Lightning

by Bonnie S. Calhoun

  Selah carefully descended the few stairs to the stone pathway. Her balance returned and her head cleared by the time she reached the bottom.

  She took off running across the quadrant to her quarters and scurried into the lift. She leaned back against the wall and was breathing hard as the vehicle rose to the sixth floor. Her pounding heart threatened to blow out her ribs. She squeezed her arms tight across her chest. She’d never felt so confused or scared in her life.

  Was this her imagination? Was she asleep and in some weird dream? No, she felt awake. She pinched her arm. She yelped, then snickered as a single tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek. What a stupid thing to do. She looked at her arm. That was going to leave a mark.

  The lift doors slid open and she hurried down the hall. With a palm identification, she was in. She slid onto her seat and inserted the data glass in her other reader sitting on the corner of the desk. This part was real. She was holding the glass. What could explain the rest?

  Her machine made the same strange noise as the one in the Repository. She ejected the data glass, inspected the reader, and reinstalled the glass. The noise returned. The file had reverted to squiggly, incomprehensible lines on top of each other. Missing words, empty spaces, fragmented sections. Her hopes dropped as she scrolled.

  Wait! There it was.

  She stopped and moved back up a page. The lines separated. The sentence she was looking for was gibberish with large spaces between word fragments, but parts were still there—Varro Chav . . . Everli . . . Moun . . . The additional missing letters let her know that if there was anything recoverable on this glass, she’d better get it fast before it all became corrupted.

  Did this mean her family could be in the Mountain? And who could she show it to who wouldn’t get her in trouble for removing Repository property?

  Her jaw clenched. The Mountain was not going to claim any more of her family. She felt the urge to scream. She tried to stand but her legs went weak. She raised her arm and with shaking fingers punched the access for Treva on her ComLink.

  Her friend’s image popped onto the screen. “Hey, girl! We’re just getting ready to leave. I’m glad you called before we got out of Link range. I’ve been thinking long and hard—” She frowned. “What’s the matter? You look terrible.”

  “I don’t know where to start, but I’m coming with you,” Selah said. The fear now gripping her brain was urging her to action.

  “What changed your mind, and why do you look scared?”

  “I just have to get away from here for a while, and I had a strange incident at the Repository you’ll have to help me figure out.” It was going to be a balancing act figuring out when to say anything. There had been something in that file about Landers that might help Bodhi, but she feared if she mentioned the possibility of her family being in the Mountain, Treva and Cleon would get Glade involved, and he would forbid her to go. He would try to take her data glass, and she wasn’t letting it out of her sight. This might be her only chance to help Bodhi.

  Cleon’s face pushed into the frame. His blond hair fell across his big brown eyes. If Mother saw that shaggy hair, she’d chastise him for sure. “What are you talking about, Sissy? What happened?”

  “Nothing . . . I don’t know. I’m coming with you. I can’t stay here. Wait for me. I have to grab a few things.” She’d have to plan this right and not tell them everything until they were far enough from home that they couldn’t bring her back or contact Glade. Hopefully he would be far enough north as they went south that there’d be no communications.

  Treva pushed Cleon out of the way. “We’re loading the wagon with supplies. Come over to the Security Travel Depot when you’re ready. It will take us about a half hour, so hurry. We want to get to a campsite before dark.”

  Selah rushed around her quarters, throwing clothes and essentials into her backpack. She hadn’t pulled the pack out of the closet since she got to TicCity. It brought back memories of stuffing it this fast for her fateful trip when she had to leave her home and family. Now she found herself stuffing it with hopes of running to her family. She wished with all her might that this trip could give her the answers she sought, but at the same time every bit of matter in her brain screamed not to go back in that place. She was lucky once, but would she be again?

  She cringed. This time she would have to go without Bodhi. He’d be another one who would never consent to letting her go back there.

  She carefully wrapped the data glass and reader in a cloth, shoved them in a leather pouch, and deposited it in a side pocket. Grabbing up the pack, she thought about contacting Glade, but then dismissed that idea.

  First she’d have to explain how she’d found the file while looking for information to help Bodhi get his abilities back—which would make Glade livid. Then she’d have to explain a trip to the Mountain that he would . . . To say he would not condone it was definitely too mild a statement. He’d probably rant and rave and stick her in irons. In the end, she figured it would be easier to beg his forgiveness later than to ask for permission now.

  She laced up her trekking boots, grabbed her backpack, and headed for the depot, hoping all the way that she wouldn’t run into Bodhi or Glade leaving.

  Selah made it to the depot with time to spare. She hunted up and down the supply stations for horses and a wagon to no avail. Her heart sank. She walked back toward the front. Why would they leave her behind? It had to be Cleon trying to protect her. Maybe Treva had gotten scared and contacted Glade. Maybe—

  “Hey, Sissy, over here!” Cleon waved both arms to get her attention.

  Selah cringed. Someday she was going to teach him to stop calling her that. “I thought you two left me.” She trotted around land skiffs and storage containers, slowly approaching the big thing Cleon was standing in. It looked like a flat-bottom boat with high sides and a clear visi-screen on the top front. “Where’re the horses and wagon?”

  Cleon laughed. “That’s Dominion Borough talk, Sissy girl. This is the way we travel now.” He beamed proudly as he spread his arms.

  “This looks like a boat. How do you propose we navigate over land? There’s more land than water between here and Stone Braide.”

  “It’s an AirWagon. It floats on its own current like a Mountain AirStream.” Treva came around the side and hoisted an odd-shaped bundle to Cleon, who stowed it under the backside of the front seat. “It’s not practical to use horses. They take too long and we’d have a hard time crossing the waters.”

  “What waters? We didn’t cross water coming up here,” Selah said.

  Cleon returned and bent down to nuzzle Treva’s neck. She playfully swatted him and laughed. “That’s because we didn’t have a boat, so we had to follow the land route that most other people take up to the north. With the AirWagon we can shoot in an almost straight line to Stone Braide. The two routes are about the same in miles, but with us floating above the road, it cuts off a lot of time.”

  It amused Selah that Cleon and Treva were a couple. Treva was a child prodigy of biotech sciences, and Cleon . . . he was lucky to have finished school. Mother was sure right when she said opposites attract.

  “Well, I decided stress was making strange things happen to me,” Selah said. “I need a rest. When we get going I’ll tell you the bizarre thing that happened earlier today.” There’d be plenty of time to tell the truth—much later.

  “Cleon and I talked about this trip while we were working. We’re going to do it smart. I can get in the Mountain without raising any alarms. You two are going to hide out in Stone Braide with my uncle till I get my records and find out what’s been going on.” Treva, hands on her hips, looked to Selah for agreement.

  Selah chewed on her upper lip. She felt terrible for lying to the two people closest to her. She’d done that once to Mother, and it gnawed at her until she admitted the truth. She just hoped she could hold out till they got far enough away.

  “Come on, Sissy. If we’re going to do this, we have to be t
ogether on the plan . . . all of us.” Cleon hopped down out of the wagon and walked toward her. “I know that look. You’re up to something. I don’t know what you’re planning, but if anything happens to you, Glade will skin me alive.”

  Ugh. Cleon knew her too well to get away with this for long. He’d always been the brother she confided her plans to, though, so hopefully he wouldn’t give her away.

  “He would probably end both of our miserable existences if we let anything happen to you,” Treva said. “I don’t suppose Glade or Bodhi are aware of your little trip, are they?”

  Selah lowered her eyes. “They’re headed north for a few days to do some exploring, so I couldn’t tell them.” She ended the conversation by placing her backpack up in the wagon and grabbing some packages of dried meat and fruit to help stow. Cleon went back inside the depot and came out carrying a high-tech-looking crossbow, a compound bow, and several quivers of arrows.

  “Wow! Those are pretty nice-looking weapons,” Selah said. “I’m a little jealous. I’ve been learning hand-to-hand combat, but I sure miss my kapos.”

  Cleon grinned broadly, laid the weapons in the wagon, and reached behind him to pull a soft leather case from the waistband of his pants. He held it out to Selah. She looked at him and furrowed her brow.

  “Open it.” Cleon shoved it in her hand and dropped his fists to his hips. “It’s not going to open itself.”

  She slipped the flap open and started to laugh as she pulled out a half dozen of her favorite throwing knives. “Have I told you how much I love you, my brother?”

  Cleon smiled. “I love you too, Sissy, and I knew you’d be happy to be reunited with your beloved kapos. When you gave them up, I secretly took them for safekeeping.”

  Selah nodded. “And here I thought all this time it was Glade keeping me from carrying them in town.”

  “We may do some hunting between here and there. Tenderizing is one thing, but I didn’t want you to use any of that hand-chopping stuff on unsuspecting animals.”

  They both laughed. Cleon was used to making trips in these areas to trade livestock and seed bundles. He knew all the easiest routes, the best places to camp and catch game. It amused her that since coming north, he had started eating meat, thanks to Treva. She was good for him.

  Treva exited the depot with the last of the supplies and stowed them and the bows in their respective compartments in the sides of the wagon. Selah looked around. It was pretty exciting to use a vehicle like this. There was a canopy, retracted at the moment, that would protect them from inclement weather and provide sleeping quarters at night. They had bedrolls, a built-in water purifier, and even navigational equipment.

  “Are we ready to go? I’m kind of anxious to get started,” Selah said. In her mind she had already found and rescued her parents and her brother Dane and was planning what to say to her stepfather to smooth over the disaster she’d created for them. After all, she had fumbled through and fixed a lot since leaving home.

  “We’re only waiting for one more person. We got a navigator so we didn’t have to wait for the caravan that leaves this afternoon. Besides, they’re taking the land-only route to go the long way around,” Treva said.

  Selah didn’t trust the look on her friend’s face, but there was no reading her mind-thoughts. They didn’t do that to each other without permission.

  She furrowed her brow and folded her hands behind her back. “Okay, if it will save us time, but you didn’t mention anyone else.” She didn’t want anyone else going with them. This was private family business, and she was sure they could traverse the shortcut without help. Coming north hadn’t been too hard. “Who are we waiting for?”

  “Me,” a voice said.

  Selah turned, prepared to rebuff the interloper and send him packing to seek another ride. Jaenen Malik strolled across the lot, crossbow slung over his back and a travel bag in his right hand. Her feelings moved from irritation to acceptance in an instant as she watched Cleon and Treva duck out of sight.

  “Jaenen, what are you doing here?” Selah’s insides fluttered. He was good-looking, and there was no way for her not to notice. But she could enjoy his good looks without falling victim to his charms. Besides, she could use his help. She casually pressed her hands to her sides.

  “I told you I’d be going back on the road to find your family. Glade pays me well to continue the search. I’m heading south to meet up with a caravan. I put in a request for shared transportation to save on costs, and here I am. I’ll be your navigator.” He held out both hands and smiled broadly.

  Selah brightened at his dedication to finding her family and was glad to have an ally. He would definitely take her side in any discussions with Treva and Cleon about going into the Mountain. “I’m surprised and encouraged all at the same time. Please keep this between me and you, but I found something that may give a clue to my family’s whereabouts.”

  “You aren’t trying to do my job, are you?” Jaenen chucked his bag into the wagon and locked his crossbow into the weapons holder inside the wagon side panel.

  Selah moved closer and lowered her voice. “No, but that file number and location you gave me led me to this clue. I’ve got a data glass with a fragmented info file about the Mountain in my bag. It mentions my stepfather’s name. I wasn’t supposed to take it out of the Repository—”

  “Don’t you two look cozy with your heads together,” Treva said from behind them.

  Jaenen and Selah separated. Selah felt her face warm. Treva strolled over carrying an energy stick and bit off a hunk.

  “Neither of you going to say anything?” Treva looked back and forth between them. Selah couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t incriminate herself, so she opted for silence. Mother had once said something about silence being worth gold, whatever that meant.

  Treva waved the energy stick as though it were a laser pointer. “You two are planning something. I can taste it.” She stared down at the stick, then back at them. “Trust me. I’ll figure it out.”

  “Do you think we’d deprive you of anything that sounds like fun?” Jaenen flashed his lady-killer smile and batted those thick lashes.

  Treva softened. “No, I guess not.” She started to walk away but turned back. “You just remember to invite us when you find something fun to do.” With that, she sashayed off.

  Selah screwed up her face and looked at Jaenen with wide eyes. “What was that? I’ve heard you have hypnotic power over women, but I’ve never seen it in action. I can’t believe it. Treva’s in love and betrothed to my brother, and with one bat of your eyelashes, you had her acting like a silly schoolgirl.”

  “What can I say. I’m afflicted with an exceptional power of persuasion.” Jaenen shrugged.

  Selah waved a finger in his face. “Yeah, don’t try that eyelash-batting thing on me or I’ll take a torch and singe the flapping little things off.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Jaenen said with a wink and a grin.

  “When we set up camp for the night, I’ll show you what I found. It’s a garbled notation and the data is corrupted. The second time I opened it the file size appeared to have shrunk.”

  “That’s how I work best. I take pinpricks of information and turn them into full-scale tapestries. I’ve worked on other partial Repository files. Maybe I can decrypt enough of it to get a legible clue.”

  Selah brightened. “You really think so? That would be a step forward in my search to find a cure for Bodhi’s abilities.” Her eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute! File numbers are one thing, but how have you gotten access to Repository files with the kind of security the healers have on them? You not being a Lander would automatically disqualify you from access to that area.”

  Jaenen smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. “That’s why I’m considered a top-notch navigator. I’ve never taken on an investigation that I didn’t wind up solving to the satisfaction of my customer.”

  Selah felt like hugging him, her hopes soaring. And he hadn’t berated her for com
ing along on a trip that could wind up being dangerous. Finally, someone who considered her capable. She wondered if he could help her with the part of the file that had to do with Bodhi, but then she had second thoughts. Bodhi hadn’t been very polite to him at her quarters. Maybe she’d better save that request till after she saw what he could retrieve from the file. No sense in making him ornery if it wasn’t going to profit her trip.

  7

  Bodhi stowed his gear in the JetTrans cargo area and listened to Glade’s conversation with the pilot. Having a Lander at the helm of a JetTrans on the way to Wilmington had worked to their advantage. They’d arrived early at the depot to load with a horse and wagon caravan, but because of Glade’s Council status, the pilot offered them a much faster airborne ride. He also informed Glade of the latest operations of the splinter groups, since word of Selah’s transition had spread like fire in dry hay.

  Glade strolled from the pilot’s bay to the center passenger area and slid into a seat beside Bodhi. “We were fortunate to cross paths with my old friend. It will save multiple hours of travel to Wilmington, and I’ve already made contact to get us booked on the earlier caravan leaving there for Baltimore later on this afternoon.”

  “Good. If we took a caravan from here, we’d have gotten there too late for the early connection. Waiting until tomorrow to leave Wilmington would have definitely slowed our journey,” Bodhi said.

  Taraji swung her lithe six-foot frame up into the seating area by way of the open cargo door instead of taking the stairs. Her long black hair, tied tightly in a high ponytail, swished over her shoulder as she moved forward and pointed to the back section. “This JetTrans is a Council transport. There’s a conference area in the back where we can talk unhindered.”

  Bodhi frowned. “Why do we need that?” He wasn’t thrilled with the unbalanced feeling he’d been getting every time he flew in a JetTrans lately. Add to that a stuffy, closed room, and the queasy sensations were certainly counterproductive. He didn’t want Glade to see his distress since it would reinforce his opinion of Bodhi as a less than ideal mate for his daughter.