The Starborn Saga (Books 1, 2, & 3) (3 page)

“No,” I tell him. 

He walks over to me, not taking his eyes off the town as more greyskins start to make their way toward us. He puts a strong hand under my arm and helps me to my feet. 

“Let’s go,” he says. 

“Where are we going?”

He helps me into the seat and closes the door. hots the dThe window is rolled down and he looks back at the town then turns to
me. 

“Away from here.”

CHAPTER TWO

We drive about a mile before the man pulls over. I can’t tell what his intentions are. He just saved my life, but for all I know he could be planning to leave me here in the middle of nowhere. Or worse. 

I watch him get out of the cab and move around the front of the truck before finally coming to my door and opening it. I stare at his eyes intently. Still, he says nothing, but looks at my leg and motions for me to sit forward. He leans the seat toward me and reaches for something. 

When he pushes the seat back, he’s holding a clear, plastic storage container. A medical kit. He opens it up and sets it on the floor of the truck as I scoot my legs over to dangle out the doorway so he can reach my wound better. 

“Pretty deep cut,” he says as he uses my knife to cut open my jeans. I try not to wince as he cleans the wound and finally rubs healing ointment on it. 

“You saved my life,” I say. “Thank you for that.”

He shrugs. “Saw somebody in need. I feel like it’s my duty to help. I would hope you’d do the same for me.”

Now that I get a good look at his face, I see that he can’t be much older than me. I can’t help but wonder why he would be out by himself near a deserted town. 

“You could probably use some stitches,” he says as he starts to wrap the gauze around my leg. “You sure you weren’t scratched or bitten? You’re awfully pretty. I’d hate to have to shoot you.”

“They never touched me. Came close, though.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah,” I agree. “What are you doing out here?” I ask. 

He shakes his head and keeps wrapping. “Looking for someone.”

“Well, you found me.” My cheeks burn, knowing it was a dumb thing to say, but he grins and ties off the end of the fresh bandage. 

“It’s somebody from my colony. He’s been missing for four days now.”

“What colony?”

“Salem,” he dabs at the scrapes on my face.

“I’ve heard good things about Salem.”

“It’s got its problems.” He places the medical supplies back into the container and motions for me to put my feet back into the cab. He closes the door, moving back toward the driver’s side. He gets in and starts the truck. “What about you?”

“I’m from a village called Springhill.”

“I know of Springhill. I’m Connor,” he says as he extends a hand for me to shake. 

I accept it and notice an electronic, black wristband on his arm. “Mora.”

“Mora,” he repeats and nods.  “You’re a long way from home. I don’t think I’ll be able to take you out that far. I can give you a ride and a couch tonight, then maybe we can get you back to Springhill in the morning.”

“I’m not looking to go back.”

He looks at me with an eyebrow cocked. “Runaway?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s just that Springhill has faced a lot of attacks that could be avoided if Screven were to help us. I was hoping to meet with the leader, Jeremiah, but I ran out of fuel a few miles back.he g”

Connor nods his head and starts to drive away. He gives another long look at me. I can’t really tell what he’s thinking, but I know he wants to say something.

“My village has come under attack too many times,” I say. “We can’t really fight off the herds anymore.”

“Jeremiah demands a lot for his protection.”

“I know it comes at a cost, but it’s worth it, isn’t it? All it would take is a couple more herds and we’re done for.”

“I see.” Connor grips the wheel with both hands, keeping his eyes on the road. “There are a few colonists who wish we could get out from under Screven’s rules.”

“Really?” I ask.

“I don’t feel that way necessarily, but I see where the argument comes from. Jeremiah takes so many of our resources to feed the fat and lazy people of Screven.”

“But you’re protected.”

“At the cost of giving up most of our crops, and you have to wear one of these things,” he says lifting up his arm to show a black wristband. It’s square in shape and rests just above the curve of the bone. The small screen on top, about half the size of my palm, tells me that it must be more than a simple tracking device. “It’s how we buy things,” he says. “It’s how we check in and out; we can’t do anything without it. It contains all of our personal information. Being under Screven’s protection can make you feel like you’re not your own person.”

“I don’t know much about that, but I do know that they offer complete protection from the herds, and that’s all I want.”

“Well, they do that for sure. What we need is free protection.”

“Of course that would be nice, but no one is offering it.”

“No, but it could work if the colonies and villages would all come together and help one another,” he says. “Until then, Screven is the best protection that we have.”

“My village can’t wait for that,” I say. I can’t really tell how Connor feels about the protection of Screven. But no one will convince me that this isn’t the best thing for our village. Especially a colonist who has never had to face attack after attack, herd after herd.

“Most in the colonies think that Screven has taken too much power for themselves. They say that even if the colonies had the power to take care of themselves that Screven wouldn’t ever leave.” 

I don’t know why, but his words annoy me, so I eventually turn my head and rest it against the seat. We drive in silence for what feels like hours. The day is fading on the horizon and I can’t help but stay awake, though I pretend to be asleep. I can’t listen to people who try to convince me to stay away from Screven. I have a little brother to think about. I have a grandmother that has no business trying to fight off herds. Springhill Village is so vulnerable. Screven is the only chance they have. At least, I thought that until I was on the rooftop; until I discovered that I could move things with my mind. If this is something I’ll be able to continue, Springhill might not need Screven’s protection. 

They have me. 

What if there are more people like me? I was able to lift tons of metal with my mind. I only wish I knew why. I’ve heard of adrenaline rushes that have allowed people to do amazing things, but this is different. I didn’t touch anything, yet objects moved at my silent command. 

I’d love to test it out again, but there’s no way that I’m going to show my new ability to this guy. I don’t know how he would react. I didn’t make it this far to be trapped by him or the people of his colony. I need a place to stay for the night and to be pointed in the right direction toward Screveonioward Sn. Then I will accomplish what I set out to do – to get Springhill the protection it has needed for a long time. 

It wasn’t an easy decision for the village leaders to let me go. All of them knew it would be dangerous. Screven is so far away from Springhill, which is mostly full of older people. There are some my age, but most of them are taking care of sick loved ones or staying behind to help fight.

Right now, Springhill is in a terrible location. For some reason, greyskins frequently travel the path that passes our village. We try to have lookouts posted, but by the time they see the greyskins, the once-human flesh-eaters have already sensed us, and they come for the feeding. 

We’re low on food. We’re low on ammunition. Our crops are dying. There are about a thousand of us, but the numbers are dwindling. We used to be a lot bigger. We might have had about ten thousand or more people at one time. But the more people there are, the more greyskins a place can attract. 

Almost six years ago, there was a series of attacks. Hundreds of greyskins assaulted Springhill. I’ll never forget that terrible morning. My parents were killed. At the end of the fight, those that had been bitten were all led to a long burial ditch. All of them went willingly. 

I hope Connor doesn’t notice me wipe away a tear from my cheek. I can’t think about that day without crying. The worst part was watching my little brother Jake. He was five at the time and didn’t understand why his parents were walking away from him so they could be shot and buried. 

He understands now. But it doesn’t make it any less difficult. 

I must have drifted off. My head jerks up when the truck’s engine turns off and Connor opens his door.

It’s pitch black outside. I hate being outside when it’s dark. By the time you notice a greyskin at night it can be too late. They might already be on top of you. 

“Are we there?”

“Almost, but not yet,” Connor says. “Come out here.”

I really don’t want to open my door, but this is his turf. He probably knows there aren’t any greyskins around. This is what I tell myself anyway. It’s what I need to believe. 

I step out of the cab and wince at the new pain throbbing through my leg. Blood has soaked through the bandage that Connor gave me, but I can tell the wound has finally clotted. 

I meet Connor at the back of the truck. In the bed there are a few tarps and gardening tools. 

“You need to get under the tarp and stay quiet.”

“What?”

“You’re going into a colony, Mora. Colonies have very strict rules about newcomers.”

“Can’t you just tell them that I’m here for the night and I’ll be gone tomorrow?”

“It doesn’t work like that. They’ll want to process you, make sure you aren’t bit. After they question you most of the night, they’ll give you the boot. Now I’m not against the Screven guards, but they aren’t the nicest people to mess around with.”

Whether he means to or not, Connor keeps giving me reasons not to trust Jeremiah and the Screven guards. It doesn’t exactly help lessen my anxiety in all of this.

“Colonies under Screven’s protection are only allotted a certain number of citizens,” Connor says. “Salem is maxed out at twenty thousand right now. Bringing in more is against the rules.”

“What about your friend who is missing?” I ask. “If he is gone for now, I won’t be exceeding the citizen limit.” 

“More rules. After someone has been missing for seven days, that’s Itys, tha when he or she are declared dead by Screven guards. That’s when the number drops down. If we have a person die, then you’d be welcome to stay. But you’ll still have to go through the very annoying screening process. I’ve broken curfew, so I really hope I don’t have to go through it myself.”

I look at the dirty bed of the truck. As much as I don’t want to hide there, I can’t argue with Connor. He knows what he’s doing. I hope.

He helps me climb into the back and I pull back the tarp. I see nothing strange or unexpected. 

“Won’t they check the back of the truck?” I ask. 

“It’s possible. Not much I can do to stop them if they decide to, but I know the guards pretty well. Hopefully Krindle won’t be there.”

“Who’s Krindle?”

“Head of the Screven guards in our colony. Real jerk.”

He shuts the tailgate and makes sure I’m completely concealed under the tarp. The low rumbling of the truck is all I can hear for the next five minutes. We must be going over rough terrain because my head hits against the cold metal several times before Connor slows the truck down. 

One thing I hate about being under the tarp like this is not being able to see. Are guards flagging him down? Are they letting him pass through? What does the Salem colony look like from the outside?

Finally, the truck comes to a complete stop and Connor kills the engine. The door squeaks open as the rusted metal grinds together.

“Evening gentlemen.”

“Krindle’s not happy with you, Connor,” a guard with a gruff, deep voice says. 

“Yeah, but he’s not here, so I couldn’t care less,” Connor comes back.

“He’s watching us from his office in the wall-tower,” a much younger guard says.

Connor lets out a sigh. At least I’m guessing it’s Connor. 

“You’re three hours past curfew.”

“And you turned off your wristband.”

“Well, maybe I like traveling knowing Krindle can’t track me,” Connor says.

“You’re not supposed to know how to turn it off anyway,” the gruff one says. “Can’t say I’m surprised you figured out how to do it.” 

“What are you going to do, shoot me? Come on, let me through, fellas.”

“Krindle said we should look you over.”

“A full inspection?” Connor asks. 

“He didn’t specify, so we’ll just give you a look-over.”

“Yeah, you guys hate giving the full inspections as much as we hate getting them, am I right?”

Nothing is said in reply, but I assume they nod. I can see the flickering of their flashlights, maybe looking Connor over for any signs of a bite. 

“Pupils look good,” the young one says. “You sure are sweating a lot.”

“It feels like hell out here, Frank, what do you expect?” Connor snaps. “The AC went out in this thing before I was born.”

“Did you see any greyskins while you were out?”

“Not a single one,” Connor lies.

“Lucky you. Alright, let’s take a look in the back of the truck.”

This is it. They’re going to find me and toss me out with nowhere to go. As much as I don’t really care for the idea of spending the night on Connor’s couch, my desire to stay away from the Screven guards is much stronger. It’s ironic, I guess. Only moments before, I had wanted nothing more than to be in contact with people from Screven. Now all I want is to stay hidden from them. 

I fight the desire to hold the tarp close“e tarp r to me, an instinct that would get me caught faster than anything else. 

“What’s the point?” Connor asks. “I just went looking for Aaron, same as everybody else.”

“Everybody else got here before curfew,” the gruff one says. 

“Fine. Check it. Just know, the longer you’re out here flashing your lights all over the place, the better the chance of a freak greyskin seeing it and heading this way. It’s a good thing that’s on you and not the rest of us.”