My father passes me a leather rucksack, similar to my old black one. “Survival kit,” he says as I take hold of it.
I nod. It feels light. We’re running low on resources.
“We’ll drive out toward the Waters on the south road.” Rahn looks at Finn’s dad, Sajo. “If we encounter the Enhanced, we divide up. Usual plan. You all know the lessons. We’ll meet in an hour’s time and prepare a large shack to cover us all durin’ the Turnin’. After that, we continue toward High Crag Rock. If one of our trucks does not make it by midday tomorrow, the others continue alone. Got it?”
We all nod. I hug my jacket closer, my arms prickling and tingling. It’s still dark and cold, but the sky’s getting lighter.
“If you encounter other vehicles, do what’s necessary.”
I shudder. We had to do that before—what was necessary. There were only three of them. All quite young. Rahn and Elf hadn’t hesitated. They’d just shot them all, even before they could be certain the people were Enhanced. It isn’t one of my best memories.
I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. But my head’s starting to pound. I look into the distance. The horizon looks murky; ahead, everything’s shimmering slightly. The sky’s still swirling, and the pounding in my head—it must be in my head—is getting louder. My fingers twitch. We need to get going.
Three looks across at me, frowning. “Seven, are you okay?”
I shoulder the survival bag and look toward my brother. He’s standing near Marouska and Esther. His eyes are on me, and—
I see them before anyone else does.
My breath catches. The land tilts up around me. I step back, heavily, into one of the men. I feel his rough hands on my back for an instant as he pushes me forward. His annoyed voice fogs my ears, but I can’t understand the words.
I can’t even look at him, can’t say sorry.
Because they’re coming. And…and they don’t look like how I’d expected. I thought they’d look like the people who I saw, who I was with, but they don’t.
Like ghosts rising up before us, they appear, an unbeatable army. They are silent—too silent—and far too stealthy. But their stealthiness is exquisite. They’re our predators, yet they are also beautiful, elegant creatures. They move as one being, perfectly attuned to each other.
Hundreds of flashes erupt across the night, capturing what little light the stars have and reflecting it toward us.
“Enhanced!”
A gun goes off. One of them falls. Esther leaps toward me, grabs my hand, and drags me down. A bullet whizzes past my ear. I scream, my head spins, then I see Finn fall. Even on the brink of death, he is not majestic. He falls like a dead elephant, and dust flies up around him in a huge cloud that blurs everything. And that’s it. That’s all that happens. But what had I expected? To see a shadowy figure appear and collect him? No, that’s stupid. Death isn’t a person. Death is all around us.
I turn sharply, dragging Esther with me.
They’re here. Too soon. How? But they are. The Enhanced are around us. Each stands with their feet shoulder-width apart, dressed in combat gear. They’re all pointing guns at us.
The perfect beings are using guns.
Most of the weapons are handguns—revolvers and Lugers—but I notice several grenade launcher pistols. And some M79s. A few rifles too.
I freeze. Oh Gods.
We all stop, like the ground has got hold of our feet and we can’t move. To my far right, Marouska gulps. Corin moves closer to her, but there’s still a significant space in between them. I turn slowly, trying to see everyone. Elf’s disappeared, and now Marouska’s on the outskirts of our group. She’s easy picking.
Corin draws his own Glock out from his waistband, takes another step toward her. Three does the same, and Marouska steps back in toward us.
“Stay where you are,” the nearest Enhanced One snarls. He lines his rifle up with Marouska.
“We will not be joining you.” Rahn’s voice shakes slightly. The leader’s stance is defensive, and his Glock is on a man with a rifle.
“You have no choice.”
There’s a deathly silence, so quiet that I’m sure everyone must be able to hear my frantic heart, and I look up at the sky. There’s more purple now. I glance at Esther.
They have guns, she mouths at me.
I nod. She’s shaking.
We’ve spread out too far, and, with five Enhanced Ones staring at each of us, things aren’t looking great. No one’s moving. A stand-off. A stand-off between the Untamed and the Enhanced.
We do not call ourselves the Enhanced.
I look at them. The Chosen. No. Still doesn’t sound right. I swallow hard. Should I want to join them? I was like them…and everyone says the addiction’s strong…but I can’t feel anything now. There’s no voice compelling me to join them. Still, it feels like a test of my strength. And I know I have to be Untamed. The spirits and the Gods and Goddesses made me a Seer. I have to listen to them. They want the Untamed to survive, that’s why they warned me. It was a message, clarification in case I needed it any clearer: I have to be Untamed.
“You don’t believe in murder,” Rahn says slowly. It’s one of the only things we can be sure about regarding their intentions. Except in this instance, because why else would they carry guns?
Their answer is immediate, and it comes from every single one of them, at the same time.
“For the greater good, we do. We’ll kill to save our own people. It is a last resort.”
Rahn’s voice is steady, and his Glock jerks slightly. “We are not threatenin’ your people.”
“All Untamed creatures are a threat. And you’ve stolen one of ours. We will do anything to get her back.”
I can hardly breathe. My chest feels all jittery. They want me. Raleigh—is he here? Has he come for me? Oh Gods… I can’t go—I can’t, I have to—oh Gods!
Finn’s dead. They’ve killed him. Dead.
There’s a click of a gun from an Enhanced woman near me, and I turn my head. She’s loading ammunition into her revolver with such expertise and quickness that she has to have done it before. I gulp. I need a weapon. There’s a knife in the new survival kit my father gave me, but it’s on my back, and no Untamed are moving. If I move, they’ll all look at me. If Raleigh’s here, he’ll see me and—
More Enhanced Ones load their rifles.
“We will not hurt you if you join us willingly.” It’s the same Enhanced man who speaks, he seems to be the leader of this army, and his mirror eyes lock onto Rahn. He raises the barrel of the revolver up slightly.
Still, Rahn does not flinch. “You do not use violence,” he says, and it sounds like he’s instructing them. But it is lesson six, after all: The Enhanced don’t believe in violence. Use that to your advantage. “The Enhanced never purposefully use violence. You say it is a weakness. Violence is an evil temptation.”
“We will kill you if it means saving our people from your murderous intentions.”
I can’t help myself from looking over at Finn’s lifeless body. He’s lying at an angle, his head bent too far back. Blood covers his head. My chest stiffens, and my right arm twitches. My bag feels damp against my back.
“And we will use violence to get Shania back.”
I gulp hard and swallow with difficulty, nearly gagging, but the golf ball-sized lump in my throat won’t go down. My vision blurs slightly. I breathe out of my mouth as evenly as I can. I can see my breath in the air. I can taste blood and rust around my teeth…and the memory of Calmness…and Benevolence… I can taste them still…the good way of life. My heart speeds up. We have to join them, if we want to live. The Enhanced are just misunderstood… The Untamed don’t share their ways. That’s all.
“This is your last chance to come with us freely.” It’s the same Enhanced man—the apparent leader—who says the words. The words that change everything.
Rahn raises his pistol. My father does the same. Corin, Kayden, and Elf follow suit.
The barrage of firing begins.
The Enhanced are shooting us.
My eardrums are going to explode. Esther grabs my hand. Hers is wet. My terrier appears and snarls at an Enhanced man in front of us. He lowers his gun, and I scream, diving forward. I scoop up the dog. A bullet flies past me. More clicks, more shrieks. More blood. I taste bitterness.
A man falls. I can’t tell whether it’s one of them or one of us. It’s just a body. A body that falls and no longer moves.
My name’s shouted. I scramble about, and I slip. My mother’s pendant slams against my skin, like the pounding in my head. The terrier’s protesting in my arms but there’s no way I’m letting him go. Esther’s hand has gone.
“Get back!”
Something wet and sticky splashes over the side of my face, clings to my skin. I recoil back, hardly able to breathe. Dust kicks up over me. I choke, eyes streaming. I scramble forward, barely able to see as a heavy shadow falls across me. A flash of metal, and something with a small, circular end hovers in front of my face.
I freeze. The dog whimpers. My heart pounds. I look up into his face. Coldness washes over me, freezing my blood. The faint aroma of alcohol ripples toward me. My nostrils flare. I try to duck my head, try not to look at him—or the gun—but I can’t.
Raleigh laughs.
“Shania.” Nausea grips me as his lips twist into a smile.
“Not the dog,” I whisper. The sky’s more purple, throwing horrible light everywhere. The Turning’s closer.
Raleigh grins. I feel smaller than ever. “I don’t want the dog.” He sounds amused. “Shania. You know you want to join us again. You remember what the augmenters tasted like. The buzz they gave you. The feelings of pure joy. The adrenaline. It’s brilliant. Isn’t it?” His tone is severe. “And the safety, the security, not having to live in fear, being free to do what you want. You know I can offer you all that. And you know you’re one of us.”
I don’t trust myself to speak. Shoot me now. But not the dog. Let the dog go.
“Answer me!” The light glints off his mirrors, adding a demonic element to his countenance. The revolver presses closer to me, so close that the smell of burning fills my nose. “Join us again. What they tell you is lies. You know that. You’re not a real person, if you’re with them.”
My hands are trembling uncontrollably. I’m going to drop the dog. I will anyway, when Raleigh shoots me, and my body joins Finn’s. I squeeze the dog tighter. His fur is wet, and he’s shaking, whining in a low tone.
More gunshots go off, but not from Raleigh’s gun. Ahead, more people fall.
“Get back!” someone screams.
Raleigh grabs me.
I shriek. His fingers burn my neck, sliding across my collarbone. The dog slides down, away from me. Raleigh’s arms snap around me, pulling me to him. I struggle, manage to kick him, but pain shoots through my chest. My numb arms flail about. He grunts, breathing hard, his mouth near my ear. I get another whiff of alcohol from him and feel the muscles in his arms ripple as my own body lurches upward. I gag, retching as he jerks me forward. The gun’s barrel crushes into my side, and I flinch.
I get a kick in at his shin, but he doesn’t react. Something wet hits my back. I feel pain and more pain. My fists pound against Raleigh’s shoulder and his side. But his body’s like steel, too hard.
Another gunshot nearby. A strangled scream. The dogs howl. The sky’s too purple. The temperature’s dropping too quickly.
“I know you want to, Shania. You do, you can’t leave the cherry now you’ve tasted it. Just surrender, my butterfly. If you surrender, I’ll call my people off. And it’s not really surrendering is it, when you want it?”
“Okay!” I scream, my lungs about to explode. “I—argh!”
Raleigh’s body crumples under me. We both fall, and he lets out a guttural scream, his body shuddering. His arms slacken from around me, dropping away from my chest. I pull myself off him, slipping in blood.
I scramble about, trying to find Raleigh’s gun—or any weapon—and then there’s a figure in front of me, blocking out the purple sky.
Corin looks down at me. The Glock in his hand is smoking, and he throws it down to me. Somehow, I catch it without firing a round—he left the safety off. Stupid.
I stand shakily, and my dog rushes to me, howling.
“Go! Don’t just stand there. You’ve got a weapon now. Go!” Corin pushes his dark hair from his grimy face. I see his shoulder is bloody as he leans over the still-alive Raleigh and wrenches the revolver from him.
I turn away and go. But where am I supposed to go? The landscape is full of gunshots and death. I see Esther stumble as she’s hit. I race toward her, dodging another Enhanced. But Esther’s getting back up, and I can’t see any blood at all. Maybe she dodged it? She has one of the Enhanced Ones’ revolvers too—a Colt M1892—and turning, she shoots an Enhanced woman at almost point-blank range.
I squeeze my eyes shut as the blood splatters over me. Nearby, Rahn shouts. Someone else screams.
I hear a clicking sound. And then a bang. I fall. My legs shake as I collapse. My bag slams back into my spine. The gun, I’ve still got it. The landscape flashes white as I pull myself up, and I freeze.
Flames engulf the sky, leaping everywhere. Debris and heat soar over me, with dark smoke that billows, diving up my nostrils. My throat’s closing in, I can’t—
“The trucks!”
I cough, clasping a hand to my mouth, eyes streaming. I can barely see. An Enhanced man looms toward me, but I duck out the way, the Glock a dead weight by my side.
“Get the trucks away!” Rahn’s lips contort as he screams. I see him silhouetted in front of flames for a few seconds. Then he’s running, firing at more of the Enhanced Ones. Someone near him falls. “The trucks!”
I turn. I can see them. Two blue ones and a red one. The red one’s closest. It’s the only one that the Enhanced aren’t standing next to, the only one that they’re not slashing the tires of. It’s the one closest to the flames.
“Get the truck!”
But no one, Enhanced or Untamed, is near the red L200. I’m the closest. I look behind me. Kayden is fighting unarmed. So is Elf. Marouska’s on the ground—unconscious? I can’t see my brother or sister or father. I gulp.
Something hits me in the shoulder. Stumbling, hand clasped to my skin, I cry out. But there’s no blood. Turning again, I—
“Get the other truck away!” Rahn’s voice is strained.
He’s struggling with his ammunition belt. Someone—my father—races past him, throwing an Enhanced One’s gun at him.
“The truck.”
I run for the pickup, clasping the Glock to me. But it’s covered in blood, and my fingers slide. My feet pound the desert ground, and I jump over a bloody patch, then turn and shoot at an Enhanced man before he’s even seen me.
I reach the truck in good time. My terrier races alongside me. I throw the door open, and he jumps in first. I climb into the seat, trying not to look over at the other two trucks. But it’s impossible not to. The orange flames are a blinding point in the landscape. Heat pulses over me. I can smell fumes everywhere.
The keys are already in the ignition. I turn them, pumping on the accelerator. It doesn’t start right away, but when it does, it splutters, choking. Putting the truck in gear, I pull away. I put my foot down, getting faster and faster until I’m away from the fire. Is it far enough? I squint into the dirty mirrors.
Behind me, death takes over the landscape, fighting moving figures. My hands are still on the wheel, my foot on the accelerator. I pause, my whole body shaking. I’m the only one in the truck. Me and the dog. Everyone else is still fighting. But I’m safe.
It would be easy to drive away…so easy….
Lesson seven: If attacked by the Enhanced, save as many people as you can, and get as far away as possible.
I duck, looking into the mirror. Bodies. Figures hurtling toward me. Streaks of darkness. Guns shooting. Fires. Save as many people as you can. But they’re far away… Get as far away as possible. I flex my fingers slightly, look in the mirror again.
If I go back, we could all die. If I drive away, I know I’ll survive…for now.
On the double seat next to me, the terrier sprawls out. He whines at me once, his eyes full of trust. His nose drips blood.
“Stay here,” I tell him firmly, slamming on the brakes. “I’m coming back for you.” I push the door open, swinging my body out. I gasp as I land, pain shooting through my legs. Can’t breathe for a few seconds, and—
“Get back in! Need to get away now!”
Suddenly Corin’s in front of me, followed by several other Untamed. I freeze, startled.
“Back in, Sev!”
Quickly, I pull my body back into the driver’s seat. Corin slides into the middle front seat, pushing the squealing terrier into the footwell. Rahn appears next to him. I feel the weight of the truck bed increase as several people jump aboard. Another person’s pulled in. I look in the mirror, but I can’t see who’s there. Tears come to my eyes; the air’s heavy with death.
Someone in the truck bed fires their gun.
“Drive away now,” Rahn shouts at me. “Drive.”
I hesitate, looking in the mirror. There are more people running toward us, and I think they’re Untamed. No, I’m certain of it. They are. I know they are. They’ll be here in a few minutes. A few seconds…a few….
“Now, Seven!”
“They’re still coming!” I twist in my seat. “They’re almost here.”
Rahn thumps the leather seat with his fist. “We’re cuttin’ our losses, Seven. I’m the leader, I command you to drive.” For a second, I think he’s going to hit me, but he doesn’t. “Drive, now!”
I gulp, taking in far too much air, and choke. I put my foot down on the accelerator, and trying not to look in the mirrors or see those who we’re leaving behind, I drive away.
Untamed Series, #1 Page 8