“Relax, Princess,” Lyta sneered. “We’re just messing with you.” She inspected the tag on the body before tossing that to me too, deliberately losing half the stuffing in the process. “Whoever this China person is, he didn’t sew the head on your cat doll very well, did he?”
I glared at them in answer and turned back to the procurements counter. All the while, I kept listening behind me.
“That’s made in China, not made by China, idiot,” I heard Thal say to his sister from where he leaned on the wall, arms crossed, watching the show. “Remember China? That big country on Earth, a lot of stuff’s made there?”
“Oh. Yeah. Cheap crap you can’t trust not to poison you,” she replied with a sneer.
“Whatever,” I breathed, rolling my eyes.
The lock set I’d requested now sat on the Formica counter, with no paperwork to be seen.
“Thank you. May I have some orange thread and a needle too, please?” I asked the man as politely as I could, gathering stray pieces of stuffing from the floor as Lyta and Otrere walked away. They took turns taunting and punching each other in the biceps as hard as possible as they left.
“Girls,” the man at the counter muttered as he searched under the counter for the supplies.
“Get a move on, you two. We’ve got Myrihn today,” Lyta paused to say over her shoulder on her way down the hall, exchanging a grin with Otrere.
“On second thought,” Otrere grunted with a laugh, “take your time.”
“Shoot, they’re right!” Thal exclaimed, checking his link. “We gotta go. You don’t want Myrihn mad at you on your first day. She already has it in for me. Don’t ask,” he rolled his eyes in response to my silent question.
"Okay, I just have to run up and put this stuff in my…”
“Nuh uh, no time,” he hopped over the counter, barely missing the little man who dodged into a shelving unit, sending it swaying. Thal didn’t notice his glare. “Hand me your stuff and I’ll stick it here under the counter.” He grabbed Meowman’s parts, the sewing supplies and lock from me and stuffed it into a cubby. “There. You can come back for it later.”
He grabbed a mesh backpack like the one slung over his own shoulder and thrust it at me. It had what looked like an octagonal plastic stepping stone and a camel hiking canteen inside.
“Supplies,” he explained hurriedly. “I’ll explain later, now let’s go!” He jumped back over the counter again, this time knocking the little man who had just steadied the shelves back into them again, sending packages of briefs raining down on his head.
“Hey!” the clerk yelled.
“Sorry!” Thal called to him over his shoulder and sprinted away toward the Great Hall.
“Sorry!” I echoed, chasing after him.
We skidded to a stop at the back of a group of about fifteen women and men ranging from young teens to middle-aged adults. Myrihn was giving directions in front. She glared at me, ignoring Thal completely.
“Well, since our newest team member finally decided to show up,” fifteen heads swiveled in our direction, “we can get going.” Part of me wanted to drop through the floor, but I stared back defiantly instead. We were only, like, a minute late.
“As I was saying, no activity was noted by the night or morning patrols, so I don’t expect any problems today.”
“Veridian, you’ll have to get the hang of things as we go. Stick with Lyta and Otrere. They’ll be your partners and show you the ropes.” I heard snickering from the twins in front of us. Yeah right. They’d show me the ropes alright, right off a cliff.
Myrihn made her way through the group to lead us out the door and gave me a warning look on her way past. “Don’t cause me any problems and we’ll get along fine,” she said in a low voice. “Why do I always get stuck babysitting?” I heard her grumble as she led the way out the door.
As the group filed out through the side door, Thal motioned me into the kitchen.
“Don’t pay attention to her. She’s always got a gortflam in her armpit,” Thal said as he filled the flexible water pouches in our packs.
“Huh?” I gave my head a shake. “Anyway, what did I ever do to her? I just got here.”
“That’s exactly the problem,” Thal snorted. “Don’t worry, she doesn’t like me either.”
I looked at him questioningly.
He sighed as if it were obvious. “We’re both different. Outsiders, right? Me, I’m not supposed to want to train to be a warrior. Because I’m a boy, and I’m small,” he explained when I still looked confused. “But I don’t want to stay inside where it’s safe. No, I want to fight the haratchi, protect the Kindred and the crops that keep us alive.
“And then there’s you, someone she thinks has had it easy all her life. If you’d grown up here, you’d already know what you’re doing, but instead she sees you starting at the beginning and getting special treatment.
“And that’s the real rub for Myrihn. She and Alten had an older sister, Jak, who was in line to be leader of the Kindred, and would have been if your mom hadn’t come back from Earth when she did. When Aunt Vaeda returned, tradition said they were supposed to share leadership, but Jak wasn’t willing and so she challenged your mom. When Jak lost, she left and was never heard from again.” He capped the full pouches with hoses and slid one in each of our backpacks.
Great, so now I was dropped in the middle of some extended family soap opera. Perfect.
“It doesn’t matter that your mom won, or that she’s a born leader and twice the warrior of anyone else. Myrihn blames your mom that Jak’s gone. In her mind, your mom should never have come back and you wouldn’t even be here.”
“Ugh, I wish I weren’t! Doesn’t she get that none of this was my choice?”
He shook his head. “No, and it would just make it worse if you told her. Like you don’t appreciate what it took to get you here.”
I grunted, thinking no, I didn’t appreciate it.
“Oh, and my sisters practically worship Myrihn. I heard her complaining to them about you before she even left for Earth.” He gave me a wry, sympathetic look and dropped two Tupperware lunch containers in our sacks from a small stack by the door before taking off at a jog to catch up with the others. “Hey, life’s an adventure, right?”
I jogged after him and slung the pack he handed me over my shoulder. “You sound like my dad.”
He grinned at me. “Smart men think alike.”
We caught up with the group outside where the heat enveloped us like stepping into one of those dry, wood-paneled saunas – a really bright, sun-filled sauna. I pulled my sunglasses down from the top of my head and immediately felt myself start to sweat. A hot breeze went straight through my clothing, quickly sucking the moisture into the greedy air.
Everyone in our patrol group wore sunglasses, touristy-looking double-billed visors, and dull, stained bandanas tied around their necks. Despite my sunglasses, I squinted into the brightness. Note to self: get a stupid looking visor for tomorrow, but skip the bandana. That would be too hot in this heat.
“Where’s my mother?” I asked Thal. “I thought she would be going with us.”
“The General’s already out with her team, but we’ve got our orders. The warriors range out much farther than we do and can spread out more, too. Us trainees, we mostly stay within shouting distance of each other.”
I felt my lips twist. It was so nice to get to know her after all these years.
“Today we’re going to sweep the fields first, then the nearest town, Anatolia, and then spread out and search the surrounding countryside,” he continued, unaware of my rancor.
But as soon as we marched over the bridge and through the chain-link gate in the huge dome fence, a big, shiny blur zipped up to us from the north. It hovered for a moment before landing on spindly legs. It was a ship like the one I’d come through the wormhole in, only new, its silvery blue hull shining like a mirror in the suns.
A door opened about eight feet overhead to reveal a
woman dressed in an expensive looking navy suit, like a sleek, American businesswoman, except for her silvery green hair. As a circular pad smoothly detached and hovered her to the ground, she reminded me of the business-y moms who would come to the evening gymnastic competitions, or the agents and corporate sponsors who paved the way for the elite gymnasts.
“What is she doing here?” I heard Myrihn mutter. She grabbed her link off her hip and held her thumb on the thought pad for a few moments. The woman hadn’t even reached the ground when my mother and Micha phased up in a blur to a stop in front of her. The middle-aged businesswoman rocked back in her low-heeled, Gucci pumps before covering her surprise.
“Why Nereus, what a surprise to see you here,” my mother said. Micha growled softly, deep in her throat.
“Ah, General. Just the person I was coming to see,” the woman replied, stepping forward onto the dusty soil, away from Micha. She grinned and extended her arm which my mother shook grudgingly.
“What about?” my mother asked.
“Why, about my offer of course. I trust you received my link?” The woman’s eyes landed on me.
“Of course I received it, Nereus,” my mother replied, stepping in front of me and bringing the woman’s attention back to her. “Half of my Kindred received your link.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Good, good. Just wanted to be sure it reached you,” Nereus smiled winningly. “And this must be your daughter from Earth. Welcome, my dear,” she said, switching to flawless English as she strode around my mother, holding her hand out to me. In a flash, my mother was back between us with her arms crossed, preventing the woman from shaking my hand.
A noise made me look up at the door of the flying saucer to see that same short reporter with the spiky green hair, taking pictures or video with his link. He saw me and ducked back inside, but not before Micha spotted him.
The giant tiger leapt in one elegant bound up and through the door. We heard a shriek and a commotion before she came back out, dragging the weaselly man by his shirt to the door before dangling and dropping him off the edge in a heap. Micha easily hopped down herself in a swirl of dust.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry! I won’t take anymore pictures. Now get this abomination off me!” he yelled as Micha snatched his link with her enormous jaws, barely missing his fingers. He scooted away from her, whimpering, and jumped onto the hover pad to zip back onto the ship and close the door. I almost felt sorry for the guy. Meanwhile, Micha snickered around the device, tilted her head back, and swallowed it down in one gulp.
“Sorry about that,” Nereus apologized, still speaking English and looking somewhat embarrassed. “I told him he couldn’t take any pictures here, but you know reporters.” She shrugged. “He’s doing a story on me and no doubt thought a picture with you both would be a good photo op. I’m Dr. Nereus Souchie, dear,” she said around my mother. “I run The Macawan Foundation.”
“Um, pleased to meet you,” I replied.
“We tend to think Ahatu are vicious and a waste of resources, but don’t tell the animal I said that,” she said with a smile from behind her hand.
My mother glared daggers at the woman, and Micha growled again, stalking toward her, definitely not amused this time.
“Um, I think she understood you,” I said, backing away from the woman who was about to get mushed.
“Yes, she did,” my mother said, laying a calming hand on Micha’s head and continuing to glare at Nereus.
“Does she know English then?” Nereus asked with raised eyebrows. She gave my mother a speculative look. “Interesting.”
“Let me save you the trouble of coming inside. The answer is no,” my mother said.
Nereus looked taken aback. “But my offer is more than generous. Free super seed for ten years and I’ll broker an end to this silly water rights dispute you have with Glass City. And all I require in return are a few Katje DNA samples for my research.”
“I’m afraid we can’t help you,” my mother replied. “We’ll deal with our own water rights and buy our own seed.”
“But Vaeda! The value of what I’m offering you….”
“You’ll get Katje DNA samples over my cold, dead body,” my mother said with hands on her hips.
Nereus squinted at her. The two women had a stare down for a long moment, with Micha rumbling threateningly at my mother’s side, before Nereus spun on her heel and marched back aboard her ship. It took off with a cloud of dust and sped away, leaving everyone pulling their sweat-stained bandanas over their faces to breathe. I pulled my shirt collar up over my nose.
“Alright, if any of you receive communications from Nereus Souchie or The Foundation, I want you to erase them immediately. Understood?” my mother asked the group while looking at me.
I nodded along with everyone else, wondering what that was all about.
“That woman is not to be trusted,” she said. “Now we’ve all got things to do, so let’s get back to it.”
She and Micha both turned and rushed off in a blur again, leaving a trail of dust behind them leading to whatever was so important out there.
“Well, that was weird,” Thal said beside me.
“Does that woman come here often?” I asked.
“No, first time I’ve ever seen her. But the General obviously knew her.”
I nodded. Obviously.
Chapter 15: Patrolling for Haratchi
“Okay everyone, you heard the General! Let’s get going,” Myrihn said.
Hoping to see what this patrolling business was all about and see some of these haratchi birds, I followed along and drew my scy when I saw everyone else had theirs at the ready. We formed a perimeter around the compound and walked away from it, paying special attention to the bushes and crops, any place a small pest could be hiding.
“So, what exactly am I looking for here, Thal?” I finally asked.
“Oh, right! You’re such a newbie.” He shot an upbeat grin at me. “We’re looking for haratchi eggs. They’re iridescent blue, and kind of lumpy looking. They’re usually deposited in nests of twenty or more, but sometimes there’ll be one all by itself for no reason. The adults can drop up to fifty eggs in a day and eat through a whole field in an hour, so our job is eradication. Just slice each egg in half, but call for backup first if you find a whole nest. That might be best until you get the hang of it.”
The fields took the rest of the morning to search. I wondered why they hadn’t taken the empty corn stalks down yet - it would make this way easier. I later realized they left every plant growing until they needed the space for something else, right down to the weeds in the walkways. Oxygen production, I mused.
They gently tapped or rustled the bushier crops with their scythions as they passed, careful not to damage the plants. I tried to copy their movements, but caught my forward blade on a cabbage stalk and sliced it clean off.
“Oops.” I said to no one in particular. “Where do we put the casualties?” I joked awkwardly.
Myrihn sighed and rolled her eyes. “Let me see that,” she said, pointing to my scy. I reluctantly handed it over and she held the center grips a few moments with a look of concentration on her face.
“There.” She handed it back to me. “Now you can’t hurt anything but haratchi. Bring the cabbage and we’ll put it in with the Anatolia delivery.” I could tell she didn’t like being out on patrol with a novice like me. Oh well, I didn’t want to be here either, I thought, wishing for the fiftieth time that I could go home.
“Don’t worry,” Thal said. “She does that to all the kids on their first day.”
After searching all the fields, we’d still found nothing, no trace of blue. What a letdown. I wanted to see these things.
The walk to town was short, only about a mile, but I was breathing like it was ten. The air here was thinner than at the top of Mount Evans. Arroyos crisscrossed the cracked, baked earth here and there, showing where rain runoff had cut into the sandy soil, and heat mirages shimmered in
the distance.
The team had taken a large square cart full of produce from a shed painted with huge cats on each side, lions and tigers and one enormous black panther with glowing eyes. They pulled the cart along with us, not seeming to mind being human oxen.
Walking through Anatolia was like walking through a ghost town. I didn’t even know we had entered the edge of town until I noticed old, rusty pipes sticking up at random out of the desert. Looking closer, I could see the remnants of foundations near the pipes. These must have been buildings at one time, but the desert had swallowed them up whole and nothing else remained.
A tempestuous wind kicked up a cloud of dust that swirled through the center of town in a lazy dust devil. Thal and the other women pulled their bandanas up again until they looked like desperados.
“Thal, what… what happened here?” I asked aghast through my shirt.
“The haratchi,” he said simply with a shrug of his thin shoulders.
“They eat houses? I thought they ate plants!”
“They eat anything organic except dirt and stone. A swarm came through here about fifteen years ago.” In other words, most of the houses couldn’t have been more than fifteen years old. Even so, many were sad, dilapidated structures, windows covered in heavy plastic or corrugated metal, untended yards full of random crap.
The nicer houses were adobe with clear roofs like greenhouses, with scrub brush and cacti landscaping. I wasn’t sure whether this was to limit the dust bowl effect or to help with oxygen production. Maybe both.
I remembered the propaganda posters in the train station and could now see the temptation to do anything, including burning forests, to get rid of the haratchi before they reached a town and devoured it to the ground. But the lack of trees was what made the air so thin that everyone needed chlorophyll hair.
The patrol fanned out to inspect the town. I stuck with Thal, checking every nook, cranny and bush. The wind died down and kids ran out to greet us as we passed. They were skinny, dirty, and grinning from ear to ear in anticipation of a treat of sweet pears and figs, giving hugs and showing off finger paint art.
The Faarian Chronicles: Exile Page 12