Fragmented

by Madeline Dyer

  My eyes widen.

  And there are leucaenas here too.

  “This was it.” I look at Corin. “This was the place where I was… I think I went that way and—”

  A scream cuts through the air. A man’s scream. The scream I’ve already heard. The scream I suddenly know—just know—can’t belong to an Enhanced One.

  My heart jolts.

  Whatever you do, go east.

  I run—run toward the east, toward the scream, toward the man…toward the Enhanced? No. My feet strike the ground. I feel sick with adrenaline. There’s an Untamed man here. There’s got to be. And he’s hurt? I think of the Seeing dream, the Enhanced Ones I saw. They’ve got him… The Enhanced Ones have got him?

  The Seeing dream wasn’t about protecting us. It was about protecting others. Other Untamed.

  It’s a test. I breathe deeply. It makes sense now. Of course it’s a test. It’s the Gods and Goddesses and spirits testing me to see whose side I’m really on after my blips before, when I was mistaken, when I thought I wanted to be Enhanced. But I don’t! I know now, and I have to prove it to them. They’ll be watching.

  I grab the penknife from my belt, feel Corin’s lighter slam against my thigh. The movement reminds me of an augmenter in my pocket. I push that thought away, bury it—but I know buried things have a habit of resurfacing.

  Never let yourself be Enhanced. Once it’s done, there’s no going back.

  “Sev, wait!” Corin shouts.

  I pause long enough to flick my head back, see him gathering Esther.

  “Don’t go to the Enhanced!” He’s got her in his arms again and is catching up with me. Surprisingly quickly. But he doesn’t understand, hasn’t realized it.

  I ignore him, plow ahead. I’ve got to go this way—the bison told me—whether the Enhanced are there or not.

  My eyes smart with the sudden gushing of the sharp wind over me. And there’s dust. I feel it against my legs, my arms. My foot catches something—the edge of a rock—and I veer off, nearly smack into a trunk. But I get my balance at the last minute, lungs gasping, head pounding.

  Light glints from the knife with every step. I look ahead, straining my eyes. There’s a wall of trees. Solid. I don’t recognize them.

  “Slow down!” Corin hisses from behind me. He’s close, still. “Seven!”

  I skid on wet leaves, reach the line of trees.

  The man screams again. A blood-curdling sound. My breath catches on the inside of my throat, makes a squeaky sound.

  Torture.

  They’re torturing him. My hands tremble.

  “Sev!” Corin’s hand somehow lands on my shoulder, though he’s still got Esther—can see his shadow, distorted by the trunks rising up. “Voices. Listen.”

  I listen. After a few seconds, I pick them up, but can’t make out words—my heart’s going too fast, too loud.

  Another scream. The same man? The Untamed man?

  Or am I wrong? What if it is the Enhanced—just the Enhanced? But, no—I know there’s got to be an Untamed man there too. And I know I’m supposed to act—the Dream Land showed me. The bison told me. I’m meant to be here, I’m meant to do something. And I can do something. If I wasn’t strong enough—if it was a suicidal mission—the bison wouldn’t have told me to go east. I wrench myself from Corin’s grip. A strange confidence fills me—confidence that’s unfamiliar, foreign.

  I push my way through the trees, until there are less and less of them. Corin’s still behind me, still managing to keep up, despite Esther. I stop at the last wall of foliage, grab another branch, using the penknife to lever some vegetation out of the way, and—

  My eyes won’t adjust. Everything’s blurry, just a mass of colors, framed by greenery, leaves. My pulse drops, my head hurts as the mirrors ahead glint, marking my vision with murky red spots.

  Eight figures. Men. Dressed in blue. No three are in black, but their clothes are tattered—mainly rags. I count them again, try to tally up the gleaming mirrors, trying to see—

  Guns flash in the light. One man—one in black—is on the ground, his back to me. Think he’s clutching at his leg, can’t be sure. Was he the one who screamed? I silently beg him to turn around, so I can see his eyes, but he doesn’t. Can’t—too injured? But I need to know for sure, before I do anything. I need to know which ones are our enemy.

  I lift my head higher, leaves scratching at my forehead.

  The other men in black are in the middle of the group. The ones in blue surround them.

  “This is your last chance,” one mirror-eyed man says, and, somehow, I hear his voice so well, so clearly.

  More reflectors flash as others nod.

  And then I see the face of one of the figures in black. And I know, I realize the difference in their clothing. The Enhanced are in blue uniforms, the Untamed are in black tatters.

  “Join us willingly,” an Enhanced man says to the Untamed men. “Join us willingly or—”

  A gun’s raised—the metal flashes in my eyes, burning my retinas like the mirror eyes do—and then a bullet whizzes toward where we’re hiding. Toward us. Going for Corin. They know we’re here? My breath catches, and I slam my body into his. We both fall—onto Esther. I taste mud and grit. Corin’s arms spring around me, hauling me over him, putting himself between me and the Enhanced. Then he’s pulling Esther over to me too. She doesn’t protest at all. Her eyes are shut.

  Another gunshot. Loud. Resonates right through me. Just as the scream does. I flinch, try to see what’s happening, but I can’t. Corin places his hand on my lower back. Not sure if it’s for comfort, or to keep me down low.

  “Or we’ll be forced to end your suffering a different way,” an Enhanced One says.

  The words wrap around me, and my heart stutters, every part of me still screams that the Enhanced aren’t violent people—because that’s what I was taught—despite everything I’ve seen and experienced, everything I know they’ve done.

  Heart pounding, I raise my head. Try to see the Untamed men, try to work out what to do. Corin’s already looking; I see his eyes darting about. I squish my lips from side to side, then frown, checking all the muscles in my face still work, just as my father once told me to do. I feel mud on my forehead, wipe it off. But the Enhanced aren’t looking this way.

  Corin lifts his head up again, eyes narrowing. I wait for his instructions, wait for his commands, his plan. But he doesn’t say a word.

  I look at him. I’ve still got the penknife—miraculously didn’t stab any of us when we fell—but it’s not enough. “Give me the gun.”

  Corin struggles with Esther in his arms, but doesn’t make a move to give it to me. “No. It’s too dangerous. They’re outnumbered—even with us. It’s a death trap.”

  “We’ve got to help them!”

  The muscles around his jaw tighten. “No. We need to look after ourselves.”

  He turns slightly—probably trying to work out if we three can get away undetected—and I see the Colt. It’s tucked in the back of his waistband again. Water droplets glisten from its handle.

  I take a second to think of a plan. Then I grab the gun, and I run.

  I lunge forward, pushing through foliage. Can hear my pulse in my ears. Realize immediately I should’ve left the rucksack with Corin. Streams of sunlight divide my vision, and I crash into another branch. My hands are shaking, my eyes are on the Enhanced. And the Untamed.

  “Stop!” I yell as I charge into view.

  It’s a large clearing. They are in the center. I count them quickly. Five Enhanced. Three Untamed—two are on the ground. Just as I thought.

  My feet skid on loose bark and small stones as I stop, two hundred feet away. The rucksack slams into my back. I point the Colt at the group, look around, quick. Trees, behind and to the other sides. Blood—it’s everywhere, in patches on the ground. My stomach tightens. There’s salt in the air. I taste it. Behind the men, the trunks are thinner. Something gray, at ground level, farther back. A road?<
br />
  My eyes latch onto three weapons on the ground nearby. Semi-automatic pistols. Lugers, I think. The Untamed men’s weapons? Probably.

  One of the Enhanced turns toward me. An unnaturally tall man. The sunlight glints on his mirror eyes; they flash at me. I feel my chest tighten.

  “Oh, another one of you. How delightful. Get over here.”

  The man points with his gun, behind him to where the Untamed men are. I look at the Enhanced.

  “No. Let them go.” My voice wobbles, I can’t look away from his weapon. Lesson six—The Enhanced don’t believe in violence. Use that to your advantage—is still wrong.

  I focus the Colt on him. Feel the wind brush against the back of my neck, moving my hair, makes it feel sticky. I should’ve tied my hair up—but at least it’s not in front of my eyes, yet.

  The other four Enhanced men turn their guns on me.

  My mouth dries. I feel my leg muscles tighten.

  I’ve made a mistake.

  I’ve made a big mistake.

  Corin’s right. We can’t save them.

  Corin. I turn my head a fraction, listening, looking. No movement behind me. He’s not coming. He’s staying with Esther. My lips tremble. Oh Gods, I’ve left them with no weapons. I’ve got the gun, the penknife, the lighter.

  “There are more Untamed with you?” the Enhanced man barks, but I can’t tell who his words are directed at.

  The Untamed men are looking at me now. There’s only one standing now, and he turns on me. The two on the ground lift their heads. The pool of red around them gets bigger.

  “There’s more of you? Get ’em out of here, woman! Tell ’em to go!” The Untamed man takes a small step toward me. His hair is in long braids, trailing from a receding hairline, and they whip around as he moves.

  I swallow hard, grip the gun tighter. I force myself to look at the Enhanced. “I’ve got the area covered.” I lift my chin up higher. “We’ve got guns on all of you. Let those men go, and we won’t shoot.”

  “We wouldn’t be doing our job if we just let these men go.” It’s a different Enhanced who speaks. I don’t like his tone.

  I step forward. And I don’t know why. I should be running, running back to Corin and Esther. I need to get away.

  But I can’t leave the Untamed men here.

  I shift my weight from foot to foot. “Let the men go, or I’ll get my people to shoot.” My voice is too shrill, and I wince. “I’ve got twenty stationed around this whole clearing. We can take you out easily.”

  Two of the Enhanced laugh. The other three visibly tighten their grip on their guns. The guns that are trained on me. I look from one to another again, checking. There are no weapons aimed at the Untamed men now.

  Run. I try to mouth the word at the Untamed man with the braids, but he doesn’t move. His eyes dart between me and the Lugers on the ground. Two of the Enhanced men stand between the weapons and the Untamed.

  The barrel of a gun flashes as one of the Enhanced men moves, moves toward me. I grip my Colt tighter.

  “Step over here now,” he says, smiling. His voice is lighter now. “You haven’t got any other people with you, sweetie. You’re on your own, trying to be big and brave. Look, dear, you’re even holding the gun wrong. You don’t know how to use it. We can help you. You’re just a child, and fear is controlling you. It’s distorting who you are. You don’t want to be bad, do—”

  I pull the trigger.

  One quick movement. Done before I even knew I was going to do it. A loud gunshot echoes around. My vision blurs, can’t see if I hit him… Can’t see if I hit anyone. Oh Gods, I hadn’t even lined my shot up properly.

  Someone shouts, and then I’m running. There’s a thud to my left, more shouting, and I reach the Lugers. Grab at one, then turn. The Untamed man with the braids is behind me. I throw the Luger at him—no time to check the safety’s on—and then—

  “Woman!” the man with the braids shouts.

  A bullet whizzes past my ear.

  I throw myself down, nearly losing the Colt. Taste mud. Something smashes against my leg. Then liquid seeps against my skin: lighter fluid. The fumes clog my nostrils for a few seconds as I roll over, pull myself up. I curse, try to get the broken glass out of my pocket, but can’t.

  I look up. Four Enhanced men, standing. No, they’re running, toward me. I clench the Colt tighter. It’s got mud on it, it’s slippery. I try to wipe it off.

  “Get away, man!”

  The man with the braids shoots at the Enhanced, but misses. His bullet explodes against a trunk. Fine wooden shards fly out.

  “Surrender yourselves at once! This is—” one of the Enhanced men shouts, but he stops. Don’t know why he stops. Can’t tell.

  “Violence is not the answer!” another yells.

  I race forward. Toward the injured Untamed men on the ground. One’s barely moving now. The other’s trying to get up. I see the pain in his face, the way his muscles contort and stretch, and—

  One of the Enhanced gets to him. I see the barrel of a gun press against his forehead. I hear shouting, so much shouting, and the Enhanced pulls the trigger. The Untamed man flops back, blood exploding everywhere.

  My eyes water. I turn away, choking. Bile rises in my throat. I taste it, acid and badness and—

  “Surrender yourselves, and no one else will die,” the Enhanced man snarls. “Surrender now, and we will be kind enough to save you.”

  Suddenly, Corin storms into view. He trips over something, nearly falls, but doesn’t.

  “Sev, give me a gun!”

  I scramble forward, retrieve the last Luger—don’t know who’s got the other one—and throw it at him. It spins round and round in the air in a high arc. Corin grabs it, then shoots one of the Enhanced. I see the body fall, hear the sounds, the screams of pain he shouldn’t feel. Blood splashes over me. Wet, slick.

  Then Corin’s racing forward, going for another Enhanced. Broken flashes of reflected sunlight stem from mirror eyes as I yank my head around. Another Enhanced man… No, a woman. My breathing speeds up. She wasn’t there before.

  She’s—

  My eyes narrow, then I aim my gun at her. I pull the trigger, blanch at the sounds of more shots next to me. Something splatters over my left ankle, sticky. I lunge forward. My breath comes in rapid bursts, so fast I start to go dizzy as I look. My arms and legs freeze up, like stone.

  There are more of them. More Enhanced Ones are coming.

  I count five new ones as they appear, and then Corin’s screaming. The sound cuts through me, makes my blood boil. I whirl around, vision blurring.

  There. He’s there. He’s—

  I see the blood. Red, gushing. I stare at it. Stare at it so hard that I don’t see him fall. I can only see the blood. My whole vision is red, like the burning sun above, and—

  Corin.

  My body jolts. I scream, turn around, fire the gun. Get two of them. And a third just before he pulls his own trigger.

  “Corin!”

  I’m running. My legs get too hard, too heavy, and then I’ve got the knife out, and I’m plunging it into an Enhanced man’s arm without even looking. Just getting the blade in as I run past. I hear the scream, but, at the same time, I don’t. I can’t.

  A hand grabs me. Fingers, around my ankle. I scream as I fall, but it’s one of the Untamed. The one who’s still on the ground, alive. I shriek, try to get up. But his grip is strong. Too strong. His fingers are like iron.

  He yanks me back down just as a bullet flies over my head. I taste blood and grit and darkness at the back of my mouth, and I look up, look at Corin, lying there. Still.

  Completely still.

  I don’t know if he’s breathing. My chest caves in, sudden sharp pain. And I—I can’t move. Can’t. My body won’t work.

  “Surrender yourselves to us, poor Untamed creatures. Surrender before more of you get sadly hurt. You see, we shall win. We will always win, and we do want to save you, but you have to help yourself
too. Don’t fight us.”

  The Untamed man—the one who’s still latched onto my ankle—grabs the Colt from me. I hear the sounds as he shoots, see his eyes light up.

  “Call the rest of your pack, woman!”

  I stare at Corin. Motionless. I need to get to him. I know that. Yet I can’t move.

  It’s his foot. Corin’s foot. No? His leg… I can’t tell. I stare. The blood’s just everywhere.

  “Woman! The rest of your pack!” the Untamed man with the braids screams. Still firing. “We need help!”

  And then the man holding my ankle lets go and shouts at me with words I don’t understand.

  “There’s no one else.” My voice is small. Too quiet, it’s getting drowned out by the sounds of the engine.

  Engine?

  My eyes widen. My head jerks up. I listen hard, too hard. My ears won’t work properly. But there’s a vehicle coming. The Enhanced are shouting. And the—

  A conversion team. That’s who’s coming. My stomach tightens, I start to feel sicker. Going to retch. Can feel bile moving in my stomach.

  This is it. The end. The end of me being Untamed. We’re outnumbered.

  You can never outrun the Enhanced Ones. They are better, faster, and stronger than you.

  Outrun? But… I flick my head back. No. Yes. The Enhanced Ones here have stopped.

  They’re standing still. They’re waiting. They’re looking behind me. The engine gets louder, so loud. My left eye twitches. The vehicle must be massive…a heavy frame, a lorry transporting goods, transporting the Enhanced soldiers—the conversion teams.

  And suddenly all I can think of is a huge lorry rumbling toward us, the vehicle’s sides bursting with the vast number of people packed inside. And they’re coming for us.

  I look up. The Enhanced Ones’ guns are limp at their sides. They’re not looking at me.

  I scramble forward, suddenly aware the Untamed man hasn’t resumed his grip on my ankle. Something sharp digs into my knees, and pain flits down my spine. I crawl, put my hand in something sticky.

  “Corin!”