The Traveler

by Melissa Delport

  As much as Jason, and even Darren, seem to have accepted Dex as one of our own, the Graham women are still wary and uncomfortable around him, particularly after witnessing the slaughter of half their family at the hands of a Venite who looks just like him. When Tom Stewart and his team arrive, Sally and Megan jump ship – opting to travel with the Guard instead. Dex doesn’t react, but I can see the hunch in his shoulders and the muscle going in his jaw.

  “It wasn’t your fault,” I take his hand. “Dennis and Byron made their own choices.” The Graham men were brave, but foolish, and it had cost them dearly. Tom’s team now consists of only four men other than Tom, including Ray and Nicholas the medic. They are in contact with the army who are on course to meet us. I glance nervously at Dex, noticing the way Tom is watching him.

  “We’re being hunted,” I tell Tom, whose grey eyes widen in alarm. “We’ve been given a head start but we’ll need every minute of it. The man hunting us is not like the others. He’s worse.”

  “Worse how?”

  “He can do things, things the others can’t do. Terrible things.”

  “You need to be more specific, Miss. I can’t fight what I don’t understand.”

  “He can control everything – earth, fire, water, air, even the storms.” It is out before I can stop myself, but Dex nods his support. With Amarox after us, the dynamic has changed. These people need all the information we can give them.

  “The storms?” Tom looks as though I have slapped him.

  “Yes, the storms. They create them.”

  “So does he!” Sally hisses, pointing at Dex.

  “Is that true?” Tom raises his eyebrow, staring intently at Dex.

  “Yes, it’s true,” I nod, “but again, I must remind you that he is on our side.” Tom lets it go for now, but I can sense that the subject is not closed.

  “What else?”

  “They have my friend, Kate. The girl who was with us earlier.”

  “Your friend is probably dead.”

  “I don’t believe that,” I insist. Tom scans my face, glancing over at Dex. Silently he takes my arm and pulls me away from the others.

  “Miss...”

  “It’s Rachel,” I correct.

  “Rachel,” he accedes. “I’m not sure exactly what’s going on here but I think you know more than you’re telling me. I don’t need to remind you that millions of people will die – are dying. Every minute that we waste, more humans,” he stresses the word as if to remind me where my loyalties lie, “are suffering. We need all the information you have. Don’t you want to save earth?”

  “Of course I do!” I splutter, tears of humiliation welling in my eyes.

  “Then you have to tell me what you know. Is he somehow controlling you? Has he got some hold over you? We can help.”

  “No,” I shake my head, “he doesn’t. He’s a good person,” I insist, although I am all too aware that Dex could easily be manipulating me – if he decided to exercise his control over quintessence, however weak it might be. No, he wouldn’t! He promised me, I remind myself. He promised he would never make me do anything that I didn’t want to do.

  “I’m sure he is,” Tom placates, and I can see that he doesn’t believe me. He probably thinks I’m suffering with Stockholm syndrome. As I look up into his eyes I see the hard determination and military detachment.

  “I’ll find out what I can, just give me some time,” I murmur, injecting just the right amount of fear and doubt into my voice.

  “You will be safe Rachel, I give you my word on that,” he soothes, gripping my shoulder, a satisfied expression settling over his face, “your country owes you a great service.”

  I nod, forcing a smile, “Thank you, Sir. I’ll try not to let you down.”

  As we set off through the mountains following the Humvee, Darren swivels in his seat, speaking for the first time since Kate was captured. The four of us are traveling in the Toyota. Tom had wanted Ray to accompany us but I had quietly explained that, in order for me to get information out of Dex, I needed him to be completely comfortable.

  “It’s a trap. They want him,” Darren’s gaze falls on Dex.

  “Of course they do,” Jason pipes up from the driver’s seat. “Know your enemy and all that. They’ll want to use him, figure out what his weaknesses are, how they can destroy the others. They’ll probably try and dissect him if they can’t make him talk.”

  “They can’t have him,” I shake my head, my jaw set. I had made up my mind the second Tom assumed that I would hand over all of Dex’s secrets.

  “Agreed,” Darren nods and I raise my eyebrow. “I know you’ll get her back,” he continues, addressing Dex, and Dex raises his head. “You’re the only one who can.”

  “I made you a promise Darren and I intend to keep it,” Dex replies. He had promised Darren that he would do everything in his power to get Kate back.

  “So we need a plan,” Jason muses, “and soon.”

  The Guard have arranged to meet the army a few miles past the city of Bristol, Virginia. The three hundred mile journey takes much longer as we detour, staying off the main highways. Twice we have to backtrack, avoiding the sounds of distant explosions and find alternate routes. Each time this happens, I start to panic, knowing that we are running out of time. We need to put as much distance between ourselves and Amarox as possible.

  “Will he find us?” I ask Dex, who nods grimly.

  “I hope so.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the only person who could tell him where we’re going is Kate, and I promised Darren that I would get her back.”

  “But how will we beat him?”

  “You won’t,” he chuckles, “you will be very far away from him. You all will. This is my mess to clean up. Besides,” he adds as I open my mouth to argue, “I really don’t think I stand a chance if you’re around.” I fall silent, knowing it’s the truth. The only chance Dex has of defeating Amarox is if I’m far enough away that his abilities are at full strength.

  By nightfall we have covered only half the distance to Bristol. Fearful of traveling at night, our headlights making us an obvious target, we make camp a few miles off the road in a densely forested area. The night is pitch black, devoid of stars, and I shiver in my jacket, refusing to take back the jersey that I gave to Dex earlier in the day. We daren’t light a fire for fear of drawing attention to our location.

  “They’re definitely going to try and apprehend me,” Dex murmurs as the four of us settle down a short distance away from the others.

  “We’ll have to wait until we are fairly close to Bristol,” Darren replies softly, “that way you won’t have too much ground to cover on your own.”

  “I’m going with him,” I interject. “No arguments,” I continue as Jason opens his mouth to object. “I’m going.” Surprisingly Dex nods. I don’t think he wants me out of his sight any more than I want to be separated from him. He watches the Guard warily, but eventually, the sound of my chattering teeth becomes too much for him and he pulls me close, wrapping his arms around me. I ignore the sudden hush that befalls the other group and I rest my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes. Darren and Jason’s opinions are the only ones that matter to me and they have accepted Dex as one of our own. We have formulated a plan to protect him from the army and I only hope that it works.

  “We’re dangerously low on fuel,” I hear Tom’s voice just before I fall asleep.

  Chapter 24

  We are back on the road by daybreak, the monotonous rocking of the Toyota making my eyes heavy, but I can’t sleep knowing that our twenty-four hours is up. Amarox is now hunting us. Dex scans the surrounding area as we go over the plan. It means Dex and I separating from the group which I have reservations about. Jason and Darren will be vulnerable without Dex around to protect them by deterring any Venite soldiers they may encounter, but it’s the only way to ensure that Dex isn’t taken into custody or forced to retaliate against the Guard. With any luck we will all be i
n Yancey long before Amarox catches up to us. We also devise a signal to let the others know where to find us once we have reached the Black Mountains.

  The Humvee pulls into an abandoned gas station only a half hour later and we pull in behind it. Leaving the others to refuel, I enter the kiosk, the two empty backpacks over my arm. The large outer window is smashed, no doubt as a result of looting. Dex and I will need water and supplies until we find another car and this will be our last stop before we meet up with the army. I push through the glass door and a quick scan of the store reveals no signs of life. Most of the towns we have passed look much the same – people are in hiding, their fear keeping them indoors.

  As I suspected there is not much left on the shelves. I stuff a squashed loaf of bread and a few packets of crisps into the first backpack and fill the second with the few remaining bottles strewn on the floor around the refrigerators. I’m not usually a fan of soda, but the sugar will probably do us the world of good. There is also a bottle or two of water crammed in there. Passing down the next aisle my eyes fall on a lone bar of soap and I stuff it between the bottles. I bend down to peer under the metal shelving, hoping that there may be more underneath, when the distinct sound of glass underfoot makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

  I whirl around and automatically take a step backward. I am staring straight down the barrel of a gun which is pointed right at my face. My back collides with the shelving and I drop one of the two backpacks I am holding. The lanky, mousy-haired assailant I am facing can't be more than twenty-one years old and I blink in surprise at the hateful sneer on his face. He glances down at the backpack at my feet and grins evilly at me.

  “I’ll be needing that,” he casually uses his gun hand to gesture at it and I flinch. “And that,” he adds, pointing again at the backpack still slung over my shoulder. From the weight of it, it’s the one containing the soda and my precious soap bar.

  I glance up the aisle toward the door. Through the glass I can see the others. Tom’s men are all crowded around the Humvee, obviously engaged in a private conversation. Jason and Darren are watching them suspiciously. Judging by the way they keep looking back at Dex, who is lounging against the Toyota’s hood, it’s fairly obvious what they are discussing.

  “I’ll be gone before they even know I’m here,” the youth before me drawls, guessing my thoughts. “There’s no help for you, Princess.”

  “Why don’t you just get your own damn stuff?” I hiss, and he grins.

  “Almost all gone, I’m afraid,” he gestures around the barren store, “and besides, you’ve taken the trouble to pack everything so conveniently.”

  “Take it, then,” I slip the satchel off my shoulder and shove it at him. He doesn’t hesitate and retaliates striking me so hard across the face with the butt of the gun that I see stars.

  An evil, sadistic smile crosses his face as he raises the gun. As I shield my face with my arms I see a movement behind him. Dex grabs his gun arm and forces it upward, twisting his arm savagely. The gun clatters to the floor, forgotten, as the youth swivels around to face this new threat. He kicks out at Dex but Dex blocks him easily and pushes him backwards into the shelves. The force of the impact unbalances the metal racking and it slowly topples over before slamming into the next row of shelving. One by one the shelves crash to the ground like dominoes, the enormous noise masking the sound of Dex’s attack on the younger man. Automatically I reach for the gun and shove it into my jacket pocket and then I yell over the noise, begging Dex to stop. Despite the overwhelming dizziness I manage to scramble to my feet. The others have arrived, alerted by the colossal noise and Jason tries to stop Dex, earning himself an elbow to the face. My adrenalin kicks in as I see Tom raise his rifle aiming it at Dex and I quickly step between them.

  “Dex!” I grab his arm as he brings it up to deliver another punishing blow. “Stop it! Stop it!” I hang onto his arm for all I’m worth and finally he takes notice. As we stare at each other the fight seems to go out of him.

  “Are you okay?” he asks, pushing my hair aside and wincing at the nasty gash on my temple. My head is pounding but I manage a nod.

  “I’m fine, let’s just get out of here.” Avoiding the gruesome sight of the younger man’s prostate body and the grim expression on the faces around us, I turn to Jason, “You okay?” His right eye is already darkening – he is going to have one hell of a shiner. Dex turns to face him, only now noticing the damage he unwillingly inflicted.

  “I’m sorry,” he mutters, “I didn’t mean to...”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Jason shrugs it off retrieving the two backpacks. “I assume he posed a danger to Rachel?” Dex nods and Jason smiles ruefully. “Well, then, I guess there’s no harm done here.” He looks pointedly at Tom and then he saunters out of the store, the rest of us following him.

  We travel for most of the day, stopping only to relieve ourselves. I doze on and off, trying not to think about our imminent departure from the group. As we near the rendezvous point we all become more alert, scouting around for a suitable place to make a run for it. The Humvee takes a left turn and Jason follows. He has been slowly increasing the distance between us for the last twenty minutes, as discreetly as possible, so that the Guard doesn’t suspect anything.

  “You sure you want to do this?” Jason asks from the front, keeping his eyes on the road. Darren turns to face us, his blue eyes concerned.

  “We have no choice,” I answer, hoisting one of the backpacks over my arms. Dex shoulders the other. We transferred a few items of clothing and some rope from the last rucksack along with the food and drinks, so both are fairly heavy and cumbersome.

  “Agreed.” Jason nods, “well then, I guess we’ll see you in Yancey. Take care of her,” he adds and I feel a surge of affection for the man who less than three days ago annoyed the hell out of me.

  “We’ll approach from the mountains; watch for the signal,” Dex tells them.

  “Be safe,” I sigh, opening my door just slightly and watching the road surface flying past below. Despite my bravado, I really don’t want to do this.

  “There’s some bush ahead; they’ll lose sight of us for just a few seconds,” Darren warns, and I brace myself. “Now!” he yells as Jason slows to a crawl and veers to the right, closer to the edge of the road. I shove open the door and dive for the shrubbery alongside the road. Although scratching the heck out of my hands and face, the foliage at least cushions my landing and I roll to a stop without much incident. Dex lands a few feet away from me, unsurprisingly unscathed.

  “Stay down!” I whisper and he nods. I listen intently, but the sound of the cars is already diminishing as they get farther and farther away.

  We wait a few minutes until there is nothing but silence and then Dex hops to his feet, peering over the bushes.

  “They’re gone,” he bends down and helps me to my feet. “You’re in a state,” he adds, pulling leaves from my hair and wincing at my multitude of scratches.

  “I’m fine,” I insist, “let’s get out of here before they figure out that we’ve gone.”

  We head south-west and keep walking until we come across another road, running almost parallel to the route the others are taking. Our plan is to find a car and make our own way to Yancey County to meet up with the others. We will abandon the car and hike through the mountains for the last leg of our trip instead of driving right into Yancey, hiding in the Pisgah National Forest so that we can avoid detection by the army and reunite with Jason and Darren.

  The journey is about eighty miles, give or take, but it will be dark soon. The others will no doubt find somewhere safe to spend the night and I would prefer that Dex and I do the same. Hopefully, by the time Tom meets up with the army and realizes we are gone it will be too late to do anything about it and they will continue on their current route.

  “Will Amarox keep coming through the night?” I ask. Dex shakes his head.

  “No, he’ll need to rest.” I feel slightly better
knowing that we at least won’t lose our day’s lead, but my fear for Kate weighs heavily on my heart. She has been in Amarox’s custody for almost two full days.

  “Do you think he’ll kill her?” I ask, “Kate, I mean.”

  “I don’t think so, not yet anyway. Not unless she refuses to give him our location.”

  “Do you think she’ll do that?” I hadn’t thought of this – that Kate might sacrifice herself to protect us.

  “No, I told her to tell him anything he wished to know.”

  “What if he hurts her, though? Just for the fun of it?”

  “He won’t,” Dex sounds certain. “That is where we differ from humans. Torture and inflicting pain merely for the sake of it is a perverse, sadistic waste of time. It achieves nothing and it requires an emotional investment. Amarox is a soldier; he believes in killing his enemy not wasting his energy on prolonging the inevitable. He is focused. As long as he needs Kate alive, which he does to make sure that she is telling the truth, she will come to no harm.” His rationalization does nothing to dispel my fears, in fact, it does just the opposite.

  “So when he does find us he’ll kill her, that’s what you’re saying?”

  “If everything goes according to plan, he won’t.”

  “You mean if he likes her – if she makes him feel compassionate?” I ask, slowing down as I recall his explanation in the car. Dex keeps walking and I hasten to catch up with him. “Do you think it’ll work?”

  “We’ll know soon enough,” is all the answer I get.

  Eventually we come across a gravel driveway heading into the woods. We deliberate for a while but eventually I turn up it and Dex follows. I would far rather find somewhere safe to rest than spend the night out in the middle of nowhere. I am also curious as to who would live out here, so isolated from everything.

  “I’m worried about the others,” I admit as we make our way along the narrow drive. It is longer than I expected and there is still no sight of any dwelling as we head deeper into the trees. Dex doesn’t answer, not even to try and reassure me, which I suppose he can’t, not if he is being honest. Jason and Darren, even the Graham women, are in capable hands. My main concern is that the army hold them accountable for helping us escape. We just have to hope for the best.