Evolution (7 page)

While we ate, Samuel reviewed what the day’s agenda was – head south, locate the settlement along the main Imperial road, and camp out until the next morning. Tomorrow, we would follow the road at a distance, scoping it out. If it was safe, we would follow it. If not, we would slog through the wilds all the way to Nova Roma. Hopefully, that didn’t have to happen.

Once finished, Makara and I washed dishes while Anna and Samuel prepped everyone’s gear. By the time Makara and I had put everything away, all our packs were lined neatly by the door.

I checked my Beretta one last time. It was locked and loaded, filled with seventeen rounds of ammunition. I carried two clips on my belt, opposite my combat knife, and had more ammo available in the pack. The pack was stuffed with food, water, and the camping gear we would need when we settled down for the night. My boots were laced, and I had managed to scrounge a headband to keep my lengthening hair out of my face while on the trail.

At last, we stepped outside into the hot morning. Makara shut the door and pressed a few numbers into the keypad. The door clicked itself shut.

“Don’t forget that combo,” I said.

“Oh no,” she said, feigning distress. “I just did.”

“Not funny,” I said.

We got started, heading south through the balmy forest. Samuel took the lead, using nothing more than a compass to strike a course south. Hopefully, no one saw or heard our entrance last night. It was possible that the storm had completely masked our entry.

We entered the first line of trees. At points, the undergrowth grew so thick that Anna had to use her beloved katana to cut it down. She was strong and fit, but even she could not keep that up forever. After an hour, we had only gone about a mile.

At midday, we paused for a quick lunch of chicken sandwiches before moving on again. The day that had begun warm was now sweltering. It must have been in the nineties. It was hard to believe it was wintertime. In California, it was probably well below freezing. Even if Mexico was farther south, something just didn’t feel right about this heat.

At last, the jungle broke, revealing a stream that ran quick and silvery over smooth stones. Green moss grew on its banks, soft under our feet. The stream veered south. Since that was the direction we were headed, we decided to splash through the water and follow its course. Our speed easily increased by a factor of two.

The thick canopy of green cast verdant shadows on the forest floor, lighting meadows and trees with an emerald hue. Bugs flew in giant clouds. Mosquitoes bit as we passed a bog. It was my first time to be bitten by one, and it was a shame Ragnarok couldn’t have taken care of them, too. My sweat clung to my shirt, and still, we pressed on. As the stream deepened, we were forced to the side. Thin rivulets fed the water’s flow, broadening it. We had to head back into the thick forest again, and we were back to the same slow crawl we were at before.

Mercifully, around late afternoon, the trees broke, and we saw our first sign of civilization.

A huge tract of land, growing corn, filled my entire vision. The corn rose in green stalks, and here and there I could see workers, stooped down and working the fields. No, not workers. Slaves. Walking between the hunched bodies were their drivers, men in wide-brimmed hats with whips tethered to their belts. Across the fields was a low, circular wall, and within were buildings and lines of smoke rising into the blue sky. Several blood red flags whipped in the breeze.

We ducked back into the forest, before anyone could see us.

“Welcome to the Empire,” Makara said.

“What now?” I asked.

Samuel paused a moment. “We can’t just come out of the woods like this. It’ll look suspicious.”

“Maybe just a couple of us could go in,” Anna said. “Pose as traders from the Wasteland, or something. Could be a way to get some info.”

“Sounds risky,” Samuel said. “We are technically at war with the Empire. It might be best to try and make it all the way to Nova Roma without being seen at all. When we get to the capital there will be so many people that we’ll escape notice.”

“Do we have enough food for that?” I asked.

“We can travel at night,” Samuel said. “Less people around. If we need food, we can steal it.”

“Won’t all that look suspicious, though?” Makara asked. “We’ll be mistaken for escaped slaves.”

“Our goal is to make it Nova Roma,” Samuel said. “We’re not trying to make friends here. If we have to steal, or even kill, to get there, we all will do so...without hesitation.”

None of us said anything as his words sunk in. Through the trees, I could still see the wooden wall of the settlement, distant.

“Now would be a good time to find a spot to camp,” Samuel said. “We can catch some sleep and continue on through the night.”

We trekked further upriver, toward a clearing we had passed on the journey down. There, we set up camp, making some lean-tos out of some rope and tarps we had packed. We had a cold dinner – sandwiches again, before settling down to sleep with just an hour of sunlight left.

When night came, I was still wide awake. I wasn’t sure how long Samuel planned on having us sleep, but I didn’t feel tired at all. It was absolutely miserable with the humidity, the heat, and the bugs. I was already not liking this Empire place, and longed for my bed back at Skyhome.

As the sky darkened, stars began to appear. Ashton had been right; the meteor fallout from Ragnarok did not affect this area as much. It felt strange to sleep under a sky that was not much different from what my grandparents would have seen.

The clearness of the night caused it to cool off quickly. Soon, it was not so unbearable, and even the bugs mostly went away. The stars twinkled by the thousands.

Everyone else around me was sound asleep. Yet still, something just wouldn’t let me relax. I didn’t know what it was. As time passed, my feeling of unease grew worse, until I felt ready to wake everyone else up.

I touched Samuel’s shoulder, next to me. His eyes opened in an instant.

“What is it?” he asked.

Everything was still. The insects had gone away – because the night was cooling off, or for some other reason?

The answer came soon enough when people ran out of the forest, right for us.

***

W
e didn’t have time to react before I was trapped in a tangle of net. I tried clawing myself out, but to no avail. We were surrounded on all sides. Makara or Anna screamed, I wasn’t sure which in the darkness.

I rolled on the ground, only ensnaring myself further in the net. Gunshots went off, lighting the forest like bursts like lightning.

I reached for my Beretta, but was so ensnared that I couldn’t reach it. Then, I remembered my knife. Madly, I reached for it, and began slashing at the rope entangling me. I hacked, again and again, fighting my way out of the snare. Finally, I punched free, crawling forward into the darkness.

I was the only one free - the others around me were locked into place. The men did not have flashlights, and did not at first notice that I was free. I used this to my advantage, crouching low and heading for Samuel first, since he was closest. His eyes widened upon seeing me crawl next to him. I began cutting through his binds.

A large hand grabbed me by the shoulder, pulling me back with a snarl. I tried to wrench myself free of the man’s grip, but another pair of hands grabbed me and threw me on the ground.

But by this time, Samuel had slinked out of the net. He fired two times, and the man gripping me screamed. I felt his hand loosen, and I ran forward, out of his grasp. I reached for my Beretta, still holstered on my belt.

I drew it, pointing it into the darkness. Samuel and I were alone. From the forest ahead, I heard both Makara and Anna screaming, and the shouts of our attackers. Accompanying the screams was a rustling, dragging sound, leading away from our position. They were fleeing.

That was when I noticed two large men barring our path. They had stayed behind to make sure we didn’t follow. I could see each was holding a knife that glinted in the darkness.

Quickly, I brought up my gun, but not fast enough. One of the men charged forward, swiping it aside. It landed on the ground a few feet away and was obscured by darkness. As Samuel grappled with the other attacker, my own adversary advanced, stabbing toward me. I dodged. One of the girls screamed again, more distant. We had to take care of these guys, fast. And I had no way to reach my gun without leaving myself open.

The man took another jab at me. I jumped backward, my back slamming against a tree. Wincing, I dodged once more when the man came at me again. His knife plunged into the tree’s bark. Cursing in Spanish, he struggled to wrest it free.

I didn’t waste another moment. I took my own knife, slashing wildly toward him. My blade connected to his arm. He screamed, and I felt his warm blood splatter on my hand. He staggered away, meaning to run. His back turned to me, the rest was easy. I jumped him, sending him crashing to the earth. With gritted teeth, I pinned him and gave him a deep gash in his throat. Blood spewed out, his scream silenced by my blade. His body grew still under me as what was left of his life ebbed away.

Right next to his body was my gun. I grabbed it, and turned to help Samuel, who was still going hand-to-hand with his adversary. I ended the fight quickly by placing my gun on the back of the man’s head. He paused in shock right before I shot. His body fell forward, sprawling on the ground.

Samuel looked at me with wide eyes. He picked up his own handgun from the ground, and charged away in the direction the girls had been taken.

We ran for thirty seconds or so, pushing aside foliage and branches that slammed and scratched our faces and hands. Uncaring, we sprinted on. It was only a matter of time until we caught up to them, and we couldn’t let either of them get away.

A scream came from our left.

We turned, and ran in the direction of the sound. A few seconds later, we came across one of the girls, netted in a clearing. She was alone, having clearly been abandoned.

“Anna, get Anna!” she yelled.

It was Makara. Not understanding, I ran forward to cut her binds.

“They left me here, and took Anna with them.”

“Where?” I asked.

“To my left,” Makara said. “Opposite direction you came from.”

I bolted away. Samuel could take care of Makara while I went after Anna. I had to catch them before they really got moving. Stealing a look behind, Makara was now out of the net, running with Samuel after me. Up ahead, I heard a whinny. They had horses. If they had horses, there would be no catching them. I didn’t yell Anna’s name, though I wanted to. I needed all the surprise I could get.

I burst out of the trees, finding myself on a dirt road. Four horses stood there, two men already mounted while two others were securing Anna to the back of one of the horses. She was wrapped in her net, and unable to break free. The men looked my way. Two of them reached for guns.

Out in the open as I was, I had no chance against them. Cursing, I dove back for the trees, rolling behind a fallen, rotting log as the first bullets sprayed chips of bark in my face. From behind, Samuel and Makara slid next to me.

“They have horses,” I said.

The gunfire ceased for a moment. The men were yelling again, the horses nickering and snorting. They were about to set off. We had to do something now, or it was never. I wasn’t about to let Anna become a slave.

Despite the danger to myself, I burst out of the trees, my Beretta aimed outward. It was then that the horses galloped down the road and into the night. They were heading in the direction of the settlement.

I fired a few bullets at the escaping forms, but nothing connected. Samuel, who had run up beside me, placed a hand on my arm, drawing it back.

I watched helplessly as the horsemen, with Anna, got farther and farther away. Despite the impossibility of catching up, I took after them.

“Alex!” Makara shouted, from behind.

This wasn’t over until it was over.

“A
lex, wait!”

I didn’t heed Makara’s second shout. I sprinted down the road, the thunder of hooves dimming as the horses sped away. I didn’t know how far it was to the settlement, but I didn’t plan on stopping until I got there.

The road rounded a bend, and after making the turn, it led straight toward the gates. The horses stood in front, waiting to be admitted inside.

I increased my speed, my body protesting at the strain. I was fueled only by my desperation to reach Anna. If they got inside, there would be no getting her back. The walls would completely surround her, and obviously, the guards would kill us if we tried to get in.

The gates began to open. The hoses ran inside. I ran desperately, knowing as they began to close, that I would not make it in time.

“No...”

The gates shut, locking us out.

I stopped in the middle of the road. Makara and Samuel skidded to a stop beside me. I didn’t say anything, watching the now closed gates with a sense of defeat. Shapes of guards materialized on top of the walls. They pointed their rifles our way.

“Down!” Samuel shouted.

We all fell in tandem as the first bullets sprayed the dirt. I fought the tears that came to my eyes. We had been outdone. Anna was gone.

“No...” I said.

“We can’t do anything about it,” Makara said. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

A few more bullets entered the dirt road. For a moment, they ceased. That was when the gates began to reopen. I looked up, irrationally thinking that it could be Anna coming out. Of course, it wasn’t. It was men on horses – maybe five or six of them. The horses broke into a run, heading right for us.

“We’ve got to move,
now
!”

We scrambled out of the dirt, and gunned it for the tree line. If we could make it there, the vegetation would seriously hamper the horses’ speed. I looked back toward the city. It hurt, knowing Anna was in there, and knowing there was nothing we could do about it. We were leaving her behind.

“We can’t fight them, Alex,” Samuel said. “We’ll all be killed, and the mission will be compromised.”