Uncontacted

Chapter 18--Katavia Escape to Sao Paulo

            I wasn’t safe. I knew that, but I was safer. I did not dare to peek over the top of the box as I felt the truck drive away, so I imagined the expressions on the faces of the men chasing me. They were still searching the trees. It brought a smile to my lips.

            My escape was still a miracle. I had managed to climb far enough into the trees to confuse the men. It had allowed me time to sneak. I had not known what my next move would be until I saw a beast with metal skin stop, the kind that was called a truck. It was a different color from the one Porai had used, but it had similar spots of red-orange eating at the shiny color. The man getting out had waved to another. They had talked, gestured. I did not understand except for two things.

1.      The man had said Sao Paulo.

2.      He had pointed in the direction I wanted to travel.

There was no time to ponder risks or worries. Even the barb of doubt, unsure that the man’s eyes were safe, could not deter me. I would deal with that when the time came. Right now, it was a chance to escape what was behind me.

When the man walked into the building that had food and places to relieve waters, I crouched low and moved silently, keeping the beast between the men and me. After I was sure no one saw me, I lifted a heavy cloth covering a few boxes, and squeezed underneath.

I was glad that I was so small then. Peter’s long legs had always been hard to keep up with, but he would not have been able to fit in this small space. I curled into myself, hardly daring to breathe until the truck rattled to life and pulled away from my hunters.

Daylight had faded, eaten away into darkness when my eyes opened again. Everything ached. Injuries and muscles combined, I was stiff. Hungry. Thirsty. The boxes around me rattled and shifted with the vibrations of the beast, the truck.

All around me, I could hear the growling of other metal-skinned beasts. Lights flashed, glowing through the heavy cloth, and moving away quickly. What was going on? I lifted the corner of my covering and peeked into the uneven darkness.

The road was lined with metal poles, like bare trees that held balls of light. The special fire that did not move or give heat. I could see the lights on the front of the beasts around me, glowing eyes peering into the night. Mesmerized, I could not look away for a long time.

The truck slowed and turned away from the others, down a side path lined with brightly colored buildings. Each one was lit with the magic lights, some flashing, others illuminating symbols I could not decipher.

For a long time, the truck wove down these paths. Twisting and turning until I no longer knew which direction we were moving. I felt sick, not just from the constant motion, but because I could not remember a time when I did not know which direction the sun would come from in the morning. 

I was gathering my courage to jump from the moving beast when it slowed and completely stopped. The rumbling in the truck’s belly ceased and I heard the door open. Then close. The man who had been driving walked away, his footsteps growing fainter until I could not hear them.

Still, I waited, ignoring the screaming in my cramped legs and the bruises on my back from the uneven surface I’d been curled up on. I waited and listened.

There was water, but not like the river that flowed near my village. The sound of it lapping against the earth was rhythmic, lulling. In the distance, I could hear more metal beasts, cars, growling and churning the night air. There were no voices, no footsteps, no laughter.

I did not know where the man had gone, but I was alone.

When I stood on solid ground again, the wind whipped at my face, pushing me toward the sound of the water. I followed, curious. I crept between a row of buildings that looked rough and worn, down some steps, and then found that the earth just stopped.