The Traveler

by Melissa Delport

  “You said that you’ve done this before? That you’ve conquered other worlds?”

  “We have,” he replies, “and we will do it again here.”

  “For our resources?” My disgust is blatant. I still can’t believe that they would slaughter an entire planet for some water and a bit of oxygen.

  “Did you really not see this coming?” he asks. “Did you not have even the faintest suspicion that you would be challenged? That a superior race existed and that the time would come when you would need to defend yourselves?” He is not talking about me personally, he is referring to all of us, to humankind.

  “Maybe we just believed that the proof that we were not alone in the universe might just be a little bit more civilized. That we could learn from each other and work together.”

  Dex chuckles in the dark, “No,” he shakes his head, answering his own question, “you really didn’t see this coming.”

  I cannot contradict him, so I change the subject again.

  “Tell me about the other worlds? The ones you destroyed?”

  “They don’t matter, they’re gone.”

  “Gone?” I echo, “What do you mean, gone?”

  “I told you – we colonize. They are a shell of their former selves, but the natural resources remain.”

  “So, that’s your plan for earth. Kill, conquer, pillage and then leave it a desolate ruin with a handful of your own remaining behind. A wasteland.” He doesn’t answer, which is answer enough. “So why save me?” I ask in a pitiful voice. “Why bother. I won’t survive long after you’ve stripped away everything we need to survive. You’ll leave me here to die, so what’s the point?” Again, he remains silent but something flashes in the depths of his startling green eyes and I don’t know how, but suddenly, I know the answer.

  “You want to take me with you,” I breathe, my heart accelerating in fear.

  Chapter 14

  I leap to my feet, all thoughts of keeping my voice down forgotten. I am about to scream at him, to tell him I won’t go when an eerie glow through the half-drawn curtains catches my eye.

  “Is that...” I take a step forward when an explosion down the street shakes the very walls of the house and Dex hauls me backward into the kitchen.

  “They’re here,” he races back into the living room, fetching my phone and my inhaler and shoves them into my hands. I haul on my jacket and stuff them both into my pockets.

  The others come stampeding down the stairs and I send up a quick prayer of thanks that we loaded everything into the vehicles this afternoon.

  “They’re here,” I stammer unnecessarily, turning back to Dex who is peering out of the window. We all stand in stunned silence, awaiting his instruction.

  “They’re not too close, you can make it,” he whispers, and Jason snatches up both sets of keys, tossing the Toyota’s key to Dennis. “You go ahead, I’ll catch up with you,” Dex adds, and the Grahams freeze, staring at him in confusion. “I’ll lead them off if they catch sight of you,” Dex explains, not sounding at all convincing.

  “Right, let’s go,” Jason thankfully takes charge and we all sweep out of the kitchen door toward the vehicles.

  “What about you?” I ask, hesitating at the door and looking back at Dex. An amused smile crosses his face.

  “Are you actually worried about me, Rachel?” he teases.

  “We need you if we’re going to have any chance of making it to the mountains safely,” I correct coldly and his smile vanishes.

  “I’ll catch up with you,” he insists and he shoves me gently out of the door.

  We head left out onto the street in the opposite direction of the chaos that is raining down on the small town. Dex turns right walking calmly down the street. I cannot imagine what the family in the Toyota behind us must think. I am so focused on Dex’s dark form in the wing mirror as we round a corner that I almost miss the black-clad figure who steps out of a side-street behind him. We have already completed the turn into the next street when I hiss at Jason, “Stop the car!”

  “What? Do you see something?’ He scans the street ahead of us, squinting into the darkness.

  “Nothing, but someone’s following him. One of them,” I admit.

  “So what?” his eyes widen in disbelief.

  “So, I need to get out of this car. Stop it now!” He does as I ask, but he rounds on me angrily as I open the passenger door. I ignore him. “Darren, I need the gun,” I hold out my hand and Darren fiddles with it for only a second before he hands it over.

  “Safety’s off, just point and shoot,” I can hear the understanding in his voice.

  “Are you insane?” Jason makes one last effort to stop me.

  “Jason, he’s our only chance of making it to those mountains. Our only chance.” I turn and scurry over to the Toyota which has stopped a short distance behind the van.

  “Dennis, you need to get into the van. All of you,” I add, “and I need your keys. There’s no time to explain.” The Grahams don’t argue, they are too terrified of what the problem might be, and Dennis hands over the keys as they hasten toward the others.

  I watch in two minds as the van slowly pulls off and makes its way down the street. Drawing in a deep, steadying breath I head back and round the corner, keeping to the shadows. I slip the Toyota’s keys into my pocket and move as quickly as I can, making as little sound as possible. I can see the fires in the distance, and although the pandemonium is quite far off I can still make out the sounds of screaming. My resolve strengthens as my anger mounts, knowing the terror and the death that the Venites are causing. I pick up the pace, moving even faster, wanting to catch up with Dex before we get too close to the fighting.

  It feels like forever before I finally spot him, still walking in the center of the road and I freeze. Why am I seeing him first? I scan the area between us – the Venite soldier I saw before has to be nearby. Dex assured me that they would not harm him but, dressed as he is, there is a chance that his pursuer will not recognize him in the dark. I swallow a lump in my throat as I grasp how close we have come to the invading attackers. I only hope we can still make it out of here. There! I spot him, finally, only about fifty feet ahead of me. I quickly duck behind a hawthorn bush, taking cover and peering out. Dex has stopped. Whether this is because he is close enough to fight the others, or whether he has sensed he is being followed, I am not sure, but it doesn’t matter because the man behind him has already raised his arm to strike. Without any thought to the consequences, I launch myself from behind the bush and into the street, not bothering to keep quiet. Both men whirl at the sudden sound and I fire two shots at the man nearest me. The first goes wide but the second hits him square in the chest and he drops to his knees, his eyes wide, clutching both his arms to his chest. As he falls forward, face first, I hear Dex’s angry snarl and I look up to see him bearing down on me with murder in his eyes.

  “Dammit, Rachel!” he hisses through clenched teeth and I cower in the face of his fury. “What are you doing here?” he rips the gun from my hand and stows it in the waistband of his jeans. It dawns on me that I have no idea whether Dex really is protecting us. What if his real intention right now is to communicate with his people - to give us all up? I shake my head suddenly terrified. Jason was right - I am insane. What was I thinking coming out here?

  The explosions are much louder now and the ground below us starts to shake. My legs buckle beneath me and I try to get up, only to fall back down again. I glance up at Dex and the look on his face is terrifying, his eyes are glowing and his mouth is set in an angry, ugly line. He raises his hands and I feel the storm charging the air around me. My hair stands on end and I can feel the prickle on my skin. I quickly scan the street and I see a small, obviously hastily abandoned Volkswagen parked nearby, its front tires mounting the curb. The back door is hanging open and I half-run, half-crawl towards it, struggling to keep my balance on the shuddering ground.

  The first crack of lightning sends a shockwave through my leg
s and I collapse again. I have lost sight of Dex, but I launch myself at the car as a second lightning bolt thunders close by. The third is the worst I have ever heard and I yelp, as a small shock jolts my body, even within the supposed safety of the car. For the first time I fear that he may be trying to hurt me. I have never been afraid of storms but right now I am petrified.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Dex roars, leaning into the car and grabbing hold of my waist. Rain is streaming through his hair and down his face and he blinks it out of his eyes. He drags me bodily out of the Volkswagen and I struggle helplessly against him, kicking out at his legs and writhing in his arms. His face shows an expression of pure bewilderment and he hauls me against him, pinning my body to his with his left hand while he controls the storm with his right.

  “Stop fighting me, Rachel!” he orders and I realize that his fury is not directed at me after all. His whole body is rigid with concentration as he tries to control the storm.

  “Let me back in the car!” I yell against the wind, my eyes closed against the stinging rain. “It’s the safest place for me in the storm!” I can sense the others getting closer and he’ll need all his focus if he’s going to defeat them. The semblance of a smile crosses his face and an instant later an almighty bolt of lightning hits the small Volkswagen, flipping it over, a charred, black, unrecognizable mess. I feel nothing, unaffected by the lightning only inches away. Okay, point taken.

  “The safest place for you in this storm is right here!” he yells, pulling me even closer to him, “if you want to live, Rachel, never leave my side!”

  For the next half an hour I clutch the front of his T-shirt, burying my face in his chest and trying to ignore the icy cold of the wind and the rain on my back and acutely conscious of the heat radiating off him. I try in vain to block out the sounds of the battle that is waging all around me. Dex doesn’t falter once I can feel the raw energy coursing through him and the lightning is relentless, one ear-splitting crack after another.

  By the time the storm dissipates my fingers are practically locked in place and my body is cramping from being tensed for so long. As I look down at my white-knuckled hands I notice that the sun is rising, and, as the storm clouds part, the warming sunlight hits my skin. I ease up my grip and flex my fingers ignoring the dull ache. I take a step back, feeling suddenly and inexplicably shy, but I force myself to look up and meet Dex’s gaze. His eyes are still glowing slightly, the emerald green startling but beautiful. It dawns on me that something has changed. Not only the physical nearness, but somehow Dex has dropped his cold facade – at least as far as I’m concerned. It’s like he’s letting me in for the first time since he came back.

  “Are you okay?” he asks, his voice surprisingly gentle considering the amount of damage he just inflicted, his eyes assessing my face.

  “I’m fine,” I stammer, taking another step backward. My legs, unfortunately, are far too shaky to support my weight and he catches my arm as I sway on the spot. I lean on him for support as we slowly make our way back to the Toyota keeping my eyes pointedly fixed on the ground.

  It doesn’t take long before he gets to the point.

  “Why did you come back, Rachel?”

  “I saw that man follow you, that Venite. I just... I couldn’t leave.”

  “You should have,” he admonishes.

  “Did you know he was there?” I ask, feeling a bit stupid. Dex probably didn’t need any help at all. “I saw you stiffen, as if you knew someone was behind you?”

  “No,” he admits, “I didn’t know he was there. I knew you were.”

  “What?” I think back to my stealthy pursuit. How the hell had Dex heard me, if he was double the distance away from the Venite I had managed to sneak up on? “Do you have supersonic hearing along with all those other abilities?” He just manages to hide a smile.

  “Where’s the car?” he changes the subject.

  “It’s up there, around that bend.”

  “Where are the others?”

  “I’m not sure,” I say, suddenly feeling alarmed. How will we find them? I should have arranged a rendezvous point before I ran off, I think wildly. How will Dex protect them if we don’t even know where they are? I glance sideways at him, wondering if the same thought is occurring to him. He has made it clear since the beginning that he is not concerned for their safety – isn’t this exactly what he wants? He sighs audibly.

  “We’ll find them, Rachel,” he says as we reach the Toyota. He opens the passenger door of the sedan and I get in, fastening my safety-belt and leaning back against the seat. I haven’t slept in twenty-four hours. My sweatpants are soaked through, although the waterproof jacket kept most of the rain off my shirt, which is only damp around the neckline. I dig in the pocket and pull out my mobile which is down to only about a third of its battery life. To my delight a small envelope is flashing in the top right corner. I open the text and, as I suspect, it’s from Jason: Headed for Janey’s. Leaving at noon.

  “Head west,” I tell Dex.

  Chapter 15

  Janey's is a small diner between Annandale and Bethlehem about fifty miles away. We had run a story there on the history of the townships a few months ago, and Jason had bought me the worst burger I had ever tasted. The townships are tiny, only a few thousand people per township, so heading in that direction was a good call on Jason’s part. It’s also in the right direction, getting us that much closer to Yancey County, which is still about 650 miles away.

  As we set off I quickly type a text and send it to Kimberley, praying that it gets through to her. Kim, head for the Blacks, please. Stay off the beaten track. Be safe. I hit send and stow the phone in my pocket.

  “I’m sorry you had to do that,” I say to Dex, “that you had to turn against your own people to protect me. I do appreciate everything you are doing, please believe that.”

  “But?” he narrows his eyes, sensing there is more.

  “But I’m not going with you.”

  “You don’t really have a choice,” his voice is cutting. “There’s no other solution.”

  “I won’t go. I’d rather die!” I bite my tongue, trying to calm down. I know I can make him see sense. Regardless of everything else going on, Dex cares for me – I’m sure of it.

  “Rachel,” he sighs, “I don’t want you to die and I don’t want to force you to do something you don’t want to do, but Earth will fall and I can’t let you fall with it.” I bang my head against the headrest and let out a moan of sheer frustration.

  “You said we would be safe if we’re isolated. That they won’t be interested in the remote areas. We could survive there.”

  “Until what?” he asks, and I clench my jaw stubbornly. He laughs then, understanding my plan. “Until we leave? Is that what you think? That you can hide out and then fight back when only a few remain? Rachel it won’t work! Even a dozen of your people are no match for just one of mine. And there won’t be enough of you left to have even a hope in hell.”

  “You don’t give us enough credit,” I grumble.

  “You’re wrong,” he says gently, “I give you far too much. You, especially. If there were more of you in this world, I would almost agree that it would be worth fighting for humanity.”

  “There are!” I insist. “Plenty more! We may not be perfect, Dex, but humanity is something we will always have. Something your kind will never have. We could never do what you’re doing. Killing millions of innocent people!”

  “Oh really?” his voice is dripping with condescension, “from what I’ve seen you slaughter your own kind all the time. Over color, creed, power. Oil – that’s a resource, right?” I blink at his sarcasm, wishing I could deny it, but he’s right. I blink back the tears of shame filling my eyes.

  We are barely out of town when the two light armored vehicles appear out of nowhere, barricading us in on the narrow street. Immediately, dark clouds start to roll in overhead but I place a reassuring hand on Dex’s arm, silently pleading with my eyes as tw
o men in camouflage approach the car. The sky clears and I lower my window as they reach us. The sterner looking of the two shades his eyes and stares in the direction of the recent battle before lowering his head to look at us.

  “Are you two okay?” he barks, and I nod. “Were you in town, just now?” There’s no point denying it – where else would we be coming from.

  “Yes,” I force myself to sound both shaken and relieved. “We waited until the noise stopped and then we headed this way. Was it you who stopped them?” I add, widening my eyes hopefully.

  “No, ma’am,” he replies, “we only just arrived. Followed the light-show.”

  “That storm was something else,” I agree, nodding my head.

  “Where’re you headed?”

  “Yancey County,” I reply, “we figure it’s probably safer in the mountains.” He nods thoughtfully, exchanging a look with his associate.

  “That’s not a bad idea, Tom,” the younger man murmurs.

  “Dammit Danny, I told you - we can’t run, we have to stop them!”

  “How?” The younger man, Danny, opens his arms wide in question. “They’ve taken out almost our entire squadron; we can’t beat them.”

  “If they bleed, we can beat them,” Tom counters. I am acutely aware of Dex sitting silently beside me, and I glance down to see his hands balled into fists, the tendons in his arms pulsing.

  “We can’t just go in blind; we need to regroup, strategize, to try and find their weaknesses,” Danny continues, blissfully unaware of the furious Venite only a few feet from him. “We have to set traps – fight smart. You know I’m right. Besides, we have a civil duty to get these two to safety.”

  “We’re not body-guards,” Tom retorts defensively, running his hands through his grey hair.

  “Really, thank you, we’ll be fine on our own,” I interject, desperate to be on our way and get Dex as far from these two as possible, but they ignore me.