EXTINCTION WARRIOR

Chapter 4

I'm still in bed. Mom and Dad must've let me sleep. They know the howling wind gives me insomnia.It roared all night, and it was like my heart pounded with the howling. I couldn't breathe thinking of that swarm of whatever,and tried to find them with my mindsight, but it wasn't working at all. Did I even sleep more than an hour? I open one eye to check my wrist miniQ. It's late. Eleven thirty! Muffled voices in the kitchen don't sound like them.

I roll out of bed, shove my stump in my bionic foot, and head across the hall to the kitchen in my pajamas. Aana and Taata are at the table. She's puffing her pipe. He's drinking coffee.

"Where are they?" I ask, pushing hair out of my face, rubbing my eyes.

"We don't know yet." Aana shakes her head, and shrugs.

"Talk to the commander?" I ask.

Taata shakes his head, expressionless. "Commander Eetuk is supposed to call at twelve thirty."

My eyes go wide, and my heart skips a beat. I'm instantly awake and really cold.

Mig appears at my feet with the red ball in his mouth.

"Play!"He says, and sends a picture of me throwing it.

"Not now, Mig." I lean over, stroke his head, and start to shiver.

Aana puts her pipe in the ashtray, stands, walks over and wraps her arm around my shoulder, turns me around, and walks me to my bedroom.

"First go shower, then put clean clothes on, and make your braid," she says. "I'll make breakfast. When the commander calls, we'll get the facts."

I take her arm and turn, holding it tight, and wrap it around me from behind. Hugging her tattooed arm, I lean into her pillowy chest that envelops me like a cradle and inhale her soothing, smokey smell.

***

I try to eat Aana's pancakes, but after three bites I can't. It's like my stomach has a door that just slammed shut. We're sitting at the table, waiting for the call. No one's talking except Mig, beside me on the floor, begging for pancake.

"More!"He pleads on his hind legs, his front paws on my thigh, his chin on my lap.

I scratch between his ears, then tear a pancake with my fingers, and drop a piece on the floor. If this were any other day, Aana would scold, "Don't make fox your begging boy!" She doesn't say anything now.

The kitchen lightscreen flashes a brown, wrinkled face in a WEAPP cap.

"Commander Eetuk call...," it announces.

"Answer!"I shout, and drop the rest of the pancake on the floor.

"Haluuġivsi," he nods Inupiaq 'Hello,' and takes off his cap. His kind eyes twinkle under the heavy folds of his eyelids. His short, gray hair looks freshly cut.

Aana and Taata nod back.

"What happened? Where are they?" I plead.

He tilts his head, and looks straight down at me, "Luki, I am ve.....sorry. Your parents were attac...... by a swarm of Blue Trance Micr.....olts."

"Drones!" I gasp. "Are they....?" My eyes instantly fill with tears.

Aana moves next to me and holds my hand.

The commander continues. "Blue Tra..........cro Bolts overpower targets by releas..... chemical agents to anestheti...... them."

"Huh?"Taata asks frowning.