Griffin told Mark to stay and we disappeared into the tent, Clark joining us, waiting for the scouting parties to return.
“We are in trouble…” Griffin whispered.
“The military is involved, also,” Tori hissed, looking around the tent. “I lost at least a dozen people in my group. They were put into army cars, not Commission.”
“We can’t go up against the American military. There are only seventy of us,” Clark hissed. “What are our options?”
“We don’t have any…” I murmured. I heaved a deep breath and shook my head. “We can try and make a large sweep to the west of the city and drop down into the south,” I suggested. “But with a group this large, we’re going to attract attention.” I tapped my finger against the nylon floor of the tent. “I think it’s only fair to tell everyone that they do not have to stay with us. If people do not feel safe, if they want to stand still and be caught by the Commission, or if they think they can make it alone, we should let those people go.”
“Lily, these people are counting on us to keep them safe,” Clark hissed, surprised at my attitude.
“And I am saying that the best way to keep them safe is to split up,” I said. “We are walking around with targets on our heads. If we stick together, we will be annihilated in one swoop.” I sighed again. “We would be foolish to think that, right now, there is safety in numbers.”
“What about the younger ones?” Griffin pressed.
I hesitated. “We let each person decide what they want to do. We’re not going to force anyone to stay or to leave, but we need to give them the option.”
The tent was silent for some long, heavy seconds. Griffin turned to Mark.
“Do you agree with her?”
Mark nodded slowly.
“As much as I don’t like the idea of leaving everyone to fend for themselves, it does sound like the most viable option,” Griffin agreed.
“When the scouting groups come back, we will gather everyone and tell them,” Tori said. “They have the option to leave at any point in the next twenty-four hours. If we don’t set a time limit, we do run the risk of some of the deserters leaving and giving away our location as we move.”
“We might want to ask Mykail to fly around and see if he can spot the military anywhere in the vicinity,” Clark suggested. “That should let us know where not to move.”
“No.” I shook my head. “Mykail’s wings are being rejected by his body. Flying last night really hurt him. I don’t know if he will be able to fly again for a while.”
“An infection will set in if he doesn’t get any treatment…” Griffin reminded me.
I turned to him, trying to let him see that I understood the risks but did not know what to do about them.
The feeling inside the tent was one of mutual darkness that none of us could shake.
* *** *
“There is something that I think is very important to discuss with everyone,” Tori started, standing around the lopsided circled everyone had made around her. Unfortunately, the scout parties had come back far later in the day than we had anticipated, with no information on a safer location. Our only hope was to move further west. Before everyone packed up what they had taken out of their bags, Tori gathered everyone to talk about what we had discussed in the tent.
“Things look bad,” she admitted quietly, “and all of us understand that things look bleak unless we can cross the southern border.” She looked at the rest of us in the main strategy group before continuing. “Therefore, we want to give everyone an option. If anyone feels that they can make it over the border on their own, and would rather try alone, or with a small group, then we welcome them to go within the next twenty-four hours.”
There was a murmuring around the battered revolutionaries. Tori had to lift her hands to silence them.
“This is not a ploy to tell you that you are safer in the group,” she assured. “The truth is that there is no safe option for us now. We have to do what we think is best for us. That is why we are extending this option to you. We are not forcing you to go or to stay, but we want to make sure that you understand the risks of both options.
“Trying to cross the border on your own will mean it will be difficult to survive on your own. While we don’t have a lot of rations with us, being in the group does mean a better chance for a successful hunt. However, being in the group has a greater risk of exposing all of us together. Moving in this large group makes us easier to spot, and easier to capture if someone makes a mistake. Ultimately, this is a decision you have to make. We want everyone to do what they feel is best for them. Please do not feel pressured one way or the other.”
She looked up at the sky.
“We will have to stay put for tonight and move in the morning,” she said. “By the time we pack everything up, it will be dark and it will be difficult to not walk into a trap,” she explained. “You have tonight to decide your course of action. As of tomorrow evening, we will expect everyone to have made their choice and acted accordingly on it.”
Everyone in the camp was in debate. Some were debating in small groups, trying to decide what those they were closest to were going to do. With others, the conflict could be seen in their eyes as they listened to everyone around them talk.
Night fell, and while some slowly packed their bags and left the group, Griffin, Tori, Mark, Mykail, Clark, and I were sitting silently, trying to decide how we could evade capture and death long enough to get across the border. Mykail and I shared secret glances with one another, thinking about our own plans that the others remained oblivious to.
I was trying to find a way to spin my plan to make it seem like it was a good thing that I stayed behind and that I was not going to give myself up to Dana. However, I had been unsuccessful at thinking up a story the others would believe and support.
As soon as it became dark, we put out the fire to avoid being seen and kept close to one another, trying to stay as inconspicuous as possible.
My eyes were drifting shut as I leaned against Clark, both of us starting to dose off to an uncomfortable sleep when Tori gasped and stood up, grabbing our attention. Mark also stood, pulling out his gun and using his thumb to click the safety off. Griffin turned to me and mouthed something.
“Get everyone and go!” He pointed to the west.
Clark scrambled out from under the blanket. Several of the other experiments, who had also heard whatever it was that we were unable to, were moving around to the humans, waking them up and telling them quietly to run. I shook a few of the people near me, pointing for them to run.
I glanced around the trees to be sure everyone knew to run, and then pulled out my own gun, taking a few deep breaths.
But a shrill scream to my left made me jump out of my skin.
“Go! Go! Go!” an unfamiliar voice bellowed. Suddenly, there was movement all around us. Screams were heard in the direction we had sent people and Tori quickly followed the cries. Clark pulled out his gun and both of us held our weapons at the ready, looking for movement. My hands were shaking. I could hear everyone moving, but I could not see them in the dark of the trees.
Griffin backed up and then ran toward a tree, turning his shoulder and slamming full force into the trunk, causing a sharp splintering sound, along with the rustling of higher branches as they started to crash into the other trees. There were terrified screams as the soldiers who had been in that area around us, quickly scattered to avoid being crushed.
“Let’s go!” I snapped. I grabbed Clark’s hand and started running toward the rock face that I had climbed earlier in the day, deciding that defending a hill was a lot easier than trying to see in the darkness of the surrounding trees.
We both stumbled over the loose rocks, trying to find our footing in the dark. Mark and Griffin followed us, also hoping to see lights from vehicles and locate different groups of soldiers.
Of course, with their enhanced vision, Griffin and Mark could see far better than we could. Griffin grabbed m
e at one point and pulled me into his arms, carrying me to the top of the rocky hill.
My eyes went wide when I saw what was at the edge of the trees. There were dozens of lights shining, stationary, fixed to the sixty or seventy cars lining the woods we had made our sanctuary.
“Holy shit…”
Everyone was trying to catch their breath from the steep hike, staring at the military vehicles of the night raid. There was a surreal feeling, seeing the lights just beyond the tall trees we thought to shelter us.
“There’s a helicopter!” Griffin hissed, pointing his gun into the air. It took me another ten seconds before I heard the beating of the propeller blades as they approached.
All four of us pointed our guns to the sound of the helicopter. A sweeping, blinding light passed over the hilltop next to us, and I followed the beam up to the black aircraft, barely darker than the night sky.
Mark inhaled deeply and took careful aim.
“Mark…can you get the gunner?” Griffin whispered.
Mark’s answer was a gunshot.
Judging from the lack of bullets that came in our direction, I knew he had succeeded.
The helicopter turned.
“Shit, the copilot’s—” Griffin stopped immediately.
A figure passed in front of the helicopter’s spotlight and rose to the side of the aircraft. I had flashes of the previous two times a winged experiment had taken down a helicopter. This time, however, I was more than thrilled to see Mykail come to our rescue.
We watched the battle for control of the helicopter in the sky, until we heard a gunshot and the helicopter suddenly turned again. My stomach flipped over, wondering who had received the bullet.
My question was answered when the helicopter, as it was making a turn to come back to us, began to nose dive into the trees. Mykail leapt free of the aircraft and flew high into the air, speeding toward us just as the explosion occurred. The bright flames lit up the night and the bark of the trees surrounding the crash ignited, the heat from the fire drying the remaining rain water off the timber.
Mykail stumbled as he landed near us. We rushed to him as he collapsed onto the rocks.
“Mykail, talk to me,” Griffin ordered.
“I…I can’t…m-my wing…”
“Okay, I got you,” Griffin assured, picking up the collapsed and panting experiment, maneuvering him onto his back while Clark and I helped situate Mykail’s wings.
There was a sound from the west side. Mark quickly turned, shooting the soldier who had come up the hill. When Mark turned back to us, he pointed the other direction, which would lead us further away from where our comrades had run, but could keep us safer from encroaching soldiers.
I followed Griffin as he carefully picked his way down the hill with Mykail on his back, the large wings dragging over the rocks. Mark followed, his gun at the ready.
When we reached the bottom of the hill, Griffin laid Mykail down against a boulder and told me and Clark to remain there, Mark protecting us as Griffin disappeared.
I crouched next to Mykail’s side, holding his sweating hand as I looked around, keeping my own gun ready just in case.
* *** *
Griffin found where the military was using as base and came back to lead us through the trees in the dark, taking us to where he had found Tori and the others who had managed to survive the attack. The group had gone over a hill and dropped into a clear valley, staying in front of another rock face.
Griffin brought Mykail into the area just as the group of survivors was digging a trench at the base of the boulders. It was as much to defend ourselves as it was to hide. Mykail was carefully placed against one of the larger boulders. It was difficult to see in the dark but I could tell from the slight reflection off his forehead in the moonlight that he was sweating.
“What can I do to help?” I whispered, pressing my hand to his face. He was running a high fever.
“Nothing…” Mykail shook his head, his eyes sliding shut. “Just…just let me rest…”
Tori walked to Mark.
“We lost another twenty-nine,” she hissed. “There are little groups of soldiers all over the place. They took a lot of them and shot them on sight. I don’t know if any survived…”
I looked back at Tori, horrified at the numbers.
“Twenty-nine?” I whispered. “Who? Who did we lose?”
“I don’t entirely know,” she admitted. “I’m waiting to search the woods until it’s almost dawn and we have a safe place to hide,” she motioned to the trench.
“How long until dawn?” Clark hissed.
“Maybe three hours.”
Clark moved to the trench and looked for shovels, but there were only seven. Experiments were using their hands to move dirt and large rocks, some of the other humans were using flat rocks to move the earth out of the way.
“What about supplies?” I pressed.
“Hiroki, Minsoo, and Ichiro are going to get more,” Tori said. “They’ll be careful. After everything has settled and we know what the military is doing, we’ll send smaller parties to get more supplies.”
“We can’t fight them…” I hissed.
“We just need to keep ourselves safe,” Tori said. “We’ll send a few at a time in openings that we find in their line and they can flee. It’s the only thing we can do.”
I stayed with Mykail until he fell asleep, holding his hand as he shuddered.
When the middle part of the trench was deep enough that Griffin could stand straight in it and be completely hidden, the crews worked on widening the area quickly, fueled by the time limit of the approaching dawn. The three members of the Eight Group returned with some supplies, including alcohol and bandages for the injured, who were treated using gruesome, primitive means.
I could not stand to watch the trench being dug, so when Tori said that we needed to comb the surrounding area for survivors and see where the smaller groups of soldiers had set up camp, I immediately volunteered to go with Mark.
He looked like he was about to protest, but I started walking in one direction before he could find a way to tell me no. Keiko joined us, following as Mark picked up the lead. All of our guns were ready, our hands by our legs as we moved quickly and quietly through the trees. The sky was beginning to lighten, which cast a blue tinge over the woods.
I kept my eyes constantly sweeping through the brightening trees, trying to spot anyone who might be hiding to either kill us or find where we had taken shelter. There was nothing but a cold fog in the trees as we moved in a large sweep. I was relieved and terrified that we had not found anyone.
Mark slowed, looking around and debating whether or not to return to the trench. He nodded to go a little further. We moved another thirty meters before we stopped, hearing a mumbled and off-tune singing float to our ears, reverberating off the trees.
We shared nervous glances and Mark led us forward, toward the singing, to see if we had found a camp of some of the soldiers.
I moved carefully, keeping my eyes on Mark as we got closer and the drunken singing got louder. They were celebrating, and had been celebrating through most of the night. The bitter taste of anger took over my tongue and I wanted nothing more than to shoot them for finding joy in the horrible chase.
Mark pressed himself to a tree and motioned for us to do the same. Quickly taking cover behind the nearest tree, I waited a few moments before I peered around to catch a glimpse of the people in the forest.
There was a camp not far away. I could see cars and there was a small fire going as the soldiers drunkenly stumbled around.
I turned my eyes to Mark, who made his way closer, trying to find a place where he could count the number of soldiers. Taking a deep breath, I moved to the tree next to Mark’s. Keiko followed, her gun still ready at her side.
I glanced around the trunk, much closer to the camp, able to see the soldiers as they huddled around the fire, passing a bottle around and singing drunkenly.
“Fuck! Don’ �
�member the rest!”
“Who cares, you drunk sonovabitch? You can’t sing for shit!”
“Fuuuck…” one of the men groaned, his head rolling back on his neck. “What the fuck is taking those assholes so long? They said fucking two hours, tops.”
“It’s been eight hours,” another agreed with a nod. “I’m bored as fuck.”
“We’re out of Jack,” another snapped, smashing the empty bottle against the rock he was sitting on.
I glanced at Mark, who was taking only three seconds to look around the tree at a time. He turned to Keiko and me and motioned for us to back away from the camp. I nodded, spotting the next tree I wanted to hide behind. I turned when I was around the tree and waited for Mark to make it to his hiding spot next, holding my gun around the tree to shoot anyone who saw him.
“How about this one?” one of the men laughed. A shrill screaming was heard that caused all of us to halt and peer out from our hiding spots.
“She’s not bad,” another agreed. “Wha’d’ya think the Commission wants with these fuckers, anyway?”
They pulled a struggling woman to their circle by her hair. I could not see her face, but judging by her hair, I guessed it was Paula. My heart was in my throat, terrified.
“Who gives a fuck?” another growled. “This little slut and all the others are going to pay for what they’ve done.”
“And who’s gonna teach ‘em?” One of the men barked a laugh. “You?”
“Hell yeah!” the second snapped. “Here, give the bitch to me.”
“No! No!” Paula screamed.
“You can’t say no,” the man laughed coldly. I saw her tossed roughly to the ground, almost landing in the embers of the fire. The second man moved to her and grabbed her hair, pulling her over. “You’re just a Commission criminal. You don’ have the right to say anythin’. So be a good little whore for me.”
She began screaming and kicking at the drunk soldiers as they laughed, two of the men holding her down. I was about to start forward but Mark shook his head sharply. I stopped, turning to look at the camp again, chilled by the horrific screams.
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