So far, whatever instinct I’ve been following has kept me alive. I trust that instinct to bring me back to Olin. An arrow darts past my ear. At first I think the probe is launching some sort of projectiles. Then I realize an entire colony of free-tailed bats has descended on our location to feed.
Swarming through the branches of the massive ahuehuetl, the bats confuse the heat readings of the probe. A blue pulse of energy disintegrates the top section of the massive tree and showers me with needles. Sliding feet first, I arrive at Neca’s side as he draws his first complete breath.
“I said,” he grunts as I heave him to his feet, “split up.”
“I heard you. Now shut up and run.”
The bats begin to disperse. When the probe gets its next clear shot, there won’t be time to know we’re dead before it has happened. Several strides behind us, the base of the massive ahuehuetl disappears, pulverized by a pulse. A spray of sap slashes across my back, and then the snapping of branches rushes toward us.
The outer branches of the tree knock me off my feet and pin me. Lying on my back, I watch the outline of the spherical probe. Its blinking blue eye swoops into the opening left by the felled tree. I hold up a hand, as if I could block its destructive force like deflecting a rubber pelota. I’m in disbelief. How can I die now? Like this?
Instead of nothingness, red lightning fills the sky above me. Sparks burst from the blue probe as it spins out of sight. A second bolt of red lightning splits the dark, and a third. The night comes alive with buzzing and sparks. My mind sticks, along with my body, until a hand tugs me out from under the branches.
“Now’s our chance.” Neca has extricated me, and we’re running in the direction of the shield dome.
Everything jolts and echoes. I’m watching myself from somewhere deeper inside. My legs pump. My arms swing. I’m not in charge of them. The next thing I know, we’re in the open.
The lightning storm behind us continues—a probe battle between opposing forces. My stunned consciousness reemerges into the moment. The red probes of New Teo must be battling those of an enemy patrol, rendering Neca and me of second importance for now. If the enemy is too far away to provide sufficient telekinetic support, the fray will end soon. Too soon.
The shield dome looms fifty meters in front of us, rippling with the heightened telekinetic energy of every masazin available in the mind pits. The battle has put the entire city on alert. My heart sinks as I consider what that might mean for Neca’s ability to phase through the mesh.
The ground shudders, answering my earlier question about the proximity of enemy support. They’re close, and they’ve come to fight. The temperature of the air increases several degrees. Steam visibly rises off my sweat-soaked clothing.
My father taught Olin and me that bridging energy from a massive telekinetic storm cooks the moisture from the air moments before it erupts. This one is big, at least twice the size of yesterday morning’s attack. And it’s focused directly at Neca and me. “Storm’s coming!”
“Just keep running!”
Of course, I do. There’s no other option. Neca must know we’ll never make it. We’re twenty meters from the shield dome when the enemy strike hits. Ripples of purple and blue light form around us. Imploding and absorbed into a single point on the dome, the bands of light rip past. I wait for the telekinetic energy to explode outward, disintegrating all matter within its pulse radius—including Neca and me.
“Keep running!” Neca yells.
Somehow still alive, I’m a meter behind him.
Neca draws within a few meters of the shield dome, but he doesn’t slow down. He’s not waiting for me.
“Wait!” I scream.
“Don’t stop!”
How can I get through the mesh without him?
He protects his face with his hands as he dives head first through the wall. There isn’t time for me to stop. Bracing for impact, I throw up my hands and close my eyes.
A hot gust whips my braid from my back and scours my skin. Still moving forward, feet no longer in contact with the ground, I roll to my side. When the impact comes, it’s with the ground rather than the mesh of the shield wall. I absorb the initial blow with my shoulder before rolling to a stop against another person. I open my eyes, and of course it’s Neca. “I thought you left me.”
“It’s Centavo.” Neca helps me to my feet while staring over my shoulder.
I turn to see the brilliant outline of the old man as he passes through the shield wall. The mesh ripples with the colors of the rainbow, like oil droplets in water.
“Go. Huatiani is in the area.” Centavo’s voice has grown stronger than before, angrier. There is no doubt it’s the same old man. “I’ll be right behind you, after I clean up this mess.” Beyond the mesh, Centavo lifts his arms slowly from his sides.
“We have to go,” Neca tugs me.
I resist, unable to look away from Centavo. “But he’s defenseless outside the city.”
“Centavo’s never defenseless, and if he tells you to do something, you do it. Come on.”
I hold out my arm, steam rising from it again. “There’s another enemy storm.”
“All the more reason to run.” Neca thrusts me away from the perimeter roughly. “If Huatiani catches you now, you’ll never make it to Olin.”
I stumble forward, placing one foot in front of the other. Neca is right behind me. Despite my longing to turn around, I keep running. When the second enemy attack hits, I hear the whoosh same as earlier. Purple light dances in the sky above the shield dome. This time the implosion is followed by a release—one that shakes the ground enough to crack the joints of the adobe buildings within Worker City.
I’m certain the old man just died, but why? To defend New Teo from its enemies? To save me and Olin? And if Centavo just died, that means Olin is alone, perhaps frightened. A frightened Olin means bad things.
“This way,” Neca darts into an alley.
Dizzy, I realize I’ve injured my foot either on the ridge or in the forest. Every time it hits the adobe surface of the sidewalk, I slip on what must be blood. I’ve lost a lot over the last hour.
A sickening thought hits me. If Centavo left Olin’s side, maybe he was no longer worried Olin could lose control. Maybe it’s too late. Swallowing a knot of panic, I reject the thought. In a matter of minutes, we’ll be together. We’ll still be alive. We’ll still be family.
“A little further.” Neca’s voice grounds me.
I focus on his braid, swinging back and forth slightly with his running. Even tired, even injured, he continues to move smoothly. I, on the other hand, feel like a hobbled ox.
As Neca helps me descend the stairs, he sees the bloody footprints I’ve left behind. “Come on, I’ll carry you.”
I want to refuse, but he’s not asking out of chivalry. I’ve already left a bloody trail for Huatiani to follow, right to the front of the building. If the old general finds it, the least we can do is force him to guess which apartment we’re in. I tear off the hem of my pants and wrap the material around my foot. When I finish, Neca swoops me up.
While not overweight, I’m not light either. As he navigates the maze of hallways, I’m left with nothing to do except worry and think of the irony. Less than a day ago, Neca carried my brother down the same darkened passage.
A day later, I’m still making demands of him. He’s still obliging without complaint. And still, I have no idea how I’ll ever repay the chadzitzin boy who’s already playing out the last years of his shortened life.
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