The burning branch only lasted a couple more minutes before Morgan had to drop it and stomp it out. Instantly, darkness closed over them again.
Al lifted his muzzle and took in the air with loud gusts. “The wind isn’t with me,” he said. “Or the creature can obscure its scent.”
“I didn’t know that was possible,” Morgan replied.
Al gave her a pitying look. “Of course it’s possible.”
“What’s he saying?” Jacqueline grabbed onto Morgan’s bad arm like a person drowning.
Pain shot down from her arm to her wrist and back again. Morgan yelped and pulled away. “Hey, watch it!”
“But what did he say?” Jacqueline repeated, voice higher.
“Nothing! He can’t smell anything. It’s probably not following us,” she added just to calm the other girl down.
Jacqueline squeaked. “Probably?”
“Guys.” Leah sounded as tense as Morgan felt. “The village isn’t far. Let’s go.”
“But what was that thing?” Timberly asked.
Morgan and Al exchanged a look.
“Whatever it was, it wasn’t good,” Morgan said. They were freaked out enough.
They walked on. There were no more snapping twigs, no growls, nothing to indicate they were being followed. Nevertheless, Morgan couldn’t shake the creepy crawling feeling on the back of her neck. She knew, somehow, she was being watched.
Jacqueline stopped every few minutes to ask if anyone heard anything, which didn't help anyone's nerves at all.
After the third time, Al rounded on her. “There is nothing! But if you do not calm yourself, you will have me to worry about!”
“Um, what did he say?" Leah whispered.
"Did he hear something?" Jacqueline whimpered.
Morgan wanted to slap her. “You're distracting him," she temporized through gritted teeth.
Al snorted and Timberly giggled, correctly guessing that she was bullshitting.
Like with Colton's village, Morgan found that they were getting close by the trashy footprint that was left behind. Only with Donut's village, it was more spectacular.
At first, she thought that they were coming to a group of rocks at the edge of the next meadow. As they drew closer she saw to her shock that they were ragged tree stumps, inexpertly cut. Trees and fallen branches littered the area in a wide swath.
"What the hell?" She looked around, jaw tightening. She had no problems with harvesting from the land. Trees were a renewable resource, even if they took years to grow back, but she recognized some of the species from the bark. "You guys cut down fruit trees?"
"Some people did," Leah answered, and Morgan didn't think it was fear that was making her voice quiet. She seemed upset, too. "We had to build some kind of shelter. Colton locked up the rest of the seasoned wood."
"Because people were burning it!"
"Well, we had to have somewhere to sleep,” Jacqueline snapped. "We couldn’t exactly bring the cargo containers with us.”
“How much of the wood here ended up as shelter?” Morgan demanded. "Do you guys have houses now, or what?"
“No! I… I don’t know!” Her voice reached a high pitch, and Morgan was willing to bet the answer was that most of the wood ended up in the fire.
“I know some people tried to spare the fruit trees," Leah said, quieter. "There were a couple of oaks and a pine here or there, but it wasn't enough."
"You didn't have to take so close to your home," she snipped. "It was a waste. Now you'll have to go out further to gather food."
Jacqueline shrugged. "We had to drag the logs less of a distance too. You can't judge us. You weren't here."
"You're right,” Morgan said. “I wasn't."
But she was now.
* * *
They crossed another meadow, skirting around a swampy pond. Ahead, stood another stand of trees. These, at least, had not been cut down. Between the trunks and low brush was the flare of campfires. And judging by the flickers, people were still wide awake and crossing in front of them.
The wind shifted, bringing a change in the air. Low, thrumming, and rhythmic. The beat of... drums?
Oh. Of course.
Morgan sighed. "It's a drum circle, isn't it?"
Leah caught the tone of her voice. She winced. "They're really popular."
Al cocked his head. "What is it?"
"Another big waste of cut wood," she muttered.
She remembered the epic parties Donut's crew used to throw with alcohol to fuel them. Now, not only were they cutting down the trees they needed for food, they were blinking the equivalent of neon signs that read: Tasty, helpless humans right here!
She turned to Jacquline. "Where's Donuts usually camp at?"
"Over this way." Jacquline seemed to take strength from being within sight of the fires again. Increasing her pace, she took the lead.
Donut's village seemed to take the back half of the meadow, starting from the water source—a swampy pond that looked big enough to be considered a small lake, and stretching back through the line of trees.
They passed abandoned fire pits surrounded by a circle of scattered river rocks. The fires had burned down to sullen embers. Apparently, it had been too much trouble to douse them before they left. What people were awake were sitting and chatting around several active campfires, several beating on upturned plastic buckets to a beat they heard in their own heads.
Morgan looked around, feeling a stir of panic and annoyance and trying not to show it. These people were completely unaware that there was a big... something lurking in the darkness.
Part of her wanted to scream it out. The rational part told her that she didn't even know for certain what was out there. Even if she did, inciting a mass panic would not help.
Conversations stopped as people noticed them. Or, more specifically, Al.
He looked around, his head crest raised to full attention, making him look a bit regal.
"Where's Donuts?" Morgan called to a group.
They just stared back at her, shocked. A couple of the girls moved closer to one another as if to make sure the scary dinosaur wouldn't eat them.
"What is that thing?" one of the boys called back.
“Holy shit, are you seeing that?”
“Is that a velociraptor?”
"Morgan?"
She knew that voice. Morgan whipped around.
Lucas stood not far away. He leaned heavily against a thick walking stick... But he was on his own two feet, alive. Not feverish and dying...
“Lucas!” Not thinking, she ran to him and threw her arms around him. Lucas stepped back with a pained grunt.
Horrified, she draw back. "Your leg! I'm sorry!"
"No," he said. "It's worth it." He leaned down and then... Then they were kissing.
She would have liked to say that the kiss was like in the movies, sweet and sappy and toe-curling. But Lucas was the only one she had ever kissed, and that had been right before she left the village. It was a little awkward and his teeth sort of got in the way—how did anyone do this spontaneously?
It was the thought that counted, right?
At last, she stepped back, looking him up and down. He didn't look like he had been ravaged by pain or disease or anything. Just a little tired. His hair had grown out longer, and new scruff along his jaw had tickled her mouth.
"You're okay?" She knew it was a stupid question the moment it came out of her mouth. Even now, Lucas was leaning heavily on his walking stick. Of course he wasn't okay.
But he smiled down at her. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
A wave of guilt crashed over her, so acute it was almost painful. "I'm sorry," she said again. "I couldn't find a doctor, or medicine, or any other humans and I'm sorry."
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"I don't care about that." He gripped her tight to his strong body, his free hand was wrapped around her waist and she didn't even realize when that had happened. "I've been so worried, Morgan. Promise me you won't run off like that again. I thought... I really thought you weren't coming back."
Promise him? Part of her recoiled and she started to reply, only to find she didn't have an answer.
Then Lucas's gaze flicked from her face to a spot over her shoulder. He tensed. "Is that a dinosaur?"
"What? He's… no." She turned. Thankfully, Leah and Timberly had stepped in to introduce Al to the growing crowd around them. Even though they didn't speak a word of Yellow Crest, it was sweet of them to give herself and Lucas the space they needed.
"No, it's Al," she said, and felt an odd moment of disconnection. Al had been such a big part of her life for so long. So had Lucas. It felt strange that they didn't know each other.
Well, proper introductions would have to wait. Seeing Al reminded her that there were other, more important things to discuss.
"Lucas, I need to speak to Donuts right away. Where is he? Lucas!" she repeated. He had been staring at Al, slack jawed. "Where is Donuts?"
With a small shake, he focused on her. "Probably watching TV. It's movie night."
"What?"
Lucas smiled that grin that always made her melt. "I'll show you."
* * *
Leaning heavily on his walking stick, Lucas led them through the campsite. She tried not to stare, but his limp was heavy. He wasn't bending his leg at all.
"How's your knee?"
"I'll be fine," he said, which wasn't an answer at all. When she said nothing and just looked at him, he elaborated. "I tore some stripes out of an old tarp to bind it tight. I can walk on it just fine."
"Should you be walking on it?"
"I don't see a doctor around here telling me no." He smiled again. "Don't worry about me."
The ground was a lot rockier than she was used to, and she kept a nervous eye on him has he navigated around stones that could trip him up. There were different sorts of trees here as well—probably the type that liked stonier ground. Then, up ahead was a cluster of large boulders upthrust into a sort of a circle.
She heard a distant pop-pop-pop of Hollywood gunfire.
Morgan met Timberly's surprised gaze.
"Is that—" Timberly started.
The gunfire didn't sound real. It sounded like a movie, but that was impossible...
"Donuts was the one who found this place," Lucas said and led them through a well-trod pathway between two boulders.
The area inside the circle was clear of vegetation, laid down with soft soil. Dozens of people were lounging around on jackets spread on the ground like blankets, cut tarp, or just sitting bare on the sand.
In the middle stood a Knowledge Transfer Device.
It was about a quarter of the size of the one that had been in the Stone Seeker city. The girl currently sitting in front of it had her hands pressed to the globe. Beyond her, one of the largest boulders had been painted white to help with the projection.
There, playing on the slightly uneven surface was some sci-fi movie. Some kind of sci-fi movie—Morgan wasn't sure which, exactly. One of the franchises with all the spaceships and lots of explosions. She always got Star Trek and Star Wars mixed up
Donuts had found the alien object the Blood Wolves were willing to kill for... and he was using it to watch TV.
"What is that?" Timberly asked, gaping.
"It's a Knowledge Transfer Device," Morgan replied.
"Now that's a mouthful," said a new voice.
They turned to see that Donuts had risen from a prime spot up front and sauntered over to them. "We just call it the TV."
She didn't know why everyone called him Donuts. His real name was probably Dennis or something. He was a barrel chested boy of 19. One of those fifth year seniors who was smart, but never applied himself. Before they'd landed this planet, she just knew him as one of the stoners. Now he was one of the leaders.
Donuts looked from Morgan to Al and back again and there was no surprise in his expression. He must have heard she had come back. "I see you brought a friend."
She pushed past the implied question. Time for introductions, later. "Donuts, this thing does a lot more than that. Do you know what this is?" Her voice ran high at the end.
Donuts grinned at her. "Yeah, it's our alien entertainment system."
Morgan shook her head. "It's not just a TV—"
"Well it's not only for watching TV," he corrected, grinning obnoxiously.
She rolled her eyes. "Have you had two people touch the orb at the same time?"
Donuts and Lucas looked at each other.
"Yeah," Lucas said, "You get one hell of a shock."
"No, you trade languages." She looked pointedly at Al who was turned away from them, watching the movie with obvious interest.
"Are those the Makers?" Al asked as one of the aliens on screen slithered across the ceiling in pursuit of the heroes. A few people who were still watching the movie, and not Al, made muffled screams at the jump scare. Only then did Morgan realize that the the movie wasn't Star-Anything. They were watching Aliens… on an Alien planet. A little on the nose, but whatever.
"No, it's another fiction story," she told Al.
Leah gestured to Al. "Wait, so that's how you understand him?"
"You can speak Dinosaur?" Donuts watched them, his eyebrows raised. "That's some Chewbacca shit right there."
Everyone ignored him. Leah, meanwhile, was on a roll.
"Will it work, like, between two humans? Or just aliens? What if I touch it with someone who speaks Spanish or German? Or wait, now that you know his language can I just touch it with you?" She frowned. "Or would that be a copy of a copy? Maybe I would run the risk of misunderstanding key phrases..."
"I don't know," Morgan said to forestall any more questions. “But let’s find out.” She strode toward the girl who was knelt beside the Knowledge Transfer Device.
She only got a few steps before Donuts grabbed her good arm in a strong grip. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Morgan twisted back to him, surprised. Beside her, Al exhaled a noise not too far off from a rattlesnake’s tail. He didn’t bear his teeth or flex his claws. He didn’t have to. The sound was one-hundred percent threat.
Donuts instantly let go and held his hands up in a peaceful gesture. “Hey, tell your dino it’s fine.”
“Don’t touch me.”
“It’s fine,” he said again, “But you can’t just charge up there. We’re in the middle of a movie. It’s Allie’s turn.”
Morgan looked at Lucas who sort of grimaced, as if he agreed with Donuts but knew it would piss Morgan off.
He was right. It did piss her off.
By this time, more people were watching them and the real alien rather than the fake projected ones. Stepping closer to Donuts, she lowered her voice. There was no reason to spread the news around like wildfire. “This is serious. There are other aliens on this planet, and some of them are… hostile. Just now, we ran across something on our way here from Colton’s village. It might be one of them.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that?” Lucas asked, butting in. “Are you okay?”
She ignored him. “The Knowledge Transfer Device isn’t for watching movies. You can reexamine memories—every memory—note perfect. I can show you what I found, I can look again at what’s out there.”
“You really call it a Knowledge Transfer Device?” Donuts lips twitched upward. “That’s a mouthful.”
“Really? That's what you took away from what she just said?” Timberly asked, sardonic.
He turned to her and his smile looked false. “Timberly. Shouldn’t you be with Colton and his friends right now? How are you all doing over there?”
Timberly swelled up in anger—if she were a raptor, Morgan thought, her feathers would be bristling in rage. Obviously something had occurred between the three of them, but whatever had happened was not important.
“It’s an imperfect translation,” Morgan said quickly before her friend could snap something back. “But that’s another thing the Device can do. You can trade languages instantly with someone else. That’s how Al can understand you, and I can understand him.”
Donuts looked at her for a long moment, and Morgan wasn’t sure she liked what was behind his eyes. He wasn’t nearly worried enough, and far too calculating. “Hey.” He smiled graciously in a way that made her want to punch him in the face. “I’m not saying you can’t give the TV a try, but you have to wait your turn, is all. It’s only fair.”
“Or you could stop being a dick,” Timberly said, voice sweet.
“That’s not how things work here, Tim.” Donuts had a strong deep baritone. He was able to raise the volume of his voice without making it seem aggressive. His words cut over the movie and let the people eavesdropping hear him perfectly. “The strong don’t get to take from the weak. Everyone has their turn.”
Timberly scowled at him, but didn’t argue back. She knew what he was doing.
Lucas touched Morgan’s shoulder. “He’s right, come on.”
She turned. “What?”
“This doesn’t have to happen right now. It’s late. You should get some sleep. You’ll feel better, and in the morning we can find out what animal that was. There might be tracks or something.”
She glanced at the two boys, noting the stubbornness on their faces. In the background, the Alien queen chased hapless men in space suits.
It would be easy to push past them, tell Allie to move her butt, then sit down at the orb and SHOW them what lay beyond this range. Al would back her up.
Only… her memories were of the Stone Seeker city, where Mud Bubble and the rest had spoken—surprise, surprise, Stone Seeker language. She could play her memories of the Blood Wolves, but would they have enough context to understand what was going on? Would the honking and clicks sound like panicked screams to people who didn't have the Stone Seeker language?
Or she could trade languages with Donuts. Trading languages could be done on the fly, but the end result would lay a person out which would scare people. The first time she had done it, it felt like her brain had been scooped out by a melon baller. It became easier the second time, but not by much. So far, the looks they were getting were curious, not hostile. That would change if it looked like she hurt someone.
She hated it, but she had to wait. She had to do this right.
“Fine,” she said tartly. “So how does this work? Is there a sign-up form or something?”
She’d meant to be sarcastic. However, Donuts nodded. “Over here.” He gestured to a flat rock conveniently shaped like a tablet. People had written their names using the charcoal end of a burnt stick. Others were crossed out above by people who'd had their turn.
She scrawled her name down and heard movement behind her. Several girls and boys had come out of the audience and were gathering around, asking Donuts what was going on. There was a wide respectful distance around Al. She was getting her fair share of the stares, too.
Morgan turned to them. Time to make this short and sweet.
“We’re not alone on this planet,” she said and gestured to Al. “This is Al. He is a Yellow Crest, and his people were killed by another race of aliens. I’ll tell you all about it when it’s my turn.” She put as much scorn as she could in the last few words. Behind her, Aliens was going on in full force—the screaming characters added a little bit to the effect. “But it you want my advice, if you see something that looks like a centaur with a wolf’s head, run the other away.”
That got a reaction from the group. Half seemed to be asking each other if they’d heard right, the others were just gossiping.
Morgan turned from them and approached Al. “You up for a little night hunting?
Al’s jaw dropped in a raptor-ish grin, causing several people to edge back. “Two doesn’t make a good hunting pack.”
“I guess it doesn’t,” she agreed and looked around for support.
Timberly was the first to catch her eye. She didn’t understand a word of Al’s language, but she was smart and intuitive. She met Morgan’s gaze steadily. “I know you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking.”
“What if I am?”
“We have no weapons,” Timberly pointed out. “Max has that bolt-thrower thing, but I've never shot it.”
“We'll think of something. We can burn another torch,” Morgan said.
“Wait,” Lucas said. “What? You can’t go out there.”
She turned to him. “If what we saw is an Earth animal—like a predator or something the Makers dropped here to control the deer population, it will probably run off. We’ll be fine. And if it’s not… Well, we have to know.”
“The who? Makers?”
Right. It was strange. There was a large part of her life he hadn’t been a part of. “The aliens who made this place.”
“The ones who allow the Blood Wolves to slaughter and do nothing,” Al growled.
Lucas flinched at Al’s growl, but recovered quickly. “Morgan, this is stupid. Just wait it out. Allie will be done soon with the TV—The Knowledge Thing, and I’m sure whoever is next will give you their spot. Let’s get something to eat. Donuts has something at his fire.”
Al hissed. “You don’t eat from the nest of the Matron who insulted you.”
Morgan agreed. “This can’t wait.”
“But you just got here!”
“I’ll be back.” And the worst part was, she couldn’t ask him to come with her. Not with his bad knee.
He must have known it, too because a flash of hurt crossed through his dark eyes. His jaw clenched. This wasn’t the way she imagined being with him again. All that time away she imagined tender words and kissing… or something. She had never had a boyfriend before and was pretty sure this wasn’t how you made them happy.
At the same time, this was more important than herself and Lucas. He would have to deal with it.
She met Jacqueline's eyes, but the other girl shook her head. “I can’t.”
Yes, you can, she thought. You just won’t.
“It’s fine,” she said anyway.
Before she could ask, Leah jumped in. “We have spears. They’re not very good, but I can show you where they are.”
Well. That meant they were going hunting.