فصل 15

CHAPTER 15

“This is so gross,” Shawn said as he attempted to wipe dinosaur slobber off his liberally coated neck.

“She liked you.” Todd smiled.

“I got the feeling that she likes everyone,” Shawn said. “Do all of you Oaks people have dinosaurs as pets?” “No,” Todd said as he headed back across the rope bridges and Shawn and I followed. “A few people do, though.” “Which one of these is the trading post?” I asked, looking around at the surrounding tree houses. The sun was creeping higher and higher overhead, and I was anxious to be on our way.

“We can’t get to it by bridge,” Todd said over his shoulder. “We need to go to ground level.” “How do we do that?” I asked.

“My house,” he said simply. Five minutes later, Todd opened up the panel in the floor of his house, and I peered down to the distant forest floor and gulped.

“Harness?” Todd asked, offering one to Shawn and me.

“Not you?” Shawn asked.

“Not me,” Todd said. With the practiced ease of someone who had done this a thousand times, he wrapped the rope around his foot and, holding on with only one hand, disappeared from sight. I rushed to the edge to watch him slide down and sighed in relief when he reached the ground safely.

“It doesn’t look that hard,” Shawn said. I groaned, already knowing what was going to happen next. He grabbed the rope and began his own descent. Emily shook her head at Shawn’s stunt and turned to me.

“Would you like to show off how tough you are too, or do you want to use the harness?” I was about to say harness, but then stopped. Todd was right; life topside was not for the weak.

“I think it’s time I got tough,” I said.

“Good choice.” Emily smiled. “Please remind that rascal of a son of mine that I’ll be at the garden plot until noon.” I nodded and, taking a deep breath, grabbed the rope in both hands, and began to climb down.

“Welcome back to terra firma,” Todd joked when I reached the ground. I brushed my sweaty hands off on my pants and glanced nervously around the forest, our near miss from the night before still fresh in my mind.

“Is it safe to be standing here like this?”

“Sort of.” Todd shrugged and readjusted the bone bow across his shoulders. “We have a morning patrol that makes sure the area is secure before anyone comes down.” I relaxed a little. “Don’t do that,” he cautioned.

I jumped. “Do what?”

“Relax like that. Never relax.”

“But the trees are thick here,” I said. “And you said the Nightmares only come out at night. Shawn and I were in the trees all day yesterday, and the only dinosaurs we saw were tiny.” “Then you were really lucky,” Todd said. “Some of the bigger dinosaur breeds will venture into thick trees if they get hungry enough. Plus, the forest is where a lot of the adolescent dinosaurs hide out until they get big enough to protect themselves. You have to stay alert. It was my dad’s number-one rule.” “His dad?” Shawn whispered.

“Got eaten two years ago,” I replied quietly. Shawn winced, realizing why his comment at breakfast had gone so badly.

“Now I feel like a jerk,” he whispered.

“Keep up, you two,” Todd called over his shoulder.

Five minutes later, we were standing underneath a massive oak tree. Todd walked up to a small dangling rope and gave it three hard tugs. Nothing happened. He frowned and yanked again. This time a small rope ladder was lowered.

“Remember,” Todd cautioned as we climbed, “let me do the talking.”

“Why isn’t the trading post connected to the rest of the village?” I asked.

“Two reasons,” Todd said. “One, old Adler is paranoid. He is convinced everyone is out to steal from him. So he’s close enough to benefit from the Oaks’ protection, but far enough away that no one can get to his store without his knowledge.” “What’s reason two?” Shawn asked.

“Oh,” Todd said. “He hates people.”

“This just keeps getting better and better,” Shawn muttered.

We finally reached the top of the ladder, and Todd held out a hand to help me up onto the wide wooden deck. The trading post was a small dark structure crammed floor to ceiling with mismatched plates, old pots and pans, small scraps of fabric, and the woven material I’d seen over Emily’s windows. Every available surface was covered in an assortment of jumbled, dusty items, and I recognized a few tools from my history textbook. It smelled of spices, burned wood, and something I couldn’t quite place.

Todd ignored all of it and strode to the back of the hut where a tall, skinny man with a thin face that reminded me of a rat stood behind the counter. He nodded briskly to Todd and looked Shawn and me over with suspicious black eyes.

“What can I do for you?” Adler asked. He had an oily voice that matched the long, matted hair clinging to his partially bald scalp.

Todd grinned wolfishly at the man. “We need some supplies for my friends here: two good bows and arrows to go with them, arm sheaths, and knives to go in them. Oh, and boots.” “That’s a tall order,” said Adler. “What are you planning to trade for all that?”

Todd grabbed the suits from Shawn’s hands and flipped them onto the table. Adler’s eyes grew large, and he ran his long, thin fingers over the iridescent fabric hungrily.

“I believe we can make a trade. I’ll give you the bows and knives, but no boots.” Todd just crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

“What if I throw in this?” Shawn asked, taking a box out of his pocket and setting it on the counter.

“What is it?” Adler asked, poking at it gingerly, as though it might explode. My heart sank. I knew what that was. Shawn had been carrying it in his pocket for as long as I could remember.

“It’s a music box,” I said. “And it’s not part of the deal.” I went to grab it, but Adler swiped it off the counter.

“Will it get us the boots?” Shawn asked.

“Shawn, what are you doing?” I hissed.

“Does it work?” Adler asked.

In reply, Shawn reached over and turned the key at the back, and the faintest of lullabies filled the small hut. I still remembered the day Shawn had finally fixed it. He’d been sitting in my room in the Guardian Wing, and he’d jumped up and down, doing a little jig in celebration.

“Boots and another knife and sheath for each of them,” Todd said quickly. “That’s more than a fair offer. You and I both know that thing will trade well.” Adler looked back at Todd and, after a moment’s hesitation, nodded and stuck out his hand. Todd shook it, sealing the deal. Adler began piling the merchandise onto the counter. The knives in their arm sheaths looked particularly lethal. Once all the items were accounted for, we handed over the suits and left.

“You didn’t need to do that,” I muttered to Shawn once we were back in the sunlight.

“She’s right,” Todd said. “Adler would have come around to my deal eventually. Didn’t I tell you not to talk?” Shawn clenched his teeth, and I knew he was regretting his rash decision. “I wanted to make sure we got everything.” “Whatever, just put the boots on,” Todd instructed, handing me a tall leather pair. “Those slippers you two are wearing are useless.” The boots were old, the leather soft and supple under my fingers as I pulled them onto my aching feet. It looked like they’d been resoled about a million times, but they fit surprisingly well. When we got back on the trail, I didn’t feel every stick and rock like I had in my compound shoes. It was fabulous. Todd took a few minutes to help us fasten the knife sheaths onto our arms. What I had thought was a pile of leather straps turned out to be a quiver to hold the massive arrows that went with our bows. Arrows we didn’t know how to use. I frowned but then pushed the thought away. There wasn’t time for the lessons Todd had mentioned, even if they were tempting.

“So now that we’ve got our supplies, what’s the plan?” Shawn asked.

“We’re wasting daylight.” I said, glancing up. “We should really get going.”

Todd looked disappointed. “What’s your rush? It’s not like Lake Michigan is going anywhere.”

“He has a point,” Shawn said, pulling back the string of his new bow experimentally. “I’d like to practice with this thing.” He let the string go and yelped when it snapped back into place. Todd laughed as Shawn hopped around, flapping his stinging hand.

“Not as easy as it looks, is it?” Todd said.

“We’ll be okay,” I said. “We’ll learn as we go.”

Todd shook his head. “Doubtful.” I frowned. It probably was stupid to turn my back on the offer of training, but the burning sense of urgency in my stomach wouldn’t let me take him up on the offer. I was already a year behind from where my dad thought I’d be. I wanted to get to the lake. And I wanted to get there yesterday.

“Well, at least come back to the Oaks for lunch,” Todd said. “My mom has something for you.”

“I don’t know.” I hesitated, not wanting to be rude. “We really should get going. And we already owe you guys too much as it is.” Suddenly Todd stiffened, and a moment later I heard the thudding roar of an engine.

On instinct, I grabbed Todd and Shawn, pulling them into the underbrush and out of sight.

“What are they?” Todd asked, gazing wide-eyed as three large black shapes buzzed past us overhead.

“Helicopters,” Shawn supplied, his voice awed as he stared up at the whirring propellers. “I didn’t think any of those existed anymore.” I watched them fly past, the golden ark emblazoned across their sides, and for the first time, the Noah’s symbol sent a shiver of fear up my spine. The feeling surprised me. The symbol had never made me feel anything but grudging admiration before.

“What’s a helicopter?” Todd asked.

“It’s a flying machine,” Shawn said. “It carries passengers. Not as many as the Noah’s plane, but they are supposed to have more mobility than a plane.” “The Noah?” Todd said, and I saw terror cross his face. Before I could stop him, he was up and running toward the Oaks.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” I said, getting up to run after him. “Really bad.”

“Why?” Shawn asked, scrambling up to follow me. “The Noah probably just spotted the Oaks, and he wants to help.” “And what if he doesn’t want to help?” I called back over my shoulder as I raced through the woods after Todd.

“Why else would helicopters be here?” Shawn called, struggling to keep up as we ducked under low-hanging tree branches.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. The crack of a gun reverberated throughout the forest, and I pushed to catch up with Todd.

Todd was fast, but by some miracle I was faster. Moments before he would have burst into the open, I made a flying leap and brought him to the ground in a tumble of legs and arms. We skidded to a stop behind a low pile of bushes, and I smashed my hand over his mouth.

“What are you doing?” Shawn whispered, catching up. I shook my head, and he helped me pin down the flailing Todd. I peered up through the bushes and froze as I saw what was happening less than fifty yards away. My stomach clenched painfully as panic raced through my system. With an effort, I pushed it back, ducking my head under the cover of the bushes. I needed to think. I could panic later. Todd struggled beneath me, biting down on my hand, hard, and I had to stifle a scream. I pressed my lips against his ear and whispered as quickly and as quietly as I could manage.

“Stay down. The Noah’s marines are here.” Todd struggled again, biting down harder on my hand, and tears slid down my cheeks. “Stop it,” I hissed through gritted teeth. “If we make a noise now, we’ll get caught. Then we won’t be any good to anybody.” I looked in his eyes, hoping to see reason return. Slowly he released the skin of my hand; my palm burned. I waited another few seconds and then took my hand away.

“What’s going on?” Shawn whispered. He sat behind me, Todd’s legs and one arm pinned firmly underneath him.

“It looks bad,” I admitted. I glanced at Todd again. “If we let you up, do you promise not to go charging in there? They have guns.” Todd’s face went white, but he nodded.

“Marines always have guns when they go topside, Sky,” Shawn whispered. “What’s the big deal?” “They don’t point them at innocent people,” I snapped back. Shawn looked confused, but he got off Todd’s legs and together we peered out over the top of the bush.

Standing in the clearing were ten marines in black body armor with the gold ark crest across their chests. Thick visors covered their eyes. Five of them had lethal-looking guns leveled at a cluster of villagers huddled under one of the trees. They made the stun gun Shawn had stolen look like a toy. I frowned. The gun Shawn had stolen had turned out to be a toy. There was a pile of broken and splintered arrows littering the ground at their feet. Todd’s village hadn’t been prepared for body armor. As I watched, more arrows rained down on the remaining marines, who were attempting, unsuccessfully, to climb the ropes leading up to the tree houses. Suddenly Shawn grabbed on to my arm, and I whipped around to see a look of pure disbelief on his face.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Shawn said. “What are they doing?”

“Surrender!” yelled a voice I recognized. I went numb as General Ron Kennedy stepped away from the pack, wearing the same thick metal body armor as the rest of the marines. And that’s when I knew for certain that we’d been followed. These weren’t random rogue marines. These were our marines, the marines of North Compound that I had grown up with and worked under for all of my life. We had been followed, and now Todd’s village was going to pay the price for our crimes. Shawn went rigid beside me, and I knew he’d just realized the same thing.

General Kennedy walked over to the group of villagers, most of whom were women wearing dirt-smeared clothing and holding shovels and spades. He grabbed Emily roughly by the arm and dragged her into view of the tree houses above. Putting his gun to her temple, he glared up at the trees. “Surrender or she dies,” he yelled. “I’ll kill your women one by one. And when I have no one left to kill, I’ll set fire to the trees.” He tightened his grip on Emily, and Todd lifted his bow to shoot.

“He’s wearing body armor,” I whispered in Todd’s ear. “All you’ll do is give away our position. Or, worse, your shot will ricochet and hit your mom.” Todd lowered the bow, but the look on his face broke my heart. My fault, I thought numbly. This is all my fault. I tried to push aside the sense of hopelessness that was threatening to overwhelm me. I needed to think of a way to save these people who had been kind and welcoming to us. Seconds later, ten bows fell to the ground with muffled thumps. Two of them broke on contact, but the others were gathered by the marines. I looked up as the remaining villagers came climbing down the trees, but the fear and hatred I saw etched in their faces had me looking away guiltily.

No longer being pelted by arrows, the marines climbed the ropes and entered the tree houses. They ran from house to house, guns drawn. A gunshot came from one of the houses and I jumped. Todd’s face tightened. A few of the captured villagers screamed, and I saw Emily scanning the surrounding woods with wide, frightened eyes. It didn’t take much to know who she was looking for. The marines had their backs to us, so when she looked our way, I pulled aside the leafy branch we were concealed behind and made eye contact. Her face, already drained of color, got even whiter. She shook her head ever so slightly, and I nodded.

Just then one of the villagers broke from the group and ran for the woods. The marines shouted, and someone screamed as a gunshot rang out. The man crumpled and didn’t move. I tightened my grip on Todd’s shoulder. Kennedy tucked his gun back into his belt and turned to the villagers. I swallowed hard, worried I was going to be sick.

“Let that be a lesson on how our Noah deals with rebels and traitors,” Kennedy sneered, nodding to the marines standing guard. “Get them into the choppers. If anyone gives you any trouble, shoot them.” I watched in helpless horror as, one by one, Todd’s fellow villagers were loaded into the belly of the helicopters. Without warning, Kennedy snaked a hand out to grab Emily before she had a chance to board. As he roughly pulled her away from the huddled group of villagers, his gun drawn, I felt Todd stiffen beside me. I tightened my grip on his arm.

“This one seems to be the leader,” one of the marines said, shoving Jett forward roughly.

“Good,” Kennedy said, and with his gun pointed at Emily’s temple, he looked straight at Jett. “I hope I don’t have to tell you that telling the truth is in this lady’s best interest.” Jett nodded, his eyes hard. “We are looking for two kids. A boy and a girl. They are escaped convicts from North Compound. Have you seen them?” Jett’s eyes flicked to Emily’s panicked ones. “No,” he said evenly. “I haven’t.”

Kennedy nodded, and the marine standing behind Jett raised his gun and slammed the butt of it into the side of Jett’s head. Emily cried out, and I slapped my hand over my mouth to hold in my own cry. Todd jerked beside me, and I tightened my grip, my fingers digging into his arm.

“I’m going to ask again,” Kennedy said, this time holding the gun to Jett’s head, his eyes on Emily. “Have you seen a boy and a girl? The boy is short, and not very bright. The girl has red hair.” “No,” Emily said, her voice shaky but firm. Kennedy stared at her, evaluating, and I held my breath. Then with a jerk, he pulled the gun away from Jett’s head and gave him a disgusted kick.

“Load them into the chopper with the rest,” he said. Kennedy motioned for two other marines to follow him into the woods. They hurried over to obey orders, and I realized with a jolt that they were heading straight for us. We ducked our heads, and I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood.

“Well?” Kennedy barked.

“She was supposed to be here, sir,” responded the taller of the two marines. “Our tracking methods have a very high degree of accuracy.” “Your methods didn’t work.” I could hear the venom and hate dripping from his every word. “Somebody screwed up, Jeffrey. And when I find out who that somebody is, heads will roll.” When I glanced toward Shawn, his face looked just as sick as I felt. Even though Jett had searched us, something we carried with us had led them straight to the Oaks. The urge to rip off my pack and begin going through my things was overwhelming. I felt tainted. Like I carried around something disgusting and dirty. But I didn’t dare move a muscle. Not now. Not with Kennedy standing mere feet away from where we crouched.

“Sir,” said one of the marines. “If I may ask, why are we putting so much effort into finding two children? They were probably eaten within minutes of venturing topside.” “Those children stole valuable government property. The Noah commanded we recover that property,” Kennedy said, his voice dangerous. “Is that not enough for you, soldier?” “Yes, sir,” the marine said, ducking his head. “Sorry, sir.”

“Go tell the pilots we leave in two,” Kennedy said. The marines hurried back to the helicopter, and Kennedy stood for a moment staring out into the woods, a frown on his face, before finally turning to join them. Seconds later the choppers took off in a whir of thrumming propellers and roaring engines. I blinked back angry, helpless tears as I watched Todd’s entire village disappear over the trees.