“June, do you see what I see?” I ask, certain she will ask me what the heck I’m talking about.
But she doesn’t.
Instead, she says, “I see it. I see him.”
There, standing no more than twenty feet from us and standing still staring in shock, is a young teenage boy.
Chapter 10
Dumbfounded and with my mouth agape, I’m only vaguely aware of how ridiculous I must look as I stand, staring at the human boy before me. Taller than June and I, his turquoise gaze toggles between us, the color exceptionally bright against his bronze skin. He looks perplexed. Almost as perplexed as we are to find him in the middle of the Great Forest.
Mind spinning, the sight of him refuses to process in my brain. How can he be here, in the Great Forest, standing and watching us? It doesn’t make sense. What makes even less sense is his appearance. Clad in clothing that appears relatively clean and with light-brown hair shorn short, he doesn’t resemble a person who lives in the forest. He certainly doesn’t resemble Ed, Earl or Tom. He’s a handsome boy who couldn’t be more that fifteen or sixteen. And he’s watching us with equal parts wariness and wonder with a sword clutched between both hands. Studying us and waiting for one of us to speak I presume.
The air of expectance is thick. I know I need to say something, but words that make any sense whatsoever elude me. I’m sweating, bleeding from innumerable cuts on my skin from thorny growth, and exhausted in a way that any adjective I could conjure up would fail to describe, yet I’m cognizant of the need to say something. Anything.
“Hello,” I say and realize how awkward the single word sounds coming from my mouth.
The boy tips his head to one side and one brow quirks, a small smirk threatening to play upon his lips. “Hello.” He releases his two-handed grip on his blade, shifting it to his right hand so that with his left hand he’s able to wave back at me. His voice is deep, deeper than I’d have expected. Rich and friendly. Still, the interaction is absurd. All around us, below us and overhead, are slumbering predators who’d like nothing more than for the sun to set so they can feast on our flesh. Beyond the walls of this inhospitable forest, the conditions aren’t much better. Though the Urthmen do not prefer to dine on us, they do seek to kill us no matter the time or angle of the sun.
After a long pause, the boy asks, “Who are you?” His words are not a demand but an innocent-sounding question.
“I’m Avery, and this is my sister June,” I reply.
June waves and I could swear I see a faint blush tint the boy’s cheeks.
He advances a step, sheathing his blade and extending his hand. “My name is Lucas.” I accept his gesture and place my hand in his. He shakes it and looks directly into my eyes. He does the same with June, his complexion deepening unmistakably this time with bands of pink streaking it.
He retreats a step again, his gaze not leaving June. I replace my sword to the sheath at my back then I blurt the one question that’s at the forefront of my thoughts. “What’re you doing out here in the middle of the forest?”
June’s head whips in my direction and Lucas’s head swivels, his attention shifting to me. Again, his head tilts to one side and his expression is both puzzled and mildly amused. “I could ask the same of you,” he says with a smile. His tone is charming and disarming and not sarcastic in the least.
Nervous laughter slips from me. The situation is surreal. Adding it to the fact that I’m sleep-deprived only serves to intensify it. “We’re cutting through the forest to get to the Urthmen city of Elian,” I answer honestly.
Lucas’s easy smile capsizes. A small frown forms on his full lips. Shock etches his features. “Why would you be traveling to an Urthmen city?” he asks. “They’ll kill you on sight.”
Of course he’s right, though I wouldn’t have believed it if he’d said that to me a little more than forty-eight hours ago. Just a little over two days ago, I bought into the illusion that peace and harmony existed between Urthmen and humans, that heritable enemies had simply flipped a switch and changed their views because of an accord. Words scrawled and signed on a flattened sheet of bark and a handshake between opposing leaders. It seems so farfetched now that even I, a person who witnessed a decade of alleged peace, question its veracity.
“I know,” I admit. “But my family may be there. Alive.”
Lucas looks at me incredulously. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.” He shakes his head slightly. “They invaded your village and captured your family?” His gaze sweeps the space of forest around us, as if expecting an Urthman raid. “Was it nearby? Do I need to warn my family?” His demeanor has switched from easy-going to worried.
“No. We lived in the human city Cassowary,” I reply. “It’s hours from here.”
“A human city in the forest? Which forest is hours from here?” His brow is low as his questions move without interruption from his brain to his mouth.
“Cassowary isn’t deep in any forest,” June replies. Lucas’s focus turns to her and his cheeks turn ruddy. “It borders the roadway just beyond a stretch of land we cleared so we could drive to other cities in the area.”
“Wait, what? Cities? Roads? Driving? ” Lucas shakes his head as if trying to clear it of the tremendous amount of confusion cluttering it. “You live out of the forest among Urthmen? And have vehicles? How do you survive? It sounds...impossible.”
“You live in this forest?” June asks.
Lucas freezes then nods. “Yes,” he answers.
“Surviving here sounds impossible to me,” she says in a voice that’s soft and doesn’t seek confrontation. “It’s very dangerous in this forest. We were told no one’s ever entered and lived to tell about it.”
Lucas’s cheeks brighten so that he looks sunburnt. He is so still I worry he isn’t breathing. His eyes are pinned to June, his expression bewildered. “I-I live in a village. In this forest.” He trips over his words before regaining some composure. “There are a hundred thirty six of us who live here.”
June and I trade glances. “Wow,” June says.
“That’s incredible. But you should be a little more careful of who you tell about your village,” I warn him. “For all you know we could be dangerous.” I’ve met my fair share of dangerous individuals. Evil doesn’t have boundaries. It’s not limited to Urthmen or nighttime predators. Humans can be just as evil. In some cases, they can be even more so.
“But you’re human,” Lucas says as if being human somehow unites our species and insulates us against violence within it. It should. Every human being should possess the capacity for empathy, sympathy and understanding. It should be woven into the very fabric of our person. Unfortunately, time and experience has shown me that such is not the case. At times I have seen a side of my kind that I do not like.
“Not all humans are harmless,” June says. I can practically see the images of Ed, Tom and Earl floating in her mind’s eye. They come to my mind immediately.
“What?” Lucas asks. His innocence is both refreshing and alarmingly naïve. “Why would humans be a threat? It’s us versus the Urthmen.”
June slides a glance my way. Her expression is unreadable. But I see a question glittering in the depths of her eyes. “How long have you lived in this forest?” she asks Lucas. Her tone is sweet and not condescending in the least.
“My whole life.” He bobs his shoulders. “I was born out here and have lived here since.”
“So you have no idea what has happened in the world outside of this forest?” I ask. My throat is tight and my voice contrite.
Lucas shifts his weight from one leg to the other. He stares at the ground for a long moment, almost embarrassed. “As far as I've ever been told, the world beyond the forest isn’t for humans, only the Urthmen. It isn’t safe for us.” He looks up, his pellucid aquamarine gaze meeting mine.
I want to tell him about the peace. To share with him that for the last ten years he could have lived beyond the confines of the forest and seen cities and
experienced conveniences unlike any he could imagine. But as it turns out, he’s better off here. Better off not having lived out in the world beyond the forest. For if he had, he, too, would be dead.
“You’re right. It isn’t safe for us out there.” I gesture behind me vaguely. “There is no longer a place for humans, but there was. There was.” My voice is rueful and filled with unfathomable pain. “The human army has been defeated. Cities burned to the ground. Innocent people slaughtered.” A shiver travels the length of my spine. “It’s been suggested that my family lives. My husband and twin seven-year-old sons. If they’re alive, they’re in Elian.”
Lucas is silent for a long moment. His hands are planted on his hips and his unfocused gaze is trained on the ground near my feet. When he speaks, he says, “You believe they spared your family?” Now it is he who sounds apologetic.
“Yes,” I reply. Hope is all I cling to.
“Why?” he asks, his voice a hoarse whisper. “Why would they let your family live when everyone else was killed?” His question is devoid of malice, innocent to the point of inducing tears.
His eyes link with mine and I say, “Because I am the leader of the humans. I led the human rebellion and formed the human cities. My signature is on the Peace Treaty.”
Lucas’s eye widen and his face smooths.
“My family wasn’t spared in a merciful sense. If they live, it’s as bargaining chips. Bait to bring me to the capital and kill me, too. I’m the one human they want dead more than any other.”
My words ring hollowly through the woodland, their haunting echo stills the scrabbling of creatures and singing of birds. It chills the sweat-slickened skin of my body.
“I see,” Lucas says without breaking eye contact. “How can I help you?”
“We have a map,” June offers. “Our friend drew it for us.” She leaves out the part that Peter, the friend in question, used to work for the Urthmen, scouting and mapping forests where human camps could be found and attacked.
I pull the map from where it’s rolled and tucked safely in my pocket. The basket has been abandoned. The food has been eaten. All that remains is the map. I hand it to Lucas. He accepts it and studies it for a moment.
“This map is rough but from what I can tell, getting out of here and to the city will take a couple of days.” He looks up at us. “This forest is not easy. Especially at night. I don't know how you made it this far.” He shrugs. “I’ve lived all of my fifteen years here and have never seen anyone other than the people from my village. It’ll be hard for you to get to the outskirts and close to the Urthmen city.” He tunnels his fingers through the front of his fawn-hued hair.
“We didn’t have a choice,” June says. “We had to survive. Her children and husband need us.”
The raw emotion with which June speaks clamps my throat shut. If I could speak, I don’t trust that my voice would hold. I’m grateful that June continues.
“We started out with motorcycles. They helped us cover a lot of ground pretty quickly and get across the river. We only had to spend one night so far,” she says.
Lucas, who’d been beaming at June, rapt, furrows his brow. “What’s a motorcycle?” he asks.
June pauses for a moment, looking at him and expecting him to laugh perhaps. When he doesn’t, she says, “It’s a two-wheeled vehicle that’s powered by a motor and uses gasoline to fuel it. There aren’t any pedals and the rider sits on it with one leg on either side and steers it as it moves.” Her explanation is thorough but simple.
Lucas’s brow dips lower. He shakes his head. “Come on. Nice try. I’m fifteen, not five. There’s no such thing as what you described.” He chuckles. “But you almost had me there.” He playfully wags a finger at June, he cheeks streaked with scarlet.
“I assure you there is.” June ensnares him with her unflinching gaze. Her tone is level when she says, “We can backtrack and show them to you if you need proof.”
Lucas’s mouth is partially open. His eyes are wide when he finally speaks, “I believe you. It’s hard to wrap my mind around it, but I believe you. He shakes his head and is quiet for several moments. Then he asks, “Once the motorcycles were gone, what did you do? And how did you make it through the night?” He looks from June to me.
“We walked,” June answers. “And as for how we survived...” She turns her head and looks at me.
“A tree,” I say and draw a curious look from him.
“A tree?” he asks. “What does that mean?”
“We climbed to the top of the tallest tree we could find and tucked ourselves as close to the center as possible and waited.”
“Wow,” Lucas says. “That’s really brave.”
“I don’t know how brave it was. Maybe it was insane.” I shrug. We’ve survived twice before hiding out in a tree. I still don’t know whether we managed to get lucky or whether it was a clever idea. Either way, I’m happy to have survived each night. “What would’ve been the alternative?” I ask. I look at him as the haunting howls of the Lurkers echo through my memory.
“The alternative would’ve been staying on the ground and being eaten by the night creatures as soon as night fell,” he replies with a shiver.
“Lurkers would have been eaten us for sure,” I agree. “And considering they climb, we’re lucky they didn’t scale the tree and devour us there.”
“Lurkers?” Lucas scrunches his features in curiosity.
“Yes, Lurkers. The deadly beasts that live underground. That’s what we call them,” June says.
“Lurkers.” Lucas says the word as if trying it out. “I like that,” he concludes. “How about Night Lurkers, since they only come out at night?”
“Sure. Why not,” I say. The name of the beast matters little. It doesn’t change the fact that they’re murderous, bloodthirsty creatures with an insatiable appetite. “Night Lurkers it is.”
June nods in agreement. We scan the surrounding woods silently. Beneath us are countless burrows. Sleeping fiends.
“I think you two should come back to my village with me and meet the people there,” Lucas says. “You’ll be safe from Night Lurkers.”
“We need to find my family. We don’t have time,” I reply.
“I know,” Lucas says softly. “But the only way either of you stand a chance out there is if you have all your senses about you. Being exhausted dulls all of your senses.” He allows his words to linger for several beats. He’s right, of course. Reaction time is slowed from exhaustion. Strength sapped. Thoughts muddled. Instinct blunted. The thought of lying down and closing my eyes without fear of dying is tempting. If my family were there it would be a dream come true. “When was the last time you slept?” Lucas asks.
“Two days ago,” I answer honestly. My muscles feel every minute of sleep missed.
“That’s a long time.” Lucas looks from June’s face to mine. “You won’t make it much farther without resting up first.”
He is right. We can’t. We can’t scale a tree and spend another sleepless night perched high above packs of Night Lurkers. I do not trust my trembling, sleep-deprived limbs to cling to a trembling, wind-swayed limb and keep me from plummeting to my dead. I feel as if I can’t walk until the sun lowers enough to even find a tree to scale. I can barely think straight. My eyes burn. My head aches.
I turn my head and link gazes with June. Dark circles ring her eyes. “Avery, he’s right. We need to rest. We need to be at our best if we are going to have a chance of getting out of here and finding John, William and Sully.”
I nod in agreement.
“Okay,” June says. I hear the relief in her voice.
Lucas claps his hands together, drawing our attention as well as sending several nearby creatures scattering. “Great. I can’t wait for you to see my village and meet my family. No one ever makes it through here so we’ve never had visitors,” he says and turns to walk. Catching himself, he faces us once again, his expression riddled with remorse. “Sorry for that comment.”
> “Don’t be. It’s the truth, right?” June says.
“It is,” Lucas says sheepishly.
We begin walking. I watch as Lucas expertly navigates a labyrinth of growth and knobby roots underfoot.
“What were you doing out here when you found us?” I ask.
“Hunting,” he replies. “My brothers and sister and our cousins hunt daily. It’s one of our jobs in the village.”
“I see,” I say. Our village functioned much in the same way. Everyone had a function. It varied, but typically people remained with what they excelled at. Those with a penchant for hunting remained hunters. Those who fancied cooking, cooked. And such was the way of things. They functioned rather fluidly.
Recalling the smooth flow of our cities, I’m struck with a pang in my chest so pronounced I nearly double over. Ignoring the pain that’s not limited to the ache in my chest but bores deeper, I follow Lucas for what doesn’t feel like more than a half hour with June by my side.
Our pace slows when a wall comes into view. June clears her throat, trying to catch my attention and direct it toward the wall, as if I’d be able to miss it. I don’t look at her. My gaze is fixed, searching the span of the structure. Thirty feet tall and roughly eight feet thick, the construct rises from the earth and looks to be composed entirely of stones with mud smeared into the stacked rocks to lend stability and a weather-tight seal. From what I can tell, it encircles the entire village and acts as a protective barrier between them and whatever roams the forest once the sun sets. Namely Lurkers. The wall, plus the two men perched atop and spaced at regular intervals, look as if they handle the task of securing the inhabitants of the village. A few guards posted on the top of the wall glimpse us. After a double-take, they crane their necks and gawk, looking as if they’ll fall off of it from the sheer shock of our presence.
“Who are they?” One of the men calls to Lucas.
“These are my friends Avery and June!” He shouts in reply.
The man who questioned Lucas trades glances with the man beside him.
Extinction: Planet Urth, #6 Page 11