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GAAR STUFFED THE CHUNK OF GUARD into his backpack, collected his spears and the few weapons that the Guards had before heading toward the camp. “We should get inside the fence before the other predators show up.”
Trinity nodded, more than happy for a change of scenery. She had to stay focused on freeing the Producers. She couldn’t allow herself to think about anything else, especially, the look on the Guard’s face when she’d stabbed him. She’d had no choice.
“Where do you want to start?” he asked, closing the gate behind them.
Her knees almost buckled from relief. He was going to help her. She was not in this alone. “The last building. The Producers there want to be free. The others might not.”
“The others may change their minds when they realize they no longer have protection.” He looked back at the dead Guards. “Eight Guards will not be enough to feed everything that arrives hungry.”
Flies were already swarming around the bodies. Another bird landed on the ground and began pecking at a dismembered arm. She turned away and wiped her hands on her shirt. Eventually, everything was food for something. She had to remember that.
They entered the building where Travis was being kept.
“Holy Gruntshit, that stench.” Gaar covered his nose with his arm.
Some of the Producers looked over at them and began fighting their restraints.
“Easy, easy. He won’t hurt you. Will he?” She sent him a speaking look.
He shrugged. “Not today. I can’t make the same promise in a couple of months.”
The Producers struggled harder.
“That is not helping,” she said under her breath.
“If you insist, I’ll take Producer out of my diet,” he grumbled.
“Thank you.” That was one creature that would no longer eat them. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. She walked directly to Travis. “We need to get them out of their neck and hand restraints. Their cages are unlocked.”
Travis lifted his head. “Trinity. You shouldn’t have come back.”
Gaar examined the locks on the closest Producer. “I may be able to break them.” He looked at the long row of cages. “But I don’t know if I can get them all.”
“We can’t leave any of them.” She grabbed the lock around Travis’ neck. “Keys. The one that they called J.R. used keys to open the gate. He had brown hair and was...”
“No,” said Travis. “The red-haired Guard was the only one who ever came in here.”
“That was the one that I...that almost...” She fell silent. The experience was too fresh, too raw.
“I’ll get them,” said Gaar and he left.
“Are you really going to set us free?” asked the female Producer next to Travis. She was a typical Producer with long, brown hair and brown eyes.
“Yes,” she said, squeezing the girl’s hands. “What’s your name?”
The female smiled; it was warm and friendly. “Tammie.”
She could be friends with this girl. Maybe, they would be one day, if they both survived.
“What about the Guards?” asked Tammie.
“They’re all dead.” Every last one of them. All because she’d failed to look for Gaar’s signal.
“How?” asked Travis, disbelief in his voice.
“Gaar. He killed them all.” It was a slaughter. A blood bath. She blinked back tears. She wasn’t crying over them. She couldn’t be. That would be foolish. They would have killed and eaten her without a second thought. Guards were the enemy. She took a deep, shuddering breath. She needed to remember that.
“What is he?” asked Tammie.
“A Handler.” She brushed Travis’ hair away from his eyes, so familiar but different now. Older. Haunted.
“They’re extinct,” said Tammie.
“Obviously not,” said Gaar as he came back inside. He held up two key rings. “I grabbed both sets.” He handed one to her. “I’m guessing that you’ll need this for the other buildings.”
Thank Araldo for Gaar. She wasn’t sure that she could have dug around on the dead bodies, searching for the keys.
He tried several keys before he found the one that unfastened Travis’ hands. He removed it from the ring and handed it to her. “Go free the others.”
She moved down the row, unlocking hands but keeping an eye on Travis. She couldn’t seem to stop herself. She’d discovered what happened to the Harvest Listers and it was worse than any of them had ever imagined, but she’d found Travis and saved him. Saved them all.
Gaar unlocked and removed Travis’ neck restraint. Travis stumbled forward, leaning against the cage. It took several moments, but when he was able to stand on his own, Gaar opened the door and helped him step out of the enclosure. Gaar moved on to the next Producer, repeating the process. Once they were all free, they left the building; the stronger Producers assisting those who could not stand or walk on their own.
When everyone was in the yard, she and Tammie went to free the teenagers in the other buildings and to try to convince them to leave. Gaar led some of the Producers around to the back of the Guards’ house to gather supplies that they’d need in the forest.
Several hours later when they’d finished unlocking all the doors, a small group of about seventy Producers stood outside, talking amongst themselves. The others didn’t believe what she and Tammie had told them and had refused to leave their rooms.
Gaar was teaching some of the Producers from Travis’ building how to make spears. She had a few moments to herself. It was the perfect time to figure out how to escape. This camp wasn’t far from home. If she were quick, she might be back before anyone even woke. She glanced toward the forest and her breath caught in her throat. The predators had arrived.
A fuzzy creature with four long legs and pinchers protruding from the sides of its face slowly rolled the body of a Guard into the brush. Three Cold Creepers feasted on another Guard, not bothering to drag the carcass away, and a creature that resembled a large snail sat over one of the bodies. It was expanding and contracting. She assumed that it was eating.
How was she going to get past all these predators? She had to think. What would Gaar do? Wait, watch echoed through her mind. She swallowed down her disgust and studied the scene before her. Mirra stretched out in the tree, feasting. The Cold Creepers shared a Guard while the other two predators each had their own. They all seemed to ignore each other.
Another Cold Creeper stuck its head out of the bushes. It sniffed the air and then looked at Mirra. It sniffed again, eyeing the closest Guard which was only a few feet from Mirra’s tree. It snorted and walked in the other direction, past the other predators to a carcass farther from the Tracker. That was it. She’d use Mirra’s scent to disguise herself.
“We’ll leave at first light and go to the Handler camp,” said Gaar.
She jumped at the sound of his voice and averted her eyes. She had no reason to feel guilty. She wasn’t going to do anything wrong. Gaar and Mirra were the ones being stubborn about the whole thing.
He nodded at the Producers. “They can’t see very well at night, can they?”
Hardly at all. She shook her head. The Producers were free, but still in so much danger.
“They can’t climb trees either, can they?” he asked, his voice getting grimmer.
“They probably can, but they don’t have claws,” she said. “We may need to show them.”
“Little One, this is why I didn’t want to turn them loose.”
The Producers huddled together in the yard, fear plainly visible on their faces. What was she going to do? Leaving them on their own was almost as bad as leaving them locked up. They barely stood a chance in the woods, even as a group. She hadn’t thought this through. She’d just wanted to help them.
He sighed. “They should go to the Forest Witch. She takes in injured creatures.”
“We can’t send them there. You said she’s an Almighty.” It would be no better than leaving them here to be slaughtered and eaten.
“What other choice do we have? Look at them. They’re frightened out of their wits and half of them are sick. They need to leave the sick here.”
Travis sat on the ground next to Tammie who was trying to keep him warm. His hair was wet and he was wearing clean clothes. He and the others from his building must have bathed in the river when she’d been unlocking the rooms.
“No. We are not leaving the sick.”
“How are they going to make it through the forest with no guide and a bunch of Producers who can barely walk? The only chance they have is to move and move fast. Predators can smell the sick and weak,” he said.
“No. I won’t do it. I won’t set them free and then leave them here to die. They have to try.”
“What chance do the others have, then?” he asked.
“He’s right,” said Travis.
“No. You can’t stay here.” This was not what she’d planned. Travis could not die.
“I think I have to,” said Travis, holding up his hand to stop her from arguing. “Hear me out. We’ll stay for a few days, a week at the most. That will give us time to heal and plan.”
“But the Almightys will find out about what happened here,” she said. “You need to be long gone by then.”
“I agree,” said Travis. “But many of us can’t travel, yet. If those who can want to go, then they should get a large group and go. The rest of us will wait a little while. Maybe, we can convince some others to come. If not, we’ll leave in a few days no matter what.”
“There are plenty of supplies in the Guards’ building, so I think we can assume that the supply truck won’t be coming for a couple of weeks,” said Gaar. “You need to keep the gate closed. That should keep the predators at bay. Stay inside as much as possible. When you’re ready to leave, go at first light. Most predators hunt during the evening. Before dusk, make camp. I would suggest climbing the highest tree that you can, but if you can’t do that then make a fire. You can carry some of the Guards’ fire with you.”
Travis nodded. “Where does this Forest Witch live?”
“Travis, it’s not safe,” she said.
“Where else should we go?” he snapped.
She stepped back. Travis hadn’t raised his voice to her since they were children.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled.” He slowly stood and staggered over to her. “I wouldn’t be outside, free, if it weren’t for you. Thank you.”
“She’s right,” said Gaar. “The Forest Witch may help you, but she may eat you too. Only go there if you have no other choice. You’ll have to travel for many days. Her cabin is deep in the woods. Follow the river into the forest. Travel east. You’ll lose the river for a bit but you’ll meet up with it again.”
Travis nodded. “Only, if we have to.”
“Yes. Otherwise, I would suggest that you find an area far into the forest that is easy to defend. Like a cave. Then set up camp and stay there.” He looked over at her. “We’ll find you when this is all over. We’ll help you get settled.”
It was more than she’d hoped. She bit her lip and then launched herself at him, hugging him tightly. “Thank you, Gaar. Thank you.”
He patted her back and gently unhooked her arms.
“When all what is over?” asked Travis, staring at them suspiciously.
Travis was not going to be happy about this. He’d always tried to protect her and in this case he couldn’t.
“Remember the Handler camp that we found? I promised to take Gaar there.”
Travis nodded uneasily. “Why?”
“Gaar’s going to free his kind and then we’re going to free the Trackers.” She looked at Gaar. “It shouldn’t take us too long, should it?”
Gaar shrugged. “My time frame has been escalated by this...mishap. We can’t rush, but it should only take a few days.”
“That’s perfect.” She turned to Travis. “Wait here for us. Then we’ll go together. Right, Gaar?”
“Sure. It’ll be great traveling with a bunch of sick Producers in a forest filled with predators,”—Gaar nodded toward the creatures outside the fence—“including Trackers and Handlers. And let’s not forget, that we get to do all this while being hunted by the Almightys’ Guards.”
Put that way it didn’t seem like a great idea, but the Producers had a better chance traveling with her, Gaar and Mirra than alone. “You offered to help them get settled,” she said softly, hoping he wouldn’t change his mind.
Gaar grunted. “I’m a big, mouthed idiot.” He faced the group of Producers. “I need three volunteers to come with me so I can teach you how to lock the gate. The rest of you, go into one of the buildings for the night.”
The Producers talked amongst themselves and three followed Gaar to the gate. The others headed toward the Guards’ building. She grabbed Travis’ hand, stopping him. Tammie stopped too.
“I need to speak with Travis, alone, for a moment.” She smiled to try and take the sting from her words. She didn’t want to hurt Tammie’s feelings, but she didn’t know the other girl well enough to include her in this conversation.
“Oh, sure.” Tammie smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll get some water for the night. I’ll meet you inside.” She headed toward the river.
She waited until everyone was out of hearing distance before speaking. “I have to go home and warn the others. I’m going to leave when everyone is asleep. It won’t take me long to get there. I’ll tell my mom, Remy and Stuart, maybe a few of the others and then I’ll be back.”
“You can’t go tonight. How are you going to get past all the predators?” Travis nodded at the creatures outside of the fence.
“I have an idea,” she said, smiling a bit.
He moved closer to her. “Wait a few days and I’ll go with you.”
It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever offered. He was sick and terrified; it was in his voice, but yet, he’d sneak out with her. “I can’t. Gaar wants to leave in the morning and my mom’s covering for me. I promised that I’d be back in a week. That’s tonight.”
He shook his head. “I don’t like this.”
She gently touched his face and then gave him a quick hug. “I know but I’ll need your help here. Gaar and Mirra can’t find out what I’m planning.”
“You two should get inside,” shouted Gaar as he walked toward the river.
“He’s right. It’s getting too dark to stay outside. I’ll meet you in the building. I need to wash this blood off.” She handed him her backpack. “There are some herbs in here that’ll help you heal. Start heating water. I’ll show you how to use them and to find more in the forest as soon as I get done at the river.”
The rest of the evening was spent preparing herbal teas and tinctures. She sketched a few herbs that she didn’t have in her backpack and instructed Tammie and a few others where they might find the plants in the forest. She also made sure to warn them about the dangers. Gaar continued to teach the healthier Producers how to make and use weapons.
It was dark when Mirra strolled into the building. The Producers scrambled away from her, huddling in groups across the room. Mirra ignored them, finding an unoccupied corner and falling asleep. Once the Producers realized that she was truly asleep they relaxed a little, but still stayed as far away from the Tracker as possible.
After dinner, a few talked for a while but soon everyone was sleeping. Gaar stretched out next to Mirra. This was her chance. They’d both be asleep soon. She lay down on the other side of Mirra, snuggling close. She needed to get as much of the Tracker’s scent on her as possible. Not the pine and herb that Mirra used to mask her scent but the strong odor of the predator.
It was warm and comfortable tucked against Mirra’s side. Her eyes drooped. She dug her claws into her palm. It figured that the night she had to stay awake was the one time that sleep was persistent. She must have dozed a bit because when she jerked awake the moon was high in the sky. She slowly rolled away from Mirra and stood, moving quietly across the room. There was a soft creak from a weak spot on the floor board. She froze. Mirra twitched. Was the Tracker still asleep? She wasn’t sure. She lay down by Travis who was resting near the window as planned.
“Hmm.” He shifted to his side and wrapped his arm around her.
He was warm and strong, heavier than she remembered. More male. Could there ever be anything between them besides friendship?
Mirra’s eyes glowed golden in the dark. The Tracker stared at her for a moment and then rolled over. Soon, her snores filled the room.
“Are you leaving now,” whispered Travis.
His warm breath sent tingles down her neck. She nodded.
“Promise you’ll come back to me. I don’t want to lose you again.” He kissed her temple.
She nodded again. She didn’t want to leave, but she had to. She stood and slipped out the window and into the night.