Fortitude Part 37
“I really don’t like being down here,” Teddy said.
“There’s no such things as ghosts.”
“But it’s dark.” Teddy was right behind me, nearly treading
on my heels with every step.
“It’s always dark inside a cave; the fact that it is dark
outside doesn’t really change that.” Still, I sent a little more power to the
lantern I held to light up the area around us. “Better?”
“Not really. I really don’t want to go out there, either.”
We were nearly through the tunnel leading out of the city.
We’d had to wait for darkness to enter the cave. I didn’t think we’d be able to
find Wildman, but the area he’d been in seemed to get pretty close to the city.
My plan was to get a good distance from the wall and then set up a call that
would hopefully bring Wildman in.
The true danger lay in what else might come, though, so I brought
two pistols as well as my sword. The jungle outside the city smelled very
different from the cultured gardens in the city. The scent of dirt and decaying
plant matter underscored the perfume of flowers. Without the sun, the riot of
color was muted, but everything was eerily beautiful in the moonlight too.
I tucked away the lantern, hanging it on a hook at the base
of my pack. “Don’t want to attract unwanted attention. Let’s go, we have a good
walk ahead of us.”
Closer to the river gave us a better chance of luring in
Wildman. No matter how toxic the water, it was still a rich ecosystem. Whatever
he ate when he wasn’t getting supplies from hapless travelers or pilfering it
from Anna’s people probably came from around there.
My handkerchief was soaked with sweat by the time we reached
close enough to hear the ripples of the water at the bank of the river. A small
clearing made the ideal spot to stop. “This looks about right.” I swung the
pack off my shoulders and carefully settled it down on the ground.
“What now?”
“Now we set up the signal.”
I pulled out two wrapped packages and then a small lantern
with a fine wire mesh surrounding the element. “Here, take these.” I handed a
package and the lantern out to Teddy. I unwrapped the other package, and the
redolent scent of cheese filled the warm air of the clearing.
“Whew. That’s going to call more than Wildman,” Teddy said.
“That’s fine. The animals migrating over here might alert
him to something going on if he’s not close enough to catch a whiff himself.
Over here.” I walked over to one of the large trees around the clearing. Unlacing
the bag of my pack from the metal frame, I bent a few of the bars to make a
crude lid for the boxy frame. I stuck the package Teddy held inside and then
tied the top shut with a rope.
First I tied a rock to the free end, then sighting above me
with one eye squinted shut, I swung the rope up and over a sturdy branch. “Yes!”
I hauled on the rope until the pack hung about chest high. “Put the lantern on
the hook.”
Still bound up with his arm in a sling, Teddy needed help
opening the hook, but together we got the lantern on the pack board box with
the cheese inside.
“Can you find some rocks? Just fist-sized is fine.” I
finished the knot holding the bait in the air and then Teddy and I arranged the
rocks in an arrow pointing toward the city. I stomped on them several times to
drive them into the dirt—far enough they wouldn’t budge from the pattern
easily, but not hard enough to bury them under the soil.
“Now what?” Teddy glanced nervously over his shoulder. “I
hear something.”
The sound of twigs breaking and bushes rustling was growing
louder. I didn’t want to be in the clearing when the bait did its job just in
case it brought the four-legged variety of danger. “Now I power up the lantern,
and we head back to the tunnel.”
I gave enough of my power that the lantern was blazing
white. I slung the nearly empty bag over my shoulder and held up our personal
lantern. “Let’s go.”
We traipsed back through the jungle, alert for danger.
Exhaustion was beginning to drag at my feet when we finally reached the rocky
outcropping at the mouth of the tunnel back to the city.
“Just need to rest,” Teddy mumbled. He collapsed on the
ground just inside the tunnel.
It reminded me of the last time we were here, but this time
he wasn’t just tired, he was hurt. “We’ll wait here and rest for a while.”
My back ached, and my legs were sore from all the walking we’d
been doing. I helped Teddy haul himself up against a smooth edge of a rock and
sank down next to him. We leaned against each other, our sides plastered from
shoulder to ankle.
“Do you think this is ever going to be over?” Teddy asked.
“It has to.” I left out the rest of what I wanted to say.
One way or another, we’d either not care because we’d have lost our abilities
and be poor wrecks like all the other betas and gammas, or we’d put a stop to
the king’s atrocities.
“I’m tired.” Teddy yawned. He snuggled closer to me, resting
his head against my chest.
“Go ahead and close your eyes. I’ll stay awake.”
I intended to, I really did. Teddy was leaning across my lap
and my legs were deadened from how long it’d been since I moved. I blinked,
trying to clear the sleepy crust from my eyes.
What woke me up? I eased my hand down to my belt.
“More food.” Wildman dropped to the ground in front of us.
He eyed the pack at my side and licked his lips.
TBC
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