Athel (3 page)

Right. Find hole in droid’s head. Gotcha
.

I make my
way over the solar panels tiling the back of the M4 and clamber all the way to
its head. The droid is far from knocked out. Its limbs jerk, a fan deep in its
belly whirs. I straddle over its shoulders and grope for a USB port, hoping the
thing won’t decide to explode right under my ass.

The ground
rumbles with the galloping rhythm of the fast-approaching scavenger droids
still in the gorge.

“Have you
found it yet?” Wes says, his voice cracking.

How the hell do I know which hole’s the right
one
?

USB port on the right side
, Lukas
messages me.
Right below the nanotube
ears
.

I find a
port that seems close enough to his description, grab the cubic flash drive and
shove it inside. A tiny light bulb next to it turns on and flashes. I hold my
breath and turn toward the gorge. The cloud of dust grows bigger, filling the
space between the facing walls of rock.

The droid
stops twitching.

Damn it, Lukas, this thing ain’t
—

“Whoa!” I
yell, as the M4 suddenly jerks up. I slide backwards and hang on to the edge of
one of the solar panels. Lukas and Wes clear out of the way, screaming.

“Lukas!” I
call. “Is this all you could come up with? Revive the droid?”

The M4
staggers back up and wobbles toward the mouth of the gorge. The diodes on its
back are blinking like crazy, and the droid’s movements are erratic, as though
the algorithm running in its head is stuck in a loop.

I dangle
my feet until I find a spot to leverage and climb down its back. As soon as the
droid stalls, I leap back to the ground and run. The pack of scavenger droids
that’s come to the rescue reaches the mouth of the gorge and stops. They all
stare vacantly at the disoriented M4 with Lukas’s flash drive stuck below its
ear.

I jog to
the aspen grove where Lukas and Wes are now hiding and hiss, “Is this your
fantastic plan?”

Lukas
looks up to the droids and shrugs. “The drive contained a Trojan horse. It’s
supposed to cause a system shutdown and cut off all communications with the
other droids. That’s why they’re all staring at one another not knowing what to
do. They came here activated by the M4’s emergency call. But the call’s now
been deleted, and—”

The M4
staggers backwards and comes crashing toward the aspen grove where we’re
hiding. We leap out of the way and run.

“When’s
the shutdown supposed to happen?” I yell.

“I don’t
know,” Lukas replies. “I designed the Trojan for the old M3 model.”

Freaking
Kawa, now he tells me. If I weren’t busy escaping a massive droid, I’d
seriously consider pounding that data feeder on his head.

Crouched behind
a large sycamore, we watch the pack of droids return to the gorge. The M4 sways
from side to side, as if about to collapse. Instead, it raises a hand to the
USB port, plucks the flash drive out, and tosses it to the ground.

“My flash
drive!” Lukas yells.

I grab his
arm and stop him from running back to retrieve it. Which turns out to be a good
idea given that, once the flash drive has been removed, the M4 is as good as
new. It shrugs its shoulder panels and darts back into the gorge as though
nothing has happened. In a few seconds, all that’s left of the droids is a
yellow cloud of dust.

As soon as
the thuds of their distant steps die, Lukas runs off to retrieve his drive.

I snap a
small branch off an aspen tree and toss it in the air. “Damn. We lost one
thousand pounds of graphene, carbon resin, lithium batteries, and fifty
petabytes of RAM. And what does he think of? His flash drive.”

Lukas
blows dirt off the little thing. “It’s not just a drive,” he says. “Now that
I’ve seen the new models, I can perfect the Trojan horse. I can make it work
next time.”

Wes shrugs
and picks up the bits of wire rope the droid has left behind. I wrap the pieces
into a coil and drop them into my backpack. “We’ll never get another chance
like this,” I gripe.

“Yes, we
will,” Lukas replies.

“How?” Wes
asks. “We just leave a carrot by the gorge and wait for the next droid to be
stupid enough to come for the bait?”

“Wes,” I
start, then close my mouth, as a new thought creeps into my head.

Maybe not a carrot
…
 

Chapter Two

Akaela

I haul the last bale of hay into
the stable and then lean against the stack to catch my breath.

“Last
one,” I say, exhaling. “Twenty-five bales of hay stored away thanks to my
awesome brother who conveniently forgot to show up for the work.”

Ash, our
kitten, hops on top of the stack and attacks one of the hay strands poking out
of the bales. I pick him up and rub his belly. “Where do you think that flaky
brother of mine went, Ash? He always finds the best excuses when there’s work
to do.”

Taeh returns
from the paddock and stands in front of the barn door, her black silhouette
framed against the white sky outside. She canters inside, head low and hooves
dragging, and nestles her muzzle between my neck and shoulder, her nose soft
and damp. I stroke her strong cheeks and whisper, “I know, baby. I miss her
too.”

Taeh
hasn’t been the same since her younger sister Maha died in the gorge a few
weeks ago, snatched away by a powerful flood. My friend Wes almost lost his
life, too, in what turned out to be a failed attempt to save our fathers.
Little did we know, the men were gone already, murdered not by our enemies, the
Gaijins, but by one of our own instead. On the brink of extinction, our people
deal with death every day, yet never before have Athel and I faced so much
sudden loss.

Ash hops
down from my arms to chase loose strands of hay across the floor. I gently push
the horse away and reach for the broom. As soon as I start sweeping, Ash leaps
after the broom, his back arched and his tail as straight as an exclamation
point. My stubborn horse, however, has a different idea. She walks by the
riding gear hanging from the wall and stomps her hooves.

“We can’t
go riding until Athel comes back,” I say.

My brother
was supposed to help me shovel manure and store away hay bales, but it’s been
over two hours, and he hasn’t shown up yet. Our trained falcon Kael is nowhere
to be seen either, which means that Athel’s up to something and conveniently
failed to mention it.

Taeh
nudges me, pulling my shirt with her teeth. I pat her and cup her muzzle in my
hands. “You know what? You’re right. Who cares if Athel’s not here yet? Let’s
go for a ride, you and I.”

I haven’t
been riding much since we lost Maha, and getting back into old routines like dressing
and saddling feels surprisingly cathartic. I hum as I brush Taeh’s shiny coat
and then fit her with the underpad.

“You’re
beautiful, girl,” I tell her. “You know what? Why don’t we ride all the way to
the cliffs? I’ve been cooped up in the stable all day. I could really use a
long, steady glide.”

After Yuri
and Cal broke my gliding sail and snatched it off the frame, my mother made me
a new one, lighter and faster. Riding the thermals with my new sail feels a bit
like taking revenge on the two brothers.

Ash sits
in a corner and watches me fit the bridles around Taeh’s muzzle. When I’m done,
I make sure the kitten stays inside the stable and step outside.

Warm air
blows against my face and ruffles my hair. Taeh swats her long tail at the
flies swarming around her rump. I climb on the saddle and we wade through tall,
yellow grass, the monotone cadence of crickets hammering my thoughts.
Where’s Athel? Did he come up with one of
his crazy ideas that are too good to share with his baby sis
?

I check
the wireless network but once again fail to find him within receiving distance.

Humidity
hangs in the air like a cloak. By the riverbank, men and women clean the
fishing nets and haul the catch of the day into buckets. Half a mile farther,
the river widens and rice farmers stoop knee-deep in the murky water to check
the stalks. The summer breeze carries their voices like a distant lullaby.

Taeh and I
gallop along the shore for a few more minutes, then, just as I get ready to
veer and cross the river, something catches my eye. Two figures move past the
edge of the solar fields and vanish into the forest. I pull Taeh’s reins and
bring her to a stop.

I’ve seen
those two before. The glint coming off their faces gives them away.

Metal Jaw and his wimpy brother Cal
.

It’s not
the first time I’ve spotted them sneaking into the forest, gingerly looking
over their shoulders.

Jerks like
those two are always up to no good.

I rein
Taeh around and make her sprint toward the forest.

“Change of
plan, girl.”

The
ancient woods that sprawl beyond the solar fields are no ordinary forest. The
vegetation grows over the ruins of Astraca, the city our patriarchs built. It
was destroyed during the riots of 2065, when the AI bots rebelled against the
humans who’d built them. One hundred and fifty years later, oaks and cedars
clasp their roots around broken walls, while ferns and wild vines crawl over
what once were paved streets. Pinnacles and maimed statues jut out of the
ground, broken arches lead to nowhere, and tunnels are filled with dirt.

Narrow
trails snake around old foundations. I dismount and proceed on foot, carefully
looking for footprints, snapped branches, or crushed leaves.

Taeh
follows at a distance, even though I keep shooing her off for fear she’ll give
me away. It’s hard to be unnoticeable with a horse on your heels. When I
finally hear Yuri’s voice, farther down the trail, I urge Taeh to stay where
she is and not move. I keep low among the fern leaves and proceed slowly,
mindful not to step on twigs or dry leaves.

“Why can’t
I go?” Cal says.

“Because
you’re still a baby,” his brother Yuri—Metal Jaw—snaps.

“Quit
whining, you two.”

The third
voice catches me by surprise. I shift between trees to get a better view and
realize there’s a third person with them. I recognize him from the many times
I’ve seen him standing next to Tahari during public announcements. The tall man
flicking his fingers at the two boys is Hennessy—Yuri and Cal’s father,
and one of our Kiva Council Members.

A bout of
jealousy gnaws at me as I duck under the fern leaves. Cal and Yuri still have
their father. Athel and I don’t. Why wasn’t Hennessy sent as an Ambassador? Why
did it have to be our dad, Wes’s and Lukas’s instead?

I snatch a
handful of moss from around a tree root and crush it in my fist.

My brother
keeps telling me that I have to come out and tell the truth about what those
two did to me the night Uli tried to kill me.

No, I won’t report them, Athel
.
Because if I do, all they’ll get is a few
days of Wela. Their nanobots will be temporarily deactivated, they’ll fall into
a vegetative state for a few days, and then snap right back when it’s all over.

Yuri and Cal ambushed me while I was gliding
and then viciously attacked me. They deserve a lot more than that
.

Cal drops
his chin and crosses his arms. “Why am I the one always staying behind? Why
can’t I go with you guys? Nobody comes into the forest this time of the day,
anyway.”

Hennessy
leans closer and squeezes Cal’s chin between his thumb and index finger. “You
saw what happened last time,” he hisses. “Your brother almost killed a man.”

What I
just heard makes me gape in disbelief. I lean closer and perk my ears.

“That was
an honest mistake,” Yuri protests. “The dork walked into my shooting path.”

Hennessy stretches
his lips into a thin smile. “That
dork
was looking for something, Yuri. You haven’t figured that one out yet, have
you?”

Yuri’s
metallic jaw hangs open.

“What was
he looking for, Dad?” Cal asks.

“I have an
inkling,” Hennessy replies. “And if I’m right, we’ve got to find it before he
does.” He stares pointedly at the two boys. “Remember what I’ve been telling
you. What happened with Uli was just the tip of the iceberg. Traitors lurk
among our people, evil minds trying to overturn the power of the Kiva. We need
to be vigilant. Stay here and watch out for anyone nosing around. You know what
to do if you spot something.”

“But,
Dad—” Cal starts.

“It’s an
order.”

Hennessy
turns away and Yuri flashes a victorious grin to his disappointed brother.
Crouched in my hiding spot, I watch Metal Jaw and his father wade deeper into
the forest until I can no longer hear their steps crunching along the trail.

Cal sits
in the small clearing and balls his fists.

Who was the man Yuri almost killed? Why didn’t
he report them
?

I try to
shift closer, but as soon as I move, the rustling of leaves around me makes Cal
jerk his head up and look in my direction. I duck deeper into the vegetation.
Cal doesn’t see me, his eyes quickly straying away.

A jay
screeches, a dove hoots. My brain reels. Cal is all by himself, doing nothing.
I could catch him by surprise and get away with it. Big on the fact that both
of their parents are Kiva Members, the two brothers have bullied us kids since
we were little. More than once they’ve come after Athel and me simply because
we refused to oblige their arrogance.
  

A subtle
vibration shakes the ground close to my hiding spot. I bite my lip, recognizing
the soft rhythm of Taeh’s hooves thumping up the trail.

Oh, no, Taeh, go away
!

But unlike
my brother, Taeh can’t receive my thoughts wirelessly. It doesn’t take long for
Cal to hear her. He jumps to his feet and shuffles down the trail to see what’s
making the noises. I take the chance and crawl after him, hoping Taeh’s steps
will camouflage my own.

As soon as
he sees the horse, Cal swats a hand in the air and yells, “Go away!”

The
screaming unnerves Taeh. She shakes her head and widens her nostrils, searching
for my scent.

Please stay put and don’t give me away
.

Cal stoops
down, picks up a rock and lifts his arm. “I said, go away!”

The threat
sends blood pulsing to my head. I leap out of the vegetation and throw myself
at the boy, taking him down. “If you hurt my horse, I’ll kill you!” I shout.

We roll in
a bed of dry leaves and grapple, Cal flailing his arms and legs at me, and me
clinging to his back like a monkey. He jabs an elbow into my stomach and jerks
backwards, slamming me against the ground. As he readies himself to sprint back
to his feet, though, he finds Taeh’s muzzle in his face and freezes. Blinded by
pain, I take advantage of that moment of surprise and shove a hand at the back
of his head. Before he can react, I grope for his deactivation button and put
him out.

The loser
flops to the ground like a puppet.

*
 
*
 
*

All Mayakes are equipped with
deactivation buttons at the napes of their necks. They come as a package,
together with the nanobots that boost our immune system, and the prosthetics
that make us look normal even when we’re missing arms, eyes, or legs.
Deactivation is the worst punishment under Mayake law and can only be inflicted
by one of the Kiva Members, our supreme council.

I don’t
care what the law says. Cal and Yuri deserve to pay for what they did to me.

I press
again the button at the back of Cal’s neck, then scuttle away and give him a
minute. The boy blinks several times, groaning. I sit on the ground and watch
him, a wide grin plastered on my face. I’ve never seen him this humiliated
before and the sight is refreshingly cathartic.

“Why,
hello, Sleeping Beauty. How’s the world upside down?”

I’ve
outdone myself this time. I hauled Cal’s limp body on Taeh’s back and then,
standing on the saddle, I tied him to a tree branch using my horse’s reins.
He’s now hanging upside down, his thin hair fanning down his head. When he
realizes what’s happened, he screeches and wriggles, making the branch sway.

“I
wouldn’t do that,” I say. “I was going to choose a sturdier branch, but I
changed my mind.” I shrug. “It’s more fun with some built-in risk.”

“You ugly
freckle face,” Cal snaps. “Dad! Yuri!”

“You’re
wasting energy,” I admonish him. “Taeh and I rode far enough that nobody will
hear you whine. And even if they did”—I smirk—“are you sure you’d
want them to find you like this?”

“Bitch,”
he snarls. “My dad will make you pay for this. He’ll have you and your traitor
friends deactivated forever. He’ll—”

I get up
and look at his upside-down face, the metal in his teeth blinking in the shadow
play of the leaves. I lift a finger and flick his forehead, making him swirl.

“Oh,
really?” I say. “Are you gonna tell your dad that a little girl tied you up and
hung you upside down from a tree? Are you, Cal? Imagine your brother’s face
when you tell him the story!”

His cheeks
turn beet red. Which is actually a fun thing to see.