by Eve Langlais
She bolted upright. “Sorry.”
“Sweetheart, do not apologize. Your face down there totally made this ride enjoyable.”
Her cheeks heated. “That is so wildly inappropriate to say.” Even she knew that.
“But so much fun. You should see your face. I’ve never seen that shade of red before.”
He teased, and it only served to make her blush harder. She couldn’t look at him and chose to peek out the window instead.
He’d driven long enough that the late morning start had turned into waning afternoon. The flat plain was giving rise to random scenery. The crumbling buildings the distance, a speck flying in the sky. A bit of greenery began to appear, too. Trees with a few leafy branches, tufts of grass, the blades tall and thick.
“Where are we?”
“That is a good question. I haven’t the slightest fucking clue.” He shook his head.
“Then why are you driving?”
He shrugged. “This road obviously goes somewhere.”
She snorted. “Don’t all roads lead somewhere?”
“I’ve actually found one that goes off a cliff. So no. Unless death was your destination.”
“The end of this road could also end in something bad. Freckles and Rings weren’t exactly nice people.”
Gunner eyed her. “Freckles and Rings?”
“It was better than calling them marauder one and two.”
He laughed. “Ever heard of Hive City? Stories from travelers claim they’re all assigned numbers at birth. No one has a name.”
“A number?” Her nose wrinkled. “I might not have chosen the name I got, but it’s better than a string of digits.”
“I like the name Sofia.”
“It’s okay.” She rolled her shoulders. “It’s just that your parents named you. They gave you a name they thought would make you strong. They chose a name for you out of affection. Mine was randomly generated by a machine. I wonder what my parents would have called me.”
He stopped the vehicle and turned to her. “I am an asshole. A serious asshole. I didn’t mean to make you feel sad.”
“I’m not—” She stopped, realizing that, yes, the thought of it did make her melancholy. She didn’t like it. Regret wasn’t something she’d felt in her old life. She’d not felt much of anything until the end before her banishment. As if her emotions had been hiding all that time.
“When you have a child, you’ll be able to name him or her. Maybe with some input from the father.” He stared at her so intently she couldn’t hold his gaze.
“I would choose?” she squeaked. Her eyes widened. “What if I choose wrong?” What if she saddled a child with an awful name that they hated?
He laughed. “It’s not that horrifying, I swear.”
“How would you know? Have you ever named someone?”
He shook his head. “Nope. But I’m excited about it. I mean think of the possibilities if you name them right. Like Arrow. Fits a boy and a girl.”
“You would name them after a weapon?” she exclaimed.
“Well yeah. Do you think Blade is better? Or maybe Star. I saw one thrown by this guy who was passing through, and damn, he could hit a target dead center every single time.”
“In the ancient times, apparently parents named their children after those they considered famous or an elder in the family.”
“You mean like after my mom or dad?” He pursed his lips. “Hank and Patty. Interesting idea. And we can discuss it once you’re pregnant.”
She might have stopped breathing for a moment. “Pregnant?”
“You did bargain for a baby. I know I’ve been kind of remiss giving you one, but I promise, it is high on my list of things to do.”
She shook her head lightly. “I don’t know if it’s the right time anymore.”
“Now, don’t be a quitter. Just because things look a little tough at the moment doesn’t mean they won’t have straightened out by the time the baby comes.”
“We don’t know where we’re going,” she remarked.
“Somewhere,” was his reply as he got the truck moving again.
“We need more than somewhere. I can’t be pregnant without a home,” she declared. She wasn’t even sure about having a child anymore. She’d mostly wanted one because a child would provide a cure for loneliness. She wasn’t lonely anymore.
“A home. Got it. Anything else?”
“Are you asking if I have a list of demands before you can impregnate me?”
“Yes.”
She laughed. For some reason, it struck her as silly. “Fine. Along with a home, I want a bed. With a mattress so soft I won’t want to get up. And shoes.” She stretched out her feet.
“I’ll make sure you have several pairs.” He sounded a bit choked. “Anything else?”
“I want to taste chocolate,” she blurted out.
“You’ve never…” He trailed off muttering, “Of course you haven’t. Why would they waste the good stuff on people they believe are beneath them?”
“I’ve heard it is decadent.” The most intense thing she’d ever gotten to eat was a bowl of berries. The master received some as a gift, and he’d shared them with her. She’d never forgotten the tart and sweet burst of flavor on her tongue.
“I will hunt down all kinds of treats for you to eat.”
“You’re going to stay with me?”
“Of course.”
“What about your friends in Haven?” she queried.
“Who do you think we’re going to live with? We need a community if we’re going to survive.”
“How are we supposed to find them? We’re not in your Emerald domain anymore.”
“Nope, and I think we’re just found the official edge of the Marshlands. Look ahead.”
The road entered an area of growth. Long, mauve reeds poked from still pools of water, the top of it a brackish gray. Trees rose at random, the branches long and twisty, the fuzzy pink tendrils dangling from them touching the surface of the water, forming a filmy curtain. The bog appeared to extend for miles.
“Is it safe?” she asked.
He snorted. “You did not seriously just ask that.”
The road he followed proved more a suggestion with rocks piled wide enough for the truck and nothing more. Dirt packed between the cracks of the stone somewhat smoothed the surface.
She wondered what would happen if the road crumbled. What lurked in the depths? And was that water even safe? This resembled her idea of the Wastelands and their supposed toxic nature. Seeing a ripple in the muck, she shuddered and looked away.
For distraction, she asked, “What is the Emerald domain like?”
“Not like this,” he said. “The only marsh I’ve ever seen was small with gray reeds.”
“There are no watery places like this in Ruby,” she stated. “All lakes and ponds are protected by domes. Everything else is just barren.”
“Emerald isn’t that bad off. We have a massive forest as one of the domain boundary lines. It has a river that runs through it, and it gets rain often enough to keep it lush. Outside that forest, in the domain itself, there are a few lakes, but they aren’t in domes.”
“What do they do for water?”
“Depends on the dome. Some have underground wells they’ve tapped. Others keep replenishing reservoirs they’ve created.”
“Why not build the domes closer to water?”
He shrugged. “Why have the domes at all? It’s not as if the air is toxic like they claim.”
“Maybe in other places, but Ruby still has issues with dust storms, especially the city. To protect the trees and other foliage, they have to be covered.”
“Or so you’ve been told.”
“I never thought of that.” Her brow crinkled. “Given what I’ve seen since I left, it’s more than possible. No one ever leaves and comes back to tell us what the truth is.”
“In the Emerald domain, there is a strong push by the Enclave to keep the domes ignorant. A pe
ople who don’t know and who fear are easier to control.”
“It’s pretty much the same in Ruby.”
“And probably the same everywhere else as well. It’s like no one cares.”
Again, she couldn’t help but recall how dead she felt in the city. “Because we’re numb inside. I wonder…” She didn’t finish the thought.
“Wonder what?” he asked, taking his eyes from their path just as the truck jostled.
“Watch the road!” she exclaimed.
“Well?” He returned his gaze to the front.
She finally said aloud what she’d wondered for a while. “I think the Enclave drugs the citizens. Makes us not want things.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I feel so much now.” She pressed a fist to her chest. “I cry. I rage. I feel happy. And proud. It’s as if being away from the city has released me from some kind of stasis.”
“It is my understanding, in Emerald at least, they feed the citizens a little something to make them more manageable.”
“It’s wrong. Who gave them the right to decide?”
“Their magical powers, according to them. Their psionics.” He snorted. “If you ask me, that’s a dumb reason to let anyone lead or make decisions.”
His mindset reflected her own. She went back to something he’d said earlier. “You said you were looking for a place where your people could live freely.”
“A place that might not exist. All I ever heard were second-hand stories,” he replied. “Talk of a place where citizens have the same rights. Where work, not name, earns reward. And everyone is welcome. The thing that I couldn’t understand was—”
“If it was so great, why would anyone leave?” she interrupted to finish his sentence.
He nodded. “You would think if this place was a Utopia, then they’d want to keep it a secret. Safe.”
“Does it exist?”
“I think it does but have no idea where it might be.”
“It sounds too perfect,” she remarked, looking out the window at the sinking sun lighting the marsh with hues of mauve and red.
“Which is why it’s the dream we’re all looking for. If I could figure out its location, then I could tell my friends in Haven. Heck, I’d tell anyone who is tired of the Enclave making life harder.”
“What happens if we can’t find it?” she asked.
“Then maybe it’s time we thought about making our own Utopia.”
Fourteen
The sun was setting faster than he liked, and still the hump he aimed for appeared far away. He knew better than to remain sitting on this strip of road after dark. He needed a more defensible spot. The moment the last rays of the sun disappeared, he flicked on the beam to light the road. A single headlight bounced and jounced, meaning he had to slow down.
“You’re nervous,” she stated. “What do you know that I don’t?”
“Nothing. I’ve never been here.”
“You’ve got the gun in your lap.”
He fondled it. “This marsh has been too quiet.”
Their passage was too easy. Not a single thing to get in their way. It could only mean one thing. The monsters would come out at night.
“Can’t something be peaceful for once?” she lamented. “Why must everything always be about killing us?”
“The strongest survive.”
She made a disparaging noise. “Then how am I still alive?”
“One, you’re stronger than you think. Two, it probably helped you were friends with the biggest predator in that hidden valley.”
“Kitty is pretty ferocious.” She glanced back at her cat. Then turned a frown on him. “Kitty’s watching behind us.”
“Because Kitty is smart.” Anything lurking out in the darkness would see them as fresh meat.
“It’s all water, though. What could possibly attack? A fish?” She snickered.
Then she choked as something landed on the road in front of them. A fat creature with moist greenish skin, three bulbous eyes, no nose—just three holes—and a mouth full of teeth. It held a sharpened stick in a webbed-fingered hand. Given the many teats hanging from its torso, it appeared female. It also wasn’t moving out of the way.
He slowed down the vehicle, the beam of light striking the strange creature. It hissed and ducked its face, obviously preferred the dark.
“Why are you stopping?” She dug her fingers into her seat and stared straight ahead.
“Because if it’s more solid than I think, we could go off the road. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not lose the truck.”
“I think it’s a bad idea to be sitting here.”
“Probably. More than likely the thing in front of us is the bait to spring the trap.”
Sofia screamed as more of the creatures emerged from the muck, one of them slapping his webbed hands on the window and then licking it. The glass bubbled, and Sofia moaned. “This is not good.”
“Nope, but now that they’re all here...” He shoved the acceleration rod, and the truck shot forward, slamming into the body of the squat creature, splattering it over the hood. A few more flew off the sides. That made a couple less to—
“Duck!”
—throw rocks at the windows, but it was the jolt as something punctured a tire that worried him more. It slowed them down, allowing the monsters to catch up. Kitty growled in the back while Sofia stared out the windows, wide-eyed.
“They’re coming!”
“We’re going to have to fight,” he advised. Even as it seemed unlikely they’d survive.
“Fight?” she gasped. “But there’s so many.”
He was aware. At least he’d gotten their weapons back. He pulled the sword from where he’d laid it at his feet. She followed suit and white-knuckled the dagger.
“Kitty, you make an opening for us. Sofia, you run and only slash if you have to. Follow the road to the hump. If we can get to higher ground, we can defend it.”
“What about you?” she asked as a face pressed to the window, smushing between the bars to once more tongue the window.
“I’m going to give you time to run.”
“I don’t like that plan.” She clutched the knife even closer.
“We don’t have a choice. Ready?” He flung open his door and jumped out with Kitty right behind him.
He immediately slashed, his blade a touch dull but still slicing through flesh, splitting open moist skin, and spilling guts that steamed and reeked putridly. He kept swinging, aiming for the motion he could detect from the shadows, either slashing flesh or, in two cases, smashing crude spears before they could poke holes in him. It didn’t take too long before the monsters showed a hesitant respect for his blade.
“Now,” he said, keeping his eyes on the monsters forming a half-circle around them.
He sweated in the moist air, but his adrenaline was pumping. Plenty of strength left in his arms. He was saving the gun for when he couldn’t lift the sword.
Sofia landed behind him, her breathing a panicked hitch. Kitty came padding from the side, a slow prowl that had the monsters shifting. What had the cat done to have them giving her a wide berth?
“Get ready to run,” he advised.
He leaped forward toward the front of the truck, clearing the way. Kitty roared and bounded past him, pouncing on the swamp creatures, clearing a path.
He turned to see Sofia hugging the truck, eyes darting around fearfully. “Move!” he barked.
She focused on him then past him to her cat. Her lips flattened, and her shoulders straightened as she marched forward.
He guarded the rear, preventing the creatures from attacking by feinting and darting at those who dared come near. Kitty did a good job keeping them at bay in the front, but rather than thin the herd, more of them appeared, forming a loose, moving wave that kept darting close, working in tandem to force Kitty to defend one side or the other.
Sofia might be terrified, but she screamed and energetically attacked the mo
nsters, sobbing as she stabbed. Against all odds they were moving forward, hopefully to the hump they’d seen before the sun set. The headlight barely provided any illumination at this point, the things swarm behind halting any chance at a retreat.
The ring around them grew so thick he expected them to rush and overwhelm. Only instead of pressing the advantage, the monsters suddenly disappeared.
What would make a small army of creatures flee?
Not something he wanted to meet. “Fuck me, something bad is coming. Run!”
He dashed for Sofia and grabbed her free hand with his, tugging her into flight. Their legs pumped as they pounded along the road that had turned pitch-black as something blocked out the light of the truck. They couldn’t see a thing, and yet there should have been starlight at the very least. Sofia stumbled, and he halted lest he throw her off balance. He turned and saw it, a hulking, amorphous shape of water and weeds that constantly undulated as it leaned for them.
It writhed as if alive and stank of rot, of meat gone bad and water turned rancid. It shot out tendrils of fluid, vine-like and whip quick. It grabbed Sofia.
“It’s got me!” she screamed.
Even though he couldn’t see her in the darkness, he had to do something to help her.
Kitty bolted past and threw herself at the monster. Took a great big bite. Gagged and spat.
The smell of it roiled his own stomach, but he darted in close enough to slash at the creature, knowing it wouldn’t do a damned thing. But he still dug his sword into the monster. It sliced easily but didn’t bleed. How did you kill the marsh itself?
The hump of bog rolled for him, and he kept ahead of it, knowing he couldn’t stand his ground and kill it. If only he had fire. Fire tended to even the odds.
Tendrils of muck shot for him, and he sliced them one after another, only it had no effect. The edge of the road reared behind him as it turned slightly without him noticing. His foot splashed in water.
Water. Behind him the marsh was dormant. So what was different about the marsh in front of him?
Something must control it. Monster. Magic. Machine. It didn’t matter. Once he realized the water itself wasn’t the enemy, he charged it. He slammed through the weeds and decay, the slime and chunks. He popped into a bubble inside the strange threat, where he found Sofia strapped to the wall with reeds. A strange man stood beside her, naked, muddy, and crazy-eyed. The orbs lit as if from a demonic entity inside.