Candidate (Selected Book 4)

by Robin Roseau

  "Yes. You must convince her to jump."

  "She won't get hurt?"

  "No. But would you believe some stranger telling you that?"

  "No. I can tell her anything I want?"

  "Do not mention the Wookies and say nothing about the Implac. Otherwise you may say anything you like."

  "I could guide her to win."

  "You can try."

  "What's her name?"

  "Emma. Do we have an agreement?"

  "Yes. I'll try."

  "Excellent. I consider that choice binding. If she doesn't jump, you will find yourself being hunted."

  "What?"

  "By males."

  I sighed. "I'll do my best, Administrator."

  "I know you will. Connecting you now."

  A moment later, the sound changed. I realized I could hear the sounds of the jungle. A light breeze, some birds. Countless insects. I wasn't sure what else.

  "Emma," I said. "Can you hear me?"

  I watched her cock her head. "Who is there?"

  "Emma, my name is Andromeda, but you can call me Andie."

  "You're one of them."

  "I'm human," I said. "I'm from Minneapolis. I'm a mating candidate, like you."

  "I don't believe you."

  "Administrator Brighteyes is treating me differently than you. I don't know why. I'm in the control room watching you."

  "Sure you are," she said. "What am I doing now?"

  "Making a rude gesture into the jungle."

  "You can see me?"

  "Yes. The aliens watch you to make sure you don't get hurt."

  "Oh. I didn't know that."

  "That's a beautiful spot, isn't it?"

  "Yeah. I'm from Toledo. There's nothing like this in Toledo."

  "The closest we have is probably along Lake Superior north of Duluth," I replied.

  "I've never been there."

  "The aliens said I could help you."

  "Why would they do that?"

  "They play games within games." She didn't reply to that. "You're not going to like this. If you do something very, very scary, they'll let me help you pick a path to the exit."

  "How scary?"

  "Are you close enough to see the cliff?"

  I watched her lean over the edge. "It's high."

  "You're not afraid? I don't think I could look over the edge like that."

  "It's not so bad," she said. "What do I have to do?"

  "You have to jump."

  "What? You're trying to get me to get killed."

  "No. They don't want you to get hurt. There's some sort of safety net. It'll catch you and lower you down. If you jump, then I get to help you. If you don't jump, then I don't, and they're going to punish me besides."

  "I'm not jumping."

  "You can't stay there," I said. "Unless you want to get caught."

  "Do you know where he is?"

  I glanced at the screen. "Yes, but I can't tell you. I don't know what they'll do to me if I tell you, but I don't want to find out. Emma, do you like him?"

  "He's a stubborn jerk. He thinks he's right about everything."

  "I want you to consider what can happen. If you jump, I can lead you away from him. I can't promise you'll win, but you'll have a better chance. What is going to happen if you stay there?"

  "He'll find me." She stood up. "I could go this way." She turned, but she didn't start walking. "Is it safe?"

  "I can't answer that sort of question unless you jump."

  She peered over the edge. "I don't see a safety net."

  "Neither do I, but they promised you won't get hurt. I believe them, but I don't know if you do."

  She looked over the edge. "It's really far, Andie."

  "I know."

  "Are you sure?"

  "They said it was safe."

  "I'll do it," she said. "If you're sure." I watched as she backed up. I looked over my shoulder.

  It wasn't just Jasmine watching me.

  "Emma, wait!"

  "What?"

  "Emma, there are three aliens in this room with me and three humans." I looked around. "Every single one is watching me intently."

  "I don't know what that means."

  "They're watching me, Emma, not you. They want to see what I do, not what you do."

  "I still don't know what that means."

  I raised my voice. "Administrator, what happens if she jumps?"

  "Convince her to jump and find out."

  There was a pause, then Emma asked, "What did she say?"

  "I don't think you should do it, Emma."

  "You said they'd punish you. A bad punishment?"

  "Yeah. But don't worry about that."

  "I don't want to marry him," she said. "He's somewhere behind me, isn't he?"

  "I can't answer that."

  "But you can tell me to jump."

  "Yes, I can tell you to jump, but I don't think you should."

  "If I wait here, or if I go back and look for another path, I think he'll catch me. If he catches me, then I have to marry him. I don't want to marry him, Andie. No matter what happens, I think jumping is better than marrying him."

  A lump formed in my throat.

  "You said there's a safety net."

  "I couldn't find one, Emma. They might have lied."

  "They want you to convince me to jump."

  "That's what they said, but they play games within games, Emma."

  "I'm Catholic, Andie. Suicide is a mortal sin. If I commit suicide, I'll go to hell. But if there's a net, I won't die. If I believe there's a net, then even if I die, it's not suicide. It's an accident. I'd rather die than marry him, Andie. What do I do?"

  I began crying. "Emma. Jump."

  She didn't wait. She ran for the cliff and jumped into the air. We both began screaming, and I reached out a hand for the monitor.

  Both of us screaming, she fell. And then as I watched in horror, she slowed, and slowed further, finally coming to a complete stop ten feet above the jungle floor. I saw most of that on one of the other screens, my drone still watching the top of the cliff.

  We both stopped screaming, and then it was nearly silent. Then Emma said, "I jumped, Andie."

  "You did. I don't think I could have."

  "Did you scream? I thought I heard you scream."

  "I screamed my head off," I said. "Oh god, Emma."

  "I'm kinda stuck here." I watched her squirm around. "How do I get down?"

  "I don't know," I said. I turned to look at the Catseye, but she folded her arms, still watching me. "Um. Just a minute." I turned to the drone controls. It took a minute, but I managed to fly it down, through the lower tree branches until it was hovering just a few feet above Emma. I used it to look around. Then I smiled. I lifted the drone five feet higher then moved it above a narrow branch. Then, working carefully, I pushed down on the branch, and down, and down.

  "Emma, look up. Can you reach that branch?"

  It took us two minutes, but finally she snagged it.

  "Yes!" I said.

  "Now what?" she asked.

  "Well, no one is stopping me, so I hope this is okay. Pull on the branch."

  And I watched as Emma began tugging, and slowly she moved up. Soon she reached a thicker part of the branch, and a thicker one, and then as easy as pie, she pulled herself down to the jungle floor.

  "I made it! Now what?"

  "I think I soiled myself, Emma."

  "I might have, too."

  "Let me look around." I consulted the map. Then I used the drone again, flying away. I found a trail. I followed it for a while. Then I turned around and flew back to Emma. "Emma, turn to your right. More. More. Okay, walk that way. You're going to find a trail. When you do, if you turn left, you'll be heading north. You can follow the trail for a while, but you're going to have to go through the jungle in a while."

  "Why?"

  "I can't tell you. I can direct your path, but I can't tell you why. But I got you this far, didn't I?"
/>
  "Yeah. You made me jump off a cliff."

  "But you haven't been caught yet. I guess it was pretty good advice."

  "I guess so."

  She began walking, and then the Catseye was standing beside me. "Emma, this is Administrator Brighteyes. Once you find the trail it is safe for two miles. I need to speak to Andromeda for a few minutes, but she'll be back with you soon."

  Then the sound of the jungle faded away. I turned to face the administrator. "Come with me."

  She turned around, and I followed her from the room.

  * * * *

  It was a short walk to another room, and she gestured me ahead of her.

  Into a bathroom.

  "Clean up," she said. "Then we'll talk."

  I didn't need that much cleaning up. I hadn't actually soiled myself. But I was looking very ragged. I used the toilet, washed up, and then stared at myself in the mirror for a minute or two. Finally I took several deep breaths and turned for the exit.

  The Catseye was waiting for me. I came to a stop facing her.

  "You are right. We play games within games. But one game I will never play is one in which one of our mating candidates is seriously hurt. In the end, you believed the net was there."

  I looked her in the eyes. "I wasn't sure."

  "You trusted me."

  "That's easy when it's not my own life."

  "I play games. I lie. I deceive. I cheat. I am willing to allow someone to go through significant emotional turmoil."

  "But?"

  "But I have never hurt someone, Andromeda."

  "You destroy our lives."

  "And then I give you new ones." She smiled. "So, are you going to steer her around the Wookies or right into them?"

  "Around, of course."

  "She'd have a better life mated to Fine Mist than sending her back to Toledo."

  "What would you do?"

  She waved a finger at me. "Andromeda, even the Implac represents a better life for her than her old life in Toledo. He won't love her, but he'll treat her gently."

  "You want her to lose?"

  "Yes, I do. I'd prefer Soft Rain and Fine Mist to win. But I'd rather the Implac gets her than she goes back to Toledo." She set a hand on my shoulder. "Do not tell her about the Wookies, but if the Implac gets too close, you may warn her."

  She led me back to the control room.

  * * * *

  "Hello, Emma."

  "You're back, Andie!"

  "I'm back, Emma."

  "The trail branches. Which way do I go?"

  "I don't know. Just a minute. My camera is back at the cliff." It took me a couple of minutes to catch up. Emma was crouched down, drinking from her water. I checked the map. The Implac was working his way around to the west again. I guess he didn't want to try jumping.

  And the Wookies were approaching Emma's location.

  "Emma, I need you to turn right. That should be east."

  I watched her stand up. She turned slowly. "It is," she said. "Or that's what my compass said."

  "I need you to head east, and you need to move quickly."

  "Is he coming?"

  "I can't answer that. You need to move east." Then I moved the drone out ahead, looking at the path. It was heavy jungle, but there weren't any cliffs.

  The pace picked up from there. The Wookies began moving faster. Off the trail, Emma was slower. But once she was well off the trail, I told her, "Turn northeast, Emma. There's a stream in a while. I think you can follow it. It's not quite the right direction, but it's close."

  Two minutes later, the Wookies turned northeast as well, and they were moving faster than Emma was. In the meantime, the Implac managed to circle around the cliff, and he was moving in from the west, also moving quickly.

  "Faster, Emma," I said. "You have to move faster."

  "I'm going as fast as I can," she said. I watched her shoving her way through the underbrush, getting scratched by some of the branches and tangled in the others. At one point she came to a complete stop, stuck by the heavy vegetation. It took her two minutes to work her way around it. I kept urging her to go faster.

  "We could trade places," she suggested.

  The Wookies moved faster and managed to cut her off. And the Implac was coming up on her tail. "You have to turn east again, Emma. Um. A little southeast."

  Over the next twenty minutes, I tried guiding her around both parties, but she was pushed further and further south and east, and she was growing tired besides, panting heavily and not really responding to me anymore. Finally she came to a stop, leaning down with her hands on her knees, panting heavily. "He's going to catch me, isn't he, Andie?"

  I checked the map. The Impac was southwest of her. The Wookies were spread out now, blocking the path to the north. I wasn't going to get her out to the east, and if I sent her south, she was further from safety.

  "Emma," I said. "What's the worst thing that could happen to you right now?"

  "He could catch me."

  "Is that worse than if I run you into a pride of lions?"

  She paused. "Yes, Andie," she said softly. "It is."

  "Emma, I've been trying to get you to safety. I've been trying to get you back home to Toledo. If you stay there, he's going to catch you."

  "I know," she whispered. "Is there a pride of lions?"

  "I haven't found any. I'm sorry." I lifted the drone higher into the air then moved it east. The edge of the arena was only another hundred yards, and there was a cleared space before a big fence. I stared at it with the drone for a while.

  "Emma," I said, "I need you to do something. I need you to turn directly east and move as quickly as you can. You're almost to the edge, and it's open ground."

  She nodded, straightened, and pushed on. The Wookies continued to cut her off to the north. By the time she reached the perimeter, the Implac had halved the distance and was coming on strong now.

  "I'm here, Andie."

  "Emma, the lions are better than the Implac?"

  "Yes, Andie." She started crying. "He's close, isn't he? Please don't let him catch me, Andie. Please."

  "Emma, turn left, follow the open ground, and start running. And scream."

  "He'll hear me!"

  "Trust me."

  And she did.

  She didn't get far. Everyone heard her. The Implac heard her. The Wookies heard her. All three converged on Emma's location, and she ran right into Fine Mist's arms.

  If she'd been screaming before, she really began screaming when that happened. And then Soft Rain was there. Emma struggled with them, screaming her head off, but the two Wookies grabbed her. Then Soft Rain produced rope, and as Fine Mist held her, as best he could, Soft Rain bound Emma's hands and legs.

  Emma never stopped screaming.

  "I'm sorry, Emma," I said, over and over. "These are Wookies. I thought they'd be better than lions. And I think they're better than the Implac. I tried to lead you to freedom. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

  And then I spoke to her, trying to soothe her, trying to tell her she'd be okay. They finished tying her, and then Fine Mist took her in his arms, and they began loping along the perimeter, heading for the north exit.

  The Implac was faster.

  When he saw the Wookies carrying away Emma, he bellowed his defiance. Fine Mist began moving faster, and Soft Rain turned to face the Implac.

  I watched in horror while trying to be soothing for Emma. I told her the Wookie wouldn't hurt her. I hoped I was right. I had liked Soft Rain, and I hoped her brother was a reflection of her. And I realized I was trusting Administrator Brighteyes when she said the Wookie would treat her well.

  The Implac reached Soft Rain, and the two launched themselves at each other. That was when I realized just how big he was. I didn't have any way to judge his size, but I'd seen the Wookie up close, and she was huge. The Implac was bigger, and as soon as I saw that, my heart leapt into my throat.

  The two fought. It didn't take long to realize the Implac fought from str
ength. But Soft Rain, in spite of her size, was fast, and she fought from cunning.

  She had another advantage. She didn't need to beat him. She only needed to slow him down so her brother could carry Emma away.

  And slow him down she did, delivering a variety of harsh blows in the process while avoiding his own blows.

  But then she made a mistake, and the Implac caught her in his grip. He pulled Soft Rain to him, crushing her to his chest. She struggled and struggled, but then he turned and flung her from him, straight into a tree.

  I barely avoided screaming, clamping my hand over my mouth.

  And then the Implac was running, following after Fine Mist. Soft Rain lay still.

  I turned to look at Administrator Brighteyes. She was staring intently into space, but Dark Skies turned to face me. I couldn't read her expression, and then she, too, was staring into space again, her eyes flicking back and forth at the same time.

  The Implac reached Fine Mist, leaping ahead. Fine Mist came to a stop, and the two bellowed at each other.

  Then Fine Mist looked down into Emma's frightened eyes, and very gently he knelt down, setting her carefully to the ground. He caressed her cheek, and it was perhaps the gentlest thing I'd ever seen.

  Then he straightened, stepped over Emma, and stood his ground.

  The Implac attacked.

  I watched as they fought. I watched as they fought over Emma's trussed body as she lay there, helpless. I worried they would crush her in their fight, but Fine Mist held his ground, taking blows from the Implac, but protecting the fragile human.

  But he was at a disadvantage. He was smaller than the Implac, and he wasn't fighting like Soft Rain had. He was fighting as if he were holding off a wild animal from a helpless child. But the wild animal was strong and smart, and Fine Mist was going to lose.

  "I'm sorry, Emma," I whispered.

  The Implac launched himself at Fine Mist, and this time he got his hands on Fine Mist's throat. He began squeezing, his muscles bulging. Fine Mist beat at the hands, but I was sure it was all over.

  I really shouldn't try to predict the outcome of competitions of this nature. I was really bad at it.

  From behind the Implac, Soft Rain stood. I hadn't even seen her. She carried a tree branch, a very stout tree branch, and she swung with what appeared to be her entire might, the branch hitting the Implac square against the side of his head.

  He dropped instantly, Fine Mist pushing him away until he lay on the ground.