives like a maniac. If you fall out, there will be no time to pick you up.” The car lurched again and I knew he was right.
We exited the encampment and the entire desert loomed in front us. I didn’t know how Tuko had found us, but I hoped he knew how to escape this place. I looked back. Four motorcycles with dust trails were closing the gap. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that in a race the motorcycles were faster. I searched for weapons, hoping that by the time they reached us, I’d have something to knock them down.
“Where is your toolbox?” I yelled at Tuko. This time he glanced back at me and noticed the motorcycles closing.
“In the trunk, but we don’t have time to stop. They’d be all over us.”
“Well, I need something to throw at them.” Lucaz held up a sparkplug he pulled out of the cushions. “And we’ve got nothing back here.” I motioned for him to keep looking.
“That’s your problem. I saved your butt; now you need to figure out how to lose these guys.” Yep, Tuko was as helpful as ever. But he was right. This was one girl who wasn’t going to let a guy solve all her problems. I needed a distraction or a weapon. I watched the desert roll in front of us, mounds of dirt grabbing my attention. That’s it — how about both a weapon and a distraction?
“Tuko, drive closer to the edge of the road!” He gave me a strange look and I could tell he didn’t know about the worms in the ground. “But not too close and slow down a bit,” I added. If he was concerned, he didn’t show it and followed my instructions. One of the motorcycles had closed the gap and as we passed one of the mounds, I threw an empty bottle that landed on it. The ground exploded as teeth rose into the air. The motorcycle turned sharply and collapsed, the worm diving into the accident. I didn’t look back to see if the creature got the rider or a mouthful of metal.
“What the hell was that?” Tuko yelled and turned back to the center of the road.
“You don’t want to know,” Lucaz answered, “and I don’t think the Chycles are going to fall for that twice.” Three motorcycles had gathered behind us but didn’t get any closer for fear of the desert erupting again.
“What are they waiting for?” I asked, thinking that maybe we could escape.
“Up ahead,” Tuko pointed, “is a valley. I don’t think those things are in the sides of the hills. They can try to pass us and surround us there.”
I spat, even
though my mouth was dusty and dry. How could we take out the bikers before the valley? The answer was obvious.
“Tuko — stop the car!”
“What! Then they’ll catch us.” He scowled.
“Exactly, and that’s just what we want.” The car slowed, but I could feel Tuko’s resistance. But he must have trusted me enough, which was all that counted. As the car stopped, I could feel the dust catching up, and it momentarily blinded me. When my vision returned, the three motorcycles were closing the gap, one in the lead and two following. “Keep the engine running,” I commanded Tuko.
I opened the trunk and pulled out the toolbox. If I was going to activate the desert worms, I needed objects to make it happen. The lead motorcycle skidded to a stop, and its driver disembarked. The two riders behind him stayed on their vehicles with their engines revving.
“Stay where you are,” I warned the lead biker. “Unless you and your clan want to be supper for our friends of the desert.” He looked unperturbed. He took off his helmet. It was Dero, and he was grinning. He was gently swinging a chain in his right hand.
“I’ve lived with them for years. They could just as easily eat you as me. You’re bluffing.” He propped the bike on its kickstand but didn’t come any closer.
“Why don’t you come over and find out?” I challenged, daring him to test me.
He smirked. “Guess we have a standoff. Unless you have something else in mind?”
I did, but I needed time.
“Who do you work for? What will you get if the clans are merged?” I demanded, wondering if pride would get me an answer. I could feel Lucaz and Tuko looking at each other, wondering what the hell I was talking about.
“I’m not here to discuss our clan’s plans with you. Surrender, and you and your friends will be imprisoned but live.”
“How kind of you.” I paced the roadway then kicked a rock into the desert.
“Why is Chycle clan caging these animals?” Lucaz asked.
Clan World Page 15
