The Ashen Wrath (Watty's SHORTLIST recipient 2018) CHAPTERED VERSION

*44

Daun backed away from Sheln. She took a deep breath and sat back down. "Mother...there's more important matters to discuss."

"Right." Sheln gasped out a single laugh and wiped her eyes on her palms. "First off, where is this boy from?" she asked, looking at me. "I've never seen you in the village."

"I'm not from Zone 29. I'm from Zone 28," I told her.

"What?" said Sheln with surprise. "Zone 28? Where is that?"

"A few miles to the east," I said.

"All this time...I had no idea another zone could be so close! I never dared exploring to the east, knowing the stilstries' black tower lay in that direction." Sheln looked at her clock. "So, you must be taking advantage of the drone's absence as well. You're cutting it close, lingering here."

"I know," I said, "but there's something I need to tell you before I leave. You once knew my grandfather. He was helping you look for something in the ruins of Portland City."

Sheln stiffened. "Wait...Sanar Roundtrem is your grandfather?"

"Yes," I replied. It was strange to hear my grandfather's name after simply calling him Granddad my entire life.

"Roundtrem is a nice name," said Daun.

Sheln smiled. "The Privus withdrew all their scavenger crews shortly after I asked Sanar to help me. I never saw him again. It made my heart heavy to know I may have sealed his fate...but it appears he survived."

"Yes. He wound up doing Cultivation Duty in Zone 28," I said. "He raised me and my siblings by himself."

"Sanar was a good man. Selfless," said Sheln. "Did he tell you what I asked of him?"

"He found it, Sheln," I said. "He found your missing formula."

Sheln stood up abruptly, her chair slamming to the floor. "What? He actually located the datastick?"

I nodded. "Yes. It's hidden in my village. He showed it to me."

Sheln had a faraway look in her unblinking eyes. She rubbed her cheek, lost in thought for a moment. "Did he explain why the data was so important?"

"Granddad said it can be used to create a weapon. Something called The Ashen Wrath. A serum that kills the Privus by attacking their...nano..somethings."

"Kills them?" asked Daun, shocked.

"Yes," I told her.

Sheln leaned on the table. "Many years ago, I hypothesized a way to use The Ashen Wrath to kill all of the Privus—not just one at a time—myself excluded, of course."

Daun's eyebrows lifted in concern.

Sheln approached me and put her hands on my shoulders, her big blue eyes locked on mine. "I've been laboring for years to perfect the formula but it's useless without the missing research data. You have to bring that stick back to me!" Her eyes darted to the side as she looked at her clock. "Damn! You won't make it back to your village before the drones return."

I had recently come to the same conclusion. "I know. I'll have to do my best to sneak in past the stilt striders before they realize I'm missing."

"What?" said Daun, horrified. "That's impossible!"

I sighed. "There's nothing else that can be done."

"Wait!" said Sheln, rushing to a nearby wooden trunk. She threw open the lid and rummaged around inside.