Clan World

by Jim Kochanoff

  I leapt across a stream and ran as fast as I could. A huge tree was in my way, and I veered to the right. A branch nearly poked my eye out, and I ducked at the last second. A grunt from behind told me my pursuer was not as lucky. I saw a clump of trees ahead me and ran toward it. An arm grazed my back and I knew I only had a few seconds before getting caught. The clump was a few feet before me as I dove into a gully before the trees. My pursuer overshot me and ran to the center. I heard the whoosh of air as someone became snared in a trap. Lucaz appeared around the corner of the tree.

  “He’s caught,” he stated. I turned and stared into the middle of the trees. The spider’s webbing had caught another victim. The Relic clan member was large, taller and more muscular than Lucaz. His face was dark and a blue tattoo circled the right side of his face from his eyebrow to his chin.

  “How do you make this stuff? How does it travel with you?” I asked, not understanding how he created it but appreciative just the same.

  “Clan secret,” Lucaz smiled and I realized this was the only response I would get.

  “Whatever.”

  “You are her.” The clan member stopped struggling and looked intently at me.

  “I am, but I’m not the killer that I’m made out to be.”

  “That is for the chief to decide. If you let me go, I will take you to him.” That comment surprised me, I expected a bunch of swearing at us for being trapped, not an offer of help.

  “Thanks, but no thanks. We already have a plan and you’re not part of it,” Lucaz answered curtly.

  “Your choice, but you’re outnumbered fifty to two. You have no idea what you are walking into,” he said, not bragging but just telling us the facts. I looked at him more closely and realized he was probably only a few years older than us.

  “What’s your name?” I asked. Lucaz gave me a look which said that we didn’t have time for this. But I wanted some information on Jinn and I hoped to soften up our prisoner.

  “Valsa. Why are you here?” Okay — I guessed that was fair, a question for a question.

  “To rescue our friend. Have you seen her?”

  “Of course.” He snorted. “She is in the center of the camp. There is no chance of you getting close to her.”

  “And why is that?”

  Valsa stared at Lucaz. “Is this girl for real? Can you talk any sense into her?”

  “Leave me out of it and answer the question.”

  “Because there are too many of us and you’re on our territory. Your best play is to walk into the middle of camp, give yourself up, and the other girl will be freed. You try to sneak in and you’ll either get killed or you’ll break your neck trying to scale one of the trees.” I swear I had the same conversation with Lucaz about two hours ago. Boys.

  “Maybe I just like doing things the difficult way.”

  “Well, if you insist on doing it your way, let me tell you something.” His voiced dropped and I leaned in. Valsa made a motion to grab me but the web held fast.

  “Nice try but my friend’s trap is pretty strong. I should know, because I got caught in it too.”

  “Are you going to release me before you go? I’d hate to get eaten by a wild animal.” I hadn’t thought about that, but since we didn’t see any animals on the way in, I felt like he was playing me. Maybe we could use this to our advantage.

  “Tell us the best way to get into camp and maybe we can help you out,” I offered, not really expecting anything useful.

  “Seriously.” Lucaz shook his head. “Don’t believe anything he says. He’ll just get us caught. Besides, we have our way in now, let’s go.”

  “So you wanted to take my place.” Valsa perked up. “There will be others that will notice I’m gone. Go ahead, you can’t stop us all.” Lucaz and I looked at each other to confirm our plans.

  “Then we better get going. Don’t worry about the web. It will degrade after we’re gone.” Lucaz and I jumped up to leave. We didn’t have much time to save Jinn.

  “Wait. If you really are innocent, you should know something,” offered Valsa. I turned, half expecting a lie.

  “I’m willing to listen.”

  “My clan is honorable. If you explain your innocence to my clan leader, Rustin, he may release your friend and not take you captive.”

  “We’ll think about it. Don’t struggle too much, or you’ll make the web last longer,” Lucaz answered and pulled me toward the trees. I resisted his reach.

  “Enough. I’m coming. You don’t need to get pushy,” I said.

  “You set the schedule. Tuko is only going to keep them distracted for so long telling the story of your death. We’ve got to get in quickly if we have any hope of saving your friend.” He was right, and I didn’t spend any more time defending my argument. The next few minutes passed in silence as we climbed the rope ladder left by our pursuer and made it to the top of the branches. The view was breathtaking.

  The trees were huge, big enough to drive a vehicle through their trunk. The canopy was massive, branches reaching out so far that it was hard to see where one tree ended and another began. We were several hundred feet above the ground and directly in front of us was the Relic camp. Near the far end of the main tree was Tuko’s car, although I could not see him anywhere near it. I was surprised by the lack of infrastructure. Besides walls and gardens, there was little to see. Then I realized that the camp was in the trees; the inhabitants made their home above the ground.

  “Wow! The view is amazing. I’ve never heard how beautiful the Relic territory is,” Lucaz commented.

  “Must be why they’re so isolated.” I looked down and was overwhelmed by the beauty. My home was a city made of concrete. Only the outskirts had hills and forests, but nothing like this. If only I had time to enjoy it.”

  “Over there.” Lucaz pointed to the next tree. I squinted and noticed two Relic clan members approaching our position. We climbed a couple of branches and scaled above the tree walkway. A minute later, the clan members walked below us; their pace was steady. We waited another minute and dropped back down.

  “They didn’t look like they were in a rush. Seems like we haven’t been discovered yet,” I said. Lucaz pointed to a tree pathway that would take us closer to Tuko’s car. I was vigilant for any more sentries. As we walked, my hand touched the moss on the tree. It felt cool as it insulated the tree from the heat. Something floated down and landed on a nearby branch. It was a bird with brilliant plumage. It chirped at me and I leaned in for a closer look.

  With a snap, a flower on the tree sent out an appendage and wrapped itself around the bird. In a second, the bird was gone and the flower was still again. Lucaz’s face expressed how I was feeling.

  “What the?” He stared at the branch where the bird was a second ago. I looked as well but didn’t put my hand where the bird had been in fear that I would also become a victim.

  “There must be something alive in these trees, or the flowers themselves.”

  “The Relic clan has never been attacked on their home territory. If these trees are part of its protection, I can see why,” Lucaz said.

  I took a step forward and then stopped, realizing something. “If that’s so, why haven’t we been attacked? We have been in the trees long enough for them to take us at any time.”

  “Unless they don’t view us as a threat or a meal. Yet.” Lucaz let that comment sink in, but I realized that it didn’t change my determination to free Jinn.

  “Then let’s keep going, but remind me not to take a rest near one those flowers.” We jumped back down to the wooden sky bridges. We still had a lot of ground to cover and time was running out.

  * * *

  Fifteen minutes later, breathing heavily, we reached our destination. Directly below us was Tuko’s car. A hut was built at the base of a tree and several guards were stationed outside of it. My instincts screamed that both Tuko and Jinn were inside.

  “We’re here, now what?” Lucaz asked.

  “Stop asking questions y
ou know the answer to,” I replied a bit too vigorously. We had discussed this all beforehand. I didn’t know if this was a boy thing or if he was just nervous and had to verbalize everything. Either way, it was annoying. “We wait. Tuko will give us a sign.” So we sat in the tree, not really relaxing based on the earlier bird’s disappearance. Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait too long.

  “I am done here!” Tuko yelled, marching out of the tent. Several Relic clan members followed him out. One of them stood a head taller than the rest, his bald scalp tattooed with intricate designs. It wasn’t hard to tell that he was their leader.

  “You are done when I say we are done. Your ‘proof’ does not prove anything and your sister will not be released until the girl has been captured or confirmed dead.”

  “What else do you want from me?” Tuko tossed my necklace at the leader’s foot. “Her body was taken by sand worms at the dinosaur encampment. All that was left of her was the necklace that they couldn’t digest. Why don’t you send your clan members to check if you don’t trust the word of the son of the leader of Armor clan!” Tuko had his usual disgusted look and jumped into the driver seat of his car, turning on the engine.

  “We will, but your sister does not get released until I have more proof. Where do you think you are going?”

  “Far away from here,” Tuko sneered and gunned the engine. The car narrowly missed the clan leader while one of the guards jumped back to avoid being hit. Tuko waved his arm dismissively, challenging the clan to catch him. This was exactly what we wanted.

  “Close the main gate. Take three of your men and bring him back here. Gently. We don’t want to anger his father any more than we have.”

  “But Rustin, he disrespected you. You should throw him in a cage until he learns some manners.”

  The clan leader put an arm on the soldier’s shoulder and smiled. “You were a teenager once. His sister is locked away. Give him some leeway. Impulsive decisions do not define us.” The soldier left, taking others with him. The clan leader looked around, eyeing the trees around us but not our hidden spot. I still pulled myself tighter under the foliage. The clan leader ducked in under the canopy above the tree opening and disappeared. This was the opportunity we had waited for.

  “Let’s wait a couple more minutes and make sure no more guards rush out to join the group to capture Tuko,” Lucaz said. I nodded.

  “What do you know about the Relic clan leader, Rustin?” I asked. Lucaz moved his face closer to me as he considered my question.

  “He has always been well regarded, tough but fair. But very solitary, he doesn’t mix well with the other clans but is worshipped in his own clan.” A possible ally or a formidable foe. It didn’t matter — we just needed to find Jinn and get out of there.

  “Come on, we only have a brief time before they drag Tuko back. He’ll only be able to delay them so long.” We climbed down the tree onto the ground. We walked casually. There were some clan members in the distance, but they seemed focused on their task and ignored our progress. We stepped toward the tree and opened the tarp. Inside was not what I expected. The passage was rough and tubular, like the roots of a tree. There was no natural light, but the roots seemed to glow with liquid flowing through the veins. I reached up. The ceiling was damp and a little sticky.

  “This is amazing,” I whispered.

  “I wonder if the whole tree is hollow,” Lucaz said. We moved forward and in the next chamber there was a fork. One root tunnel went upward while the second descended into the ground.

  “We are not splitting up,” I barked.

  “Well, we have a 50/50 chance of being right if we don’t.”

  “Doesn’t it make sense that they would keep someone captured below?”

  “I’ve never been inside a tree before, so I wouldn’t know. We could go down a short way, maybe we’ll get lucky.” Damn it. This was one of those occasions when I wished I had a drone to see around corners.

  “Then I’ll make the decision for you. I’m going up.” Lucaz was already halfway up before I realized what he was doing.

  “But I want to go down!” I hissed.

  “Then go. Whoever finds Jinn first frees her and meets back here.”

  “Deal,” I answered, but Lucaz was already gone. Sometimes I really hated boys.

  I continued downward and could feel the temperature drop as I descended. Along the route I counted several hollows that appeared to be rooms without doors. I stopped as the sound of voices approached, and I ducked into one of hollows. I stood perfectly still as the voices got louder.

  “Are we going to move the prisoner?” a deep voice asked.

  “Soon. It doesn’t look like Armor clan is going to bring the girl. I don’t think Rustin wants to start a war with them for no reason. They’ll probably release her in a day or so. What a waste. With Luther dead, his killer gone. Who will unite the clans?”

  “Who says we need uniting?”

  “Well, if you ask me…” The rest of their conversation became unintelligible as they walked away from the room. Now I had a new problem. This was a breakout mission, but Tuko had pleaded his case too well. If they truly thought I was dead and were going to release Jinn, why was I here? Should I just go back the way we came? My head swam. Could I really backtrack without being seen? It was a miracle so far, but how could I let Tuko know about a change in plans? Maybe I should go a little farther and find Jinn. Talk to her, ask her opinion. As I turned around, I slammed into someone’s back. Not cool. I fell and looked at my assailant.

  “Be careful, Pene, you’ll bring everybody on top of us!” Lucaz whispered.

  “I thought you were exploring upstairs,” I said.

  “I was, but it appears to be living quarters, and I knew I wouldn’t get far without getting caught. I came back to you thinking that it was more likely that Jinn was down here.”

  “We have a problem.”

  “What?”

  “I overheard two guards saying that they might be releasing Jinn — it makes this whole trip a waste of time.”

  “Don’t believe everything you hear. Besides, we’re committed. Once that guard we tied is free, the whole story is going to come spilling out.”

  He was right, I wasn’t thinking. We had to keep going. I was about to leave when I noticed Lucaz ransacking the cupboards.

  “What are doing?” I asked impatiently.

  “I don’t know, maybe something to make us blend in a bit, or I could get lucky and find a weapon.”

  “Clever idea.” I opened another cupboard and found a small tray with a covered plate. “Let’s grab this. I can pretend that I am bringing food for the prisoner.”

  “Here, take a towel and throw it over your left arm.”

  “Does it make look like I’m delivering food?”

  “Little bit. It also makes you look like you know your way around the kitchen. Probably a place you know nothing about.” He smirked. I felt like throwing the cup at him but thought better of it. We were running out of time. We stepped back into the hallway and continued to descend into the tree. We came around the corner. A long hallway with prison cells lined the way. The bars were long wooden spikes gnarled like the wood they came from. The cell was empty, but a guard saw us coming and walked toward us.

  “What are you two doing here?” He looked at me as if trying to remember if he knew me.

  “Food for the prisoner,” I answered haughtily, like he should know why.

  “She just ate two hours ago. You feed her like a princess while the rest of us starve. What do you have?” He reached for empty tray.

  “Don’t touch!” Lucaz slapped his hand, but not enough to hurt. “Are you trying to get us in trouble?”

  “Fine.” The guard grudgingly accepted our word and then cocked his head. “When did they start sending two service staff from the kitchen anyway?” he asked suspiciously.

  “I asked,” I answered without hesitation. “I just wanted to see what the girl from Armor clan was like.” Whi
ch was true.

  “This isn’t a social call. Drop off the food then the two of you can get out of here.” I saw the outline of someone in the cell, but I couldn’t see her face. I stepped closer.

  Jinn was sitting on a bench, hunched but looking okay physically. She raised her head and her eyes looked exhausted. But as realization sank in, she began to shake her head.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” she said, then covered her mouth as if she could force the words back in.

  “What’s the problem here — why is she talking to you?” Then the guard looked at us more closely. “I thought the two of you looked odd with no tattoos around your face. I thought it was just because of your age. You’re from her clan!”

  Lucaz was already moving before the guard could ready his weapon. He threw the empty container at his head, forcing him to duck. As he evaded the object, I stretched my leg under his, tripping him. As he went down, I knew I wasn’t much of a fighter, so I sat on him. Big mistake. He was much larger and stronger and tossed me off like I wasn’t even there.

  I landed hard on the root floor and the guard came at me with his weapon. I raised my hands in self-defense, waiting for the blow.

  With a crack, something hard came down on the guard’s head and he fell face forward to the ground, landing at my feet. I looked up to see Jinn holding a broken mug.

  “Great rescue. Is it okay that I stepped in?” I hugged her with all of my strength. I let go first.

  “How did you help? You were in your cell!”

  “They never locked it. Heck, most of the time the guard wasn’t even around. I mean, where would I go. There is no way I was going to leave their territory undetected. Which begs the question, how did you get this far?”

  “No time. We need to get out of here. Now. Jinn, this is Lucaz. He’s with Spider clan.” Jinn looked him over. Lucaz nodded.

  “Fine. But that brother of mine better be nearby, because we’re going to need a quick getaway.” I smirked. Jinn had lost none of her fieriness while in captivity. I had missed her.

  “Follow me,” Lucaz commanded, and we hurried down the root hallway. We had to get outside quickly, before the guard was discovered. The hallway was long and I could see someone or something in the distance. We ducked into a hollow and made ourselves quiet. About ten seconds later, I could hear the footsteps as someone walked by. This was not good. We waited a few seconds, then I grabbed Jinn’s hand.