by Matt Ryan
“Should reach it today,” Julie exclaimed, looking at her Panavice.
Joey nodded and started the jog down the road. After an hour, he saw Lucas lagging behind. He slowed and alternated from walking and jogging.
“Can we take a water break?” Lucas asked. He gulped down water, letting it spill over his chest. He was getting worse and Joey wasn’t sure what to do about it.
Joey drank some water, and looked at the road. It stretched the edges of his vision to see ahead of them—nothing. Turning around, he spotted something far behind them, a horse pulling a cart. The sun would be in the riders face . . . maybe they weren’t seen.
“Everyone off the road.”
FROM THEIR VANTAGE POINT IN the forest, they could see the Arrack approaching. Lucas, sweating and pale, got his bow out. Poly had a knife in her hand. Joey pulled out his guns.
“It looks like a horse drawn cart,” Joey said.
“It could be some harmless traveler,” Julie said, not looking up from her Panavice.
“Maybe, but why take a chance?”
They watched as the horse pulled a small cart with an Arrack holding the reigns. The Arrack stared straight ahead and passed by. They lowered their weapons and relaxed.
Making their way back down to the road, they continued on their journey. He tried not to think about the Arrack, but he saw the rest of the group looking over their shoulders.
Halfway into the day, Joey saw a glimmer of something far ahead—something reflecting light. “How much farther is it, Julie?”
“Two miles, I think,” she said, looking at her Panavice.
“I think we should move into the forest,” he said.
They headed into the forest and walked parallel to the road. Joey peered through the throng of trees and undergrowth, looking for something out of the ordinary. He stopped about a hundred feet from the end of the forest, green grass spread out for a bit before it ran into a building. The same single story building lined the dirt road for about a half mile. Smoke rose from a few other building’s chimneys and several silver figures appeared in the small alleyways between them. It looked like a town out of a Dickens novel. Just replace Tiny Tim with a silver assassin.
“Let me guess, the stone’s in that town?” Lucas coughed.
Julie studied her Panavice and nodded her head. “Yep, I think it’s in that large orange building in the back of the town.”
Joey spotted the building and shook his head. Of course it was. An easy task would have been asking too much. The space between the buildings gave him enough visibility to see the Arracks meandering through the town, kids running by, some of the larger ones carried sacks on their backs. The orange building had several Arracks with the yellow stripes leaning against its orange plaster.
A bird whistled from behind them, but it didn’t sound like any bird he knew, too much breath behind it. It sounded human.
They heard the call and a split second later, the forest filled with Arracks surrounding them, pointing daggers at their necks.
Where had they come from?
Joey reached into his holster, but stopped as a dagger closed in on his throat. He scanned his friends and they were all in the same predicament. Three Arracks surrounded Poly and she gave them fiery looks.
Her gaze met his and when he shook his head, her hand moved away from her knives. How could he have missed a group of Arracks directly on top of them? They were out-manned and at a disadvantage. Joey’s heart pounded in his chest, but he tried to keep his expression calm.
An Arrack stepped between two others holding knives on Poly and Julie. This Arrack had a large necklace and his yellow eyes stared into Joey’s.
“Who are you?” Its voice hissed through pointy teeth.
The thing spoke English. Joey struggled with the shock and answered the question. “Joey Foust.”
“You’re not in MM uniforms.”
Poly crossed her arms, but Joey answered first. “We’re not with MM.”
The creature’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t know of any travelers other than MM.”
When this one said MM, his eyes narrowed and his lip quivered in disgust. Joey put his hands up and declared, “We just want to use your stone and be on our way.”
Another Arrack spoke in a slurred, hissing tongue and the necklace Arrack nodded his head. “We’ll take you to Sharati. She’ll decide what to do with you.”
The necklaced Arrack whistled that same birdcall and pointed to the town. The others thrust their daggers at them, ushering them forward.
Joey counted eleven of them. If he could slow down time, he could get them out of the situation. He concentrated on the fear and anger building in him. He pushed for the chill, but it wouldn’t materialize. He huffed out a breath in frustration. Poly brushed up against him as they walked out of the forest and into the grass field next to the town.
The Arracks herded them across the field and to the back of a large gray building. Hope departed as they reached the door at the back. An Arrack pushed it open and motioned for everyone to enter. Joey stepped in first and saw the four walls with no windows. A door stood on the opposite wall, wedged between thick plastered walls. Hank, Poly, Julie, and Lucas filed in with him and then the Arracks closed the door and left them alone in the small room.
“Great, now we’re in jail.” Lucas dragged his leg and plopped down on the wooden bench.
“They could have killed us out there,” Julie said. “But they didn’t.”
“For now.” Poly flipped a knife in her hand and stared at the door. “I could have taken out a few.”
“You’re right. I could have taken out three as well. Hank bonks a few with those monkey fists of his and Joey . . . Joey, why the hell are you not going all slow-mo on these things?” Lucas asked.
“I can’t just summon it on demand. Don’t think I didn’t try.”
“Oh no, I saw, I thought you were going to mess your pants out there.”
“Shut up, Lucas,” Julie said. Lucas huffed and stretched out his hurt leg in front of him. Julie tapped the screen on her Panavice. “They left us with our weapons and stuff. Something doesn’t feel right.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t feel right. We’re in a freaking Arrack prison. Jeesh, take me back to Ryjack. At least then, I’d be reunited with my peeps.” Lucas rubbed the top of his leg.
Julie scowled at him, but didn’t tell him to shut up this time. Her face crunched up as her gaze followed his hands massaging his leg.
The door on the inside made a clacking sound as a small window opened. A veiled person stood on the other side of the door, staring in.
“You’re not MM.” It wasn’t a question.
The inside door opened and the Arrack removed her veil, letting it drape over her chest. Her shoulder had the three yellow lines. She stepped into the small cell and kept a hand on the dagger at her hip.
“The question is, who are you and why are you here?” Her voice hissed in its slow delivery. When her gaze paused on Lucas, her eyes narrowed and her fingers tapped on the dagger at her waist.
“We’re trying to get away from Simon . . . from MM. We need to get to the stone and get back to where we belong,” Joey explained.
“So you’re travelers? Which of you can control it?”
Joey shrugged and looked at his friends. “I think we all can.”
“Interesting.” Her steps slid across the concrete floor, closer to him. “Do you come from the same planet as them? You smell different.” She breathed in deep with her nose and her eyes went wide for a split second and then narrowed.
“Yeah, we’re all from Earth.”
Her face told him she’d never heard of it. “Your type has ruined our kind, so don’t think I trust a word you say.”
“We’re not with MM. We hate them,” Poly said.
“Are you Sharti?” Lucas asked and then struggled to keep a straight face.
“Sharati,” she corrected. “Yes. Who are you all?”
“Lucas, Hank, Julie, Poly, and I�
��m Joey.”
Sharati moved to the door like liquid in motion. “I used to be an M’arrack. Forced to work for them.” Her face contorted with anger. “They used us like objects, sending us to endless worlds, looking for babies. We lost so many.”
Joey controlled the emotions building in him and flattened the expression on his face. He didn’t want her knowing they were the ones she had looked for. “I’m sorry for your loss, but we have a sick friend and we need to get back home to get him help.”
“One of the dead bit you?” she asked.
Lucas nodded his head.
“You’ll be dead soon, and after that, you’ll be something much worse.” She looked at the rest of us. “If you were true friends, you’d kill him before he dies.”
Lucas’s face went a shade paler and he exchanged worried looks with Joey. Joey shook his head. He would not kill Lucas—he couldn’t pull that trigger.
“If we can just get to the stone, we’ll be gone, out of your town, off of your world.”
“You think you can just come in here and demand things?” Sharati’s eyes twitched and her fingertips danced on the dagger at her side. “MM’s bound us to a deal.” She slapped the shoulder with the three yellow marks. “But that deal is ending soon, and when it does, I’ll be searching for the one they call Marcus.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. MM has wronged us as well.” He hesitated, not wanting to give any information about being hunted since the day they were born, or how half their parents had been killed.
Sharati’s gaze scanned each of them. “I don’t know if I believe you. I’ve been lied to by your kind.” She backed up toward the door. He was losing her.
“I know, and while I won’t pretend to understand what you have gone through, I want you to know, we’re not like them.” Joey pulled his gun out. Sharati’s hand wrapped around the dagger at her hip and she went into a defensive stance. “This is a gun given to me by my father for my eighteenth birthday. Now it may not seem like a big deal, but this is the first real present he’s ever given me. It means more to me than any other object I possess.” He held the gun out. “It is loaded and deadly, and I want you to have it.”
Sharati took a few hesitant steps and kept her eyes on Joey as her hand pulled the gun out of his.
“It is forbidden for us to have such weapons.” She slid her fingers across the barrel of the gun. “I’ve cleaned many of these, but I’ve never owned one.” Her questioning eyes fixated on Joey’s. “Thank you.”
“I—”
“No. No more of this talk. I’ll give you my decision tomorrow morning.” Sharati opened the door and left.
“We may not have—” Julie stopped when the hatch clicked as they locked the closed door.
One gun missing on his right side made him feel lopsided. He adjusted the strap as he stared at the closed door. Had he done the right thing? Maybe keeping the gun and fighting his way out would have been the smarter thing.
Julie held her Panavice close to her face. “There’s not a single MM tech around here. They’re off the grid.”
Poly stepped next to the door and put her knife next to the door’s lock. “I think I can break us out.”
“No,” Joey said. “These aren’t the same kind of Arracks we’ve dealt with in Preston and elsewhere. These are just a bunch of families, farmers, and stuff. We need to get their trust if we can get into that building.”
Their eyes doubted his words, and Poly moved her knife against the door.
He continued. “Yes, we can get through that door and maybe we can get out of this building without any trouble. If we’re lucky, we can get across town to the orange building, and find a way to get into it without any problems. And maybe we can handle the dozen guards I bet are in there. Yeah, maybe we can, but with each step toward that building, we are risking one of us being killed. Breaking that door down may lead one of us to our death.”
Poly pulled her knife back from the door. “Then what? We stay in here, like caged animals?”
“Yes, and if they try anything tomorrow, that’s when we make the move.”
“Who says we have a tomorrow?” Lucas laughed and dangled his leg out in front of himself.
“Not funny,” Julie said. “Let me get you some new bandages.”
Hank plopped the bag next to Julie.
Poly sheathed her knife. “If anything bad happens, you kill that Sharati chick first, she’s dangerous.”
THE WINDOWLESS ROOM MADE IT hard to tell what time it was, but the hatch around the door let in a few pinpoints of light and after a while, those lights disappeared. Julie kept them entertained with quiz games and such, all stored in her Panavice. The games were a great distraction from thinking of Sharati’s plans.
Shortly after dark, the door slid open a foot and an Arrack pushed a tray of food into the room. Hank rushed to it and picked it up. Mostly bread and a chili of sorts spread around in small bowls. Joey took one taste of it, but the stringy, white meat made him stick to the bread.
They rock-paper-scissored once again for who got the first shift. Feeling beat, Joey felt good about losing. He wanted to sleep, even on the concrete floor. He felt weary in every way. The conversation died off and slumber set in.
The door flung open and hit the wall. Joey jolted from his sleep and jerked his gaze at the open door with Sharati standing in it. Her eyes were wide and filled with urgency as she rushed toward them. His gun dangled from her hip.
“THEY ARE COMING FOR YOU,” Sharati said.
“Oh my god,” Julie said, clutching her Panavice near her face. “I’m getting a hit from another Panavice, maybe a mile out.”
“You turned us over to them?” Joey jumped to his feet, anger filling his head.
“No, we agreed to grant you your request, but someone must have seen you and turned you in.” Sharati held the door open and motioned for them to come out.
They left the small room and entered what looked like an office. An Arrack stood behind a desk with his arms crossed. They passed by his desk to another door. Sharati opened the door and the cool night air rushed in with hints of burning oil. A small army of Arracks stood at the ready, many holding small wooden torches.
The yellow flames danced across their silver skin. They fanned out from the open door, like a rainbow of assassins blocking any chance they had for escape. Joey grabbed for his gun; he’d kill them all if it would give his friends a chance to escape. He took a step toward the door and Sharati placed a hand on his chest.
“They are here to help us.” Sharati hissed out her words. She whistled two quick notes.
In one motion, all the Arracks turned their backs on the door.
“I don’t understand,” Joey said. Having the Arracks on his side felt as if he’d missed something important.
“We know who you are. Every M’arrack worth her narash does. It took me a second, but I smelled it on you. You’re one of those babies—all grown up.”
Frozen in shock, Joey closed his mouth and stared at Sharati. “Shouldn’t you hate us?”
“He needs you,” she hissed. “We believe he may die if he doesn’t get you. You are the best chance we have of getting out of our agreement with Marcus.” Sharati stepped in the doorway and the Arracks spread out from her. She motioned for them to follow. “We need to move.”
“Why not just kill us?” Julie said and then covered her mouth with her hand. Joey had asked the same question of Harris, but never told them about that conversation.
“What do you think we are, soulless monsters?” Sharati stepped outside.
Joey ushered Poly and Julie past the door. “Keep your bow out. If Simon’s here, we need to be ready.”
Lucas’s pale face nodded in response. Even in the cool night, sweat formed on his forehead. Joey rushed out of the building. The whole group of torch-wielding Arracks moved with them down the dirt road.
A horn blew.
Sharati’s attention jerked in that direction. “He’s h
ere.” She whistled.
The Arracks grunted and moved faster, keeping a tight circle around them. They moved at the eye of the storm, surrounded by a hurricane of silver bodies. He held out his gun, searching the darkness over the heads of the Arracks. Poly stuck to the edge of the eye, holding a throwing knife. Lucas moved along in a skip, trying to keep weight off his one leg.
“He’s getting closer.” Julie stared at her screen, jogging near the center.
The sound of gunfire echoed on the other side of town—several quick shots and then silence. He was close. Joey gripped his gun and stared ahead as more shots sounded. The shots didn’t seem to bother the Arracks.
“Let’s run,” she ordered. Sharati whistled in two quick bursts.
The Arracks jumped into a run. They kept pace, but Lucas grunted. Hank sidled up next to him, grabbed his arm and helped him run with the group.
“Were heading toward him,” Julie said.
He barely heard her over the clatter of feet and rustle of weapons, but knowing the direction they were taking, he searched for an escape path through the Arracks. They might have been ten deep around him and kept shoulder to shoulder.
More cracks of gunfire sounded, and closer.
An Arrack watched the group moving down the dirt road. She scooped up the child at her side and ran into a house. The flickering lights inside the houses went out and the last few remaining Arracks on the street rushed into their homes as they passed.
Ahead, Joey spotted the orange building. He slowed a step when he looked past that and saw another mob of Arracks swirling around a tall man with a gun.
“Simon,” Julie said.
A few Arracks shoved him forward and he stumbled before gathering back into a run.
Sharati blew out three whistles.
A few rows of Arracks peeled off from their group and ran ahead, holding out their daggers. He and his friends weren’t going to make it to the orange building, unless that small group slowed Simon’s group. Joey pointed his gun out, hoping to help in some way, but the risk was too great.
His watched as Simon fired onto the approaching force. The front few skid to a stop on the dirt, but it didn’t stop their collision with Simon’s group. Simon fired into the fray, striking as many of his own Arracks as the others.
