Under the Wire

by C. J. Darlington

  Under the Wire

  A Jupiter Winds Short Story

  C. J. Darlington

  Copyright 2017 C. J. Darlington.

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 978-1-941291-39-9

  Published by Mountainview Books, LLC

  UNDER THE WIRE

  “Mom and Dad aren’t coming back, are they?”

  Thirteen-year-old Rin Alexander collapsed beneath the rock overhang, canteen to her lips. The water was lukewarm and tasted metallic, but Rin took another big gulp and stared out across The Cimarron Valley they’d just crossed. A thin layer of dust clung to her face, and the bandana she wore around her neck was damp with sweat.

  Her older sister Grey crumpled down beside her and took a swig from her own leather-covered canteen. Grey’s chest began to slowly rise and fall. For a moment Rin wondered if she’d fallen asleep in her weariness or didn’t want to answer. Grey sighed one of those grown-up sighs that seemed to say a million things in one breath, none of which Rin wanted to hear.

  “I figure they would have by now if they could,” Grey said softly.

  “I’m old enough to know the truth.” Rin often suspected her sister kept things from her, and she desperately hoped this wasn’t one of them.

  “I would tell you if I knew,” Grey said.

  “Then they could still be alive.”

  “Rinny . . .”

  “Maybe they’re trying to get back to us right now.”

  Her sister rested her forearm across her face and mumbled something.

  “It’s possible, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Those three words summed up their existence these days. Rin had learned to accept it, at least somewhat, but she knew Grey often lay awake at night worrying about how they were going to survive another year without their parents. It was something that never fully left their minds, no matter how many miles they traveled or how many days that passed.

  Changing the subject was easier than watching her sister turn even more melancholy. Rin leaned against her pack and pictured the herd of zorses they’d spotted a few miles from their underground silo home. Rin had watched them graze, their tails swishing away flies, occasionally stomping their hooves against the buzzing insects, always on alert and ready to flee at the slightest hint of danger.

  “Imagine how far we could travel if we rode zorses,” Rin said.

  Grey poured a spoonful of water into her hand and splashed it on her reddened cheeks. “In your dreams.”

  They were over fifty miles from home now and had spent the last three days on a bartering run. Heading back with packs full and bodies exhausted, they could actually travel in the daytime without too much risk of sunstroke since it was fall. In the summer months they had to sleep during the sun’s highest hours and hike by the light of the moon.

  Rin entwined her fingers behind her head. “I’m going to catch one, maybe even two. One for each of us.”

  Grey laughed, and Rin loved hearing it. Her sister was way too serious sometimes, but she couldn’t really blame her. A lot had been thrust on Grey’s shoulders when their parents disappeared on a hunting trip three years ago, leaving them to fend for themselves in the North American Wildlife Preserve. Their eccentric, elderly neighbor Mrs. March looked out for them when she could, but the rest of the time Grey had taken it upon herself to keep them fed, clothed, and safe. It was a lot for a fifteen-year-old to carry.

  “You’re silly,” Grey said.

  “I’m not kidding.”

  “Rinny, that’s not gonna happen.”

  “Why not?”

  Grey stretched out beside her, closing her eyes. Rin always thought Grey looked like their mother with her long, straight hair and green eyes. If only she would stop acting like Mom and let Rin make her own decisions once in awhile.

  “I know you love animals.” Grey’s voice softened. “But it’s really out of the question.”

  “You haven’t even let me explain.”

  “Rin. Be serious. We don’t have anywhere to keep them, and what do you know about taming a wild zorse?”

  “They can’t be much different than horses, and I can read up on it.”

  “I can read too, but that’s not the same.”

  Something inside Rin bristled at the challenge, and she felt determination grow in her like a seedling reaching toward the sunlight. She decided not to press the issue until they got back home and got some rest.

  Rin thought back to the last time they’d seen a zebra herd near home. They were more common than horses in these parts, but there was enough interspecies breeding that a zorse popped up on a regular basis, mingling with its pureblood relatives. Would it be right to take one away from its family?

  Rin paused at that thought. She’d never want to do that, but sometimes the herds got so large there wasn’t enough food for all the animals. In some ways it would be like rescuing them.

  “Just how do you expect to feed these zorses?” Grey turned toward her, still lying on her back. “Give them shelter? They need to have the sun and wind and not be cooped up in an underground silo.”

  She hadn’t planned that far ahead.

  “You have to think about stuff like that,” Grey said.

  “But just imagine how much easier things would be if we had them for transportation.” Rin tipped back her canteen and took another swallow of the tepid water. She was used to the taste, but she wished they had some way to keep the water cool.

  Food was scarce in their world. They were lucky the smuggling jobs provided them with enough to stay alive, and if anyone ever found out they had an actual refrigerator in their silo . . .

  “I’m not saying they wouldn’t be helpful,” Grey said. “But you have to count the cost.”

  “You sound like an adult.”

  Rin didn’t mean the comment as an insult. She was thankful more than Grey probably knew for her older sister’s protection and wisdom. While Rin sometimes felt guilty for not carrying more of the load, she had to admit she liked not having to make every decision.

  Rubbing her eyes with her dust-caked fingers, Grey let out another of those sighs. “I’m just trying to keep us safe.”

  “We’re okay.”

  “For now.”

  But not even Rin could deny that danger lurked in the shadows of their lives, like one of their neighbor’s guard tigers. The Mazdaar government had put a price on the head of anyone who wasn’t connected with the brain implants that tethered them to Mazdaar. Grey or Rin could be shot on sight by one of the border patrol robot drones. A catchship could fly over the Preserve, hone in on their body heat, and send a bolt through their heads, though they were probably worth more alive than dead if the stories Rin heard about Mazdaar were true.

  An hour later Rin reluctantly slid out from under the overhang.

  “We better get going,” Grey said.

  # # #

  They hiked the rest of the day and made their camp in a stand of saguaro cactus. Rin was just dousing their small fire when they heard the dull thrum of an engine. Only a sliver of sunlight hovered on the horizon, a faint reminder of the heat that baked them earlier. When dusk took over in the desert, the chilly air was quick to follow. They’d already bundled themselves in coats with sleeves too short due to their recent growth spurts.

  In the twilight Rin saw Grey hold her finger to her lips, warning her to be quiet. Not that she had to. Rin knew to shut up and listen at the slightest sound. She craned toward the sky. Was it a catchship?

  The thrum increased, and Rin guessed it was a hovercraft. They traveled a foot above the ground but ran on fossil fuel. Most were the open-air variety. Some seated only one and were ridden like motorcycles Rin had read about. Others could carry four passengers. E
ither would be hard to avoid. She glanced over at Grey and wanted to ask her if they should run or hide, but her sister had already hit the red dirt behind the cactus. Rin followed.

  If there was any chance that vehicle belonged to bounty hunters, they were in for it.

  The smell of sage and some sort of fuel met her nose. That was another bad sign. Mazdaar had banned fossil fuels long before she was born. The only people who used them did Mazdaar’s dirty work and were gifted the privilege of Mazdaar looking the other way.

  Grey crawled closer to her. “Be ready to run.”

  Rin nodded. They’d abandon their packs if they had to, but Rin hoped it wouldn’t come to that. They worked their butts off, not to mention risked their lives, the last six days bartering for those toiletries and necessities.

  Lights flashed over to their right. Another whiff of fuel.

  Someone’s harsh voice called out into the darkness in a language Rin didn’t understand. Bounty hunters came in all shapes and sizes, hunting people the same way the rich men and women on safari slaughtered the lions and other wildlife.

  Rin clenched her teeth. She hated anyone who hunted for sport.

  “Slip on your pack,” Grey said as she did the same.

  Their disagreement about zorses was far from Rin’s mind now, and she obeyed her sister and tried to think clearly. Adrenaline could propel her, but it sometimes clouded her judgment too.

  “Over there!”

  The female voice was far closer than Rin hoped, and she almost bolted right then.

  Grey’s fingers dug into Rin’s arm. If the hunters had infrared sensors they were doomed already, and Rin felt her hope deflate. Grey would take care of them, right? Somehow they’d make it out of this.

  But then Rin saw the second set of lights.

  “Come out!” the voice commanded. “You are surrounded. No escape.”

  “Bet me,” Grey mumbled, giving Rin their two-fingered hand signal to run.

  She did.

  Side by side, the sisters practically flew through the desert like twilling roadrunners, their boots clambering in the dirt and loose rocks. They had no lights, no infrared goggles, no way to escape these human poachers except sheer will and bodies that had grown lithe with the strenuous work of their smuggling missions.

  Rin followed Grey’s lead, darting around one cactus then vaulting over a shrub she couldn’t name. She thought she saw a desert fox leap out of their way, but there was no time to wonder if it was a red or silver.

  Their packs thumped on their backs, slowing them. Rin sucked in air laden with dust. Grey nudged her in the back to move faster, but she could already run faster than Grey.

  “Split . . . up,” Grey huffed.

  “No!” Rin said louder than she should. “I’m not leaving you.”

  The engines roared behind them.

  Voices growled.

  They leapt over a dry stream bed and Grey tripped, tumbling to the ground. She made no sound, but Rin saw her wince. Without hesitation Rin stopped and helped her up, and then they were running again.

  But it was too late.

  One of the hover vehicles had skirted around them and swung directly into their path, sending a plume of dirt swirling far into the dusky sky.

  Rin shielded her eyes from its piercing, blue-white spotlights.

  “Stop,” came that voice again. “Or we drop you where you stand.”

  Grey shielded her eyes too. “We’re worth more alive!”

  “Yes, you are.”

  A short, stocky woman jumped out of the hovercraft. Her boots hitting the ground sent more dirt swirling into the vehicle’s headlights. She approached them pointing a violetflare pistol at Grey’s chest. Two others—men it looked like, but it was hard to tell because of the scarves covering their faces—followed the woman. Rin focused on her. She was older than their parents would’ve been with a curly mop of gray hair framing her head, and she had the hardened face of someone who’d spent her whole life in the Preserve. That was entirely possible. But there was something else about this woman’s eyes. An intensity Rin had only ever seen in Mazdaar military.

  At least she hoped the figure before her was human and not a drone. They weren’t always easy to spot, but their dilated pupils were a good indicator if you got close enough to see. Rin had seen drones that looked so human it was hard to believe they weren’t made of flesh and bone.

  Rin and Grey were instantly surrounded. Rin glanced at her sister, wondering if they should try to run again, but resignation had fallen on Grey’s face. Resist now and they might be shot. Resist later and they could still be shot, but there might be a better opportunity.

  The woman zeroed in on Grey until they stood three feet apart. Rin had a feeling Grey would be gauging whether a kick to the knee would be worth it, but something told her Grey was smarter than that. She was strong for a teenager, but she wasn’t brash. Rin had seen her dicker with men three times her age and come out on top. Despite fear lacing through her body, Rin felt a renewed confidence in her sister. Grey would find a way.

  “You are young.” A Russian-sounding accent colored the hunter’s speech.

  The hovercrafts rumbled in front and behind them, vibration causing their headlamps to jiggle. If a catchship were to fly over now they would all be visible for the world to see, something not even the bounty hunters would want.

  But Mazdaar didn’t care all that much about what happened in the Preserve, though Rin had heard rumors of them cracking down on the resistance and flushing out the unconnected rebels who made them look bad. It was the rebels who had knocked out the border fence last month for an entire hour, the fix of which no doubt cost a pretty fortune to repair.

  Rin always paid attention to the dangers of Mazdaar, but all she really cared about was living long enough for Mom and Dad to come home. Lately she also allowed herself to dream of taming zorses. That idea seemed childish now, standing before a bounty hunter who probably didn’t see them as people at all but coinage to line her pockets.

  “How much will we bring you?” Grey asked, her voice steady.

  The woman laughed.

  In a moment their hands were tied behind their backs with wire restraints Rin hoped weren’t shock cuffs. She tried not to panic as she was blindfolded. Not being able to see would put them at a complete disadvantage. What if they separated her from Grey?

  “Walk,” came the order, the w pronounced more like a v.

  Someone shoved Rin in the back, and they were loaded into one of the hovercrafts. Rin listened intently for anything that would aid them in escaping, but all she could hear was the hum of whatever propelled these things. Her hair whipping in the wind, Rin silently prayed that everything would be okay. She knew nothing happened without God knowing, but she wondered sometimes if He really cared about two girls trying to make ends meet in the sparsely inhabited, cruel world they lived in.

  She’d heard stories of before, back in the days of her grandparents or maybe even great-grandparents. When North America was more than a wildlife preserve. When the entire land mass was scattered with cities and towns rather than only a few Mazdaar-controlled city zones on the coasts. Back then people enjoyed freedom unlike anything Rin could even comprehend. What would it be like to live her life without fear? To not have to wake up and wonder if today was the day they’d be discovered? To become whatever she wanted to be?

  Rin determined no matter what happened she would not cry.

  # # #

  She calculated the ride in the hovercraft was at least thirty minutes, which meant they could be in any number of the canyons surrounding the desert by now. They could even be near their silo home, but Rin hoped not. If they got out of this, she wanted their base to remain safe. Mom and Dad had gone to great lengths to implement security measures, and thus far she and Grey had remained undetected by Mazdaar. At least she thought so. How had these bounty hunters found them?

  When the craft finally slowed and came to a jerky stop Rin’s pulse had ev
ened, but her legs felt shaky, and the wind flowing over her sweaty tunic caused a chill to permeate her body.

  “Bring them,” the woman ordered, and Rin was pulled out of the craft by her arm, though someone had enough kindness to at least warn her there was a step down and she didn’t end up face-planting in the dirt.

  Someone with a big hand held on to her arm and pushed her into what felt like a cave by the moist air. After a few twists and turns her blindfold was loosened, and then she was blinking in the light of a lantern. She stood in a stone cavern of some kind, and Grey was beside her.

  “You okay?” Grey whispered.

  Rin nodded.

  The female bounty hunter stood in front of them, her arms crossed. The violetflare was holstered at her hip, and in the better light Rin could see her face clearer. Lines creased her features, but her teeth seemed whiter than they should’ve, which was a giveaway to Rin that this woman could very well be a former Mazdaar operative or maybe still was one.

  “Who are you?” Rin gathered the courage to say.

  The woman chuckled. “They raise bold children out here.”

  “Survival will do that to you.” Grey’s voice was strong, and she didn’t appear afraid.

  “Yes. Survival.” The woman turned toward Rin. “I am Natalya. That is all you need know, and it will perhaps be last thing you know.”

  Grey’s jaw muscle knotted again, like it always did when she was shoving down anger. Rin had seen it a lot lately.

  “You’re working for Mazdaar,” Rin said.

  Natalya eyed her. “I work for self.”

  “But you were Mazdaar.”

  A spark lit in Natalya’s eyes, and Rin knew she’d guessed correctly. She just hoped she hadn’t needlessly provoked her.

  “And you are unconnected.” Natalya walked around them, her arms still crossed, staring them up and down like she was inspecting livestock. “Mazdaar pay pretty penny for your safe delivery.”

  Rin smirked. “Safe? You do know what they would do to us, right?”

  “I do not care.”

  “That why you defected?”

  Natalya was quick as a cat and slapped Rin on the cheek. “Smart tongue get you nowhere.”