Bandits (5 page)

“Wait… give me the key,” Daniel demanded in a whi
s
per.

Jade wiggled her finger at him. “Oh, no you don’t! I have the key, and I call the shots for now. I’m going with you. If I can’t, then you don’t get the key. I’m ready for my first taste of freedom, and you aren’t going to stop me,” she said with a determined stare.

Daniel stepped closer and glowered down at her. “Don’t push me.” His eyes narrowed. “I can take the key if I want it, and you know it.” His voice lowered. “This is your last war
n
ing, Jade.”  

Faulk stepped up and placed an arm between them, pushing Jade back away from Daniel. “Let her come. Reme
m
ber? We don’t have time for this. Someone is watching us.” 

He pointed at her over Faulk’s shoulder. “You asked for this, Jade. Faulk we’ll talk,” Daniel barked and pulled Nickel by the arm, hastily leading him out the side entrance of the club.

Faulk faked a shiver, “Yeah, cuz, we’ll talk. Oh, I’m sooo afraid.” Faulk grabbed Jade’s hand and following behind a scow
l
ing Daniel.

BANDITS

Daniel felt someone following them. Frowning, he wo
n
dered who it was, but he didn’t take the time to ponder it further. He pushed Nickel into the car. Then he glared at Jade and got into the driver’s seat.

Faulk got in, also feeling the edginess of the impending threat.

“I’
ve
gotta get us to the water faster than I hoped,” D
a
niel said, not wasting a moment to see if everyone was secured in their seats.

Gritting his teeth, he sped off down the dirt road, through the dark, winding roads that led to the waterfront. He didn’t take in the hanging willow leaves, which brushed against his car, or the yellow moon high in the sky. He just knew that whoever was behind them had to be shaken.

Pushing the car into top speed, the car slid out as Faulk brushed his elbow while adjusting the navigator. Daniel’s patience with Faulk was gone. “What the hell did they teach you in flight school?
Are y
ou trying to kill us? Keep your hands away from me.”  

The road ahead was rocky, and the lush underbrush moved with the car. A lit beach appeared ahead. The sound of laser fire surrounded them. Jerking out of the line of fire just in time, Daniel sped to the sands ahead of him. He knew if he timed it right they would be able to get to the water cruiser when the fog came.

In the time just before daylight, it would be the darkest hour of the night. Black, thick fog would roll in and stick around until mid morning. During the months of tiding, the tides ran high, and the weather varied greatly between land and sea. Only those trained on Merwin were able to navigate through the blin
d
ing fog.

Daniel yelled over the roar of the engine that rattled upon impact of a stray laser. “Time it! The fog… how long before it comes? I’ll try to out run them until it hits. It looks like two cars are on me. When I hit the brakes, get out and run like hell to the cruiser!”

Jade pulled Nickel close. “It hits in just two minutes. The sky is darkening… now!”

“Hold on! Gotta get us near the water cruiser,” Daniel exclaimed. He tightened his hands on the steering wheel, and pushed the power. A surge of adrenaline pumped in his blood. He was high on the sensation of the danger from the
chase
.

Murky waters of the sea started to rise heavily with each crash of the tide. The water darkened with each decent of the fog, and with the fog, came the curse of the black sea.

Faulk pushed back in his seat, putting his foot on the dash in a full-body cringe. “What the hell is that?  The sea looks like its turning black like the fog.”  

“Welcome to Merwin, cuz. Jade, hold Nickel tight! Faulk grab the ammo. Nickel stay close to Jade. Get ready.
NOW
!” Daniel yelled.

He saw the water cruiser bounce with each crash and grinned. Its chains held it on the beach. He had just a small wi
n
dow of time to get to the water cruiser before the fog hit, and that would give him the temporary cover of darkness he needed to get away.

Driving at top speed, the car slid in the sand, and the di
s
tance lengthened between Daniel and his pursuers. The yellow moon up above started to disappear as fingers of black fog oozed in. Daniel timed it, knowing the initial hit of the smog would give them only a sliver of time, a second -of instant darkness they would use to get away. Within an hour, the fog would slowly dissipate to a dim haze.

Daniel yelled, “Get ready! On three… two… one,” then he hit the brakes. The car jerked and swung before it stopped. Daniel grabbed his gun, and leaped out the driver’s side door. Jade and Nickel jumped out the opposite side and ran to the water cruiser that was only several feet away on the sand, bobbing fiercely with each wave. Daniel saw Jade running with the bag full of ammun
i
tion.

Faulk stood, guns drawn. “Go to the boat before they get here! I brought a little something with me. So get out of the way!”  Faulk threw the mini-bomb in the direction of their pursuers and took off running behind Daniel.

Jade released the cruiser, and it was starting to pull off. Daniel climbed up on the cruiser and turned to pull up Faulk.

“Fog’s descending!” Jade yelled.

Daniel directed when he saw their pursuers cars slid
e
to a stop within shooting distance, “Now. Faulk!” 

Faulk pushed the button on the detonator he held in his hand. The mini-bomb exploded, and Daniel secured his spot at the wheel. Fire lit up behind them when the fog descended, turning the world around them completely black. Faulk started to cough excessively. He wasn’t used to the claustrophobic feeling of the descending fog, which covered Merwin in dar
k
ness enveloping its inhabitants in moisture so thick it felt like they were drowning.

Jade went to help Faulk. “Relax. Just take it in. Breathe slowly, or you will drown in it.”

Daniel figured she was rubbing his back with soothing strokes like they’d been taught to do as children
.
He closed his eyes and let his memory lead him out of Death Cove and the
island
of
Bethan
, his home. Living on a planet of a million diffe
r
ent islands was the one thing that made Daniel love Merwin. As a child growing up, he’d never run out of new places to explore, and being the son of an EBRA made his life even more exciting than most other Zukar boys.

He knew he couldn’t get to his father’s trove that night, so they’d stop at Jade’s family trove. Getting to his would take two days at sea. Flying on Merwin was prohibited, with the exception of the space ships owned by the Zukar that controlled them, or the King. For the sake of controlling trade on Merwin, clearance for air travel could only be given by the King himself.

Willows Oasis was Jade’s father’s trove. He had no choice now but to use her help, because she knew the combin
a
tion to her father’s trove. He hoped they wouldn’t have to fight off Merpins, vicious cannibalistic Merwinians who were cast out to sea millions of years ago. They’d evolved in appearance from other Merwins who lived on land.

Listening, he realized Faulk had calmed down in the midst of the dark, heavy fog. The fog had let up a bit and was now a thick, gray, puffy mass around them. However, visibility was still nonexistent
as t
hey rode for several hours. Daniel steered the crui
s
er using the beacons and memory to get them around the danger spots in the dark seas. Daniel glanced at the water to gage the time left before daylight. The water had turned black with slithering silver veins of passing schools of fish.

The gray haze lifted, allowing visibility below the deck of the boat, but the water remained black. Silver fish broke through the darkness to eat the minoites. They broke through the surface to eat the tiny yellow fish that floated on top when the sea went black.

Faulk came up behind Daniel. “Hey, this place is crazy. Nothing prepared me for the fog. I don’t remember that from when I visited when I was a kid. Anyway, I know this is a stupid question – but what the hell is a
trove
?”  

Daniel looked for his marker. The water cruiser would call to the Terconion markers buried in the sea, and those would lead him to Willows Oasis. He reflected on the
Islands
of his homeland and smiled. “The Zukar, like my father, the ones who’d proven their worth, got permission to take the uninha
b
itable islands for their personal treasure troves. Jade’s dad and my father have the most coveted treasure troves on the entire planet. Since the pl
a
net’s mostly water, finding land to store wealth is hard to find. We’re going to Jade’s family trove first. It takes two days to get to mine.”

Faulk looked at the water and made and exaggerated quiver, rubbing his hands together, “A treasure trove?  Man, I can’t wait to see that.” He walked to edge of the boat and pointed to the black water. “What the hell are those?”

Daniel smiled. He was starting to warm up to having his cousin around. He pointed at the flurry of feeding fish and said, “They’re called Minoites. They break through the sea to eat the smaller fish that are dazed by the darkness.” 

Faulk frowned at replied, “Yeah, they look vicious. You see those teeth?”

Daniel burst out and laughed at the look on Faulk’s face. “Yeah, they are vicious. They only come out in the fog, but they’ll eat you alive if you fall in. The fog is seasonal. We don’t get it all year long. I remember you coming in
Paradise
season, when Merwin’s western region is sunny every day and rainy at night. That’s why you don’t remember the fog. Trust me... most off-worlders never forget this.”

“How’d you learn to navigate like this?” Faulk asked. His fingers slid together like he was anxious to try.

Daniel’s gut filled with a sense of regret and loss. “Since I was maybe three, my dad would tell me to close my eyes and steer with him. He brought me out to his trove every chance he could get back then. My mother would stay at the house, and my father would train me in the ways of the Zukar. When Nickel was
a
toddler
, my mother died, and I had to drive a lot of the time b
e
cause my father had to take care of Nickel.”

“Why didn’t your father remarry?” Faulk asked.

Daniel moved around the water vines that protruded from the water when the fog came. “He said no one could replace her. He had women and all, but they never stuck around long. It was like… like, he didn’t want them to get cozy and take my mother’s place or something. I can’t explain it, but I felt the same way. Only problem was, Nickel never got to have a mother. Kind of selfish of us, now that I think about it.” 
Regrets
bubbled up within him, and again, he pushed it down, deep down where it belonged.

“How did you meet Gabe?” Faulk turned back to check on Jade and Nickel.

“The EBRA was started by Haden, Bry, and my father. They were the best Zukar here at the time. Actually, there is none better than they were – not even today. Haden runs the EBRA now, since my father sort of stopped doing his job.” Daniel shrugged. “Som
e
thing happened to him on a job that he did alone about three years ago, and when he returned, he just…changed. Bry, Gabe’s father, bowed out and opened his club. Haden is the only active EBRA of them, and he has over 500 EBRA he’s in charge of. Gabe and I always got along well, like the same things, and worked the same EBRA jobs. Not to mention, we like the ladies,” Daniel admitted with a sheepish laugh.

Faulk turned away from Nickel and Jade, turning his gaze to the dark sea. “They fell asleep. How much longer?”

“We’re almost there, but I gotta take it slow over here. This is Merpin territory and we sure as hell don’t want to wake them. They’ve got a thing for flesh. Our scents carry on the wind the more we move. When they smell it, they attack. B
e
sides, there are too many jagged rocks. If I go too fast, we’ll sink, and become breakfast.” Daniel squinted and watched out for the fish like Merpins.

Faulk expelled a deep breath. “Just great. What is a Me
r
pin anyway? You ever see one?”

“I only had one run in with Merpins. I was out with my friend Tomas at the time, and his father died saving me from being eaten alive.”

“Hell!” Faulk ran a shaky hand through his short black hair.

“
Scared?
You’re the one who ran from your safe, soft world to come here.” Daniel chuckled at Faulk’s wary expre
s
sion.

The water cruiser moved easily through the murky w
a
ters, and Daniel and Faulk stood quietly, looking out to the foggy, dark waters. The Minoites’ feeding frenzy was over, and the dawn came in quietly.

“What was that?” Faulk called out when the water crui
s
er was jarred, followed by a
thump
on the bottom.

Daniel growled. “Merpins
!
Wake them up. I’m go
n
na try to out run them. We’re almost to Willows Oasis.” 

Faulk went over to the others and yelled out. “Wake up! Jade! Nickel! Get a weapon… anything. Oh God…one is clim
b
ing up the side!” He shot at the Merpin that was clawing its way up the side of the boat. Its black, stringy hair, white skin, long curved teeth, and predatory sea-blue eyes looked haunted with starvation. “Damn, I missed!”

Daniel spied another Merpin clawing its webbed hand into the cruiser as its webbed feet hung over the railing of the cruiser. “There’s another one!” His stomach filled with dread, because he knew there were others to follow.
Aggravated
, he reminded hi
m
self not to speed too fast through this rough sea of rocks, and hidden reefs or they would all perish and become the starving creatures’ meal. A shriek sounded behind him. He saw Faulk and the cre
a
ture in the midst of a stand off.