Drifter

by Leslie Georgeson

  Claire let out another gasp. Her gaze darted to Gabe. “I can’t believe this,” she whispered. “All this time, he never told me. He never told anyone. How could he?”

  “I met him down in the crater,” Kate spoke up quickly. “He saved me from the drifters. Hopefully when he recovers, he’ll snap out of whatever hold the mountain has on him.”

  Gabe and Claire exchanged another glance. “Why don’t you and Honor take Kate and show her where we’re staying?” Gabe suggested to Claire. “I’m sure she’s hungry and thirsty after the journey.”

  “Of course.” Claire waved Kate forward.

  Kate followed after Claire and Honor, glancing back once to see Gabe and Mitch deep in conversation. She knew they were talking about Ethan and what they planned to do.

  She just wished she could be part of the conversation. She didn’t like being left in the dark.

  Kate had no idea what was going to happen now.

  Or what Mitch planned to do now that they’d reached the mountain.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Mitch told Gabe everything that had happened since he’d arrived back at Aftermath, everything he knew about the drifters, and what he imagined would happen now.

  “The mountain stopped calling me for a while, then it picked back up again as we grew closer to it. Does it still speak to you?”

  Gabe nodded. “Yeah. The same thing happened to me. The voice disappeared for a while, but now it’s back. What do you think happened?”

  “I think it stopped calling to us because Ethan had complete control of the drifters at one point, but now that he’s injured, he’s lost his hold on them. They are susceptible to Ronin’s influence now.”

  Gabe’s expression turned serious. “Should we go back for Ethan? How will he get here on his own? If what you’ve said is true, then we can’t control the mountain without him. We need him.”

  Mitch contemplated that for a moment. “Maddy promised to bring him here once he recovered. She won’t let us down. I believe in her.”

  Gabe made a noncommittal grunt and turned away, his eyes hidden behind the dark sunglasses. Gabe had always given off a good vibe, one full of integrity that Mitch hadn’t felt from anyone else before. Much like Kate’s goodness, Gabe’s energy was more positive than negative and didn’t affect Mitch in a painful way. There were certain people, like Gabe, Claire and Honor, whose energy was more positive. He wouldn’t need to use his gift to block their emotions. It was people like Ronin and his soulless soldiers where Mitch’s “blocking” gift would benefit him most.

  Gabe and Claire and Honor…they were the kind of people he liked to hang around. The kind of people he could see being friends with for long into the future. Being an empath wasn’t all bad. Some people made him feel good.

  Gabe turned back to him. “I say we go back for Ethan. He’s my brother. I can’t rely on one little woman to bring him here.”

  Mitch snorted. “Have you met Maddy? She may be small, but she’s one tough cookie. And while we’re on the subject, did you know she’s Ronin’s stepsister?”

  Gabe reared back, a scowl crossing his features. “Fuck. We can’t trust her. What if she kills Ethan?”

  “She won’t.” Mitch was certain of that. Maddy was a compassionate woman underneath her tough exterior. “When Ronin’s army first overtook Aftermath and Ethan was badly wounded, Maddy hid him from Ronin and took care of him until he healed. And she’s hiding him now, taking care of him now. Risking her life to do so. If Ronin finds out his stepsister betrayed him, what do you think he’s going to do? Trust me, Maddy won’t kill Ethan. She’s already risked too much to keep him alive.”

  Gabe pondered that for a moment. A contemplative look crossed his face. “Sitting idle is not my thing. I’ve spent these past weeks creating a safe place to live up in the trees. It helped me deal with the constant call of the mountain.”

  Mitch nodded. “I’m not an idle person either. What do you suggest we do? I’d rather not leave the women alone for the length of time it would take us to travel back to Aftermath for Ethan. No offense, but I doubt you can walk 300 miles with your prosthetic. I might be able to teleport us there,” he added quickly, “but I don’t think I could teleport both you and Ethan back here.”

  Gabe turned away again, his expression unreadable, his eyes hidden behind the sunglasses. “Then we stay here and wait for Ethan. In the meantime, I want to explore the mountain. See what’s up there. See what’s inside the craters. You and I can hike up and check it out. It will take several days to reach the top. We can make sure we leave the women with plenty of food while we’re gone. I think they will be okay for the week or two it will take us to explore the mountain. They’ll be safe in the place I built in the trees.”

  Mitch glanced at Gabe’s prosthetic. “You sure?”

  Gabe scowled. “I traveled across the fucking savannah with one leg. It might have taken me a while, but I did it. I think I can hike up a mountain. We should be back long before Ethan arrives.”

  “Okay.” Mitch backed off. “If you want to climb, then let’s climb. But we really should bring some type of weapons. We don’t know what’s up there. And I don’t have my bow with me.”

  Gabe nodded. He handed Mitch a pocketknife. “You can carve a new one. It will give you something to do to ignore the mountain’s voice in your head. I already made myself a spear. There’s plenty of wood around here, sticks and branches that will work for arrow shafts and small rocks and flint stones you can use for arrows. Also, plenty of feathers beneath the trees. You can have a bow and arrows in a few hours. I killed a wildebeest last night, so you can use part of the hide to make a quiver.”

  “Thanks.” Mitch took the knife and searched for sticks to make arrow shafts.

  “I’ll bring you something to eat while you work.” Gabe strode off.

  Mitch gathered up a handful of sticks and began carving and shaping them into arrow shafts. Gabe returned a few minutes later with some cooked wildebeest meat and a bottle of water. Mitch ate while he worked. Gabe helped by gathering up feathers that were the right size to nock onto the end of the arrows. He also found a flexible piece of wood that would work nicely for a bow. Gabe provided much-needed conversation that helped push the mountain’s pull to the back of Mitch’s mind. And probably Gabe’s as well. They were in this together.

  Gabe’s idea of checking out the mountain appealed to Mitch. He didn’t know what they might encounter up there, but knowledge was power. And if they discovered what they might be dealing with very soon, it would give them an advantage over Ronin.

  Several hours later, he had a usable bow and a small stack of arrows that would work for protection. He’d sewn together a piece of the wildebeest hide to use as a quiver. Then he and Gabe said goodbye to the women. While Claire and Honor hugged Gabe, Kate clung to Mitch and made him promise to come back to her.

  “I’ll be back,” he promised, pressing his lips to hers. “We need to see what’s up there.”

  “I want to come with you.”

  “I know you do, but you’ll be safer here. We should be back within two weeks. Just be patient.”

  He hugged her one last time, then headed up the mountain with Gabe.

  It was slow going with Gabe’s prosthetic, but Gabe never complained and never asked to stop for a break. The wildlife was interesting and varied on the journey. They spent the nights taking turns sleeping and keeping watch near trees, until the landscape changed and there were no more trees.

  They encountered monkeys in the jungle, a large colony of baboons on the cliffs, an occasional civet peering out at them from the bushes, noisy mongooses that darted about, digging up bugs in the earth, a family of bush pigs, and a leopard sleeping high up in a tree. Gabe told Mitch he’d seen a honey badger the other night, and an aardvark prowling several times after dark. He said the bush babies and the tree hyraxes got loud at night, and Mitch got a chance to hear them that first night.

  Mitch enjoyed the climb and being
able to catch a glimpse of so many interesting creatures.

  The ecosystem changed as they climbed higher each day. They passed through a tropical jungle, a desert, a montane forest, and as they neared the top, an area of subalpine plants, and finally, an alpine zone with ice glaciers.

  At last, on the sixth day, they reached the highest summit. Mitch shivered, wishing he had a coat. It was cold at the top, the air thinner. The climate up here was a shockingly dramatic change from the climate below. The wind was stronger up here, and the wind chill was certainly near freezing. They couldn’t linger on top for long or they would risk hypothermia.

  His teeth chattering, Mitch glanced over at Gabe. “You’re standing on top of Africa’s tallest mountain. And it’s fucking cold!”

  Gabe grinned. He glanced around. “Look at it! You can see for miles and miles! Amazing!”

  Mitch paused a moment to glance around. Steam and sulfurous gases billowed up from fumaroles not far from the peak. Farther down the slope, molten magma flowed slowly beneath the summit. The volcano may be dormant, but it still had activity going on inside.

  He let his gaze roam farther out, down at the savannah below, the grazing herbivores that looked like tiny dots in the distance. It was truly an incredible sight to behold. On top of the world.

  “So this is the Kibo summit.” Gabe glanced around. “Look.” He pointed at a crater not far away. Mitch spied two more craters on Kibo, though he didn’t know enough about the mountain’s history to know what they were called.

  “Holy fuck. Look at those glaciers!”

  Mitch had already seen the glaciers, but he nodded, staring at what looked like huge piles of monotonous ice on Kibo’s crater. Amazing. He’d never seen anything like it.

  Gabe shivered and pointed to another peak, the second highest one, and Mitch nodded. “That’s Mawenzi.” He turned and located the smallest peak. “And that’s the Shira Ridge over there.”

  Gabe chuckled. “My peak’s the largest.”

  Mitch laughed. He didn’t mind. He preferred that he was the smallest peak. “With bigness comes more responsibility.” He winked.

  Gabe snorted. “Let’s get out of the wind. It’s too cold up here.”

  They headed back down Kibo’s gentle slopes and out of the cold wind, pausing when they reached a sheltered area.

  “I don’t think the top is the way inside the mountain,” Gabe murmured.

  Mitch agreed. “Neither do I. There should be a newer crater around here somewhere, one caused from an asteroid strike ten years ago, not the volcano itself. If we can find it, we’ll probably find the drifters.”

  Dusk was rapidly falling, so they decided to eat while they were in a sheltered location and made camp for the night.

  The next morning, they continued on down the mountain. Going downhill was faster than going up, and as night fell again, they searched for a place to sleep. Mitch and Gabe’s night vision enabled them to see to traverse the mountain as easily as if the sun were still high in the sky. Gabe had removed the sunglasses a while ago and stuffed them in his pack, no longer needing them.

  Mitch paused as he caught the sudden scent of another drifter. He lifted a hand, warning Gabe to stop. Gabe halted next to him, his gaze scanning the darkness.

  “What is it?”

  “Drifters.”

  Gabe continued to look around. “I don’t see any.”

  “I don’t either, but I can sense them.”

  Gabe’s head swung toward him. “You never said how many times you’d been bitten.”

  Mitch snorted. “Too many. I’m basically one of them now. I can sense them. I can smell them.” He pulled his gaze back to Gabe. “I’m more beast than human now, just so you know. But Kate, she keeps me sane. She keeps me human.”

  Gabe nodded, understanding dawning in his eyes. “Be sure you don’t lose that humanity. Because if you hurt Claire or Honor, I’m going to have to hurt you.”

  Mitch turned away. “Don’t worry. I would never hurt a woman or child. It’s the hunting instinct that’s the strongest in me. It forces me out at night into the savannah. It doesn’t go away until I kill something.” Or until Kate distracts me and helps take it away.

  Gabe studied him a long moment in the darkness. “So you’re a true drifter?”

  Mitch shrugged. He didn’t like being called a drifter, but he supposed it was true. “Yeah.”

  Something scuttled through the brush in front of them. Mitch tensed, waiting, watching.

  A baby drifter shuffled forward, smelling the ground, on the scent of something.

  Him.

  The creature lifted its head, sniffing at Mitch. Its eyes clicked on like a light switch, glowing yellow in the darkness. Then it let out a squeal and flipped up its frill. It snarled, then spun on its heel and raced away.

  “What the fuck?” Gabe whispered. “Is that a baby drifter?”

  “Yes.” Mitch hurried after the beast. “Come on. Let’s follow it. It might lead us to their lair.”

  * * *

  Ronin was dreaming. He had to be.

  Maddy couldn’t be standing over him, ordering his soldiers to gently lift him up onto a stretcher.

  He’d died. The lions had eaten him. He must be having a dream.

  “Careful.” Maddy’s voice again, softly. “He’s barely alive. We don’t want to jumble him around too much. We don’t know the extent of his injuries yet.”

  Ronin felt himself being lifted, then gently laid back on a stretcher. The horse moved forward, jolting Ronin around.

  “Easy,” Maddy warned again. “Keep that horse at a slow walk.”

  The horse’s gait slowed and Ronin nodded off.

  He stirred sometime later. He blinked, trying to see around him, but his eyes were smeared with blood and God knew what else, so everything was just a dark blur. There was something wrong with his right eye. It didn’t feel normal. And it hurt like hell.

  He sensed Maddy somewhere close by, her presence comforting.

  Ethan hadn’t kidnapped her after all. That was good to know. He wouldn’t have to rescue her now. But did that mean she’d betrayed him? Or had she simply wanted to be alone and had stayed hidden when his soldiers had searched for her?

  “Wh-?” He cleared his throat. “What’s happening?” His words sounded slurred, unnatural. Almost like he was drunk.

  Maddy’s hand gripped his, her soft fingers heating his cold skin. “Don’t talk right now, Ronin. Just rest. We’re trying to get you back to Aftermath. Once I know you’re safe and that you’re going to live, then we can talk.” She squeezed his hand. “Until then, you just sleep, okay?”

  His eyelids drooped again. He sighed. “How did you find me?”

  “It wasn’t easy,” she said quietly, leaning over him. “And God help me, I won’t do it again. You saved me once, years ago. I owed you for that. Now I just saved you. So I would say we’re even. I don’t owe you anything anymore. Once you’re better, I’m leaving Aftermath. I’m done with the violence, Ronin. I’m done with helping murderers and rapists. I’m done with you.”

  Ronin jerked his eyes open. He blinked rapidly. There was definitely something wrong with his right eye. It was dark, blurry, and didn’t feel normal at all. It felt…gone. He stared up at Maddy, finally able to make out her clear blue eyes boring down into his. But his vision was limited. Not working right. He could only see out of his left eye. What the fuck?

  Wait a second! Had she just said she was going to leave him?

  “No,” he whispered. “You can’t leave me. I need you.”

  “You don’t need me. Like I said, after this, I’m done with you. Now we’re even.” She marched away.

  His eyelids drooped again. He was so damn tired. He hurt everywhere. He just wanted to sleep.

  Maddy had found him. Maddy had saved him. Just like he’d done for her all those years ago.

  His faithful stepsister had come to the rescue.

  And now she was going to leave him. Abandon him.


  Not if he could help it. He wouldn’t let her go. He would force her to stay.

  But she was right about one thing.

  Now they were even.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Kate spent the first week with Claire and Honor learning how to live in the lush jungle that grew at the base of the mountain. Claire was quite knowledgeable about survival, the vegetation that was edible, and the dangers that surrounded them. She told Kate that she and Gabe had learned a lot the past few weeks while waiting for Mitch to arrive. They kept the conversation impersonal, about survival mostly, and Kate sensed Claire was just as hesitant to open up as Kate was.

  On the eighth night, Kate’s anxiety grew. She paced across the small treehouse Gabe had built, walking along the floor of sticks and logs he’d woven into and around the trunks of the trees with palm fronds and flexible branches. This tiny treehouse was much like the one he’d built along the river, only much smaller. It couldn’t be any wider than seven or eight feet and the distance between the two trees that supported the house was about twice as long. A bed made out of leaves and palm fronds was in the corner near the largest tree trunk and a smaller bed—Honor’s—was a few feet away. Kate had made her own bed across the tree house and hoped to share it with Mitch soon.

  Honor sat across the treehouse from Kate with Jack Jr. at her feet. She alternated between petting the jackal pup, slipping him treats, and giving him commands like “sit”, “stay” and “lay down”. Kate didn’t think she’d ever met a nine-year-old girl who could train a wild jackal.

  Claire leaned against the trunk opposite Kate and gave her a sympathetic smile. “You’re not one for sitting still, are you?”

  Kate paused in her pacing. “No.” She was restless and she missed Mitch terribly.

  Claire chuckled softly. “You remind me of my sister, Amy. She’s always so impatient. Can’t sit still. Always needs something to do.”

  Claire was in her early to mid-thirties, approximately five or six years older than Kate. She was extremely kind and sympathetic. Much nicer than Kate. And way more patient.