Devin followed Rocky around the side of the tent and straight into a pair of Seddon guards. She didn’t know whether to run, fight or cry out, and then she saw who it was and gasped in delight instead.
‘Told you they were together,’ said Eva, hands on her hips. ‘Thank God.’
Devin hugged Eva so tightly she cried out in pain.
‘Oh, your shoulder, I forgot.’
‘It’s sweet. How are you guys?’
‘We’re okay,’ Rocky said. He awkwardly patted Eva on the arm. ‘I’m glad you’re all right.’
Eva lifted her eyebrows so high they almost disappeared off the top of her head.
Rocky turned to Jahmin. ‘Look, about before …’
Jahmin grinned. ‘It’s all good.’
He held out a hand, and Rocky took it, bracing himself for the unpleasant feel of dead skin against his. To his surprise, Jahmin’s touch didn’t repel him. It felt odd, yes, but familiar too, like cool, polished pounamu. Again, he had the strange sensation of icy water zipping through his veins, but this time it wasn’t healing his body. It was healing his spirit. Pounamu and water. It made sense. The two elements had always gone well together.
Rocky pulled Jahmin in for a tight hug and gave a quick, silent thank you to whoever might be listening, that he had another chance to make things right.
‘Ugh,’ said Eva with a grin. ‘Bromance.’
‘We’ve got to get out of here,’ Rocky said. ‘These guys have this massive agenda, you have no idea.’
‘We can’t go yet,’ Eva said. ‘We’ve got something to do first.’
‘What?’ Devin asked.
‘They’re going to blow up the cliff, bury the ship,’ Jahmin began, but Eva shushed him. Two horses with their riders were approaching from the river.
‘Act like our prisoners,’ she said.
As the horses passed, the teens fell in behind them, Eva pushing Devin before her, Jahmin leading Rocky.
The guard on the gate, distracted by the nervous animals sidestepping and pulling at their reins, barely looked at the two guards with the teens, even when Jahmin said loudly, ‘Just taking them for processing.’
‘Processing?’ muttered Eva. ‘You make them sound like cheese.’
Once out of the gate, they peeled away and ducked into the shadows by the mess tent. They watched as the riders swiftly dismounted, unsaddled the horses and turned them into the corral where they joined the other horses milling about, ears flicking back and forth and tails swishing irritably. The riders leant against the fence and watched the horses with worried eyes.
Rocky nudged Eva. ‘What’s going on? They’ll know we’ve shot the gap any minute. The longer we hang around here–’
‘It’s not just about us any more,’ Eva said. ‘We have to stop this now or it’ll never stop.’
Jahmin nodded. ‘She’s right, bro. Trust her.’
There was silence.
‘Okay,’ Rocky said.
Once again, Eva’s eyebrows lifted in disbelief. ‘Have you gone crazy too?’
‘Don’t push it.’
‘We’ve got to get the ship out before they bury it,’ Jahmin interrupted.
‘And how are we supposed to do that?’ Rocky said.
‘It’s powered by living energy. Life force,’ Eva said. ‘The ship’s been stealing it, which is why people keep karking it.’
‘Our mauri,’ Rocky murmured. He looked around at their uncomprehending faces. ‘Mauri is like … your inner essence. It connects everything together. Mauri is in everything. You, me, birds, rocks, rivers–’
‘Yeah,’ said Jahmin. ‘And horses.’
Devin looked puzzled, and then her mouth dropped in horror. ‘Not the horses! You can’t! They’re so beautiful! And innocent!’
‘Okay,’ Eva said. ‘Then go and kill one of those guys over there instead. Go on! Ten points if you can, because we couldn’t.’
‘She’s hopeless,’ Jahmin said. ‘Underneath all the aggro she’s a pure pacifist.’
‘That’s classic, coming from the worst zombie ever,’ Eva said, stung.
Devin wrung her hands. ‘Oh, but are you sure?’
‘No,’ said Jahmin and Eva in unison.
‘We’ll have to distract them,’ Rocky began, but stopped short as he saw a guard heading their way. They ducked inside the mess tent, breathing a collective sigh of relief as he hurried past without a second glance.
Devin bumped into a table near the cooking area, and a long-handled gas lighter fell to the ground. She picked it up, clicked it, watched it flame.
‘I can do the distraction,’ she said. ‘But it might be a big one.’
‘Do it,’ said Eva at once. She didn’t even ask what the distraction entailed. Devin would have it under control, just like she always did. ‘Rocky, you help her, and we’ll go do the horses.’
‘Are you sure?’ Jahmin said. ‘They don’t like me much, and you nearly got nailed by that other one, and–’
‘This is your chance to be a hero,’ Eva said, tugging him out of the tent. ‘Don’t waste it.’
‘Okay, what’s the plan?’ Rocky said when he and Devin were alone.
‘Can you bring those gas cylinders over?’
A slow smile warmed Rocky’s face. ‘Seriously?’
‘I haven’t done it before, but I’ve seen it on YouTube.’
She bent and fiddled with the gas cylinder under the stove, eventually unhooking it. Rocky rolled two other cylinders over to her.
‘Now we push them together so the metal heats and expands.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Get ready to run.’
‘Do you want me to do it?’
‘No way. I’ve always wanted to do this. Are you ready?’
She opened the valve on one of the cylinders and flicked the lighter. A blue flame flared.
They ran.
