by S. M. Wilson
“Why did you come?”
“I don’t know.” She sat up and ran her fingers through her tangled hair.
His earlier conversation with the Norden boys was playing on his mind. “There’s really no family back home – or anywhere else for that matter?”
She sighed. “I told you before, Dell’s my only family now – at least, he was.” Her words tailed off a little. “And I hope he still will be.”
His skin prickled. The thought of being without family was unthinkable to Lincoln. His family were his world. The most important people in his universe. His anchor point in life.
Storm’s voice was sad. Alone.
“What about your mum and dad?”
“My mum died a few years ago. My dad, who knows? I never met him, it was just me and her. She wouldn’t talk about him.”
Reban Don’s face and violet eyes were circling around in his mind. Had she noticed his eyes? Had she noticed the way that he watched her?
“Where do you live?” She could only be fifteen.
“I stay in one of the Shelters.”
He sat up. “You do?” He knew the Shelters existed. He’d just never met anyone who actually lived there. They were soulless places. Tiny single rooms, with barely enough room for a bed and cupboard. For teenagers with no place else to go. For teenagers with no one left to take care of them.
He couldn’t imagine it. His underground home was damp and dark. But the love and warmth from his mother and sister eclipsed that. Where they stayed didn’t actually matter, he’d learned that early on.
But Storm had none of that. No one to worry whether she came home or not. No one to talk things through with. No one to ask if she’d had a good day – or had enough to eat. No one to question her odd relationship with the plesiosaur.
No one to ask about the scars on her back.
The first thing that struck her was the smell. As soon as the small boat neared the coastline there was a huge assault on her senses. It was rich, evergreen and alive with the noise of insects. And yellow sand like she’d never seen before stretching on for thousands of sectars.
The sand on Earthasia was grey, the same colour as the stones. There were small patches of grass around the loch, but nothing more.
She’d never seen a forest like this before – never expected it to be only a few steps from the beach. The remnants of forest back on Earthasia were scant and scarce. The huge array of colours here seemed to pull her in. She’d never seen greens like it. From the dark green of the moss, to the intense green of the forest trees. Bright green reeds lined the wet ground near the entrance of the forest. And every so often there was a bright blast of red or orange flowers that stood out from their dark green surroundings.
It felt exciting. It felt alive.
Something swept around her, like a warm, soothing blanket enveloping her skin. Earthasia was never this warm. And even though her home was packed with people, it never felt this alive. When she’d imagined Piloria in her head it had never looked like this. She’d imagined one shade of green covering everything. She hadn’t even contemplated the random bursts of colour. But then she’d never even known that places could look like this. It was so different from Earthasia.
But despite her excitement, she was nervous too. She ached for Dell, even though she knew he’d never have come. She didn’t want to explore Piloria with virtual strangers. She couldn’t trust any of them. They made her feel on edge – even Lincoln. Dell would have made this place feel different. She would have known someone was watching her back.
Storm stood on the sand and fingered the metal-and-glass compass in her hand. They’d all been given one, and right now it was the most precious thing she’d ever owned. There was a real beauty to it. The weight in her hand felt solid, tangible. The only part of the trip so far that did.
The small boats were unloading all around her. There was a Stipulator on each boat, still giving instructions. None of them put a foot on the ground. Several kept looking anxiously to their ship anchored further out, obviously worried about crossing that little part of ocean again after the megalodon attack. They kept glancing towards the rustling leaves of the forest too as if, at any moment, a whole army of dinosaurs could come crashing through.
The Stipulator from Storm’s boat started shouting instructions. “Use your maps, follow the directions you have been given.” He was busy supervising the unloading of a large wooden crate.
“What do you think that’s for?” Storm said out loud.
The woman next to her shrugged. “Who cares?” She wandered off along the beach unfolding her map as she went.
Storm frowned and stared at the crate. What on earth could be in there? She paused for a second, waiting to see if any of the Stipulators would open it and reveal its contents. But they were all too preoccupied keeping their eyes towards the treeline. Perhaps whatever was in the crate was for when they returned to the beach – if they returned to the beach.
She pushed that from her mind and started tilting the compass in her hand, still fascinated that the needle stayed true to one direction. The map was covered in a thin film to protect it from the elements. The information it gave was limited. The forest, a mountain range, a loch that looked much bigger than her own back home, a desert wasteland. Who had charted Piloria? She knew that for the last nine years Finalists had been sent here to look for food. But who had taken the first steps and mapped it out before anyone else came? Had they been amazed by what they had seen – or just plain terrified? As far as she knew, the expeditions for food had only skirted around the edges of Piloria. The few Finalists who’d returned to Earthasia had mentioned the terrifying dinosaurs, but further information had been scant.
The Stipulator wasn’t finished. “Beyond the forest you will find a cache of weapons and some transport vehicles. They should still function.”
How reassuring.
“From this point onwards you’re on your own. Remember, the eggs are your priority. You may have to function in a team in order to retrieve them and any eggs obtained must be kept safe at all costs. Everyone must be back here in seven days. The Invincible will leave at midday. If you haven’t returned, we will assume you are dead.” He paused to let this sink in. “The Finalists who return with the most eggs will win the greatest rewards on Earthasia: new housing, unlimited food supplies and medical care for themselves and their family. Any other surviving Finalists will be entitled to extra food rations for a limited time. May the best candidate win.”
The words were brutal. Storm had been filled with doubts since she’d set foot on the ship. Words like those made her want to dive into the ocean and swim straight back to Earthasia. But the ocean wasn’t her safe loch. She’d seen proof of that.
A few people started to run straight towards the forest. Stormchaser’s feet were sinking into the cool sand. Maybe she could stay here – live on the beach for the next seven days then go home again. It might be safer than stealing eggs that she’d much rather leave in their nests. But the ocean was starting to lap at her heels. While her loch was safe, who knew what kind of creature could crawl out of the ocean and snap her in half?
At least on land there was a chance of somewhere to hide – in the ocean, there was nowhere.
A shadow fell across her. The outline was unmistakeable. “Ready?”
There was no fear in his voice or on his face. Lincoln had no doubts whatsoever.
She stared down at the map that showed the three known nesting areas. She’d marked what she thought would be the optimum route on the ship. Did she want to share that?
Lincoln held his map next to hers. It wavered in the breeze but not before she could see an almost identical route in grey graphite. “Looks like we’re going the same way. Makes sense to stick together.”
She frowned. How had he managed that? He hadn’t seemed to know much about maps when she’d quizzed him on the Trials.
She shook off the thought.
For now, teaming up seemed the
logical decision.
The independent streak in her wanted to say no. But she didn’t really want to face a T-rex on her own. “Let’s take it one day at a time.” It seemed the safest thing to say.
Lincoln looked amused. He gestured towards the forest. The crowd of Finalists were slowly disappearing amongst the thick leaves. “After you.”
She inhaled deeply, letting the smells and essence of this new land permeate her body. It was the strangest sensation. It felt so right, so in tune with every part of her. She’d never even imagined anything like this place; by rights she should have been feeling unsettled as soon as she set foot on Pilorian soil. But the truth was she was too curious to stay still.
She picked up her backpack, swinging its awkward weight up onto her shoulders and striding towards the forest. “What are you waiting for?” she shouted over her shoulder as the green enveloped her into another world.
Lincoln was trying not to notice things. He was trying to ignore the beauty of the land around him. He was trying to ignore the constant buzz and hum of insect life. Earthasia wasn’t like this. All that could be heard in Earthasia was the sound of machinery churning out power, churning out food. Building, drilling or digging.
Piloria was a completely different land.
The land of the dinosaurs.
He needed to remember that. He batted away the large green leaves that kept slapping against his cheeks. Even the ground felt different. He could have lingered by the beach all day, digging his toes into its soft yellow sand. But the forest soil beneath his feet squelched as he stepped on it. It unnerved him. The earth almost felt alive.
In the heat, sweat was already running down his back. They’d been allowed to pick from a variety of clothes. His socks and gloves with the resin soles and patches were tucked into a pocket at the side of his backpack. He’d no intention of climbing a cliff without them. He’d also been given thick boots and an array of black, blue and green tops. Could dinosaurs even see colour? He hoped not.
He watched Storm thrashing through the forest in front of him. She walked with confidence even though he’d seen a tremor in her hands. This place was new to them all.
Some had already charged ahead and around him he could hear the constant murmuring of voices. Everyone was nervous. No one had any real idea of what lay ahead.
The forest went on and on. There were insects everywhere and eventually he pulled one of the thick green leaves from a plant on the ground to try and bat them away from his face. It felt as if the million little flapping wings were inside his chest as well as outside. Nerves had never been a problem for Lincoln before – not even when he was scaling the cliff – but this was an entirely different situation.
The trees started to thin, and eventually they came to a clearing covered with dark green grass.
He squinted in the bright sunlight, his eyes trying to adjust to the surroundings. People were breathing heavily, though the air seemed thicker, purer than back home. Surely that should make things easier?
The view was astonishing. It was the kind of picture a kid might draw in school. A broad open space, the grass stretching far into the distance; beyond that the largest loch he’d ever seen and a range of mountains in the background with a strip of red earth in front of them.
There were no buildings here, not a single one, and the landscape was truly astonishing. All that was missing was the outline of a few elusive dinosaurs. There were black spots on the horizon, but they were too far away to be distinguishable.
Directly ahead of them stood a variety of rust buckets – maybe a lifetime ago they’d been transport vehicles – but a few had chunks missing from them and one was missing its whole rear end. He tried not to picture a T-rex chewing the metal. The reality was stark enough without his imagination running riot.
Galen was already sitting in the seat of one vehicle, pulling at pedals and levers. There were no instructions. The Stipulators had only mentioned that the vehicles existed. It was obvious no one had any idea how they worked.
One sprung to life behind Lincoln with a splutter and a cloud of acrid black smoke. His lungs quickly filled with dust and he stumbled away choking. Another flared into action, with Galen smiling broadly in the driving seat. It was the first time Lincoln had even seen anything resembling happiness on his face. The engine didn’t sound good – it was loud and clunky. But the wheels started to turn as the sun glinted off the metallic panels on its roof. Like most things on Earthasia, the Pilorian transporters seemed to be solar powered.
Galen gestured towards another Finalist to climb on board, and the transporter started bumping over the uneven ground. Lincoln watched in fascination. He’d never seen a transporter as small as this. It looked as if it could only hold around six people. A few other people scrambled to get on board but Galen had obviously decided that two people were more than enough and he kicked and punched them clear of the vehicle. Within a few seconds it was churning up mud and leaving an ugly trail over the bright green grass.
People started climbing into the other vehicles. Lincoln jogged over to the nearest and dumped his backpack on the front seat, Storm following. If they waited any longer the only vehicle left would be the one with the missing rear end.
There was a ruckus over by the weapons’ locker. Lincoln hesitated. He should get something – anything – to protect them against the dinosaurs. But he had no clue at all what to look for. Rune’s white-blond hair stood out in the crowd; he shouldered his way through and reappeared with a triumphant smile on his face and some kind of shell gun in his hand.
A shell gun. Lincoln wouldn’t even know where to begin with one of those. But Rune’s success made him decide to join the clamour. Turning to Storm, he hissed, “Guard the transporter,” then he took off before she could respond. He elbowed his way through, away from the guns but towards the spears and broad axes. He grabbed one of each, keeping them low, and shouldered his way back out.
He’d never had cause to use a weapon before. He’d never even seen anyone else use a weapon before. Everything about this made him uncomfortable. In any case, what good would a spear or an axe be against a T-rex? It was laughable really.
He walked back over to the transporter and shoved the weapons in the back. Storm was leaning against a rock nearby, studying the map. Rune appeared around the other side of the vehicle and dumped his backpack next to the weapons. “I guess I’ll be coming with you, seeing as you’ve found yourself some wheels.”
Lincoln felt himself bristle, but he knew it made sense to have allies on Piloria. There weren’t enough vehicles to go around, so surely it was better to team up with fellow Finalists he already knew?
“What about the girl wonder? Is she joining us?” Kronar called as he walked towards them with Leif. Of course. It made sense Rune’s two companions would appear. Leif said nothing, just gave a knowing smile as he climbed inside. “Who wants to drive?”
There was a strange bench seat that could easily fit three people. The three Nordens made themselves at home in the back while Lincoln went over to Stormchaser.
She was still studying her map and the markings that indicated the three nests of the T-rex, velociraptor and pterosaur. Her eyes flickered between the mountains, the loch and the great expanse of land, as if she were trying to visualize the sites.
“Are you ready? We should get started.”
She held up the map. “How do they know? I mean, how do they know where the nests are?”
He smiled. She was smarter than she made out. Most people who worked a manual job did so because they hadn’t done well at school. He suspected Stormchaser worked a manual job because she chose to.
He wasn’t sure why but – out of all of these people – she was the only one he kind of trusted.
The three Nordens seemed fine. But it was clear they’d known each other all their lives and so their first loyalties would be to each other. No one had Lincoln’s back, and no one had Storm’s.
He shook his head and held hi
s hands out. “You’re right, I don’t know how on earth they could be sure where the three nesting sites are. The last few expeditions were all about finding alternative food sources. You’d think those guys would have avoided the dinosaurs at all costs.” He wrinkled his nose. “In fact, if I’d been them, I’d probably have dug up everything in the forest. It seemed safer there. Why come out here at all?”
“Why indeed?” She let the words hang in the air between them.
“You think there’s something about this place they’re not telling us?”
She raised her eyebrows. “You mean besides the fact we’re stealing from the most dangerous dinosaurs on the planet and probably won’t get out alive?”
Storm picked up her backpack and walked over to the transporter, climbing into the front passenger seat.
“I guess I’m driving then,” murmured Lincoln as he followed her. The sweat was already beading on his forehead.
First day on Piloria. He couldn’t help but wonder if they’d see a second.
After a few false starts the transporter finally began to move. They’d been lucky. A fight had broken out over another transporter just a little way from them. Fists were flying as they headed out of the clearing in theirs.
The vehicle was much faster than they’d expected and it took a few terrifying minutes for Storm’s heart to stop thudding in her chest as they bumped and jumped over the uneven ground.
“Where are you headed?” Leif shouted to Lincoln. “Shouldn’t you be going that way?” He pointed to the plumes of mud and sand. The other transporters were headed around the side of the loch.
Storm pushed her map into his hands. “Look at the marks. If we go round the loch it will take us two days. If we go across the loch it should take us less than one.”
Kronar drew in a sharp breath. “You’re joking, right?”
She shook her head. “According to this map, the loch is enormous. But it’s much wider than it is long. We can go straight across the middle.” She lifted her eyes to the horizon. “We can reach the velociraptor nest a whole day before everyone else. We don’t even know how far these transporters can take us. What if the terrain gets too rough for them?”