Nuworld: The Saga Begins

by Lorie O'Clare

  “I’ll let you know after I meet this Darius person. What do you know about him?”

  “He has a lot of power but no experience, I’d say. People that get in his way have a tendency to fall into bad luck, so to speak. I don’t know whether or not he’s good enough for our daughter. But I daresay I’m hoping Tara will stay here. I’d like get to know my daughter, and she can live here as a Runner.” Reena pursed her lips.

  Patha wrapped his large arms around Reena’s petite frame. “It will be tough on her at first, living here, but their union would make the most powerful nation in Nuworld.”

  Reena stared at the spot where Tara had disappeared down the road. With that one statement, she understood Patha’s thoughts. He was more concerned about how powerful they’d be if the two were claimed. She was more concerned about her daughter’s happiness.

  And Reena hoped the challenges Gothman would bring Tara would satisfy her.

  Chapter Seven

  Tara pulled up in front of the Bryton house, ran up the porch stairs, and called for Hilda and Torgo. The two of them appeared after several minutes. “I’m going to send you two to stay with Reena.”

  “Certainly Darius wouldn’t leave us here if he didn’t think we were safe.” Hilda crossed her fleshy arms over her bosom and stared at Tara. “We should stay right here, I’m thinking.”

  “Darius doesn’t realize the number of Sea People surrounding Gothman right now. But there are Runners here now, and with our equipment we can help Gothman. These Sea People have attacked and killed many of us, but they’ll be no match for our two armies combined. We’ll have them defeated in no time,” Tara reassured the two worried faces staring at her.

  “You talked to Runners?” Torgo’s eyes grew large.

  “Yes, child,” she smiled and ruffled his hair. “It’ll be quite a great story when I tell it to you.”

  She realized at that moment she loved more than Darius. With Hilda and Torgo standing there in the living room looking helpless and worried, she felt a need to protect them from harm.

  Hilda had taken Tara into her home. Given a stranger the room right next to hers: where a girl would be safe. She’d taught Tara how to cook…very patiently…and Tara knew she wasn’t the best of pupils. Torgo had immediately taken to her. He eagerly learned everything she offered to teach him. He’d been so excited when he first successfully hit a target. The look on his face when he first rode his motorcycle without her sitting behind him wasn’t something she’d soon forget. These two had taken her in as family. She loved both of them as well as feeling love for Darius. Now she had two parents as well. Tara never would have expected her life to turn out like this several cycles ago.

  “Now quickly, go get some clothes for the next few days.” She followed them up the stairs.

  “I still don’t like the idea of being sent away from my own home,” Hilda grumbled. “And by a Runner no less.”

  Tara decided not to comment since the woman moved to her room and closed the door. Once in her own room, she’d quickly changed into her Runner clothing. Completely dressed for battle, she sat down on the bed and pulled out the little landlink from her black bag she had taken to Reena’s. Scanning for a minute, she looked for a local server to which she could tie in. It didn’t take long; soon she was communicating with some of the Runners on the edge of Gothman.

  It felt good to be connected with a transmission again. Ever since she’d been in Gothman her link had been down. There’d been no main server close enough for her to stay connected. Now that a Runner clan had moved close to Gothman, she’d be able to communicate with her people.

  “This is Tara of the Blood Circle Clan,” Tara whispered the words as she typed. “Requesting any known information on Sea People in the area.”

  Tara sent the message to the two clans she’d managed to locate. She would check back soon for a response.

  “Come on, let’s go!” she yelled as she left her room and headed down the stairs.

  “Whoa!” Torgo came down the steps and froze as he saw Tara fully dressed as a Runner sitting on the couch with her landlink on her lap. “Tara, is that you?”

  “Torgo, never fear a Runner.” She beckoned him. “A Runner will never attack someone unless attacked first.”

  “I wasn’t scared. You look cool!” Torgo sat next to Tara and stared at the flat screen. “And I guessed you were a Runner all along.”

  Tara didn’t know whether to believe the boy or not, but ruffled his already tousled curls, and then pointed to her screen. “I’m linked now. I can communicate with any Runner in the world this way.” She pointed to the map displayed on the screen. “I can also tell where Lord Darius and his army are.”

  “You’re kidding. How do you do that?”

  “It’s Oldworld knowledge. It’s easy enough though. It won’t take long to teach you.”

  Torgo was leaning over looking at the screen when Hilda came down the stairs.

  “So, you’re a Runner now, are you?” She looked at Tara almost disapprovingly.

  “Hilda, I’ve always been a Runner.” In the older woman, Tara could see some of the prejudice that had obviously kept her son ignorant of other races. “Now go, both of you. Reena is expecting you. Remember, if you see any Runners at her place, they’re not your enemy.”

  “Can’t I stay with you and fight, Tara?” Torgo asked. “Why are you sending me away with the women? I’m not a child anymore, you know.”

  “I know.” Tara faced Torgo, snapped her heels together, and clasped her hands behind her back. “Stand at attention, and let me give you your orders.”

  Torgo imitated her stance and grew serious with wide gray eyes glowing in excitement.

  “These women need protection, and right now I have no soldiers to send with them. You will escort your mama to Reena’s. And you will stay there, guarding them with your life. Understood?”

  “Yes. Understood.” Torgo broke out in a grin, and before Tara had time to react he reached for her and gave her a quick hug. “Be careful, okay?”

  Tara smiled when Torgo released her. “I always am.”

  Torgo hopped out the front door ready for the adventure. Hilda did not look at Tara as she left.

  As soon as the front door shut, Tara jumped up and ran to the shed out back. There was a lock on the door. Tara sighed and looked around the yard to see who might be watching. No one was in sight. She pulled out her laser, and a small blast caused the lock to fall to the ground. Within seconds, she rolled her bike out of the shed and snapped her landlink on it.

  Tara narrowed in on Darius’ signal. He was south of town and from what she could tell, twenty or so others were with him. She scanned for local roads and was pleased to find a current map. She took off at top speed.

  Who would have led Darius to believe he should go south? This was now the question at hand.

  Tara considered the matter. The Sea People approached from the northwest, which made sense since their home was to the west. Darius would be protected from any attacks if he was in the southern region, but Gothman would not. Who would want to place Gothman in such a predicament?

  Within a quarter mile of the signal, Tara slowed to a stop and scanned for Gothman communication. It wasn’t hard for her landlink to pick up their simplex form of transmitting, although static crackled on her multiplex system. Her equipment wasn’t accustomed to such antiquated forms of communication. She tapped into the Gothman conversation and clicked on her speakers, which she usually kept off. The audio was poor but leaning forward she heard conversation through the small, attached speakers on either side of her landlink.

  “He’ll be within sight in a few minutes. Be ready now.”

  “Have you had any further communication?”

  “I have. They’re coming across Runners.”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “It’s a passing clan, it shouldn’t be.”

  Tara eased her bike forward into the forest and slowed to a stop. There, up in the tree
, a Gothman was lodged between two branches talking on a walkntalk. Tara killed the motor and sat silently, waiting to see what would be there within a few minutes.

  She heard voices and saw movement through the trees ahead.

  So did the Gothman in the tree. He pulled a gun from his jacket and aimed at the group approaching.

  Tara watched the Gothman focus on his target, and realized with horror who the man planned to kill. One of the voices was Darius’. He barked orders, and the booming sound of his voice sent a tightness through her insides. Tara slid off her bike without a sound, moved to the tree, hoisted herself up and pulled the man to the ground. Before he could yell out, she shot him in the back. Grabbing the walkntalk she crept behind some nearby bushes and hunted for the dead man’s companion.

  “What is that smell, my lord?”

  Tara froze, with the walkntalk held out in front of her and watched as Darius approached with a group of his men.

  “I smell it too. I daresay it smells like something’s burned,” another guard answered.

  Darius passed by without seeing her. “That it does.” Darius stopped within feet of her.

  She focused on the back of his boots from her hiding place in the bushes.

  “It smells like flesh burning.”

  “Should we search the area, my lord?”

  The group of men stopped with Darius, and the sound of their boots shuffling over the undergrowth showed Tara they weren’t concerned about concealing their whereabouts.

  Could she communicate with him on this thing? She didn’t know how to switch channels or to make sure a channel was private. Before she could act, however, the box crackled and a voice came through the walkntalk. Tara knew if the guards hadn’t been so noisy, they would have heard the walkntalk she held.

  “Why didn’t you get him?” a voice said. “Mikel will be furious.”

  Tara frowned. Mikel was Darius’ brother.

  There was movement in a tree farther in the woods. She ran forward, and someone jumped from the tree and shot at her.

  “Who is firing?” one of Darius’ men yelled.

  “Over there!” Darius barked the command. “I see movement.”

  “You’re a Runner,” hissed the man who had tried to gun her down. He aimed his gun directly at her chest.

  “And you’re a dead man,” Tara whispered through clenched teeth. The whistling sound of the weapon pierced the air, and the man fell to the ground.

  It was the guard who had tried to attack her. Now, why didn’t that surprise her?

  “It’s that smell again.” Lord Darius and his men were soon surrounding the dead man’s body. They coughed and covered their mouths with gloved hands as they stared at the man who had been sliced wide open by the laser.

  “What was Judo doing back here?” one of Lord Darius’ soldiers asked, as he stared at the charred body.

  Tara watched Darius as he studied the dead man. She guessed he’d never seen a man killed by a laser before. Yet his expression remained blank. If his emotions were that much in check, then he was a better warrior than she. Her emotions swarmed around her, making it hard to concentrate. Darius needed protection. Gothman could be attacked in the near future. And for some reason, it appeared Darius had an internal problem.

  “I thought he was down with the other troops, my lord,” a guard standing next to Darius said. “Maybe he was trying to get word to us about who ever shot at him.”

  “We’ve been all across this land, and there’s no indication that any Sea People have been here. If he wanted to tell me something, I’d think he could’ve talked through the walkntalk. It’s right here.” Lord Darius squatted to take the walkntalk off the dead man and then studied the laser wound on the side of his body. He searched the foliage and was silent for a moment.

  Tara knew he realized a Gothman gun couldn’t have killed in that fashion. She pushed the button on the walkntalk in her hand. “I need to talk to you alone,” she whispered into the little box. She took a chance contacting him in that manner, but it made sense that the walkntalk by the corpse and the one she’d taken from the other dead man would be on the same channel. After all, it appeared as if these two, now dead men, had been collaborating on a scheme with Mikel.

  * * * * *

  Lord Darius quickly looked around him. His men hadn’t heard Tara’s transmission. Where was she?

  An intense desire to wrap his fingers around her Runner neck overwhelmed his thoughts momentarily. Tara was risking her life out here, and not knowing where she was at this precise moment brought his blood to a boil. His scowl slowly changed to a small smile as he realized he was going to enjoy the challenge of taming his Runner claim.

  “Let’s head back to camp.” He stood and kept a wary eye on his surroundings. “Something’s not right here. I want to confirm that the Sea People are south of Gothman, I do. Grab Judo and haul him back.”

  He stood in the forest watching and listening as his men slowly dragged the body toward the bikes. Tara was somewhere in the woods. He didn’t like the fact that she was here, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

  What was she up to? He thought about all the stories he’d heard about Runners over the winters. They were rumored to be better soldiers than Gothman. While he questioned that, there was no doubt Tara’s body was tuned into a well-oiled machine. He knew that first-hand…the toned thighs she wrapped around him with the strength of someone twice her size…the way she hung onto him… He shook his head. What was he doing? Now was not the time to get lost in the remembered pleasures of her body.

  Closing his eyes, Darius listened. Concentrate, man, he told himself. Don’t let a Runner outperform your skills. He squinted to see better and looked in the direction where he thought he’d just heard something. There! Through the bushes! Something in black. He moved through the trees quickly and silently.

  He had her in sight as she reached her bike and straddled it. He approached her from behind, wrapping his arms around her with blinding speed and cupping his hand over her mouth.

  Instantly, her body lurched backward off the bike. She shoved herself into her aggressor. Her body had more pack to it than he might have guessed. She pulled her legs up and slammed her heels into his knees. He felt excruciating pain, but determination prevailed.

  He decided she must know it was him and was trying to convince him she could fight. She twisted her body and thrashed against his. He tightened the arm around her chest until he was afraid he would smash her rib cage if she didn’t succumb.

  Darius was impressed by her fight and struggled to keep his balance. He tightened his grip on her just slightly until she was gasping for breath. She stopped thrashing her legs. “What are you doing here?” he whispered into her ear.

  * * * * *

  Tara struggled to turn far enough within the constraining arms to verify that it was indeed Darius holding her. She relaxed as he slowly removed his hand from her mouth and slid it sensuously around her neck.

  “You’ve been fed wrong information,” she whispered. “Hopefully, your spies are dead. I don’t detect any other Gothman in the area other than those behind us and about twenty or so down the hill.” She stopped and gasped for breath.

  “What are you talking about?” He turned her around quickly and gripped her arms.

  “The Sea People are north and northwest of Gothman. They’re heavily armed and coming in tanks. You need to move your troops quickly.” She paused for a moment, confirming they were alone by listening to the sounds around them. She pulled her shirt down, straightening it. “I do believe Mikel fed you false information to get you out here and kill you.”

  A look Tara couldn’t identify crossed Lord Darius’ face. “I didn’t know he was warrior enough to try such a stunt.”

  “I heard your men talking on their walkntalk.” She paused, trying to read his reaction to what she was telling him. “There’ll be a thousand Runners meeting you at the northern border in about two days. Your defense needs to be strong
to hold the Sea People off until then.” Tara attached her landlink and began punching keys. She searched for a moment, then smiled. “Patha’s on line. He’s verified reinforcement.”

  “Patha of the Blood Circle Clan?” He frowned. “How do you know Patha?”

  “He’s my papa.”

  “I see.”

  Tara realized that his lack of reaction meant he already knew about her heritage. That or he didn’t trust her answers.

  He murmured, “My papa knew him.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  “I will confirm your information.” He started to walk away and then turned to look at her. “I’d hate to think of what might have happened if you hadn’t interfered.”

  “I’m not interfering.”

  Darius saw her smile through her headscarf.

  “What are you going to do about Mikel?”

  “He’ll be taken care of.” His voice was quiet, and his gray eyes melted her insides as he looked down at her. He tried to kiss her, but she pulled her bike to the side and started it.

  She rolled the bike forward, its engine almost too quiet to hear. “I’ve made my decision. I’ll let your claim stand.” She didn’t wait for a response, but accelerated and left him standing there.

  Arriving back at the house, she set up camp in her bedroom. She propped the landlink on the desk and opened the balcony doors so she could better hear any arrivals. Confirming she was still on line, she then searched for Runners in the area.

  “This is Tara, of the Blood Circle Clan,” she typed, after detecting one of the clan leaders on line.

  “Greetings. This is Jaree, wife to the leader of the Red Star Clan.”

  Before long, she was deep in conversation explaining to Jaree what to expect when her clan arrived at the north Gothman border.

  “The Red Star Clan is loyal to Patha and the Blood Circle Clan.” Jaree’s typed message appeared on Tara’s screen. “You can count on our help if you need us.”

  Tara worked into the night, briefing clan after clan that had either heard from Patha or from another clan leader. She joined a transmission with several other clan leaders, including Patha who was on his landlink at Reena’s house, and argued the pros and cons of a Runner and Gothman union.