Botanicaust (46 page)

Levi slid out of the pack and dislodged the first aid box.
“
Where
’
s Ana? Did she get stung?
”

“
Food.
”
Eily held the squirming creature out to him, her eyes lit with excitement.

Ana stomped out from behind the head-high tamarisk.
“
Eeeeeiiiiiily!
”

“
I pulled off the stinger.
”
Eily claimed without looking back at her sister.

“
I caught it!
”
Ana
’
s shriek echoed across the plain. She stood ramrod straight, her hands balled at her sides. Beneath her chloroplasts, her face was dark. Even the bushes seemed to cower at her rage.

Turning to Tula, Levi asked,
“
Is she hurt?
”

High emotion was part of the reason for the twins
’
euthanization order in the first place. How were they ever going to fit into Levi
’
s peaceful society?
“
A fight.
”

Levi relaxed.
“
Ah. Sibling rivalry. Ana, come here!
”
He appropriated the scorpion from Eily and passed it to Tula.

Trembling, she gingerly pinched the tail of the squirming creature between thumb and finger. The thing appeared to have no head, just semi-hairy segments of body and tail, and arms ending in bulky pincers. Even though the tip of the tail had been broken off, the scorpion twisted in an attempt to grasp her fingers with its pincers. Could such an alien creature feel pain? To mutilate before killing something seemed so
…
cannibal.

She glanced at the green-skinned girls. Levi stood between the two, mediating even though he didn
’
t speak their language. Fortunately, Ana no longer screamed. Would the girls hesitate to eat her or Levi should the need arise? Their cannibal natures seemed to dominate. Yet, they had altruistically helped during the initial flight, and they shared the food they caught.

The scorpion stopped struggling and hung limp from her fingers. Had it died of shock? She turned to the pack Levi had dropped, opened the water bottle they used to store insects the girls collected, and eased the scorpion inside. To her surprise, the creature immediately grabbed the beetle already in residence.

A shiver raced down her spine as the scorpion gnawed off bits of the twitching beetle. Morbidly entranced by the life and death struggle, she squinted through the nuvoplast. Where was this thing
’
s mouth, anyway? A shadow moved through the amarantox beyond the bottle.

Tula froze. Her heart squeezed tight as she turned her attention to the foliage. Was she seeing things? The hallucinations had subsided days ago. Had the full sun exposure made her visions return? Behind her, the girls argued shrilly in spite of Levi
’
s calming tones. She gathered the pack and skittered toward the rest of her party.
“
Levi.
”

Silence descended as they all turned to her.

“
What is it?
”
Levi lifted the pack and shoved an arm through one strap.

She watched the amarantox.
“
I think I saw
…
something.
”

“
Where?
”
His voice dropped several decibels. He ushered her behind him to join the girls.

“
Maybe wind.
”
It had been the wind. The grotesque struggle between predator and prey inside the bottle had made her paranoid. The figure had been nothing but a play of light and shadow.

“
Let
’
s move.
”
Levi urged them forward.
“
Girls, no wandering. Tell them,
”
he directed Tula, keeping his eyes on their back trail.

Tula translated, and the twins trotted to her side, attention darting all around them. As she followed the cracked road along the river, she felt more and more silly. Levi stayed farther back, eyeing the way behind them, jogging to catch up, then observing again.

She called back to him,
“
Levi, it
’
s nothing. The sun makes me see things.
”

“
We can
’
t take a chance.
”

The tense afternoon turned into dusk. When the sun cast orange light against their backs, they stopped and made camp without a fire. Levi chewed raw cattail roots, and the twins split the scorpion between them. The last of the water was gone, but the edge of the river felt too exposed. Tula told herself she wasn
’
t hungry and wrapped the robe around her shoulders. The fabric weighed against her sun-kissed skin, and she wished she could see her own shoulder blades to make sure the chloroplasts were all right.

She looked at the skin on her arm. Did she imagine the green around the pink scar had faded? Perhaps Vitus
’
s ripening wasn
’
t genetic at all, but a result of the tests the Fosselites had been performing. It would serve him right.

But then it also meant
her own
chloroplasts were doomed.

She took comfort that the girls had an advocate if something happened to her. Levi had taken to them, teaching them words, praising their gathering skills, worrying if they were warm enough at night. He could even tell them apart, where Tula had trouble discerning one from the other.

Would Levi
’
s vouching for them be enough? He insisted his people would not harm them, but they were
“
abominations.
”
She sucked in a lungful of air filled with the scent of river and let out a sigh. With Dr. Kaneka
’
s experimental cocktail running through her system, she might not live through the year, anyway.

Then again, she could live forever.

She drifted to sleep with thoughts of burning red eyes set in emerald green skin.

Deep into nightfall, she woke. The acrid scent of burning tamarisk floated through the clearing. Levi
’
s arm tensed around her as she shifted, senses searching for the twins.
“
Where are Eily and Ana?
”
she whispered.

“
Thought they were going behind a bush.
”

“
Do you smell smoke?
”

“
I should go look for them.
”
He sat up in the darkness.

“
Don
’
t leave me.
”
She gripped his arm. The twins would not have abandoned them for their own kind, would they? Or lead cannibals back here
…

“
I
’
m sure they
’
re just exploring. Hunting.
”
His whisper didn
’
t give her confidence.

A scuff to her left made Tula
’
s heart jump as a small figure scuttled toward them, joined by a matching shape a second later.

“
Hunters.
”
One of the twins hissed.

“
Men hunters.
”
The other voiced.

“
What?
”
Levi asked.

Tula translated.

“
We have to get off the road.
”
Levi rose and gathered the blanket, shoving it into the pack. Already covered in goose bumps of fright, Tula
’
s skin tightened in the cold night air.

“
We cross the water.
”
A child pulled on Tula
’
s hand, urging her from the clearing.
“
They keep going.
”

Fear choked Tula as they stood on the stony bank of the water. Pale starlight reflected ripples on the surface. The other bank might as well have been on the other side of the planet. The burble made her knees weak.
“
You go.
”

“
They say we should swim?
”
Levi asked. Beside her, the pack scuffed the rock as he set it down.
“
I
’
ll take you across. Then come back for the pack.
”

The subtle splash of water ahead told
her the
twins had gone ahead.
“
Take the pack first.
”

“
Tula, I
’
d rather lose the pack than leave you behind.
”

“
I can
’
t.
”

“
I
’
m not leaving you.
”
He gripped her bicep like a vise. The determination in his voice sharpened Tula
’
s fear. He wouldn
’
t leave her. If she didn
’
t swim, cannibals would
eat them both.

S
he tried to pull away, but he gripped her painfully. The sound of the backpack
’
s zipper ripped through the quiet night.
“
With the empty water bottles, the pack will float with us,
”
he said.

Barely cognizant of his words over the thundering of her heart, she nodded into the darkness. She had to be brave for Levi. On stiff legs, she followed his pull into the water. The edge dropped out and she squealed, then muffled herself as her feet stabilized. The current thrust against her trembling calves.

Levi turned and hooked her hands into the back of his waistband.
“
Tula, don
’
t panic. Keep your arms away from my neck so I can breathe. But don
’
t let go. Try to lie still. Float. Okay?
”

She gulped air in response, fingers aching from her grip on the fragile fabric.

He planted a kiss on her lips, both hands cupping her cheeks.
“
I love you. Please don
’
t let go.
”

He waded into the flow. As he pulled her deeper, her limbs grew stiff.
Cannibals are after you
. The thought urged her on. Water scrolled around her hips. Then in a rush it lifted her feet out from under her and flung her downstream. The fabric slipped in her fingers, and she clenched her hands tighter.

The current was strong. Her head bobbed above water and she choked in a breath.
Don
’
t let go
. An eddy dropped them in a heart stopping rush downstream, burying her, and her feet thrashed uselessly. One of her hands broke free. In panic, she threw her arm around Levi
’
s waist. Her palm slipped against his wet skin, and her legs tangled with his. His kicking threatened to jar her loose. She wrapped both arms around his waist, pressing her face to his lower back.

He kept stroking forward. Her grip slithered to his knees. His body twisted rhythmically as he kept stroking with his arms. The rasp of loose gravel and the lick of weeds bumped her knees, and she kicked out, but couldn
’
t get her legs under her. His feet bounced against the bottom twice. But the water was still deep, and she couldn
’
t let go of his knees without being swept downstream. Hands tangled in her hair, yanking her upward, and she clambered up his body as her lungs cried for air. His arms circled her, pulling her tight to his chest as he bobbed them into shallower water.