Nature Rules - 2022 WATTY'S SHORTLIST

Anger and Madness

"You're all coming with me," says Solomon, taking a step towards us.

"Wwwwhat?" I stammer. He must be upset that we left. "Sorry. We were getting some exercise."

Solomon snorts and takes a step towards me this time. The vibes emanating from him are spiky and menacing. I step back.

"You little turds," says Solomon. "Thought you could get away."

"Get away where?" I ask.

"Move," says Hyla to me as she raises her hand to waterslap Solomon.

"Go ahead," he says to her. "Use your skills. It'll make is easier for the SCMs and Motos to find you."

Hyla's arm drops.

"We're not doing anything," I say. "We wanted to explore, that's all."

I push Crinae behind me as Hyla pushes Chuck behind her. Now my left eye is twitching too.

"Don't make this tough for me," growls Solomon. "It's already been a draining month trying to decide what to do with you kids."

"We'll walk right back to the hotel with you," I say. "No problem. We'll leave right now. See?" I take a couple of steps away from Solomon.

"You're not getting away this time," he says.

"This time?"

"That tiny Waterstealer almost got away with you. He almost got away with all of you."

Solomon's mention of Trunken sends my blood spiralling like a whirlpool in my veins. It makes me dizzy and limp and I need something to hold onto. I grip Crinae's hand in a vice and she pushes me forward, trying to loosen my hold, right into Solomon.

"Got you!" he says, as he pulls me towards him and forces his arm around my neck. My head is in his hot armpit and the stench is putrid. I'm suffocating. His fleshy belly is squishy and I punch him in it as hard as I can.

"Ha!" he laughs. "I've been hit harder by flies. In fact, your little buddy Trunken put up quite a fight. That Waterstealer was wiry."

People rush past us, faces turned, ignoring what's happening. They don't want to get mixed up in anyone else's troubles. "Stop hurting my sister!" shouts Crinae.

"Are you kids going to listen to me if I let her go?" whimpers Solomon. "Hyla, don't you dare use your abilities. That'll just make the Motos come."

I feel Solomon release his grasp on me. I jump back from him and rub my neck. I take in a deep breath that I blow out my nose so I can rid my nostrils of Solomon's terrible odour.

Our former mentor paces around us. "It's either you or us," he says. "I chose us. You four are Nakimu's guarantee of safety. We didn't have the money to keep paying off the Motos to turn a blind eye but now we do. Thanks to you guys."

He gets out a piece of rope from a sack he's been carrying and grabs Chuck's arm. Hyla immediately grabs the other one and they tug back and forth on the slender boy.

What do I do? Run? Scream? Fight?

I grab Crinae.

"We're not going anywhere with you," I say.

"If you children try anything I'll tell this crowd you're Aeternians," threatens Solomon. "They'll turn you in to the Motos in a second for a reward."

We're helpless. Helpless. Hyla lets go of her charge.

Solomon winds the rope around Chuck's wrist, then Hyla's forearm and then Crinae's waist. I'm left untethered.

"You," says Solomon, shaking a finger in my face. "You can run but you won't. You won't leave your family."

Feelings that I never knew I had replace the fear I had had earlier. It turns into physical rage. I want to kill Solomon. Smash his skull in with a rock. Cut his throat with a blade. Throw him off a cliff.

"You're one of us," I say to him. "You're Aeternian. How can you do this?"

"We fought about it for a long time, Katherine and I," says Solomon. "In the end, it's better to keep Nakimu and our own settlers safe."

"You're trading us in so the Motos won't attack Nakimu?"

"Good," hisses Solomon. "You're picking up what I'm putting down. Too bad you weren't so quick learning your skills."

"You're a swine," spits Hyla.

"You kids are an opportunity we can't pass up. When we hand you over to the GlobalGov, we'll get three solid years of exemptions. Now start walking. We're late. We were expected an hour ago. I didn't think you children would be gallivanting around."

Solomon shoves Chuck forward and the other two have no choice but to follow. As do I. The traitor leads us down the street, around countless corners and through many alleyways and lanes. Rusted out vehicles and garbage litter the ground. Not one person takes notice of kids tied to a rope. They wouldn't have intervened anyway. Not their business.

Hyla walks as slow as she can and it's bugging Solomon. He orders her to speed up a couple of times and when she doesn't comply he tightens his grip on the rope. Which digs into Chuck's wrist and causes him to squeak in pain. His first sound. Hyla turns up her pace.

We soon arrive at a big sort-of-roundish building. I read the huge sign that's hanging on the outside. "Saddledome. Home of the Calgary Flames."

Wonder what that used to be? The building has a grey shell top and a rust-coloured exterior. Motos are everywhere. We move out of the way when two of them drag a woman kicking and screaming past us and into the almost falling apart structure.

I can't make out what she's yelling about. She's crying and shouting and distraught: arms and legs flailing. She is scared and her fear scares me. Solomon scares me. The Motos scare me. This whole place scares me. I can't take another step.

I stop. Right in the middle of the busy path of Motos.

"Keep moving," says Solomon through clenched teeth.

We go through a door and the place is lit so brightly inside it's like there are 20 suns in the wide, open room. We all squint as we try to see what's going on. I hear people around us and underneath it all is an almost inaudible tick, tick, tick. I lose the sound when my eyes adjust right when a well-built Moto picks up a small, scruffy man by the back of his black shirt, chucking him out the door we just walked through. The man lands face first in the dirt but quickly stands up and runs back through the door.

"I'm not leaving without my children!" he screams, flecks of spittle flying everywhere.

He pounds on the Moto's chest as he sinks to the ground, wailing. "Give me back my children."

The Moto nods to another Moto standing by and they each take one of the sobbing man's arms and throw him back outside. They shut the metal door with a clang so hard it makes my ears ring.

There are others crying too. I look around and there are people being prodded into lines by Motos. Men, women, and children are being put in four different lines. Like the four different types of skills.

This is a collection site. For Aeternians.