Project Terra

by S. J Woods

She glanced at it briefly. “That’s another thing we need to talk about.”

  He frowned, not following.

  Teonie jerked her head in the direction of the others.

  “We’re surviving on supplements.” She reminded him. “Shouldn’t we be trying to wean ourselves off them?”

  “At the moment, surely it’s more important that we’re physically fit and well?” He replied. “We can’t risk them getting ill and slowing us down.”

  Teonie was quiet for a moment, thinking about Dane’s reasoning.

  “Your mother is quiet again.” She said finally, her tone gentle and barely audible.

  Dane looked over at Alyssa, who was stood away from the group, watching the children and Rico working together with detached indifference. He had noticed her slipping back to her old ways now the initial shock seemed to have worn off.

  “Maybe it’s not the supplements.” Dane shrugged. “Maybe that’s just her now.”

  “It will probably take a while,” Teonie gave his arm a squeeze. “I can’t imagine how hard everything is for her.”

  Dane felt tears prickle at the back of his eyes and turned away from Teonie’s touch. He didn’t want sympathy right now. He was already feeling every emotion magnified, between the horror of being sent home to his death, the guilt for dragging his siblings into this mess, the worry over his mother. He was angry at himself for not being able to control the way his mind was racing away with these thoughts and fears. He managed to keep it all at the back of his mind when he was preoccupied with trying to navigate during the day, only focussed on the here and now, his senses constantly alert, looking out for any danger, but when night fell, and they were still, it was all that filled his mind.

  “I’d love some water though,” Teonie said when Dane didn’t reply. “Can I have some?”

  Dane handed her the flask and she sipped from it.

  “What’s that?” Norah had grown bored of helping Rose, Rico and Tommy to clear the ground, and wandered over towards them.

  “It’s just water.” Teonie said, offering the flask to Norah.

  Norah took the bottle and sniffed at it suspiciously.

  Teonie let out a genuine laugh at her reaction. “Don’t tell me you’ve never tried water?”

  Norah wrinkled her nose at the flask, still peering through the neck of the bottle.

  “It doesn’t smell like what we have at home.”

  “Water is in everything. It’s in the vitamin drink you have at home.” Dane smiled affectionately at her. “We’re made of water.”

  “Are we?” Norah looked up at Dane, unsure whether he was winding her up as he frequently did.

  “In most countries,” Teonie assured her. “This is what people have to survive.”

  “Wow.” Norah looked back at the bottle, satisfied that they weren’t pranking her.

  She tipped the bottle up to her lips, her face scrunched in concentration.

  “What’s she got?” Rose hobbled over to them on painful feet and Dane could see the concern she was trying to disguise.

  “It’s just water, Rose.” Dane shook his head discreetly at her, warning her not to worry Norah.

  “Where’s it from?”

  “The stream.”

  Rose gave Dane a stern look and gently pried the bottle from Norah’s hand.

  “You don’t know that’s safe.” Rose chided Dane, tipping the bottle slightly and shaking a few droplets onto her hand.

  “It’s perfectly safe,” Dane rolled his eyes at his sister. “You’ll be grateful of nature if our supplies run out, and, anyway, we need to start getting used to natural food.”

  “There’ll be time for that when we’re out of Apatia.” Rose replied curtly. “And we won’t be running out. We’ve got enough for a few weeks. It’s really not worth us getting sick, is it?”

  Dane turned away from her, irritated by her patronising tone. She’d been acting like their mother for far too long. He was trained to survive in the wild. What did she know?

  “It’s fine, Rose.” Teonie cut in, sensing Dane’s annoyance. “And Dane has a point, we do need to start adjusting.”

  “We should start looking for food.” Tommy had joined them now. “And we should make a fire.”

  “No!” Teonie exclaimed a little too loudly.

  Norah and Tommy frowned at her reaction.

  “Why not?” Tommy asked. “Dane, you did say we could make a fire.”

  “No, I didn’t,” He shook his head. “What I said was, I know how to make one, which is completely different. We can’t make one because it’s not allowed in this campsite.”

  “It’s not a campsite.” Tommy scoffed at Dane’s lie. “This is real wilderness. I can tell.”

  “We’re not making one.” Dane said bluntly. “Now, let’s have our nutrition and get to sleep. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

  They wandered back over to the camp, and Dane moved a little distance away to take his pills, desperately needing some space from everyone to process his feelings. Teonie sensed his need to be alone and she kept them occupied as they waited for the darkness to fall, entertaining the children with some games and chatting good-naturedly to Rose, Rico and Alyssa as Dane brooded alone for a while.

  “Do you want to keep watch first?” She asked as he moved back over to the camp as Norah and Tommy were dropping off to sleep.

  Dane nodded. It was difficult to tell how many hours had passed without any technology to know when to switch places so that they both got enough sleep. He had tried counting, but they both agreed it made them feel sleepy and took away their focus from looking and listening out for any danger.

  “Wake me when you feel tired?” She reminded him as she snuggled down next to the huddle of bodies.

  Dane watched, with envy, as they started to drift off, exhausted by the day’s hike. He had already made up his mind to try to let Teonie sleep for as long as he could fight off the tiredness that was threatening to consume him. He took up a post on the edge of the group, rising regularly, more to keep himself awake than to check for any approaching threats.

  The night sky was pitch black, but the moon was full and high casting shadows through the thin layer of branches that sheltered them. Dane felt his eyes growing heavy and he paced the perimeter of the small grove, staying in the treeline but using the vantage of the hill they were on to look out into the distance. The moonlight exposed the empty nothing; just the dry earth with the occasional scatter of small, hardy groves identical to the one they were in. Dane cast his eyes to the sky, wondering on their chances of making it across this barren land without detection. There should have been more forest, according to the images he’d used to plot their course, but then again they should have seen the mountains by now.

  A noise behind him, louder than the rustle and crunch of the nocturnal minibeasts, startled him from his worries and he turned, quickly and silently, on the spot, poised and ready to defend.

  “Dane.”

  He heard the familiar tone of Teonie hissing his name and he moved towards the sound carefully. She had woken from her slumber and was on her feet, creeping towards him.

  “Everything ok?” He whispered back, his hand still at the weapon on his hip, not ready to relax until he knew that they were all safe.

  “Uh huh.” Teonie assured him.

  Even in the darkness, he could see her rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

  “Go back to sleep,” He told her. “You’re exhausted.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve slept for ages. I’m ready to swap.”

  Dane was at her side now and he gave her an affectionate squeeze.

  “I can see how tired you are,” He said. “Just have another hour. We’ll have a long day tomorrow. We really need to get out of the open.”

  “All the more reason for you to be rested.” Teonie countered. “I promise I’m fine.”

  Dane could feel the sting of tiredness in his eyes and his limbs were heavy, and so he begrudgi
ngly agreed. He curled into the space that Teonie had vacated, still warm and cosy. The relaxed breathing of his family around him was hypnotic and he could feel himself drifting into unconsciousness almost immediately. His head swam with images and thoughts from the day, but too quickly and hazily for him to capture one and hone in. He welcomed the fuzzy feeling of being distant from his thoughts and he felt sleep wash over his weary body and mind.

  He must have just drifted off when he suddenly jerked awake. His senses, still alert, had registered something and his body struggled to process it in his half-asleep state. He fought against the layer of jackets tangled over him to free his limbs and struggled to sit up, immediately seeing what had disturbed him.

  A small square of light shone, about ten metres away, bathing the area around it in an unnatural glow, and then as quickly as he saw it, it disappeared, plunging the grove back into darkness.

  He leapt quietly to his feet, feeling for the weapons that were never from his side. He moved forward stealthily, sweeping his eyes through the darkness.

  “Woah!” Teonie suddenly moved into his line of sight, from the same area that the light had shone from.

  “Careful!” He hissed to her, feeling his heart pounding in his chest.

  “What is it?” Her voice came out breathless and panicked.

  “There was a light,” He answered, still creeping forward. “Right by you.”

  “Oh.” Teonie let out a guilty sigh of understanding. “I’m sorry. That was me.”

  Dane felt his body relax as the immediate threat disappeared to be replaced by confusion.

  “What?” He moved towards her, still looking around them.

  “I was checking how far away we are.” She admitted sheepishly.

  “What?” Dane repeated angrily. “Are you crazy?”

  “I told you I was going to,” She protested. “You said ‘give it a few hours’. I did.”

  “I meant we’d talk about it then!” He exclaimed, furious at her stupidity. “We can see we’re on an incline! Of course, we’re almost there. We’ve got all that open land to cross and now you’ve potentially given away our location!”

  “It’ll be fine!” Teonie shot back defensively. “It’s one hit out of millions on the network. It’s not even a device registered to me.”

  “We’re in the middle of nowhere!” Dane cried, forgetting to keep his voice lowered in his anger. “It’s bound to raise interest!”

  “Well, it’s done now.” She said huffily. “Just go back to sleep.”

  “No way!” Dane shook his head emphatically. “We can’t stay here now. We’re leaving.”

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Anger fuelled Dane on as the pack moved through the dead of the night. Teonie had stayed quiet while he had woken the others and insisted they set off immediately. He stormed ahead of the group; Norah still asleep in his arms. The only words he had exchanged with Teonie were regarding their location. Any danger was done, and they needed a head start more than ever.

  Rose had tried to call out to Dane a few times, but he saw Teonie shake her head in warning at her, and silently they moved onwards. As the distance burned away some of his anger, he tried to reason with his own self. They had wandered slightly off track because of the crash. Teonie’s checks meant they could right their course, but Dane still found himself seething at the way she had gone about it; waiting until he had fallen asleep to log in. That was the reason for his anger, he realised as he followed the curve of the hill to the east. Every step they had taken had been dictated by her. He wouldn’t even be in this situation if Teonie and Gia had kept their meddling to themselves. His family wouldn’t be in this situation. This thought flared up inside him and was immediately extinguished by guilt.

  He glanced back over his shoulder. Even in the darkness, he could see the dejected posture of her as she walked quickly, weighed down by the bags, freeing up Rico to piggy-back a sleepy Tommy and allow Alyssa and Rose to keep pace. At that moment, he wanted to drop back and show her that he forgave her. Yes, she should have been honest with him, but potentially they had saved themselves days of wandering fruitlessly in the wrong direction. The fear and the exhaustion were starting to grind him down, and he moved on alone, conscious that he wasn’t the best company right now.

  Norah stirred in his arms; her eyes flickering open. He looked down at her and watched as the confusion of being carried through the night faded to peace when she met Dane’s eyes.

  He felt his heart swell at the trust she had in him and his mind turned to the unfairness of the situation. Hundreds of miles from home, trekking through harsh conditions and she could still sleep on, safe in the knowledge that she was with the Alexanders. Dane wondered, not for the first time since finding out about the Hybrid programme and hearing Alyssa talk of Tatianna Coles, what had happened to the children’s mother. The only blessing had been that Norah was too young to show any signs of being scarred by their loss. Yet.

  They walked on through the break of another new day; too tired to admire the stark contrast between the orange sky and the still black land. Dane guessed that they had been moving for maybe two hours when dawn illuminated the horizon; rays picking out the mountain range that they had been searching for. The darkness was slipping away with every second as the sun rose and Dane turned to the others. They were bone tired, he could see the fatigue in them all, and suddenly he felt the exhaustion engulf him too.

  He let the others catch up and Teonie gave him a shy smile.

  “I think I need to rest soon.” He told them, returning her smile.

  The land was rising steeply, a mixture of bare, dusty earth and evergreen thickets of trees. They made their way towards the tree-line, each of them feeling they were running on empty. Norah, now awake and refreshed, skipped ahead, reaching the copse first. A muted humming caused them to turn and Dane’s blood ran cold at the sight of a familiar grey disc high in the sky behind them.

  “Trees! Now!” Teonie yelled with razor-sharp reactions.

  Together, as one body, old and young, they flew towards the shelter of the thicket. Dane flung the bags down and shielded himself from sight, peering out at the approaching aircraft. The humming had stopped, and the sky was silent, but the craft was almost on top of them now. Dane looked to Teonie, knowing she too was bracing herself for attack.

  The craft danced overhead, out of sight. Dane and Teonie, hunched low, stuck to the edge of the tree-line and followed the direction the disc had taken. In the back of Dane’s mind, he was aware of his family and Rico, huddled together, behind them.

  “If it’s coming back,” Teonie whispered to him. “It’s seen us.”

  She darted forward, edging out into the open, her head turned up towards the sky. She shot backwards to Dane.

  “It’s circling the wood.” She told him, her face deathly pale.

  “We’ve got two options.” Dane said, his mind racing ahead. “We can hang tight and see what they’re going to do, or I can make a break for it. Lead them away from us.”

  He lowered his voice. “I think that’s the best action, but that means you’ll have to go on without me.”

  Teonie shook her head violently. “No, Dane. I’m not letting you go.”

  “We can’t risk it.” He shot back. “They know we’re here.”

  He edged closer to the line in the trees, crouched down, taking a deep breath before he ran into the unknown. He didn’t have time to process what he was preparing to do. All he could focus on was the burning desire to save them all.

  “Keep them back.” He directed this to Teonie without looking at her. “Take your chance and get clear.”

  He inhaled, filling his lungs with the earthy, fresh air and braced himself ready to launch into a run when Teonie suddenly cried out, startling him.

  “Hold on!” She called. “Let me try this!”

  He turned to her this time and saw the tech-jammer in her hand.

  “Keep them back.” She repeated his words to him and, unfur
ling slowly from her crouched position, she marched out of the woods with her head held high.

  “Teonie!” Rico cried out, rushing forward and Dane caught him, holding him back from stepping out of their hiding place.

  “It’s ok,” Dane tried to reassure him. “She’s got this.”

  They watched on, hearts in their mouths, as Teonie broke into a run, leading the craft away from the woodland. She stopped abruptly as the aircraft came towards her, throwing her into its shadow and she held the device aloft in her hands.

  Please work. Dane’s mind repeated this prayer over and over for what felt like an eternity.

  For the longest time, nothing happened. The young soldier was barely visible, cloaked in the craft’s shadow. The disc hung suspended above her; sleek, imposing lines of the finest craftmanship and then it tumbled.

  Like an out-of-control spinning top, the narrow head fell forwards, lurching the tail into the air through a loop. And then again, picking up speed.

  “It’s falling!” Rose yelled out.

  Dane’s eyes were glued on Teonie. Why wasn’t she moving? It was practically on top of her.

  And then she shot into action, turning towards them in a full sprint.

  “RUN!” She bellowed as she raced away from the falling craft.

  The craft was spinning wildly now, circling top over bottom, and Dane had to tear his eyes from the surreal spectacle, turning and herding away the children, from where they had been frozen to the spot in speechless fascination.

  Dane felt the ground shake as the craft collided with the earth, and a deafening blast sent them all crashing to the floor, arms thrown defensively around their heads, ears ringing.

  The air was thick with smoke and dust, and Dane struggled to his feet, fighting to regain control while his senses were overwhelmed. He blinked, to clear his vision, mentally counting the bodies around him. Another check reassured him they were all shaken but uninjured, and his heart filled with relief that Teonie was among them.

  She, too, was dusting herself off and preparing for her next move. Her eyes met Dane’s and she pointed back to the open. He nodded, and they crept forward, hands on their weapons.