Betrayed

Chapter Nine

I retrieve my remaining dinner and stand outside the mess, sipping at the thick potato soup. The sunlight is quickly fading, everything already in deep blue shadow because of the mountains, though the sky is an orangey-red. I welcome the cooler evening; the wind is still shockingly warm.

When I hop back into the mess hall to drop off my empty bowl, I don't spot Luuk or Nia. Erin only glances at me before returning to her conversation. I'm guessing she's doing fine, and I don't want to interrupt anything she might be learning.

Time to explore.

No one said we couldn't look around, so I'll ask forgiveness after the fact. I've already checked out the poppy fields, so I head the opposite direction to a distant grove. No one else is out here, so no one intercepts me or tells me I can't wander. The closest people are a small brigade I assume are guards, so far out along the fence they're specks in the distance.

Besides, everything's supposed to be transparent, right? Means there shouldn't be anything I'm not allowed to poke my nose into.

After a while, I reach a dirt path and trees. They're short, with low sprawling branches nudging each other and laden with orange-yellow fruit. I pluck an apricot from a burdened branch. Birds flutter overhead, but all I catch is a flash of brown and cream feathers accompanied by their sharp trill and the flap of their wings.

I close my eyes, sensing out the water of things. Given the dry heat, it's easy to pick out the trees. The apricots stand out clearly in my mind. I attempt to pluck one from the branch by pulling on its water content, but it explodes into an orange, pulpy mess.

Oops.

Note to self: don't try that on anyone living. I grimace at the gruesome image. Has Jacques or any of the other water elementals done that? Can beasts do that? What if someone tried to do that to me? Or to Erin? Or any of us?

I shudder, though the wind is still hot among the trees. Maybe I should see if I can get a hold of a shield. They block powers in general, right? That means they should protect me from other people's powers, too.

I grab an apricot via normal means, take a bite, and zag through the trees. It's peaceful. Quiet. It'd be nice if there was a lake or something nearby, which I don't sense, unfortunately. Irrigation pipes run underground, which are probably what keeps these trees so green.

I pass a stone well midway through the orchard.

Eventually the trees clear, and the night overtakes the sky, exposing bright pinpricks of stars. So many stars. I've never seen so many clustered together and twinkling, even with the obscuring haze of heat. They're beautiful. The sky is so vast...

A week ago, I was bemoaning my homework. Now I'm in a desert, and I don't even know where that desert is.

I sigh. I need to figure out where I am before I can figure out how to get where I'm going.

I continue my walk, taking note of the cluster of dark buildings farther out and the fence coming into view. I slow when a group of people nears. A guard patrol. They don't seem to notice me. Only when most of them have passed do I spot Nia at the back. She waves her arm over her head enthusiastically. "Galina!" she shouts. "Catch you tomorrow?"

I smile and give her a thumbs-up. She seems happy enough. Maybe she found a way for us to get out. A few of the guards look my direction, but none of them seem worried about my presence. They don't bother to stop.

Eventually I find a giant gate along the fence that cuts through a smooth, paved road I suspect runs through the center of the settlement. A single, dim white light leaves a glowing patch over the gate, everything else cast in twilight blue. Unfortunately, a pair of cameras sit atop the barbed fence, their little red lights signaling infrared activity. Who knows if the activity is recorded or if anyone's watching? I'll assume I've been spotted. I can also tell there's a motion-sensor light on the other side of the gate. The road leads into darkness, toward another crop of mountains, but I'm not sure if it goes to one of those unknown settlements or someplace else.

The other lights pop on. I gasp and drop to the ground, even though it's stupid. If they've seen me, they already know I'm here. Unless they aren't actively monitoring their cameras. But if they aren't, they obviously don't have the "safe" and "secure" part figured out.

And that's kind of important to being Community.

I creep across the dry ground and parched grass where they haven't bothered with irrigation. A low hum sounds in the distance and grows louder. It's so... rickety.

A truck appears, its cargo bed covered with canvas. It stops at the edge of the gate. I hold my breath. Chains clack as something mechanical draws the gate open. It creaks, slow, and then clangs when it reaches its final position.

My eyes widen.

This is my chance to escape, except I'm not sure how the Kariz treats escapees and I don't know what else is out there. If I get caught, will they be hostile, given their fear of being discovered by the wrong Camaraderie agents?

I'm not ready to chance an escape yet, but at least now I know there's a second entrance. Besides, Luuk has his teleportation ring, unless someone took it from him. I suppose that's possible, seeing as how David mentioned him borrowing it. But he also mentioned having Luuk help transport goods.

The truck shambles through, groaning so loudly it can't be one of the electric hybrids I'm familiar with. It's one of those less efficient diesel or gas trucks. That said, given that Jacques mentioned having limited generators to work from for electricity, maybe this actually is more efficient for them, at least for now. The Kariz has a way to go before truly being Community, whether or not it has the transparency part figured out.

The truck doesn't roll far inside before squelching to a stop. The gates squeak as they automatically begin closing behind it. Someone hops from the back of the truck and lands in a crouch before straightening and offering a hand. They help the others clamber down amid tired grunts, groans, and mumbles of thanks. I squint, barely able to see their features against the brightness of the floodlights.

Each of them is caked in dust or sand. Their clothes are worse for the wear. Everybody staggers against each other, tired, gratefully accepting the help from the first one out before shuffling down the road, back toward the main part of the settlement. A moment later, someone poofs into existence a few meters behind the truck. I blink, but I didn't imagine it.

Teleportation. Luuk.

He stands behind the truck, brushing off his arms and rolling his neck as if to rid himself of a cramp. After a moment, his shoulders sag and he trudges behind everyone else.

The gates clang shut and something hisses as the locks secure. The truck rumbles to life, huffing as it rolls the opposite direction toward the dark buildings I now suspect are a series of garages.

That must be the mining group. I'm not sure what time they leave in the morning, but at least I have a rough approximation of when they'll return.

I wait until the gate's security lights click off before slowly backing away. If it's motion sensitive, I don't want to accidentally activate it. I head deeper into the darkness, avoiding the area where the truck went. No need to run into anyone who might ask me questions, even if all I'm doing is taking an investigatory walk.

The rest of the area turns out to be shadowy, unlit buildings whose metal garage doors I don't dare try opening. Beyond those, more fields with plenty of room for growing crops, and something that might be a small subdivision. It all leads to a tall, chain-link fence with spiky barbed wire rolled over top.

I purse my lips. A simple fence wouldn't deter the Camaraderie from attacking this place if they've had the inclination to bomb a whole town before. They can't be the reason for the fence. It's inadequate.

Jacques mentioned raiders and beasts. Maybe they're the reason. But the fact that David says there's nothing out there and Roy says there is...

Are they really trying to keep someone else out?

Or are they trying to keep us in?

* * *

Thanks for reading! Come back next Monday for chapter ten! :-D

Want to get reminders about new chapters? Sign up for the weekly email:
https://www.subscribepage.com/dhu_serial