AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It could be that their pods dropped on the other side of the mountains. Iris and Uri can take care of themselves. However, I am concerned about the safety of the civilians on my ship. Those wolves were no joke. How many more are on this planet?”
“My father made thousands of them. Some are even worse off than the wolves we ran into.”
“What do you mean by that? How can they be worse off?”
I duck under a low-hanging branch before answering.
“Not all of my father’s experiments on what was left of the human race were successful.” I eye the woods with a great deal of suspicion before sharing the shame I feel. “There are creatures out here who are physically mutated to the point of being unrecognizable. I begged my father to end their lives and not make them live that way, but he basically told me to mind my own business.”
“Did he give you a reason why he didn’t simply kill them?”
I swallow hard before answering. Even though the sin isn’t mine, I still feel guilt over my father’s deed.
“He said that it was no less than what humanity deserved for trying to destroy this planet. My father isn’t a forgiving man. He thinks humans should be treated like animals and not equals.”
“But you believe otherwise, right?”
There’s a note of hopefulness in Oberon’s tone.
“Of course, I do. I lived with them for two years and fell in love with a human. They can be extremely selfish and cruel, but they can also be kind and selfless.”
“They sound a lot like us then.”
“They’re exactly like us.”
As we come to a clearing, I stop and survey the area.
“This looks like a good spot to rest for a while. As long as we stay inside the tree line, we can keep an eye on the clearing for anything that might approach.”
“Why don’t you sit and rest while I go forage,” Oberon suggests. “I noticed some blackberries a little ways back. I’ll pick us some and see what else is available.”
“I would argue,” I say before picking a nearby tree to sit under, “but I’m simply too tired. I’ll be waiting here when you get back.”
Oberon nods in satisfaction and heads back the way we came.
I untie the sash around my torso and gently pull out the box with Earth 104 nestled inside it. Carefully, I lift the lid and push away some of the pine needles to peer at the miniaturized Earth. The crack caused by our crash landing seems to have doubled in size.
“Damn it.” I lift the sphere to get a better look at the crack. It’s starting to splinter off in two different directions. If we don’t find a geomancer soon to fix the damage, the world will be destroyed, along with what remains of my family.
“Hold on, Ivy and Jack. I promise you both I won’t let either of you die.”
As gently as I can, I return the sphere to the box and close the lid.
It’s my fault that the sphere is damaged. I should have let Oberon hold the box before our pod jettisoned to the surface, but my stubborn pride wouldn’t let that happen.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” I berate myself, refolding the cloth over the box and strapping it across my body again for safekeeping.
With a tired sigh, I rest my head back against the rough bark of the pine tree I’m sitting under. I close my eyes, hoping to catch a moment of sleep before Oberon returns with the blackberries.
I’m not sure how long I was out, but when I wake up, Oberon has his hand over my mouth. I’m about to bite it when I see him squatting in front of me shaking his head. He swivels slightly on the balls of his feet and points to the middle of the clearing.
There, in the pre-dawn light, stands a man wearing a dark cloak to shield his features from prying eyes. He’s facing our direction, but he doesn’t make a move. Are we being shielded by the shadows of the woods around us or is he simply biding his time, waiting for us to make the first move?
Our answer comes in the form of a howl, but this isn’t any ordinary howl. This one sounds like the throat of the wolf is covered with sharp blades, and as the howl passes through them, a metallic, eerie sound is made to strike fear in anyone within earshot. The figure in the clearing lowers its hood, revealing the white head of a wolf but the hands of a man.
He lifts his snout and howls back in response to the first mysterious howl. When he lowers his head again, his bluer than blue eyes stare straight at us.
Chapter 2
