[Orphan Warrior #1] Rising by Alen Rio

Author:Alen Rio [Rio, Alen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Dystopia, Fiction, Science Fiction
ISBN: 9786210100860
Google: eiFqDwAAQBAJ
Amazon: 6210100988
Publisher: Flipside Digital Content Company Inc.
Published: 2014-03-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

I followed the path of the genoid creature to the bushes. Its stench of body odor and urine easily guided me when the darkness masked its path. I came out of the clearing to see heavy tracks on rocks and pebbles pushed into river bank. The river water rose high with the bright low moon. The water filled in the footprints. My boots soaked in some of the cool river water. In a way, the annoyance of being a little wet soothed me. It reminded me there were still small things to experience. As I stepped back, I bumped into Nayla.

“You’re back?”

“Just checking on you. Make sure you weren’t dragged into the river.”

“I’m fine.” The river spilled higher on the bank. “I don’t think it meant to hurt us. It looked hungry.”

“How do you know?”

“Its eyes lit up once we gave it the food. It could’ve charged, but didn’t. It waited. It was just as scared of us.”

“I guess the Monk did teach you some things. Come on, let’s get some rest.”

Nayla took my hand in hers. It felt good to hold it. “Nayla, I’m not scared of those things. You don’t have to hold me like a little boy.”

“Well, maybe I’m a little scared.” She turned to face me. She took my other hand in hers as we stood by the river under the moonlight. “I’ve asked too much of you. It’s not fair. My grandfather put you in an impossible situation. The Source is the lifeline of my people. And yet we have you, a stranger, trying to bring it back when all of our warriors failed.” Tears began to fall from her eyes. “I am. We’re the last hope for them. Without the Source, our village will be obliterated by the Minister or absorbed into a different lineage with other villages. Either way, more than fifteen thousand years and countless generations of Seaquots will end with my failure.”

I let her hand go. I brushed the tears from her eyes. I aimed to kiss her on the cheek, but she turned and caught my lips in hers.

Nayla grabbed me around my waist. “At Liberty Outpost you saved my life. I can’t stop thinking about what might have happened if you weren’t there.”

“You weren’t alone. I’ll always be with you until I’ve fulfilled my promise to your grandfather and he shows me how to find Melina.”

I smiled to get her to smile. “So you’re stuck with me for a little while.”

“I hope one day I can meet Melina. You love her dearly, don’t you?”

“She’s my family. She’s my life. Never have we been apart this long.”

Nayla turned from me. She walked a few steps away. “When we ambushed your military camp, I had one shot to kill you on our ride out. I turned and there you were, flopping around the grass after me like a wounded rabbit. It would have been so easy,” she said. “But something told me to leave the poor little rabbit alone. So I set up a snare and net.

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