Braven caught sight of me first. “Afternoon, sunshine, didn't think you two were ever going to wake up. Big night?” He wriggled his eyebrows at me but I was too groggy to think of a clever comeback.
Instead, I walked over to them and plopped down next to Maya. “Afternoon? Are you serious?”
“No, Braven's stirring you up. But it's late morning. None of us could sleep through that storm. Fletcher still asleep?”
I nodded.
“He always could sleep through anything,” she said.
“At least he'll be well rested for the next leg of our journey,” said Lark.
My legs ached at the thought. More walking. I'd never walked so much in my life. How many laps could I have done around Utopia by now? One hundred? More?
“Don't look so excited,” said Lark. “None of us are keen to leave the cottage, but the sooner we get to Eden, the sooner we can start working out what is going on.”
“But then what? What do we do once we get there? The Utopian Guard would've alerted the Eden Guard by now, they'll be waiting for us. And who do we go to? How do we stay on Eden without being caught?” The fuzziness was leaving my brain and all of the questions running around my head had pushed themselves to the forefront of my mind.
“I don't know,” revealed Lark. “But I do know a few people on Eden who can help us. I can only hope things keep going as they have been and we continue our streak of good luck.”
“Good luck? You're kidding, right?” scoffed Vega.
“No he's right.” Domino defended Lark. “We should've died in the crash, but we didn't. We could've been caught twice, now but we weren't. We've been lucky so far.”
“How many more days do you think it'll take?” I asked.
“I'd say at least another four days. And it's going to be different terrain by the end of tomorrow. Not as much rainforest to hide us from the helicopters. We can only hope they're following the direct trail to Eden and haven't thought we might head further west,” replied Lark.
“And if they do work out which way we went?” asked Braven.
“We do our best to cover our tracks and stay hidden. Today Domino can make sure your sore feet and other injuries are healing, and we'll cross our fingers the storm breaks soon. There's no way we're going out in that weather, we'd be lost before we knew it.”
“At least the choppers won't be out,” suggested Vega.
“No, because they know it's too dangerous. Those flashes of light out there…” said Lark.
“The lightning?” I asked.
“Yes, if one of those get you, you'll be fried dead before you can say 'Eden',” he said.
Another crack of thunder made each of us flinch. I might enjoy the coolness of the storm, but there was no way I wanted to walk through it. Thank the Elite we found the cottage when we did.
“Morning,” Fletcher's voice groaned from the hallway.
“Morning, sleeping beauty,” quipped Braven.
“Who?” Fletcher rubbed at his eyes.
“It's a character from a fairy tale… oh, forget it,” Braven shook his head.
“Come join us, we're going over our plans,” smiled Domino.
“How you feeling this morning?” asked Fletcher.
“Better, thank you. A bit queasy still. Must've been something in the water my body didn't like, or I've managed to get some mud in my mouth,” she replied.
“I hope you don't mind, Aurora, but I've explained the story about your pendant to the rest of the group. I thought they deserved to know what it is and why you have it,” said Lark.
“If it has the slightest chance of holding answers, we've got your back,” added Braven.
I gave him a thankful smile as the others nodded in agreement. I reached my hand up to touch it, its metal cool against my warm skin. I hoped we could find a way to open it when the time came, and that it held the answers we needed.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The storm didn't break until the following morning, and after spending twenty-four hours bailed up in a small cottage with six other people, I was more than ready to inhale some fresh air. Fletcher and Braven had given up on their teasing by lunch time the day before, thank goodness. There was only so many smart comments you could make before you got bored, I supposed.
“Everyone packed and ready to go?” Lark said with a smile. “I've managed to squeeze in a few of the blankets, because the temperature drops off at night the further west we get. Don't want to freeze to death now, do we?”
“Great, we go from sweating our butts off to freezing to death.” Vega rolled her eyes.
“It'll still be hot. A dryer heat and less rain, which means less water. Did you fill the bottles, Aurora?”
“Yup, all full and ready to go.” I held up the one in my hand.
“I'll lead the way for now,” said Lark. “I want to make sure I'm heading the right way. Wrong way from here and we could end up in the middle of a desert. Everyone ready?”
We each nodded and mumbled our yeses.
“Let's roll out.” With his usual hand motion, he led us all out onto the porch.
I let the others go first, but Braven let me go before him so he could bring up the rear. Once on the patio, I breathed in the fresh air and smiled at the feeling of freedom. I don't know how Maya had managed to stay sane locked up in the small cell on Utopia. I would've lost my mind.
In front of me, Fletcher had taken off down the stairs to catch up with the others and I did the same, watching my feet as they hit each of the four steps and landed on the bright green grass at the bottom. It was damp and squishy from the rain, but it was good to be moving again. The rest had done my feet and shoulder well, and both were on the mend.
Thwack! I'd been so busy taking in the grass and the excitement of leaving the cottage, I hadn't noticed the group had halted in front of me and I ran smack bang into Fletcher's back. I half expected him to turn around and scold me but, looking up, I realised why he hadn't.
At least ten people surrounded us, holding up various weapons. Some held guns while others brandished bows and spears.
My heart jumped into my throat, making it hard to swallow. Who were these people? The Utopian Guard? They couldn't be. They dressed in dark clothing, but none of it matched. It was a collection of different styles of shirts, singlets, shorts and long pants. These people weren't from a floating city.
“Earthlings,” Braven whispered behind me. I turned to find his eyes narrowed and he raised his fists ready to defend himself.
Reaching to my hip, I felt for the hilt of my knife. I gripped it in my hand, ready to pull it out if I needed to.
Each of us looked to Lark for instruction on what to do next.
“Who are you?” asked Lark, taking a step forward. The broad-shouldered redhead in front of him raised his long-barreled gun to aim at Lark's chest. Lark held his hands up in surrender.
“We're your worst nightmare,” he growled.
Lark looked towards Domino and they exchanged a glance.
The redhead continued, “no need to ask who you lot are. Lack of weapons, those ugly khaki clothes that all match as though you're clones. You lot are Floating city scum.” He took a step forward, but didn't lower his gun.
“We are from the floating cities. We escaped from Utopia and we're being hunted by the Guard,” said Lark, avoiding giving too much away.
Redhead laughed. “Likely story. You can tell us any tale you want, but we've heard them all. This time we've found you before you found us.”
You could only tell his hair was red because of the way the sun shone on it, revealing its inner ginger. It was cut super short so it would look brown in less light. Considering I'd never met another redhead before this adventure began, I was meeting a lot of them lately. None of which I'd liked, or at least, not straight away.
“It's true,” added Domino. “They're chasing us because we have something they want. Something with the ability to destroy them.”
“Domino!” La
rk scolded her.
“Is that right? Well, you might've bought yourself some time.” He turned toward a lady with jet black, braided hair. “Ebony, blindfold this lot, we don't want them to see where we're going.”
“Where are you taking us?” asked Lark.
“You'll be coming with us to meet our leader. He'll decide if you can help us or if we shoot you before the Elite Guard get a hold of you. They might appear to be all nice and helpful up on those stinkin' floating cities of yours, but down here, they're ruthless and they shoot before asking questions.” He lowered his weapon.
“Lark, we can't go with them. We can't trust them,” Vega pleaded.
“I don't think we have much of a choice,” Lark replied through gritted teeth.
I looked at Braven, who gave me a nod. He trusted Lark, so I did too. He was ex-army, he knew what he was doing.
“Well, lead the way, young man.” Lark turned so his back was facing Redhead, and his wrists were together.
Redhead approached Lark to bind his hands, but in a blink of an eye Lark turned around and twisted him into a headlock, his blade pressed against his neck. A smirk spread across his lips. “Run, you lot, keep her safe.”
On his cue, we all took off running towards the tree line into the rainforest. Looking behind I could see Lark walking backwards towards us, still holding his blade to Redhead's throat. The members of the Earthling group didn't know what to do. They stared, their weapons still raised as Lark pushed Redhead to the ground, giving him a kick in the butt to send him face planting into the wet soil before turning and running to catch up with the rest of us.
Lark had bought us some time, but it didn't take long for the Earthlings to close in on us. They came at us from the sides, as thought they'd known a secret route, and they chased close behind us.
A gunshot rang through the trees. The memory of my mother's slumped body flashed through my vision before the trees returned. Lark stumbled and grabbed a hold of his right bicep, but he continued to run and bark orders at the rest of us. My legs pumped as fast as they could, seized up from the hours sitting in the cottage after the exercise of the days before.
“Protect her,” called Lark, prompting Braven to arrive at my side and fall into stride with me.
“Let's ditch this lot,” Braven smirked. He grabbed my hand, diverting us deeper into the forest.
Redhead and Ebony noticed us split away and were quick to chase us down. They crashed through the trees behind us, and I willed my body to run faster and faster. We leapt over branches and roots until I was flying through the air and landing with a thud, the air pushing out of my lungs as I hit the muddy floor. Pain shot through my nose and face as it was crushed into a tree root, and my vision blurred.
I could feel Braven pulling me up. My body swayed at the fast motion, and my vision blurred until I could only see bright lights. Mumbled voices called out in the distance, and the world faded to black.
* * *
A dull ache throbbed in my right cheek as I blinked my eyes open. My face was pressed to the dirt floor that stretched in front of me towards a mud wall. I drew in a deep breath and exhaled as I rolled onto my back, my right shoulder aching in protest from the movement. I'd thought it might be healing when we were resting up in the cottage, but the renewed pain stabbed like the day I'd popped it back in. Lying flat on my back, I closed my eyes to let the blood flow back into my cheek. After a moment, I decided there was more to the pain than lying on it for too long.
“Aurora?” Braven's husky voice caught my attention from behind me.
“Braven? Are you okay?” I asked, my jaw aching as it moved.
“I think so. One of those Earthlings cracked me over the head with something.” He appeared at my side, rubbing the back of his head. “How about you?”
“I feel like someone punched me in the face, then jumped on me for good measure,” I replied. “Where are we?”
“Not sure. As far as I can tell, it's a huge hole in the dirt with that opening the only way out.” Braven pointed towards a circle of dull light above us. It was our only light source in the darkness of the hole.
I pushed myself up with my good arm. My sling was missing, so I cradled my sore arm against my stomach as I slid back towards one of the mud walls and leant against it. I was filthy. Muddy skid marks ran down my left side, and I imagined my face looked much the same. I pressed my fingers to my cheek, wincing as it throbbed harder. I must've hit it when I fell, and now it was swollen and probably bruised.
Braven leant on the wall beside me. All we could see around us was mud and dirt. The ceiling that held the only way out was at least three times my own height. There was nothing covering the exit, no metal bars or wooden doors, but there was no need. There was no way Braven or I could climb up to it.
“Hate to say it, but I think we're screwed,” sighed Braven.
“What do you think the Earthlings want from us?” I asked him.
He pointed to my father's pendant resting against my chest. “I'm guess that's what they want.”
“Why didn't they take it while I was passed out?” I asked. “They've taken my utility belt and my sling.”
“They probably don't realise that's what they want yet. I'm so sorry. My job was to protect you, and now we're trapped.”
“It's not your fault. I'm the one who stacked it. I should be sorry. Protecting me is what got you in this mess.”
I rolled the pendant in my fingers, tracing over its unusual carvings. How could such a small piece of jewelry cause so much madness? What would I do if the Earthlings discovered my pendant was what Domino was talking about? An item with the ability to destroy the Elite?
About the Author
L J Higgins hails from Queensland, Australia, and is a wife and mother of two gorgeous children. She is the author of the futuristic Dreamer Trilogy as well as On Delicate Wings, a story of a teen trying to fit in.
She likes to write stories that make you question, and remember to appreciate, the world around you, and to remind you to open your eyes, minds and hearts.
www.ljhiggins.com
Acknowledgments
When I pictured floating cities hovering over a future Earth, I couldn’t have imagined how crazy the ride would be for Aurora and her friends. Equally as crazy and fun was the road to publishing Utopia, and I couldn’t have done it without my little publishing family.
When Miika and the team at Creativia took on my books I was both nervous and excited about the cover they would design for Utopia, and I’m happy to say I love what they’ve created and look forward to continuing to work with them in the future.
To my BB’s, thank you for your continued support and laughs. Kylie, your enthusiasm drives me to be better at what I do and pushes me to step out of my comfort zone.
To those who beta read Utopia, it’s your thoughts and feedback that made Utopia the best it could be. Thank you Jane, Kylie, Kayla, Michelle B, Michelle L, Kimberly, Yvonne, Bethany, Tanya, Taylor, Danielle and Siobhan.
Thank you to my husband and two children for being proud of me and continuing to support me and my dreams. Last but not least, thank you to those of you who have stuck with me since the beginning. Because of you I do what I love every day.
Thanks for reading! Please leave an honest review on Amazon and let me know what you thought!
Purchase L J Higgins the first title in the Dreamer Trilogy – Dawn of the Dreamer!
Utopia (Secrets of Aurora Book 1) Page 20