19

Selah stormed into the galley quarters where Mari and Pasha were preparing the meal, brushed past both of them, and headed for Dane cowering in the corner. He hadn’t regained his breath from running from her. She grabbed him by the shirt and drew his face up to hers. “Do you have any idea how close you came to dying?”

He let out a howl. Both Mari and Pasha came running to his defense. Pasha snatched him from Selah’s hands. “What’s the matter with you? Why would you scare your brother like that?”

“So he hasn’t told you what he’s done?” Selah still shook with fear from the close call.

“Selah, what’s the matter? Calm down and tell us what you think he did,” Mari said.

“What I think he did?” Selah reached for him again but Pasha pulled him back. “He was outside alone trying to catch feral piglets.”

“I was not! So there!” Dane yelled. He screwed up his face and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You were not what?” Pasha asked.

“I wasn’t alone. Me and Rylla—”

Selah grabbed his shoulders. “Rylla was with you? Why didn’t you tell me before I pulled up the ladder?” Panic overtook her. She had locked the girl outside in a hostile world of children with weapons and feral hogs and no way in.

Selah ran to the systems area at the front of the transport. She scrambled to the door and swung open the hatch. “Rylla!”

Her call echoed and returned. Nothing.

Selah screamed again and strained to hear beyond the echo. She descended the ladder and started across the overgrown field to the grazing meadow where she’d grabbed Dane. “Rylla, where are you? Rylla!” The cold weather and strain on her voice was making her hoarse.

She reached the spot. The boy’s helpers had dug a hole and buried the entrails. All that remained was discolored dirt and plant matter, but it gave Selah a place to start. She moved toward where she’d first seen the undergrowth disturbed. “Rylla, are you in there?” Her call was answered with a deep grunt. Selah backed out of the tangled area.

Footsteps crunched behind her. Selah jumped and spun into a crouch, ready to fight.

“Whoa!” Mari held up both hands. “Easy, girl. Two are better than one, especially when one brings weapons.” She held out her second bow and arm quiver.

Selah stood up and strapped them on. “You thought ahead. The only thing better would be—”

Mari handed Selah the leather pouch holding her beloved kapos. She grinned. “You’ve been itching to use those again. No better time than the present. When Bodhi came back from the hull inspection he told me to unpack the bows, so I got everything out.”

Selah took the throwing knives. “How does this keep happening?” She was beginning to notice a pattern of coincidences.

“How does what keep happening? Hey, hold that thought. Look.” Mari walked over to where the kids had dragged the sled. Wide runner marks sliced deep through the brush. She pointed about five feet to the right. “Do you see the imprint beside that broken twig?”

Selah walked over and glanced around. “Sure, I see that one and those over there and the ones beyond.”

“This one has the grooved pattern of our tactical boots. The children’s are the same. The rest of these shoes are handmade and worn. No two prints are the same. We go this way.” Mari pointed at the woods where the grooved pattern traveled.

Selah stopped. “Hey, wait. We have to tell—”

“Pasha will tell them. I got an idea of Rylla’s direction from Dane,” Mari said.

Selah strode beside her sister through the dense forest. She was feeling better again. Maybe it was just normal, or maybe her determination to find Rylla helped. Either way she forgot about herself. She watched Mari’s tracking skills as she searched for clues of disturbed earth, boot marks, and broken greenery. Her skills seemed a practiced sense. One Selah was sure she didn’t have time to learn, but it fascinated her.

She asked anyhow. “Teach me what you do.” Anything to help find Rylla.

Mari smiled. “Be observant of disturbed or broken greenery, and watch for signs on the ground. The rest is practice. The only thing I’m confused about is our direction. I can’t see the sun, but this feels like north instead of west.”

“Can you still see Rylla’s shoes?”

“Her tracks follow theirs.” She pointed to the sled marks.

As they picked their way through areas of overhanging branches and tangled aboveground roots, Selah lagged behind Mari so she wouldn’t destroy evidence, but she noticed the difference in sled tracks. “Why are those sled tracks getting lighter?”

Mari stooped beside the tracks. She felt the ground and looked back down the line in the direction they’d traveled. A smile spread across her lips. “Good catch, little sister. You’ve found their curing station system. They’re dropping off meat parts as they head home.”

Selah pulled back. “I didn’t see any meat back there. Besides, the animals would get it.”

Mari pointed up. “They hoist them up in the trees.”

Twice after that Selah tripped from not watching where she walked because she wanted to spot hanging meat. She recalled Mother’s smoke-curing shed. One year rats had climbed the beam and navigated the rope to eat out a whole ham, leaving behind only the bone and skin covering.

Mari stopped and held up a hand for quiet. She motioned Selah to stay low, then she silently slid through the brush and disappeared. Selah hunched down in place and waited, listening to sounds that should have been clear but now seemed muffled.

Mari crept back and spoke in a whisper. “I hear talking up ahead—sounds young, but not Rylla. We’re going to observe, not engage, unless we see Rylla in trouble.”

Selah nodded. They crept forward. They heard chatter then giggles. Mari signaled Selah to stay low. They peeked between the branches of a creeping evergreen spread over a boulder about twenty-five feet from the group.

The four children Selah had seen stood at the edge of the tree line where the woods opened into a long and wide meadow of grass and dirt tracks. They were talking to someone in the forest.

Selah watched as a girl with long black hair rode into view around the edge of the forest opening. She dismounted a sleek black stallion and held it by leather reins.

The horse apparently smelled Selah and Mari, and it continued snorting in their direction at random moments. It became restless, pulling on the reins and whinnying, but the girl drew the reins tighter in her hands.

Mari and Selah leaned forward to see the other person in the conversation. Rylla came into view as they leaned into the bush. The rustling caused the horse to snort and rear back on its hind legs.

Selah panicked. “Rylla, look out!”

Rylla turned to face her with wide eyes and open mouth. The kids scattered. The girl with the horse yanked the reins, grabbed the horse by its mane, and slung herself up on its bare back. She galloped away as Selah and Mari ran to Rylla.

“I was so frightened.” Selah hugged Rylla close. “Why did you leave? What possessed you to come into the woods?”

“I was exploring. I thought I heard you yelling, but when I came out of the woods the access panel on the transport was closed. I talked to the kids and told them where we were going—”

“Rylla, you shouldn’t be telling strangers our plans,” Selah said.

“But they’re right and we’re going the wrong way,” Rylla said.

“What makes you think we’re going the wrong way?”

“Because Chicago is here.”

“Here? Rylla, this is forest. We’re looking for the dome,” Selah said.

Rylla huffed her annoyance. She grabbed Selah by the hand and pulled her through the opening in the forest.

“The way we’re heading is north past Chicago.” She pointed up the hill. “Chicago is up there.”

Selah paced in tactical, walking around the inoperable data cube layout for the tenth time. Lack of power had them scouring the paper documents, looking for written words on the string of pearl locations. All that remained were tiny image logos.

She rested her elbow on the counter while she tapped her fingertips. Mojica walked in.

Selah straightened. “Are we ready to go?”

“No, Bodhi and Taraji needed to recalibrate the compass. It took me an hour to coax the true settings from the memory files,” Mojica said.

“But we can’t go anywhere anyhow. Why do they need to do that right now?” Selah paced. She understood their position but she was anxious to see another dome.

Bodhi and Taraji took another two hours to reset all the systems that needed navigation integration, and with Mojica’s help, the three rigged old-fashioned technology to thwart electromagnetic pulses to the compass system.

The three strolled into tactical. Selah swung around and slapped the doorway to the galley area. Pasha and Mari hurried into the room with the children right behind them.

“Mother, will you stay with the children?” Selah wanted them out of trouble’s way.

“No, wait. Not fair,” Rylla said. “I’m the one who found the dome, and I know those kids and you don’t. They ran away from you.”

Selah pressed her lips together and looked to Bodhi.

He shrugged. “I hate to agree with the kid, but she’s right. She’s pretty smart.”

“If she gets to go, then I want to go,” Dane said.

“Oh no you don’t.” Pasha pulled him back beside her. “You’ve gotten in enough trouble for one day.” He struggled then gave up.

“Mari comes with her bow,” Selah said, “I carry the other—”

“How do we know weapons are allowed?” Taraji asked.

“Baje said they carry their bows everywhere,” Rylla said.

“Beige is a person’s name?” Selah asked.

“Yes, Baje is the name of the girl riding the horse. I liked her brother’s bow and wanted one.” Rylla’s cheeks reddened. “If they’re old enough, I am too. So I asked where to get one and she said the marketplace.”

“Do we believe a kid’s opinion on the level of security in the dome, considering how tight it was at the last place?” Taraji leaned back against the hull.

“I thought of that. The dome kid was an expert shot. So weapons are familiar, and he ran toward the dome with his weapon. And if for some reason they get confiscated, it’s only two bows and easy-to-replace technology,” Selah said.

Taraji remained silent for a few seconds. “Okay. It’s worth that risk. Selah, Mari, Bodhi, Rylla, Mojica, and I go visit Chicago. This place stays locked up tight, Pasha. You open for no one other than us.”

Pasha nodded.

Bodhi navigated the overgrown field. Breathing fresh air was more enjoyable than being cooped up in the transport or a dome, but not having an adequate weapon made him nervous with the kind of situations they’d encountered lately. The advanced combat training in the last dome had prepared him for hand-to-hand but really had no effect when people were shooting pulse rifles at him.

An empty satchel for part collection flapped against his side, reminding him the trip back would be a lot more difficult if they found everything they needed. They traveled down the field for a half mile. Bodhi found a stick that would work for a fighting staff, and twice Mari had a shot at a deer but didn’t take it because they weren’t short on provisions.

Selah, with Rylla at her side, led the group to leave the field where the woods abruptly ended. The empty meadow to the left of the forest led up a meandering hill. As they passed the tangled opening to the forest, Bodhi peered in among the trees. Something felt a little off.

A young sow charged from the brush. It looked to be veering away from the group, but at the last second it turned and charged. Mari and Taraji tried distraction as it headed for Rylla and Selah. Bodhi had a second of horror before Mari pegged the sow with an arrow planted right at the top of its front legs. Mari must have dialed up the poundage on her bow because the arrow flew through the pig and carried it along until both reached the earth.

“Too bad we don’t need the meat. Maybe we can sell it to someone for a ride out this far from the dome,” Rylla said.

“You’d have to be sure no other wild animal stole the carcass, or you’d still be liable for the ride if you arrived here and the carcass was gone,” Selah said. She wrapped an arm around Rylla’s shoulder and pulled her close while Mari retrieved her arrow from the carcass.

Bodhi looked around. He hoped Selah had really seen Chicago and not some mock-up to draw them out in the open. It just didn’t look like the area could hide a dome that large. They trudged into the meadow, walked around the forest area, and headed for the top of the hill.

Bodhi and Selah crested the hill together and looked down over the huge valley. It contained a dome as large as Cleveland with roads going in and out of it! And no snow anywhere to be seen. He frowned. There had been snow at this latitude on the other side of the forest. Why not here?

The rest of the group reached the top.

Bodhi looked at Taraji. “I suspect this hill wasn’t here before the volcano. That could be the source of our strange magnetics.”

“Agreed. Looks like pedestrians travel in on foot. We may not appear suspicious,” Taraji said.

“Taraji and Mojica, look for parts and weapons that will work in this environment,” Bodhi said. “Selah and I will search for the Seekers. Mari and Rylla, keep your eyes out for anything we can use.”

“I’m not happy with Selah being with neither Mojica nor me,” Taraji said.

“I can be of no service searching for parts I’ve never seen, which would slow our progress considerably. I think we can make it for three hours,” Bodhi said.

Taraji didn’t appear convinced. “Since we need the parts to get going, I’ll let it slide this one time.”

“Glad you see it that way. Synchronize the timer on your scramblers. If we get separated, meet here by this gate in three hours.”

Bodhi stayed close to Selah. He could tell she still wasn’t feeling well. He feared what her decline would begin to look like. Maybe if they could get out of here soon enough they’d reach the end faster.

They joined the others walking the causeway into the dome. The inside was an immediate assault to the senses. He usually didn’t smell much of anything, but this was strong and musky. He looked at the ladies before they separated to explore in multiple directions. They weren’t enjoying it either.

It must be market day, but looking at the selections made Bodhi more uneasy. The streets were full of vendors of all kinds of weapons, beverages, and strange substances imaginable. Some vendors looked as though they’d sampled too much of their product. The loud, pounding beat of the music set a rhythmic tone that affected the mood of the crowd. Bodhi had never seen a crowd subjected to music. Each song seemed to affect the flow of traffic. He watched as the tension in the crowd grew with the intensity of the music and died accordingly.

Selah gravitated closer to him. From a booth about ten feet away, several guys jumped a railing and sauntered toward Selah. Bodhi stood his ground at her side.

A guy wearing a beat-up, torn hat approached. “Hey, pretty lady, I haven’t seen you at our market before. Where you been hiding?”

Bodhi moved to step between them, but Selah edged him out. She smiled at the guy. “I’m trying to find the Seekers—”

The guy’s eyes went wide and he disappeared like he’d been scared by a bear. Selah watched him then turned to Bodhi. “Well, that went well. Was it something I said?”

“Have you lost your good sense? That guy could be dangerous!” Bodhi said.

Selah turned to take in the noise and the crowd. “Why? Because his hat was beat up? Look around this place. All these people look that way. This obviously is the working man’s part of town. At least now we know that mentioning the Seekers generates fear.”

“Well, pick a better working man to talk to.” Bodhi glanced over the stalls they passed as though he were in a military operation.

“Please. We don’t have time for niceties. They’re all strangers, and I don’t have time to misjudge more people like I did Brejian and the Keeper.” Selah turned to look in Bodhi’s eyes. “Besides, I know you’re always there to watch my back.”

Bodhi put a hand on the small of her back to guide her through the crowd.

Someone grabbed Bodhi’s hand from her back and spun him around. A fist came at his face. Bodhi’s heightened reflexes saw it coming in slow motion. He caught the man’s fist and twisted it to the left. The man’s wrist responded with a resounding snap, followed by a howl. Bodhi let go.

The man swung at Bodhi with his other hand. Bodhi blocked it and punched him in the gut with his left. A right uppercut to the man’s jaw sent him sprawling to the ground.

The music pounded. Where’s Selah?

Someone jumped on Bodhi’s back. Solid, sturdy, male. Bodhi spun to shake him off and look for Selah. He wanted to yell for her, but the music blared too loud.

From behind, another man tackled him at the knees, and Bodhi crumpled to the ground. He tried to move but he was pinned. He struggled to raise up on his knees and elbows. For the first time, he noticed the sting on the back of his hand where he was first grabbed. A bloody dot.

A commotion surrounded Bodhi. The weight on him rolled off amid a flurry of furious kicking and yelling, and multiple hands lifted him. He felt light-headed. His sight faded. The music weaved in and out, filling his head.

Selah, where are you?