Push (Beat series Book 2)

by Jared Garrett

“Nope,” he said. “Northeast. We’re going to Mento.”

  Chapter 29

  “No, we need to go to a place called Edwards Air,” I said. “Why would we—”

  “Nik, shut up.” Lily was still sitting at the back of the pod. “Listen to what’s going on.”

  Okay. What’s with her? “I would listen if someone would start talking!”

  Melisa put a hand on my wrist, right above where the sticky fire had burned. “Nik, just relax.”

  “Relax? You’re kidding right?” I glared at Lily, then at the back of James and Pol’s heads. “We just figured out where Holland probably is, along with my mom and dad, and we’re not going there—we’re going to Mento—and you want me to relax?”

  Melisa didn’t back down. “Maybe we should find out why they think we have to go to Mento.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” I said. My head was spinning. What was wrong with these guys? “Mento’s got to be guarded, just like Anjeltown. Do we want to be shot down like the Enforsers?”

  Melisa’s hand squeezed my wrist. Pol’s head whipped around. I am such a spammer. I glanced at James. He was clenching his jaw, but he didn’t say anything. Lily clanged the keeper to the bench and stormed over to me, her boots loud on the metal pod floor.

  “You need to stop trying to order everyone around before you know what’s going on. We have to go to Mento, to the Outcasts, so we can get more fuel for the pod.”

  I forced myself to slow down. “Fuel for the pod, I get. But why the Outcasts, and who are th—” I took a slow breath. “Pol. Talk.”

  “Thank you,” Pol said. “We got to the gathering, which hadn’t started yet, of course. But that meant not all the Wanderers were there. We couldn’t exactly leave a sign or a note there telling the late arrivals where everyone was, and the Wanderers don’t have any communication devices that I know of.”

  “Because we don’t need them. We have our mouths and ears,” Lily said. Wow. Something was really bothering her. She looked furious.

  “Fine, okay,” Pol said. “The point being that we didn’t want more Wanderers showing up right when the Ranjers were going to get there.”

  “So we moved the slower Wanderers into a series of caves near a river,” James said, his voice cutting through Pol’s rambling story. James sounded—well—like an Enforser. “After that, we flew in a loose pattern back and forth to find the straggling triunes and take them to the other Wanderers.”

  “Wait, what about Lexi?” I asked.

  Pol and James very clearly did not look at each other as they both got quiet. My heart dropped.

  “Pol!” Melisa barked. “What about Lexi?”

  I jumped at the sound.

  Pol closed his eyes. “She—” He swallowed. “She’s been unconscious since a few hours before we got there.”

  “What? How—What happened?” I was so stupid. We should have taken her to the cavern. We should have stayed with her.

  “Nothing. She’d lost a lot of blood.” Pol let out a noisy breath. “She just… won’t wake up.”

  “She’s alive,” Lily said. Her voice was softer now. “Her pulse is stronger than before. They’re getting her liquids and fresh red cells.”

  “Why didn’t you bring her back? We could have taken her to Kristin,” Melisa said.

  “We wanted to,” James said. “Just let me finish. We patrolled for a bit to find the straggling Wanderers.”

  Pol jumped in. “We got the rest, at least we think we did.” He turned the copilot chair around so he could see Melisa and me. “The last group had come from the east, more or less from the direction of the caverns.” He stopped and his eyes moved from me to Melisa and back. “They said they’d seen a lot of smoke coming from over that way. Like maybe a little south and east of the caverns.”

  “Smoke? What?” Melisa said.

  “They said wildfires happen sometimes, but never at this time of year,” Pol said. “They were sure the fire—or fires actually—were set on purpose.”

  “Fires? Near the caverns?” What did that mean? Were the Ranjers burning down the forest?

  “Why?” Melisa asked.

  “We don’t know,” Pol said. “But we can’t take any chances. And we don’t have a hope in a fight if we don’t have a functioning pod, and this one’s at maybe 5% power. All the power’s diverted to keeping us flying.”

  “And Outcasts have fuel cells?” I asked.

  “That’s what we’ve heard,” Lily said.

  “But while we’re getting fuel cells, the Ranjers could be murdering everyone in the cavern!” I said. This was ridiculous. We had to be in two places at once and we didn’t have the power to get to either one.

  James spoke up again. “True. But we can’t do anything about it without firepower. This pod is our best firepower. We have to hope they’re holding off the Ranjers for now. The Wanderers said the fires started this morning, and they were far apart.”

  “Have we heard from any others? Koner or anyone in the cavern?” Melisa asked.

  “No, but I’ve been boosting my EarCom’s signal. So if we come within a few kilometers of Koner or anyone else when they’re out of the caverns, we should be able to talk,” Pol said. He had an EarCom resting on a retractable surface that came out of his chair.

  “You have any extras?” I asked. “Ours drowned.”

  Pol tapped the one on his work space. “This is it. And how did yours drown?”

  Melisa and I filled them in.

  “I’d say there’s a solid chance that Holland’s at this Edwards Air place,” James said when we finished telling our story. “Otherwise it wouldn’t have been circled.”

  “Right,” I said. “We need a way to get in there. But we need to know what we’re dealing with first.”

  “First things first,” James said. “Fuel for the pod. So we’re going to Mento.”

  “But it has to be guarded like Anjeltown,” Melisa said.

  “We’re not actually going into the city,” Lily said. She had finished sharpening her arrows and had moved on to opening all the lockers and benches in the pod. “The Outcasts don’t bother anyone, and they still wear Papas, so the New Chapter leaves them alone. They live in two or three old buildings in the old Mento city.”

  “How long will it take?” I asked. It was like the whole universe was trying to keep me from going after my parents.

  “We should be there in a couple hours,” James said. “We have to take the long way around, so I’m going to go east for a while, then turn north.”

  “Look!” Pol pointed out the pod. Far off to the north, three large dark clouds were forming above the thick green forest. “That’s the fires.”

  I did my best to picture where the fires were burning in relation to the caverns with the other Pushers. “Can you tell if they’re at the cavern?”

  “No,” Pol said. He stared at the smoke, his face strained. I knew how he felt.

  Melisa and I stayed at the front of the pod. I switched between watching the thick black clouds of smoke and the power gauge in the middle of the holographic readout James was using. This was taking way too long. We had to do something.

  “Is this as fast as you can go? And why are we so low?”

  “No,” James said. “Faster takes more power. So does altitude.”

  “Besides,” Pol added, “the lower the better. Harder to see us, with eyes and radar.”

  “Standing there worrying isn’t going to get us where we need to be any faster,” Lily said. She held a keeper. She had been checking the keepers in the weapons lockers for the entire trip. “Let’s inventory our firepower.”

  Melisa turned toward the back. “Come on, Nik.”

  “No, maybe I’ll see something.”

  “Pol and James are here. Let’s help.” She took my wrist. “Come on. Maybe there’s protein paste somewhere.” She forced a smile.

  I suppressed the urge to pull my wrist free. Melisa was great, but this was not a good time for joking around. �
��This is easy for you,” I said. In the back of my mind, I tried to stop myself, but that didn’t work out. “The worst person in the history of the world doesn’t have your mom and dad prisoner somewhere.”

  “You’re right.” Melisa’s face got tight. “I’m one of the lucky ones; I haven’t lost my parents.” What she didn’t say was louder than what she did: Bren.

  I am such a spammer.

  “But standing here having a heart attack over everything isn’t going to help. Let’s find food.” Melisa took my wrist again and pulled.

  Lily held a wrapped bundle out as we got to the back of the pod. The smell of cured deer meat hit my nostrils. My stomach nearly reached up through my throat and grabbed it.

  “You are the greatest person ever,” Melisa said. She unwrapped the jerky and handed me a thick strip.

  We alternated bites of jerky with gulps of water from one of Lily’s bottles. “You two need to plan your food better,” Lily said. “I gave Nik some of this a few hours ago.”

  “Hey, we just survived drowning in a secret underwater lab,” Melisa said.

  “The one where the Bug was made,” I said.

  “Probably,” Melisa added.

  “Almost for sure,” I said.

  Melisa rolled her eyes.

  “Whatever.” Lily snapped an ammunition drum onto a Ranjer keeper and set it down. “Doesn’t change the fact that you two would be starving if I didn’t give you food.”

  We lapsed into silence and ate while we cleaned the keepers. We ran out of jerky fast, but found a compartment with protein cubes, which were at least not squeezable food. The pod leaned into wide turns as James kept us on course for old Mento. By the time I got to the keeper I’d taken into the building, I was exhausted. I felt like curling up on the pod floor and shutting out the world.

  I forced myself to focus, standing and stomping to get my blood moving. Looking out through the side windows of the pod, stars had begun to appear in the dark sky. Below, I could just barely make out the rolling carpet of forest.

  “I got something,” Pol said.

  I leapt to the front of the pod. “What?”

  “Signal coming through the EarCom. I have it doing a wide ping on broadcast.” Pol stopped and listened. “It’s feedback. We might be able to talk to someone.”

  I studied the landscape outside as well as I could in the dark. “Where are the fires?”

  James pointed off to the left at an angle. “We’re probably seventy kilometers from the cavern. Maybe more.”

  Melisa and I leaned closer to the window. Off in the distance, there was a wide smudge of dark smoke, with glowing areas beneath it on the ground.

  “That fire isn’t so far,” Melisa said.

  “No,” James said. “We still have no idea what the Ranjers are doing.”

  “Are we sure they haven’t seen us?” I asked.

  “We’re still flying, aren’t we?” James said.

  “True,” I said.

  “Quiet,” Pol said. He spoke into the EarCom. “This is Pol Benitez. If you can hear, respond.”

  The pod’s propulsion was the only noise I heard.

  “Please respond. If you can hear me, get somewhere high. Get to high ground. This is Pol Benitez.”

  “How far will the radio signal go?” Lily asked. I guessed Pol must have told her about his special EarComs.

  “This is a low frequency signal and I adjusted it to shorten the wavelength,” Pol said. “That’s to keep the Ranjers from noticing it and to help it get through stuff. The signal goes in a straight line, so technically it could travel—”

  “Pol,” I said. “How far?”

  “Fine,” Pol said. “By us being in the air, we’re making the signal go farther, especially since I’m boosting the wattage with the pod’s power. I would guess I’m reaching at least fifty kilometers, probably more.”

  Melisa spoke up. “So whoever you’ve got—”

  A crackle came over the pod. Pol had connected his EarCom to the internal sound system. More crackling, then a voice. “Pol?” It was fuzzy, but it sounded like a female. More fuzzy noise, then the voice said, “Annie. Can you hear me?”

  “Annie! This is Pol. Wherever you are, don’t move!”

  “Okay.” The sound system crackled and fuzzed. “Where are you?”

  “No time. What’s happening out there?” Pol asked. At least when he needed to, he could stop talking and focus.

  More fuzz, then, “… trying to find a way… much time…”

  “Annie,” Pol said. “Don’t move.”

  “James, maybe you want to try to stay in one place too?” Melisa suggested.

  “Oh yeah,” James said. He guided the pod into a circle. Lily appeared between me and Melisa.

  “Can you hear me?” Pol said, bending closer to the EarCom sitting on his work surface.

  “… help… “

  Tingles of fear slid down my neck. “Pol, why can’t we hear them better?”

  “Are you there?” Annie’s voice came loud over the speakers.

  “Hovering here,” James said.

  “Yes! We didn’t hear what you said. What about time?” Pol said.

  “Have you heard from Koner?” Annie asked.

  “No, what’s happening?” Pol said.

  “He and his patrol saw the Ranjers start the first fire. We haven’t heard from him since,” Annie said.

  “What’s going on with the fires?” Pol asked. I had to fight the urge to yell over him. This was taking way too long.

  “Not sure. Ranjer patrols have been spotted setting fires in five places. They’re making the fires cover lots of ground. A few of them are headed this way.”

  “Is anyone hurt?” Pol asked.

  “Normal stuff. Nothing serious. Koner’s squad reported seeing pods patrolling near all around the two fires they saw.”

  “What are they doing?” Lily asked aloud.

  “Where are the fires now?” Melisa asked.

  “The closest fires are about fifteen kilometers away.” Annie paused. “We lost touch with Koner’s squad a little while after he reported.”

  James broke in. “Where are the fires, exactly? I mean, are they all in one place?”

  “No, they’re all over,” Annie said. The fuzz was returning.

  “James, go higher,” Pol said. We rose.

  “Are they all around the cavern? Like do they circle the area?” James sounded tense, worried.

  Faint fuzz and crackling. I glanced at Melisa. What was James getting at?”

  “Dyana says yes. She got scared and started yelling,” Annie said. “What’s going on?”

  “Bug him!” James shouted. “Get out of there. He must have triangulated all the places the Ranjers found Pushers and figured out the general area we were hiding.”

  My chest went hollow. “He’s burning in a big circle, with the cavern somewhere near the middle.”

  “Exactly,” James said. “And the circle’s getting smaller.”

  Chapter 30

  “We’re coming to get you,” James called out. He banked the pod sharply to the left. We all had to grab on to the hand loops to keep ourselves upright.

  “No, wait a second,” I said. The babies and families. Jan’s there too, unless she’s patrolling with Koner. Which didn’t sound any better.

  “Wait for what? They have to get out of there.” James sounded harsh, like an Enforser, but without the voice modulator he used to wear. I nearly caved.

  “That’ll make it worse,” I said. “She said Ranjers are patrolling in pods in the same circle as the fires. They’re making sure nobody gets out—or in.”

  “He’s right,” Melisa said. “They’ll see us. And if we don’t see them, they could follow us directly to the caverns.”

  We all watched James. He stared ahead, zero expression on his face.

  “Come on, we can’t. They have to get out on their own,” Lily said.

  “What do you know?” James shouted. “You’ve never
fought.”

  “I fought today,” Lily said. “To save my family and friends.”

  James fell silent. Could we overpower him and get him off the controls if he decided to ignore us? “Krista’s down there,” he said. He spoke so quietly I wondered if he knew he’d said it aloud.

  I glanced at Pol. Krista? I thought he and Lily… Pol just shrugged

  I squeezed Pol’s seat, feeling like I was being pulled in every direction at once. My head swam. This was insane. I forced my thoughts to line up. Holland and my parents were probably at Edwards Air, far to the south of us. The rest of the Pushers were in the cavern with Ranjers and fires closing in. Could we make a plan with the fighters on the ground to punch through a spot and then get away from the Ranjers?

  How were we supposed to fight and protect the babies and little kids? They couldn’t stay in the cavern with fires getting closer; they would die from the smoke if nothing else. And no way could we beat all of those Ranjers in a fight, even with surprise on our side.

  But if the Ranjers were called off—if they were sent somewhere else. Like to protect the Prime Administrator…

  “We have to go to Edwards Air,” I said. “We have to get there fast. Then either we call the Ranjers off or we make Holland call them back to defend him.”

  Melisa and Lily nodded. “We could attack hard,” Melisa said.

  Lily gave a fierce smile. “Blow stuff up, make him scared.”

  Melisa smiled too. “I like this idea.”

  The pod shifted under our feet. James’s face was still tight and he shook his head. “You’re right.”

  “Annie, still there?” Pol asked.

  Crackling and fuzz came back.

  “Annie?”

  We all stayed silent, willing Annie to respond. Nothing.

  “Fast, James. Go fast,” Pol said. “Let’s get to Mento for that fuel.”

  “On it,” James said.

  The rest of us got to work on the weapons while Pol monitored the sensor array. I started checking ammunition drums while Lily and Melisa pulled the keepers down and checked their mechanisms one by one.

  “We’re down to 2%,” Pol said. “I’m turning off all noncritical power.”

  The lights went out before any of us could respond. The three of us in the back shouted at the sudden darkness.