Girl of Stone (The Expulsion Project Book 2)

by Norma Hinkens

  “Let’s check if there are any fish in the lake first,” I say.

  Phin takes a position on a rock overlooking the water. “I’ll keep watch in case there’s anything else in the water.”

  I move cautiously toward the water’s edge and peer in, studying the shadows around the shore for any flicker of movement among the rocks and reeds. After a few minutes, I straighten up and glance around, and then tense.

  Sensing my unease, Phin draws his weapon. “What is it?”

  I point to a forked tree overhanging a well-shaded finger of the lake about forty feet away. Wedged in the branch is a fishing pole, the line trailing into the water.

  I swallow hard, staring at the line. Someone was here—might still be here. They could be watching us from behind any one of a dozen trees scattered around, or from inside the cabin, or a vantage point farther up the mountain. My skin prickles. “Stay here and watch out for anyone coming up the hill,” I whisper to the others. “I’ll check out the pole.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Velkan says. “Phin can wait here with Ayma.”

  Velkan and I tiptoe cautiously over to the fishing line. I throw a furtive glance around, and then look over my shoulder to check on the others. Ayma watches us, wide-eyed, hunkered down in some brush. Phin’s gaze never rests in the same spot for more than a few seconds, searching for any sign of an encroaching threat.

  Reassured that he’s covering us, I yank the pole a few times to free the hook, and then wind it up to examine the lure. It’s not rusted, and the reel operates smoothly, indicating that it hasn’t been abandoned.

  Velkan’s eyes meet mine. “We’re not alone.”

  I give a grim nod before casting the line and replacing the pole in exactly the same position I found it in. We duck beneath the pines and weave our way back to Phin and Ayma. “Someone else is here,” I announce, my voice vibrating with an undercurrent of trepidation. “That pole hasn’t been in the water long.”

  A deep furrow forms on Phin’s brow. “No reason for Preeminence to operate patrols in such a remote location. My hunch is someone is living here off grid.”

  “We don’t know that for sure,” Velkan says. “And even if that is the case, it doesn’t mean we’re any safer. If they’re living here off grid, they won’t want to run into us. They may think we’re with Preeminence.”

  “I’ll go ahead to the cabin and check it out,” I say.

  “No!” Velkan says. “We stick together like we agreed. We can take a wide detour and approach the cabin from the back so we can observe it for a few minutes first.”

  “Velkan’s right,” Phin says. “When we get close enough, we can use the OcuLens to spy on any comings and goings. We need to determine if it’s just one person, or a family, or possibly a larger group before we decide how to proceed. For all we know, Preeminence patrols could use this cabin as an outpost.”

  Satisfied with our plan, we leave the lake behind and weave our way through the trees, single file, constantly scanning the shadowy undergrowth for any movement. The occasional clump of snow slides from a branch as we push through, startling us with its cold clutch. Ayma, in particular, is twitchy and ill-at-ease, eager to return to the ship now that we’ve identified a potential threat, but to her credit she runs with the majority vote to keep pushing on toward the cabin.

  Moments later, I do a double-take when we emerge from a clump of trees and the back gable of the wooden cabin comes into view. I shrink back and signal to the others that we have arrived. The cabin is a decent-sized structure, low-lying, a heavy pack of snow covering its roof. To the left of the back door are two small windows and to the right a larger one.

  “Doesn’t look like anyone’s gone inside recently,” Phin mutters. “Look at the remnants of that snowdrift up against the door.”

  I frown, puzzled. Surely, whoever was fishing near the cabin would take shelter here. “They might be using the front entry,” I say, dubiously. From here, the cabin looks deserted and there’s no smoke coming out of the chimney. What if the mysterious fisherman or woman is lying dead inside? I shiver at the thought of what we might find if we push open the door.

  “See if you can spot anyone through the windows,” I say, turning to Ayma.

  She holds up the OcuLens and adjusts the zoom. After a moment, she shakes her head and hands it to me. “It’s a wreck inside—a few bits of broken furniture and a serious cobweb epidemic.” She pulls down her lip. “Seems to be plaguing us lately. I’m definitely not sleeping in there tonight, so don’t go getting any ideas.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m with you,” I say. “The comfort of the stealth fighter is calling to me. But I do want to check if there’s anything inside the cabin we can salvage. Do you want to come with me?”

  “I’ll wait here.” Ayma curls her lip in an expression of disgust. “Those are jumbo-sized cobwebs, and it wasn’t just the OcuLens magnification.”

  “I’ll go,” Velkan says. “There may be parts or tools lying around that could be useful.”

  I raise an indignant brow at him. “Are you saying I won’t know what I’m looking at?”

  He grins. “You know your spears, I’ll give you that. But I’m willing to bet they don’t use them up in these mountains. We need to look for traps, or anything we can build one out of.”

  I turn to Phin. “You got us covered?”

  He nods as he readies his gun and takes up a position next to Ayma.

  Velkan and I move off in a wide circle and approach the cabin from the windowless gable side to the east. We press ourselves up against the flaking log siding and tread carefully around the worn decking to the first small window. I lean forward a few inches and peer through the filthy glass, mottled with mold. Exactly as Ayma described. No one’s been in here in years. No footprints in the dust, no remnants of a makeshift bed, no woodpile near the dusty fireplace. A mixture of disappointment and relief leaks through my veins. The flicker of hope that someone’s living off grid beyond the clutches of Preeminence is beginning to fade.

  I draw my head back and whisper to Velkan. “Deserted—has been for a long time.”

  He slips past me, pushes down on the door latch, and wedges the door open with his shoulder. I suck in my breath at the loud scraping sound the solid wooden door makes as it’s forced back on heavy hinges against the snowdrift, but apparently no one’s around to hear because no one intercepts our intrusion. I follow Velkan inside and quickly scan the meager contents of the room. A few rickety cabinets swollen from the damp, a chair with a cracked seat, a lopsided, faded picture on the wall and another on the floor. I crunch over the broken glass to a warped dresser and pull out the only remaining drawer. Apart from a moth-eaten blanket, there’s nothing inside.

  Velkan takes a coil of frayed rope from a hook on the wall by the back door and slips it over his shoulder. “You never know when this could come in useful.” I take one last look around for anything worth saving, but the cabin has been well picked over.

  “This is a dead end,” I say. “Let’s head back to the others and return to the ship before it gets too dark.”

  I exit the cabin through the back door and eye the forest in front of me with an air of trepidation as I wait for Velkan. Night will fall soon over these mountains, and the unidentified animal tracks I spotted on the way here loom larger than ever in my mind. Velkan slams the wooden door shut behind him, and we waste no time making a beeline back to the others.

  “Any signs of life?” Phin asks.

  I shake my head. “The cabin’s trashed. Nobody’s been in there in years.”

  A worried expression ripples over Ayma’s brow. “So how do you explain the fishing pole?”

  I shrug. “I must have been mistaken. Obviously, it’s been there longer than I thought.” I don’t meet her eyes because I’m not entirely convinced of what I’m saying, but there’s no sense in making Ayma any more nervous than she already is.

  Velkan eyes the horizon where an indisposed winter sun is retreatin
g in an auburn hue. “We should get back to the ship.”

  Ayma lets out a gusty breath and jumps to her feet. “I thought I’d never hear those words. I don’t relish a night out here. I wouldn’t sleep a wink—something might crawl over me.”

  I grimace. If only that was all there was to worry about. I lead the way around to the front of the house. “The light’s already fading, we’d best take the most direct route back down the mountain.”

  We set out at a gentle jog on the overgrown trail that leads away from the cabin. I’m lost in my thoughts, the fishing rod still niggling at me, when the ground suddenly gives way and I find myself tumbling down into darkness.

  13

  My fingers clutch at air as I try desperately to grab hold of something. Ayma shrieks in my ear as she flies past me. Dirt showers my face and I brace for impact, landing with a dull thud on the hard ground below. Velkan and Phin crash down around me, grunting from the fall. I roll over, wincing as I brush out a sharp stone from under my hip. Hesitantly, I peer around at our surroundings, a dirt hole approximately four foot by six foot.

  “Everyone all right?” Phin calls out.

  “I’m fine,” I answer, spitting out a mouthful of sand and gravel.

  “I’m okay,” Velkan grunts.

  “I think I’ve twisted my ankle,” Ayma moans.

  I scramble to my feet and fumble my way over to her in the semi-darkness. “Can you stand on it?” I ask, reaching down to give her a hand.

  “I think so. It’s not too bad.” She pulls herself up, leaning on me for support, and peers around nervously. “Where are we?”

  “We’re in some kind of trap,” Velkan says.

  I help Ayma lean up against the wall, and then kneel and examine the ground. “No sign of any tracks.”

  “Maybe it wasn’t designed for animals,” Velkan mutters. “We didn’t land on sharpened stakes, after all.”

  My head spins toward him. “You mean …” My voice trails off.

  “Your first instinct about that fishing pole was right,” Velkan says. “Someone is here, and they dug this pit to trap anyone who comes too close to the cabin. They must be living somewhere nearby.”

  “Pretty clever tactic to use the cabin as bait for any intruders.” Phin kicks at the dirt in frustration. “I should have made sure the front of the house was clear.”

  Velkan frowns. “It’s not your fault. We all assumed the cabin was abandoned.”

  “A soldier never assumes,” Phin responds. “It was a careless mistake. If I’d examined the trail first, I’d have spotted the trap.” He furrows his brow and stares down at the ground, arms tightly folded across his chest.

  Ayma peers up at the darkening sky. “So how are we going to get out?”

  Velkan slips the frayed coil of rope off his shoulder and begins to unravel it. “I’m not sure. This is all we’ve got to work with.”

  “That won’t help us,” Phin says. “What are we going to tie it to?”

  We all fall silent as we digest the implications of our predicament. If we don’t find a way out of here quickly, we could become someone’s prisoners. But whose? And there’s another ugly possibility that keeps pushing its way into my mind: what if the creature that left those huge tracks falls into the pit? I throw a skittish glance at the gun holstered at Phin’s waist. I won’t voice that concern in front of Ayma. I’ll talk to Phin in private and make sure he’s prepared. In the meantime, we need to focus on finding a way out of here.

  “Whoever dug this pit could be dead or have moved on already,” I say. “If that’s the case, no one’s coming to save us.”

  Velkan looks up at the opening we fell through. “This pit’s at least twelve feet deep. The only possible way we can get out of here is by forming a living ladder. If one of us can climb out, we can look for something to tie the rope to.”

  Phin nods to Velkan. “Good thinking. Climb up on my shoulders. You might be able to pull yourself out. If not, Trattora can shinny up on your shoulders.”

  Phin leans his palms against the dirt wall and braces himself. I interlock my fingers and give Velkan a step up as he hoists himself awkwardly up on Phin’s back and then balances carefully on his broad shoulders.

  I hold my breath as Velkan reaches up and scrabbles around in the dirt with his fingers trying to get a grip on some roots to pull himself up by.

  Suddenly, a figure appears at the edge of the pit—a girl around my age, wielding a rifle. I gasp when she aims it straight at Velkan’s head, a threatening scowl on her dirt-streaked face.

  “Who are you?” she demands.

  Three other figures close in behind her, an older man and two teenage boys, both younger than the girl, all armed with rifles.

  “I said, who are you?” the girl snarls.

  The man fires a warning shot into the air. “You’d better start talking. And if I don’t like the answers, I won’t miss next time.”

  Velkan throws a hasty glance down at me. We need to decide how much of our story to reveal. We don’t know who these people are or what they want from us. Judging from their rough appearance and shabby clothing, my guess is they aren’t part of Preeminence.

  “We came here to find our birth parents,” I say.

  The girl wrinkles her forehead in confusion. “Where did you come from?”

  I hesitate, but there’s no sense in trying to hide the truth from them with the stealth fighter parked in the valley below. “We came through the Netherscape.”

  The girl’s frown deepens. She throws the older man a skeptical look. He steps closer and inspects us more closely. “Where’s your ship?”

  “Down by the river,” Velkan says.

  The girl lets out a humph. “You’re lying! I just came back from the river. There is no ship down there. Any more lies you’d like to tell me before I shoot you?”

  I chew on my lip, wondering whether I should mention the stealth fighter’s cloaking technology. Do I really want these strangers knowing about its capabilities? They might sabotage it. And I can’t rule out the possibility that they aren’t operating as some kind of sentinel outpost for Preeminence. “We’re not lying,” I say quietly. “We really did come here to find our parents.”

  “Are there more of you?” the older man asks.

  “Just the four of us.” I gesture around at the others.

  The man turns away and confers with the teenagers before striding out of sight.

  The girl jabs the barrel of her gun menacingly in Velkan’s direction. “Get down.”

  Wordlessly, Velkan slides down from Phin’s shoulders. “Who do you think they are?” he whispers to us.

  Phin rubs a hand across his jaw. “Not military. Those are hunting rifles. My guess is it’s just some family trying to survive off grid.”

  “Why don’t they help us out?” Ayma asks.

  “They will,” I reassure her. “They’re just being cautious. We need to prove to them who we are first. We could be spies or a patrol from Preeminence, for all they know.”

  Ayma rubs her ankle and winces. “The only way we can prove we’re not lying is if we take them inside the ship. We can show them the Syndicate uniforms in the closet. Maybe they’ll trust us then.”

  “I agree,” I say. “It’s all we have to offer them.”

  Velkan’s brow wrinkles. “Are you sure that’s wise?”

  I shrug. “We don’t have a choice, unless you’ve got a better idea.”

  The older man reappears at the mouth of the pit and hunkers down. “Here are some provisions.” He tosses down a loaf of bread and a canteen of water.

  Something in his face softens when he sees how quickly we tear into the loaf. “I can’t let you out until I can be sure you’re not a threat,” he explains, a trace of apology in his gruff delivery.

  “I can take you to our ship and prove we are who we say we are,” I shout up to him.

  He considers my offer for a moment and then shakes his head. “Like I said, I don’t trust you yet. T
here could be more of you. We need to make sure our perimeter is secure.”

  “Who is it you’re afraid of?” I ask, hoping to learn something more about our captors.

  He stares at me for a second and rubs a hand across his mouth as if uncomfortable with what he’s about to say. “Just so there’s no misunderstanding, if you try and climb out of here tonight, one of us will put a bullet in your head.”

  “You can’t leave us down here all night,” Phin yells.

  “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.” The man’s face darkens. “And you’ll stay down there until I figure out how you got here and what you’re up to.”

  He exchanges a few more words with the teenagers and then several sets of footsteps thud away from the pit. A moment later I hear a muffled cough indicating that someone has been left to guard us, presumably one of the teenagers.

  Ayma buries her face in her hands and groans. “And to think I was relieved we wouldn’t be spending the night in that cabin! I should never have left the ship.”

  “It’s only for tonight,” I say, squeezing her shoulder.

  My words ring hollow in my ears. I don’t know how long we’ll be held prisoner, or what it will take to convince our captors that we came alone and we’re not a threat.

  “I won’t be able to sleep,” Ayma wails. “Anything could crawl over me!”

  “In that case, we might get a meal out of it,” Velkan says. “Insects are good protein.” He tries to sound lighthearted, but his words just make everything seem that much more dire—a stark reminder that we are entirely dependent on our captors to keep us alive.

  Ayma frowns across at him. “You haven’t really eaten insects, have you?”

  Velkan shrugs. “If you’re hungry enough, you’ll eat anything.”

  I throw him a startled look. I knew his life as a serf under Sarth was hard, but surely she didn’t starve him to punish him.

  Phin paces the floor of the pit. “Let’s focus on getting out of here. They’re going to leave somebody to guard us all night, but that doesn’t mean we can’t escape.”