“Raek, baby!” Mom launched from her chair, eyes frantic. “Where were you? I was so worried.” Her arms crushed me. “Vynce told me everything. You idiots. I told you not to.” She looked around, eyes filled with rabid fear softening to relief. “Elly? Where is Elly?” She grabbed my shoulders, shaking me. “Where is my Elly? Wasn’t she with you? Tell me she was with you?” Mom was quivering, barely holding herself together.
“Mom, I’m sorry.” I couldn’t get the words out. What could I say? “It’s all my fault. Elly, Elly’s dead. I couldn’t save her.” I swallowed hard, fighting back tears.
“Dead? What do you mean dead?” She noticed the blood on my hands, recoiling.
Miserable, I nodded, not saying a word.
A shrieking, blood-curling wail escaped her lips. She collapsed, sobbing. I stood there, shocked. Tears came.
Ms. Ivey peeked her tiny head out the window, saw Mom on the ground and sprinted over. My old English teacher never moved so fast. “What happened?” She bent to check on Mom. “Is everything okay?”
I blacked out.
6
On The Hunt
“Shhhh.” A faint scraping. My arms, my legs, everything felt funny, a strange, inescapable heaviness.
Mom’s voice. “Doc, is he going to be okay? What happened?”
“He’ll be fine. He just…” The words faded away.
It was so comfy, so warm and cozy. My eyes opened a second later. I was in bed, but in the living room, and Mom was passed out in her favorite chair. Vynce was asleep on the couch in the corner, bundled tight as the brown wool blanket rose and fell.
Tapping my head to wake myself, the AR overlay thing happened again. I jumped out of bed, clenching my fists. My body, my clothes, everything, was drenched in sweat. There were numbers above Vynce, electric blue readouts of body temperature and heart rate, like I had superpowers. I almost choked.
This is just a dream, this is just a dream. A few deep breaths. I should do the mindfulness thing Grandma had taught me. If anything could awaken me from this nightmare, it was that... Maybe I was dreaming. I’d wake up and Elly would be here.
Everything would be fine.
After what felt like hours, I opened my eyes. Please... The clock on the wall said it’d been five minutes. Shit. They were all still here. I was still here. Except no Elly. Nothing changed. Another surge of pain.
The weird numbers were still there too, floating above their faces. I tapped the side of my head and the displays disappeared. That was good to know, as long as no one else could see them. Shoot, what if they could? I’d be shot.
In the corner, Vynce stirred, blinking as he let out a yawn. “Raek!” He jumped, mouth agape. “Are you okay? You passed out. What happened?” he added, lowering his voice when he realized Mom was asleep.
“Where’s Elly? Where is she?”
He winced. “You don’t remember?”
So, it was true. The bloody knife twisted in my gut. Pure guilt.
Vynce nodded, wincing, and told me everything.
Mom opened her eyes, noticed me, and leapt from her seat, her eyes wide. “Baby, you’re okay. I was so worried.” She flung herself at me. “Three days. Three days! What happened? Come here.”
She pulled me tight. It felt so good. I cried.
Wait… “You’re saying I have been out for three days?”
Mom clenched her fists, sinewy arms bunching up. “What happened out there, baby? It looked like a warzone!”
“I don’t remember,” I lied, not making eye contact. “They attacked Elly and I exploded. I don’t remember. Somehow they died, and I collapsed.”
Despite gentle eyes, she raised an eyebrow. “Okay. Maybe you’ll remember later. I’m sure some of the adults will want to talk to you. I hope not the DNS. We’ll do our best to make sure that doesn’t happen. Attacking cynetics and all...” She lost her resolve and stifled a sob.
We all grimaced. The penalty for violence against superiors was your dominant hand, no questions asked. For murder, it was death.
“They said something about a message,” I blurted out. Should I tell her? “Before he died, the cynetic, he said he pinged someone.”
“No!” Mom gasped as a shockwave rippled through her. “So, someone might know what happened.” She placed both hands around my head and cupped my ears, looking me in the eyes. “Are you sure you don’t remember anything else, baby?”
I shook my head, torn. She’d be terrified of me… “No, nothing.”
“Vynce, Raek… we never had this conversation. Raek, get your clothes, enough for a few days, and put them in your bag. Bring a mat, a blanket, and I’ll pack some dried food. Maybe I’m overreacting.”
She took a deep breath. “In case, hide that bag somewhere, not in town. Don’t tell me where, don’t tell anyone. If anything happens, anything at all, I want you to go there and hide out. It’d only be a few days. Got it?”
I shook my head. “No way. What about you guys? I’m staying! This is my—”
“Damnit!” she barked. “No, you’re not. We’ll be fine. We always are.”
Holy crap. And she didn’t even know about the blaster yet.
What had I gotten myself into?
The next few days passed in a blur, adults coming to offer condolences, cards, and sympathy. Lots of tears and hugs. Rumors too. A few tried questioning me. One or two got angry and started yelling. Mom kicked them out, dragging offenders to the door with an intensity none dared protest.
By day three, I was cooped up, by day five, losing my mind. I was meant to roam and hunt and be free. I told Mom I was going for a hike and maybe hunting if I saw anything. We needed the food, so she caved.
“Fine, but stay south of the village. And don’t go into that forest, boy! You got it?”
A nod.
“I’m serious, Raek!” She gave me a look I’d never forget. “I can’t lose two of my babies.”
I hurried out the door, bag on my back. Freedom. The wind at my back, the rustling of leaves… I lost myself, lost track of time. I chased the scent of a rogue buck for a while, a twenty pointer by his hooves. The thought of meat, of juicy, non-plant-based steak for the winter drove me farther.
At last, I found the poor guy. I wasn’t the first. A pack of wolves or wild dogs had caught it, tearing flesh from the bones and leaving behind a bloody carcass. It wasn’t worth carrying home, the good parts were gone. Plus it was getting dark.
Time to head back. I’d been out all day, and while it was fun, pained darkness haunted me. I thought about Elly, about what was happening to me, about everything. Images of her bloodied face assaulted me. Stabbing guilt.
Gunfire snapped me out of it. That’s odd. Why would someone hunt so close to town? Maybe a wild dog roamed a little too close, or stole one of Mr. Leot’s few chickens.
Something wasn’t right. The streets were dead silent and empty. Was that blaster exhaust? The burnt acid stench of charred skin torched my nostrils.
I turned onto to our street and the smell was stronger, nauseously so. The door to Ms. Ivey’s house was ajar and I ran over. She’d know what was going on.