Sisters of the Sands

by Villinger, James

  “Are they insane?” Maya screeched. “They almost killed me!”

  “Since when has Iya not been insane?” I yelled back as a hail of laser fire struck the walls and furniture around us. We ran to a nearby pillar in the kitchen and took cover. The pillar absorbed some of the laser fire, but it wasn’t going to hold. “We need to get out of here. Now!”

  “Hey! Wait, cease fire!” Maya yelled out. She put her hands up and jumped out from around the pillar. “I have her, it’s okay!”

  The firing against the pillar stopped, but started back up again moments later. Maya ducked back behind the pillar as an explosion rocked the floor and fire erupted in the room. The force knocked both of us away, closer to the apartment’s entrance. We hit the floor and I pulled on Maya’s arm as I crawled out the door and into the building’s hallway.

  “Why are they trying to kill me?” she said as we slumped against the hallway wall. “I mean … you, I understand … but why me?”

  “I don’t know,” I said.

  Maya was distracted, her eyes focusing on something behind me. I turned and saw what she was looking at − a spiral of sand gusting down the corridor towards us. It was Neva.

  I thought of Eno, and Pilgrim’s old village again, and I opened the portal under us. We both fell through and landed on the ground below. Neva’s sand form floated over the portal. She whipped at us but I closed the portal just in time. A few grains managed to sneak through, but they sprinkled on the ground, now harmless.

  I stood back up again and examined our surroundings. The entire cave was different, completely destroyed. There was scrap metal everywhere, a gigantic gaping hole in the ceiling and a large crater, filled with nothing but dust. The stars had started to appear in the darkening sky.

  “They … they tried to kill me,” Maya said in disbelief, still sprawled on the cavern floor.

  “Where are they?” I said, looking around but not seeing anyone else.

  My perception flew through the cavern, and then outside to the desert. Nothing.

  “What are you talking about?” Maya asked as she rose up from the ground.

  “My brother! I teleported all of them here, but they’re gone.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you.”

  “I can already sense that they’re nowhere near here. They must have run off into the desert.”

  Maya gritted her teeth and stomped around. “What? What have you gotten me into, Sacet? And how are we all the way out here?”

  I sighed as I frantically examined our surroundings. “I’ve always been able to teleport as far as I wanted to, so long as I’ve been there before or I can see it. And it’s not the only power I’ve been keeping secret either.”

  “Why the secrets then?”

  “Because I didn’t want to be used. If Mira found out what I could really do, then all the Nomad settlements I’ve visited in my life would be in danger.”

  “Hmph! Nomads again? Why don’t you go back and live with them now? Because, clearly, the way I live is crazy. No need to thank me for feeding you and giving you a home. I mean, this is what you’ve wanted all along isn’t it?”

  “Your father dying is not what I wanted.”

  She kicked a piece of debris. “Just leave!”

  “Open your eyes, Maya. The people in the Dominion hate it there,” I continued. “And your family is a prime example. They’ve been torn apart by them … and you’ve been brainwashed so much that you think they would be better off if your father was dead. Wasn’t there ever a Maya who thought she could rescue her father?”

  Maya’s eyes started to tear up. “Once … but then I woke up. I woke up to the reality of my situation. They own the world − not the Nomads − and there’s nothing you or I could ever do to change that.”

  “You ‘woke up’ to think what they wanted you to think. They’ve been using your family to keep you obedient. I’m asking you … begging you … listen to reason. The Dominion is wrong,” I said as Maya sat back down in the sand and brought her hands to her face.

  “Leave me alone!” Maya yelled. “Just go away, go back to the desert and out of my life!” She grabbed her head in pain and shook it from side to side. “She’s wrong, she’s wrong …”

  “Think of what family you have left. Your mother, your sister and your brother. It’s not too late to save them.”

  “You’re wrong, I can’t … he’s a male, he can’t be saved.” Her eyes fluttered, as if her mind was fighting against her own words. She removed her hands, allowing her tears to roll freely down her cheeks. “When I was first captured, I wanted to fight back, but I was only a kid. And we still are kids compared with them,” she said as she sobbed.

  I shook my head in disbelief. “Fine, then ask yourself this: what is your mother going to say to you when you get back? What is your sister going to think of you after what you did?”

  Maya looked down at my feet and closed her eyes. “My mother, Kowi, I don’t … they must hate me,” she mumbled, bringing her hands to her face again. “What have I done?”

  I hated her for what she did, but I still felt sorry for her. “You’ve finally got something your brainwashing can’t explain.” I turned my back on her and started walking. “I’m done with your Dominion, both of them. And you, too. All I care about is my brother.”

  A sharp, high-pitched noise rang throughout the cavernous crater. A bullet had ricocheted off the scrap metal by my feet, so I stopped in my tracks. Maya jumped up and stood beside me.

  “That’s far enough,” a nearby voice said.

  Several figures appeared around the rim of the crater. We were surrounded.

  32. Rallied

  “Don’t take another step,” the elderly man’s voice called out.

  There were more of them than I thought, at least 30 Nomads cautiously descended into the crater with their rifles up ready.

  Maya shifted awkwardly, trying to get my attention. “Get … us … out of here,” she whispered.

  “Don’t shoot,” I pleaded. “I’m one of you, I … Elder Hati?”

  Among the Nomads was the old man who had once condemned Tau to death. As before he was frail and could barely walk. Unlike the others he carried no weapons.

  These were all of Pilgrim’s fellow villagers, or what was left of them.

  “Teelo?” I shrieked in surprise.

  The closest Nomad, with his rifle aimed right between my eyes, was the one-eyed boy that Pilgrim had once called his son. Based on his scowl, he was not pleased to see me.

  “How does she know our names?” another man called out as they all closed in around us.

  “Because she is the portalling girl, Sacet,” Elder Hati called out. “The reason our settlement was found and destroyed.”

  Now only a few paces away, each Nomad stopped, forming a large circle, with Maya and I in the centre.

  “And now she wears their armour,” Teelo said, gesturing to my clothing with his gun.

  “We should kill them,” one of the women suggested to Hati, “while we still can.”

  The entire group murmured in agreement.

  “Their tracking devices will lead more of them here,” another added, to yet more, louder mutters.

  “No, no, no,” I said in a panic. I gestured to the back of my neck where there would still surely be a giant red mark. “I ripped mine out, see?”

  “And … I never had one at all,” Maya included.

  “Lies!” Teelo said.

  “Truth,” Maya snapped back. “And this isn’t away mission armour. We both portalled here straight from the capital. We’re clean. No one is coming to look for us.”

  I ignored the other Nomads, instead focusing on Hati. “Please, I never meant to lie to you before, and I’m sorry about what happened here. I … we … only just escaped the Dominion. I helped my brother escape, too. I sent him and others here. Do you know where …”

  Hati’s expression grew more suspicious with every word I said.

  I sighed and
fell to my knees. “I just want my brother back. Please.”

  Hati considered my words carefully and looked around at his tribe. “They’re telling the truth.” He concentrated back on me. “Your mistake caused a lot of death here.”

  I dipped my head in apology. “You’re right, and I’m so sorry. If I could undo my mistake, I would.”

  “After the attack,” he continued, “those who survived ran to the hills where we were ambushed yet again, this time by the women. A string of bad luck followed us wherever we went.”

  “But you came back?” I said. “Surely you would have seen the men I sent here?”

  “We came back to pick up what scraps we could and to rebuild. Then we saw the explosion.”

  I breathed heavily. “Explosion?”

  “We didn’t see anyone here. And after the utter destruction around us … I’m sorry.”

  I clutched my head and fell down into the sand. “He can’t be dead. No, no.”

  Hati lowered himself with difficulty, eventually sitting in the dirt across from me. “You might not be able to undo your mistake here, but maybe you can pay it back?”

  I sat up and tried to regain my composure.

  “I knew of your grandfather,” he continued, “I knew his plan for you: to unite all of the desert peoples. You must have visited so many …”

  “Hundreds of settlements,” I replied.

  He smiled. “Did you visit the Rankulfort?”

  I nodded. “When I was eight, yes. And Cairn’s Beach, and the Abel Mountains … my brother and I went to them all. All we did was travel.”

  Hati chuckled. “There must be thousands of us.”

  I shrugged and leant forward. “More.”

  He closed his eyes and looked down. “Then perhaps it’s time our people all met each other, wouldn’t you say?”

  I narrowed my gaze and slowly got to my feet. “What about my brother?”

  Hati gestured around the crater. “I see no bodies here. Perhaps he left?”

  “If he’s alive, I have to find him!”

  I tried breaking out of the circle, but Teelo rushed over and put the end of his rifle to my head, stopping me.

  “Sacet,” Hati said firmly, before pointing at Maya, “and …?”

  “Maya,” she answered.

  “Maya,” Hati continued, “we will find Eno, later. But first, you must help us.”

  “Fine,” I said, knocking Teelo’s rifle away and looking to an empty patch of sand nearby. I remembered back to my time at Rankulfort, the biggest and most fortified structure we Nomads had. The portal opened straight away.

  Elder Hati was helped to his feet by one of the Nomads. He and the others approached the portal and peered through. They noticed the darker skies, for it was night on the other side. The fort was empty, asleep.

  Hati turned back with a delighted grin. “Good. I hope you remember the rest, too, because tonight we are going to attack that city of yours, and kill your Queen.”

  Later that night

  Rankulfort

  The Chieftain’s tent

  Like the crowds in the stadium, the sound outside the tent was a mess of indistinct speech all meshed into one monstrous voice. How many Nomads were out there, I wondered?

  The various chiefs and elders had gathered in the tent with Maya and I around a table. We were examining a map of FDC that I had helped create. Maya helped, too, but she wasn’t as forthcoming with the information as I was.

  Maya was becoming more uncomfortable with each passing moment. She had no choice but to play along on our side. If they found out what I knew about her she’d already be dead.

  Hati pressed a gnarled finger down on the map. “I’m telling you, we need to strike now, when they don’t expect it. It should be nightfall for them.”

  Maya grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out the tent’s door when the others were preoccupied. “I need to speak to you.”

  The tent was positioned on top of a cliff overlooking the entire fort. We could see thousands of people readying for battle, maybe even ten thousand. The number of warriors streaming through the portals outside seemed endless. They all had rifles and other rusty Nomadic weapons.

  It was a real army. It was … truly inspiring, and all because of me. All my life wandering the desert, thinking my people a lost cause, but here they were now united, ready to fight.

  “This is insane,” Maya whispered to me. “These people are my enemy!”

  “These people are you and your family’s liberators,” I replied. “And before we go back to the city, I need to know that … you won’t do wrong by your family again. Right?”

  She hesitated and looked out over the masses. “I can’t betray the Queen. But more importantly … I must never betray my family again. I’ll help, but I’m not happy about it.” She gestured to me. “And what about you? You can’t even kill anyone.”

  “I’ve killed before,” I replied.

  She smirked. “Yeah, but you didn’t want to.”

  “No one should want to kill, Maya,” I retorted. “But sometimes … they need to.”

  FDC

  The Prison Quad

  I stepped through the portal with Maya. It was night time, just as Hati had said. It was so late that the station, the surrounding streets and the stairs leading up to the Prison Quad were completely deserted. I peeked back through the portal and waved to give the all clear.

  Shortly after, a horde of Nomadic warriors rushed through in silence. I widened the portal so that it was the entire length of the station. Maya and I headed for the Prison Quad steps as our army piled in behind us.

  Maya shook her head at me. “I can’t do this, Sacet. Please, stop this,” she whispered.

  “When it begins, don’t stand in our way,” I replied.

  It was remarkable how quiet the thousands of people were being. They knew that until battle was joined that this was a stealth mission. They filled every nook and cranny of the station, as well as the surrounding streets.

  One of the settlement chieftains approached. “So, where are these reinforcements you told us about?”

  I smiled back at him. “Don’t worry; they’ll be here in a moment.”

  It seemed as though our whole army was through the portal, so I closed it. I turned to the prison and walked up the steps.

  “Are you sure about this?” Maya asked.

  I shook my head. “No, but I’m going to do it anyway.”

  I closed my eyes, focusing on the prison in front of me. The crowd went silent, waiting for what came next.

  My second perception flew into the prison. The same cells I was interrogated in when I arrived here were filled with sleeping male Acolytes. Their powers were still being inhibited. They also had strange collars around their necks, something they didn’t have last time I saw them.

  There must have been at least 100 of them. Keeping them locked up in the first place seemed odd. Wouldn’t killing them make more sense to Mira? What possible reason did she have for keeping them?

  I couldn’t seem to find Kalek, the invincible commander who had murdered Tau. But even if I had, I wouldn’t give him a second chance like I was about to for the others.

  As much as I would like to rescue every single regular prisoner down in the mines, there were far too many of them, all in different rooms. By the time I portalled each one out, the surprise of our attack would be gone. No matter, the Acolytes would do.

  I took a deep breath. I could do this. I began opening portals under every sleeping Acolyte prisoner, and each one fell through onto the grass near the steps. The shock woke them, and they sprung up, gauging their surroundings.

  “What happened? Who are you people?”

  The nearby Nomads ran to greet and hush them.

  I didn’t let up, teleporting a few at a time, then several at a time. My perception flew through each cell, emptying them right under the guard’s noses. The noise of over a hundred scared men broke the night’s tranquillity.

&nbs
p; I sensed one of the guards discovering an empty prison cell. She was sprinting down the corridor, probably to alert the others, so I put a portal underneath her and dropped her high above the prison. She plummeted down to the roof and crashed onto the concrete.

  I dropped to my knees and wheezed. Creating this many portals at a time had winded me.

  Maya examined them all with wide eyes, then to me. “What kind of training has Sula been doing with you?”

  As the Acolytes woke and stood, many cried out in surprise.

  “What is this?”

  “Where are we?”

  33. Flood

  “What’s going on?” a boy in his late teens said, standing up. I recognised his voice, it was Noor. It was the first time I had seen his face. His legs had been restored by Tau. He was pale, tall, muscular, and had short, brown hair.

  “Wow, a prison-break,” another boy said. It was Tetsu. He had dark skin and a was little bit stocky. He was shorter, with black hair.

  The Nomads anxiously trained their rifles on the Acolytes, afraid of what they would do.

  Maya got my attention and pointed at the Acolytes. “I think those collars inhibit their powers, like their cells.”

  A loud alarm sounded, and the entire Prison Quadrant lit up, even brighter than before.

  “Listen to me,” I yelled so that everyone could hear. “This is an uprising.” I pointed back at the Nomads behind me. “These are my people,” I said with pride. “And whether you’re from the Male Dominion or a Nomad like us, tonight you have a choice.”

  I gestured at the city. “We are not here to destroy this city, but to free it. If you want to join us, we can take your collars off, and you can help us overthrow and kill the Female Dominion Queen, as well as anyone who stands in our way. After that, you will be free to leave or to stay. The other option …”

  “Is death!” the chieftain interrupted, clearly ready to kill all of these men, regardless of where they were from.

  “No!” I pointed back at him, imposing my dominance. “You’re here because of me. This is my plan. We do it my way! Lower your rifles!”