Drifter

by Leslie Georgeson

  * * *

  “Good morning, sleepy head.”

  Kate opened her eyes, smiling when she saw Mitch’s handsome, beard-stubbled face next to hers. “Good morning.”

  He kissed her, long and slow, then leaned back. “I’m feeling refreshed this morning. I think I can teleport us all the way to the mountain today.”

  “That’s good.” She brushed a lock of hair off his brow. Their gazes held for a long moment. “What will happen when we get there?”

  “I don’t know.” Mitch sat up. “But we should probably get moving.”

  “Are the drifters gone?”

  “Yes. They disappeared before the sun came up.”

  Kate sat up next to him. “Do you feel them when they leave? Sense them when they are close?”

  He hesitated. “Yes. Drifters can sense each other. Smell each other.”

  Kate didn’t like the creepy, reptilian-like beasts and wouldn’t mind if she never saw them again. Though that was highly unlikely, since Mitch had drifter coursing through his veins. In fact, so did she.

  “So can you smell the drifter in me?”

  “Faintly, yeah. It’s very weak coming off you.”

  Kate looked away for a moment, then asked, “If I get pregnant, will our baby be human or drifter?”

  He reared back, his face pale. “Are you…pregnant?”

  Kate’s cheeks heated. “I don’t know. It’s too soon to tell. But it’s very possible.”

  He was silent a moment, contemplating. “Our child will definitely be human. So you won’t have to worry about that.” He smiled then. “And probably cute as a button. If it’s a girl, she’ll be as gorgeous as you.”

  Kate giggled and swatted at his chest. He liked the idea of becoming a father? The thought of becoming a mother both scared and excited her. What if she was pregnant? How could she bring a child into this crazy, mixed-up world?

  Mitch cupped her face in his hand. “I’ll take care of you, Kate. And if we have a baby, I’ll take care of him or her too. I promise.”

  “I’m not a wimp.” She tried to sound indignant, but failed. “I can take care of myself.”

  He chuckled. “Of course you can. But what kind of man would I be if I didn’t take care of my woman and child?”

  He was right, of course. And she kind of liked the idea of having a man to take care of her. Even though she wasn’t a wimp.

  Kate wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. “Can’t we just stay in bed all day and leave later tonight?”

  “As much as I’d like to do that, we have to get moving. Ronin will be out searching for us again soon. We can’t linger in any one spot for long. And…” He paused, waiting until Kate raised a brow. “Today might be a good day to continue facing your fear of hyenas.”

  Kate scowled. She really didn’t want to face any more hyenas. Ever.

  “Come on.” Mitch pulled her out of bed. “Let’s find something for breakfast, then head out. I stashed some jerky and a bottle of water the last time I was here in case I needed it.”

  Kate’s stomach growled. Thank God he had. They had no weapons and no provisions.

  They dressed quickly. Mitch hurried down the stairs of the treehouse and came back a few minutes later with a small satchel. He pulled out jerky and the water bottle and they shared it as they headed for the fence.

  “You ready, Kate?”

  She nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  Mitch opened the fence and peered out into the savannah, his gaze scanning for danger. The sun was slowly rising in the east, its rays lighting the landscape around them. He lifted an arm and pointed. “Look. A pack of hyenas.”

  Kate cringed. Not again. She wasn’t ready.

  Mitch wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I’m here, Kate. I’ll help you. Remember how good you did last night, chasing them off? And it was dark out. If you can conquer your fear at night, just think how easy it will be during the day.”

  He was right. Kate nodded reluctantly. She glanced to where he was pointing. Three or four hyenas were lying near the base of an acacia tree about forty feet away. Two other hyenas sniffed around the ground, tracking something they smelled in the dirt. During the daytime, and when they weren’t attacking something, hyenas didn’t look so scary. In fact, the animals looked peaceful, even harmless in that moment.

  “I think it’s the noises they make that are the scariest,” she admitted softly.

  Mitch nodded. “True.” He studied her for a moment. “I won’t force you to get closer. I just wanted you to see they aren’t all bad. They’re just animals trying to survive like the rest of us.”

  Kate stared at the hyenas a moment longer, then turned to Mitch. “Thank you. I’m not that scared of them now.”

  He smiled. “I’m glad. Are you ready to go now?”

  “Yes.”

  “Wrap your arms around me. I’m going to teleport us as far as I can, then we’ll stop and I’ll take a rest. We will see how far we can get today. Hopefully we will reach the mountain by nightfall.”

  Kate nodded. The idea of leaving Gabe’s home and heading back out on the savannah made her nervous. The savannah was dangerous. With hyenas and other scary predators everywhere. But Mitch was with her. He would protect her. And she was tough. She could do this.

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her head against his chest.

  Mitch grinned down at her. “Hang on, sweet Kate.”

  Then he flashed them away.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Ronin left Lionel back at Aftermath with all the soldiers and told him to keep everyone in line until he got back. He didn’t want to risk losing any more soldiers—he’d already lost six to the drifters when they’d gone into the crater searching for that trader bitch—so this time Ronin was going alone. If Maddy showed up, he told Lionel to keep her there until he returned. He would deal with her when he got back. Assuming they managed to find her.

  Ronin was a powerful drifter man. If he encountered Ethan in the crater, he felt he could take him. He’d cut off the guy’s arm, so he had the advantage. Before leaving, he’d created a duplicate and brought him along for this task. If there were two of him, he would have a better chance of surviving if the drifters returned and chose to attack him.

  Ronin and his duplicate arrived at the dinosaur dig just after dawn. They entered the tunnels and began searching for signs of life. But the crater was eerily silent.

  After several hours of searching, they met back at the giant nesting area where Ronin was certain baby drifters had recently hatched. Now, the nest was empty. Where had the drifters gone? What had lured them away? How could Ronin get them to come back and follow him?

  The earth suddenly moved beneath them, a faint vibration that he felt all the way through his entire body. The vibration coursed up his feet into his legs, his torso, spread out into his hands, his fingertips, and radiated out of the top of his skull.

  He shivered. A smile spread across his face. This was a sign.

  His clone glanced at him wide-eyed. “What the fuck was that?”

  “It’s the mountain,” Ronin stated matter-of-factly. “They’re coming.”

  His clone glanced around nervously. Ronin ignored him. If he had to sacrifice another clone to get the mountain’s attention, so be it. Though losing a clone always weakened him, it would be a small sacrifice to pay for getting the mountain’s attention.

  This was what he’d been waiting for.

  The ground rumbled with the shuffling of many thousands of feet. Soft growls and hisses filled the tunnels around them as the beasts approached. Standing in the center of the room near the empty nest, Ronin waited for the drifters to reach him.

  A tiny trickle of fear slithered down his spine, but he quickly shoved it aside.

  Show no fear and they will worship you.

  Show them you are worthy of being king.

  His duplicate trembled in fear next to him, filling Ronin with disgust. He’
d created the damn thing. Why couldn’t it be as courageous as he was? Ronin smacked his clone on the arm. Hard.

  “Stop being a girl. Man up or I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”

  His clone swallowed hard and nodded.

  Ronin tensed as the room filled with drifters that swarmed around them, moving in close, snarling and hissing, flipping up their frills.

  This was it, then.

  No way out.

  He would either die here.

  Or rise as a drifter king.

  While his idiot clone cowered next to him, fear radiating off him in waves, Ronin stood tall and proud, facing the beasts.

  “I am meant to be your king,” he shouted, pounding a fist against his chest. “Me! I have survived many bites. The mountain pumps through my veins. I have the strength to rule. The power to release the mountain’s fury. If you follow me, I will give you what you crave!”

  The room settled down as the drifters turned toward him, giving him their full attention. Ronin wasn’t sure if they understood him or not, so he glanced around, trying to make eye contact with as many of them as possible, wanting them to see that he wasn’t afraid. That he was strong and worthy of ruling.

  His clone glanced askance at him. “Wow. That got their attention. What now?”

  Ronin ignored him. He continued to address the drifters. “To show my good faith, I offer you a sacrifice, a feast, for as many of you as he will feed.” Ronin grabbed his clone by the shoulder and thrust him into the drifters. “Eat, my friends! Feed! And then we can all go to the mountain!”

  “What? Hey!” His clone shouted before the drifters attacked, fangs slashing, and knocked him down, his screams echoing off the walls of the tunnels.

  Ronin stood back and watched while the drifters made quick work of his clone. Soon there was nothing but bones remaining. Then, as the drifters stepped back, their jaws caked with blood, what was left of the clone disintegrated. Ronin felt his clone’s demise. It pulled at him, weakening him. He breathed in deeply, fighting it back. He was strong. He was powerful. He was meant to be king.

  Ronin had the drifters’ attention now. Their eyes glowed eerily in the dark crater, focusing intently on him. He lifted an arm and pointed at the nearest tunnel.

  “To the mountain!” he shouted. “To the mountain! To the mountain!”

  The tunnel erupted with hisses and growls, then the beasts turned and headed back into the tunnels. Ronin chuckled as he watched them go.

  “Take that, Mitchell, Gabe, Ethan…none of you can beat me now. I’m the drifter king. I’m going to rule.”

  Ronin threw his head back and laughed. The sound echoed off the tunnels and ricocheted around him.

  He wasn’t sure if the drifters had understood him, but they were definitely headed somewhere. He wouldn’t be able to follow them through the tunnels, because he was too big to fit through the narrower ones, so he would have to travel above ground. He’d learned from prior experience that he could only teleport for a few hours at a time before the teleporting drained him and he needed to stop and rest for several hours. Some of the “gifts” came with a price, and teleporting was one of them. Killing off his clone had also weakened him, so it would be several days before he made it to the mountain.

  But the drifters were on his side now. He’d fed them. He’d shown how powerful he was. He’d shown he was worthy to rule.

  It was time to set the mountain free.

  He was about to become king.

  * * *

  The ground rumbled beneath them.

  Like an earthquake.

  Or an erupting volcano.

  The doves roosting in the trees took flight, their wings flapping in terror.

  “What was that?” Kate whispered, her gaze darting to Mitch’s.

  Uneasiness swept through Mitch. He didn’t like this. It was a bad sign. An earthquake was possible. An erupting volcano was the most likely culprit. A very large, possibly “super” volcano.

  Mount Kilimanjaro was less than a hundred miles away. The highest peak was just visible from where they stood. They’d traveled a third of the way already. Mitch had hoped to make it the rest of the way before dark, but he was drained, weak from the constant teleporting, and needed to rest.

  They had just stopped to take a break under the shade of a small grove of trees when the ground had rumbled. Mitch had teleported them across the savannah for several hours. He guessed it was close to noon now. Exhaustion crept in now that he’d stopped moving. His legs trembled. Damn, he needed to sit down for a bit before he collapsed. But not yet. Fierce determination kept him upright.

  “I think it was the mountain.” He scanned the savannah for danger. A herd of frightened wildebeest thundered past, upset by the rumble.

  Mitch turned back to Kate. “I have a bad feeling about this. I hope leaving Ethan wasn’t a mistake. If Ronin has control of the drifters now, there won’t be much we can do to stop him.”

  Kate’s eyes filled with worry. “So what do we do?”

  “Right now, nothing. I’m too exhausted. I need to rest for an hour or so, or I won’t be able to teleport anymore today. As soon as I’m able, we’ll head out again toward the mountain.”

  Kate stared into his eyes. “If the volcano is erupting, isn’t it better to move away from it?”

  “Not until we find out what’s going on. If Ronin has somehow set the mountain free, then no one on this continent will be safe, no matter where we go. If that happens, Gabe has a boat we can sail away in. But I’m hoping that hasn’t happened. The three cones were selected for a reason. In order for the mountain’s power to be in balance, I believe all three cones are necessary to set it free. If Ronin is attempting to control it on his own, there’s no telling what might happen. But I guarantee it won’t be good.”

  The ground vibrated again, the earth shaking beneath their feet. Kate’s gaze flew to Mitch’s again. “Are you sure that’s a volcano and not an earthquake?”

  “No. I’m only speculating. But the mountain seems the most likely culprit, and it’s not a regular volcano. The drifters have taken over it, making it more powerful than it should be. There’s something inside that volcano waiting to be released. Something powerful.”

  Kate gave a small shiver and stepped closer to him. Mitch put an arm around her waist and tugged her against his side. He pressed his lips against the side of her head. “Are you afraid?”

  “A little,” she whispered, hugging him tight. “But you make me feel safe.”

  Good to know. Because he sure as hell didn’t feel safe. He wouldn’t feel safe until the three cones had control of the mountain and Ronin was dead.

  They waited for several moments to see if the earth shook anymore, but the mountain had gone silent.

  Interesting. What the hell was going on?

  Mitch lowered himself to the ground, unable to stand any longer. He leaned against the tree trunk. “I need to take a nap, Kate. All that teleporting has left me exhausted. I’ve never used it so much before, so I didn’t realize how drained it would make me.”

  She smiled down at him. “Go ahead. Rest. I’ll keep a lookout for danger.”

  “Thanks.” His eyes were already drooping. He wanted to stay awake in case something happened, but his eyelids refused to budge. The last thing he remembered before sleep claimed him was Kate’s hand resting on his shoulder as she urged him to sleep.

  * * *

  Mitch was out cold. Dead to the world. He’d been sleeping for hours. Kate had finally sat down next to him and gently laid his head in her lap so that he would be more comfortable. The sun was now going down, but Mitch still hadn’t stirred.

  Kate’s stomach growled. She tried to ignore it.

  A hyena whooped from somewhere close by, making the hair on Kate’s arms jump to attention. Crap. Just what she needed.

  I’m not afraid of them anymore. I’m not.

  Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Maybe someday you’ll believe it.

  Kat
e gently shook Mitch, trying to wake him, but he wouldn’t stir. Had teleporting left him that weak? Worry slithered through her. What if he’d overdone it? What if he never woke? What if she had to figure out how to get to the mountain on her own? Without him?

  Gently laying his head on the ground, she rose to her feet and searched for the hyena.

  The beast peered at her through the tall grass, its beady eyes assessing, checking her out.

  “Git!” she shouted, waving her arms at the hyena.

  The beast grunted, then disappeared in the grass.

  Another head bobbed up, gazing at her.

  Kate’s heart pounded. There were more of them. Of course there were. Mitch was vulnerable right now, unable to defend himself. She would have to do it. She would have to keep the hyenas back. She would have to keep Mitch safe.

  You’re brave and strong. You can do this.

  Kate straightened her spine and glared at the hyenas as several more heads peered at her through the grass. She was not going down without a fight. She couldn’t let them eat Mitch.

  I’m not afraid.

  Terror gripped her and her knees buckled. Kate steadied herself, breathing in deeply, then out. She wasn’t a scared girl anymore. She was a grown woman. She would survive.

  It would help if she had a weapon of some kind.

  Kate glanced around. She strode back to the tree where Mitch lay and yanked on a thin branch, pulling and twisting until it broke free. The tree’s nasty thorns sliced through her fingers and cut into her palm, but she now had a weapon. Wiping the blood from her cuts onto her pants, she turned back to the hyenas.

  The animals inched closer, sniffing the air.

  Kate swung the branch at them and shouted, “Get back!”

  The hyenas bolted, cackling and moaning as they raced off.

  Feeling satisfied, Kate nodded. “Take that!” She walked back to the tree where Mitch still slept. Kneeling next to him, she scanned the area, watching for the hyenas to return. Right now she could see them if they came back, because the sun hadn’t disappeared over the horizon yet.

  But it would be dark in a short while. And Kate would no longer be able to see the beasts slinking closer. Would Mitch wake by then? He had to.