Alarum (Walking Shadows Book 1)

by Talis Jones

  He turns away, biting his lip as he falls deep in thought. “Can you name me?” he requests shyly.

  It’s in the way he asks. Like it’d be the most special thing, like it would somehow be equivalent to a mother naming her newborn baby. The tiniest ray of pity nudges me. “Sure.” I look him up and down. “I’m gonna call you Bones.”

  His face splits in a grin. “Bones,” he says, trying it out. “I like it.” A giddy sort of energy seems to fill him and suddenly I’m not sure I’m looking forward to having him tag along. “So what are your names?”

  “I thought you knew who we were,” I challenge.

  “I saw you coming and I saw you not hurting me, but I didn’t see you saying your names.” He rolls his eyes in that way kids do when they think their parents are dumb as dirt.

  “My name is Riker.” He kicks my boot playfully. “And this is Fury.”

  “That makes sense,” Bones nods staring at me with such a serious face I feel a mixture of anger and laughter warring in my chest. I cross my arms with a huff.

  “So where is this thing taking us?” Riker asks.

  “To the border.”

  “It can go that far?”

  Bones smiles smugly. “This is my city,” he says. “I’ve spent the past three months planning our escape.” Tapping his brain he adds, “I can make people tell me things.”

  A shiver glances off my spine. “Come again?”

  “It took forever to get it down but with Doctor Xi’s help I finally mastered the ability to induce a sort of temporary hypnosis or mind control. It’s not a very strong skill and if you’re ready for it it might not work.”

  “Sounds like you didn’t mind this Doctor Xi messing with your head,” I accuse suspiciously.

  Darkness clouds Bones’ face. “Doctor Xi is my nemesis,” he growls. “But it doesn’t mean he wasn’t useful sometimes.”

  “Ask me something,” Riker grins, quickly diffusing the tension.

  Bones tilts his head. “Nah, you’d probably just tell me anyway.”

  Riker’s mouth twitches into a crooked smile. “Probably. I like you, kid.”

  My back stiffens.

  “What upset you?” Bones asks smoothly, his round silvery blue eyes melting into mine.

  “Connors used to call me that.” The words are out of my mouth before I can think. I tear my eyes away angrily.

  “Fury,” Riker whispers trying to calm me but I won’t have it.

  I send my cruelest glare at the boy. “Do that again and you’ll end up with bullets for breakfast.”

  “Who's—?” Bones starts, ignoring my threat.

  “Don't push your luck,” Riker warns him.

  Silence falls like a heavy quilt in the middle of July. Nothing but the soft whoosh of the shuttle speeding beneath the city. It feels as if we’ve been traveling for hours but I know it’s just been maybe twenty minutes tops. It makes me wonder how far Xi’s research facility was from where we breached the fence.

  “We’re almost there,” Bones announces.

  “Do you know where this will lead us?” Riker asks. “We came in through Virginia and left our gear hidden there.”

  “It’s strange how you still use the old names,” Bones informs us matter-of-factly. I glare at him and he gets back to the point. “I think you came through…Washington D.C. and Doctor Xi’s place is in Pennsylvania? This is taking us west into Ohio. I think.”

  “You think?”

  Bones looks at me grumpily. “Well no one uses those ancient names anymore. Not for ages. Not in the Alliance anyway.”

  “Don’t sass me,” I warn.

  “Do you know what I think?” he offers politely. “I think that you’re nervous and tired and your brain is still processing all of the impossible new stuff you’ve seen. I think that once we’re safely out of here and you’re not in a drafty medical gown that you’ll feel much better and we’re all going to be the best of friends.”

  I blush. “Or maybe I'll put my foot in your ass.” I hadn’t even thought about how indecent I was dressed. Nothing but skinny microfiber ties keeping the fabric wrapped around my body from falling off and showing the world my natural form. What the hell happened to my clothes anyway? “Were we really in Pennsylvania?” I ask quietly.

  Bones’ face wrinkles in puzzlement. “I believe so. These underground shuttles are for government use only and they travel immensely fast.” He catches my eye and before I can look away he asks, “What’s Pennsylvania to you?”

  “I was born there,” I answer. I scowl at his manipulation but don’t bring up my original threat.

  Riker tries to hold my hand and I pull away.

  “Where are you from?” Bones asks him.

  “Chicago,” he smiles.

  “Do you miss it?”

  “Not really,” he admits. “I didn’t have the happy childhood Fury did. Not much to miss.”

  Before the boy can pry any further into our pasts the shuttle begins to slow. “We’re arriving. There’ll be guards obviously but this stop isn’t in a building. It’s used for soldiers to get to the border post quickly in case of an emergency. Just let me go first.”

  “Are you kidding?” I jump. “I’m not gonna let some ten year old waltz out into a herd of soldiers to get himself killed.”

  Bones beams at me. “I knew you cared.”

  And before I can protest his claim the shuttle has halted and Bones is bounding out the door. I’m still fumbling with the seat straps when Riker chases after him. Furious I run outside but the bright sun covers my vision in black spots and I stop. Blinking the pain away I remember to marvel over my “perfected” eyes.

  “Fury!”

  I bolt after Riker and we high tail it to the woods. The four guards unlucky enough to linger near the shuttle platform all lay flat on the grass knocked out cold. I see a blur of white up ahead. The whistle of an approaching shuttle sings behind us but I don’t look back. Bare feet pounding against the prickly forest floor I run faster until I’m even with Riker.

  “Hurry!” I shout at Bones. His boney fingers are clutching a metal card I recognize as a gate key. Behind us soldiers bark orders and give chase. As they close in they fire their weapons except instead of bullets splintering trees they shoot us with some sort of electric charge. I feel it as it zings past narrowly missing my shoulder. Maim but don’t kill.

  Bones has managed to open a door in the gate and he’s waving us on. Riker shoots through first then me. I turn and see the gate closing. “Bones!” I scream desperately. Turning back I run for him. His skinny legs are quick but they’re not running fast enough. Not fast enough. Not fast enough. I reach through and catch his arm pulling him through with an almighty yank.

  We collapse into the dirt, coughing, hearts pounding. For a moment we’re stunned.

  “Get up!” Riker shouts. Soldiers close in on the fence and one reaches to unlock it.

  We’re up.

  Up and running faster than a horse in a grand desert race.

  I haul Bones onto my back and carry us both forwards following Riker. Bones’ labored breathing fills my ears and a different kind of red hot fills my bones. The kind that pushes me past my limits, keeps my legs running even though the effort shreds my lungs.

  Riker veers off sharply to the right and I only barely notice the rotten wood of what was once a mailbox. We charge down the overgrown dirt path until it opens revealing a cabin and an old ’88 Toyota pickup truck. Someone’s prized antique. Despite the deserted look of the place that truck is still loved. Riker flings open the driver’s door and searches for a key.

  His fingers come away victorious and he jumps in. As the engine struggles to turn over I practically throw Bones inside before slamming the door shut and running to the cabin. The front door is left unlocked and I scramble around until I find what I’d hoped for.

  “Fury!” Riker calls angrily.

  I hear the engine roaring and I bolt back outside slamming the front door shut after myself i
n habit. I jump into the truck’s bed and start jamming the rifle I pilfered with ammo. “Go!” I shout.

  With a cloud of dirt kicked up Riker hits the gas and we take off. I see soldiers back on the main road we’d escaped on but I’m ready. With a sharp crack I aim at the first sleek pursuit vehicle but it takes another shot before something turns into a fancy fireworks show. The force of the explosion slams me back but I haul myself back up and take aim.

  Crack! Crack! Crack!

  I take out another alien car and a handful of soldiers on strange hover boards. I fish for more bullets and keep reloading until I’m down to my final five. Their movements slow and with a sharp swerve we lose ‘em. Vaguely I wonder if their fancy tech ran on electricity and we just outlasted the charge. Or maybe they got new orders. I don’t care so long as we lose ‘em good and quick.

  I crawl towards the truck’s cabin and raise my voice to be heard. “How much gas have we got?”

  I see Bones lean over Riker then pop his head out the window with an answer. “We have approximately one half of a tank left,” he shouts against the wind.

  Nodding I turn back to face the sights we’re leaving behind. Resting against the cabin wall I keep both eyes watchful and alert. More than once I almost fall asleep, but each time the blasted truck hits a rock or a pothole and it slams my head against the metal with a painful wakeup call.

  Night comes quickly so we navigate by the stars. I hear laughter leak out of the windows and I wonder what they’re talking about. I wonder about the things I’ve seen, the things I’ve done, the people I’ve killed, and the boy I killed to save. I wanna sigh in relief, I wanna laugh like we’ve won, but it’s not over yet. It’s not over until the fat lady sings and the night is offering no victorious ballads. Not tonight.

  CHAPTER 47

  Heat licks my skin and I shudder awake. I blink. Then I sit the hell up looking around confused.

  “Riker?” I call. A bird sings in the distance. I scrabble in the dirt until I’m on my feet spinning in a circle searching for any sign of him. The truck is gone and panic rises up my throat. “Riker!”

  “He’s coming back.”

  I whirl around and find Bones walking towards me. “Where’d he go?”

  “He went to ditch the truck.”

  “He expects us to walk to the Dakotas?” I argue dubious.

  “No,” Bones huffs. “We drove through West Virginia last night while you just fell asleep.”

  I ignore his accusatory tone and rub my throbbing head. “Yeah, I don’t think I slept on purpose,” I mumble back. A thought hits me. “He’s gone back for the Grounder.”

  “Yes, at least that’s what he told me,” Bones shares. “I tried to go with him but he said I had to stay with you.”

  The clear preference for Riker hurts like a barb. “Damn, Bones. Sorry you got stuck babysitting the person who just saved your skinny ass.”

  “Well you are not a very friendly person,” he reasons.

  “I normally am,” I argue defensively.

  “Are you?” He folds his arms and stares at me clearly full of disbelief.

  “I came to bust you out of Doctor Xi’s place, didn’t I?” He just narrows his eyes. “I’d say that’s a pretty friendly thing to do.”

  “Riker says that it was your idea,” he prods. “Is that true? Or was he just trying to convince me to like you?”

  “What—” I shut my mouth. It was all my crazy idea. I guess I just didn’t realize that I’d become too prickly a person to know how to handle a kid. I pivot on my heel with an impatient snort and stalk away through the trees.

  Settling my emotionally stunted butt down on the ground I grab a stick and start drawing in the dirt. Designs that seem to calm my thoughts spread across the earth surrounding my seat. A twig snaps and I sigh. Bones hops over to me careful not to step on my drawings. “Sorry I’m not as friendly as I should be. I’m a nice person, I swear.”

  “I know,” he nods. “You came back for me.”

  “Well I didn’t go through all that just to leave you behind, now did I?”

  “Why were they bringing you to Doctor Xi?” he asks suddenly.

  His question startles me but I look him in the eyes in case he wants to check my honesty. “I don’t know,” I tell him. “Someone told me it would work and it did. Maybe I’m different, like you.”

  “I don't think so,” Bones denies simply. “I can usually tell. You might have a genetic mutation like I do but it must be dormant or less developed. I’d know if you were one of us.”

  “There are more of you?”

  “Yeah, but everyone is spread across the Alliance. It’s not particularly safe to keep all of their gold in one place.”

  “And I’m not like you?” I think back to the wildness that takes over me when backed in a corner. The impossible ability to push my body past its limits. If it’s not some weird sci-fi glitch then maybe I didn’t get this far in life without a bit of damage after all. If I'm not a miracle then maybe I'm a monster.

  “But your kids might be special, assuming you have the recessive gene at all,” Bones offers.

  “I’m never having kids,” I say with a tinge of relief.

  “Why not?” Bones asks but he was doing that weird hypno-thing so the words are out my mouth before I can scold him for being nosey.

  “I can’t.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah. Oh.”

  “That’s okay,” he shrugs. “You have me.”

  “Whoa wait that’s not—”

  “I mean, surely I'm a far step above anything you could likely produce.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone this is all just pretend.”

  “As if I’d have a scrawny snowflake as a son,” I laugh.

  “That was rude,” he chides.

  “I’m sorry.” Then because I can't help myself I ask, “How are you so pale?”

  “It's a side-effect of the drugs they gave me,” he shrugs. “Without them I might go back to my natural coloring. At least my eyes might.” He shrugs again. “They've had mixed results.”

  “That's messed up, Bones,” I say in mild horror.

  “I’m going to call you Momma Fury,” he decides suddenly.

  “Never call me that,” I warn, my insides cringing.

  In a flash he’s up on his feet and racing back the way we’d come. “MOMMA FURY!” he shouts brazenly along the way, his outbursts interrupted by intermittent laughter.

  I chase after him, horrified. Before I can shut him up the Grounder’s purr does the job for me. “Ay! Bones! What’s that you were shouting?”

  “Momma Fury,” he snickers.

  “Oh yeah? And where’d you come up with that?” Riker laughs.

  “Fifty-two percent revenge for her unfriendly demeanor, forty percent because it’s funny, and eight percent because I know she secretly cares.”

  Riker’s eyebrows shoot up at his very specific reasoning. Sliding his gaze to meet mine he smirks at my scowl. “I brought you some pants, dearest.”

  A wad of clothes hits me in my face and I scowl harder. Stalking away I rip off the pathetic gown I’ve worn out and slip on the garments of dark cloth and comfort. When I stomp back to the Grounder I see the two whispering conspiratorially.

  “Call me Fury or call me nothing,” I spit at Riker seriously. I know perfectly well that he’d love to join in on Bones’ joke and I will not have it. He opens his mouth to respond but I cut him off. “And if you call me Nothing I will pee in your bedroll and spit in your food.”

  He lets it go with an amused roll of his eyes.

  “So where exactly are we?”

  He hoists Bones into the Grounder before he answers. “Edge of West Virginia. I left a bit of ruckus for them back where I ditched the truck so let’s just sneak back towards Ohio and go west from there. Sound good?”

  I think it over. There’s not really a good option but I know cutting through Kentucky takes us to
o close to Lucas. “Sounds good.” I eye Bones and add, “We’re gonna have to find him some different clothes.”

  “What’s wrong with my clothes?” demands Bones.

  I smirk at his strange pale outfit. Soft pants and a soft top, both smooth like silk. Even his shoes are soft looking. Not only do they make him stick out like a sore thumb but they won’t last a day in the S.C. before they turn to rags. “Everything,” I assure him.

  INDIANA.

  Ten hours.

  Ten. Hours.

  Ten whole hours trapped sharing the Grounder with a couple of clowns. When the radio is on they’re singing to every song. When it’s on the fritz they make up songs about anything that catches their eye. It was fun. For the first hour. By hour three I was ready to shoot them. By hour five I was ready to jump and give myself a mercy killing. The only peace I got was when Bones’ throat ran dry and he’d conk out for a nap. Even the sun seemed to set faster just to get away.

  With a yawn I practically fall out the passenger seat as we roll to a stop. “You okay?” I ask Riker. We wouldn’t normally push so hard but having Bones along changes everything. The sooner he’s off our hands the sooner we can settle back into a rhythm. For the thousandth time I wonder why I ever had the crazy idea to fetch that boy.

  I unload the bedrolls from the back and spread them out. Riker carries Bones’ sleeping form and tucks it into his bed. As much as I love Riker I’m not enthused that we’re going to be sharing my bedroll from here to North Dakota. It’s a snug fit and I get hot when I sleep. But we can’t combine the two rolls because Bones ought to have his own space.

  I get a small fire going as Riker sifts through our food stash. “Beans, beans, beans… Oh good! Beans.”

  He tosses me a can and I laugh quietly. “Beans?” I ask reading the label. “Aw, you shouldn’t have. I know how much you love beans.”

  “I like beans,” Riker insists. “Just not when I’m going to have to share a bedroll with you.”

  A laugh barks out of me but I clamp my hand tightly over my mouth when I see Bones shift in his sleep. We heat up our food, warm our hands, and chow down before curling up to sleep. A light breeze teases my loose hair as Riker’s soft snore soothes my ears. I force myself to drift because dang, this is gonna be a long trip.