The Powerless Series: Complete 5-Book Set

by Jason Letts

  “We’d better start heading back to base camp,” Vern reasoned. “Being out here alone isn’t my idea of a good time. We’ll just have to wait for our next chance.”

  “No!” Mira snapped, fiery and defiant. “We’ve come too far and sacrificed too much to turn back. We’re going to track down the Warlord, and I’m going to kill him.”

  Chapter 5: A Mind of Madness

  “Now here’s an idea I’m willing to die for,” Mira glared, her loathing evident in every word. “This man needs to pay for the wrongs he’s committed. We can either go back to base camp and toss ourselves into the next slaughter, or we can hunt him down and put a stop to this whole thing. He took Dot and Kurt, and if I’m going to be next then I want it to be on my terms. If he’s going to hurt us, I want him to have to do it himself.”

  “But we don’t even know where we’d have to go?” Mary quibbled.

  “Choosing the path of maximum resistance?” Aoi queried, grinning. The burns on her feet had nearly vanished.

  “Is there ever another path?” Mira replied. “We may not know where they are, but we know which way they came from. And if there’s one person out there who can help us find him, we have her right here.”

  Mary, blushing, gave a playful shove to her friend Roselyn.

  “Oh, I bet you miss being the center of the plan now!”

  “Enjoy it while you can,” Roselyn scoffed.

  “OK, so what are we waiting for? All or nothing sounds perfectly fine to me,” Vern urged.

  They pulled Aoi up and carefully set her on her bare feet. The rugged ground looked like it would be torture for her. Out of the blue, Rowland took Will’s knife and started to cut off his hood.

  “Are you crazy?” Chucky asked him.

  “I’m going to turn this into shoes for her. I’ll be alright,” he said.

  “Wait, we can use mine,” Vern insisted as Rowland finished slicing away the hood. Because of his power, it couldn’t have been easier for Rowland if he were cutting butter.

  “Too late,” he said, making Vern bite his lip. It only took a few moments for Rowland to mold the thick fabric around her feet, even managing to harden the bottoms.

  “I wouldn’t expect to see those in a fashion show, but I guess they’ll work,” Mary noted.

  Will slipped the bits of wood in his pocket, bit his lip, and rose as well. Repulsed, he gazed at the knife he took back from Rowland. Climbing to the hilltop, they noticed the battle had died down and the dust cloud had vanished. No doubt the victors were chasing the losers one way or the other. Despite the distance, they could still glimpse the bodies strewn about. Grimacing at the chill that washed over them, they started toward the scrub forest.

  Back near the boulder they had just vacated, a scorpion scuttled around the corner. It clicked its claws and clacked against the rocks, waiting in the shade for about an hour until a quick hand snatched it by the tail. Jeremy held the helpless creature and rocked it back and forth like a toy. Then he set it in his hands and held it so he could look into its eyes.

  “So they were here? And they’re pushing in deeper? It’s just like her to try and be a hero and do it all herself. What a fool! Neeko won’t mind if we tag along behind her and finish the job before she can. I bet she’ll clear a path for me right to the Warlord’s front door.”

  As he spoke, Mira and the others marched through the scrub forest. Not a single leaf occupied any tree, and only charred branches blocked the blazing sunlight. Most of the undergrowth had been covered in ash, and the tree trunks in turn looked like chunks of charcoal during a fire. A few branches suddenly went up in flames, and one burning tree collapsed right in front of their path. Always watchful of their surroundings, they followed Mira as she navigated the desolate terrain.

  A few runners stampeded in the distance, and the group ducked into the ash to hide. They watched them whiz by, certain they would be caught and forced to fight at any moment. None could breathe easy until the cracking and thumping of the runners faded away completely. When Mira rose to resume her march, Chucky cut in front of a few others to find a place next to her. Watching her stern and serious expression made him sigh. He kept his voice low and checked the space between them and the others.

  “Mira, hey, I wanted to say it earlier, but I’m sorry about your sister.”

  “Why do you care? I don’t care. She deserves what she has coming to her and nothing else from anyone,” Mira said at full volume.

  “Don’t say that,” Chucky continued. “I know how much she meant to you. She’s why you’re here. So I’m sorry you didn’t get her back like you thought you would. I wished it would make you happy again.”

  “I don’t know what you mean with these feelings. If you didn’t learn exactly how little she cares for them then I’ll let you fight her next time. As far as I’m concerned I don’t have a sister and never did,” Mira sniped.

  “You can play the tough girl act with everyone else, but I don’t buy it,” he said, reaching out and touching her arm. “I know you care and I want you to know you’re not the only one.”

  But Mira gave him an angry look as she shrugged away his arm. Taking long strides, she pulled out in front, leaving Chucky behind.

  Winding through the scrub forest, they carefully passed under burning branches and snuck around small camps of enemy warriors. The sun sank low in the sky, yet they still had no idea where they needed to go or how long it would take to get there. They had walked for hours without seeing anyone, but the torched wasteland looked exactly the same. Glowing embers flickered in the trees all around them, becoming the only light as night arrived.

  “Mary, how much further is it? This has been the worst day of my life,” Rowland whined, holding his arms over his hoodless head. Mary matched his whining with an equal amount of irritation.

  “Quit moaning! It’s not like I just know right where everybody is all over the world. If they aren’t close enough to be seen out in the open then I don’t have anything for you. If you’re so desperate for information, why don’t you run along and scout ahead?”

  “Run? You’ve got to be kidding me. I have literally eaten nothing all day. The only place I’m running to is a dinner table,” he said.

  Mira cringed when she heard him mention food, knowing it would remind them all of their hunger. Sure enough, empty stomachs started to growl and everyone started complaining about it.

  “What are we going to eat, Mira?” Aoi asked. “There’s nothing out here!”

  Sighing, Mira started to drag her mace along the ground as they walked. She used her flashlight to look for remaining patches of brush hidden in the ash and broke them up. A few shrubs grew in the shade, tucked behind a charred tree. They all stopped and watched Mira kick at the dirt near the shrubs. She took Chucky’s knife and began to stab into it. She cut into the sandy, gritty ground, flicking and shoveling it away.

  Wrapping her hand around the plant’s stem, she cut to the roots. Yanking and slashing, she dug it out and hacked off a root that looked like a thin and shriveled potato. Seeing it was just a root covered in dirt, their interest deflated.

  “If this plant hadn’t been in such a harsh environment, it would have grown into a nice big baobab tree. But we can still eat its baby roots. There are a handful of plants we could find in a place like this that we could eat. The leaves of an orach, the seeds from a desert gourd, or even the stalk of an agave would be good. Any cactus out in the wastes will store water too,” Mira explained.

  She handed them the roots, which they held in their hands. Disappointed and yet so hungry, they had no choice but to wipe off the dirt with their uniforms and stick the raw plant in their mouths.

  “And I thought eating hair would be the worst. Looks like I have a lot to learn,” Vern said, but they ate them anyway.

  The intense heat and the burning sensation that left them fried and fatigued had vanished with the sun, offering some relief. The scorched trees gave the forest an eerie orange glow at night. Mira
searched the area for more plants, while the rest sat down on the warm ground. It soon became clear they wouldn’t be getting up again any time soon. Mary flopped onto her side, using Roselyn’s leg as a pillow.

  “Makes me miss that awful tent,” she said, shimmying against her best friend. “What would I ever do without you?”

  “I’ll stand guard first,” Roselyn declared through a yawn, but then she dozed off a moment later.

  Mira hadn’t expected to see them plunking down to sleep, but she knew she couldn’t fight it. They hadn’t slept the night before, after all.

  “Just a few hours,” she allowed. “I don’t want to think about how much worse the sun will get the closer we are. We have to keep making progress so we’re not out in the open where we could be ambushed.”

  Before long they had all fallen asleep, indiscriminately resting on each other. Mira sat against a blackened tree. Her eyes floated between her charges and the silver strands connecting the web in the sky. For a moment she thought about when they all said goodbye to their families in the square of Corey Outpost. Two of those families would never be whole again, despite her promise they would all survive. Mira fought that truth in her heart, but it wouldn’t change no matter how hard she willed it to be different. As much as she ignored it, her own body’s demands for rest soon pulled her away from her thoughts and sent her to sleep.

  Something grabbed hold of her arm as the night expired. Reeling from the sudden motion, Mira awoke and started to push it away. It took a few moments before she came to her senses and realized it was Aoi trying to wake her.

  “What’s wrong?” Mira asked, knowing full well the answer was that she had let herself fall asleep. Even through the dark, she could see the concern in Aoi’s coal eyes. Behind her, the others rested peacefully.

  “We’re missing someone,” she said.

  “Who?” Mira asked, jumping to her feet. She pulled out her flashlight and shined it over the group. The irritating light roused them, and the complaining started anew.

  “It’s Will,” Aoi said. “He’s gone.”

  “Maybe he just had to find a bathroom,” Vern suggested. “I appreciate him not doing it around here.”

  Mira flickered the flashlight over Mary’s eyes, finally pulling her out of sleep.

  “Where’s Will?” Mira asked.

  “Good morning to you too,” groaned Mary, who then took a deep breath and tried to focus. “I don’t know. There’s nobody around.”

  “That’s farther than he would need to go under any circumstances. Everybody get up! We have to find him.”

  “Will!” Rowland called at the top of his lungs.

  “What is that going to do other than give me a headache?” Roselyn prodded him.

  Mira continued snooping around with the flashlight. The darkness slowly began to lift. Studying the ground and the brush, she came upon some clues.

  “Look here! He must have been dragged away. There’s a trail leading out this way. But these nearby markings and divots in the dust are strange. We’d better not waste any time. Let’s go!”

  Complying with her orders, the six soldiers followed Mira along the subtle trail. The only sounds were that of an odd crow, some crickets, and their own feet. They could see little through the damaged trees. The path continued through the wood in a straight line, taking them in deeper at an angle. The longer they walked, the more worried they became.

  “I hope he’ll be alright,” Roselyn said to herself.

  “I’m sure he’ll walk away without a scratch,” Chucky said, trying to sound hopeful.

  “I wasn’t talking about his body,” she said.

  But before they had gone on much longer, Mary gave them all reason to hope.

  “He’s just up ahead! I can tell. And he seems to be alone!”

  They ran along the undulating ground, getting to the top of a small hill and looking through the lifeless trees at a pile of large rocks in the distance. Mira again checked with Mary, who nodded, and they started down the hill. Trotting swiftly, they kept their eyes and ears open for whomever brought Will into this hidden spot within the forest.

  Still a fair distance away, they first spotted something emerging from the pile. Clicking and floundering, a Walktopus slapped its way forward on its thin snake-like tentacles. Before any of them could react, another one emerged from the same spot.

  Winding closer, they moved around to the side to see where the creatures had come from. The rocks formed a natural opening on one side, and plenty of sticks and leaves covered the ground near the entrance.

  “It must be a nest!” Vern observed.

  “Yes. Mary, if animals have powers, then you must be able to tell how many of them there are and what they can do,” Mira said, shooting her a look.

  “If I can, it must be so subtle that Will drowns them all out. I can’t tell you anything.”

  “Gross! I don’t want to think about what they’re doing to him in there,” Rowland grimaced. “How about we storm the place and take them all out? I bet we can even eat them.”

  But before Rowland could finish making his suggestion, a loud hissing came from behind. A Walktopus had snuck up behind them, waved its front tentacles around to appear threatening. While the others watched it, Roselyn started to sing. Keeping her eyes on the strange creature, she sang the rising notes of her lullaby. Though she expected it to calm down and leave, its behavior did not change at all.

  “I’m just going to kick it!” Roselyn said, flustered.

  “No!” the others said, holding her back. Chucky looked back at the nest’s entrance and noticed that several other octopuses had come to approach them. The creatures had them pinned down on both sides. Mira had lost her patience with them. Reaching up, she snapped off a branch from a nearby tree.

  “Chucky, Mary, do you still have that lighter?”

  Having to reach all the way under his armpits for sweat, Chucky smeared it against the branch and got out of the way as Mary lit it. The branch, already charred in some places, caught fire and developed a strong orange flame. Mira, the branch in one hand and her mace in the other, swept around the side and herded them away from the entrance.

  Now that they occupied the ground near the nest, Chucky dared to sneak in front and peek inside. He saw Will’s legs lying on the ground, but no sounds came from inside.

  “I think that’s all of them. Somebody help me get him!”

  Vern and Rowland joined him, and together they approached the entrance. The place had a strange smell, but it didn’t stop them from poking their heads in. Will, apparently sleeping, had a tentacle wrapped around his head. A Walktopus huddled near him against the wall. Amidst the straw, human bones covered the floor.

  “I think we can take care of one of these,” Vern said.

  He reached out his hand to pull the creature away from Will. It dragged against the ground, struggling to stay in place and finally removing the tentacle from Will’s forehead. But as soon as it did so, it jumped at Vern, landing on his chest and using its slimy arms to slap him.

  “Get it off! Ahh!”

  A tentacle wrapped against Vern’s forehead and he dropped to the ground, instantly unconscious. While the octopus squirmed over Vern, Rowland came over and booted its fleshy head, kicking it against the wall. It gave out a squeaky cry as it flopped to the ground, crippled and unwilling to fight further.

  “Where am I?” came a voice, and Chucky and Rowland turned to see Will sitting up. He scratched at his forehead, which had marks from the tentacle’s suction cups. Trying to understand his surroundings, Will noticed a few bone chips next to him. He put them into his pocket. Vern too reopened his eyes. Helping Will and Vern to their feet, they all hobbled out of the nest to find Mira still holding off a cadre of the little creatures.

  “We got him! Let’s go!” Chucky shouted, and Mira and the others passed the entrance and joined the others on the opposite hillside. Mira tossed the flaming branch in front of the nest’s entrance, causing leaves a
nd straw to catch fire and spread into the nest. The little creatures hissed and clicked, but the fire kept them from following.

  “Let’s just forget it ever happened. I’m fine,” Will twitched, and Vern nodded.

  “It knocked me out,” Vern said. “I don’t know how it did that.”

  “So strange,” Mary commented. “They certainly didn’t tell us about anything like this back at home.”

  Coming to the top of the hill, they saw the sun had climbed over the horizon, evoking sighs of remorse and disgust. Their hoods quickly stretched over their heads to shield themselves from the draining light. Before they went any further, Mira stopped them.

  “We can’t have any more mistakes like today. This was a freebie, but the next time we make a bad decision or somebody is careless we can expect to pay for it in blood. I know it was my fault too. From now on we have to be perfect,” she said.

  “But we don’t know where we’re going. How do you know this is the right way? We weren’t even going to go this way,” Mary said.

  “This deep, we’re not trying to stay hidden anymore. If there are people around, we follow them to their Warlord or make them take us there,” Mira declared.

  They continued through the ashen forest, heading east. The morning sun hung right in front of them, making it difficult for them to shield their faces. The sun made their uniforms itch, and so they began to hide in each other’s shade. Even as the sun rose higher in the sky, they had yet to come across anyone else.

  Every once in a while, Mira would glance at Mary, hoping for news that someone was around, but each time Mary had nothing for her. Nothing but vacant wasteland surrounded them. A tree burst into flames around mid-day. Nearly all of the others had already been burned into charcoal. Coals and soot covered the ground. Mira scanned the area relentlessly for a sign of where they needed to go, and eventually she found one.

  Walking along, Mira looked back at where she had just been and ordered them all to stop. No one took another step, and Mira began searching around their feet. She looked this way and that, finally pointing to a narrow line pressed into the dirty film on the ground. Another parallel line existed just a few feet away.