by Anh Do
‘Why is nobody shooting?!’ shouted Aiken, just before her jeep lurched from under her and she spilled off the side.
Stinger bolts began to zzz! past Minh. One smacked him in the side and sent electric lines crackling over his torso. He jerked his horns free of the jeep, spraying twisted metal into the air. He lifted what remained of the vehicle and held it up to shield himself. Bolt after bolt burst against it, until it rippled electric in his hands.
Kelly burst from between two houses, her hair streaming wildly around her. She moved so fast the grass barely flattened beneath her feet. It felt good to work her legs, to burn the energy built up from days in hiding. She sped past a row of Hornets, smacking their stingers out of their hands.
‘I’ve sighted the Golden Unicorn,’ cried a guard at the end of the row, as he raised his comstick to his mouth. Kelly smashed it up into his face, knocking him out cold.
‘Sight that,’ she said.
Kelly spun to see Minh flinging a jeep undercarriage like the world’s deadliest frisbee. As Hornets dived to the ground, it slammed through a pumpkin patch behind them and decapitated a scarecrow.
Minh began to tromp again along the line, swinging his arms left and right to knock jeeps out of his way. Metal carcasses hurtled through the air in all directions, sending groups of KG scattering.
Aiken appeared out of the jeeps in front of him, dropped to her knee and raised her tri-burst rifle.
‘Watch out!’ Kelly called, too late. Aiken fired and whump whump whump, three bolts drilled Minh right in the chest.
He staggered backwards as electric strands rippled over him, and his flailing hand closed over a rear-view mirror. He wrenched it free and flung it right at Aiken. It cracked against her shoulder and ripped off a piece of body armour, the force of the impact slamming her sideways. Within seconds, her Elites closed ranks around her.
Minh shook himself like a dog, and the electricity frazzled away, leaving him smoking in patches. Everywhere around him Hornets were getting up, retrieving their guns, closing in. He scraped one foot along the ground, kicking up earth and readying to charge once more. He was getting too mad to judge the situation – if Kelly didn’t do something, he would surely be overwhelmed.
She tore towards Minh and leapt into the air, landing on his back and hooking an arm around his neck to hold on. As he reached back to fling her free, thinking she was an attacker, she hauled herself up to shout in his ear.
‘Minh, it’s Kelly! Are you still you? Can you hear me?’
Minh paused, his huge fingers twitching. He spoke in a deep, gravelly voice. ‘Of course I’m still me.’
‘We have to get out of here,’ Kelly said urgently. ‘You caught them by surprise, but there are too many. If we run, we can lead them away from the Hub!’
Minh seemed to weigh his options. Meanwhile, Aiken, somewhat recovered, shakily raised her rifle again. Kelly noticed an Elite beside her, with red hair sticking out from his helmet, make a little gesture no one else could see. She frowned. He was flicking his fingers at Kelly, as if to say shoo, shoo.
‘We need to go now,’ said Kelly.
Aiken fired. Kelly swung herself around Minh’s neck and hauled him out of the path of the bolts. As the bolts sizzled by, they both sprawled behind a mound of metal. Kelly was flung clear, but was on her feet and back to Minh in no time, as he sat up rubbing his neck.
‘Ow,’ he said.
‘You’re welcome,’ said Kelly. ‘Now, we have to run, okay? Run! Do you understand, you big lunk?’
‘No need for name-calling,’ grouched Minh.
Kelly took off, sprinting back towards the hill. She prayed that Minh would follow. She was relieved when, a moment later, she felt the ground quaking with his footfalls behind her.
‘After them!’ screamed Aiken.
Kelly wove up the hill as passing bolts set the hair of her arms on end. They sank into the slope ahead as she zigged and zagged, leaving patches of smoking grass. She heard Minh bellow as he was hit, and glanced back to make sure he wasn’t slowing.He stumbled as electricity corded his legs, but kept on.
Kelly ran full pelt into the stalks. They whipped her face, and she flung up a hand to protect herself. A Hornet charged in blindly from her left, and they collided with stunning force. As Kelly lay dazed on the ground, she heard the voices of other Hornets calling to each other. They seemed to come from all directions, steadily closing in. She felt dizzy, as though she was close to blacking out.
Minh roared past, leaving a trail of crushed wheat behind him, and Kelly wondered if he had even noticed her lying there. Then, somewhere off in the direction he had gone, Hornets cried out as they were trampled. A moment later, Minh reappeared, rushing in a new direction. Kelly heard more shouts go up.
By the time she managed to clear her head …
Wind blasted them, and they looked up to see a helicopter descending.
‘Make for the woods,’ shouted Minh, pointing towards a row of trees.
‘Are you coming?’
‘I’ll be right behind you.’
As Kelly staggered into a run, Minh headed away. The helicopter turned after him, a Hornet manning a massive electrical cannon on the side. He began to shoot large bolts, sending up clumps of grass in Minh’s path.
Minh reached a tractor that stood by itself in the middle of a field. He clamped his enormous hands down on it as the helicopter lined him up. His muscles bulged.
He couldn’t possibly lift that, Kelly thought. Oh wow. He just did!
Kelly reached the trees, and Minh came thumping up to join her. He squeezed in between two trunks, shaking them so much that leaves rained down.
‘Now what?’ he said.
‘I told Stanley to prepare that boat,’ she said. ‘But you won’t be able to make it without knocking down half the forest.’
Minh frowned for a moment, and seemed to concentrate.
Be calm, she heard him tell himself. They won’t hurt Mum and Dad now. They’ll be too busy hunting us, as long as we lead them away.
She sensed the boiling surface of his mind grow still. The red in his eyes flickered and waned like a doused flame. He was shrinking in size. As his curved horns wound back into his head, he shot Kelly an embarrassed look.
‘No one’s ever seen me change before,’ he said.
‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘I know how you feel.’
Do you? came his thought.
‘Let’s keep going,’ she said. ‘There may still be others on our trail.’
They jogged through the woods together until they heard the sound of running water. A moment later, they arrived by a river, where Stanley was holding a boat ready to go.
‘I’m glad to see you’ve returned to normal size,’ said Stanley, as they piled in. ‘Otherwise this thing would sink.’
13
Boat Ride
Kelly wasn’t sure if a rowboat was really the best getaway vehicle, but it seemed they had done enough damage to the KG to avoid immediate pursuit.
‘What’s the next step?’ she said. ‘Minh, you know the area better than us. Is there anything you can suggest?’
Minh was staring back the way they had come, and it took him a moment to realise she had asked him a question.
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘This is not how I was expecting to spend my day.’ He frowned. ‘But why are you asking me that? I thought you guys would have a plan?’
‘We sort of did,’ said Kelly, feeling a bit embarrassed.
‘Did?’ said Minh. ‘What happened?’
‘We found you,’ said Stanley.
Minh clearly didn’t think much of this. ‘So that’s as far ahead as you’d got? Man, you guys would suck at chess.’ He turned to survey the river ahead. ‘Well, the river leads to Sector Hub A, the central marketplace for the Agricultural Zone. It’s a lot busier than the other Hubs, so should be easier to avoid anyone watching. It’ll take us a few hours to get there. There’s a train station, buses as well. Might be a good way
to lay down some dust.’
Stanley yawned. ‘An excellent suggestion, Minh.’
Kelly could tell he was bone-tired. ‘Hey Stanley,’ she said, ‘maybe I can’t drive, but I think I can row. How about you get some rest?’
Stanley agreed without protest, and the boat rocked as everyone shuffled positions.
‘Not exactly the most comfortable bed,’ Stanley said, as he lay down, ‘but maybe I … could …’
Kelly could sense worries niggling at him, which would make it hard for him to get to sleep. She reached out and smoothed them away, then coaxed forth his tiredness, like draping a blanket over his mind.
‘Wow,’ said Minh, with a chuckle. ‘Out like a light.’
‘We’ve been travelling awhile,’ said Kelly.
‘You guys must have been through a lot.’ Minh brightened. ‘You and I were pretty incredible together just now, weren’t we? Unicorn and Minotaur!’
Kelly couldn’t help but find his smile infectious. ‘Yeah, we really showed those Hornets.’
‘Showed a whole bunch of them. You were amazing – how fast can you run?’
‘I don’t know, I’ve never timed myself.’
‘We should time you, then. Hey, and I threw a tractor at a helicopter!
Threw a tractor at a helicopter.’
Kelly shared his incredulous delight. ‘And then you trampled flat a whole field of wheat!’
Minh’s grin faded. ‘Yeah, that wasn’t so flash. That crop took all year to grow. It’ll be a real hit to Mum and Dad’s margins.’
As his thoughts returned to his parents, it felt like clouds were gathering about him. Kelly decided to distract him.
‘So, we’ve got some time,’ she said, ‘and apparently you and I are meant to save the Kingdom together. Want to tell me your story?’
Minh shrugged. ‘Not much to tell. John and Margaret took me in when I was a toddler, way before I was any help on the farm. I hardly even remember that, of course, and nothing about the orphanage before. Don’t know who my real parents were, but the Armstrongs are my family in all ways that count.’
‘So you lived on the farm ever since?’
‘Yeah, although I want to be a doctor. Or did, until recently. My plan was to go to college in the city. Then this stuff started happening to me. At first I thought I was just strong from all the farm work, but soon I realised none of my friends could dig or plant anywhere near as fast as I could. Then, a few months ago, the real changes began.’
‘How did it happen?’
‘One of my little brothers didn’t come home at dinnertime. I went looking for him, and soon I heard wolves howling. I ran towards them, and found him stuck up a tree with a pack circling. I was so afraid at the thought of losing him, I could feel my heart banging in my chest. Then it happened. I got bigger, and stronger, and these weird lumps I’d had behind my ears – I hadn’t been sure what they were, or told anyone about them – they burst out of my head and – well, you know.’
Kelly nodded. ‘That’s sort of what it was like for me.’
‘It’s hard to remember exactly – my head goes a bit hazy when I change. It’s like I see red everywhere I look.’
‘Well, your eyes do turn red,’ said Kelly.
‘They do?’ Minh was genuinely surprised. ‘I didn’t know that.’ He chuckled. ‘Guess I haven’t looked in the bathroom mirror when I’m, you know, all beefed up.’
‘No pun intended?’ said Kelly.
Minh looked confused, then laughed. ‘That’s terrible!’
‘Hey, it was your joke,’ she said.
‘Unintentional!’
His smile faded again, and he cast another look behind.
‘I owe John and Margaret everything. It kills me to just run away when there are still Hornets around.’
Minh’s mind was no longer boiling and impenetrable to Kelly’s perceptions, but more like a swirl of different emotions. She could sense his doubts fighting against something else – a sense of purpose, maybe? Of knowing things were not right with the world?
Almost reflexively, she pushed his doubts into the background, to ease his internal conflict.
Minh sighed. ‘I guess they’ll be okay. If the Hornets ask, they’ll just say I’m another useless orphan they’re glad to be rid of. And fighting the Collector may be the best way I can help them. Plus, I mightn’t make a very good surgeon anymore. What if something goes wrong, and I grow too big to hold a scalpel?’
‘Maybe one day,’ Kelly said, ‘after we defeat William James, you can reclaim your dream.’
Minh looked at her seriously. ‘You really think so?’
Kelly smiled. ‘I do.’
The water gently rocked the boat, little waves lapping at the sides. Birds twittered in the trees, and for a moment the world seemed peaceful.
Gosh, she’s pretty, thought Minh.
The thought caught Kelly by surprise, and she blushed deeply. Minh caught her reaction, and frowned.
‘What is it?’
Kelly decided that, if they were going to be teammates, she couldn’t really start by hiding important things from him. Especially after he had opened up to her, and even if admitting her power came at a slightly awkward moment.
‘This,’ she tapped her horn, ‘gives me a kind of telepathy.’
‘Really?’ Minh stared at her horn. ‘Whoa.’ He suddenly realised the implications, and it was his turn to blush. ‘Ah … I mean, I didn’t … I wasn’t … um …’
‘It’s okay,’ said Kelly. ‘And anyway, thank you for the compliment. I, er …’ She found herself getting a bit tongue-tied too. ‘Anyway, I’m only just learning to use it. At first I could just hear thoughts, but now I … well, I think I can affect people a bit.’
‘Like how?’ Minh was suddenly wary.
‘Nothing big!’ Kelly said. ‘Just to help them. If they’re angry or upset, or …’
‘Like I was just now?’ said Minh.
Kelly hadn’t meant for him to find out this way.
‘It’s a new thing for me,’ she tried. ‘I’m still learning to control it. Please, I didn’t mean to overstep.’
Minh stared at her hard. She withdrew completely from his head, lest she somehow make things worse. After a moment, he seemed to reach some kind of conclusion.
‘I guess we’re both learning how to deal with what we’re becoming,’ he said. ‘But I need to know you won’t read my thoughts, and whatever else you can do, without my permission. Otherwise, how can I trust you?’
‘Of course,’ said Kelly quickly. ‘That’s fair enough. I’m sorry I didn’t warn you straight up. I’ll do my best to respect your wishes.’
Minh nodded, seemingly satisfied.
They talked for a couple more hours as they drifted along, exchanging stories about their lives. Eventually, when Kelly was laughing at a goofy story about Minh chasing chickens around with a broom, Stanley woke up.
‘Hmm,’ he said, sitting up as he rubbed his face, a pattern of wooden planks imprinted on his cheek. ‘Guess I needed it. How long have I been asleep?’
‘A while,’ said Minh. ‘We’re getting close.’
‘Just in time, then,’ said Stanley. ‘Minh, will you row for a bit? Kelly, now that we’ve found our Minotaur, I think we better try to retrieve the Griffin part of the prophecy.’
‘Oh, is this what you did to find me?’ said Minh, excited. ‘Telepathy tricks! Amazing.’
He took the oars, watching curiously as Kelly took Stanley’s wrist.
As before, she reached into Stanley’s mind, and sought to draw out his memory of the book. It was easier than the first time, because each of them better understood what was happening. Stanley’s eyes went slightly bleary, and then the page formed in the front of his thoughts …
‘I have it!’ he announced.
Kelly considered the words for a moment. ‘Doesn’t seem that useful.’
Stanley frowned, but remained silent.
‘Maybe you guys can think ab
out it on the walk,’ said Minh, as he steered the boat towards the shore. ‘We’re almost at Sector Hub A.’
14
Sector Hub A
Sector Hub A had spread so far from its origin that some stalls rested on trees at the edge of the wood. It was easy enough for Kelly and the others to slip out onto the busy path without anyone raising an eyebrow.
Kelly hadn’t been so close to so many people in one place since learning to control her power. With her bubble drawn tightly around her, she was still aware of a kind of background thrum, but it was not penetrating her mind with a hundred fleeting thoughts.
She looked around in wonder at all the bustling activity. It was such a colourful, vibrant place, it was like it didn’t actually belong in the Kingdom. Clearly the Collector had not yet been able to fence off and ruin every last thing since taking control.
‘Lots of farmers come here to sell direct to city folk,’ said Minh, taking on the role of tour guide, ‘whether they be restaurant owners or just people looking to stock up their pantries.’
‘Heads down, everyone,’ said Stanley. ‘There might not be many Hornets buzzing around, but that doesn’t mean others haven’t seen our faces on the news.’
He nodded at a TV which a greengrocer sat watching at the corner of her stall. Beneath a picture of William James ran a news strap: Collector en route to survey southern borders.
‘At least we know he’s nowhere nearby,’ said Kelly.
There came the smell of things being cooked – stirfries, pancakes, roast vegetables, fish, twenty other dishes besides, intermingling in the air.
‘You hungry?’ said Minh.
‘I thought I was the one who read minds.’
‘I don’t need telepathy to see your mouth watering.’
Kelly touched her lip, embarrassed.