Amber let out a long heavy sigh as she stared vacantly
across the common area of the Gaian village. It seemed that everyone was moving
about in a hectic, almost frenzied pace. They could feel it just as she –
something was going to happen today – something big, and they had better be
ready.
Amber slowly turned away from the scene, rubbing her
temples with her fingers, wishing she could ease away the dense weariness that
had descended over her. She was tired. That was the one word she could use to
describe it. She had spent the past several weeks running back and forth
between the Gaian village and the city or some other designated meeting place.
It was wearing her down and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could manage
it.
“Something wrong?” Ocelot approached Amber carrying a
platter of food. The Gaians had done away with their regular mealtime, leaving
it up to each individual Gaian to prepare their own meals and eat when they had
a chance. Amber had thought none of the others had noticed she hadn’t eaten in
nearly two days.
“I’m just tired of it all.” Amber admitted to the girl who
had become her closest friend among the Gaians. “I am dreaming of the end even
before it has really started. I hate war. I hate fighting.”
“War is necessary to bring about peace.” Ocelot stated
wisely, setting the plate of food down on a wooden table near where Amber was
standing. “If we had not become involved, it would have only been a matter of
time before The Guardian and his Chosen came to the forests looking for more
converts.”
“I know.” Amber nodded, twirling a stray strand of golden
hair around her slender forefinger. “And I know we made the right decision. I
just wish there was some other way.”
“Me too.” Ocelot agreed solemnly. A comfortable silence
fell between the two friends as they each watched the rest of the Gaians
scrambling to perform the day-to-day tasks as well as prepare themselves for
the war that was emanate.
The Gaians were having to perform with half their numbers
once again. After Amber had returned from her meeting with Ebony the evening
before she had selected quite a large number to begin the go to the southern
province in hopes of recruiting more forces. Great White had volunteered to
lead, which Amber was grateful for.
Jaguar, Minxy, Caribou, Cougar, Chipmunk, Kola, Leopard, and Crow went
along with Great White, leaving only Ocelot, Pride, Hawk, Panther, Manatee,
Lioness, Robin, Moose, and herself behind.
“Do you think Great White will be successful?” Ocelot asked
suddenly, proving that her thoughts had been traveling along the same route as
Amber’s.
Amber remained silent for a solid minute, mulling over
Ocelot’s question. “If anyone can convince them to join, Great White can.”
Amber murmured softly. “We needn’t worry too terribly for them.”
Ocelot nodded, seeming to agree with Amber’s conclusion.
“They will probably reach the province by nightfall. We have to give them at
least a couple of weeks to gather a resistance. We really don’t have any hope
of them arriving before the Chosen attack.”
“No, we don’t.” Amber pursed her lips, still unable to
shake the feeling that The Chosen were attacking at that very moment. “Ocelot,
who is on duty right now?”
“Lioness and Manatee. Why?” Ocelot frowned at Amber’s question.
Amber said no more, but quickly left the shelter of the
balcony and hurried down to the common area, calling to Pride and the others.
“Pride! Everyone, quick!” She shouted loudly, jerking all the remaining Gaians
attention to her.
“What is it?” Robin asked, alarm spreading across her young
features. “Eagle, is something wrong?”
“I’m afraid so.” Amber answered grimly, watching as the
rest of the Gaians gathered around her. They were small in number – too small
Amber feared. “Panther,” She turned her attention to the dark-haired Gaian. “I
need you to go find Manatee and Lioness and bring them back here quickly.”
Panther nodded and hurried off, asking no questions.
“Eagle, what is going on?” Pride had come up along her side,
wrapping his strong arm around her slim waist. “What is the matter?”
“The Chosen are attacking right now.” Amber stated with
finality.
“How is that possible?” Hawk frowned. “We would have known
if they had moved from their camps. Lioness and Manatee would have alerted us.”
“I’m sure they would have, if they could.” Amber pursed her
lips together, trying to force the worry that had begun to build up in her
stomach down.
“What do you mean?” Moose who rarely spoke made his voice
heard as he pushed back his long dark curtain of hair that was constantly
hanging over and into his face.
“You don’t think Lioness and Manatee have been captured, do
you?” Ocelot asked, her voice thick with fear and emotion. “How would that be
possible? Lioness is one of the best trackers we’ve got.”
“Agreed.” Hawk nodded. “No one would be able to sneak up on
Lioness and capture her, if that is what you are thinking, Eagle. Lioness was
trained by the best.”
“By the Locos, you mean.” Pride interjected, shooting his
gaze towards Amber for approval. She quickly nodded and he continued. “A great
number of The Chosen are made up of former Locos. It would be wise for us to
assume that many of them have as great of skills, if not far superior to
Lioness or the rest of the tribe for that matter.”
“Exactly.” Amber pursed her lips together in a thin line,
her eyes scanning the bushes hoping to see some sign of Panther or either of
the other two guards return. “But we can’t know for certain until Panther
returns.”
“What makes you think The Chosen are moving today?” Robin
asked softly, her large brown eyes shimmering with fear. Amber knew that this
little girl had been protected from most of the tribe rivalry in the days that
had followed the majority of the adult’s deaths. This conflict with The Chosen
would be her first taste of fighting and war, and Amber could not shake the
guilt that had surrounded her for being the one responsible for exposing her to
that.
“It’s just a feeling I have.” Amber whispered, her voice so
quiet that even Pride had to strain to hear her words. “The Guardian seems to
be the type who would make a move on a day like today.”
“What is today?” Pride prompted her.
“Today is the day four of my dear friends from the Mall
Rats are getting married.” Amber turned her full attention to Pride, a sad
smile playing up on her lips. “It is an invitation he can hardly refuse.”
“But you can’t be certain.” Hawk looked dubious, though it
was obvious to all that his statement was made in vain hope.
“No, I can’t be.” Amber shook her head. “It’s just that I…”
She trailed off, her eyes finding a movement in the bushes that Panther had
disappeared into only moments before.
“Help!” Panther’s familiar voice echoed into the camp.
Seconds later her form emerged from the brush, half dragging half carrying the
unconscious form of Manatee.
“Manatee!” Ocelot gasped, her hand reaching to her throat.
“Oh dear God!”
Pride immediately left Amber’s side and raced to Panther,
easing her from her burden. Manatee was badly battered, a large long cut along
the side of his face where blood had dried and crusted over. His arms had also
been cut and held numerous bruises.
“Who did this to him?” Ocelot demanded, her voice steely.
“I don’t know.” Panther replied, her voice soft and husky.
“I found him hanging upside down in a tree.”
Amber felt as if she was going to be sick. “How is he
Pride?”
“He’ll live.” Pride stated grimly. “You found him just in
time, Panther. I don’t know how much longer his body would have been able to
take this. They cut him in very strategic places. Whoever injured him knew what
they were doing. They wanted his death to be long, slow and very painful.”
“Those bastards!” Ocelot cried out, tears streaming down
her face. “How could they do something like this to someone like Manatee?
How?!”
“Robin?” Amber turned to face the younger female Gaian.
“Could you take Ocelot to her room and keep her there? Moose, you go with
them.”
Robin nodded and moved over to Ocelot’s side, taking the
taller girl’s arm and guided her away from the scene in the common area of the
village, Moose trailing behind.
“Panther, was there any sign of Lioness?” Amber demanded of
the still breathless Panther.
“No.” Panther shook her head, a cold dread settling in her
dark eyes. “No sign whatsoever.”
“Do you think that whoever did this to Manatee killed
Lioness?” Hawk asked, not allowing the emotion to show on his handsome face.
“More likely they took her.” Amber stated. “They made their
example with Manatee. They’re warning us to stay out of it.”
“Feels more like an invitation to open warfare to me.”
Pride grumbled under his breath.
“Me too.” Panther quickly agreed. “Eagle, we can’t just
stand by and let these despicable Chosen get away with this.”
“I know we can’t.” Amber swallowed the hard knot that had
formed in her throat. “But we have little choice. Lioness is gone. Manatee is
in no condition to fight. Robin and Moose are too little. That leaves you, me,
Pride, Hawk, and Ocelot, and I doubt Ocelot will be leaving Manatee’s side any
time soon.”
“Just four.” Hawk grimaced. “We can’t wage war with so few
of numbers.”
“War, no.” Amber shook her head sadly. “But we can stick to
our original plan. We plan quick surprise attacks on The Chosen, taking them
off guard and keeping them that way. After awhile it will begin to wear them
down. By the time Great White returns with help The Chosen will be ready to
crumble if we play our cards right.”
“We can also count on some help from the city tribes,
correct?” Pride questioned. “Ebony was going to try and rally some forces.”
“I don’t think she will be very affective.” Amber scowled,
an image of Bray coming into her mind’s eye. “Bray and Danni have done their
best to soil Ebony’s reputation with the rest of the tribes. They don’t trust
her as far as they can throw her.”
“So what do you suggest we do?” Panther asked, flipping her
long black braids over her slender shoulder. “Just wait here until The Chosen
take over the city?”
“Not exactly.” Amber explained, her gaze flicking over the
three brave Gaians who stood before her. “We can prepare ourselves for the
attacks. Already we have been collecting food stores, provisions, and other
things we might need in case this conflict lasts longer than we originally anticipated.
We need to continue to do that.
“Also,” Amber settled her gaze on Pride, “I am almost
positive that there will be others found hanging in trees or other such manners
of torture. Pride, scout along the edge of the forest and the beaches to see if
you can find anyone who is in need of assistance. If you find someone, do not
hesitate to bring them back – no matter who they are or what tribe they were
formally associated with.”
“What about the village security?” Hawk immediately
demanded to know. “We can’t open ourselves up like that to strangers.”
“Yes we can.” Amber frowned at him. “Anyway, I highly doubt
our position is secure. If The Chosen found Lioness and Manatee, they are not
far from finding our village.”
“She’s right.” Panther nodded.
“Agreed.” Pride grimaced, holding Amber’s gaze. “I will
leave as soon as I pack a few provisions and medical aid.”
“Good idea.” Amber then turned to the two remaining Gaians.
“Panther, Hawk, I need you to set yourselves up on opposite ends of the camps.
Report to Ocelot if you see any Chosen movement whatsoever. If you do, take
Ocelot, Robin, Manatee, and Moose and leave this place. We will all rendezvous
at the old school house.”
“Where will you be?” Panther asked.
“I’ll be looking for Ebony.”
Less than an hour later and after a rather emotional
farewell to Pride, Amber found herself carefully making her way along an old
deer trail through the forest, staying as close to the trees as possible. She
had changed out of her rather flamboyant and brilliant blue colors of her
normal garb and into the dark hues of the sturdy fabric she had once worn on a
day-to-day basis while living at the mall. She had to find Ebony, but she
already feared it would be too late.
Once she made it to the city, Amber planned on going
directly to the Horton Bailey Hotel. She figured the majority of the people who
would recognize her would be at the Mall Rat wedding. Besides, the way Amber
figured it, the guise of her “death” would soon be void anyway.
Amber came across no one on her trek through the woods,
though she was remaining highly alert so as to pick up any presence in the
forest beyond her own. The city was still and quiet in an almost eerie way. It
unnerved Amber, causing her to double her pace in order to make it to the hotel
before dusk.
~*~*~
Ebony staggered into the Gaian village feeling half dead on
her feet and very water logged. Of course if Jaffa had had his way, she would
be more than half dead and for once in her life she was vary thankful that her
mother had been so insistent on her taking so many swimming lessons and water
survival classes while in high school.
“Hello?” She called softly, wondering where everyone was.
Though she had only been to the village a few times since she and Amber had
been meeting on a regular basis, and usually very late at night or early in the
morning, she knew there was always much more activity going on in the village
than what she saw before her.
“Hello?” She repeated, this time a little louder, though it
pained her throat to do so. “Is anybody here?”
“You could say that.” A voice as cold and hard as steel
sounded from directly behind her. “Now, slowly, turn around.”
Ebony did precisely as she was told. Under normal
circumstances she would have put up a bit of a fight, but she was exhausted.
All she wanted to do at that moment in time was find Amber then find a nice
warm bed to fall into for at least three hours.
“I’m a friend of Amber’s.” Ebony explained tiredly, looking
the dark haired girl up and down. The girl couldn’t be much older than Ebony,
though her eyes were as hard as flint and Ebony knew better than to try and
cross this girl.
“I don’t know an Amber.”
“Eagle, then. You know an Eagle, right? She’s your leader?”
Ebony shook her head, mentally chastising herself for making such a mistake.
The girl’s eyes softened a little, but Ebony knew she was
still not in the clear. “Yes. Eagle is my leader. Who are you?”
“Ebony.”
“Ebony?” The girl repeated, “The Ebony?’
“Uh, I guess so.” Ebony shrugged her shoulders. “Look, I’m
sort of in a hurry. I’m looking for Amb-Eagle. Is she around?”
“No.” The girl shook her head sadly. “She went into the
city looking for you. The Chosen are on the move. They have one of our friends
and have severely hurt another.”
Ebony winced, biting her lower lip. “Then I am too late.”
She groaned softly.
“Too late for what?”
“To warn you.” Ebony shook her head sadly. “How long ago
did Eagle leave?”
“Perhaps an hour.” The Gaian explained. “Are you alright?
You don’t look very well.”
“No, not really, but I’ll survive.” Ebony sighed. ‘I always
do. I need to go after Eagle. Do you by any chance have a spare set of clothes
that I could wear? These are basically ruined.” She looked down at her dark
brown body suit and sighed. She loved that shirt.
“My clothes would not fit you, but Minxy is probably about
your size. I hope you don’t mind red leather.”
“Red leather?” Ebony looked amused at the suggestion.
“Minxy seems to have a fetish for it. Come, follow me.” The
Gaian lead Ebony to one of the lodges. “I’m sure she would not mind.”
~*~*~
“If you ask me, that ice witch got exactly what she
deserved.” One of the young men, militia according to Ebony, jested with a cruel
smile on his ugly face. Amber had been
shadowing the threesome for the past twenty minutes, hoping that they would
lead her to Ebony, but it looked as if that was not going to happen. They
appeared to have double-crossed their leader.
“I wish I could have been there to see it.” A second
hooted. “I’ve been waiting to see that girl make a nose dive since she took
over after Zoot died.”
“The Guardian would have had you killed if you had shown
up.” The third snorted. “You know he didn’t want her to have any suspicions
that we were with him.”
“I know.” The second groaned. “But it would have been fun.”
“Yeah, it would have.” The first agreed. “Anyway, what are
we going to do with that cow anyway? I thought she was supposed to go to that
wedding.”
“Aw, the Guardian will handle her.” The third snickered.
“He has a way with women.”
Amber turned away with disgust, realizing that she wasn’t
going to get any more information from the three of them on Ebony’s
whereabouts. Apparently they all believed she was done away with by The
Guardian, but Amber knew better.
“Oh Ebony.” She murmured softly. “Where are
you?”
Suddenly Amber felt a clammy hand clamp over her mouth and pull
her into the dark alley she had just passed. A cold chill washed over Amber and
suddenly she realized it was too late for any of them – far too late.