“Doom,” Clarity yelled.
He jumped up, wary of the low ceiling and was grateful when she stumbled from the crevice into his arms. She was sweaty, and her glance at him was filled with concern.
“The wild child, Nick. He showed up. He’s got a hard on for you. He wants you dead in the worst way. I’m worried what will happen if he gets his hands on a bomb. Maybe we shouldn’t work with these kids. Maybe we should wait until the hybrids are destroyed, and then try reasoning with him. He leads them, he’s saved their lives; they won’t listen to us.”
Doom pulled her from the cave. He was wondering the same thing. But he wasn’t concerned for his wellbeing. If the young man was that angry he might not be rational with strong weapons and could accidently kill himself or others.
“We can discuss this when I have you safely home.”
“Wait,” came a call.
They turned to look at the young girl as she approached. Kiki was hesitant, spooked and glanced around. She stayed within the cave opening.
“Nick didn’t really talk when I first met him,” Kiki said and continued to fidget as though she were betraying a trust. “He motioned with his hands and whistled like the dinosaurs and made other weird sounds. He took care of me and my brother. We were so scared. That sinkhole we fell through took our lives away. It took our family and friends. I had no clue how to survive out here. He brought us to the cave, gave us food, and made us new clothes. After a while, he remembered how to speak with a few words. We’d be dead without him.”
“I don’t expect you to betray him,” Clarity said. “We’ll think of something after the hybrids are gone. Killing them is our main goal.”
“But some of us want to learn,” she blurted. Her face went red; it was she who wanted to learn. “If those hybrids get their way, they’ll kill everything human, or remotely human.” She gazed at Doom. “I don’t know why you sacrifice humans, but in a way they aren’t, at least not humans from Earth. I don’t know if Nick is or not, I know I said he was but he was too young when he landed here, before the mass inoculation was going on. I asked him about wars and stuff when the other children who came didn’t have the means to survive. We’ve lost a few. I made the bow and arrow, and the slingshots. He uses instinct. Nick says he thinks he remembers the things I talk about. But he hits his head when he’s frustrated. It’s scary. So I stopped asking. Me and Nina have gotten close enough to your village to see people you lead away. None of them have the mark, except Clarity.”
Kiki’s entire demeanor changed. “Clarity is an Earth human. Whether Nick likes it or not, she’s one of us, and we won’t sit by while she’s slaughtered. In time I know Nick will come around to thinking the same.”
Doom knew it was a threat and he’d seen her aim, the threat wasn’t idle. She’d pick him off in a heartbeat when the time came.
“Why haven’t you or Nick tried to kill me before?”
“Nick’s aim is bad. His arms were broken, once when he was attacked by a hybrid trying to defend his brother, and then the year I met him. He’s crooked. I know he feels pain. He asked me to kill you last time, but I couldn’t. There’s so much death.”
From her guilty look, Doom knew she had come close. He moved forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. She stood straighter gazing up at him. He could see her strength her character. She was like Clarity.
“We are going to kill these hybrids.” He leveled his gaze onto her eyes. She was a pretty little thing. At that moment she was vulnerable. “Once we do, there will be no sacrifices. You will be welcome into the village. You are welcome now, but I know you won’t leave until the threat has passed.”
“What about Nick?”
“I can’t change the past; I can only try to defend the future. You’re right about Clarity, she must not die, and I will give my life to save her.”
Kiki gaped at him and then glanced at Clarity. “I can get into the hybrids’ home. I’ve done it before. I know where they hibernate. I know a lot about them.”
“Do you know what they want humans for?” Clarity asked.
They moved to the mouth of the cave as she spoke. The sunlight was bright and the warmth welcome as they stood. Kiki shuffled her feet for a moment.
“I saw the babies in a nest once.” She went pale. “They were eating, at least two of them were. The third hybrid baby was dead. They don’t eat their own but I don’t know what killed the other.”
“What were they eating?” Doom asked.
“A brain, maybe human. My dad was a doctor, so I’d seen pictures of all kinds of anatomy. I thought I’d barf and felt woozy so I ran. I haven’t been near a nest since.”
A loud sharp whistle sounded and Kiki spun, she gasped and raced off. High on the mountain they saw a young man, fists balled. Doom knew once the threat passed there would be a time of reckoning. He wouldn’t kill a child, but he wouldn’t let the boy take him from Clarity, or worse, her from him. The idea shot fear into his heart. Doom pulled Clarity behind him. Nick vanished.
****
Mornings were spent making bombs and weapons. The first sword Doom ever held swayed back and forth in his hands, and people gathered with interest. He took a few practice swings after Clarity explained. The sword was made for a man his size. The mold was cast for his needs and his men’s size. Clarity felt a smaller sword might be sent flying if swung too hard. A life-size dummy hybrid was set up with a double thick hide. Doom plunged the steel into the hide and gasps followed when he penetrated easier than anyone had ever seen.
Clarity couldn’t help the smile that split her face. Everyone saw the implication.
Welcome to
the new world order.
After the first demonstration, there were more. The bombs were detonated in controlled areas. They left hide-covered dummies in the protected caves, shut the doors, and waited until the smoke settled. The dummies were in pieces. Clarity assured them the hybrids would suffer the same fate.
A catapult was made after they gathered the multitude of glowing rocks on the sand with sandstone. Strict watch was sent out to make certain no hybrid was watching. Their first attempt was at a woolly rhino. The beast stumbled and lay unmoving after being hit with eight of the glowing stones. It died when Doom and Edge slit its throat. As the villagers stood around watching the animal’s lifeblood drain into the ground, they were humbled. After the weapon hit a hybrid, it would need to be dispatched in the same way. The hybrids would see death approach, but their motionless bodies would be unable to tremble in fear. Some were glad.
Each night Doom and Clarity fell into bed exhausted. Both were bruised from battle games. Their fighting done in secret, underground, away from prying eyes. The outside traps were used only on animals and watched closely. As soon as the trap worked, it was dismantled. There were times when Clarity saw Kiki or Nina. There was longing on their faces. Their gazes indicated a desire to belong. She was tempted to hand them firecrackers but knew she had to wait.
Doom adamantly refused the wild children’s help. As the days progressed, more outsiders were found. There were no other Earth humans but Clarity determined the planet the people hailed from was exactly like hers in only some ways. These were a gentler people. They had never known war or disease, there was no need to inoculate. A society of bubble-wrapped humans where life for all was pleasant and caring. The idea gave Clarity a better understanding as to why they never questioned Doom’s actions. The humans were lambs. They knew nothing of terrorists; none had ever experienced the threat. These humans didn’t know what mass destruction was but again never experienced it. The mere idea there were no threats of possible scenarios made their culture complacent. It was as though the sinkholes selected the meek. And the weak, there were a few with deformities, not illness. Failings in their body system made them slower physically.
A frightening thought occurred to Clarity that these people were selected for extinction. Maybe they didn’t fit in with a bubble-wrapped society. Heath seemed to have no failings except he was the last man to touch a sword. He seemed guilty when holding it. Doom’s people didn’t have much to work with in the way of an army, but Clarity vowed to turn them into soldiers.
The only tricky area was involving other villagers’ clans. The hybrids wouldn’t allow large meetings between others. Only a few at a time for trading. Doom and Menace were always the ones to go, and they traded weapons for simple furs and other items not really needed. To return empty-handed would be suspicious. The guise of furs laden with swords and bombs was met with some resistance by others, but all were interested.
It would take some doing, but by spring the villagers needed to be armed to the teeth. Clarity convinced Doom the best way would be during hibernation. Clarity and other humans could make the trip to nearer villagers and leave weapons and bombs. Once awake, the trading would begin in full force. There would be no suspicion, the hybrids would assume the villagers traded for humans—and they would. Clarity planned on having every human in Doom’s care trained. Then distributed to show how the weapons worked. Farther villagers could be reached and so on. By sacrifice time, they would be ready to launch their assault.
****
Clarity hunkered down beside the inky black substance. Doom was decidedly skeptical. His scowl furrowed his brows.
“This is oil,” Clarity said.
“Black mess.”
“If we can build the containers to hold it, we can boil it and dump it onto the hybrids. It’s nasty bad when hot and sticky.”
“There are ponds of this,” Doom said. “But it smells different.”
Clarity rose and stood before him. “I think you mean tar. And yeah, tar is a mess but heavier. I do have an idea for new tar pits. The hybrids I bet have scoured every inch of these forests, but they won’t suspect new holes dug filled with tar and covered over. Especially if at the bottom of the pits are sharp spears with metal tips.”
“You’re a real badass.”
Clarity smiled. “That’s the general idea of war.” She frowned then. “You say you’ve come across their offspring. When we saw the little ones, I wasn’t expecting the way they interacted with DaV-nin. You say they kill the females, but we saw one.”
“No doubt she was his and spared.”
“Still, we have to wonder what we are going to do with the little ones. They look like dinosaurs and humanoid. Neanderthals were different, they looked different, but I wouldn’t want to kill a child of theirs. Or someone helpless.”
“All hybrids I’ve seen are grown males except the three young ones, the young ones I came across who were wild like animals, and the young ones with DaV-nin. Plus the dead females. I don’t know how to tell the good from bad if there are any.”
“You said you have a big sleep. You hibernate for six weeks?”
“Yes. We store massive amounts of food. During the deepest part of winter we all go into a single room and sleep together. The hybrids might do the same. We need to find Kiki and see what else she knows. Maybe we could trade her something small in return. In our history, there is no mention of any hybrid attacking during the sleeping time. And we are the most vulnerable then.”
“Have you ever tried not to sleep?”
“Yes. There were a few, but the experience ages them. In six weeks, if we do not sleep, we will age decades. Normally our hearts give out. The few who stayed awake were exhausted, fighting their bodies’ needs. They died shortly after. To age so fast in so little time isn’t good for anyone. Why, what are you thinking?”
“Humans don’t hibernate.”
“I know. It’s why they watch the children. We were lucky to find out before human children came that they don’t hibernate. If locked in a room with us, they would be dead by the time we awoke. I don’t want to imagine a young one pulling on my arms for food or comfort and not understanding why I ignore their needs. It would be a cruel way to die. I’m grateful you came, Clarity. I’m grateful to you for so many things.”
With Doom, she never needed to question his motives when he spoke from the heart. He only ever spoke from the heart. An endearing quality. She lifted her hand to cup his face.
“I’m happy to be here with you. Win or lose.”
A smile split his face. “Even if we lose, I win. One year of life with you is better than a hundred years without you.”
“You realize when you say things like that my insides look like that puddle of oil, right?”
He wrapped her in his arms. Her chin rested on his chest as she gazed up at him. “That oil is dark, I can see dark. You are light. I feel light; it warms my heart and heats my insides. If you mean I make you feel like a puddle of goo, I’ll take that as a compliment. I only hope you experience even half of what I do when we touch. My insides melt into vibrant life. There is peace in your arms. I knew I was broken when we met, but I never thought it possible you would fix me. How stupid am I when I didn’t think there was a word to replace another in my heart. Love, Clarity. The word ‘love’ can fix the word ‘broken’.”
She couldn’t help but smile when he lowered to taste her lips; she kissed him hard. The jungle forest was no place for a tryst. They parted, but her insides were warm with want. After a few deep breaths, she became all business.
“We can mold bigger baskets with the strong leather, heat it up, and use smaller baskets, too, for single drops. Near the village, we need to make sure the area is protected. You have children in your village; their safety is paramount. And I noticed something about Flight. He has a mark for an inoculation. When was he found?”
“I found him the same day as you.”
“I wonder if he came through a sinkhole on my planet near my home. I’ve heard him talk of guns.”
“There were children in the beginning when the sinkholes opened who behaved as the boy. They spoke of guns and knives.”
“All sacrificed?”
Doom nodded; his expression sad. “Not as children, and only after we had no choice. After a time, the children who came through the sinkholes were meeker, gentler.”
“I can’t help but think there’s another force screwing with us, our worlds.” The idea grew and nagged.