After Earth

Chapter 11: Our Plan

        Kaiglanr... I gripped my son with an intensity I had never had before, possibly a mix of both anger and fear all balled up into one gummy, untwistable ball. I tried not to think of my own feelings as I thought of everyone else. Their safety. I explained to Orgeti about was Agitit and Arbelin had said, and I asked him to gather everyone at my house for an urgent meeting.
     I picked up Acki and continued to run into the street with him as close as he could be to my chest until I was inside my house. There wasn't even an odd breath or sweat from me as I lied Acki on the floor and leaned against the door. For a moment, I saw Rentie coming from the room beyond with her curious eyes looking for the calm of the storm in my eyes. The moment passed, and I saw Nashi there instead. Her eyes were a lot more bold and stern than Rentie's.
     "Is that Acki?" she asked, the hard lines on her face softening.
     Acki stared at her. "Hi."
     "I'm Nashi Mati, your dad's roommate. I've heard a lot of good things about you."
     I cleared my throat. "Everyone's coming over. Can we get the chairs from the island and-" 
     "Why... are they coming?" Her face tightened again.
     "We have a serious emergency."
      I pushed away from the door and paced towards the kitchen where I sat at the one end. My body sunk into the hard cushions as I had my fingers tight together. There was a deep sigh that came from within. My eyes were closed as I thought of the possible answers to my internal queries. Suddenly, warmth. Nashi's hand layered my own, and I opened my eyes to see her pitiful look.
     "What happened when Acki came?" she asked me. Acki hid behind her dramatically.
      I yawned, realizing my tiredness. "It affects everyone of us. I'd rather wait to discuss it when they're all at the door."
      "And your infection?"
      I stared at my black palms. "Nothing's happened, Nashi."
      Suddenly, a knock. Nashi yelled for the guest to come in, and I just sat and stewed on the ideas that kept popping into the back of my mind. Nashi sat down next to me, and Acki observed the stranger. Olman stepped into the threshold methodically. He sat down across from us.
      "Everyone else is coming," he said. His voice sounded strained by something. I hadn't wanted to know what it was.
      I didn't need his words because I could sense the rest of them crossing the threshold into the room before the action even began. They all filed into the room, all of them staring at their hands as if my eyes were something to fear. Acki kept to y side. One of the things I noticed was Kagre's sad expression as her scales dulled. Maybe Vannor was dead.
      "Thank you for coming in my moment of urgency," I started. "I have... frightening news for the all of us."
      Tores twitched. ""General Arbelin Karsk is around, I guess."
      "It's more than that. Nolam told me very briefly that you all will be infected. I don't know if it's our immune systems being tampered with, but Agitit said specifically all of you would be... eliminated."
      Backin snapped his fingers and a tiny little flame appeared. "I knew there was no real way to kill a dozen that fast."
      "You're saying we're all sick?" Nashi asked.
      I slammed my one arm on the table. It hit the surface, and the darkness on my palm began to spread. Great. No one at the table even tried to move, which made me think that they were somehow modifying our emotions too. I would freak if I had seen it. I did, really.
      "So, where does that leave us?" Neltmat asked, fiddling with the ring on her finger. "Is this whole Attas Project a farce?"
      "No." I shut my eyes. "He only needs one of us to survive. He thinks... I've shown no symptoms to the drugs, but... I have."
      "Something you haven't admitted to?" Basha grinned.
      "You have no idea."
      The room filled with silence for a moment before before everyone had begun to gossip about possibly dying, and I turned to Acki. He had his hands on the table, and I noticed as his little brain attempted to process everyone's faces. He had no idea what they were feeling, but I did. I also knew Olman would begin a discussion once more with us. Acki was still a human in a room full of monsters.
      "Tayas, I need you to tell me what we need to do," Olman said over the others. "We need to save ourselves."
      "His name is Kaiglanr," Orgeti replied. "The man contracted to put us down is named Kaiglanr."
      "So, we kill him?' Basha suggested. "Sounds easy to me, amigo."
      Kagre shook her head. "We would still die. I'm sure he has both reinforcements, and Agitit    Nolam hired him. That makes the doctor a threat."
      There was some form of malicious intent in Kagre's smile, but I let it go.
      Tores cleared his throat. "The, we tailor our plan to that."
      "And to me!"
      Acki's voice seemed to startle the room entirely, but he was firm as he spoke.
      "Grandma told me about that white thing in my chest," he continued. "I... think... that Kaiglanr will follow me there for it."
      Great. I grabbed Acki's hand to make sure he was still all there. He was, and I smiled a little knowing he was more than just some shadow in the back of my mind. The room continued to fill with ideas quickly, and the chaos of people dealing with life or death situations began to set in. We could die. I had no idea why that hadn't occurred to me, not even when Ashlit had passed. I had her dead body in my arms, and yet now was the time.
      "Tayas," Nashi whispered. "Are you ever going to explain the arm?"
       I didn't want to in all honesty. There was this... fear in my chest about even becoming such an uncontrollable monster. But was it that way?
       "That's an issue for later," I whispered back. "We have to worry about keeping Acki here right now."
       Tores piped up again. I can make it snow. That can keep your son stuck over night, but we will only have the night."
       "I'll help you," Kagre chipped in. "With more water comes more snow and blizzard-like weather. You understand that Tores and I will be unusable in your quest?"
       "That leaves the nine of us to do the rest," Olman said. "You two should prepare now before our time thins out."
       Acki had hours left. I couldn't let them take him back to Tucson.
       "We should have two teams," I announced. Kaiglanr either needs to be killed or cornered.    The other team secures General Karsk and Nolam in the same fashion. This has to be a vote on all of us. Before you two head out, answer me this. All of those in favor of killing them, raise your right hand."
      "What are we, children?" Basha teased.
       But she raised her hand anyway. Almost all of them did, both hesitantly and surely. Except... Nasekin. He sat there, eyes on the table as his body stiffened at the idea of possibly killing the man that recruited us. With a sigh, he met my gaze.
       "I'll be on the Kaiglanr team if that's all right," he said. "I'd rather kill a man I've never met than  one I've talked to a thousand times."
       "This is for our families, too," I mentioned. "We have agreed to kill them to save ourselves and our families from eradication."
      "Now," Nashi smiled. "Let's decide where we're going."
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