A Dangerous Game Read online

  And, by the time, we get back to Nbutai, we’re all worn out. The terrain was difficult on that route, and the muscles in my calves ache viciously. Bea’s sitting with Elf. They’re marking something on the dry ground with a stick, maybe a board for a game or something.

  I smile, then head off toward the fire. No one’s on fire duty at the moment, and I look around. Corin is the nearest, but he’s sorting through a bag of belongings, not paying attention.

  I take the Enhanced One’s note out of my pocket; the flames hiss as I drop it into the fire.

  We’re running, weaving through the trees. My heart pounds. There are two of them behind us. And we have no bullets left. My parents missed the only shots they had.

  “Let us save you—you poor creatures!” one of the Enhanced Ones yells. Her voice is strangely warped, and it’s almost as if the words are twisting around my body, trying to drag me back, trying to drag me toward them.

  No.

  My mother grabs my hand. My father has Elf’s already. I look around for Bea. No one has her hand. And she’s screaming, veering off, and she’s still got the baby—

  “They’re gaining on us!” my mother hisses. “We can’t outrun them! They’re going to get us all!”

  And they are… They got… I try not to think of Red, my best friend. But they got him.

  I heard his scream. And I turned, and I saw the blood. And I still don’t know why there was so much blood, because the Enhanced aren’t violent. They say they don’t want to hurt us.

  But I ran. I chose my family over him. But the Enhanced are still after us.

  “Run faster! We can do it!”

  But we can’t. We know it. We all know it.

  “Keelie, Eirnin, Beattie; listen,” my father says, his breath labored.

  My body jolts; he only calls Elf by his real name when it’s important.

  “Code one,” my father says. “We’re going to do code one—me and your mother. You must keep running. You have to keep running. And you have to get away.”

  Code one? My eyes widen. “What? No—you can’t!”

  I try to stop, but my mother pulls me along faster.

  “We have to, darling. Your father’s right!” She sounds strange—it must be the adrenaline. It’s like a drug, changing everything. Like augmenters do. “The six of us aren’t going to get away from this. And we have to save you! Go south—for weeks, go south. There’s another group of us to the far, far south. Rahn Eriksen’s group—join it! Look after Mila, teach her about us.”

  “But—”

  “No arguing,” my father hisses. “You obey us. It’s decided.”

  “At least we won’t be dead,” my mother says. “We’ll still be alive.”

  But we’re better dead than Enhanced. That’s what everyone says. That’s what Yuma says. What she says, always—

  Yuma’s dead.

  The shock of that realization pulls through me, makes me feel sick.

  “It will save you,” my father adds, and his voice wraps around me. “Look after Mila for us!”

  And then he melts away.

  Time stops. Everything goes white, and I know what’s coming next. What always comes, and part of me knows I shouldn’t be so self-aware like this, in a dream—but I am. I always gain awareness at this point. But only for a second.

  Before it changes.

  The trees collapse and shrink into nothing. Elf’s face twists past me, and Bea urges me to run as she disappears. Enhanced women enter the room, the scene shifting.

  The Untamed man—it’s a man this time—is tied to a chair. He’s fighting the bindings and rocking the chair back and forth as he tries to get away.

  We both know it’s useless.

  He shouts and screams, swears and curses.

  Then he looks at me. His eyes lock onto mine, and, for a second, we both see the images that flash through my mind. The blood. The Untamed eyes. The body.

  The man nods, and, in that second, his eyes turn to mirrors. Mirrors that reflect the horror on my face.

  “You’re next.”

  I hate dreaming about my parents, of anyone from D’Elinous. It’s all in the past, and I can’t do anything to get any of them back.

  Sometimes, when I have dream-flashbacks to that night, they morph into one of my nightmares. Maybe that’s the worst part: that it merges my last memory of my parents, my people, into something designed to terrify me even more, but merges in a jagged, broken way, where nothing makes sense.

  Only my own guilt.

  I think of my father’s words now, how he said to follow code one. He thought it was admirable—and saving his children was admirable, an act done with the best of intentions.

  But in the end, they didn’t have a choice. They didn’t choose to surrender, not really. They thought they had to.

  I heard their screams.

  And that was the last I heard of them. Two guttural screams. Like animals being slaughtered.

  Still, I’m grateful it was that part of the night I flashed back to this time. The flashbacks that show the time between Red being shot and my family and I running are the worst. The nightmares that I hate the most because of what I saw and what I did.

  I groan and roll over, and—

  A folded piece of paper is on my pillow.

  I bolt upright, heart pounding, and grab it. My head buzzes. I feel strange.

  I unfold it. The writing isn’t glow-in-the-dark again. It’s plain as day.

  First, I go hot. Then I go cold.

  Me again, Keelie. Meet me tomorrow, at my office, and tell no one. You’ll regret it if you don’t follow my wishes.

  I stare at the words.

  He knows where we live. He’s been here. He knows.

  They all know—they could be coming. Shit.

  I jump up, covers flying. Elf, Bea, and Mila are here. I see their sleeping forms. Sleeping or… Shit. I’m shaking.

  I cross the hut to shake Elf awake. He opens one eye slowly. Untamed. I breathe a sigh of relief.

  So the man’s been in here…but didn’t convert them. That doesn’t make sense.

  “What is it?” Elf sits up.

  I look to where Mila sleeps, then Bea—and I see that what I thought was Bea’s sleeping body wasn’t. It’s a blanket all bunched up. Bea’s not there.

  “Where is she?”

  Panic flares inside me. My heart rate speeds up. I glance toward Elf, but he’s just rubbing his eyes.

  “She’ll have gone for her walk,” he mumbles, rolling over and pulling his blanket with him. “Left a while ago.”

  Bea and her walks. It’s not unusual. She often goes off alone. But an Enhanced One has been here.

  I shove the note into my pocket and pull on shoes, rush outside. The Sarrs’ hut isn’t far, and I barge right in.

  “Katya!”

  At first, I can’t see her, but then all the Sarrs are sitting up, staring at me. Three mumbles something, and then Katya stands.

  “What is it, Keelie?”

  “Have you had a dream?” I yell at her. “A Seeing dream?” My heart pounds heavier, I feel sick. “Have you seen anything? Are we going to be attacked?”

  Katya looks at me kindly. Her lips curve into a soft, sympathetic smile. “No, we’re safe. It’s fine. Is it another of your nightmares?”

  I shake my head, breathing hard.

  Tell no one, that’s what the note said. And the last bit—was that a threat? That I’ll regret it if I don’t do what he’s said?

  But, he’s been here, an Enhanced One has been here—

  “Bea’s missing,” I yell, and I don’t know why I’m obeying the commands on the note. I should tell them we’re all in danger and—

  “No, I’m here,” Bea says.

  I jump, feel my chest go all jittery as I turn and see Bea standing in the doorway. She looks like she’s been up for hours, and her ear defenders are around her neck. She smiles, raising her eyebrows—they’re high-arching, and, more than once, I’ve w
ished mine were that shape. Then she turns and heads back out.

  I rush after her, mumbling something to Katya, but I don’t think she knows what I’m saying. I don’t even know myself.

  Bea spins around in a circle, throwing her arms wide. Her shoulder-length hair spins out around her. “I think I’ll teach Mila how to make poultices today. The herbs on the eastern part of mountains are ready, look.” She shows me her small bag, unzipping it. “It will be easy and—”

  “Bea, stop. Did you see anyone?” I yell at her. Her face pinches inward, and I grimace. “Sorry. Bea, can you listen, please?” I try to calm myself, try to speak softly, but I keep looking around, and I know I’m making her nervous. I can’t see anyone though. No Enhanced. And the Sarrs are all still Untamed. So everyone at Nbutai must be?

  “Yes,” Bea says. “Oh, you got it?”

  “What?” I pull my hair away from my face. It’s greasy and needs washing.

  “Our friend’s note,” Bea says, letting her bag fall against her hip.

  “What? Who?” My eyes widen, and I expect Katya to step out of her hut at any moment. But she doesn’t.

  Bea nods vigorously. “He looked different though. Now he has shiny eyes. I said I’d take him to you, but he just wanted me to give you the note. He was nice.”

  My head pounds. “What? Where was he? Was he here?”

  “No. Up at…” She frowns, and I stare at her, take in her features.

  Elf, Bea, Mila, and I are all mixed race; we all look fairly like our mother, but, out of the four of us, Bea and Mila look most like our dad. You can barely see Owen’s resemblance in Elf and me. But it’s strong—perhaps the strongest—in Bea, in the structure of her face, how her nose is stronger and her jaw wider. She slides the strap of her bag from her shoulder to her arm, then clasps her hands together. Her face crumples.

  “Am I in trouble?”

  “Of course not.” I hold my arms out to her, offer her the embrace.

  She steps toward me. She’s taller than me, and the embrace is awkward. We don’t usually hug because she doesn’t always like touching, but every now and again, we do. Though she often hugs Elf more than me. And Mila a lot more.

  “He was very nice, Kee-Kee,” she says after a moment and steps away.

  “But he was Enhanced?” I look at her as she nods, but she doesn’t look at me.

  “Still our friend though.”

  My chest tightens, and a cold breeze blows over me. “This is important, Bea. How long did you walk for?”

  “The sun wasn’t up when I started, because the herbs I was looking for take a while to get to. And the route isn’t the most direct. It was a long walk, but Mila needs to know how to make the poultices in case they’re needed again. You should know as well, Keelie. I can teach you too.”

  I look at the sky, then back at her. “So, you walked for, what, an hour? Two?”

  She nods, and I stare at her. She went miles away. So the man didn’t come near the village? But he still came far from New Kimearo…looking for me.

  “Bea, we’re not supposed to leave the village boundaries,” I tell her. “Not without telling someone and certainly not alone and without weapons.”

  Bea looks stricken and starts fiddling with our mother’s butterfly necklace around her neck.

  My head pounds, and I try to think. The man doesn’t know where we live—unless he followed her.

  And he will have—won’t he? All Enhanced want to know where we live.

  “Did he hurt you?”

  She shakes her head, eyes on the ground.

  “How long ago was this?”

  She shrugs, still not making eye contact. “Not long.” But her voice is so quiet now, and I know I’ve upset her. My shoulders droop a little. I didn’t mean to.

  “Bea? Can you take me there now, please?”

  She looks up, but still doesn’t meet my gaze. “But he said that you need to meet him tomorrow.”

  “No, we have to go now.”

  “But it’s time for me to make Mila’s breakfast.”

  “Elf can do it.”

  “But I always do it. And I also need to show Mila how to dry the herbs. And Mila’s going to sing to me this morning. She loves it when people listen to her singing.”

  I shake my head and shiver—the old shirt and three-quarter-length shorts I wore to sleep in aren’t warm. “Please, Bea, this is important.”

  “Can I teach you too then? If I go with you now, you’ll be there for Mila’s lesson and can learn about the herbs as well?”

  I nod.

  Her face lights up, and seeing the look in her eyes makes me smile.

  “Okay.” Bea grins and surprises me by grabbing my hand, pulling me along.

  We get a few feet, then I look at Rahn’s hut. “Wait a minute. Stay right here.”

  I need a gun. Rahn keeps all the firearms in his hut.

  “But you’re not allowed in there,” Bea whispers, eagle-eyed, before I head off. “Keelie!”

  I wave at her to be quiet and pray that no one chooses this moment to leave their hut. I think Sajo’s scheduled for fire duty at the moment, but so long as he’s still by the fire, he won’t be able to see me.

  I pull back the drape that hangs across Rahn’s doorway. It’s fairly dark inside, but I listen carefully; his heavy breathing tells me he’s asleep, and I step inside.

  The light’s not great, but my eyes adjust after a few moments. I look around quickly. He’s to the left, sleeping with his mouth open. For once, he doesn’t have his glasses on, but I see them on a chair next to his bed. For a moment, I’m struck that he has a proper bed. With a frame and everything. The rest of us have mattresses, if that. But, then again, he is our leader.

  On the other side of his hut are several boxes. One has carvings on it. The others have weapons laid out on top of them.

  I tiptoe across and grab the nearest Luger along with some ammunition. The semi-automatic pistol makes a scraping noise against the wooden lid as I pick it up, and I wince.

  Rahn stirs.

  I freeze, look back toward the door. The drape’s fallen back down. I grit my teeth, then make my exit, carefully—and as quickly as I can.

  Bea’s still staring wide-eyed when I emerge. I check the safety is on the gun, and then I tuck the weapon into the back of my waistband.

  “Right, come on,” I say. “We’re going now.”

  “You haven’t got any shoes on,” Bea points out.

  In my fear earlier, I left our hut dressed as I had been for the night. But there’s a pair of shoes nearby that I’d left outside to dry a few days ago, and I retrieve those, slip them on.

  Bea frowns as we walk away from the village, looking across at me. “You can’t shoot him, Keelie,” she says, flapping her hands. “We don’t shoot our friends.”

  Friends, indeed. I snort.

  “Just take me to that place, please.”

  “You’re not listening! We don’t shoot our friends.”

  “No,” I say. “But the Enhanced aren’t our friends, Bea.” And looking at her, I know she knows that. And I don’t understand.

  I grit my teeth. There’s a chance the Enhanced is still there—or nearby—and, if he is, I’m going to sort this out once and for all. He is not blackmailing or threatening me into doing anything.

  And he is not getting away alive.

  Bea and I run for what seems like hours. Amazingly, she doesn’t tire much, despite not being in as good a shape as I am.

  We’ve run part of the way to New Kimearo, though the mountains still block the sandy-colored blocks from view. If you didn’t know the town was over there, you’d have no idea.

  It’s nearly fully light now. There are just a few smears of pink across the sky, left over from the sunrise. Everyone will be getting up at Nbutai now. Part of me dreads what they’ll say when they realize Bea and I have gone. And when Rahn realizes one of the Lugers is missing. And that I’ve been in his hut.

  And then Katya will
add in what I told her, too.

  Maybe it’s a good thing I mentioned to her about an attack. If they think I’ve gone off to defend us, they’ll send more people, and, if that Enhanced man is still in the area, one of us will find him and shoot him. That’s the protocol. If an Enhanced is near Nbutai, that’s what we do. And everyone knows it. We can’t have them knowing where we live.

  But that man didn’t want to know where you live.

  According to Bea, yes. But there are so many things that don’t make sense with that man, and I don’t trust him. Hell, he’s an Enhanced. Maybe this is a new tactic—to lure us into trusting them and then they get us all in one fell swoop rather than individually?

  “This is the place.” Bea stops. “The herbs are just over there.”

  I look around. There’s quite good cover here. Lots of boulders and ridges rising. There are a few stubby trees to my right and some low-creeping vegetation that Bea starts telling me the name of. To my left, there are more rocks, some as tall as me.

  “Right here?” I glance at my sister.

  She sits down carefully on a rock, after using her sleeve to wipe any bits of sand or debris off.

  “Bea?”

  “Yes?”

  “Was it right here where you met him? Where you met that Enhanced man and he gave you the note?” I look around for a moment. We’re so far out. I had no idea Bea came this far on her excursions. It’s too dangerous.

  Bea nods. “Yes. But he wasn’t just an Enhanced man.”

  “What?” I frown at her.

  “He was our friend.”

  I peer around, looking hard. Then I study the ground. Footsteps in the sand. I follow them with my eyes and—

  Something clicks.

  I spin around, pull my gun out, and flick the safety off.

  He’s there. Right there. The Enhanced from the office.

  I lift my gun, lining up my aim.

  “Put the gun down!” the man shouts, ducking behind a rock. “Violence is not the answer.”

  I let out a bitter laugh and lunge forward.

  “No,” Bea shouts, throwing herself between him and my loaded gun. She flaps her hands and jiggles about. Her eyes widen as she stares at the barrel. “No! No! No!” she yells, making direct eye contact with me, and then she moves her lips, like she’s trying to say something more.