Chimera

Chapter Twenty-nine: Camila

Camila rushed out of the compound, accompanied by Lance and all the parents. She stared ahead of her, where Mayor Norwood stood on a pedestal, addressing the entire city.

"The four young criminals who went over the wall and tried to kill us all by destroying order... they have been imprisoned. Expectedly, two of them have died at the claws of the mutants beyond the wall. There's a moral to this story..." Umbra was saying, turning her head to gaze at the whole audience. Camila knew it was now or never. Time for her bold stand. She might never get this chance again.

She sprinted forward, jumped and landed on the pedestal with a thump.

"The moral of this story is that Mayor Norwood should not be trusted!" she yelled. The audience gasped, either at the sight of the supposedly 'imprisoned' girl, the thing she had said, or both.

"She has done nothing but lie to you, all of you. We went beyond the wall. And now we know the truth," Lance said, suddenly next to her. He reached out and grabbed her hand. She squeezed tightly and gave a grim smile. Either this would work, or they would all go down in flames.

"I'll take these lies one at a time and explain to you the truth. First of all, Alana and Jaylin, our two friends, are not dead at all. They are safely in a huge forest glade, with a massive lake and a fruitful orchard," Lance declared. Camila could practically hear the growling stomachs of the audience, but maybe he shouldn't have said it, because to these people it was almost too much, too good to be true, a fairy tale land that couldn't possibly be a real place.

"We don't believe you!" an old lady shouted. Her skin was tough and wrinkled, but her eyes glowed with a stubborn intensity.

"Well, that's your choice," Camila said, "but it doesn't look like you have much choice. Umbra's been starving all of you!"

"Lies! These are all lies constructed by a group of destructive traitors," Mayor Norwood yelled to the crowd.

"I don't know why should we trust you any more than them!" someone said near the back of the crowd. Murmurs, faint and mumbled.

"I'm your leader! I have the power!" Umbra yelled and now noise erupted everywhere.

"She just wants control! Follow us, over the wall!" Lance shouted desperately. The throng was tumultuous.

"Feline Guard!" Umbra yelled, "get them, now!"

A guard came for Camila, clambering up onto the stage, but she ducked away and rushed towards the Mayor. Camila slammed her elbow into Umbra's stomach, winding her.

"Please, listen! How can you believe Umbra over us? Look: you're starving and thirsty, while the Guard have been eating their fill! We all need to fight back, or we'll end up dying here!" Lance yelled, even as he dodged an enemy's blow.

"No! I'm in control!" Umbra screamed, throwing her hand in Lance's direction, accusatory. Her eyes burned with hatred and her fingers quivered.

"There is no water out there! Only dry, dry, desert, going on forever. You see, Los Lagos is unique. It has the only water left... anywhere! This idea of 'freshwater paradise' is pure blasphemy," she said disgustedly.

"It's not true! We've travelled, we've risked our lives... and we found water! We found hope!" Lance yelled.

"We must go beyond the wall!" Camila joined in.

Umbra screamed and a wave of soldiers rushed forward. Rough hands seized Camila's shoulders and closed around her arms. She struggled and twisted, biting wildly and kicking them away.

"Beyond the wall! Beyond the wall!" she yelled.

A cheer erupted from the multitude.

"Beyond the wall! Beyond the wall!"

Voices were chanting. Camila saw that it was her parents, yelling the three words over and over. But then there were more people joining in, and the chant was expanding.

"No, no, nooo!" Umbra screamed. Yellow fur erupted all over her body. Her pupils expanded like a growing ink stain, thick and dark. The color of her irises swirled and burned, until they became a fiery red. Her jaw changed shape and her teeth expanded, stabbing over a short muzzle.

She raised her hand and unsheathed her claws, which sprung out as fast as switch-blade knives. She was a lioness. And she had murder in her eyes.

***

Hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Make sure to check out my other stories - Psionic Academy and Survival Zone, which I'm updating constantly.