Third Wave: Bones of Eden

by Zaide Bishop

  Zebra tried to soak it in, hoping he wouldn’t forget anything vital and trying not to become too distracted by her proximity. He liked her dark skin and thick black curls. He liked her long lashes even more, and the way they framed her amber eyes. She had a good smell about her, like wood smoke, crushed grass and sweat. Even her voice was nice—melodious, now it wasn’t taut with suspicion.

  “You’re not listening.”

  “I am. I’m listening very closely.”

  She met his gaze, and for a long moment they just studied each other.

  “You’re never going to make a move, are you?” she demanded.

  “Do you want me to? Sometimes you look at me like I want to wear your bones.”

  She leaned over and kissed him, pressing her hips hard against his. He was surprised at first, then pleased. She pushed him back against the sand, and he complied, letting her straddle his hips, her belly and chest hot against his.

  His desire rose, pressing against her thigh. He put his hands on her hips, marveling at the smooth firmness of her skin. Her mouth was hungry against his, and she pressed against him with an urgency that took him by surprise.

  The whine of the outboard motor turned him cold in an instant.

  “What is it?” She pulled back.

  “Shh,” he hissed.

  She started to sit up, peering over the grasses to the water, but he pulled her down, pressing her to the ground beside him. The motor was growing louder, and now he could hear voices. He recognized Ross and Jacobs—though no doubt they would have one of the Varekai with them as a sort of hostage.

  “Is that his canoe?” Jacobs asked.

  His canoe. They were looking for him.

  “Go.” He gave Fifteen a push. “Run.”

  “Are you—” she started.

  “Now!”

  She rolled to her feet and took off at a sprint, keeping low and heading deeper into the trees.

  Ross yelled, “Who was that?”

  It was followed by the shattering report of a gun.

  “Jesus, don’t shoot them.” Jacobs again.

  Zebra rolled to his feet, hands up. They had pulled up beside his canoe, and when they saw him they cut the engine. They had Romeo with them, and he looked just about as angry as a scalded cat to be there.

  “Who was that?” Ross demanded. “What the hell are you doing out here?”

  “Nothing,” Zebra said. “Looking for pigs. You scared one off.”

  “That wasn’t a fucking pig.” Ross hoisted himself onto the shore. He strode over, then pulled up short looking at the fire, the remains of the lobster and the designs Fifteen had been drawing in the sand.

  “What the fuck is this shit?”

  “Nothing,” Zebra said again.

  “Let’s try that again,” Jacobs said, pressing the barrel of his gun against Romeo’s temple. Zebra’s heart sank.

  * * *

  Tare was glad India was gone. He missed her. Sometimes he missed her so much he couldn’t breathe with worry, and he was achingly certain that if he didn’t see her again soon, his heart would simply stop beating and he would fall flat on his face, stone-cold dead.

  He was glad she was out of harm’s way. He didn’t know how long it would take before the scientists descended to the point of taking what they wanted—the way Teacher Steve had forced himself on November and triggered the end of the world. Given Jacobs’s earlier interest in India, it was much better for Tare’s continued sanity that she was somewhere else.

  He thought repeatedly about snatching either Ross’s or Jacobs’s gun. The other would probably shoot him dead, but the distraction might give one of his brothers or a Varekai time to arm themselves and bring the scientists down, once and for all. It was a sacrifice he would not have minded making, if not for the fact that India would never forgive him.

  He should try to say goodbye before dying, and while it really was a worthwhile sacrifice, it was one he was still sort of hoping he wouldn’t have to make.

  At least with just Kay and Vivian at the camp, things were a little more relaxed. They at least pretended to be useful—teaching new skills and permitting a greater degree of freedom than the other two.

  The sound of the returning outboard motor made everyone tense. William, who had been forced to remain behind while Ross and Jacobs took Romeo, ran down to the beach. He stopped short, though, when Ross and Jacobs directed Zebra and Romeo up the path at gunpoint.

  “What’s going on?” Kay demanded.

  “He was meeting with someone,” Ross said. “Someone who was giving him gun and technology designs.”

  The whole village—excluding the two or three other hunters that had been sent out to find food—was watching now. But few ventured any closer. Only Sugar and Charlie stepped forward, and even then it was with hesitation.

  “Please just let Romeo leave,” Charlie said. “He had nothing to do with what Zebra was or wasn’t doing.”

  “She,” Kay corrected. “I keep telling you, Romeo is a woman. You can’t keep calling her ‘he.’”

  “I’m an Elikai,” Romeo said coldly.

  Kay shook her head, irritated.

  “Who was it?” Ross demanded, ignoring the debate on gender identity.

  Zebra gave a wan smile. “I’ll tell you when Romeo and William are gone.”

  “You’ll tell me now,” Ross said coldly.

  William had been edging closer the whole time and slowly put himself between Jacobs’s gun and Romeo. Tare could see the tremble in his shoulders. He sure was good at being beaten up by people who were stronger than he was.

  Zebra slowly stepped away from William and Romeo, drawing attention away from his brothers. He still looked calm. Very calm. It was hard to quash Zebra’s easygoing nature, even at gunpoint.

  After a moment’s hesitation, Jacobs dropped his attention from Romeo and William and focused on Zebra. William quickly hauled Romeo away through the tents, out of sight.

  “Who was it?” Ross repeated.

  “I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Zebra insisted.

  The bang of the gun made everyone jump—including Zebra, who bounced backward from the sudden fist-sized hole in the ground at his feet.

  “Don’t make me waste bullets.”

  Zebra’s expression turned to something vaguely resembling panic. “She... She washed up the day before you did. She’s from another Eden. She’s leaving. Today. She’s probably gone already.”

  Another Eden? Another Varekai? What was he talking about? Tare struggled to believe Zebra could keep what he ate for breakfast a secret, let alone something like this. Suddenly the Kai who were trying not to look like they were looking were paying close attention.

  “And she knew about guns?” Ross prompted. “And technology?”

  Zebra hesitated, but Ross cocked the gun. Tare’s fist clenched. “Yes,” Zebra admitted. “She was...she was telling me...”

  He was searching for a lie—unfortunately, lying had never been Zebra’s strong suit. Jacobs didn’t wait for the flimsy excuse, though.

  “You know we need to find her,” he said to Ross. “She could be armed or anything.”

  “Yeah. I think you’re right. And you—” he turned back to Zebra, “—are staying in camp.”

  Zebra looked around, desperate, and his gaze found Tare’s. Tare shrugged, helpless. They were all helpless, and Zebra was not the only one with someone they cared about out there in the trees.

  * * *

  A baby needed a tribe. If there was one thing India was certain of after a week living wild with Fox, it was this.

  She did not have the skills to hunt, so he was forced to feed both of them, leaving her alone with the goat and Raven for long hours during the day. The baby was a handful for
one person—frequently dirty or crying. It was frustrating and tiring, and often Fox would come back tired too, or Raven wouldn’t sleep through the night.

  It was becoming an extended exercise in sleep deprivation and physical exertion that India wasn’t entirely sure they were winning. What was taking Sugar and Charlie so long? Why didn’t they have the situation under control yet?

  Sometimes India felt like she was ready to snap, and despite months of stressing over it, she was suddenly desperately grateful she wasn’t pregnant.

  She realized they were out of freshwater several hours after Fox had left for his hunt. It was almost the middle of the day, and a little warm for trekking down the mountain, but she checked the goat was secure, tied Raven to her chest and started down the rocky path all the same.

  A swarm of insects harassed her, drawn by blood or sweat.

  The river on Pinnacle Island was the reason it had most of the ungulates. There were springs and pockets of water on other, smaller islands too, but they were much less accessible. It did connect to the ocean, so it was just as likely to contain crocodiles as the beaches, and while most of the sharks they saw were tiger and reef sharks, the occasional bull shark might find its way in too.

  It meant that even in freshwater it paid to be cautious. She peered into the water, choosing a spot where it was too shallow for anything to sneak up on her under the water easily, before crouching to fill the water bottle.

  The sound of running feet startled her. She could tell the runner was barefoot and light, but she was expecting it to be Fox and rose to her feet, ready to run with him. Instead, it was a stranger who burst into view. A Varekai who threw herself into the shallow water of the river, wading across at a scramble.

  She paused a moment when she saw India—eyes wide and haunted. She mouthed something. India was almost certain she said “Sorry.”

  Then she was pulling herself up the bank and sprinting into the trees. By the time India thought to react, two more bodies were crashing through the brush on the far side of the river.

  Ross and Jacobs. Jacobs leveled a gun at India. “Don’t move.”

  * * *

  Fox had returned with food to find India and Raven gone. At first he had panicked, searching for them both with the terrible fear that she had been taken by a lion or some other predator. Then, when he found no signs of struggle, he trekked down to the river and found a number of footprints and India’s water bottle.

  He hoped, desperately, that India had escaped. He had gone back to the cave and waited. He waited all night, wide-awake, but they had not come back to him. In the morning he had let the goat and her kids go, packed up their remaining belongings and trudged back home.

  He could hear Raven crying as he approached the Varekai village, but her cries were stifled before he reached it. He walked into the camp without fanfare. All eyes turned to him, but no one spoke. He saw India sitting with Tare in the tent. Her eyes were wide and unfocused, haunted, somehow. In the middle of camp, Whiskey was still chained. When he met her gaze he saw no recognition there. She was dirty; her hair was a tangle and had turned brown with dirt and leaves. Her skin was stained too—not with the pristine war paint she preferred, but with blood, mud and sweat.

  His heart hurt to see her, as if someone was squeezing it inside his chest. He forced himself to walk past her, making his way to Kay, who was nursing Raven on her lap.

  The baby’s blue eyes brightened when she saw her father, and she held out her arms for him. He swallowed hard, then slowly dropped to one knee in front of Kay.

  “I...have come to see Raven.”

  Kay studied him. “It’s not a good name for a baby girl. I think we should call her Sarah.”

  Fox gritted his teeth. He wanted to smash her face with his fist. More than he had ever wanted to punch someone before. He forced down the ball of rage and hatred in his chest.

  “You’re right,” he said instead, almost choking on the words. “We should call her Sarah.”

  Kay beamed. “Would you like me to show you how to feed her?”

  Hope made his chest hurt. He held out tentative hands, and she placed the reaching baby into his arms. He cradled her close, tears springing to his eyes. He blinked them back, too relieved to speak.

  “I’ve made her a bottle. Here. She’s feeding well, aren’t you, Sarah?” she cooed, tickling the baby on the belly.

  Fox closed his eyes. There had to be a way out of this.

  * * *

  It had taken days. Days of not eating. Days of wriggling and bleeding. Days of sweat and spit and even piss. A million tiny painful sacrifices before she had managed to pull her hands loose from the handcuffs. It cost her skin and meat and blood, and she left those tattered remains on the limp metal so when they found it, they knew she had escaped alone.

  The animal that used to be Whiskey had stalked silently through the village, deftly avoiding the dozing man with his green goggles, not stopping for weapons or clothes or water. She stepped silently over Kay’s feet and did not even glance at the infant sleeping restlessly by her side. She simply stole into the trees and vanished into the darkness. She slipped into the water, with the other cold-blooded predators, and gave in to primeval thoughts.

  Like a crocodile, she would be unseen under a serene surface—stalking them. Until she was in position. Until they came down to drink.

  Snap.

  * * *

  “I can’t stand this fucking heat anymore.” Jacobs stomped away from the fire.

  Charlie watched him, concerned this temper tantrum might result in someone else getting hurt. Ross and Jacobs had been raging all day, furious that Whiskey had escaped and accusing everyone else of freeing her. Even Vivian.

  Kay had told them off when Raven started to cry, but she could tell they were itching for a fight.

  India slipped up to Charlie’s side, wordlessly leaving a folded square of leather at her feet, then continuing on her way. Keeping her eyes on Jacobs, Charlie nudged the leather back with her toe and saw four bone darts. Dipped in the right poisons, they could kill a boar in minutes.

  Charlie was willing to bet they were dipped in the deadliest poisons India had. She leaned down, folded the leather again and then scooped it up and tucked it into her leather bust, nestled in beside her swollen breast.

  She stood up. “I know where you can bathe.”

  Sugar looked up, eyes wide with silent alarm. She motioned for him to stay.

  Jacobs turned to face her. “What?”

  “If you’re hot. I know a freshwater pool with a waterfall you can bathe in.”

  Jacobs considered her. “Okay. Yeah, that sounds good.”

  “I’m coming too,” Ross said, rolling to his feet. “Kay?”

  Kay nodded. “It would be the first proper bath we’ve had in nine years.”

  “I’ll come too,” Vivian said.

  “We can’t all go, mate. You can’t get your cast wet anyway,” Ross said.

  “Yeah, but...” He eyed Charlie too. “I’d like to come anyway. It’ll be fine. A nice dip. No worries.”

  Kay went back to her tent where Fox was holding Raven. “Leave her with me,” Fox said softly.

  “I better not have any trouble with you, Fox,” she said firmly. “If I do...”

  “You won’t. I promise. We’ll both be here when you get back.”

  She gave him a long, hard look.

  “We should take some of the girls,” Jacobs said. “Just in case.”

  “No,” Kay said. “I’d prefer to bathe without a fucking audience. Charlie is plenty.”

  Charlie bit her cheek so she didn’t smile. “Let’s go, then.”

  They took two canoes—both with outboard motors—and Charlie pointed the way between the islands toward the waterhole. They landed on a muddy bank
and tied the canoes to spindly mangrove trees before Charlie led them down the overgrown path to the pool.

  She sat on a stone, staying alert for danger as the scientists stripped down and ventured into the water. All except Vivian, who sat protectively by her side. Absently, she touched the hidden pouch in her top. She had to find a way to take them down. All of them. And she had to do it alone. She had enough darts, if she didn’t miss, but she didn’t have a dart blower, and they had guns. Even the fastest poison they had would take a few minutes to kill them. They would have plenty of time to kill her first.

  Of course, the outboard motors were loud. Secretly she hoped she wasn’t alone out here. Sugar and the other fighters could have followed. Rescue could be on the way. But if they weren’t....

  Well, the longer they bathed, the longer she could come up with a plan.

  When they hauled themselves onto the shore sometime later, her mind was still blank. There was no way she could kill all of them and keep herself—or more important, her baby—alive.

  They were almost at the canoes again. Ross and Jacobs were leading the way. Vivian was lagging behind. Charlie slipped a barb from the cloth and grabbed him around the neck, pressing the barb to his skin.

  “Stop,” she ordered.

  Vivian gave a squawk of surprise and the others turned.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Kay demanded.

  “This barb is tipped with batrachotoxin. It will kill him,” Charlie said. “It’s time for you to leave. Get in the canoe and I will get in the other with Vivian. We will go to the channel. You will head for the mainland, and I will free Vivian to follow you.”

  Ross drew his gun. “That’s not going to happen, sweetheart.”

  “Yes, it is,” Charlie said. “I can’t kill all of you without you shooting me. But I can make you choose between his life and staying in the archipelago. If I have to die...so be it.”

  “You’re not thinking straight,” Kay said. “This is all hormones.”