Chapter
1
Hell's
teeth, I so know how to get myself
into trouble. A Thayne warrior fixes me
with unblinking eyes, his jaw rigid with hate. A dazzling flash of light from the overhead beam bounces off the knife
in his leather-gloved hand. Bile rises
in my throat as I imagine how it'll feel when he pushes the knife into my body
– to lose my life as blood pours out of the tear in my flesh. Where will that shiny, razor-sharp blade go?
In my heart?
Across my throat?
I’m staring death in the face and
just seventeen. Shit! Why don’t I freakin’ listen, sometimes?
He's big – six
and half feet at least, each flexing muscle accentuated by the sweat glistening
on his deeply tanned skin. His armour is
so highly polished the reflection is blinding.
This guy means business. In this
crystal clear moment, his business is me.
As I wait for
him to attack, an overpowering, acrid smell descends from the sky. Sulphur!
The Nicor have left the nests they built on the cliffs. Could this get any worse? Slashed to pieces by a Thayne warrior or torn
to shreds by a flying sea- serpent. Oh,
great...just great.
The Nicor swoops
about overhead pissing acid over everything below. When the acid hits the ground, bubbling and
fizzing, a sticky yellow gloop spreads across the dirt. It stinks like nothing else on earth. This is how they get us. If that stuff hits you you're in deep
ca-ca. I've seen it with my own eyes;
the damage it does to human flesh is horrific.
Last month a guy from our prison shelter was hit by an acid-bomb and his
body turned to soup. He didn't scream –
he didn't have time.
When the Nicor
invaded our atmosphere in the thousands, the government soldiers who arrested
us ran into the mountains to save themselves from being eaten or blasted with
sulphur bombs. Those soldiers are now
Thayne warriors; a unit of highly trained killers who stop at nothing to get
what they want. The gossip in the
compound is that they have a large force and a new, powerful leader giving them
confidence. I hope this is just rumour. If they get their way every person in the
compounds will die of starvation...unless we've been fed to the Nicor. Whatever the outcome the Nicor will definitely
get a good meal. Looks like I'll be the
starter.
I see something
move at the corner of my line of vision and draw in a sharp breath. Ethan!
A dweller from
the shelter hides by a broken down truck the soldiers left when they fled. My
heart skips a beat and the relief almost melts me when I see my slingshot and
leather pouch of sling-bullets at his feet.
He puts a finger to his lips, then holds up five fingers and mouths, 'on
five’ as he points towards the Nicor.
Jumbled thoughts shoot around my brain like cars on a chicane. Mum – I love you. Dad – I miss you. Zack – my pain in the neck brother – where
the hell are you? And what about my dog,
Ordinary? Who'll take care of him? Damn.
I've really screwed up this time.
The Thayne
warrior seems to have lost interest in me as he turns around in circles,
craning his neck to follow the flying sea-serpent as it commands the sky. Maybe he’s as scared of the Nicor as we are
in the compound. It gives me a few
precious moments to save myself.
Looking back
over to Ethan, I nod. Ethan counts. On five he tosses the slingshot and bullets
across to me then runs towards the Thayne, launching himself at the warrior and
felling him. I lift the slingshot, load
in a bullet and wait for the Nicor to attack.
The Nicor flies in an arc then swoops down with its mouth gaping,
revealing two enormous fangs dripping with toxic green slime. It whistles past me, its huge feathered wings
carrying a glistening, metallic armoured body with graceful ease. As it glides directly over-head I glimpse the
formation of a bubbling acid-bomb ready to be excreted from an opening in its
belly. I follow the Nicor's flight-path,
holding the slingshot comfortably in my hand, ready to launch the bullet.
This is my
strength. I must use everything I know
about the slingshot now – focused steadying of the catapult and the intended
trajectory of the bullet. Everything
I've learnt could save my life.
I fire.
The bullet hits
the Nicor squarely in the throat knocking its head backwards, its bloodshot
eyes registering astonishment as the bullet punctures its scaly skin. I scream out “Jog on, you freak,” and load up
another bullet, firing again as I run a few feet to my right to strengthen my
firing position. The second bullet hits
it in the chest. I sling another,
hitting the soft spot under the wing.
The flying beast hits the ground with a loud thud, carving out a crater
in the dirt, clouds of dust and grit flying high up into the air as it
lands. There’s rise and fall in its
chest, so I wait before I risk approaching.
I hope death comes quickly. One
less Nicor is no loss to the world.
Gradually the
movement diminishes, and with a final breath the Nicor dies. I can barely see over the top of its body,
but this is a small Nicor compared to the beasts that fly over the compound at
night, scaring the dwellers half-to-death.
Although I hate the Nicor more than I could have ever imagined hating
anything, there's a kind of fascination about them – the way the oily scales
swirl with colour as they reflect the silent flashes of lightening streaking
across the sky – the sweeping, feathered contours of its huge wings. Horrific and beautiful, the Nicor is a
deviation of life intent on killing everything in its path.
I watch in awe
as Ethan punches seven bells out of the Thayne.
He's fit in every sense of the word.
His life before The Warming playing American soccer for the New York Red
Bulls has given him a body rippling with tight muscles. I can't help but admire the way he handles
himself in a fight. It's very ... sexy.
When the Thayne
realises the upper-hand belongs to Ethan, he runs off leaving a trail of blood
behind him. He found a way into our
prison compound – a mystery – the perimeter fences are electrified from a
central government source, but now is not the time for a discussion. It's dark and we need to get back to the
shelter, otherwise we'll be in the compound courtyard after blackout. I should've listened to Ethan. He told me not to leave the shelter at dusk
but I'm such a know all. I knew – I thought I knew I could make it.
Ethan walks
towards me. The dust on his face mingles
with beads of perspiration on his forehead leaving muddy tracks down his
cheeks. The front of his khaki jacket is
covered in the Thayne's blood, and as he stands next to the dead Nicor –
self-assured, hands on hips, he shakes his head. “It's just a baby.” He raises his eyebrows and looks at me with
exasperation. “We're so gonna pay for
this.”
“Hey, look,
Ethan, I'm really sorry. You should've
stayed in the shelter with the others. I
didn't mean for you to follow me.”
He runs a hand
through soft blond hair that reaches past his collar. Deep blue eyes flicker with amusement as he
grins. “Oh, OK. I'll leave you to the Thayne next time, shall
I? Or maybe you would've preferred the acid
treatment. You're a pain in the
ass. Why can't you do what everyone else
does? You know what it's like out here
after dark. What's so important,
anyway?”
I push my
slingshot and bullet-pouch into his hands, run over to the perimeter fence, lie
on my stomach and reach under a bush to retrieve a deer bone. I drag it towards me and hold it up, grinning
with delight. “It's for Ordinary.”
I know Ethan
thinks I'm crazy, but Ordinary looks more like a bone than the bone. A lurcher needs a lot of food. I can't lose Ordinary. He's all I've got. Ethan shakes his head in disbelief. “You risked your life – for a freakin' bone? You gotta be kidding me.”
“He's worth
it.”
The light from
the overhead disappears as it automatically shuts down, and we're left standing
in the pitch black.
“We'd better be
getting back. When the Nicor realise one
of their babies is missing they're gonna be out in force,” Ethan says, walking
towards the shelter.
We walk side-by-side,
my stride matching his. Even though I'm
still hyped-up and trembling, it feels awesome to be near him. “Do you think they'll dive bomb us? Their baby is lying dead near the shelter and
the last time a Nicor died here we were holed up for weeks. Christ, Ethan. What have I done? If I'd known what would happen...” Ethan looks down at me, smiling. “You'd have done it anyway. I know how much you care about Ordinary,
Random, but you take too many risks. You
could’ve been wasted out here. I knew
you wouldn’t listen to me so I followed you.
Come on, I'm hungry. Gunther and Grace are handing out supplies
they got from the feeding station. If we
don't get back in time we'll lose our share and I'll be the one gnawing that
bone. Ordinary won't get a look in.”
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