Planet Urth: The Savage Lands (Book 2) (6 page)

“
You’ll have to excuse my appearance, kids. If I’d known I was going to have guests today, I would have cleaned up a bit,” Ross says.  “We don’t have a river nearby so we don’t get to wash as often as we should.  Just know that Jay smells the worst.  I’d be sure to steer clear of him if I were you,” he says and bobs his eyebrows before grinning. 

Oliver laughs while June and Riley giggle nervously.  Hearing their laughter eases my nerves somewhat.  The ice has been broken.

“How’d you lose them?” Oliver surprises all of us by asking Ross. 

Will flinches and opens his lips to undoubtedly reprimand his younger brother, but Ross speaks first.

“Lose what?” Ross asks with a puzzled look on his face.

An uncomfortable silence hangs in the air and pressure begins to build at my temples.  The moment is
so awkward I could scream.

“Your teeth,” Oliver
finally says in a small voice.

Will shoots him a stern look and
starts to interject when Ross says, “What?  My teeth!  I lost teeth?  Oh no!”  Ross runs his hands through his wiry, shoulder-length hair and frets exaggeratedly.  The children look stunned until Ross throws them a sly smile filled with mischief.  “Gotcha!” he says and points both index fingers at Oliver then Riley and lastly June. 

Tension seeps from my body and I exhale the breath I’d been holding.  Will’s shoulders lower,
and the strain in his posture relaxes visibly.  I feel his fingers grip my wrist and give it a gentle squeeze.  I take his gesture as a signal of his approval. 

“So,” Ross claps his hands together.  “Who’s hungry here?” he asks us.

The children’s hands rocket into the air as they mutter that they are starving. 

“We haven’t eaten since this morning,” Oliver says, but Ross does not look at him.  His eyes are on June.  A small frown drags the corners of his mouth downward.  She is thin, painfully so.  Our continual hiking and meager food supply has taken a toll on her.  She looks frail.  Ross reaches out a hand toward her and reflexively my hand flies behind me to the hilt of my sword.  It is unsheathed before his fingertips graze her shoulders. 

“Whoa, whoa,” Ross says and splays his hands out in front of his body in surrender.  “I don’t intend to hurt the girl,” he says and steps away from June with the same caution a person moves away from a wild animal.  “Please, put your weapon away.  We can’t have visitors with weapons within the walls of this compound.  We are a peaceful people, and we intend to keep it that way.”

My cheeks blaze and beads of sweat dot my brow. 
Slowly, I lower my sword and watch as the men around me relax then exchange furtive glances.  “Sorry,” I say halfheartedly.  “We haven’t come across humans in quite some time,” I lie and neglect to share that Will, Oliver and Riley are new to June and I.  “June is my sister and it is my job to protect her,” I say flatly.

“I understand,” Ross says.  “But we are human
s, just as all of you are.  We’re not the enemy.  We’re not who you have to worry about.” 

His words make sense.  I know they are true, but when it comes to June, logic ceases to exist. 

“Fair enough,” I say and sheathe my sword at the scabbard on my back.  Ross watches me do so then his eyes roam my body and rest on the dagger at my thigh.  My lips press to a hard line and my eyes are narrow when his gaze returns to them. 

“It’s just about time for dinner,” Ross directs his attention to the children once again.  “You are all welcome to join us.”

“Thank you.  That would be great,” I say.

“Yeah, thanks a lot,” Will says appreciatively.

“But there’s only one problem,” Ross says.

“Problem?” Will asks.

“Well, not a problem really,” Tal chimes in.  “More of a rule we have.”

I watch as all three men move in closer.  I suddenly feel as if the air around me has thickened, that the temperature has jumped suddenly. 

“You see,” Ross begins.  “We do not allow weapons beyond this point.  No strangers are allowed to set foot inside if they have a knife, bow and arrow, sword or any other kind of weapon on them,” he says and gestures over his shoulder toward the building. 

My stomach bottoms out.  I have never willingly parted with my weapons.  This would be the first time ever. 

“I don’t know,” I think out loud.  “I’m not sure how I feel about that,” I say and hear the steely suspicion in my voice. 

“I don’t know how to say this politely so I’m going to just lay it on the line here,” Ross says and smiles almost apologetically.  “I have no intention of harming you or
any of your friends or kin.  I am not a threat.  But if you step inside the walls of our compound armed, you are a threat, and I cannot allow it.”  Ross rubs his hand over his face as if he is truly troubled by what he has said or what he plans to say next.  “It’s your choice.  You can either give me your weapons, or leave.”

His words are like a blow to my gut.  My eyes immediately go to Will.  H
is expression is unreadable.  In my periphery, I see that the sun is about to set and the sky is dimming fast.  Ross has not offered us much of a choice at all.  He has essentially told us that we can give up our weapons and enjoy food and shelter or keep our weapons and take our chances at twilight with Lurkers waking from their daytime slumber. 

“Considering that evening is just about here, I don’t have much if a decision to make,” I say levelly.  “We will be torn to pieces by Lurkers
, uh, I mean the creatures that come out when the sun sets, before we’re able to find shelter for the night.”

“That is true,” Ross says with regret lacing his words. 

When Will hands over the club he took from the Urthmen who stormed his cave by the lake, I am shocked.  He turns to me as soon as it is out of his hands.

“I don’t want to die tonight, Avery,” he whispers. 

Ross hands the club to Tal and Tal leads us to a metal cabinet.  Using a key attached to a thin chain on his belt he unlocks the cabinet and places the club on an empty shelf. 

“See,” Tal says.  “All of our weap
ons are here.  Every person who stays here has surrendered his blade, spear or stick.”

I scan the shelves and see that knives and blud
geons of every size and shape are arranged neatly on the top shelves.  Daggers, spears and swords occupy the lower shelves. 

“Come on, Avery,” Will’s hot breath fans across my neck when he leans in to whisper to me.  “I’m not happy about it either, but think about June and Riley, about Oliver and me, about you,” he tries to convince me.

Reluctantly, I pull my dagger from the case on my thigh, and with a hesitant hand, I turn it over to Ross.  A grin stretches across his face and crinkles the skin around his eyes.  Next, I surrender my spear then last, my sword.  I feel naked, stripped of any means of protecting June and I. 

“Excellent,” Ross says as Tal places our armaments in the cabinet then locks it.  He twists and faces the children then says, “Now that all that boring grown-up stuff is over, we can finally eat and meet the rest of the people here.” He uses a silly voice as he continues to speak to them and lead
s them inside.  Tal and Jay follow. 

We continue down a long, narrow corridor and follow the scent of burning brush and cooking meat.  I remember that the main area that was used as a dining hall had a fire pit.  It is surreal that I have returned to where I spent so many years as a child, to a place where I once felt safe
and happy.  I feel neither now.

“What do you think?” Will asks and moves so close to me his lips almost brush my earlobe. 

I do not know how to express the leeriness I feel. It is unjustified.  Yet I can’t shake it.  Perhaps it is the fact that my mother and so many others were butchered here not long ago.  Perhaps it is the three days of sleep deprivation finally catching up to me.  Perhaps it is both.  Perhaps it is neither.  All I know is that my nerves feel frayed. 

“
I’m thinking I just made a huge mistake handing over my weapons,” I say bluntly in a quiet voice.

“Why?  They’re humans, like us.  They have no reason to hurt us.  They’re on our side,” he replies.

A few moments pass as I consider what he’s said.  After all, he has come across more humans than I have.  He and his family were the first in recent years. 

“I guess,” I say and hear the exasperation in my tone. 

We continue to walk until we reach a room set with a makeshift table composed of long wooden slats aligned side by side.  My heart leaps to my throat as the arrangement brings to mind flashbacks that echo through my mind with aching clarity.  I remember eating here as a child, the setup is nearly identical. 

June, Riley and Oliver marvel at what they see, at all the people in front of them.  Even Will’s jaw drops.  I wish I felt as they do.  I wish I could look on in wide-eyed wonder.  But I can’
t.  I do not feel excited in the least.  All I see is the bloodshed of persons past, my people, and strangers.  We are grossly outnumbered, and without my weapons, I worry I have made a mistake that will cost us our lives.

Chapter 3

Ross ushers us deeper into the dining area.  With every step I take, my unease grows.  I do not understand it fully. I can’t explain it.  I just feel anxiety swelling inside of me.  When Ross finally stops in front of a table filled with five men, all caked in filth and disheveled in appearance, a tremor passes through me that cause my stomach to roll.  The men spring to their feet.  I flinch instinctively and take note of their appearances.  I notice one of them looks as if he isn’t much older than Oliver.  The rest are older and rougher looking. 

“Guys, this is Will, Oliver, Riley, June, and Avery,” Tal introduces us. 

A series of pleasantries volley around the table and Tal begins naming the men before us.  But I’m unable to concentrate on names.  A penetrating pair of bloodshot, heavily creased eyes is on me.  The gaze belongs to the oldest, mangiest looking man among those at the table.

“Well, well, well, wh
at do we have here,” the old man smacks his lips together and says.  His eyes rake up and down my body in a way that makes my temper flare wildly.  Heat rips from my insides and rockets to my extremities.  I feel as if I am on fire.  I am trembling.  My hand automatically flies to my shoulder, expecting to touch the hilt of my sword.  Finding that my sheath is empty, my sword absent, fuels the fire further with panic. 

“All right, dad, enough,” Tal says as if he is speaking to a naughty child. 
His tone is mildly annoyed, as is his expression, when he looks at whom he addressed as ‘dad’, the same man who leered at me as if I were a side of roasted boart meat and he was a starved man.  Tal’s eyes move from his father to me, and he says, “Avery, please excuse my father.  He hasn’t seen a pretty girl in a long time.  He seems to have forgotten how to behave,” he finishes with a look of warning to the old man.

I do not respond verbally.  I simply nod with a harsh look on my face, one that indicates that I do not excuse his father’s behavior. 

Ross and Tal banter amicably with the men at the table for a short time.  While they do, I look at June and Riley.  They seem completely at ease in their new environment, a fact that worries me beyond measure.  My eyes settle on Oliver next.  He is looking every which way as he examines the interior of the dining hall.  He does not share my concern, and he does not seem bothered by the old man’s comment or demeanor.  But when my gaze travels to Will, I see that worry shrouds his features.  His eyes lock on mine and his gaze becomes intense, as if he is trying to convey a silent message to me. 

I do not know what he is trying to communicate.  I wish I did.  I concentrate on his face. 
But his attention snaps in another direction when more people step into the room.  Three women, who are stooped, old and worn out looking, shuffle in.  Their clothes are tattered and stained and in far worse condition than the men’s.  They enter hesitantly, taking jerky, unsure strides.  I watch them and find it odd that none among them makes eye contact or so much as acknowledges anyone in the room as they shuffle along. 

Though they
keep their heads down for much of the time while they heft trays laden with food, occasional glances steal our way, and I swear that shock registers on the women’s faces but they are afraid to say as much.  Children trail after them.  I count six in all.  The children look as if they range in age from two to six.  Another old woman lumbers inside.  She is carrying an infant in each arm.  I wonder who the children belong to.  The appearances of the women suggest they are of advanced age and far past their childbearing years.  The entire situation seems off. 

It becomes even stranger when Ross calls out to the women. 

“Ladies!” his voice booms authoritatively.  All of the women freeze, and the children following nearly slam into their backsides as they clumsily try to make a sudden stop.  The women’s apprehension is obvious.  It radiates from them like heat rising from the earth on a hot day.  Their eyes remain glued to the ground while Ross continues.  “Ladies, I’d like you to meet our new guests.”

His words are harmless enough
, but something in his tone shrieks through me like metal scraping metal.  They carry an unspoken warning, a threat of violence that quivers in the air.