The Pursual: Book 1 of The Nome Chronicles

by F. F. John

  The noise ends abruptly and a hush descends upon us. We wait for something else to happen but nothing does. Adela places a finger to her lips. Seth and I nod while Erhart shivers, his teeth clinking against each other like glasses during a jovial toast.

  She takes several steps away from us, watching the jungle. After waiting several seconds, she straightens and walks back to us. Whispering, she says, “I don’t see anything but we should move.”

  Seth and I move but I soon realize Erhart isn’t with us.

  “Erhart?” I call to him

  “I can’t … I …” is all he can say when the ground shudders again. Seth and Adela speed off while I jog back to Erhart and attempt to drag him with me but he doesn’t budge.

  “Heavens,” he yells and whatever is coming our way speeds up. The slashing noises intensify, become quicker. They accompany a clicking noise that sets my teeth on edge.

  I tug at him with all my strength. “Come on, Erhart! We’ve got to go.” The slashing and clicking double in speed, echoing about.

  “No!” He’s hysterical and fights to free himself from me. Closing his blue eyes shut, he screams, “We can’t outrun it. Let go of me.”

  Could this construct have something to do with a phobia of his? “Remember, none of this is real. We’re in the shell. You must focus on making it through the next three hours.”

  Eyes still shut, he shakes his head fervently.

  I’m about to speak when a black round animal with thousands of legs juts out from the underbrush.

  “Watch out!” I tell him. He opens his eyes in time to watch the creature race between his legs. Like me, he leaps away.

  The loud sounds are finally upon us and he greets them with a scream. I pull him but he slips from my grasp. Behind me, a tree lets out a mournful creak, timber splintering at a thousand places. It crashes into another tree, which emits a similarly agonizing screech as it fractures.

  Not willing to wait any longer, I hustle away, his screams at my back. The trees around me sway then collapse. They’re so close that I jerk and jump in fear as I speed across the ground cover. Erhart’s virt death is the worst thing I’ve ever heard. It’s a blood-curdling cry that filters through the leaves and brings me to a stop, bringing my heart to a standstill. All I see are shades of green when I dare to take a quick glance over my shoulder and I’m filled with regret. I could go back for him, but it would be too late to help.

  “Invier!” Someone calls me from the shadows.

  Seth’s head pokes out from behind a wide tree. I sprint over and we crouch. Adela steps out from behind another tree and joins.

  “What got him?” Adela has a calmness I don’t share.

  She’s busy calculating her odds of success against Erhart’s killer. The thought process is evident in the narrowing of her eyes and the clenching of her jaw. His painful, virtual demise is far from her mind and it turns my mouth goes bitter. This quest to improve one’s standing is bringing out the worst in us. Granted, I never knew my fellow competitors before two days ago but I’d like to hope that Adela hasn’t always been this bad. Then again, I remember mom’s comment about the Seltans at the opening ceremony and stare at her. I could be wrong.

  “At what point do you allow yourself to be empathetic?” I ask her. “I know you want to win but did you not hear how horrible that was?”

  Irritation flashes as she glowers. “Erhart is not dead and while he may have thought he was suffering, he wasn’t.” A leaf careens from the canopy and lands on her head. Showing immense reserve, she simply picks the leaf, studies it briefly and lets it descend to the ground. I’m fairly certain I would have bolted and screamed if that had been me.

  “We are all in the virt and even though you pretend not to understand, I know you know that this is a competition.” She shrugs. “And like you, I’m here to win.”

  I sputter to speak but Seth hushes us. He points at something in the distance.

  That scary noise fills the air again and we all freeze as a dark shape slithers between trees. The creature looks like a giant snake but it has no defined eyes or mouth. Its head, or what I believe to be the head, pivots from side to side searching for something, probably its next meal. Scared to be spotted, my breath stills in my lungs. And I’m not the only one who stays stiff. None of us move a muscle for fear we’ll be feasted on next. Shiny red spikes rise from vertical grooves on its skin. Sharp and deadly. A shred of white material droops limply on one of the spikes and my blood chills.

  Erhart’s uniform.

  I think back to the chilling scream. Get it together, Invier, I remind myself. Erhart is fine. He’s just not in the virt anymore.

  Erhart’s killer slinks back into the trees taking its slashing and creaking with it.

  Adela stands. “Let’s go.”

  I’m stunned when I check the time. It’s already been fifty minutes since I set my timer.

  “We’ve got two hours and ten minutes left,” I say.

  “Time’s not moving quickly enough for me,” Seth grumbles.

  Adela pushes wayward branches out of her path. “Believe it or not.” She bends under a large leaf, “time moves faster in here than it does outside.”

  “Probably not during this competition,” I say.

  “I don’t want to deal with that …” He pauses to sulk. “That thing we saw.”

  As I move through the bush, I hope Seth will get his wish.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Neith

  “You okay?” Bel asks.

  “Yeah.” Watching the creature on screen brought me close to howling in horror. The crowd is still shrieking. My molars find the meat in my cheek and clamp down to resist the temptation. The technicians have outdone themselves with this creation of theirs. And to think the second competition has only just begun.

  “Invier will be fine. Now let’s talk about how jealous you were when that girl blew a kiss his way.”

  “What girl?”

  She snorts, unconvinced. “You know who.”

  All worries about the creature disappear as I angle myself to look at the Sirou girl. She’s left her family to sit with Invier’s sister. Thank goodness he missed her recent performance, turning at the very moment she blew a kiss. This is the third time I’ve seen her openly flirt with him. This whole thing of pretending to not have feelings for him is becoming more than I can stand.

  “I’m not jealous.” My voice is low so Father won’t hear.

  “How many times have I told you not to bother lying to me?”

  Returning my focus to the screen on the shell’s surface, I watch James and Ika. They tromp through the dense foliage with Ika bumping into James several times. His eyes are large as his head spins from side to side, looking for anything harmful.

  “Can’t believe Mehrdad left us,” James muses after a while.

  Fussing with something on his shoulder, Ika blurts out, “I’m not surprised. He’s always been a bastard.”

  Boos strike from the audience and I turn to Bel. “Did Ika not learn anything from yesterday? Mehrdad is too popular to bash so publicly.”

  “The cute ones are usually less than smart.” She says, her tone indifferent.

  As if hearing the crowd’s reaction, James grimaces. “You need to learn to keep your thoughts to yourself sometimes.”

  Ika shrugs glibly, not caring for the suggestion. “Tell me you don’t agree?”

  James stays mum and the crowd continues to boo. They cool when the camera cuts to Mehrdad moving with determination through the bush.

  A waiter lowers a tray of drinks by Bel, who passes one to me.

  I sniff my drink, making out the aromas of pomegranates and roses. Taking a long sip, the elixir glides down my throat. I savor the taste of my favorite drink. Someone sitting below us waves and it’s Acri. Bel gives him a warm smile.

  “Are you ever going to tell me about Acri?”

  She huffs. “Why?”

  “Answer me.”

  She shakes
her head. “Shouldn’t you be focused on the competition?”

  “Spill.”

  “What about him? Our fathers think we would make for a good pairing.”

  “What do you think of him?” I sip on my drink.

  “He’s cute and seems nice. I haven’t heard anything bad about him.”

  “Neither have I. In fact, there’s no gossip on him.”

  “And that’s a problem?” She adjusts from the screen to look at me.

  “Come on, we hardly know anything about him. Don’t you find that a little suspicious?” Catching a waiter’s attention, I lift my almost empty glass.

  “No, I don’t.” Her voice turns cold.

  “It’s possible he’s the kind who keeps to himself. That shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “Like your Invier?” she whispers with a wicked grin. “He’s a bit of a loner. There’s nothing bad about him out there.”

  “Yes, there’s no gossip and I love it.” The waiter brings me another glass and I drink almost half of its contents in one gulp.

  “People say he’s annoying, though. A stickler for the rules and his morals. Do you ever see that side of him?”

  “Since when did having high moral standards become a bad thing?”

  Bel raises her hands in mock surrender. “Don’t get defensive, I’m only sharing what I’ve heard.”

  Fearing that any additional words will reveal my deep annoyance, I chew on the inside of my cheek again. It’s not a good idea to let people’s opinions of Invier upset me. Especially when it’s true. Even I find his rigidity to be a problem sometimes.

  A rain shower has begun on screen and Mehrdad seeks cover under a tree. The tree is several feet tall with wide leaves that keep almost all the rain off him. The camera pans upwards and shows an army of angry ants making its way toward his head.

  A few young girls shout, “Watch out, Mehrdad.” They get hushed by disapproving spectators.

  “Looks like everyone who received an invite came today,” she says.

  “And Father is pleased …” What I don’t add is that I worry that not taking a day off to respect Loic’s passing can be used against us someday.

  Looking out at the surrounding stands of teeming people, I hold no delusion they are here for me. I know they are here because Loic’s death has added an element of danger to the competition.

  Father talks quietly to Portan, who listens attentively. Is he concocting some intrigue to cripple Invier’s chances? Stop it, Neith, I caution myself. I mustn’t get paranoid.

  Turning back to Bel, I say, “Sadly, I think all these people are here in case someone else dies.”

  “How gruesome. And to imagine—”

  “Shh! He’s back on screen.”

  “Pardon me for talking while you watch your sweetheart.” She swats at my hand, which now grips one of her arms.

  Seth is walking backward, talking to Adela and Invier.

  All three push through the greenery in a straight line. The foliage here is not as thick as it was when they first entered the construct. While the boys are relaxed, Adela’s head constantly twists from side to side.

  “It’s too quiet guys. Let’s talk or something,” Seth says.

  “Shut up,” Adela says. “If that creature reacts to noise and your yapping brings it here …” she points a finger at him, “I will hand you over on a platter.”

  “Wow, you’re quite beautiful when you threaten, do you know that?” Seth says, whispering this time.

  She stops walking and watches him silently with narrowed eyes. The moment lasts mere seconds before she does an about turn and continues trekking.

  “Knock it off, you two,” Invier says from the rear. “And keep it down.” He looks around, scanning for trouble.

  Seth whirls. “Fine, I’ll whisper.” He ducks under a thick branch. “How’s the competition going for you, Adela?”

  She doesn’t respond, preferring to make her way through the bush.

  “Ignoring me, eh?” Seth tuts in faux disappointment. “Fine, no problem. I can tell you how things are going for me.” He grins at her over his shoulder and across the auditorium, girls call out his name. The crowd cheers for him and someone yells, “Way to stay cool under pressure.”

  “So, I like my suitemate, Invier. I know you’ve met him.” He wears a playful smirk as he treks. “Who’s your suitemate?”

  Again, she ignores him.

  He stops walking, blocking her way.

  Adela, however, doesn’t notice that he’s standing still and she slams into his back. She pushes him away and a scowl.

  “Hey, you bumped into me. The least you can do is tell me who your suitemate is.”

  Her face deepens into a twisted scowl, dragging her brows and the ends of her mouth downwards. “You already know Erhart is my roommate.”

  “Oh wow, you two share a room?” His tone is playful and the crowd chuckles at his banter. “That skinny bastard is a lucky man.”

  “Floran?” She calls to Invier. “Did the games master say anything about killing fellow participants in this competition?”

  Invier taps his chin as if deep in thought. “Portan warned families not to retaliate against any family whose participant causes another to lose points. And we all know the Pact governs the murder of a fellow nome member.”

  “That doesn’t apply to killing an idiot in the virt,” she mutters.

  Seth coughs. “What my suitemate is saying is that you need to be nice to me, Scioness.” The crowd laughs heartily, enjoying his banter.

  “Not exactly,” Invier says, keeping humor in his voice. “You have my permission to put us all out of our misery and shut him up.”

  “Really, Invier? We suitemates should stick together.” Seth pouts.

  Invier adds, “Portan did say the rules from the last challenge apply.”

  Adela pushes Seth out of her way and he plummets with a splat to the mushy ground. Invier helps him up, holding onto his arms while avoiding his muddy hands and Seth wipes his hands on his thighs with an amused smile, leaving sludge on the white uniform.

  The boys stalk behind Adela, snickering to themselves until Seth asks, “what’s Erhart like? I don’t know much about him.”

  It takes a while, but she eventually says, “his normal mousy self.” She stomps through the bush.

  “What does that mean?” Invier asks.

  “You have to know him to—”

  The image switches to James and Ika who are shrieking in unison. A giant, pitch-black worm is barreling towards them. The camera zooms in on the long spikes running along the worm’s back as it speeds towards its prey.

  Immediately, the entire auditorium is screaming in fear.

  We’d been shown brief glimpses of the creature when it attacked Erhart but seeing it in full is a thing of nightmares. Spikes stand tall on its back, glowing like flames as it moves. In certain sections, a dark brown substance oozes out from the worm. The camera shows the substance splatter across a tree trunk and the bark sizzles the melts. The substance burns its way through the trunk until a wide segment of the tree vanishes as if bitten into by a ravenous giant. Cracking booms and the tree tumbles, taking other trees with it in echoing bangs.

  “Heavens!” Bel says over the crowd’s persistent yelps. She recoils from the screen, pushing herself deep into her chair.

  As the creature gets closer the red spikes project off its body flying straight for James and Ika. James dives out of the way right on time, landing awkwardly on a crusty tree stump. He leaps off his backside and takes off into the jungle.

  Ika trembles, too frightened to move, and the projectiles slash him. One pierces his abdomen and red splotches bloom to create a white and red tie-dye effect on his outfit. The worm scuttles into a circle around him as he screams. Shaking, he examines his crimson hands in horror.

  What must be the creature’s head edges closer to Ika who’s too struck by the sight of his blood to observe that a predator means to deal a deadly blow. When h
e finally lifts his chin from his hands, it’s too late. I cover my mouth to hold back from screaming alongside the participant. The camera shows the creature throb as the circle around Ika becomes smaller. My mouth dries even though I understand the worm is nothing but a virtual simulation. Ika quiets and goes rigid. His head swiveling from side to side.

  Then, he does something unexpected. He straightens his back and says, “I am strong. Strong.”

  Silence falls upon the auditorium until someone in the crowd yells, “Strong.” And others pick up the phrase. People chant as Ika stands there, waiting for the worst as the red spikes near.