Passion (16 page)

After
brief introductions to Torrid and Rowan, we sat down to catch up on the events
of the past months and discuss our intentions.

“We
have a strong army here.  They train every day, spending hours with drills,
tests of strength and tests of accuracy.”

“That’s
good to hear,” Liam said.

“What
do you have in mind?” Jenkins asked with confidence.  He seemed ready to attack
the world.

“An
offensive.”

“You
want to attack your father’s army?” Jenkins’ confidence suddenly left him and
he now seemed edgy and unsure.

“I
think it’s better than waiting for them to make the first move.  If we move
fast enough we’ll get them before they’re truly ready, and you can’t
underestimate the effect of a surprise attack.  If my father is out there in
the old city, I highly doubt he’s expecting an attack.  As far as he’s
concerned everything is happening within the confines of Arcadia.”

“Our
army is well trained, like we’ve said, and they guard this encampment fiercely,
but they’ve never really seen battle.”

“Don’t
worry,” Liam said.  “The men presently being trained by my father have never
seen any action either, and they’ll barely have a few days training.”

We
continued to discuss various actions, what was plausible, impossible, probable
and risky.  With so many unknowns, it was hard to make any concrete decisions
and it was ultimately left to a big, “We’ll see when the time comes.”

Chapter 17

T
hough many of the rebels recognized Liam and me
from high school, we had trouble recognizing them.  They were all taller,
bigger, meaner.  Living outside Arcadia had hardened them, leaving them stronger,
both physically and mentally.

“Believe
it or not,” Jenkins said after he’d introduced us to a dozen guys or so.  “That
guy over there is Alan Corwin.”

“Skinny,
nerdy, afraid of his own shadow Alan?” Liam said.

“The
very same.”

“What
happened to him?  He’s become a completely different person.”

“Well,
for starters, he lost those tacky pants and those ugly shirts he always wore. 
In addition to that, out here there aren’t too many pencils to push.  We have
no choice but to stay strong.”

“You’ve
all lost that perfect Arcadia patina.”

Jenkins
chuckled and led us into his tent and gestured for us to take a seat.  “I have
to admit I don’t really miss the pressure to be perfect all the time.  Yeah, we
get down and dirty out here, but we’ve grown more in the past few months than
we have in the past few years.”

“We
hear there’s an older version of Arcadia out here,” Liam said.  “Know anything
about it?”

“Yeah. 
We came upon it once a while back, but didn’t really get in too close.  
Eerie.  Same buildings, same set up, same intersections; only now everything is
draped in vines.  Trees are growing through the roof of some houses.”

“Anybody
living there?”

“I
don’t think so.  From what we can figure it’s been abandoned for the past
nineteen years.  There was a pretty devastating war where everyone fled and
never came back.”

“Think
you’d remember how to get back there?”

“It’s
a rough trek.  We were thirty who’d headed out to explore the surroundings and
only seven made it to the old dead city.  It’s hard, exhausting and draining.”

“Then
we’ll have a big hearty meal, rest for the night and get an early start
tomorrow morning.”

Chapter 18

T
he gloom of night still clung to low lying
areas while only the tops of distant mountains showed the reflection of the
first rays of the morning sun and already we’d been walking for an hour.

Laden
with a variety of weapons we felt ready to face any eventuality.

“How
you holding up?” Liam asked as we prepared to enter a dense forest.

“I’m
good.” Truth was I was growing increasingly fearful of what was to come.

Branches
whipped our faces and scratched our skin, but the men marched on, barely slowing
down when the brush thickened.  We finally emerged and faced a steep and rocky
incline.

The
climb was slow and laborious, but well worth the effort.  From the summit,
looking toward the west, we had a perfect view of the old Arcadia.  Even from
the great distance I recognized the streets and buildings I’d grown up in.

Even
the mall where I’d spent so many Saturday afternoons was easily recognizable.

“I
wonder if I can see my house from here.”  I looked toward the left end of the
old city.

“I’m
not sure you’d want to,” Jenkins said.

A
shiver ran through me.  Being on the top of that mountain and looking down at
the ancestor of the city I knew so well; there was something too weird about
it.

“Well,”
Liam said.  “Let’s go down there and see what we find.”

The
descent was quick and I could sense the growing anticipation in all the
warriors around me.  Torrid and Rowan took the lead, more eager than everyone
to get into the city.

Liam,
though surely just as eager, lagged behind to stay with me as the wear of the
trek began to take its toll.

“I’m
holding you back,” I said with reluctance.  “I’m going as fast as I can.”

“I
know.  I don’t want to rush you.  I just want to make sure you make it down
okay.”

“You're
treating me like a fair maiden.”

“Truth
is I just want to play the part of your hero.”

“You're
always so sweet, Liam.”

His
grin wasn’t as effervescent as it usually was and I could tell he had a lot on
his mind.

“When
we get down there, I want you to stay close to me.”

“Liam,
you're underestimating me again.  I can take care of myself far more than you
imagine.”

“I’m
not underestimating you at all.  I’m just saying I want you to stay close to
me.”  He grinned, this time that charming and warm grin that always got me in
the gut.

I
laughed and the remainder of the trek down the mountain was a breeze. 
Relieved, I also sensed in the lighthearted steps of the warriors around us
their sense of relief.

The
floor was now clear to get into the old Arcadia.  We picked up the pace and the
city became clearer and closer.  My heart rate increased as we approached the
inspiration that had brought Pim Seer to build Arcadia.

“He
could be in there,” Liam whispered.

I
looked at him.  The tension was building up and showing in his face.  The grin
that had warmed me moments earlier was now taken over by a scowl.

“Are
you sure you're ready to face him, Liam?  This isn’t going to be easy.”

I’d
barely finished my sentence when I noticed Torrid and Rowan stopping in their
tracks.  All the rebel warriors followed suit and stood still as we listened to
our surroundings.

A
strange and unearthly thunder sounded.  My breath caught in my throat at the
sound.

“What
was that?” I asked to no one in particular.

All
eyes scanned the desert floor that ran between the city and the mountain.

“Sounds
like a rusty old washing machine met up with a tired pickup truck.”

Torrid
came to me, his stance instantly protective and ready to fend off any attack. 
“Whatever it is, it’s big, and there’s a good chance it’s not good.”

He
waved his arm out in a gesture that quickly had the warriors surrounding us. 
With their backs to us, they continued to scan the horizon.  Though the
thundering had increased, there was still no sign of anything.

“It
sounds like it’s coming from everywhere at the same time.” I tried to keep the
growing fear from my voice, but the ominous sound was playing with my nerves
more than I’d expected.

“I
think that might be a part of the strategy.  Whatever or whoever’s out there is
trying to psyche us out.  If we can get skittish and nervous enough, we’ll make
stupid mistakes.”  Liam looked at me with confident determination.  “But we
won’t let them get to us, will we?”

“No,”
I said with a reassured grin.

Torrid,
standing taller than the rest, looked past the surrounding warriors to the old
city.  “Were those guards there before?” he asked.

Liam
followed his gaze.  “No.  No one was there a minute ago.”

“I
think we may have been spotted,” Torrid said.

The
clang of metallic thunder was virtually upon us.

“Be
prepared, men,” Jenkins shouted.

A
blood curdling scream came from the rebels on the mountain side of our group. 
My gut did a somersault and as I turned to the sound of yet another scream. I
gagged down a wave of nausea as I caught a glimpse of what we were up against.

Coming
out of nowhere and descending quickly on our little army were strange beasts,
each more ugly and disgusting than the last.

“Oh
my God,” Liam muttered.

“What
are they?” Torrid asked.

“Hybrids. 
Androids.  Monstrosities,” I muttered.  I immediately thought of Jacob, Jocelyn’s
brother, and how we’d found him at the Coliseum; the head of a young man
attached to a strange robotic body.

“Have
you ever seen anything like this before,” Liam asked.

 “We
came upon one of them a while back,” Jenkins said.  “It was dying.  We learned
it was from Arcadia, but couldn’t find out its reason for being out here. 
These creatures, however, seem to have a purpose.  It almost seems like they’ve
been programmed to come after us.”

I
gasped as I recognized one of the strange beasts.  Though his face was now void
of life, I knew I’d seen him in one of the prison cells of the Coliseum.  This
wasn’t the time to be sick, but I felt the incredible urge to vomit.  The head
of the young man I’d seen, a young man I’d hoped to save, was fixed to the neck
of an antelope.

They
all attacked with vicious precision and uncompromising determination.  One by
one the highly trained rebels who’d prepared for this eventuality fell,
seriously injured or dead.

“How
are we supposed to fight off such creatures?”  I looked at a small grouping of
robotic humans who had the upper limbs of a man, but had two wheels in place of
their legs.  They moved quickly, giving our rebels no chance to escape or fend
them off.

Then
we all gasped as we saw the caliber of monsters go to the next level.  Instead
of arms and hands, these warriors had circular saws and sharp spears.  The
rebels who stood at the perimeter of our circle were at their mercy.

“We
have to find a way to fight them.”

For
the first time I saw a glimmer of fear in Torrid’s eyes and knew our situation
wasn’t good.  Despite his fear, he pulled back his shoulders, nodded at his
brother and prepared to face the battle.

Through
a series of deafening clangs, cries of pain, and shouts of anger, we battled as
best as we could against our inhuman attackers.

If
ever there’d been a time when a little magic could go a long way, it was now,
but my powers were completely non-existent, and a quick glance at Torrid and
Rowan told me they also lacked the power to combat these monsters through
magic.

Before
long I felt overwhelmed by it all.  Though I barely managed to fend off the
first three attackers, they kept coming at a pace that was exhausting.

“You're
doing a great job,” Torrid said as he came up beside me.  “I imagine your magic
has abandoned you as it has Rowan and me.”

I
nodded as he helped me fight off an odd looking robot that was part boar, part
metallic box and part human.

“Who
would have ever thought that the most pure and royal of djinns would find
themselves fighting against such creatures shoulder to shoulder with humans.”

Smiling,
I turned to him, but his attention was otherwise occupied by a vicious beast
that tried to rip his arm off.  My moment of inattentiveness left me open to an
attack.  A vice grip took hold of my arm and easily dragged me away from the
security of my group.

Just
as the robotic human prepared to bring his rotating saw down on me, Liam jumped
in and rid the robot of its human head.

“I
want you out of here,” Liam muttered to me.  “Now.”  He grabbed me by the elbow
and pulled me away from the protective circle.

“Liam,
what are you doing?”

“At
least three of those… those things were eyeing you right from the start. 
Either they think you’re an easy target, or you're a coveted prize.  And now
this thing comes straight after you.  It didn’t even look at any other Rebel.”

“So
you're pulling me out of the battle?  Liam, no.” I pulled free, but he quickly
got another grip, this time firmer and stronger.

“Come
with me.”  Running, he pulled me to a small wooded area away from the monstrous
machines.

“You're
underestim…”

“No. 
I’m not underestimating you, Kama.  I’m taking you away from an impossible
situation.  Please.”

“But
I came out here with you guys to fight, not to be coddled.”

He
sighed with exasperation and shot me an uncompromising glare.  “Look, how ‘bout
you look at it this way; you’ll be our look out.”

“That’s
not cool, Liam.”

“Maybe,
but it’s safe.”

“Safe
is boring.”

“Safe
will keep you alive.”  He pulled me close, inhaled my breath and kissed me,
pulling me in, body and soul.  “I’ll do everything I can to make sure you stay
safe and alive, Kama.  I lost you once.  I was devastated when I learned of the
danger you were in and how close I came to really losing you for good.  I won’t
let that happen again.”

He
kissed me again and I felt the depth of his love for me.  His fingers clung to
me, holding me close, keeping me tightly pressed to his chest.