Tale 2: War of the Seeker

Chapter 5

Sky was shaped like an X, made of five supposedly even squares. It was divided by Citizens, Guard, Chief Executive, Shopping, and Working.

As Zeke had explained to me before, that the Citizens' Sector was in the center. My group wanted to meet us in the very center of Sky: at the main water basin that caught most of the sector's water.

"If they try anything," Zeke was grumbling as we arrived on the scene, "I'm going to wring their little necks out of existence."

"Shut up, Zeke," Kari said calmly.

There were a few people milling around. Most were getting water from the large bowl-like cement structure in the center of the square. The top of the rim reached my waist, and the very other side of the bowl was four of our houses away. Forty feet.

Everything was very doom and gloom. It was quiet, and no one moved very fast. It wasn't peaceful. It was almost a heavy anticipation. Of what, I wasn't sure.

"Dex!" someone shouted. "Did you bring her?"

We snapped our attention over to a small group of four guys. They were heavily muscled and unbelievably scarred, just a tad more than Zeke and Dex. Intimidating, to say the least. Suddenly I kind of understood why everyone around here slithered aroundlike shadows. This place was their turf.

Was this really the group I used to be with?

Zeke stepped forward, fists turning white. But anything he said wouldn't have helped the situation any. They had already locked eyes on me.

And what they said next chilled me to my bones. "That's not her!"

"What?" The word slipped through my lips before I could stop it.

The guy in front, their leader I suspected, surged forward, taking long strides across the square. Every other person in sight was quick to scuttle away. Even Zeke and them all took a step back.

"Where is she?" he bellowed, reaching for Zeke but Zeke slapped his arms away.

"We don't know who you're talking about," he growled.

The other guy's friends caught up, standing behind their leader with hateful glares on their faces.

Dex and Cade stepped up to Zeke's sides, giving them the most menacing looks I have ever seen on their faces.

"This is our new recruit," Zeke said calmly, angrily. "If she isn't her, we don't have whoever you're looking for."

Their leader grabbed Zeke's collar and everyone behind each leader surged forward, anticipating what was going to happen.

"Look here, you little son of a Stardite," the leader spat. "I know you have her. Don't pretend you don't."

Zeke shoved him away. "Do I look like I have time to hold a hostage? What would I do with yourgirl anyway?"

Their leader scowled and glanced at me. "The same thing I'm going to do to your girl." Before his words even registered, there was a hand on my jacket sleeve and I was yanked forward through the barricade of Dex and Zeke's shoulders. I crashed into the leader's chest, realizing quickly that it was him who yanked me forward. Before the others could even react I was pushed behind the four strangers, one of them pulling my arms behind me.

"Hey!" I tugged at the hands holding my arms. "Let me go!"

Zeke shoved at the leader but all the other guys stiffened up, crowding them.

"Give her back," the leader said darkly.

"Mother of Thunder," Zeke growled, "we don't have your thundering girlfriend!"