by Tina Chan
“To be honest, I’m surprised the government hasn’t tracked you down yet,” Troop said.
“Why? Do you want us to get caught?” Kristi asked.
“No. I’m just surprised that there has been no sign of the government searching for you if you guys are wanted.”
“What about the posters? Or the news-screens?” She challenged. “And we also almost got caught by the Homeland Security Helicopters before you joined us.”
“Fair enough,” Troop said. “But I’ve seen what the government is capable of when they’re hunting someone down. It’s almost as if the government is allowing you to escape from them.”
Kristi shook her head in disbelief. “Why would they do that?”
“You’re right. My theory doesn’t make sense. I guess I’m over thinking matters.”
Kristi squinted off into the distance about a hundred ahead. There seemed to be something big lying on the side of the road. “Chelsa, what’s that object up ahead?”
“Seems like some sort of vehicle that’s been turned over.”
As they neared the vehicle, Kristi could make out that it was an overturned merchant’s truck. The truck’s windows were shattered and the inside looked like it had been ransacked. There was no doubt this was bandit work. She didn’t want to think about what happened to the poor driver.
“Is anyone in the truck?” Kristi asked.
She wasn’t too eager to see a dead body.
Jaiden dismounted from his horse, approached the truck and peered inside the front cabin. “It’s empty.”
“Let’s go,” Troop and Kristi said in unison.
“Creepy,” Kristi said.
“What’s creepy?” Troop asked.
“The truck. It’s giving me the chills.”
The broken headlights of the truck seemed to implore her not to abandon it. One of the wheels spun crazily when a stiff breeze blew through. A loud bang startled her. The wind had slammed closed the passenger door of the truck.
Kristi reined Flurry to the fractured windshield. A rust colored substance stained the edge of the cracks. Deeply unsettled, Kristi backed her mount away from the vehicle. A soft, guttural growl grinded out from beneath the truck.
“Ride!” Kristi gasped, wheeling Flurry around.
A creature erupted from beneath the truck. It looked like a hyena, but had a scaly tail and two terrible looking horns protruding from the top of its head. Its back had a spiny ridge running down it.
“What is it?” Jaiden said.
“Some sort of messed up hyena?” Kristi guessed.
More of the demonic hyena hybrids emerged from beneath the truck. Everyone launched into a frantic gallop away from the creatures.
Chelsa spared a glance backwards and cursed. “They’re devil-dogs—government created creatures that shouldn’t be out of the lab. They’re afraid of water. So keep your eyes out for any streams or lakes”
The devil-dogs were fast for their size and matched the droid-horses’ speed easily, waiting for the droid-horses to start faltering before coming in for the kill. Spittle trailed from their curled lips
Kristi did not want to die this way.
“Can the horses outrun the devil-dogs?” She tapped her heels against Flurry’s side, requesting more speed.
“Probably, but the devil-dogs will follow our scent. They’re built for endurance,” Chelsa replied.
“Storm clouds.” Troop pointed to the right. “I think there’s a storm coming from that direction.”
“How convenient. Ride towards the clouds. The rain should deter the devil-dogs.”
Kristi crouched even lower on Flurry and asked her to run even faster. Flurry responded and her hooves caused so much friction against the ground that sparks sprayed where she landed.
“Flurry’s going to overheat,” warned Troop.
“I know,” said Kristi. “There’s not much I can do about it.”
A devil-dog howled and the pack began to chase after them in earnest. The dogs were no longer simply stalking then; they were attacking. A devil-dog came dangerously near Flurry and snapped at her legs.
“Scram!” Kristi yelled. “Get away!”
She kicked the devil-dog away with her foot.
The storm clouds were about a quarter mile away. A quarter mile had never felt so far away in her life. Flurry let out a scream when a devil-dog pounced onto her back. The devil-dog bared his fangs at Kristi. Saliva dripped down his teeth like acid.
Wait…the devil-dog’s saliva was acid. Where the saliva touched Flurry’s fur, the area hissed and the fur dissolved before Kristi’s eyes, leaving behind a smooth spot of metal. This was a nightmare come true.
Kristi clubbed the devil-dog off Flurry’s back with the help of her backpack. The creature landed in a mangled heap.
I think it’s dead.
The devil-dog raised its head and pulled back its lips at Kristi.
Never mind.
Her skin burned and she looked down to her arm. A single drop of acidic saliva from a devil-dog had eaten through her clothing and burned her skin. A little circle of darkened skin was branded onto her forearm.
Kristi risked a quick look over her shoulder, trusting Flurry not to run them into a tree or whatever. Roughly ten devil-dogs remained, and none of them seemed to be tiring.
The sky flashed and a jagged line of lighting discharged from the clouds. The atmosphere hummed with static electricity. A drumroll of thunder followed the lightning and a raindrop hit Kristi’s cheeks. She almost groaned with relief.
“Thank goodness,” she said and the rain came down harder.
The droplets hit the devil-dogs’ fur, causing them to yip in pain and terror. Whilst the devil-dog’s saliva burned through Flurry’s fur, the water burned through the devil-dogs’ pelt. As a pack of one, the devil-dogs retreated, looking for a place to shelter from the rain.
“Do you guys want to ride on or stop for the night?” Chelsa asked.
“I say we ride on,” Troop said. “We’re already wet enough, so we might as well continue on through the rain.” The rain came down in sheets, as if agreeing to his words.
Troop consulted UnivMaps and led them back to South Lane.
“How did you know that devil-dogs hated water? I’ve never seen a devil-dog before in my life until today,” said Jaiden.
“Secret source,” Chelsa said.
“Fine, be like that,” Jaiden teased back.
Kristi shivered beneath her layers of soaked clothes. She wished she had put on her waterproof jacket. She considered rummaging through her backpack for her jacket, but decided against it since it would be difficult to do so while riding in rainy weather at the same time.
“Do you want my jacket?” Troop offered as if reading her mind.
“No thanks.”
Her chattering teeth sent the opposite message, but there was no way she was going to accept help from Troop; it was just going to indulge his ego which did not need to be inflated any more than it already was.
Troop took off his jacket anyways and held it out to her. Kristi ignored the offering and tried her best to calm her shivers.
“You’re going to catch a cold,” Troop said.
“You can’t catch a cold from being wet,” said Kristi
“You can catch a cold from being cold.”
“Wrong. You can catch a cold from contracting the virus.”
Troop didn’t say anymore but the expression he gave Kristi plainly said he thought she was being overly stubborn. And maybe she was, but Kristi wanted to keep her distance from Troop. He reminded her too much of Glenn: smooth and nice on the outside but full of barbs and thorns on the inside.
“I think we should stop,” Chelsa said half an hour later. “It’s getting pretty dark and we don’t want the horses to trip over something in the darkness.”
The rain tapered off and came down more gently. Jaiden and Troop set up the tent while Chelsa and Kristi unloaded the saddleba
gs from the horses.
“I think I’m going to sleep. I’m too exhausted to have dinner,” Kristi said.
All of her muscles cramped. Even though Kristi knew she was probably going to have yet another fitful night of rest, her body physically needed to sleep even though her mind protested against the thought of enduring another night of horrors.
She was flying. She had morphed into a dove and was soaring far above the world. The land spread out before her like a quilt. However, Kristi felt like she was being pursued by something, something evil. She shot down towards the ground, trying to escape the feeling of being chased.
The sound of birdcalls filled the air. Bright, flashy tropical birds surrounded Kristi the dove. The flamboyant birds—toucans, macaws, and parakeets—screamed out harsh cries. Kristi landed on the ground and hopped towards the cover of a bush, but a large peacock poked its head into her hiding place and she half flapped, half hopped back out into the open. Acting as one flock, the other birds surrounded and attacked her.
The wings, talons and beaks of the showy birds battered her fragile dove body. A fiery pain shot up her right wing when a swan slammed its powerful wings into her. She lay on the cold, hard ground, right wing throbbing excruciatingly. A bird with a broken wing was a dead bird. She was a bird with a broken wing. She was a dead bird.
Kristi awoke. Strangely, she wasn’t sweating nor was her heart beating at overtime. I must be getting used to these nightmares, she thought, stepping outside of the tent.
It was only six-thirty in the morning. Streaks of purple could be discerned among the horizon in the dark sky if she looked close enough. Kristi searched around the camp and found Troop to be the only person around.
“Jaiden and Chelsa went to gather some kindling that hasn’t been dampened by last night’s rain,” Troop said when he saw her hunting for them.
“What else is new,” Kristi mumbled. “We don’t even usually make a fire in the morning.”
Troop didn’t grace her with an answer, which Kristi was completely fine by.
“I need to go refill my water bottle,” she said. “Do you need yours refilled?” she added in a moment of generosity.
“Thanks, but no thanks.”
“Be back in ten.”
She searched for a water source, making sure to always keep the tent in sight. Her boots made sucking noises in the oozy mud. Kristi crinkled her nose. An almost-but-not-quite-familiar scent reached her nose. The smell wasn’t unpleasant—in fact, it reminded Kristi of home. Squatting down, she combed the ground until she found the source of the fragrance. Rainflowers. Well, not quite. The flowers looked identical to rainflowers except they were orange instead of purple.
Kristi caught sight of a small creek cutting a course through the land and filled up her bottle to the brim. She had a few minutes before she needed to return back to the tent, so she chose to spend her extra time admiring the sunrise by the creek.
Kristi tilted her head. She thought she heard people talking.
“You’re too funny!” a voice in the distance said.
A person replied but was speaking too softly for her to make out the reply. Feeling curious and a bit adventurous, she decided to find the source of the conversation. Ears prickling with alertness, she followed the sounds.
“Don’t you think we should be heading back? We don’t want Kristi and Troop to worry about us.” It was Jaiden’s voice.
Kristi walked past a clearing in the woods and spotted Jaiden talking to Chelsa; she ducked behind a rock formation obscuring the view of them. Neither Jaiden nor Chelsa knew Kristi was listening to their conversation, and that made her sting with shame knowing that she was spying on them.
“I think we should be worried about Kristi and Troop tearing the camp apart,” Chelsa said. “I sometimes fear those two will bite off each other’s head by the time we reach Oppidum.”
There was a moment of silence and Kristi peered around the rock concealing her. Jaiden and Chelsa were locked in a kiss and seemed indifferent to the world around them. Kristi dropped back behind her hiding place and sat down for a second.
I should’ve known it was coming; Chelsa and Jaiden had been flirting with each other for a bit of time now, Kristi thought. But still, Jaiden’s my brother—my steady-as-a-rock brother. Kristi cleared her head. Get a grip on yourself.
Jaiden and Chelsa must’ve left when she wasn’t paying attention because when Kristi finally gathered herself together, they were gone.
“Are you alright?” Chelsa asked Kristi. “You seem kind of withdrawn today.”
“I’m fine.” Except for the fact, you know, I just got a mental slap to the face this morning.
“If you say so. We’ll be reaching Milton in about an hour. Aside from food, is there anything else you can think of that we might need?”
“No.”
“Do you want to re-dye your hair?” Chelsa asked.
“Nah. The government already knows I dyed my hair, so there’s no point in re-dying it again. Actually, it would be great if we could get some dye-remover. I kind of miss my normal hair color. How many points do you have left on your slate?”
“A bit under a few hundred points.”
Kristi frowned. “Do you think we have enough to make it to Oppidum?”
“Don’t worry. Rich-kid has over five-hundred points on his slate,” Chelsa motioned towards Troop.
“You checked my points account?” Troop asked, sounding indignant.
“Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”
“I don’t know if I should be worried or not,” Troop said in a low enough voice so that Chelsa couldn’t hear him from up front.
“I’d worry if I were you. You never know if one day she decides to buy out a store for the heck of it,” Kristi said.
Troop cracked a smile. “Was that a joke? I’ve never heard a joke from you yet.”
“That was sarcasm.”
They exchanged few words for the rest of the ride to Milton. Milton was a decent sized town with a bustling community. It was a Saturday and many residents were out and about in the center of town. Chelsa divided up the shopping list among the four of them.
“How does having lunch at The Last Supper sound?” suggested Troop.
“Have you been here before?” Chelsa said.
“Yes. The owner of The Last Supper is a member of the Company. She’s not a spy or agent; she’s more of a follower.”
“A follower?” Kristi scrunched up her nose a bit in distaste. “That makes the Revealers seem like some sort of cult…a cult I’m not sure I want to be part of.”
“The Revealers is more than just a cult. It’s an organization trying to—”
“—you sound just like your mom,” Kristi interrupted. “‘The Revealers are a group trying to bring justice to the world.’” She air quoted Tiffany’s words.
Troop contemplated her words for a few seconds, and then said, “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You two done talking?” Jaiden asked. “’Cause I was thinking The Last Supper would be a good place to have lunch.”
Everyone agreed to this plan and set off on completing their shopping list. Kristi looked down at her list, which consisted of: hair dye removal, two pairs of socks, liquid toothpaste and a ball of twine. She should be able to purchase everything she needed at the convenience store, which was located just a few blocks down Main Street.
She fingered the electro-slate her parents had left behind for her. Last night, she had tried and failed to break its lock. To Kristi’s delight, though, she was able to access their point account without the fingerprints of all four Naturals. Shelly and Kyle had left a hundred points on the account; it wasn’t a whole lot of points to spend, but it would be more than enough to make the necessary purchases.
Kristi located the convenience store in no time. She dismounted from Flurry and looped her reins through the metal ring of a hitching post.
“Kristi, can I have a word wit
h you?” Jaiden came up to her before she entered Mill’s General Store.
“Sure. What is it?”
“Did you see Chelsa and me together this morning?” he asked, not bothering to sugar coat anything.
“Um, yes. I’m sorry if I trespassed your privacy. I heard your voices and decided to find you guys,” Kristi said, feeling embarrassed of having been caught behaving like a ten-year old.
“I knew I saw someone in the shadows,” Jaiden said. “You don’t mind me being with Chelsa, do you?”
“Of course not! You don’t need my permission to date someone. Chelsa’s a good friend and a nice girl. I mean, it would’ve been nice if you had given me a warning about all this though…” she trailed off.
“Appreciate your understanding,” Jaiden said, sounding reassured. “I wasn’t sure how you were going to take it.”
He left her and Kristi pushed open the door into the store. A movement caught her eyes. She stepped back outside onto the streets. Some boys were hanging out in a group nearby…but something didn’t seem quite right with the picture. Then she saw him.
“Troop, were you eavesdropping on Jaiden and me?”
Troop dropped out with trying to blend in from the other kids and confessed, “Yeah. Didn’t expect to be caught red-handed though.”
“Who do you think you are, poking your nose in my business?” Kristi said, still feeling miffed she was the last person to realize that Chelsa and Jaiden were together.
“I like to consider myself acting concerned.”
“I don’t need you to feel concerned about me. Shouldn’t you be purchasing the items on your list?”
“Already did so,” said Troop.
“That was quick.”
He shrugged. “I only needed to purchase some extra solar cell replacements.”
Kristi pushed the door into Mill’s General store with Troop tailing her. She grabbed a basket by the doorway and started thrusting items into it: some hair dye removal powder, two bottles of liquid toothpaste, a spool of twine and some socks that were on sale. Then she paid and checked the time. An hour left until twelve-thirty.
“There are some public trails in Milton if you’re up for some riding,” said Troop, holding open the door for her.
She placed the purchased goods into the saddlebag and guided Flurry to the trails after referring to a map, seeing as she had nothing better to do. Troop tagged alongside on Mist.
Kristi glanced at them. “I don’t remember inviting you to come along.”
“I invited myself.”
“I’m going to be blunt with you. I really want—no, need—some personal space, alright?” As she said those words, she realized they were true and weren’t just an excuse to get out of Troop’s presence. She needed some time to be introspective and sort out her feelings.
“Serious?”
She nodded.
“Only because I like you,” Troop said, reining Mist around to leave the trailhead.
“If only I could say the same about you,” Kristi muttered, “then life would be much easier.”
She allowed Flurry to meander along the trail at a leisurely pace while she mulled over the recent events of her life. Now that Kristi was thinking about Troop’s earlier words, she couldn’t help and be astonished by the fact that, other than the helicopter, they had seen no other physical signs of the government searching for them.
Sure, we tried to avoid going into towns if we could help it, but I know the government’s technology could easily track us down if they put them to good use, she thought.
Kristi tried to make out what she thought of Troop. Yes, he was annoying and yes, he hadn’t made a great first impression. But Chelsa believed Troop was being honest when he told them he wasn’t actually going to hurt the girl at Ludus High; he either had to be the predator or the prey, and Troop was sick of being the prey.
However, that doesn’t make his actions any more justified. Bullying is bullying, no matter what. You would think that someone who used to be bullied would understand how it feels to be constantly looking over your shoulder, instead of bullying someone else. Kristi maneuvered Flurry to the side of the trail, allowing a train of hikers to pass by.
But then again, what would happen if I judged everyone by his or her worst actions? Troop openly admitted I had caught him acting inappropriately and claimed he was normally a lot nicer—he just had to maintain his reputation. Also, what would become of Chelsa if I defined her character by her worst act? Hadn’t Chelsa informed me she killed Alex? Murder is a serious crime, and if I was to judge Chelsa by her worst deed, then Chelsa ought to have repulsed me…but she doesn’t.
Shaking her head at the jumble of thoughts in her brain, Kristi massaged her temples to release some of the tension. Flurry sensed her frustration and offered a nicker of support.
“Thanks, pal.” Kristi patted the droid-horse’s fur.
Little slivers of metal where the devil-dog’s acid had burned through glinted through Flurry’s otherwise silky fur. Overall, it gave her hide a silvery, shimmery effect.
“Let’s head back. I don’t want the others to think I’m in trouble if I don’t show up for lunch soon,” Kristi said, talking to herself.
She was unenthusiastic to leave the trails. The trail provided her a sense of comfort and privacy. The gentle sunlight seeped through the canopy, dappling the ground. It was a nice break to be riding at a slow pace after days of traveling in all types of weather at a rushed speed. They still had two hundred miles to cover before reaching Oppidum.
Flurry gently jerked on the reins, letting Kristi know they had reached the trailhead. Kristi patted her a thank you and directed Flurry to The Last Supper.
chapter twenty-eight
[ Troop ]