"Is that the plagoran?" Amelia whispered to Maeve.
Maeve nodded. "That's it."
"Remind me how big these things are again," Patrick said. The ground vibrated again.
"About seven feet tall, scaly, with some big teeth." Maeve felt a smidge of satisfaction when she noted the tremble in Private Campbell's hands. "And they usually travel in pairs."
At that pronouncement, the group of soldiers shifted slightly closer to one another.
"And how do we get this venom out of their teeth?"
"We kill it, of course." Private Campbell gripped her gun more tightly. Maeve glared at her.
"I'm not sure, but if we can somehow restrain it, we can probably do it without killing it."
"You want to put it on a leash like a dog?" Private Campbell's voice dripped with disbelief. "Are you crazy?"
Maeve turned on her. "I just don't think our first option should be killing a creature that has done nothing to us just because we need something it has."
Patrick stepped between Maeve and Private Campbell, holding up a hand in each direction. "We'll try it Maeve's way first. But," he continued when Private Campbell started to protest, "we will shoot it if it tries to harm anyone. Fair?"
Both girls nodded but continued to glare at each other. Maeve turned her back on Private Campbell and marched forward, following Patrick deeper into the forest with Rufus trotting at her side.
They followed the periodic roar of the plagoran through the forest until a second, softer roar joined the first.
"I guess you were right about them traveling in pairs," Patrick said.
"This is one time I would have been happy to be wrong." Maeve turned her attention back to the ground in front of her and stopped short, reaching out to grab Rufus. She stumbled into Patrick, pushing them both slightly forward into a large clearing. At the opposite edge, a long, scaly neck and head protruded from the trees, and Maeve could see the yellow tag in its ear. Rufus trembled beneath her hand and let out a whimper.
"Shh." Maeve stroked his back as she tugged him back into the cover of the trees.
Patrick's eyes were wide.
"I told you they were big."
He motioned with his arm. "But not that big."
Amelia came up behind them. "Why are we stopping?"
Maeve pointed.
"Oh. Wow. That thing is huge." She turned to Maeve. "You think we're going to get venom from that thing without killing it?" She swiveled her body to face Patrick. "And you think we can kill that thing?"
Both Maeve and Patrick nodded. She looked from one to the other, her mouth open. "You guys are crazy."
The other soldiers had joined them, forming a half circle at the edge of the clearing.
"I say we take them out," Private Campbell said.
Maeve glared at her. "We're going to try this without gunfire first."
Private Campbell snorted. "You really think you're going to milk the venom from that thing's teeth without killing it. You're delusional. I'm not going anywhere near that thing without a loaded gun."
"You'll do what you're told," Patrick told her in a tone of command.
Private Campbell sank into a sullen silence.
"I think these might be the same plagoran we encountered before," Maeve said. "Maybe it will remember me."
"What good will that do?" Amelia asked. "Are you going to just ask it for some venom?"
Maeve shrugged. "Maybe. What harm can it do to approach it without weapons first? We have no idea how intelligent it is."
"And what if it's not the plagoran that you saw before? What then?"
"Run?" Maeve said with a grim smile.
"I think Maeve is right." Private Thompson's voice could barely be heard over the noise of the plagoran entering the clearing. "Animals always respond better to kindness than to pain."
"And what do you know about it?" Private Campbell sneered.
Despite his height, Private Thompson seemed to shrink in on himself. Then he took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders and raised his head. "I grew up helping my dad breed cows and pigs for Palumbrans."
Private Campbell's lip curled. "And you think that makes you an expert on plagoran?"
Private Thompson stared at the ground and settled into silence. Maeve thought he might have used up all of his bravery in confronting Private Campbell.
"Leave him alone, Campbell." Amelia jumped to Private Thompson's defense. "He knows more about animals than you do."
Private Campbell pointed toward the plagoran. "Those are not animals. Those are monsters."
"A-a-are we really going to take those things on?" Private Allen spoke for the first time. "We've been trained to fight men, not monsters. Why do we need to do this?"
Maeve stared at him open-mouthed. "People are going to die without this venom. Do you want that to happen?"
Private Allen refused to meet her eyes. "Well, only one person is sick, right? If she doesn't pass it on to anyone else, then the virus dies, right?"
"You're willing to sacrifice Emma just so you don't have to do your job?" Maeve's voice rose, and the plagoran in the clearing raised its head. She stepped closer to Private Allen, stopping when she was toe to toe with the soldier. She could feel him trembling, and a fleeting spark of compassion ran through her. "Look, I know you're scared. Those things are scary, but it's not just Emma's life that is at stake here. Do you really think that Arabella won't hesitate to use this virus again? We need to be able to protect everyone in Palumbra. To do that, we have to get the venom."
Private Allen nodded and took a step back from Maeve.
Patrick moved to the center of the group. "Has everyone had their say?" Heads bobbed all around. "Great. Because none of you get a vote. That's not how this works. We have a mission, and we're here to complete it. We're a team. We either work together or we fail. So, no matter what your personal feelings about this mission are, you have a job to do. Let's get it done."
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Emery pushed the button to open the hovercar doors before Gray had stopped the vehicle. She jumped down to the ground and stopped at the sight of Ginger's head laying in Tristan's lap, her face drained of all color. "Is she?" Emery couldn't bring herself to finish the question.
Tristan shook his and eased Ginger's head off his lap so he could stand. "She's still alive." He pulled Emery in for a comforting hug. "But we need to get her help. Soon."
Gray jumped down from the hovercar, his eyes quickly taking in the situation. With a curt nod, he strode over to Ginger and motioned for Tristan to help him lift her. "We've got to get moving. The owners of this hovercar weren't exactly happy that we took it."
"I've got her." Tristan leaned down to Ginger and gently lifted her in his arms. Her breathing hitched as he lifted her but resumed its shallow rhythm as he strode toward the hovercar. Gray grabbed the rope that had saved Ginger, and he and Emery returned to the hovercar. He took his position at the controls, and the hovercar began to move once more. Tristan settled Ginger on the bench seat along the side of the hovercar, cushioning her head once more in his lap. Emery sat at Ginger's feet. Ginger began to shiver as the air rushed through the shattered windows, but the hovercar held no blankets.
"Rub her legs, Emery." Tristan blew on his hands to warm them, then began to briskly rub her arms. Ginger's clothes had mostly dried from the previous night's storm, but they were too thin to offer much in the way of warmth.
"She's in shock. We really need to get her warm." Emery looked around the hovercar once more, but it held nothing in the way of supplies. It was a vehicle to get from place to place, nothing more. Any supplies that the original owners had carried to their camp, they had taken with them. Tristan pulled his shirt over his head and laid it over Ginger's torso, providing a tiny bit of warmth. Gray removed his shirt as well, handing it to Emery to tuck around Ginger's shaking shoulders.
Emery looked up at Tristan with fear-filled eyes. "Is she going to be OK?"
"She will be i
f we can get her some help," Tristan promised.
Emery faced Gray. "How fast can we get back to Palumbra?"
Gray scanned the horizon. "This thing can go pretty quick since it just skims over the rough terrain. Arabella's people didn't take us too far into The Beyond." He pointed. "We can see the desert right there. So, maybe half a day to get all the way to Palumbra − assuming we don't get lost in the desert."
Emery looked startled. "Do you think we'll get lost?"
Gray shook his head. "I'm pretty sure I can get us back to Palumbra. The question is do we make a stop in the desert or not."
"What?" Emery drew her eyebrows together in confusion. "Why would we even think about stopping? We have to get Ginger some help."
"Do we just forget about Thomas?" Gray did not turn around to see Emery's expression, but he heard her sharp intake of breath.
"Thomas," Tristan said with an air of defeat. "What do we do?"
Gray took a last look at the open expanse of land in front of him, set the hovercar to continue in a straight line then turned around. Tristan's shoulders drooped as he sat shirtless and continued to rub Ginger's arms. "Exactly. What do we do?"
"We go back to Palumbra and get help for Ginger." Emery stood, bracing her legs against the sway of the hovercar and placed her hands on her hips. "How can we do anything else?"
Gray and Tristan shared a look of misery then Gray said, "So we abandon Thomas?"
Emery looked defiantly from Tristan to Gray, then dropped her hands from her hips and closed her eyes. "No. Yes. I don't know." She slumped back down at the end of the bench seat next to Ginger's feet. She looked from her sister to Gray with tortured eyes. "How do we choose?" she whispered.
Gray raised an eyebrow at Tristan. "Any thoughts?"
Tristan's hand smoothed Ginger's hair away from her face. "She's not going to make it if we stop. And what if we have to fight? We have no weapons. Someone would have to protect Ginger, and Emery's not a trained fighter." He looked at Gray. "What do you think?"
Gray leaned against the control console. "I think our options are all bad. No matter what we do, we abandon someone. I hate the thought of leaving Thomas behind." He stared at some peeling paint on the floor. "Maeve will kill me," he said softly.
Emery's and Tristan's eyes met over the prone form of Ginger. Emery raised her eyebrows as if questioning whether he thought Maeve was still alive. Tristan shrugged.
"But she'd kill me if something happened to Ginger, too," Gray continued, ignoring Emery and Tristan's silent communication. He stopped talking and began to pace in front of the control console. "But, what if." He fell silent and stared out the front window.
"Want to fill us in on what's going on in your brain?" Emery asked.
Gray turned back around, his eyes gleaming with determination. "We have to go through the desert anyway, right?"
Tristan and Emery nodded.
"Let's make a sweep by the oasis. If it looks like Thomas is there, then I'll stay behind and see if I can rescue him. If not, we'll continue on to Palumbra."
"We can't split up," Emery said heatedly. "How is Tristan going to fight if we run into trouble if he has both me and Ginger to defend?"
Tristan looked thoughtful. "No, that could work. We have the hovercar, which means we can outrun anyone on foot, and it offers some protection. We should be able to make it without stopping." He looked up at Gray. "It's a good plan. Let's do it."
Gray pushed the hovercar to its top speed, skimming over the rocky ground like a skater gliding across ice. Every so often, he would take his gaze off the desolate view outside his window and glance back at Ginger and the others. Ginger's breathing remained shallow but steady, and her eyes stayed closed. Bruises had begun to appear on her face and hands, which was all Gray could see of her skin since they had swaddled her in his and Tristan's t-shirts. Tristan kept her head in his lap and made the occasional comment to Emery who had moved to the bench on the other side of the hovercar. Emery's gaze never left the rise and fall of her sister's chest.
"We've reached the desert," Gray announced.
Tristan flicked his gaze to the window as if to confirm Gray's announcement, then went back to watching Ginger and stroking the hair off her face.
Emery joined Gray at the console. "Do you know where we're going?"
Gray nodded. "I think so." He pointed slightly to his right. "We should run into the oasis if we angle in that direction."
"Do you really think Thomas will still be there? Do you think Arabella actually let him go?"
Gray said nothing.
"Gray, tell me the truth."
He shook his head. "I don't think she ever had any intention of letting him go, not when she can use him as leverage over Maeve."
"So, you don't think he'll be at the oasis?"
"I don't." He adjusted one of the controls. "But we have to look."
Emery nodded and returned to her seat, but her gaze now alternated between the view outside and Ginger's unconscious form.
No one said anything else. Gray glanced over his shoulder to find Emery's eyes slowly closing and her head slumping to her chest. He concentrated on driving as the low murmur of Tristan's voice carrying on a one-sided conversation with the unconscious Ginger broke the silence.
He slowed the hovercar in what seemed to be the middle of the desert. Emery's eyes popped open. "Are we there?" she asked as she wiped her eyes. Gray nodded and noted that the short nap had done nothing for the dark circles under Emery's eyes.
"How is she?" Gray asked Tristan.
Tristan shrugged his shoulders. "OK, I guess. She's still breathing, and her pulse is weak but steady. There's not much else we can do for her except get her to a doctor. Why did we stop?"
Gray turned to gaze out the driver's window. "The oasis is just up there."
Emery hopped off her bench and ran to stand next to Gray. "Where?"
Gray pointed at a shadow on the horizon. "Those are the trees of the oasis."
Emery squinted. "Are you sure?"
Gray nodded. "I'm positive. It won't take us 15 minutes to get there at top speed."
"So why are we sitting here?"
"Because we can't just drive up and announce ourselves, Emery." Tristan shifted slightly, trying to move and not jostle Ginger.
"Exactly," Gray said. "We need a plan. It would be better to wait until it gets dark."
Tristan was shaking his head before Gray finished speaking. "Ginger can't wait that long. We need to be in Palumbra by the time it gets dark."
"I know. That just makes it a bit harder to get in and out without being seen."
Tristan looked around the barren interior of the hovercar. "Do we have any supplies at all?"
Emery kneeled down and crawled under the driving console. "There's this."
Gray took the piece of gray fabric from her. "What is it?"
"I don't know. I just noticed it out of the corner of my eye."
Gray shook out the lightweight fabric. It had holes at the top and was a rectangle about seven feet long and four feet wide.
"Look up." Tristan pointed to a rod above Gray's head. "I bet it's a curtain to set the driver apart from the passengers. But we can use it as a disguise and a blanket for Ginger because we're going to need our shirts."
Gray had almost forgotten he had given Ginger his shirt. "How are we going to tear the fabric?"
All three looked around the car, seeking a sharp point to rip the fabric.
"There." Emery ran to the back of the hovercar where a strip of metal had come loose where it met the door. "We can use this."
Gray took the fabric over to the sharp metal piece, placed a corner of the fabric against the sharp edge and tugged. A small rip appeared in the fabric. “How do we want to cut it?"
"Cut enough to make a cloak-like thing to cover someone's head. Leave the rest for Ginger. We can double it over and keep her warmer."
Gray slung the fabric around his shoulders and flipped it up over his head l
ike a hood. He grabbed the fabric where it touched his knees and placed that spot on the sharp edge and tugged. A two-inch rip appeared. By carefully sawing the fabric against the sharp edge, the tear slowly grew to about four inches.
"This is going to take forever," Gray announced, wiping sweat from his forehead. With the hovercar stopped, the heat in the metal vehicle was rising quickly.
Emery motioned for Gray to stop and took the fabric from him. "Don't you know anything about fabric?" She stood on the bench and let the fabric drop to the floor. She placed her hands on either side of the rip Gray had made and pulled her hands apart. The fabric tore in a long strip, and she continued tearing until she had two pieces of fabric in her hands. The whole process took two minutes.
Gray took the smaller piece from her. "Glad one of us is smart."
Emery shot him a grin as she laid the other piece of fabric over Ginger. "Genius, remember?"
"OK, genius," Tristan said. "What's next?"
"No idea." Emery tucked the side of the fabric under Ginger, being careful not to jostle her. "You guys are the mission planners."
Tristan tossed Gray his shirt as he shoved his arms into his own. Gray raised his eyebrows at Tristan. "You seemed to have an idea when you told me how to cut the fabric."
Tristan smoothed the fabric surrounding Ginger. "We get a little bit closer, then one of us uses the fabric to conceal our face and heads toward the oasis on foot. Because the fabric is close to the color of the desert, we'll be harder to see. We should be able to get close enough to at least see if anyone is there without being spotted."
Gray nodded. "It's a good plan. You've learned a lot in the past few months."
Tristan shrugged and looked down at Ginger. "I feel like we'd be better off if I knew more first aid and less about mission planning." He took the fabric from Gray. "I'll be the scout."
Gray shook his head. "You should stay here with Ginger and Emery."
Tristan motioned to Emery to take his place cradling Ginger's head. They carefully switched places, and Tristan stood, stretching his back and shaking out his legs.
"Remember how we decided who got to go steal the hovercar?"
Gray nodded.
The Lost City: The Palumbra Chronicles: Book Two Page 26