The Change: Episode one (21 page)

Our company was the
Trackers, and
I stared in utter
fascination. I’d heard of odd females, but this! Covered in scales
that had to be from real snakes, they were vibrant shapes that
flashed and glinted as they moved, a foreign mystery I studied
without a thought of my rudeness… my lure to all these females,
Snake Worshipers or not.

The three females were
extremely tall and lanky, with cruel eyes that lit up in hunger at
the sight of me. They wore animal fur for clothes, their weapons
and gear strapped to their tattooed skin like shirts, and I stayed
back as they entered the camp.
Like the
Snake women, their horses were also covered in the scales, even
their manes and tails, and I realized they would blend perfectly
into the natural surroundings. How clever! I continued to stare as
Candice stepped forward to greet them.

“
Congratulations are in
order…sss.”

“
Yes…sss. How does he
taste?”

There was a round of nasty laughter from the
serpent-tongued scouts, and I felt Angelica tense behind me. She
didn’t like the females.

“
Where’s Baker?”

The tone was hard, enough to snap my head to
Candice, and the Tracker females bowed to it as well, turning to
her.

“
In Jericho.”

“
And the
others?”

“
Nashville a week ago, but
there have been storms. No traveling out of there when it floods.
They’ll be trapped until the waters go down…sss.”

“
You’re headed there
now?”

‘
Yes, with a quick sss…stop
in Cumberland for supplies.”

“
Good. Call when you make
contact. If we have Baker by then, we’ll meet up, and you can ride
in for the exchange.”

The three females immediately shook their
heads, and the one I was sure lead them, spoke with fast words.

“
We’ll take our cut from
you, like always...sss. It’s a bad time to deal with the
Network.”

“
And why is
that?”

“
They have a new group
coming in for training, and a lot of the old people have been
executed. These new rulers are filling the top ranks…sss with their
own choices.”

“
Yes…sss… one of them is
particularly loathsome. Rankin offers high bounties to hunters, and
then sends in the Network Hounds to steal the prey from
them.”

I froze at the name. I loathed Rankin more
than any of those who had rented me, and that very old dream of
killing her was still vivid.

The other Tracker’s words made Candice
snort. “No need to pay for what you can take.”

The snake females waiting for the meeting to
finish were feeding their mounts handfuls of something from pouches
on their saddles and I could see the animals were well cared for.
Horses were rare, no matter what land you were in.

“
Exactly. Be careful that
you don’t meet the same trouble.” their leader warned. The huge
snake tattoo on her thigh revolved as her muscles flexed to lift
her into the saddle. “We’ll still expect to be paid.”

“
My coffers are not so low
that I can’t cover my debts,” Candice stated evenly.

The Tracker female nodded. “Just so, it is
good business to have it clear up front.”

The woman swung the big black horse like it
was born to obey her and I flinched back when she stopped next to
me instead of leaving.

Aware of Candice moving closer, I looked up
at the Tracker’s weary face, and for a moment, was able to see the
tired woman underneath. Courtesy had me opening my mouth even when
I knew it wasn’t a good idea. “Would you like a drink?”

My offer, or maybe my voice, had her staring
intently. I felt Angelica step up to flank me, but the Tracker only
shook her scaled head.

“
No, but you have my thanks
for the asking…sss…” She looked at me for a moment longer, eyes
going over the brand on my arm being revealed every time the
gusting wind blew my cloak back.

“
Perhap…sss I’ll return the
favor.”

She kneed the horse and left our camp, all
of them kicking up dust that coated me in a layer of grit. What was
it with women and ruining my clothes?

The Pruetts all turned to look at me, and I
felt my cheeks go red. “I’m sorr…”

“
You did nothing wrong. In
fact…”

Angelica finished Candy’s thought. “You
might have gained an admirer. Trackers are shunned, even by their
own kind. To be offered a drink is to show an acceptance of their
mutations. Most people won’t.”

I looked to Candice to figure out if I had
angered her and saw she was pleased.

“
She’ll understand you
didn’t know. If you don’t repeat the offer, she’ll also see you’ve
changed your mind and withdrawn the acceptance.”

“
I won’t do that. It’s not
their fault their tongues are that way.”

Candice shrugged. “But they are responsible
for their actions. Be careful, Daniel. There is much you don’t
know.”

It was true, and I settled, with a slight
frown, into the place she liked me. So much to learn. Where did I
begin? Who did I ask? Not ready for the hard thoughts waiting, I
tried to find a position on the Mopar that didn’t hurt, as I
listened to Candice and her family talk about going into the city
of Jericho. Back before the War of 2012, it had held a different
name – St. Louis.

Now, it was the lion’s den, and
heavily-controlled by Network bunkers and machine gun nests. Why
would a convict go there? Candice and Angelica were talking like
they knew this Baker person would be there. I tried to remember
what they had said at dinner that first night. They’d hunted Baker
before and knew where to look, then. Would he surrender, or would
they have to fight?

I was assuming Baker had escaped from his
owner, but if the Pruetts had brought him in before, that meant he
had gotten away from the Network. They didn’t like that rare
occurrence, and never stopped hunting a male fugitive. I had seen
runaway men brought back five years later, beaten, and placed right
into the very Game they had fled from. The Network forgave
nothing.

Chapter Fourteen

The Tennessee Crossing

D

I knew when we passed out of Kentucky by the
increase in homes… people.

It looked so much like the photos that I
couldn’t stop staring, as we rolled by row after row of newly
constructed log cabins. In New Network City, trees and lumber were
rare, and everything was made of durable foam or plastic, then
covered with concrete and rubber for extra protection from the
storms. Out here, natural materials were used for building, and it
was remarkably serene despite the long lines of homes.

I studied the people around these simple,
A-frame cabins, and again, wasn’t expecting what I couldn’t deny.
They were in as much need as those in the city were, but their
eyes! Everyone I met had that tell-tale pink tinge upon noticing
me, and I instinctively tightened my grip on my owner’s waist,
sensing the danger. These women were desperate.

We stopped for a river crossing a few
minutes later, and the feeling of menace grew as we pulled into
line. There were dozens of women here, all staring at me with a
glare of madness. Candice and Angelica apparently felt it too,
because they stood on the bikes and drew their guns. At that point,
I began to understand the trouble it would be to have me along for
the run. I would attract attention and maybe even fights.

At their quick display, the others went back
to what they’d been doing, but their stares only grew harder the
longer they were forced to be around me. I tried to shrink into the
seat and disappear.

The river was out of my sight, we were that
far back in the line, but I could hear a motor of some sort and
wondered briefly how we would cross. In the past, they’d had clever
boats to shuttle travelers. Those days, along with the old bridges,
were gone now. As far as I knew, swimming or a sinker-line were the
most commonly used now, but I hadn’t ever crossed even a pool of
water and I wasn’t looking forward to getting wet.

I froze as a lanky form in grime-covered
clothes slid toward us. “How much for an hour?”

I cringed, grabbing for my new weapon, and
Candice’s hard hand on my shoulder stopped me.

“
No.”

Her steel tone had the filthy woman moving
back with ugly mutters, and I waited anxiously for the battle to
start. I had no idea what to do.

C

Those closest were Changelings like we were,
but these were also Roamers. The ones who would steal you blind and
then slit your throat while you slept if you were dumb enough to do
so within 50 miles of them.

I took the safety off my gun openly and
heard Angelica do the same.

The Roamers worked together, attacking all
at once and grabbing the male or coveted item during the chaos. One
would take off and hide it while the others slowed the owner or
killed her. We had the only males in sight, and their dirty gazes
never left us. The sense of blood about to spill was impossible to
miss.

D

“
Move on!”

The call of the Network guard had us rolling
a few spaces closer, and I was distracted from the tension by the
sight of the river. Crystal clear, it looked nothing like the dingy
bodies of water we had studied in the faded magazine pages when the
Den Mothers were busy. This was beautiful, uncorrupted, and I
smiled at the sight of it. “It looks so clean!”

At the sound of my excited voice, time
slowed for an instant, highlighting my lethal error….

C

I thought he knew not to speak!

Angelica’s thought mirrored mine, and then
we were turning to defend our males against three dozen furious
Changelings.

I jerked Daniel from the Rover and shoved
him behind me as Angel and my Mother moved to the flank. My Father
already knew to get in the middle and he yanked Daniel down as we
opened fire.

Unlike us, these women weren’t armed and
they lunged at us in vain. Blood splattered before they could get
within reach, steady fire coming from our three-sided formation.
Four on the right side, three on the left, none of the red-eyed
females reached us.

Two more hairy Changelings shoved my Mopar
out of the way and dove at my ankles, clearly only seeing Daniel. I
pulled the trigger with little remorse.

The gunfire only lasted for a minute. A
dozen of the Roamers lay on the ground and the rest were fleeing.
Even during the rages, self-preservation was there. I looked down
to see that Daniel and my Father were okay, and then swung my head
back to the battle scene.

The Network guards were rushing our way, and
the remaining Changelings vanished from sight. At my nod, Angelica
and my Mother holstered, but didn’t move out of our defensive
formation.

“
Hands up!”

I slowly put my gun away and lifted my
hands. “My ID is in the top pocket.” I gave my Games grin, hoping
to be recognized. “Along with a payment for the mess I’ve made in
defense of my mate.”

Their eyes went over Daniel and my Father
cowering between three well-armed females and the guard in the
middle stepped forward.

She wore the same uniform and gear of a
Network Defender, but I sensed a sleaziness about her that kept me
from attempting to sway her to our side. Building friends and
contacts was a natural part of our career, but we chose not to
align ourselves with snakes… unless we had to.

The guard looked like it had been a long
day, and I forced the rage back to give a half apologetic look. “I
can have my males roll them into the water for you…”

“
Shut up!” The woman
ordered harshly, staring at Daniel with clear
intentions.

I snapped back without hesitation. “I
enjoyed the Games. Be very quick.”

That garnered an instant response from the
guards behind her.

“
Pruett.”

“
She’s a
Pruett.”

“
All Pruetts.” I stated
pointedly and the Network Defender became very
businesslike.

The pink also faded from her eyes, and I
allowed myself to breathe. There were only a dozen guards here, but
in a riot, I would be sure to lose either my mate or my father, and
I couldn’t tolerate either. Guards were much better fighters than
Changelings - usually because they’d won a Games challenge that
earned them the current job.

As I was patted down and then officially
identified, my mind began to fill with more of those disturbing
thoughts about the Network… and stopping them. Because of their
rules, I had just killed to keep my mate. It shouldn’t have to be
this way. I had no animosity towards these suffering females just
looking for a relief from the torment.