Toys

Chapter 101

Everything was coalescing now. Or perhaps coming apart at the seams-it was impossible for me to tell. Lucy had given me a rendezvous spot in the desolate, wooded outlands to the north. As I got close, I could see that the dark glen below was gloomy and silent. So much so that I became afraid I’d made a mistake in navigation.

But the coordinates checked out, so I landed the car cautiously in the thick cover of a coppice of evergreen and spruce trees.

The instant I stepped out of the vehicle, it was like someone had flipped a switch. The forest started moving. Shadowy shapes suddenly appeared from behind tree trunks, dropped down from branches, rose up out of the brush.

Humans! I realized with a start.

They came striding toward me with assault rifles in their hands-except for a few who held short bows and had quivers of arrows slung over their shoulders. One of them bared his teeth in a wide, fierce grin.

“Hays Baker!” shouted the man.

“Tazh Khan!” I roared back. “You’re here to fight. So am I!”

As we clasped forearms, he sniffed the air and his face turned serious and concerned.

“Blood of you,” he declared. “You hurt?”

“It’s nothing. Hand-to-hand combat. I’ve been hurt a lot worse. By you, matter of fact.”

Tazh Khan kept sniffing, then jerked his head toward Lizbeth’s prison cell, aka the family refrigerator, where she remained concealed.

“Other blood there.”

“She’s OK. For the moment. I’m keeping her on ice, so to speak. It’s my wife. Where’s Lucy?”

“Come.” He and some of his men took off in a loping run. By now I’d realized that they weren’t the only soldiers here. The forest was filled with moving shadows-an army of tens of thousands, men and women both, stretching as far as I could see. They must have been converging for days, landing at remote locations and traveling here covertly. Suddenly, I felt like I was in one of the World Wars that the humans once fought-I, II, or III, take your pick.

My pulse quickened with both anxiety and, strangely, pride. Humankind might not have much of a chance against whatever outrage the Elites had planned, but their courage was inspiring. It really was.

I hoisted the refrigeration unit up onto my shoulder and followed Tazh. Almost immediately, Lizbeth started to cry out, but it made no difference to me. I was committed to this betrayal.

I felt like I was carrying the weight of the world-and in all probability, that’s what I was doing.