by Linsey, Tam
Something skittered into the skimmer and Tula stiffened before batting it away. A leaf — that meant they were close to the Reaches, where Levi might find shelter from Protectorate aircraft. She had to get him out and away as soon as possible, but with the storm raging above them, it was too dangerous right now. The skimmer beacon would get her rescued, but Levi had to be in full hiding, preferably a few hours walk away.
A sudden crackle from the dash caused Tula to jump as the com came to life. Levi’s attention turned toward the noise.
“Dr. Sertularia Macoby, this is headquarters calling. Please respond.” Static overrode the voice, the signal likely affected by the storm and the ravine walls.
Levi glanced at her. “Vitus. Bad.”
She nodded mutely. They knew she was gone. She’d hoped for a few more hours, until the scheduled euthanization.
“Dr. Macoby, this is Dr. Vitus Dedecus. Please respond immediately.”
Poking her head out the open door, she squinted at the sky against the falling silt. Still too stormy to go anywhere.
“Tula, be assured we have rescue teams standing by. We have a lock on your location, and as soon as the storm clears, we will come to your aid.” The last word was a sneer.
She reached behind the seats, grabbed Koil’s sandals, and handed them to Levi. The bundle of water bottles was more awkward, but she pulled it onto her lap. Untying the sleeves, she unwrapped the package and showed Levi the stash.
He caressed the cool exterior of the bottles. “Danke.” Then he spotted the notebook. He pushed the bottles aside. His eyes gleamed with unshed tears as he ran a big hand over the cover. “Danke.”
“You’re welcome.”
He looked into her eyes, his features clear. The crags and shadows on his face expressed what he couldn’t put into words. “Danke.”
She nodded slowly, accepting his acknowledgment of what she’d done for him. Not the water. Not the notebook. His freedom. Possibly in return for her own.
A tiny spark of fear rose in Tula’s breast. Vitus would have her hide over this. He might even convict her of reversion. Reversions were either euthanized or sent to the mines to work out their days in darkness.
She opened the compartment in the dash and retrieved the emergency water pouches, adding them to Levi’s supply. She opened the first aid kit from the car and dumped the contents into the kit from her office. She wished she could do better.
Levi needed an breathing filter to leave. An idea struck her and she selected a roll of gauze from the first aid items. She held it out to Levi. With a palm cupped over her mouth and nose, she made breathing noises and pointed outside.
He drew his brows together in confusion.
Climbing to her knees in her seat, she took the gauze and unrolled a portion. She draped it over his nose and mouth, forming a dust mask. It wasn’t perfect, but would have to do. They were out of time. He had to leave as soon as possible.
She settled back into her seat, still on her knees, and let her hands collapse into her lap. Levi reached toward her, slowly, and traced the pale scar on her arm with one finger.
She closed her eyes against a sting of tears, against the flaw in her conversion.
“Menschlich.”
She opened her eyes, the muscles of her face tight with grief. She had no idea what he meant. And she never would. Her time with him was done. She smiled weakly and pointed outside.
He nodded, gathering the water bottles, first aid kit, and notebook back into the folds of her lab coat.
Outside, dawn fought the dust clouds for dominion. The ravine cliff loomed stark against the paling sky, and Tula saw the startling outline of shrubbery along the base of the wall. The wind had subsided, as well. Maybe Levi could make it.
They both climbed out of the skimmer, Tula’s sandaled feet sinking into the fine silt on the ravine floor. Levi’s head didn’t clear the top of the gully wall; he’d have to climb up if he wanted to see over.
“Goodbye. Levi. Gott be with you.” She didn’t know why she invoked his god.
The words seemed to mean a lot to him. He bent to embrace her. This was the second time they’d hugged, and she clung to him as if she didn’t intend to let go. The gauze of his mask pressed tight to her cheek. “Goodbye.” His voice was rough and gravelly.
Righting himself, he slung the makeshift bag over his shoulder and trekked up the ravine. The gold robe made him look divine, and she hoped the bright color didn’t cause him to be spotted. Before he disappeared behind a bend, he turned one last long look over his shoulder at her. And she knew what she’d done was worth it.
Levi strode up the dry creek bed with as much haste as his body could muster. He needed to make some distance. Not only from the incoming Blattvolk, but also from her. What was it about her that made him want to protect her, even from her own people?
As green as she was, her scar served as a visual reminder that she was still human. Her actions were human. He wondered what was in store for her after saving him, sure it wasn’t good. That evil man, Vitus, would likely try to hurt her.
When he thought of Vitus pushing her on the stairs, his steps faltered.
You can’t go back.
Should he have invited her along?
To where? His people would never accept her into the fold. He had nowhere to harbor an abomination, even if she was more human than he’d expected.
He continued hiking through the dim light, made dimmer by the high sides of the gully and the dust-clogged air, glad for the mask she’d made him. Squinting against the grit, he trudged on, eyes watering. He’d get his bearings later. For now, he had to get far away. Following the cut through the plains was probably not the best way to hide, but the storm still raged above and, until it died back, there was no way he could fight the scouring wind.
Sunrise pierced the darkness and, as if on cue, the gale eased into an unsteady sigh. The air seemed cooler without the burning wind, like the welcome arrival of a rainstorm after a heat wave. But the sky remained hazy blue. Scrabbling up the side, he scanned the horizon, turning a full circle. He had no idea which direction the city lay in. Nor the direction of home, or the Fosselite scientists he sought. To the northwest, a bank of thunderclouds blackened the horizon.
Should he go back into the ravine, or keep walking in hope of finding shelter? Topside, he would be exposed to the Blattvolk flying machines. Yet the gulch was a direct connection to the car. He fished a water bottle from the bundle at his shoulder and sipped while squinting into the sunrise.
The longer he waited, the more likely he was to be spotted if the Blattvolk came looking for him. The air pressed sweat against his dust-caked skin. A few sparse, wind-tattered shrubs dotted the land, but nothing significant enough to give shelter. He worried about Tula. Would she be all right until her people found her? The thought of her going back to the malice of that Vitus fellow made his jaw tighten. His fist crushed the empty water bottle as regret engulfed him, then engulfed him again for ruining the bottle. He was supposed to offer salvation. Tula deserved to be saved.
A gust of wind sent his crushed water bottle scurrying north and lodged it against the base of an amarantox. As he bent to retrieve it, the earth began to vibrate, and small drifts of silt sifted into the ravine. A sound like grinding rock rolled in from the west, and he leapt away from the edge of the cut as muddy water churned down the gully, a jumble of debris riding at the fore. The flood shot past his feet, filling the channel almost to the top, taking anything in its path for a ride. Within a few heartbeats, the front edge disappeared around a bend, headed straight toward Tula.
Tula leaned into the dented skimmer and looked at the engine with despair. Why had she thought she might be able to nudge it into life? The only part she recognized was the battery, and it seemed fine.
Coughing, she trudged to the passenger seat and picked up the half-used roll of gauze. Wrapping the makeshift mask around her face, she leaned back in the seat. The rescue team would find her soon. Levi w
as long gone. Why should she be in a hurry to face her punishment? Closing her eyes, she found herself on the verge of tears.
Don’t cry. You have no water, and they may be hours away from finding you. She could only hope.
The day dawned gray, and soon the heat and the ultraviolet would be unbearable. She was glad for the shade of the gully, but regretted not pulling the allelopathic suppression pills from the first aid kit before Levi left. How long before a duster found her? She wondered if Mo might be on the team to rescue her.
As if thinking of him could conjure his voice, the com hissed to life and Mo’s voice crackled into the stillness. “Coordinates verified. All Burn Operatives are ordered to flash on sight. Repeat, take no prisoners. All Burn Operatives are ordered to flash on sight. Dr. Macoby is considered armed and dangerous.” The com clicked into silence.
Tula sat straight in the seat, not daring to breathe. Were they talking about her? Was Mo talking about her? Her heart raced as if it could scramble out of the ravine without her. Flash on sight?
This had to be a mistake. They only killed reversions, and then only if the reversion refused to comply. Did they think she’d reverted?
She leapt out of the skimmer, legs trembling. She wouldn’t have a chance to explain herself. There would be no going to the mines for her. No working the protein production unit with Bats. Why did Mo broadcast Burn Ops directives to her com unit, if they intended to kill her and Levi on sight?
Her chest tightened. He’d warned her. Or hoped to warn her. If they knew he’d transmitted to her, they’d punish him, too.
She had to get away from here. Run.
Without thinking, she tried to scramble up the side of the ravine, but only succeeded in pulling more dirt into the gully. Turning in the direction Levi had disappeared, she ran until she found a section where the earth wall had sloughed to create a natural ramp. Once out of the gulch, she looked across the desert, wondering if Levi had climbed out here, too. Silt hazed the air, but the dusters would be able to lift soon. Levi would be hiding, of course. She had no way to find him.
Fear paralyzed her. The insides of her nostrils stung with dry dust. She had no supplies. No protection from the sun. She might as well let them find her. But burning to death sounded so horrible.
With no options, she scanned the gully, keeping an eye on the horizon for Levi. If he’d come out here, the wind had scoured any trace of his footsteps.
A vibration in her feet caught her attention at the same moment a wave of red mud slammed through the ravine from the west. The flow crashed into the skimmer with a horrific crack. The vehicle flipped up and over and rushed down stream, open doors catching the flow of water like a kite in the wind.
She watched it disappear, unable to move. What if she’d been inside? A shiver seized her and she had to sit down a moment until it passed. Then another thought came to her. What if Levi had still been in the gulch?
She jumped to her feet and looked up and down the muddy line. The water had eased its violence to a solid flow. Twigs and leaves swirled and passed quickly from sight. Covering her face, she gulped air. Maybe he climbed out in time. She had to hope.
And she had to keep moving. Even if the flash flood had carried the skimmer far away, the Burn Teams would keep looking. She hoped they might give her a chance to explain herself if they found her. But she knew Burn Op mentality. She lived with an Op. Well, had lived with one.
Tears filled her eyes and she fought them down. Mo. He’d be forced to betray her if he found her. Would they send him against his own woman? Did he believe she’d reverted? That thought caused more tears to escape, no matter how hard she struggled. His feelings about reversions and cannibals had always been clear.
She wiped her cheeks. She couldn’t afford to cry. She had no water. How did the cannibals find water on this forsaken wasteland?
The thought of cannibals made her freeze. She squinted at the sparse vegetation. What if she ran into them? Flashes of repressed memory made her bile rise and blinded her. She tripped and fell to her knees.
A brother, screaming as a knife flashed in the sun. The smell of blood and wood smoke. Her stomach knotted as she recalled the sharpness of real hunger, the desire for the meat she was offered. The acceptance of the meat…
Curling into a fetal position, she stared at the hard dirt under her, afraid to close her eyes lest the visions completely overtake her. Pebbles and cracked earth bit into her forehead. She focused on that pain. Forgetting the past.
She had to stay in the now. To survive. Thanks to conversion, she’d never have to resort to … that … again.
Taking a deep breath, she sat up. With bleary vision, she scanned the sky, the horizon. Danger lunged at her from every angle. Dusters above, cannibals behind every rock and shrub. Flash floods. The sun alone could kill her by nightfall if the air cleared of dust; right now, the haze filtered some of the ultraviolet.
And she was alone.
Her life had come full circle.
A pity party won’t save your skin.
She pulled her legs under her and peered over her shoulder at the sky. No sign of dusters. Had they found the skimmer? Would they give up?
Not if Vitus was in charge.
She didn’t want Vitus to win. But how could she beat him? She kept moving, keeping the gully to her left, scanning the skyline for any sign of Levi, giving tumbleweeds and yuvee trees a wide berth where they sprung from the crackled ground at irregular intervals. Her real enemy would be the sun. She could already feel the effects of the chemicals in her bloodstream. The euphoric high might not be a bad way to die.
Sliding her gauze mask aside, she raised her face to the sky. She welcomed the mind-numbing rays. Digging into her memory, she brought up evenings with Mo, when he’d kissed her silly, sharing the chemicals from his day on the Burn. No, not a bad way to go at all.
Something tore at her naked leg and she flinched. She’d run into a tumbleweed. Welts popped up on her skin where beads of blood oozed along scratches. Pay attention. But the sun felt so good. Find Levi.
Focusing on the rocky edge of the ravine, she placed careful steps. She was far from drunk, but her usual reaction to the chemicals was to give in to the pleasure. She’d never had to keep a straight head before. Not until the children disappeared.
That thought sobered her. She continued, but couldn’t help thinking she would be another casualty of the desert. Fit punishment for failing the children.
Blinking, she wondered if the green yuvee trees had leached toward white. A UV storm would take her down, for sure. Maybe her vision was failing in all this sun.
A glint under the low branches of a tattered amarantox caught her attention. She squatted and lowered her head to the ground to get a better look. A crushed nuvoplast water bottle. Droplets of moisture clung to the inside.
She rose, her head spinning. “Levi!” she yelled, but her voice emerged hoarse and raw. She hadn’t realized she was so thirsty. “Levi!” A desperate shriek.
She hoped the human figure in the distance wasn’t a hallucination. Or a cannibal.
There was no way he could get to Tula in time to help, even if he tried. If she was in the ravine when the water hit, she was gone. A shudder rolled through him. “Lord have mercy on her soul.”
The water eventually lowered to a muddy trickle, leaving behind scoured clay walls and muddy debris. Removing the bright yellow robe, he scrubbed it against the edge of the ravine to disguise the color. Orange streaks of mud hid the yellow, but it still felt glaring to his eyes. He did the same with the gray blanket around his waist. The welcome cool of the damp fabric against his skin didn’t last long in the drying wind.
The dust could take all day to settle. He looked at the sun again and decided he might as well choose a direction, wrong or not. God would lead him. Clambering to his feet, he followed the wind north. But he kept looking over his shoulder at the ravine.
Why did he feel like he was abandoning Tula? There was nothing h
e could do. To the left, a pinprick flashed and disappeared on the horizon. One of the Blattvolk flying machines? Was that a figure waving? Tula. His feet moved a step that direction, then froze. What if it was a search party?
But it was a single person. Definitely waving. She stumbled and went down, disappearing from his sight. Without thinking, he ran toward her.
She collapsed into his arms, her breathing ragged. Strips of gauze tangled about her head but didn’t cover her mouth and nose. In one hand she held a crumpled water bottle.
“Tula, what happened?”
“Vitus,” she said, “wants me dead.” Her blue eyes were dilated in spite of the bright sun.
He squeezed her tighter, his attention going to the southern horizon. A dark spot marred the hazy sky. Settling her upright, he pointed that direction. She followed his finger and gasped, drawing closer against him. “Duster.”
He grasped her hand. They had to hide. But the expanse of the plain in all directions didn’t lend itself to hiding.
In spite of his hopelessness, he tugged her west. The sky had a faded, dusty cast, but he thought he saw mountains that direction. Leading up to mountains would be foothills. And foothills meant a possible place to hide.
Tula faltered, coughing, and he realized he’d been nearly dragging her. Her lips were pale and cracked with blood. Concern overwhelmed him. “You need water.”
She gulped the offered water bottle desperately.
Returning the empty container to his carry-sack, he glanced into the distance. The pinprick had gained definition, forming the snubbed nose and long sweep of a tail fin. The flyer followed the line of the ravine. His gut clenched and his legs shook. “We’re out of time.”
She swayed. Her attention shifted to one of the umbrella trees with pale, almost white leaves. Sobbing, she babbled as she pointed. The frightened look on her face was worse than the sight of the flyer. He tried to keep her moving, but she collapsed to her knees, a tiny wail rising from her lips like a ghost. Dry air filled his mouth and nose and he realized he was panting as he scoured the area for ideas. They couldn’t outrun the flying machine. Was that what she was saying? Why had she pointed to the leaves? She must want to camouflage them with leaves.