by S. M. Wilson
“Do you think anyone else has finished apart from that one other team?” It was a poor attempt at diversion. But she didn’t care. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
Kronar and Rune were still struggling around the side of the loch with the box. Several groups were sitting on the ground, with their boxes stacked in front of them. Only one other team seemed to have four boxes, all different colours from theirs. Galen’s. Of course.
He looked at Storm and laughed out loud. “Seems you weren’t such an advantage after all,” he shouted over.
“How did they manage that?” She pointed towards the other team. “I didn’t see any other boxes in the cave. Were we the only team that had a box in there?”
Lincoln sat up and frowned. “Yellow, orange, pink and white. We didn’t have any of those colours. Did you see any of those boxes?”
Leif looked puzzled. “We saw those yellow boxes at the beginning. But I don’t remember any of the other colours – then again, I wasn’t looking for them.”
“But surely going into the caves was the hardest task? It doesn’t seem fair if the other teams didn’t have to do that.” Storm was standing now, hands on hips.
Lincoln pushed himself up. “Is there somewhere in the loch that’s equally as hidden? Maybe you don’t know this place as well as you think.”
She shook her head fiercely. How dare he? “Of course I do. There’s no other place that’s as hard to get to.” She was indignant. “Why should any other team get it easy? It’s not fair.”
The alarm sounded. The end of the Trial. People were still in the water, some still trying to get boxes ashore. The Stipulators appeared with a huge pile of cloths and handed them out to all the participants. Lincoln held out his hand to Leif, pulling him up, and they trudged around the edge of the loch.
By the time they reached the starting point most of the participants had returned. People were muttering to each other, all wondering what would happen next.
Storm didn’t have any doubt. Reban Don fixed her with his disapproving gaze, before moving to address the crowd.
“The transporters will transfer you back to Camp where dinner is waiting for you all. Thank you for participating in the Trial. We’ll announce the Finalists later when we’ve had a chance to analyse the results.”
No one had any idea what that meant. Kronar spoke first. “What is there to analyse? You either completed the Trial or you didn’t. I don’t get it.”
“Me neither.” Lincoln looked ready to punch the nearest wall, a mask of fury covering his face. “After all this, he tells us to go back to the Camp and wait?”
Leif shrugged. “I’m quite happy to wait so long as they’re feeding us.”
“Me too,” said Rune. “Let’s go.” As he turned to leave, he gave Storm a considered look and then nodded. “Glad you were on our team today. I think my sisters would like you.”
They hadn’t spoken about their families. “You have sisters?” she asked.
Leif laughed out loud. “Boy, does he.”
Rune smiled. “I have six. I’m the only boy.” He winked. “I think that makes me the favourite.”
“Wow.” Six sisters. She couldn’t even imagine. She didn’t think anyone had a family that large in Ambulus City. Big families were frowned upon.
The three Nordens started to walk towards the nearest transporter. As she watched them go, Storm realized she was starting to warm to them.
The sun was dropping and the wind was picking up. Storm scanned the crowd, trying to see if she could spot Dell. But there were too many people. It was impossible to find him in the crowd.
Lincoln appeared in front of her, blocking her view and handing her two cloths. “One for your hair and one for your body. You’re trembling, Storm. You’re freezing. You should get out of those wet clothes.”
She looked down and folded her arms across her chest. She couldn’t even remember where she’d dumped her tunic top this morning, so she wrapped one cloth around her shoulders and wound the other around her hair. She felt instant relief when her wet hair was covered.
The look behind Lincoln’s eyes was gone. That glance that he’d given her in the lake after she’d saved him. It was the first time she felt as if she’d seen behind his tightly fitting mask. But the moment was lost. And she was secretly relieved.
There was a strange backpack at the bottom of his bed. Lincoln looked around the room. People were still unloading from the transporters after the loch task in various states of exhaustion. Maybe someone had left it there by mistake?
But people just trudged past, no one giving his backpack a second glance. He checked the room out again. There. Another one at the other side of the room. The familiar stocky frame of Galen approached and picked it up. A smirk crossed his face before he tossed it to the floor and stretched out on his low-slung cot.
Now Lincoln was curious. The backpack was heavy. Not nearly as heavy as the boxes at the loch, but a close second. It would be tough work moving anywhere with that on your back. He unfastened the top and looked inside.
Several tunics, underwear and socks. A torch. Kindling. Rope and a harness, along with metal clips for climbing. Balm. A kit with some kind of chemicals. A mat and bedroll. A water canteen.
The hair stood up on the back of his neck and his mouth instantly dried. Did this mean what he thought it meant?
Because this was all the equipment he would need for Piloria.
Well, that wasn’t exactly true. What he’d really need for Piloria would be some kind of enormous weapon or invisible force field that would shield him from man-eating dinosaurs. But since that didn’t seem like a possibility, he guessed this was as good as it got.
He stuffed the backpack under his cot. No one else seemed to have noticed it. Some people had changed out of their wet clothes and gone straight to the servery for food. Others were still washing. He pulled some of his own clothes from his bag and headed for the showers. Ten minutes later he was in the servery.
It was the most crowded he’d ever seen it and he didn’t recognize anyone. He sat at the first free table and started eating quickly, listening to the voices murmuring all around him:
“They’ll announce the Finalists once everyone has eaten.”
“I don’t think any team completed that task today, so how can they decide who the Finalists are?”
“I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to go to Piloria anyway. We’d probably be snapped in half by a T-rex within the first few steps.”
“D’you think we can grab some seconds before they send us home?”
Lincoln was contemplating seconds. He didn’t have any doubt in his head he must have qualified. His only anxiety was about the people he’d be heading to Piloria with.
There was some arguing at the other end of the servery. Tensions were high. Two days of good food and now people were contemplating going back to a life of rationing and cornup. It was funny how food could fray tempers.
Lincoln ducked as a serving tray came flying across the room, closely followed by a body landing on a table nearby. He waited to see if any Stipulators would appear. But it seemed they were all too busy. The two-man fracas started to suck other people in as fists were thrown.
Lincoln stayed calm; he finished his dinner and walked back over to the servery to deposit his tray. Several others were clamouring near the door, but he just folded his arms and stood against the wall waiting for the tensions to settle.
Galen walked past as an alarm sounded and the fighting people sprang apart. “It seems like you and I are going to the same place. Wanna take bets on how long you’ll last?” He’d obviously noticed the backpack on Lincoln’s bunk.
Lincoln ignored him. But despite his outward air of calm, he had to admit to himself that today’s Trial – what had happened – had unnerved him.
The clear water of the loch had felt safe at first, unoppressive. Although he’d been anxious about coming face-to-face with a plesiosaur, it hadn’t struck him as
dangerous. Danger hadn’t even entered his mind.
But the feeling of blind panic had quickly overwhelmed him. And it was something entirely new to him. Lincoln didn’t do panic. He did rational, methodical thinking.
On the few occasions he’d had something to be fearful of, his brain had helped him to find a way out. Not so today.
Today his brain had turned to complete and utter mush. He hadn’t been able to get past the fact he couldn’t breathe. The fact his lungs were beginning to burn. When Storm had headed to the surface he’d thought she was deserting him. Memories of his sister had flashed before his eyes. He’d never see her again – he wouldn’t be able to save her, and the Trials would all have been for nothing.
It hadn’t even occurred to him that Storm was trying to get more oxygen. By the time she’d put her lips to his he’d barely felt conscious.
Stormchaser. She hadn’t said a single word back on the transporter. She hadn’t even looked at him, just closed her eyes and given a few gentle snores.
Whilst he’d felt guilty about injuring Storm’s hand yesterday, he still hadn’t been sure whether to consider her a rival or an ally.
But today had changed everything. Now, they were even. Now, he might even owe her.
He’d helped her complete a Trial.
She’d saved his life.
He was more curious about her than he should be. He’d started to look for her wherever he went. He’d started to notice things that wouldn’t even have occurred to him before – what upset her, why she looked so sad sometimes, and how the independence he’d admired at first was now beginning to look like self-preservation.
Someone nudged him from behind, pushing him in the direction of the door, as everyone headed outside. He followed them out to find Reban Don standing in the middle of the sandy courtyard. He was surrounded by the rest of the Stipulators.
A silence fell over the crowd. There was just the sound of people breathing. Everyone waiting. Everyone watching.
Lincoln still couldn’t see Storm, but he caught sight of three blond heads – Leif, Kronar and Rune.
The edges of Reban Don’s mouth flickered upwards. He liked this, Lincoln could tell. He liked being the focus of everyone’s attention.
“Trialists. I thank you for your participation. Our decision has been made. We’ve scored you on every Trial – the test, the cliff climb, the diving and the teamwork. Remember why you did this and what you hope to achieve. Remember the rewards. Food, health care and better housing.”
“Teamwork was part of the Trial, I didn’t know that,” someone muttered next to Lincoln.
“Our Finalists are…” Reban paused for effect. It worked. You could hear a single grain of sand dropping on the ground.
“Froan Jung, Tena Koll, Lopus Thran.” Lincoln didn’t recognize any of the names, or any of the faces. He watched the named people move over to a giant circle on the ground behind Reban. Very theatrical. But then people would be watching this broadcast in the city auditoriums all over Earthasia.
Another few names were called every ten seconds. He didn’t recognize any in the second batch either. Then one familiar woman, he’d seen her at registration. By the time half the places were filled, Lincoln realized he hardly knew any of them. Knew nothing of their skills, or their potential to be allies.
Galen was next. He was smug, conceited and walked straight into the middle of the circle as the rest of Finalists parted to let him enter. He raised his hands above his head. “Bring it on!” he roared. “No dinosaur can hide from me.”
There was a smattering of applause, followed by a lot of anxious glances. Reban ignored him completely and kept calling out names.
Finally, some people that he knew. Leif, Rune and Kronar. It must be his turn any second now.
But the names kept coming and his wasn’t one of them. He started trying to count the number of people in the circle. Maybe he’d been wrong about the backpack. Maybe it wasn’t his. Maybe it should have gone to someone who’d bunked alongside him.
“Stormchaser Knux.”
His heart pounded in his chest. If Storm and the three Norden guys had made it, he must have qualified.
Reban stopped. He watched as Storm made her way to the edge of the circle. There was no sign of Dell, and Storm didn’t look particularly happy to be there. Maybe she would decide not to go.
But the way Reban watched her made Lincoln uncomfortable. It was too intense. Too direct. He hadn’t looked at any of the others like that.
People started to murmur around him. They thought it was finished. They thought all the Finalists had been called.
Lincoln’s legs started to move, striding forward towards Reban. The chance to save his sister was slipping through his fingers. His indignation was making him bold. His determination was driving him to act in a way he never would before.
He was good enough. He knew he was good enough. He had every right to be there.
He walked through the black-clothed Stipulators until he was right under Reban Don’s nose. He didn’t speak, just folded his arms across his chest and tilted his head in question.
The mumbling had stopped. If the silence had seemed intense as Reban Don announced the list, now it was electrifying.
The temptation to fill the silence was overwhelming. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Storm with her hand over her mouth, watching with her violet eyes wide.
Patience had never been Lincoln’s strong suit – particularly when it came to his sister.
But right now it was vital. So, he stood. And stared.
Reban’s lip curled upward into a sneer. His dark gaze unwavering.
“The last Finalist is Lincoln Kreft.” And with a sweep of his black cape, he was gone.
The first thing she felt was pride followed by a surge of disappointment. Dell’s name hadn’t been called. She rushed back into the dorm room. He was stuffing things in his bag.
“The transporter is pulling up. Everyone get ready,” shouted one of the Stipulators.
“Dell. Dell, I’m sorry. I’m sorry you weren’t chosen.”
He looked up. She couldn’t read the expression on his face. “I’m not.”
“But I thought—”
“You thought what? That I would want to go to Piloria because you did? That I would want to be trapped on a continent full of dinosaurs? Are you mad? I knew I wouldn’t qualify, Storm, because I didn’t go in the loch. My feet didn’t even get wet. Did you even think I would?” He reached over and grabbed her by the tops of her arms. “We came here for the food, Storm. The food. Nothing else. I’ve had a few days of eating well and now I’m done. Just like you should be too.”
He was tugging at her emotions, tugging at their connection. “But think of what we could learn… We could see a place that only a few hundred people have been to.”
He shook his head and gave her a look that chilled her to the bone. “Look at you…the wonder in your eyes. You must be mad. I think you’ve lost your mind.” He waved his arm. “Why would anyone do this? Have you taken a good look at some of your travelling companions? What about Galen? I don’t want to share air with that guy, let alone go on a journey to the dinosaur continent with him. He’ll throw you to a T-rex in a heartbeat. He’s lethal. Why would you want it, Storm? What possible reason do you have to go?”
It was a good question. And it was one she couldn’t fully answer even in her own head. But curiosity had got the better of her. She wanted to see the dinosaur continent. She wanted to know what it looked like, what it smelled like, what it felt like. She wanted to visit a place where you weren’t surrounded by tall grey blocks everywhere you looked. She’d dreamed of casting her gaze over a land that was green instead of grey.
A land where she might actually experience moments of silence. Living in an overpopulated city meant that she was constantly surrounded by people and noise. Half your life could be spent in a queue for rations. The only quiet she found around here was at the loch – and Piloria cou
ld have a whole continent’s worth of lochs.
She knew there were killer dinosaurs. But she couldn’t believe every single species of dinosaur was a danger. This was a chance to find out more. Maybe even a chance to connect with other dinosaurs, like she had with Milo.
The only thing she definitely wasn’t sure about was retrieving the dinosaur eggs.
Part of her wanted to do it; part of her felt, if she could retrieve the eggs from the killer dinosaurs, it could help to protect the gentler creatures, like Milo. But could she really believe the Stipulators’ plans?
Dell was waiting. He was glaring at her accusingly – like he thought she was betraying him.
She couldn’t stop her voice from shaking. “I don’t know. I don’t know why I want to go. I just do. I want to see it. I want to see if what they tell us about the dinosaurs is true.”
“And if it isn’t – do you think they’ll actually let you come back and tell anyone?”
His words stung. She hadn’t even considered that. It hadn’t even entered her mind that they might not be allowed to talk about what they found.
He touched her arm. “Come home, Storm. Stop this. Stop this now.” He picked his backpack up and slung it over his shoulder.
Home. She hadn’t had a home since her mother’s death. The Shelter wasn’t a home. Dell had his father – someone who would miss him if he were gone.
Who would miss her?
Her room in the Shelter would just be assigned to the next orphaned teen.
She pulled her arm gently away from Dell’s.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I have to go. I just have to.”
She reached up and touched his cheek. It was the first time she’d ever done that. But he was her only family. What if this was the last time she saw him?
He met her gaze, only for a second, before he shook his head and started to walk away. “Be careful, Storm,” he said over his shoulder. “I don’t trust that guy.”