I look back down the mountainside. The breeze lifts up the sand a few feet away, and orange swirls whirl in the air like floating rust.
I remember how good driving fast around here made me feel. The adrenaline, the surge of life, the feeling of being alive and free.
I don’t like how I’m feeling now.
“I need a new motorbike,” I say. It will make me feel better. “We need to tell Rahn we have to raid before we go.”
“You’re not supposed to know that we are going,” Elf points out.
“Well, you say it then.” I shake my head, and my neck clicks. Energy fizzes through me. Yes. “Or maybe I’ll just point out we need to raid. Raiding isn’t unusual. Doesn’t mean I know we’ll be leaving.”
Elf presses his lips together. “Come on,” he says, pointing to the sky. “It’s getting dark.”
Neither of us wants to look at the stars now.
We head back to our hut, and I think of how much better I’ll feel when I’ve got a motorbike again. I mean, already, I feel better. Strangely better, almost as if a spell has been cast over me. But it’s not really a spell. I know that.
Elf and I share a tin of semolina pudding and half a mango, and we discuss different ways I can introduce the idea of a raid to Rahn in the morning, eventually settling on a plan.
Then I crawl into my bed.
I close my eyes. It doesn’t take me long to sleep, because now I feel happy, and, when I do, I dream of Red. For once, it isn’t a nightmare.
He caresses the side of my face, slowly, delicately. His fingers are like feathers now, but I know how competent they can be, and the memory sends shivers through me.
The bed beneath us is soft, but firm.
“I’ve missed you so much.” Red breathes the words into my neck as he lowers his head. “I love you, really love you, K.”
A second later, I feel his tongue against my collarbone. He licks me, and I feel my body react. I want him, want him so badly.
I wrap my arms around his chest, and my legs around his waist. We’re one unit, breathing and living as one.
It’s beautiful.
Everything is beautiful.
“Beauty is never lost,” I say.
“Neither is hope,” he says.
The next morning dawns bright and clear, and Elf and I wait for Rahn to leave his hut before I sneak in. It’s dark inside, but I locate the medical supplies easily. I load most of them into my survival bag, and my eyes linger on the firearms for a little while. But they’re not part of the plan. I head back out.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Elf says to me, but he takes my bag and disappears into our own hut.
I walk over to the small water hole and wash my hair, then take out my Swiss army knife and head over to help Five skin the six desert rats that Kayden must have brought in—he’s the only one who hunts those.
As I sit down with Five—half-listening to her endless chatter about nothing—I’m very aware of Elf watching us from a distance. Finn’s with him, but I can see my brother’s paying as much attention to him as I am to Five.
I hold the blade carefully as I separate skin from a rat’s stomach and—
“Argh!” I cry out as I slice the knife into the fleshy muscle of my thumb—a lot deeper than intended. Sharp pain squeezes through me, and tears come to my eyes.
Authentic.
“Shit!” Five jumps up, then yells something to Elf and Finn, her voice too high-pitched for me to make out her words.
She pulls off her shawl and wraps my hand in it, and Elf and Finn get here, but blood soaks through the fabric surprisingly quickly. Too quickly? I stare at the way the redness spreads across the fabric, mesmerized. I’d thought it wouldn’t bleed much, but I can’t have hit an artery or something there, can I? I frown, and dark spots hover in front of me for a second.
I blink them away quickly and look up to see several more people rushing toward us. Katya, Paul, and Alan.
“Hey, you all right?” Elf’s voice. “Keelie? You’ve gone really pale.”
“I’m fine,” I say.
“We need the antibiotic ointment and a bandage,” Katya says. “Keelie, I think you should lie down.”
“I’m fine,” I say again, hear others approaching.
But they insist on lowering me to the ground. More voices fog toward me, and I concentrate on my breathing. Got to keep breathing evenly. Anyway, I’m fine. Absolutely fine. If I concentrate really hard, I can even block the pain out. I blink a few times, listening. And, sure enough, I hear Rahn saying, “It’s the last bandage, and there ain’t any ointment.”
Katya and Marouska dress my hand, and eventually I’m allowed to sit up. Half of the village is around me, and, honestly, it’s a lot of fuss for nothing. Just a cut.
“That was the last bandage?” I ask.
Rahn nods.
“Then we need to raid,” I say. “Medical supplies are important.”
“And we’ve only got a couple packs of water purification tablets left,” Elf says, his voice not giving away any hint of our betrayal. “We should have more in reserve than that.”
A couple of the men agree, and Rahn looks visibly flustered.
“There should’ve been more supplies than that,” he says. “I’m sure there were two more boxes.”
“When did you last check?” I ask.
He shrugs.
“We should raid as soon as possible,” I say. “Medical supplies are important. And there could be loads of Turnings soon. You know the damage spirits can do.”
Except the Nbutai group doesn’t. To my knowledge, Elf and I are the only people who’ve witnessed first-hand the destruction that a deadly spirit causes. The way flesh flies through the air. The way the screams haunt you. Huh, and spirits are supposed to be on our side.
Yet they did help me. They showed me where Elf—the real Elf—was.
“What about today?” I look around, making my voice as light as possible. “It’s good weather at the moment too. Perfect for raiding.”
Under Rahn’s dark glasses, I get the impression his eyes are narrowing.
“Raiding today?” Corin raises his eyebrows. He’s wearing a threadbare outer-shirt over a T-shirt, and he swats at a mosquito as it lands on his neck. Splatters it in a little star of blood. I look at the red smudge for a little longer than I should. “Could work,” he says.
“Yes. We could do with more fuel,” Rahn finally says. He glares at me. “We’ve got very little left after your little jaunt.”
“Great,” I say, refusing to be stung. “Elf and I are in.”
“You?” Rahn’s voice is blunt. “You’re in no state to raid.” He rubs the back of his neck for a few moments. “Corin?”
Corin nods firmly. “In.”
Rahn grunts. “Finn?”
His face lights up, and he nods.
“I’m coming,” Katya says suddenly.
Rahn turns to her in an instant. “You seen somethin’?”
It’s unusual for Katya to volunteer for a raid. We’ve all heard the stories of how, before their group moved to Nbutai, Katya was one of the regulars who’d break the newly converted out of compounds in an attempt to save them. It never really worked. But, since then, Katya’s preferred to avoid the Enhanced towns and cities because she’s our Seer, and we need her to be safe so she can keep us safe.
Katya shakes her head. “But I am coming.”
“Fine,” Rahn says. He points toward Seven next. She’s far away, out of earshot. “And I want her on the fuel run.”
“Someone will have to go with her,” Corin says. “She’s not going to be able to carry all the fuel by herself. How many cans are we getting?” He folds his arms as he stands next to the leader. Looking at them now, you’d never guess they were related. Rahn is scrawny with a huge nose, whereas Corin’s frame is stocky and muscular.
Rahn mutters something, then clears his throat. “We’ll discuss the dynamics on the way to New Kimearo. Right, start load
in’ the truck. Alan, get some food for the survival bags ready. Most’ll be runnin’ low on energy bars by now. Five lots.”
“But I’m coming too,” I say quickly. “We need six.”
Rahn turns on me. “No—you ain’t comin’, Keelie. It’s just me, Corin, Finn, Katya, and Seven.”
I feel my chest swell with emotion. “But I’m our best fighter,” I say. And I did not execute the first part of this plan for me not to be chosen to go on the raid. No way.
“You’re stayin’ here. You’re injured.”
I snort. “It was barely a scrape.”
“You fainted.”
“I did not!” I cry. “They made me lie down. I’m fine! Elf, tell them.”
My brother mumbles something, and I could just about kick him. What happened to sounding strong and confident?
“I’m coming on this raid,” I say.
“No.” Rahn stamps his foot. Actually stamps it.
My eyes widen, and I suddenly get the urge to laugh.
“I don’t think you going is a good idea.” Katya’s voice is cool and calm, but there’s a heaviness to it too. Loaded with meaning. And, when I turn to look at her, I find her eyes are firmly on me. “Do you?” She raises her eyebrows.
“I need to go,” I say. “Look, if I go, it makes it an even number. And I can go with Seven to get fuel. Rahn and Corin can get the medicine, and you and Finn can get food. We’ll need lots.”
Rahn clears his throat loudly. “Keelie. You are not comin’.”
I look toward Elf for help, but the traitor has turned away. Why isn’t he backing me up? Darkness clouds me for a moment.
“Load up the truck,” Rahn says. “Five survival bags.”
I turn away, feel my face burning, but Rahn’s fingers latch around my wrist, and he drags me roughly backward.
“Hey!” I twist around and yank my arm free of him. “What are you doing?”
“What the hell was that?” he counters.
“What was what?” I fold my arms. We’re not far from everyone else, and Corin and Elf are both watching intently.
Rahn exhales loudly. “That arguin’, that defiance. Did I not make myself clear before? Am I mistaken and no longer the leader of this group?”
I glare at him. “I’m staying here, aren’t I? You got your way.”
His nostrils flare. “One more act like this, Keelie, and you’re out.”
“Out?”
“Out of my group.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “You’d throw me out? Even though I’m Untamed and the best fighter?” I shake my head and start to laugh. He wouldn’t throw me out.
“I would,” he says, his voice dark. “You’ve proven we can’t always trust you. And maybe there’s no Mila or Bea around for me to use to keep you in line. But, remember, there are others. Five, Seven. Even Elf. You act up again, and you’re out and they suffer.”
My breath catches in my throat.
“Do I make myself clear?”
I nod.
We pack the truck quickly, and Corin heads over to Seven, tells her of her part in the raid. I watch her face fall. None of us like fuel raids, especially after Marouska’s sons got killed in one. And that’s why I should be there. I can keep people safe.
Really? Mila’s voice asks. You didn’t keep me safe.
I try to ignore her. No, me—because it’s me. Not her… I’m not mad.
“Not mad,” I mutter. “Not mad. Definitely not mad.”
I notice Katya’s stopped packing and is watching the assembly. She frowns, but there’s something off about her frown. Something distant, and the expression makes her look a lot older than she is.
“Katya?”
Her eyes widen, and she sways.
I rush to her. “What is it?”
“It’s going to happen.” Her breathing gets heavier, then she shakes her head. “Just stay here, Keelie. You’re staying here, aren’t you? You must!”
I frown. “Are you all right to go?”
“Keelie, if…” She shakes her head and then adjusts her scarf. “Rahn’s always hated me and my family.” A strange look passes over her face. “If something were to happen…you have to make sure he treats her equally.”
“What are you talking about?”
“My visions.”
I lean forward. “You’ve had a vision?” I shake my head. “You need to tell Rahn—”
“I did. A few days ago. He wouldn’t listen, not when I said it was one of those different ones. Far future. The ones that—like when I saw you die.”
“But that didn’t happen,” I point out.
Her eyes seem to get harder as if they’re becoming beautiful gemstones—the kind Bea loves. “Not yet.” She looks strained, like she’s sick. “And this latest one—I had it two days ago…or was it three?” She blinks slowly. “Oh Gods. I—I don’t know. But, at the beginning, it was me and Rahn and Corin…trapped…caught…but two get out. And it…it doesn’t make sense…and it wasn’t an immediate danger, the dream didn’t have the right feel—it was just a flash. An image or two. No sign of the bison, that I could see. But I do not know if the bison controls far-sight. The bison is supposed to be for the immediate warnings.
“But this will happen…these far-future visions are still visions. And, at the end of this latest one, I saw a woman standing on a battlefield—an Untamed girl—and an Enhanced One will stop her getting away…and she looked like Seven.”
“What?” I shake my head. She’s not making any sense. “The Enhanced looked like Seven?”
“No…the woman, the girl, the Untamed.” Katya grimaces. “It wasn’t clear. Just an image. The non-immediate future, the type of vision I’m not supposed to get.” Her eyes darken, but her voice gets stronger. “It was those two scenes this time. Us trapped—Rahn, Corin, and I—and her, Seven, out there. But many of my previous visions of this sort have shown disaster for Seven, and those visions seemed farther away than this latest glimpse of the future—both parts of it, both scenes.”
“What does it mean?” I stare at her. “What’s going to happen? Is it this raid?”
She reaches for her Seer pendant suddenly. “Where’s Paul?”
I point to the right in the direction where her husband is. “He’s getting the truck ready, with the other men.”
Katya pulls her pendant off, snapping the sinew. Her fingers shake as she ties it back together.
“What are you doing?” I eye the pendant as she dangles it in front of her face. Light bursts from the crystal. “Shouldn’t you put that back on? You don’t want to get trapped in the Dream Land….”
A sharpness in her eyes cuts me off.
“I need to give this…” She looks at me. “Not to you. You’ll die.” She turns, and her gaze falls on Esther, not far away.
Esther disappears into her hut, and Katya races after her. I stare after her, and her last words to me echo in my mind. I’m about to follow, when Elf shouts my name.
“What?” I turn to him as he jogs over.
“Rahn wants to know if you need more sanitary items. He’s making the final list.”
I scowl. “So much for our plan, Elf.”
“We can’t go up against Rahn,” he says, his voice level. “Not like this. And he’s threatened you before. We’ve got to be careful.”
“Careful?” I snort. “We’re letting him walk all over us. And I need to get a new bike, Elf.”
“Just leave it. It’s not worth it.”
“Not worth it?” I shake my head. “No. You don’t understand. It’s not a want. It’s a need. I need to feel alive. Need to feel better. I need to be free. I need it.” I wipe my sweaty hands on my jeans, but the sweat’s gone under the bandage, and it feels all rank and horrible. My thumb’s starting to hurt more now too.
My brother’s eyes darken, and he looks like he wants to say something else, but he doesn’t.
On the other side of the village, I see Katya’s outside again now, talking to Paul. She lo
oks calm now—sincere—and that makes me feel a bit better about her. Then they both turn and glance at Seven as she walks past, carrying two empty fuel cans, her survival kit already on her back. She’s oblivious to their stares. But she’s not heading toward the truck yet.
No one’s heading toward the truck. And no one’s at it. Or nearby. Elf and I are the nearest.
My eyes widen.
Yes.
I turn to Elf. “I’m going to go. Rahn’s not stopping me.”
“Keelie.” His voice is a warning.
“Cover me,” I hiss.
Then I walk over to the truck. My steps bounce, bounce with energy, with adrenaline. And that’s good. I feel alive again. My heart pounds, instilling more and more life.
I pull myself up onto the tailgate, then into the truck bed, and keep low. There’s a tarpaulin in the corner. It’s folded, but not very neatly.
“Keelie!” Elf hisses as I shimmy along the wooden bed. Something snags at my clothes, but I ignore it and hear a slight ripping sound.
I reach the tarpaulin, and lift it up, slide myself under it. The waterproof fabric smells of some sort of chemical I can’t place.
“Keelie?” Elf shouts. “What the—”
“Be quiet!” I hiss back. Then: “Can you see me?”
I hear his footsteps, then the tarpaulin rustles and crackles over it—presumably as he readjusts it. I hold my breath. I’m not in the most comfortable of positions, but I’m half-crouching, half-leaning—a position I can hold for a long time, if needed.
Slowly, I count to ten.
“Keelie, don’t do this,” Elf says.
I ignore him. A moment later, I hear the sounds of him climbing aboard. His steps shuffle toward me, and I think he crouches down.
“Fine. Be careful.” He lifts the corner of the tarpaulin.
“What are you doing?” I hiss, but then I see what he slides under it.
I take the gun and the dark glasses, a grin forming on my face.
Elf clears his throat. “After this, Keelie, we’re moving.”
“What?”
“You and I, we’re leaving Rahn’s group. Something’s going to happen to you—Rahn’s going to do something—and you’re not going to be safe here.”
A Dangerous Game Page 30