Page 118

Chapter Eight

S irius

We walk wordlessly back to his longhouse. I check on Aliyah and smooth her damp brow. She recoils from my touch, which might be a good sign. She was unresponsive earlier.

I let the broth cool in a small gourd, then spoon tiny amounts of liquid into her. I can’t imagine there’s enough nutritional value in it to do much good, but it relieves me to do something helpful.

Duraxx and I sit down to eat. He looks happy with me. Just like his daughter, he trusts far too easily.

“Eat hearty, Sirius. After dinner you’re going to tell me how you got here and why you’re not worthy of my daughter.”

The meat is delicious, but I can tell he’s waiting for me to explain things. I hear Aliyah moan just as I’m figuring out how to describe genetics to a man who lives in a hut.

Duraxx and I are instantly at her side.

“Poppa. Sirius.” She reaches out and weakly touches each of us on our cheek, then snatches her hand from me, as if she remembered too late she’s an untouchable.

“How many fingers do you see?” I hold up a finger.

“One.”

Aliyah

“How did I get home?”

When Sirius explains he ran with me from the waterfall this morning, I find it hard to believe. Some day he’ll have to reveal how he healed so quickly and how he ran a two-sleep journey in less than one. But right now, I’m just happy to be home, and to have Poppa and Sirius crouched next to me, smiling.

“Sirius is a good male, Poppa. Don’t punish him for carrying me.”

“I won’t, Little One. He saved your life.”

“Want some food? Water?” Sirius is so concerned for me, it almost makes me forget my temples are pounding and heat is flaring behind my eyes.

I don’t want to talk, I just want to shake my head, but it will only make my temples throb more. “No, thanks.”

Sirius pulls a pelt from the extra platform and lies down next to me on the ground. I wait for Poppa to bellow his disapproval, but he goes to his own bed without a word.

I turn on my side and slide my fingers through Sirius’s hair. I love the silken feel of it. He snatches my hand and pulls it to his lips, plying dozens of tiny kisses to my palm.

“Aliyah,” he whispers, “I wasn’t sure you were going to wake up.”

“It took too long to find you. I can’t leave you now.”

Sirius

I wake with a start before the first gray fingers of dawn. My pulse is pounding and I’m so mad at myself I want to slam my fist.

I rise and look around for my quiver, bow, and arrows. Duraxx might be a generous, friendly male, but he’s not stupid. Every weapon and sharp implement has been removed from the hut.

“Duraxx. Wake.” I speak in a harsh whisper as I tap his massive shoulder.

He rises instantly, his eyes rounded in fear. He rushes toward Aliyah.

“No, she’s fine, still sleeping peacefully. I was so occupied with my own recovery, and then Aliyah’s injury, that I opened all of you to attack.

“I was brought here for sport by another race. They dropped me on the far side of the waterfall, near one of the People’s caves. Ten of them hunted me, they had firesticks.”

Duraxx’s brow lowers and his nostrils flare.

“I killed them all, then was mauled by the mam’non . It’s worried the back of my mind for days that those males’ family or comrades will come searching for them, and when they do, they’ll want my blood. They’ll be looking for me , but the odds are good they’ll find this village.

“Give me three of your swiftest runners. There are abandoned firesticks at the site of the dead. We can collect them and bring them back to keep your village safe. We need to hurry before a search party arrives.”

“I want nothing to do with those firesticks. They’re deadly. I saw the damage they can do when I rescued Aliyah and her mother all those annums ago.” He sighs and scrubs his face with a hand. “But if the enemy carries them, we’ll need them too.”

Duraxx leaves to wake his males, leaving me with possibly the hardest task of my life—telling Aliyah.

I take a moment to inventory my body. This will be a grueling trip. Whatever was causing my internal pain seems to have healed. Good. I’ll need every ounce of energy to run to retrieve the weapons.

I wake Aliyah with a kiss to her brow. She opens her eyes sluggishly and takes a moment to focus on me.

“What’s wrong?” My face must have already told her half the story.

“The Federation inserted a tracking device under my skin. I’m an idiot for not admitting to myself—and you—days ago that the fallen Galerians have family or friends who will come looking for them. They’ll instantly be able to find me through that device.

“I’m taking several of your Poppa’s best men back to the killing site. I want the People to have firesticks—they’ll help keep you safe.”

“Then you’ll come back to me?”

I don’t answer, I don’t even shake my head, I just keep my gaze locked on her.

“It’s in your skin? You’re brave, let us cut it out.”

She’s so innocent, so optimistic. Her father did such a good job keeping her safe. She has no idea of the perils lurking out there in the universe.

“There’s technology… machines, that can track heat signatures. My enemies will hopefully be lazy. They’ll look for my tracking device identification and come for me. If I remain far from the People, you’ll be safe—your village will be safe. If they can’t find me easily, they’ll turn on their heat signature machine and they’ll know hundreds of the People are here.

“Aliyah, if they see any of the People, they’ll want them all. The People are taller, bigger, and stronger than any race I’ve ever read about. Bad people will want you as slaves. They won’t see sentient beings who think, and breathe, and love. They’ll see credits and gold and the meaningless things it can buy.

“They’ll enslave the People and kill those who resist. They’ll harvest every sentient being on this planet without blinking twice.

“The only way to keep your family and everyone you care about safe is for them to find me quickly and easily. I’ll show your males the weapons, teach them how to fire them, then run as far from your village as possible. The tracker stays under my skin.”

“You’ll never come back? Never see Aliyah again?”

Her beautiful blue eyes are sparkling with unshed tears. I knew she cared for me, but this proves it.

I press my palm to her cheek, but it’s not enough, not nearly enough. I lean to kiss her. I meant for it to be the softest brush of my lips on hers, but my fingers move of their own volition. They spear into her hair, pulling her closer. My tongue penetrates her mouth, licking her, stroking her, claiming her. The back of my mind catalogs her taste, the essence of her, the silken slide of her hair, the softness of her skin. I capture this moment. It will be all I’ll have to cling to until the moment of my death.

“I’ve picked five of my best—” Duraxx stops abruptly when he enters the hut and sees our embrace. By Aliyah’s quick intake of breath, I assume she’s as fearful of his response as I am. He made her an untouchable for a reason.

I sit back on my heels, but don’t move from Aliyah’s bedside.

“Five of my best males,” he continues, eyeing me sharply but not mentioning the kiss. “They’re ready. May the Gods be with you.”

I sling my bow, quiver, and arrows over my shoulder, then give Aliyah a final glance I hope is filled with all the words I have no time to say. A modicum later, I’m running with five of the tribe’s best males in the direction Aliyah described. She told her father where she’d found me. I can navigate us to the killing site from there.

The males I’m with are so much slower than me, even though they’re running at top speed, I worry we won’t get to the weapons in time.

I’ve never thought I had extra-sensory perception. Other geneslaves had it. The male in the cell next to me often read my thoughts and those of the guards. But today the nagging in my mind is so strong it can’t be ignored. I feel certain a contingent of Galerians will be arriving soon.

When we arrive at the waterfall I know I’m within a day of the site. They point me in the right direction and I tell them to meet me when they can, then I’m off at top speed. I’ll grab the lasers and double back to find them, saving valuable time.

What keeps me going are thoughts of Aliyah, how vulnerable she is, and how honorably her father dealt with me. Images of her lovely face stay in my mind, allowing me to keep running past the point my body begs to surrender to fatigue.

I run through sunny mountain meadows strewn with tiny golden flowers and lush green grasses. I lope through forests crowded with trees laden with maroon leaves and burgundy bark. I sprint over craggy hilltops that are difficult to traverse.

Aliyah and I must have taken the long way in order to skip this arduous part of the journey, but I advance in a straight line to my destination to find the weapons I hope will protect my female.

I regret my canine DNA’s sharp olfactory ability milles from the killing site. The smell of decay is so powerful it assails my senses. I keep running toward it, though, pouring on the speed since there’s no doubt in which direction I need to head.

The sight that assaults me is far different than the one I left. The bodies—what’s left of them—are in disgusting states of putrefaction. Although there were ten dead Galerians, now there are only the partial remains of three. The rest were dragged off. I imagine their flesh has been consumed, and their bones gnawed beyond recognition.

The three that are left are badly mauled, their bones scattered. The only reason I can count three Galerians is what remains of their tusky skulls.

Tearing my eyes from the gruesome sight, I focus on the laser weapons. I was in too much of a hurry to take a good inventory last time I was here, but luckily there are more weapons than I remembered. I grab three pistols and two laser batons in addition to the eight laser rifles I was expecting.

I snatch every fuel canister to be found, then stuff everything that will fit into the sturdy hide backpack Duraxx gave me. After hoisting the heavy pack onto my back, I swing four rifles over each shoulder and jog back over the trail I traveled to arrive here.

I don’t even consider commandeering the abandoned hovercraft. It’s huge, sucks fuel, and would attract the attention of the very beings we’re trying to evade.

Carrying several hundred dextans of extra weight slows me down, but I keep loping toward my comrades. My night vision aids me in proceeding in the right direction. Finally, I stumble and realize no matter how important it is to get to my destination, I can’t go another step. I shrug out of my pack, slip the rifles off my shoulders, sink to my knees, and fall asleep where I lie.

An hoara into my journey the next morning, I see the five males from the village. They’re all young, open, and friendly. Until one lunar cycle ago, I’ve been met with open scorn by every being I’ve known. It still surprises me to be on the receiving end of smiles and approval. I ignore my impulse to inform these males of my innumerable deficits and ignoble origins. I attempt to tolerate their acceptance.

“Ho!” I call to them as they approach. I set the weapons on the ground in the middle of a sunny meadow. The weather is changing, getting progressively chillier each day. Today it’s brisk, but none of the doram leaf clad males seem to mind.

“What happens in a hunt when you run out of arrows?” I ask, in serious instructor mode.

“You have no ammunition, you’re vulnerable,” Leef replies. He’s big even for one of the People. There’s a deep emerald cast to his green skin. His distinguishing red marks, which adorn all of his people, are small and speckled. He has an open, mischievous expression even when he’s serious.

“Exactly. You never want to run out of ammo. Which is why I’m not going to let you shoot these weapons. The ammo is scarce and precious. There’s none to waste. I’ll teach you how to shoot them, but you keep the ammo until it’s needed. Don’t use it for hunting. You’re doing fine with the weapons you have. Only use it when the enemy has firesticks—lasers.”

They all nod seriously.

I show them the triggers, and have each of them practice loading and releasing the canisters. Having had time to practice this maneuver might have helped me avoid those fierce mam’non beasts.

They catch on quickly to the high-tech equipment. Being raised as hunter-gatherers, they’re attuned to survival.

They distribute the weapons evenly amongst the six of us, preparing for the journey back to the village. When they hand a rifle to me, I shake my head. “No. I’ll be going my own way from here. Thank Chief Duraxx for his hospitality.”

I’m surprised when Leef, Born, and Greeg remove all but their own weapons, giving the remainder to the other two males. In less than a minima the two with the cache of lasers run toward the notch in the mountain that indicates their home.

Leef, Born, and Greeg stay behind with me.

“What’s going on?”

“Duraxx told us you’d probably give us the weapons and then leave. He instructed us to stay with you. We’re to accompany you until you defeat the Galerians or we’re dead trying to defend you.”

“No! That’s insane. I was only in your village one night. You don’t know me. Your chief doesn’t know me. I forbid it! You can’t risk your lives for me.”

My thoughts swirl in confusion. Duraxx seemed like a smart male, a wise leader. How could he give such a stupid order? Risk three of these good males’ lives for a geneslave? It makes no sense.

“He said you’d say that,” Born says. “Our orders were clear, go with you or follow you. It’s up to you. If you don’t like our company we’ll trail behind you. But don’t forget,” he smiles, “we have powerful weapons and we know how to use them.” All three laugh. Are they threatening me?

“He’s joking, Sirius. Do you not have jokes where you’re from?” Leef slaps me on the back good-naturedly. “If you’re waiting for an enemy attack, my friend, we know an excellent place to launch an ambush.”

“Show me.” I follow after them, letting them set the pace. Leef just called me his friend. Duraxx is risking three of his males’ lives to protect mine. I can’t comprehend it, so I just put my mind in a holding pattern and run like the wind.

I t’s dusk when the males’ chatter increases. “It’s up ahead,” Greeg says.

The canopy of leaves is maybe fifty- fierto s taller than the forest we’ve been traveling through. The trees are a different species than I’ve seen before. The burgundy and blue leaves almost appear black in the fading light. The raucous sound of birds calling to each other is the first thing that catches my attention. Then I’m struck by the thick humidity assaulting me. I can almost taste the moisture on my tongue.

“How good are you at climbing?” Leef asks. He’s so happy. He always sounds like he’s telling a joke.

“Very,” I answer.

“That’s lucky, cause we’ll be doing a lot of it.”

All three of them stop abruptly. Leef slings his arm out to prevent me from falling into a deep canyon. Humanoid eyes probably can’t see well in the dim murk, but I can see every silhouette and track sounds their ears can’t detect.

Now I see the extent of the ambush the males promised. The chasm is hundreds of feet deep. The cliff is steep, craggy rock. The trees that appeared fifty- fiertos taller than the surrounding flora? No, they’re two-hundred and fifty fiertos taller, because they grow from the bottom of this deep canyon.

A surprised sound escapes me. I’ve never seen anything like this.

“We call it the Peacefield. It has a network of hammocks and platforms down there. The three of us know this area like the palm of our hand. We should sleep here on the ledge tonight and travel down in the day. It’s hard enough to see well in the midday sun because of the layers of leaves obstructing the light. At night it’s treacherous,” Leef says.

“We have furs, weapons, and provisions in little treehouses dotting the entire area,” Greeg says. “Game is plentiful. We can wait for the enemy, then lure them closer and pick them off like defenseless kits.”

“I have good night vision,” I admit without disclosing the full truth. “I’m ready now if you are.”

The males laugh and seem about to take me up on my offer, then appear to think better of it. “Duraxx entrusted us with your safety. We wouldn’t want to kill you your first night under our protection.”

“Show me where to go or I’ll lead,” I threaten good naturedly.

“Okay,” Leef takes point and scrambles down a thick vine clinging to the edge of the crevice. “You’re next, Sirius. We’ll keep you between us.”

I follow down rugged vines, then grab a sturdy branch. I’ve always despised my animal DNA. My self-hatred was pounded into me harder than the guards’ fists. Tonight, right this moment, I embrace the animal aspect of myself for the first time.

My feline night vision allows me to see clearly in the dim murk. My mobile canine ears pinpoint the exact location of every bird, bug, and mammal that moves or even breathes within a quarter- mille radius.

Climbing the vines and the thick bark of these thousand- annum -old trees is mere child’s play. My unshod feet grasp the vines almost as well as my hands. I was never aware I had primate DNA, but I’m certain of it now.

I’m thirty-one annums old and have never been in my element before. But right now, this minima , I’m alive and breathing and moving and aware as I’ve never been before in my life.

I’m not a geneslave. I’m a free male. I’m not defective. I’m enhanced. I don’t deserve to be owned or mastered or condemned or controlled. I deserve to be free. I’m worthy of respect.

“I’m not a geneslave,” I mutter to myself as I clamber up a two-hundred-fifty- fierto tree. “I’m not a geneslave,” I say it louder, not even embarrassed if my new friends hear me. “I’m not a geneslave.” This time I say it so loud it quiets the incessant chattering of the birds.

“I’m not a geneslave,” I’m yelling now so loudly there’s a faint echo. “I’M A FREE MALE! I’M A FREE MALE!”

The forest is silent for a moment. The males nearby, all the birds and animals, even the insects are quiet, not knowing what to do with the crazy male who’s screaming at the top of his lungs.

I’m free, and for the first time in my life, I let all that animal DNA do what it’s capable of. I swing from vine to vine, lowering myself to the floor of this vast canopied canyon. Then I climb a thick-barked tree like the fastest primate on any planet, sneaking up on my comrades with my silent movements.

I’m laughing hysterically. And crying. I have feelings. I have emotions. And I have abilities far in advance of anything I ever imagined. And… I stop moving for a minima , then slide behind the cover of a thick clump of leaves. My joy evaporates as I realize there’s one thing I want. I’ve never wanted it before, but I want it now and I’m not sure I can have it.

I want to live. When you’re an imprisoned geneslave you don’t care if you live or die. But I’m not imprisoned and I’m not a geneslave and I DO care if I live or die. I want to live. And I want to return to Aliyah. MY Aliyah.

There’s never been anything this important in the history of the universe.