by Jason Letts
It would be enough cover to allow him to safely ride along to wherever this hulking piece of metal was going. Taylor had a hunch he knew who they’d end up running into.
CHAPTER 11
Leading a couple dozen of the ClawLands remaining able-bodied citizens north to the capital through rolling hills and fallow farmland, Sierra succumbed to the pressure of initiating such a foolish mission. Each person from her homeland was the last-remaining member of a once-proud family, and losing any of them would be a catastrophic blow to any resurgence.
Dark thoughts chased her into the woodland as they approached their destination, but there was no telling what they’d find or if their meager plan would have any impact at all.
“Do you think we brought enough?” Sierra asked Tommack for the tenth time. He’d been remarkably silent the entire journey, somber even. Sierra’s question seemed to bring him back from somewhere far away.
“Nobody could possibly carry any more,” he said. Tommack adjusted the end of the sack over his shoulder to see the red marks where the strap dug into him. They were all carrying sacks containing balls full of the ClawLands homegrown gas, which was highly explosive and extremely easy to catch on fire. Carrying them hundreds of miles added to the sense of unease.
Razi and Maglum were in charge of pulling a cart of equally precious supplies. Food, blankets, and some combat weapons all had an important role to play in the operation. Thankfully, the two Madorans were indefatigable and managed to constantly amuse each other. Sierra was glad they were enjoying their tour of war-torn Cumeria, but even Tommack seemed distant in light of the impending perils.
Mostly Sierra just had an aching void in her gut that only Nemi could fill. He’d always known when she needed him before, but after sending him and the other dragons away she knew she’d have to handle this one alone.
The sound of thumping broke her train of thought and alerted her to a problem with the cart, which was stuck in a muddy divot next to a long root. Razi and Maglum had managed to get it over or around everything for cycle after cycle, but even some intense heaving couldn’t make the cart budge.
“Come on, let’s give them a hand,” Sierra said to a few people nearby. They tried to rock the cart over the root, but when that didn’t work they decided lifting it and moving it would be easier.
“On the count of three. One…two…wait!”
A sudden humming sound in the distance caught Sierra’s ear, followed by voices that seemed disturbingly close.
“What?” somebody said much too loudly.
“Hide behind the trees. Stay low,” Sierra whispered. The group left the cart where it was and took up position among the nearby foliage. Those who hadn’t heard the first signs quickly became aware of the position they were in when they spotted movement a short distance away in the woods. The trees didn’t have much in the way of leaves on them, but they were numerous enough to provide decent cover.
Tommack hunkered down beside Sierra and glanced around the opposite side of the tree. There were a few people tramping through the woods in a small clearing easily close enough to see the cart or anyone who happened to be standing in the open.
“Look farther back there,” Tommack said in hushed tones. Sierra peered deeper into the forest and saw faint impressions of a great mass of people heading north. “What do you think it is?”
“Somebody going our way,” Sierra surmised. The small group in the clearing had on little more than frayed pants made of rough fabric. Wielding knives and swords, they approached a thick bush not a stone’s throw from the cart. Sierra couldn’t remember if someone from her group had run there to hide, but one man took a quick stab into the bush before reaching in and holding up a bloody rabbit in its last throws of life.
There was something uncouth about the way they laughed that made their identities all too obvious.
“The Illiams,” she said.
Rabbit in hand, they turned back for the larger group in the distance. How they were able to track a rabbit and miss a cart out in the open and dozens hiding nearby was a lucky mystery Sierra didn’t want to think too hard about. Once they were a safe distance away, Sierra got her team together to lift the cart out of the divot.
“What do you think they’re doing?” Tommack asked. For Sierra, it wasn’t a difficult quandary to solve.
“Large volume of people, plus sharp weapons, moving in the direction of the capital? They’re making a play to take over Cumeria,” she said. Razi produced one of the gas balls, but Sierra shook her head. “There’s no way we’d be able to do enough damage to them before they’d have our heads. The only thing to do is follow at a safe distance and wait for a chance to pick them off unawares.”
Once the hunting party had returned to the larger force, Sierra and the others followed along from a ways behind. Shedding the cart required everyone to carry their weapons and some of the remaining food, but it allowed Razi and Maglum to scout ahead for any signs that someone in the Illiam camp had become suspicious.
The question of what Portia was specifically planning itched at Sierra though, and she decided that she needed to get closer to find out what kind of equipment they had. Waiting until late in the cycle, Sierra and Tommack advanced through the brush as close as they dared to the Illiam camp. Pitched tents consisting of nothing more than blankets supported by poles sticking out of the ground dotted the area. There was no telling where Portia or any other member of the high command was, but there were a number of tractors, trucks, and motorized carts around.
“If we could just get a sense of what their strategy was,” Sierra whispered, crouching down behind a hanging bough. She felt urgently the need to plan when their own strike would be, but anybody still awake wasn’t talking.
“Do you think we should try to disrupt them before they reach the city?” Tommack asked.
“It’d be too tough to mine the open flats around the south end of Toine before they came through. But if…”
Sierra abruptly shut her mouth when she noticed one of the farmers strolling around the exterior of the encampment on patrol. At first Sierra was stunned by the shirtless man’s sudden presence, but then it peaked her curiosity. Other than a long blade strapped to his back, typical Illiam fare, the gun he held lackadaisically in his hands was remarkably sophisticated. More so than crude weapons she’d seen recently that were powered by stones or gas capsules, this weapon seemed to be powered by a battery pack in the handle that had wires running to the back of the barrel.
Sharing an alarmed but intrigued look with Tommack, they waited for the man to stroll by before opening their mouths.
“Where do you think he got a gun like that? I’ve never seen anything like it before,” she said, absorbing herself in her memory to scan the faint glimpses of the strange electronic firearm.
“I have,” Tommack said, immediately drawing Sierra’s attention. “It’s the kind of thing you see up around Iron City. Not among the hill tribes mind you, but any of the official transports or those connected to the power players have armaments that could drop a saurus in one shot.”
Sierra glanced around the camp looking for signs that anyone else had similar weapons. Odds were low that the man on patrol just happened to pick it up all on his lonesome.
“The peasants from around the FarmFields have always dabbled in steelwork, and they’ve been known to use handheld launchers and catapults when they fight, but guns like that must mean someone is supporting their bid to take the Spiral,” Sierra said, recalling her recent experience getting thrown off the Wire. “If these guns came from Iron City, as you said, who could’ve possibly supplied them other than the Lu Dynasty?”
Tommack scratched the stubble at his neck and took a long look over the silent camp.
“I thought you said the Lus were protecting the Wozniaks when you were snooping around their servers on the wire,” he said.
“I did, but it was really just a guess. This looks to me like unmistakable evidence that the Lus are
aiding the Illiams.”
Satisfied that they’d at least uncovered one piece of information from their late escapade, the pair snuck away and returned to their friends, where they continued to mull over the situation while getting some rest themselves. It was possible the Lus were dominating everything on the wire while trying to position Portia for a successful bid for the country’s high seat. Sierra couldn’t know for sure, not when there didn’t seem to be much difference in the advantage for the Lus no matter which family took over.
The more pressing issue became the setting sun, which promised to leave the last leg of their journey to Toine in darkness and make any planning more difficult and any fighting more volatile. Although they didn’t have any idea what to expect when they reached Toine, functioning streetlights weren’t likely to be part of the equation. The best they could hope for were clear skies and strong moonlight.
But they got neither as they ventured out of the woodlands and onto the flats skirting the city, which turned out to be a boon because more light would’ve required them to remain leagues away from the Illiams. As it was the darkness helped keep the city and its promise of bloodshed at a distance.
Not more than a cycle away, they occasionally heard faint sounds and flashes of light coming from the north that added to their worries and sucked any remaining joy from their faces. No one was foolish enough to draw any conclusion other than that the fighting had begun, though nobody had any idea who was involved.
It made getting any sleep impossible for Sierra, since one way or another her brothers were likely to be trapped somewhere within the fracas. If fate didn’t turn her way, she might never see her mother again as well. Though the hours dragged, the time came to begin making their approach to the city.
“Anything?” Tommack asked. It sounded cryptic, but Sierra knew exactly what he meant. Without a strategy, every one of them felt like they were going in blind. It added to their anxiety like a stone weighing down on their souls.
“Yes, I’ve made a decision about what we should do,” she said, though even in her mind it remained foggy. The others, even Razi and Maglum, seemed to immediately cluster around her. The import of the plan couldn’t be overstated. They had one chance to make their move, and getting caught with only twenty-five fighters around wouldn’t end well for any of them.
“What’s clear is that the Illiams know they’re already headed into a fight. As long as they’re oblivious to our presence, we’ll be able to creep up behind them during the fight and use our gas balls to obliterate any of their forces hanging in the rear. Those farther up will be too preoccupied to do anything, giving us time to get away and regroup closer to the Spiral. The longer they spend killing each other, the more time we’ll have to take up positions in the upper echelons of the tower.”
“And from there?” one of the men said. Sierra gave him a stern, confident glance.
“From there we stay put and cling to our vision of a country of justice, and hope that the damage we did will allow us to outlast any remaining foes who would take it from us.”
The real threat of death had been understood since they took their first steps from the ClawLands, but they’d faced it before when their homes had been sacked, and it no longer crippled them. The greater failure would be to fight and die in vain, without having any impact on the shape of their country to come.
The closer they came to Toine, the quieter everything became. The Illiams, despite their force numbering in the thousands, seemed to hide within the darkness and the sound of the wind. The city took on an uncomfortable silence. Whatever fighting had been going on in there had come to an end. Sierra and her unlikely squad continued on without a word, arcing to the left and drawing even with the Illiams. Only miles out, they spied a convenient entryway into the city, a side road that she knew would give them a good vantage point of the incoming army of farmers.
“We need to hurry and get into position,” Sierra said, but already her plan was falling apart. If there wasn’t any fighting, there wouldn’t be an opportunity to attack from behind. As they reached the first buildings and crept along the dark streets, the complete lack of life was eerie.
Turning to the left to come alongside where the Illiams would enter the city, Sierra led her friends to a trio of two-story buildings facing the wide boulevard connecting the capital buildings to the highway. It was so dark that the groping around they had to do encouraged them to stay on the ground floor, where they discovered the windows facing the street had all been shattered.
Hunkering down and waiting was easy compared to trying to figure out what might be waiting in the darkness. Although the fighting had stopped completely, surely everyone hadn’t been wiped out. As they looked toward the center of the city, there appeared to be a vacuum of light. The moon couldn’t offer any respite behind such dark clouds.
“Shh…” Sierra whispered to Razi, who was to her left and had begun scuffling with Maglum over something. The soft clatter of footsteps meant the Illiams were coming through, and at the moment staying hidden was paramount.
Afraid even to breathe, Sierra remained deathly still and focused on her hearing as the first footsteps approached from the south. Soon the sound of feet against the pavement grew more frequent, almost like waves washing against the beach. Unless fighting with an unknown enemy broke out as she predicted, they’d be forced to wait until the entire army passed and a better opportunity presented itself.
The foremost farmers must’ve been right in front of Sierra’s window when a blinding light from above poured over the area and scalded her eyes. She opened her mouth to gasp, but Tommack caught her and held it shut. The Illiams erupted into all manner of squeals as they fell over backward and scampered away to rejoin the masses. Sierra forced her eyes open and attempted to discover the source of the blinding, artificial light.
“What the…” Tommack sputtered, since there was no one to hold his mouth closed. His hands fell from her face as Sierra began to grasp the unusual shape of the thing taking up the entire boulevard just north of their position. It was so close it just seemed like a collection of shapes rather than any whole thing.
“That’s huge,” Sierra said, beside herself for the awe of it.
The Illiams had much the same reaction. They stood plainly in the road, all of them, without a clue what to do. Firing a gun seemed laughable. Even the gas balls weren’t likely to have any effect. It took another minute before Sierra could fathom that all of this hulking metal was the result of something the Wozniaks had done. Something like this must’ve taken years to create, putting its inception long before even her father’s investigation. How long had the Wozniak’s been planning to seize power? Now their huge machine was parked in downtown Toine.
The standoff seemed like it would drag on forever until the sound of scraping metal led to the opening of a large hatch between the machine’s giant treads. A solitary figure descended the ramp. Other than this person, there didn’t seem to be a single Wozniak around, possibly because they were all protected inside. Once reaching the light, Sierra could make out details about the figure. First, she was a woman. Second, she carried a long tube. Third, she was Sierra’s mother, Tris.
When Sierra recognized her mother, she lost her balance and fell onto her back. It’d been so long since Velo had taken Tris away in the helicopters that Sierra was sure she’d never see her again. The chance to get her back was too good to pass up, and a new plan had to be put into action immediately.
“We have to save her while she’s out in the open here. We go through the windows, rush across the street, pick her up, continue through to the other side, and then eventually veer north toward the Spiral. Tell the others. Anybody in the rear can drop a few of the explosives to make sure we have room to get away,” Sierra said, almost rambling.
“You got it,” Tommack said. He turned away, but Sierra caught his wrist.
“We can’t mess this up.”
“We won’t,” Tommack said.
Si
erra got back up and returned her attention to her mother, who left the ramp and proceeded directly in front of them. It seemed like she’d walk straight into the arms of the Illiams until she came to a stop.
“Portia Illiam,” Tris called loudly, causing chatter to erupt in the opposing ranks. Sierra was mystified about what her mother was doing and doubted whether Portia would actually come out into the open. But the powerful matriarch emerged from her morose army and sauntered out to meet Tris. Foregoing her usual fancy dresses, Portia had on pants and a coat suitable for colder climes and the threat of high-velocity projectiles.
“If it isn’t the Virtuoso’s handmaiden, or whatever,” Portia said, crossing her arms. “Are you whoring yourself out to the Wozniaks these days, my dear? I know a steaming pile of steel shit when I see one. And I realize not everybody can cut it without a husband around,” Portia said with her usual acid tongue.
“No, I’m not,” Tris said, barely able to get the words out before Portia started shouting.
“Come on out here, you shriveled goat! Are you compensating for something?” she hollered. If Velo was inside, he didn’t appear to be in any rush to come out.
“Portia, please, just listen to me for one minute. This is our one chance to save the streets of Toine from being soaked in blood. Look at the reality here. There’s no way you and your men will be able to stop the Leveler. Your troops will die pointless deaths, and there’s just no need for that when the country is already as broken as it is. Right now you can turn around and return home,” Tris said, leaving only an implication of the most important part.
Sierra understood immediately what was being offered. Tris was charged with the task of getting Portia to give up and leave Velo Wozniak with control of the country. Sierra had a strong feeling in her gut that it wouldn’t work. Portia wasn’t the type to back down, even in the face of such impossible odds and the cost of most of the able-bodied men and women from her the FarmFields.