“You’ll let me do this?”
Ryan nodded gravely and smoothed back my antennae with a warm, gentle hand. “You’ve always been ready to put yourself in danger for the good of others.” He said, once we’d written down every detail, even drawn out a diagram on my computer. “I’d rather know where you were, and be waiting to rescue you, than leave you behind and be afraid that you were doing something stupid.” He gave a boyish half-smile, tipping his hat back slightly. “Like blowing up a building."
We must have spent three hours working out our plan. “Christian knows a few cat food addicts from the factory. Some of them have traded their own eggs—or children—for a ‘fix.’” I sighed, fighting the urge to shut my eyes to this world. Instead, I focused them on my “big brother.” “Nick will tell them that I’m his child, and he wants to make that trade…"
The instant we revealed our plan to Akra he lurched backwards, shaking his head vehemently.
“This is exactly what I said before, little one. You’re trying to destroy yourself.” He lifted me up in his arms. “For Christopher? Just to prove yourself to your father when he returns?”
“No!” My mouth-tentacles splayed out defiantly. “It’s not about that. This is just the only way I can think of to stop these dealers. We’ll intercept the van; I won’t be in any real danger. And they won’t know it’s me. I can’t do anything about the lab scars on my skin, but Nick had the idea of using a sander to camouflage the pieces missing from my shell-plates. I’ll blend right in.”
He rested his hands on my shoulders. “This…could work. But we cannot use you. There are others…”
“Adults, sure. Like you, Eric and Nick. But it’s children the dealers want most! Older Poleepkwa are more trouble, Kurt said.” I paused, my yellow-green eyes boring into his wise, red-gold ones. “And you wouldn’t do this with any of the other kids! Not Jared or his friends, not Talia! I’m the best choice. I know what I’m getting into.” I smiled up at him, trying to exude confidence. “You care about me. I understand. But the others will be in more danger, really—I’ll just be sitting in a van!”
“Sherry, have you forgotten? If anything happened to you…the hive cannot take another blow like that. And I...I could not take another blow like that.” He blinked, ancient eyes shining with love and concern. “I will not see my child lost to those fiends.”
I wrapped my arms around his thick, strong neck. “I love you, Elder. And I’ll be okay. No one is going to kill me! The last thing they’ll do is destroy their own ‘property.’ Besides, don’t you trust Ryan and the others? They’ll have me back here soon, I promise.”
For a long time Akra sat with me, still and silent. He nodded once, infinitely slowly, his countenance heavy with acceptance. “I know you want to do this. I understand…and I trust you, little one. Please be careful.”
***
Nick shuffled towards the MNU merc that Christian’s friend had pointed out to us. The older Poleepkwa made a show of dragging me along behind him—his eyes looked glazed and empty, his hands trembled. Every inch of Nick’s slim body seemed to scream junkie as we approached Ajjedres.
He yanked my small body in front of him like a shield before daring to speak to the man. “Sir…” The sound came out low and hoarse as the heavyset, dark-skinned grunt turned to face us.
“Whaddya want, Prawn?” The man’s eyes were bloodshot.
I felt the tension in Nick’s hands, the hesitation. But he shoved me forward so hard that I stumbled, almost falling against the human’s legs. “Ten cans.”
“Ag, little shrimp ain’t worth it. I’ll give ya five.”
“Fine, fine.” Nick clicked, holding out his hands.
Ajjedres reached into his backpack and absently handed him one can after another, then turned away. Pain lanced through my wrists as the human pinned them behind me, pinching my skin with zip-tie cuffs. Disappear, Nick. Disappear, and watch. It’s all right. I thought.
I stifled a shriek as his black-gloved hand gripped my right antenna and yanked, pulling me along behind him as though with a leash. I stumbled, trying to quicken my pace to his.
“C’mon, rat.” He opened a tent flap that looked like any other, but it held two packing crates like tall, short coffins. He shoved the butt of his gun into my back, but I didn’t budge. “Get in.”
“W…wait.” My voice became a high, strangled squeak. “Eggs go in boxes. Not me, not again...” The words slipped out, and I braced myself for his gun and fists. But Ajjedres only glanced down at me quizzically, and then sighed.
“Here, Prawn. Take the edge off, eh?” He sounded almost kind as he knelt down, opened a small blue can of cat food and held it up to my face. The smell was indescribable—like the freshest, smoothest, sweetest meat mixed with bitter tar and bile. Involuntarily I felt my mouth-tentacles twitch towards it, dipping into the soft pink substance. I shuddered, then clamped my jaws shut and wrenched myself away from his delectable poison.
The human’s face twisted with frustration. “Fook you, do it then!” His foot impacted the small of my back and I fell forward, into the box and total darkness as the lid latched above me. I didn’t realize I was screaming until I felt his boot slam against the thick wood, against my head. “Quiet there or my prod’s going up your ass.” I held my breath, and he was silent.
Sit up, Sherry. I ordered myself with Father’s voice in my mind. Sit up. It’s not the same cage. You’re getting out.
My arms felt numb behind me as I struggled upright, leaning against the splintered wood. It was less than a meter high, and my sore antennae brushed against the top. Starlight danced behind my eyes; the subtle promise of a safe world inside my own mind. I shook my head furiously and tried to think only of Akra, and his wisdom. Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I live. After a dozen breaths I finally stopped shaking. I whispered his words aloud, “Everything you see, all that you feel...it passes over you, but it is not you. When we let the pain be around us, rather than become us, then we can find a measure of peace.”
I repeated this over and over, as my eyes adjusted to the faint light seeping through the tiny gap between the container and its locked cover. But the light faded to dim evening before the lid creaked open again.
Ajjedres moved on unsteady legs, his eyes even more reddened than before. But he still managed to shove two unresisting children into the box—no, I told myself, the crate—with me and slam the lid again. I glimpsed their faces in the brief flash before we were sealed in together. Two pairs of hungry, sallow orange-gold eyes were surrounded by dark moss-green plates. Their wrists were bound like mine, but they seemed to cling together as only siblings could. The smaller one’s thigh-plates were stained with blood.
“I’m…my name is…” My mind went blank. Officially I was not Sherry, not Olivia… “Hope.” I whispered to the one crammed in next to me. He looked about twelve years old.
For a long moment he didn’t speak. “Mine’s Alex. What kind of a stupid name is that?”
I laughed weakly. “An imaginary one. When we get free, I’ll tell you my real name.”
He grunted. “I don’t think we’re getting ‘free.’ That man said we’re making him some money.”
I heard a choked moan in the darkness. “Jacob, quiet!” The older one hissed.
“Your little brother…” I whispered. “What happened?”
Alex’s voice was hard, yet tinged with resignation. “One of the guards got him.”
We both fell silent as the top opened again. There was little space left, but Ajjedres stuffed it full of eggs, pushing us so far to the side that Alex’s shell-plates scraped against mine. I counted at least six before the lid slammed shut. The three of us kept silent as we heard the dull roar of an engine—something small, like a regular truck or a van. Not one of the armored MNU caspers.
Boots and tires ground against the dirt, and human voices rose. I strained to hear them. “Aweh!” Ajjedres’ tone was unmistakable. “Howzit, my brah?”
“No, fine.” The other voice was higher, impatient. “You got the eggs?”
“What eggs, man? If you’re hungry, I’ve got some biltong.” He laughed.
“Don’t play stupid. You got the Prawns?”
“Aw, you’re no fun.” A lighter clicked; he inhaled deeply. “They’re in the tent.”
“All dozen? Got any big ones this time?”
“We got you a baker’s dozen, brah, ‘cuz we love ya so much. And six Prawnlings in there.”
“What the hell you saying? How many?”
“Ag man, there’s thirteen eggs.” His voice rose in irritation. “And six Prawns. Can’t you fookin’ count?”
“How’s your mind?” The dealer sighed. “Load them up already, dof!”
“…Eh? Ag man, you’re right.” He paused. “Hey Smoker, get those Prawnies out of the bakkie. Take out the dinges that’s attached, too.”
Smoker made a snickering noise. “Sure thing, bru.” I heard metal door hinges creak, and remembered what Olo had mentioned about boxes of eggs and Poleepkwa being smuggled in white, windowless vans. Wood was being dragged across dirt; they must have been moving the other crates.
“So how much we gettin’?” Ajjedres’ voice was eager.
“For the dozen and shrimp? This.”
“Eish, that ain’t much.” They haggled as our box was dragged and lifted, jostling me against Alex in the tiny space. Jacob whimpered louder, but no one seemed to hear him.
“Oh?” The irritated voice must have been a dealer. “If you want to pull out now, that’s fine with me.”
“Eish! I’ll take it, man.”
“Fine.”
“Lekker! Well, I’ll be seein’ ya.”
Doors slammed around and behind us, the van started again. I could dimly hear one dealer grumble to the other, “Fookin’ gesuip MNU grunts.” I focused only on breathing as we stopped—probably at the gate, where a few more rand notes exchanged hands and we sped up, out of District 10.
“Listen.” I whispered. “I can’t say what’s going to happen, but I promise we’ll be okay.”
“Huh?” Alex clicked. He shoved his weight against my side, our shell-plates rasping as they ground together. “And stop smushing me.”
The humans probably couldn’t hear me—I wanted to blurt out everything. That Nick had watched us leave, and even now my ARFA friends were arming themselves and piling into three trucks. But I remembered my mistake at the school, and kept silent.
Daddy, I thought, if you could see them, you’d be proud of the people coming to rescue us. Humans and Poleepkwa both. A kind young man named Ryan who treats me like a little sister, and his beautiful friend Dayna who looks at us all evenly, like we’re way more alike than different. Eric, a really strong and quiet Poleepkwa who was the first to take me in when I was just a starving, limping kid. Nick, who charges into danger with an adventurous smile.You’ll meet them one day, on that day when there are no more boxes and only the stars of freedom…
“Not okay.” Jacob moaned softly. “We’re gonna die. I’m so cold…”
“No.” I shushed him. “Just hold on, please! There’ll be help…”
“My insides are broken.” His voice seemed distant, and I suddenly felt a tiny rivulet of something sticky and warm on the wood beneath me. Jacob was still bleeding. “The man said to follow him, or he’d take his prod and…” He broke into a sob. “I ran. I shouldn’t’ve run.”
“Jacob.” I whispered, forcing my voice past a thick lump in my throat. That man had done to him...what he'd threatened to do to me. “You will survive. Humans do these things to us, even each other! But I know a few really amazing humans…and there’s a world beyond this box, and a universe beyond that! It’s all waiting for us. We only need to hold on—“
“Ag! What the fook?” The dealer cried out as the van swerved wildly, skidding and knocking me against Alex, against the hard crate. “Get the guns!” The two humans swore and scrambled about as they slammed on the brakes, just before a front window shattered.
Yes! I heard a clatter and breathed in bitter smoke. “It’s tear gas!” I hissed the words at Alex and Jacob. “Your eyes and throat will sting, but it won’t hurt you! They’re getting the dealers!”
Shouts and gunfire tore through the air for an instant. I struggled uselessly against the plastic cuffs as my eyes watered and mouth-tentacles itched—then my heart seemed to leap from my chest as I heard the creak of the back doors swinging open.
“In here!” I screamed. “In here, hurry! Jacob needs help, he’s bleeding!” Poleepkwan and human voices swore as the crate flew open, and Eric’s black and green-plated face appeared above me half-covered like a bandit. I tried to leap from the box, but my legs felt numb. Eric cut through the tie around my wrists.
“Get Jacob!” I cried out as Eric lifted me up and out, setting me down on the cool sand. I struggled to my feet and stared about at the moonlit desert night. Nick and Ryan held the two dealers at gunpoint, disarmed and kneeling. Ryan’s Kevlar vest looked like it had taken a few hits, but he seemed unhurt—and his eyes shone when he saw me.
“Poleepkwan Princess!” I think he grinned; his face was covered like Eric’s. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine! Jacob is…”
“He’s hurt, but he’ll survive.” Eric sighed. I spun around to see him wrap the child in a blanket and hand him to Dayna, then pry open the other crate and lift out three wide-eyed children.
“Can you walk?” She asked me, gently setting Jacob to rest on the passenger seat of her truck. I saw that the two ARFA trucks formed a “V,” boxing in the dealers’ van.
“Yes.” I flexed my legs, trying to reawaken them.
She reached out her hand. “Let’s get the children and eggs in here. We’ll take care of Jacob’s…wounds back in the tunnels.” When the crates were empty Ryan and Nick urged the two humans back into their van. I knew the plan—they would be used to find the next checkpoint, probably at a loading dock.
My “big brother” hugged me for a brief moment, and then climbed into the white van. “Go on, go with Dayna.” I obeyed, collapsing into the bench-like seat beside Jacob and the others. We still sat crowded together, but were unbound, uncaged. And finally safe again.
***
“Sherry!” Jared met us in the tunnels and threw his arms around me. A snorting laugh escaped me as my feet left the ground. “She did it! Talia talked again!”
His hug was almost forceful, but brief. In a moment he set me down. “That’s…that’s wonderful! What did she say?”
He gestured with both arms further down the tunnels. “’Home!’ She pointed up at the sky and said, ‘home!’ Then she talked about a big blue jungle and stuff. You told her all that?”
“Of course! Can I talk to her?”
“Sure!” The older child grabbed my hand, and then stopped. “Wait. What’s wrong with your fingers?” His eyes narrowed as he leaned down to scrutinize them.
My antennae twitched quizzically. “Nothing, why?”
“Is too!” He held his own hand up against mine—showing that his three fingertips reached several inches further, and seemed far more pointed. “They’re stubby.” Jared said bluntly.
I flexed both hands, turning them about. “I…suppose so.”
He cocked his head to the side. “How old are you, anyway?”
My back straightened defensively. “I’m eight! Didn’t you know that?”
His antennae twitched no. “Well, you’re not around me and the other kids much. Anyway, you’re small for eight.” He smirked slightly. “Even though you talk like a grownup.”
I poked him in the lower chest with my sub-arms and forced a smile, eager to change the subject. “Well, my family is very smart. Father’s piloting the mothership right now, and my little brother can fix anything!”
“Showoff.” Jared grunted, but he was smiling.
I shrugged. “Sorry. Where’s Talia? That way?”
“Yeah.” I followed him to the Elder’s blue-lit room, where the beacon’s holodisplay of our homeworld reflected in the little one’s round, wide eyes.
“Talia.” I knelt in the dirt so her yellow-green eyes met my own. “Your big brother is so proud of you! So am I…” I smiled. “You told him all about the jungles of Dlur’kah? About home?” She nodded but averted her eyes, silent again.
“That’s great!” I pressed on. “Remember how many moons our planet has?” She shook her head. “It’s okay. Daddy taught me a rhyme when I was little.”
Gather round and count them,
Each one along with me.
Umka, bright volcano-red,
Illrune of methane seas.
Tiny frozen Tar’linka,
Lanixu’s orange-white haze—
Each moon circles in its time,
Months or years or days.
Silver-white Kinmekte follows
Narlilk’s long, slow spin…
Jumpgate flashes, and we’re home,
To seven moons again!
I clasped her hands in my own. None of these moons were inhabitable, of course, but I could clearly imagine their beauty. “Will you chant it with me? Gather round and count them…”
Her voice was low and hoarse; each sound seemed to force its way through the disused passage of her throat. But she repeated the words, slowly, with gathering strength. “Gather round…and count them…”
“Fantastic!” I grinned. “Each one along with me…”
“Woah.” Jared rested a hand on my shoulder. “You’re shaking. Lay down.”
“Oh.” I stopped. “It’s…been a long day.” I sank to the hard dirt floor, leaning against the wall behind me. Somehow, I couldn’t release my grip on Talia’s tiny, three-fingered hands. My vision seemed to blur as I pulled her close.
“Each one along with me…” She clicked softly, resting her head on my shoulder.
“Umka, bright volcano-red…” My eyelids felt heavy. Exhaustion finally overcame me, safe beneath the earth once again. I think I bungled the next line, and whispered to the child in my arms, “Umka, bright volcano-red…please Daddy, set us free.
