Nuworld: Claiming Tara

by Fitzgerald, Laurie

  Taffley looked at the two kids sitting on the bike on the

  shore. He nodded in their direction. “If things are as bad as

  those two say, the thieves attacked us to get to you.” He

  shook his head. “There’ll be more. Probably soon. You’d

  stand a better chance if you get off on the other side of the

  river.”

  Tara studied the water. The river was wide. She spotted

  a few sandbars ahead of them and nodded in that

  direction. “How far to the border?”

  “Half a day, if you drive. We’ll get there tonight if you

  stay on board. If you drive straight south, you’ll cross the

  desert. Another half a day of heading west and you’ll hit the

  road.”

  “We need to get the groundmobile and my bike off this

  thing.” She started yelling instructions to Torgo and Syra.

  “Cross the river up there by the sandbars. Torgo, give it

  some speed when you hit the water.”

  Taffley was obviously feeling the pain from his wound as

  he hobbled around. He didn’t complain. To his credit, he

  made quick work of removing the straps from the

  groundmobile and bike. More than likely he’d decided it

  there wasn’t a reward in it for him, his hauling watermobile

  would be safer with her and the twins off of it.

  Tara loaded the babies into their seats in the back of the

  groundmobile, much to their dismay. A bit more of their

  breakfast, a few select toys, and Andru and Ana seemed

  content.

  “What can we do to help?” Torgo lifted himself out of the

  water onto the deck. He’d parked his bike on the shore

  after driving to the other side, then he and Syra had swum

  out to join them.

  “Hell be doomed! What are you two doing here?” Tara

  showed her rage. “This isn’t a game.”

  “You promised me a job.” Syra shrugged, not caring if

  Tara yelled, and wrung water from her hair.

  “You can’t stay with me. You’ll both get killed.” Tara

  wasn’t in the mood for a mouthy teenager.

  “You’re not so great you couldn’t get killed yourself.”

  Syra’s eyes flared. “Especially with two babies. You need

  help.”

  Torgo spoke up. “My brother isn’t going to stop looking

  for you, or his children, no matter where you go.” “’Scuse me. I hate to break up this family feud, but are

  you all getting off, or not?” Taffley shifted his gaze from the

  dripping teenagers to the irate Runner.

  “Yes, we are.” Tara continued to glare at Torgo and Syra.

  “Okay, you want to work? You got it. Syra, take my bike off

  the trailer. It will lighten the load when we drive the groundmobile through the water. Torgo, you help Taffley

  lower the ramp.”

  Everyone began moving, and in no time Tara was in the

  groundmobile, going through the water. The splashing on

  either side of the vehicle impressed the twins. They

  watched the spectacle with awe.

  “Be careful, Taffley,” Tara yelled from shore after they’d

  secured the trailer to the back of the groundmobile. “It won’t be a welcome committee when I get to the

  border, that’s for sure.” Taffley let out a laugh. “Do me a

  favor, though. When you tell it around the fire, say you

  shot me while escaping. I don’t think I could live it down if

  they knew I got shot by some kid girl.”

  “Deal!” Tara smiled. “I’ll ask a favor in return. From now

  on, you be friendly to Runners. We’re good people, and no

  Runner will attack you unless you attack first.”

  Taffley waved, then started pulling up the catch hold. “Let’s get a move on. You can ride with me as far as the

  border.” Tara was anxious.

  Syra ignored her and walked over to Torgo on his bike. “You’ll ride with me,” Tara stressed as she climbed in the

  groundmobile.

  “Why? I want to ride with Torgo.”

  “I can see that.” Tara gave Torgo a hard look, and he

  diverted his attention to the ground. It dawned on her that

  the two of them had been together all night. “You want to

  work for me, then get in the groundmobile.”

  Syra knew Tara would lecture her. After all, she had left

  without telling anyone. She was with Torgo. And, she’d

  followed Tara, who had every gold hungry warrior in

  Nuworld after her. Deciding to pick her battles, she joined

  Tara.

  Syra glanced back at Torgo, who followed behind the

  groundmobile. He smiled and she faced front. So far, this

  was the best adventure she’d ever had. It was actually

  disappointing that they’d found Tara so fast. Riding with

  Torgo all morning, rubbing against his body, her arms

  wrapped around him…her mind drifted to the night before. They’d rode south, following the only map she had found

  on her landlink. Once they’d found tracks that resembled

  those a groundmobile and trailer would leave, they’d

  followed them to the river. That’s when they’d decided to

  take a break.

  She remembered Torgo kissing her. The bright moon

  had made it easy to see. When she’d unbuttoned his shirt

  and slipped it off his shoulders, every one of his chest

  muscles were outlined with moonlight. His hands had been

  all over her. He never even hesitated with his exploring.

  Maybe he wasn’t as inexperienced as she’d thought.

  Everywhere he’d touched her had set her on fire. She didn’t

  remember how they’d moved from standing to lying on the

  ground. They’d greeted each other’s bodies with excitement

  and anticipation. While she hadn’t been aware of hurting

  herself at the time, the bruises on her body this morning

  indicated they’d gotten a bit carried away.

  There had also been the…thing she’d done to Torgo.

  Syra never would have thought to do it, except she’d

  caught her Aunt Tasha doing it to another clansman one

  night. Her aunt and the man never knew she’d seen them.

  But, she’d never forgotten what she saw. It had looked like

  they’d been enjoying themselves, so she’d tried it last night

  on Torgo. He’d seemed so surprised when, after making

  him hard as a rock with her hand, she’d put him inside her

  mouth.

  It was bigger than she’d expected, and she wasn’t able to

  make much of it fit; not like her aunt had. She’d done

  something right though. Torgo had almost flipped her when

  he’d arched his back and howled. She’d held on tight and

  was surprised when he’d soaked her face with his white

  fluid. It had been salty, but she liked the taste.

  Torgo had then laid her down and spread her legs so far

  apart she’d thought he’d split her in two. When his tongue

  entered her soft sensitive folds, she’d gone over the edge,

  lust tearing through her like a wildfire. He’d sucked, licked

  and kissed. It was more than she’d ever dreamed it would

  be, and he’d brought her to such an incredible orgasm she

  had been dizzy afterward. No way would she ask if Torgo

  had seen Darius doing that to Tara.

  Thinking about it made her very anxious
to do it again.

  After another quick glance at Torgo, she shoved the

  thoughts out of her head. It hadn’t been hard to do when

  she focused on the fact that she sat next to a very angry

  Tara.

  “It would be a lot easier if we ditched the trailer, and you

  let me ride your bike,” Syra suggested after driving for a

  while in silence.

  “Syra, I can’t let you go with me. Believe me, I wish I

  could. You’re right, I need the help. But, I just don’t have

  the right to take either one of you from your parents.” Syra reached down, opened Tara’s landlink and started

  to log on.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Tara grabbed the

  landlink from Syra’s lap.

  “My papa said I could work for you over the summer,”

  Syra started to explain.

  Tara tried to stay calm and took a deep breath before

  she spoke, “If you log on with my landlink, it will instantly

  tell anyone who is watching exactly where I am. Trust me,

  they’re watching. I’ve got the heirs of the Gothman and

  Runner nations on board.”

  “Okay. I’m sorry.”

  Tara was startled by the sincerity of Syra’s apology. Syra met her gaze and her youthful energy pulsated in

  her green eyes. “Did you love him, Tara?”

  Tara didn’t answer, but she fought the stinging in her

  eyes from tears that threatened to come. Had she loved

  him? She still loved him. She needed to stay focused and

  thinking about her feelings for Darius would get her nowhere. They continued in silence with still nothing but

  rough ground and trees around them.

  “We should have hit desert by now, according to what

  Taffley told us.” Tara looked up at the sun. “We’re definitely

  driving due south. Something is wrong.”

  “Could we use my landlink to see if we can activate a

  nearby transmission that isn’t a Runner transmission?” “I guess we should try. For all I know, we have already

  passed the border.” Tara stopped the groundmobile, and

  Torgo pulled up alongside her.

  “Why don’t you get the babies out and let them crawl

  around in the backseat?” Tara used Syra’s landlink and

  easily found a transmission, although it was definitely

  foreign. Images began appearing on the screen.

  “Well, there’s life out there somewhere,” Tara

  commented as she started to tap the screen. “I found a

  map. Here it is. There are several cities that appear to be

  not too far from the border. And I see two roads. One of

  them comes all the way to the border. We must be farther

  east than we thought. According to this, if we head west,

  we should pull out of this rough terrain faster than if we

  continue south.” She studied the foreign screen providing this information and wondered what culture shared the

  technology.

  “Sounds good to me.” Torgo squinted toward the west. “Let’s keep moving. Syra, why don’t you explore what

  these cities have to offer while you’re back there, and I’ll

  drive. Whatever you do, don’t switch transmissions.

  Hopefully, no one will be searching for us on this link.” The drive continued to be difficult as the trees grew

  closer together and cliffs and rocks appeared. The terrain

  almost appeared mountainous, and Tara noticed some of

  the rock formations appeared to lead into caves. She

  continually looked around them and listened. No one would

  stop them, she would see to it. Determination pumped

  through her, keeping her on edge.

  Torgo watched Tara and although he would look in the

  same direction as she did, he never saw anything out of the

  ordinary. The more time passed, the more often Tara

  checked their surroundings. Her actions started spooking

  Torgo. Although nothing around him seemed out of the

  ordinary, he started feeling as if they were being watched or

  followed, just by Tara’s actions.

  After driving for a time, Tara stopped. While the two

  teenagers watched, she got out of the groundmobile and

  stood, listening. She walked a short distance away from

  them but then hurried back.

  “Syra, I want you to turn this groundmobile around and

  take it back to one of those caves.” She reached down to

  the floor of the groundmobile and grabbed her suitcase

  along with her landlink. “Take these and put them on.” She

  handed comms to both teenagers. “We need to put them all

  on the same channel and keep them open.”

  “What’s going on?” Syra looked confused as she watched

  Tara guide her bike off the trailer.

  “Get this thing turned around and go hide in one of

  those caves we just passed until I tell you it’s okay to come

  out.”

  “Why?” Syra persisted.

  “We’ve driven into an ambush. Head back toward those

  caves, and you and the babies will be safe.” Tara’s tone was

  enough for Syra to scurry behind the wheel. “Now move.” Syra obeyed and drove off with the babies.

  “Torgo, a good warrior always knows when he’s

  outnumbered.” Tara flipped open her landlink and turned

  it on. “I’d say at the moment we are grossly outnumbered.” “Tara, I don’t see anyone anywhere.”

  “Trust me.”

  “I do.” He looked around nervously.

  Tara fastened the landlink to her handlebars, pulled out

  her eliminator, and hooked it to her bike. “Do you have a

  laser?”

  “Of course.” He pulled out one of the nicer Gothman

  bang sticks he’d used for target practice.

  She tossed one of her lasers at him. “Use this. It’s a little

  more accurate. Aim it the same way you do yours. Let’s go.” Their motorcycles engines roared to life when they took

  off, picking up speed as they darted around trees and

  rocks. The terrain was similar to Gothman. Torgo kept up

  with her nicely, but his loud bike was going to draw more

  attention to them. Glancing repeatedly down at her screen

  while navigating her bike, Tara quickly activated the main

  Runner screen.

  Help was nearby—Patha and the Blood Circle Clan were

  just on the other side of the border. He really pushed his clan for them to be this close. Not that is surprised her,

  and at the moment she was grateful.

  The first shot rang through the air from somewhere

  behind them. Tara continued to drive at high speed but

  turned and shot at a vehicle closing in from behind. Torgo

  did the same, pulling off a decent shot.

  An old groundmobile crashed into a tree, making a

  horrific sound. They’d hit their target. She tapped her

  landlink screen as fast as she could.

  What are you doing?” Torgo yelled through his comm. “We’re too outnumbered. I’m detecting fifteen to twenty

  people to the north of us, about ten people behind us, and

  there are three coming straight at us from the west. We’ll

  see them here in a minute. We need help, or we won’t make

  it.”

  Three men in a groundmobile not too different from hers

  appeared in front of them. As one of them drove, the other

  two leaned out, hanging onto the
bars. They aimed large

  bang sticks at Tara and Torgo.

  Tara pulled the eliminator faster than Torgo could even

  react.

  The first shot coming her way caused a tree to fall in

  front of her. She heard men whooping and yelling in

  excitement of almost hitting her.

  Did that reward announcement say dead or alive? She

  wished now that she’d read it a bit closer. From the sheer

  numbers around her, enough people had gotten wind of

  her location to turn the situation into a crazed hunt. There

  was no way she and Torgo could take on this many

  opponents. Who was to say how many more were on their

  way?

  And they were River People—a crude people with no

  laws. They had no trained warriors. There would be no

  pattern, no order, no way of predicting their next move. Tara aimed the eliminator and shot the groundmobile.

  The explosion caused several surrounding trees to catch

  fire. If there was anyone out there who wasn’t exactly sure

  where she was, they certainly knew now.

  “Help,” was all she was able to transmit without

  crashing into a burning tree limb directly ahead of her. “I’ve got you on my scanner.” Tara saw the response to

  her plea and sighed with relief. She would deal with the

  wrath of Patha after all of this was over. Right now, she knew her clan wouldn’t let her down. She hadn’t done

  anything wrong, and they knew it.

  Tara and Torgo continued to drive as fast as they dared

  into dense woods. A shot from the north exploded through

  the air, and Tara turned in time to see Torgo’s bike slide. She slammed to a stop and sent rocks and dirt flying as

  she turned around. If Torgo was hurt, she’d never forgive

  herself. Relief surged through her as she approached Torgo

  and saw that only his tire had been blown out. He had slid

  through the brush and was getting up slowly from

  underneath the bike. Her heart raced and a cold sweat

  broke out over her body. Torgo stood and began slapping

  his clothes. She wanted to leap off her bike and make sure

  he was truly okay. They weren’t out of danger yet, though. “Climb on.” She pulled up next to him. “Tell me you’re

  okay.”

  “My bike.” He looked forlornly at his prize lying on the

  ground.

  “Casualty of war, son. It’s what you get for following me.”

  She grinned at Torgo as he climbed on behind her. They

  both noticed blood on his leg at the same time.