Discovery at Nerwolix (22 page)

Walker’s words fall like hard blocks to the
pit in my stomach. I want to comfort him but to say what? He’s
right. I
am
Reid’s. I’ll always be Reid’s. There’s no way
that’s going to change and if for some reason we get separated,
I’ll wait for him. Or follow him where he’s gone. Walker is too
late and he knows it.

Frowning, he gestures to the group. “We
better catch up.”

They’re a ways ahead and he starts moving
for them. I’m right behind him, running over everything, trying to
fit it into the version of the past
I
remember, when it was
all about survival. I was just trying to get to the next day and
somehow found myself in the arms of the Rogue’s ultimate
leader.

I follow the others, my head laden with
thoughts. About Clarence and Reid and now Walker… weren’t we just
trying to survive the Vermix invasion? And now all this? I don’t
know what to think anymore. There’s just too much, too much to
unravel and understand.

When I catch up with the group, Walker has
drifted off by himself, head lowered and arms crossed. He’s kicking
the dirt, not really focused on anything other than putting one
foot in front of the other. Able is talking with the Rogues, all of
them glancing nervously at me.

I feel like disappearing.

Eyes on the ground, I try not to think of
anything when I feel a light bump on my hip. I glance over and find
Pratt smiling up at me. “Don’t think about it.”

“What?”

“Whatever’s giving you that look,” Mae
mutters on my opposite side. “Whatever Walker said… or if you’re
thinking about the whole Clarence thing.”

“It’s a combination of everything,
actually.”

“Man,” Pratt shakes her head. “You need a
vacation. Bad.”

“Think you could arrange that?” I sound a
little too hopeful.

“You know what we need?” Pratt smiles. “A
girl’s day. When we get back, we should just hang at my place or
something. Take it easy.”

“God that sounds good.”

“Well then it’s done.” She nods. “When we
get back, no boys, no invasion talks. Just good old fashioned girl
talk.”

“Amen to that!” Mae laughs. “I think we
could all use it.”

“You have no idea,” I exhale.

“Hey, you know—”

“In the trees! In the trees!” Jace
calls.

The six Dofinikes transform, growing into
their towering green statures as Vermix fall all around us.
Snarling erupts, vicious hissing and snapping and the loud crack of
a whip rings. Mae screams next to me, my heart stopping as I turn
to her.

She’s feet from a Vermix and shaking under
his yellow eyes. They shift to me, and already poised to strike,
his right arm is raised, the handle of a long whip clutched in his
talons. We need to move.
Now
. But he’s already bringing it
down and I prepare myself for the inevitable sting.

It never comes.

I wasn’t aware I’d closed my eyes, but when
I open them, Clarence is tumbling to the ground, the Vermix
struggling under him in a heated brawl. Distracted for only a
second, I grab Mae’s hand and pull her to me. We race for the
tangle of Dofinike duels ahead, but only make it a few steps before
another Vermix lands in front of us. Like the other, he raises his
arm with whip in hand, but Walker pummels into him. The two wrestle
on the ground as another Dofinike—Jothkore, I think—joins the
fight.

“Where’s Pratt?” I squeeze Mae’s hand.

“I-I don’t know,” her eyes dart around. “She
was…”

But Pratt’s not here. Neither are the
Rogues. They were too far ahead of us and now we’re separated by
raining Vermix. Shit. Where do we go? Dofinike duels cut off every
available exit and right now, without any weapons, we’re sitting
ducks.

“We need to get higher,” I crane my neck.
“The trees.”

“B-b-but…” she stutters. “They’re up there.
They’ll—”

“Now!” I yank Mae closer and grip the
closest Yulu. I pull down and we go flying, soaring into the
treetop. I hear my name called but I’m not sure who it is. I just
know we have to get up—get away. I must have yanked pretty hard
because we’re still jetting up. Brushing my finger down the side of
the leaf, we finally slow, landing just below a thick branch.

I have Mae scramble up first and then I
follow. My heart is racing, my brain still trying to rationalize
what’s happening. How far up are we? Where are the others? Where is
Pratt? I peer over the branch.

“Fallon!” Mae screams.

A Vermix crouches in an Eckle across from
us. I only have a second but it’s not enough. He launches himself
and I don’t know what to do. But then, a thunderous leap shakes our
branch and I drop to my knees, grasping the bark. A set of black
talons appear. Except they’re not turned on me. Before I can look
up, the Dofinike is jumping off again, meeting the Vermix
mid-flight. The two collide in the air with a hard slam. They’re
about to fall when one grabs a bunch of Yulus and they go soaring
through the tangle and into the green.

Who was it? Sampson? Clarence?

I look to Mae and she’s shaking. I want to
console her, but this isn’t over. It’s far from over. I don’t know
where Pratt or the others are and I’m not sure if we should head to
the ground again. Doing a quick scan, I monitor the nearby branches
and find everything relatively quiet. We should be okay for now.
Maybe after a minute, we can—

Mae screams, pointing behind me. I don’t
even have time to turn. The branch shakes with an unexpected weight
and a whip cracks, splitting the side of the bark by my Converse.
My heart pounds and then stops as I come face to face with another
set of yellow eyes. There’s a soft whimpering and I know Mae is
doing her best not to scream behind me.

It’s the three of us on this branch and I’m
in the middle. I step back and he advances. My head is racing,
quickly trying to calculate the situation. We could jump again,
swing to another tree, but that whip will catch us and depending
where, it could be fatal. I take another step back, almost onto
Mae’s shoes and do one more quick scan.

We’re alone up here.

A sudden breeze whips behind me. A surprised
gasp and from the corner of my eye I see Jace and Mae soaring to
another branch. It catches the Vermix’s attention too, and in the
second it takes him to decide to pursue them or end me, an arm
cradles my waist, the branch leaving my feet.

I’m in mid-flight before I realize Walker’s
arms are around me. We’re in another tree and the Vermix is already
launching himself after us. But Walker grabs another Yulu and takes
off again, steering us through the tangle of lime leaves.

“Got to keep moving,” he swings forward,
keeping parallel with Jace and Mae. “It’s how the Zingfinolds
travel.”

“Where…” but I’m not even sure what I want
to ask. Are the others okay? Is it just us up here? What’s
happening?

“Everyone’s heading for the tunnel. We’re
not sure how many there are.”

“Is this it?” my heart races. “The
invasion?”

“Not sure,” he lands us on a branch and
scans the trees. Jace and Mae are a few behind us, doing the same.
The commotion on the ground has died off a little, but a faint
struggle whips up through the trees. I look at Mae and she’s
shaking under Jace’s hold.

“Where’s Pratt?”

“Rogues got her.”

A sigh of relief consumes me, but I don’t
celebrate yet. We’re still up here, away from the others and I
don’t know if this is it. If this is the invasion. Walker has one
arm cemented around my waist, securing me to him as he sweeps for
nearby movement.

I don’t move for the longest time. We
managed to get away from that Vermix but there might be more out
here. I look to Mae again and she seems to have calmed down. Her
eyes are still wide but she’s not shaking. She’s waiting. Like the
rest of us.

Finally, movement stirs ahead. It’s Tucker.
He’s being chased by a Vermix. The Rogue Leader swings in and out
of the trees, leaping by way of the plentiful Yulus but the Vermix
is quick—right on his tail. Another Dofinike courses through the
trees, knocking into the Vermix but Tucker doesn’t slow. A second
Vermix swoops in from another direction. But so does Reid. And
suddenly, movement fills the once quiet treetop as Dofinikes rip
through the lime canopy.

Walker grips me tighter, scanning. Jace has
already taken off with Mae, following Reid who’s in the midst of
the leaping Vermix horde. I’m not sure if he’s following Tucker or
escaping his own pursuer but the blonde RC keeps to Reid’s trail.
That’s where I need to be.

I inch forward but Walker holds me back.
“No, we should…” he scans the relative quiet behind us. “Let’s go
this way.”

“But they’re—”

Before I can protest, Walker swings me in
the opposite direction, into the still trees. It’s probably
smarter, but I want to follow Reid, to make sure he’s okay. To make
sure the others are okay. We’ve separated ourselves from the group
and the pit of anxiety only grows.

“Walker,” I look over his shoulder. “We have
to go back.”

“The Vermix are back there. We need to…” he
glances to the ground. “We need to hide. If they’re all up here, we
need to get to the ground. To the tunnel.”

It sounds like the right plan but still, I
want to find Reid. I
need
to find Reid. Walker squeezes me
tighter and leaping out, he grips a Yulu and sails us back to the
forest floor. My shoes hit the dirt as Walker threads his fingers
with mine, pulling me behind him. I have no choice but to run with
him, in and out of the hanging leaves that shield our path. He
stops every few seconds, checking for clearance and then races on,
yanking me to keep up. And I am. I’m just wishing I knew where
everyone else was. Like Pratt. I haven’t seen her since Jace
spotted the Vermix. Walker said the Rogues have her but half of
them are in the trees right now. Does that mean the rest made it to
the tunnel where we’re going?

God let them be there.

I’m so focused on the narrow mountain
passage that I don’t even realize Walker has stopped. I run right
into him and fall back, hitting the ground. Sitting up, I find
Walker is in front of me, legs apart and body stiff. He’s shielding
me from an approaching Vermix whose eyes flicker between us, sizing
up the situation. His black talons rest on the handle of his whip
and instinctively I reach for my Traxpire. But I don’t have one.
And neither does Walker. We’re alone and the Vermix advances.

I glance around the trees. We could sail up
again, get to the other Rogues. Or to Sampson or Clarence, if
they’re up there. Some of the Arizal Dofinikes are swinging through
the trees, chasing the Vermix. But they’re all away from here.
Walker and I are alone.

The Vermix pulls his whip free, advancing
another step.

What do we do?

Shit.

From out of somewhere, another Dofinike
flies forward, knocking right into the Vermix and the two tumble to
the ground in a heated brawl. I can’t tell who it is. Qippert?
Blovid? Vix? I don’t have time to question it because my hand is
gripped. Reid is pulling me to my feet and I’m running again.
Walker keeps to my other side and we’re racing past the dueling
duo, through the low-hanging Yulus and toward the rocky slope of
the mountain ahead.

Both boys are taller than me, so it’s a
struggle to keep up. But I push myself as hard as I can go, forcing
my legs to move as fast as possible. Reid squeezes my hand, his
words quickly following, “I looked all over for you. Tucker said
you went into the trees. And then a Vermix grabbed Pratt—”

“Is she okay?”

“Rogues got her in the tunnel. What about
you?” he scans me, searching for injuries. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. What about you guys?” I look
between them. “Are you both okay?”

“Scratches, baby,” Walker winks, running
alongside me.

Reid doesn’t answer. Instead he picks up
speed, almost dragging me as he leads us out of the trees.

“Is this the invasion?” I say through
labored pants.

“No.”

“How many are there?”

“Eight…” he doesn’t even sound exhausted.
“That we know of.”

When we reach the tunnel entrance, Booker,
Able, Werzo and Pratt are already here, helping Blovid, Jothkore
and Vix restrain seven Vermix. Most already have their snouts
secured and their wrists and ankles are bound by their own
whips.

“Fallon!” Pratt rushes over. “You alright?”
she looks past me, confused. “Where’s Mae?”

“Jace grabbed her,” I pant. “They’re—”

On cue, Tucker and Jace arrive, the blonde
Rogue carrying a frantic Mae. Clutching him, she’s buried herself
deep in his arms and it takes a moment to peel her body from his.
She’s still shaking when Jace places her on her feet, steadying her
shoulders. “You good?”

She nods, not really looking at anyone.
Completely transfixed, it’s like she’s not even here, not even
aware the fighting has stopped. Starting to walk, she stumbles
forward and nearly trips into the pile of bound Vermix. Able
catches her at the last moment, whipping her back and she tucks
herself into his chest, hiding her face in his neck.

He wraps his arms around her. “It’s good…
you’re good,” he keeps his voice soft, running his hand down her
back in a comforting motion. He glances around the rest of us,
shocked she’s burrowing into him like this.

“We got separated,” Jace pants, hooking his
hands on his hips. “Vermix snatched her foot but Clarence got him
off.”

“Everyone else okay?” Reid walks around.

“Good to go, Boss,” Jace says.

“Rox,” Tucker nods.

“Boys?” Reid passes Werzo, Booker and Able
who is still consoling a frazzled Mae. They all nod, exhaling and
agreeing with ‘Boss’ and ‘good.’

“What happened?” I asked.