Runner's Moon: Yarrolam (18 page)

            “No. Your connection is very strong. Come on. Let’s take a quick break and get back on the road.”

            She noticed Simolif stayed by her the entire time they were inside the store, except for the time she visited the ladies’ room. When she emerged, she saw him on the phone. He nodded at her as she approached.

            “See you soon,” he said, and ended the call. “Ready?”

            “Yes. Did you tell them about Liam contacting me?”

            “I did. I also spoke with Sarah. She trying to track the Arra ship.”

            He paid for their items, turning away Cherron’s attempt to hand over some of her cash. They were heading for the car, when she paused and stared overhead. Her skin prickled like she’d entered an electrical field. It was an uncomfortable and unsettling feeling. And it frightened her.

            Simolif paused on the other side the car. “What is it, Cherron?”

            “I…”

            She thought she heard him sniff. “Cherron, what’s wrong?”

            She wrapped her arms around herself. “Can you feel it?”

            “Feel what?”

            She glanced over the roof at where he stood. He checked the skies, then checked her, alternating between the two. “I feel like I’m covered in ants. They’re crawling up my skin.” She set her bag of items on the hood and rubbed her goose-pimpled flesh, but her actions only made it worse. “I don’t like it, Simolif. I don’t know what’s causing it, but I don’t like it.”

            Overhead, a small white glow appeared. It barely illuminated the truck stop parking lot. Cherron knew she couldn’t judge distance well, but she guessed it had to be a couple hundred yards above them.

            “Cherron, get in the car.” His voice was hard. “Cherron!”

            She grabbed the bag and threw herself into the passenger seat. Simolif peeled out of the lot before she had the chance to fasten her seat belt. She held onto the dash and car door as he revved the engine, barely missing getting T-boned by a lone SUV that was turning in. They raced down the frontage road and streaked up the ramp, onto the main highway.

            The Ruinos had them flying down the nearly deserted two-lane. He pushed the speed limit until they met up with a small caravan of eighteen wheelers. Only then did he slow down, shifting lanes until they were cruising between a tanker and a refrigerator truck.

            The pale, milky glow continued to pour over them. It reminded her of a helicopter using its search light. Except this light was bigger. A lot bigger.

            “What’s happening?”

            “They’ve targeted you,” he told her. “That itching feeling? That’s the Arra. They’ve found you.”

            She couldn’t stop her heart from galloping. Her body was pumped with adrenaline, and the invisible insects crawling across her skin was getting worse.

            “No,
t’korra.
I’m fine. We’re both fine,” he murmured. Cherron glanced over to see him concentrating on the road. She knew he wasn’t talking to her. He noticed her intense stare. “My Sarah is worried. She feels my fear.”

            “But you’re safe, aren’t you?”

            “No.” He slowly shook his head.

            “Why not? You took the chip out of your arm, didn’t you?”

            “Yes, but that doesn’t mean I’m safe. If the Arra manage to capture me, it won’t take them long to discover I’ve removed the chip. They’ll also know I’ve been mated. They’ll torture me the way they’re torturing Yarrolam to find out where my blood mate is.” He motioned to the highway before them. “As long as we stay with others, they’ll have a harder time pinpointing what vehicle we’re in. As long as we don’t isolate ourselves, we’ll be okay. There’s safety in numbers.”

           
There’s safety in numbers.
Cherron felt the weirdest sense of déjà vu.

            “Does this highway go all the way to Tumbril Harbor?”

            She saw his face harden. “No. Once we exit Portland, we’ll have to take another route.”

            “You mean we’ll have to take a lesser traveled road in the middle of the night, and isolate ourselves.”

            He glanced over at her but didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.

Chapter 26

Family

            Cherron tried to get some sleep during the time they remained within the convoy, without success. Her nerves were too amped to do anything but stare out at the passing scenery, what little she could see in the dark. The overhead glow vanished twenty minutes into the drive, allowing them both to breathe a little easier.

            Simolif spoke little, and she didn’t feel like engaging in conversation. Neither did he turn on any music. After a while, it was soothing not to listen to anything but the steady purr of the car’s engine, and the hum of the road beneath the tires. The late summer night was cool, making her wish she had a long-sleeve shirt to put on over her tank top.

Right before four AM, several trucks pulled over into another twenty-four hour truck stop. Simolif exited with them and parked close to where they stopped their rigs.

“Let’s stay in sight of each other. We should be okay if we keep ourselves surrounded,” he told her before climbing out of the car. Cherron followed him into the store, taking advantage of the break to go to the restroom. When she emerged, she saw him talking to a couple of men, whom she took to be two of the drivers. She went to the refrigerated cases to pick up a bottle of water when Simolif joined her.

“They’re heading for Bangor, which will help.”

“What did you tell them?” she asked.

“Not much. That we’re in a hurry to get home because a family member is in dire straits. Which is true, in a way. I try not to lie if I can help it.” He grinned at her, and again she was struck by his movie star looks. But her heart didn’t appear affected by his boyishly-tousled blond hair and perfect smile. She realized, with surprise, that she preferred Liam’s plainer appearance. With his roughly-cut hair and shy grin, and those silvery-flecked eyes that could melt her with one look. Curious, she leaned close to him at the checkout and took an unobtrusive sniff.

Nothing. He had absolutely no scent whatsoever. Not a trace of cologne, soap, or fabric softener sheet odor clung to him.

When they got back into the car, he handed her a yogurt. “I figured we needed some protein. Strawberry okay? Or would you rather have the blueberry?”

“Either’s fine. Thank you.”

Their fingers brushed when he gave her the container and a plastic spoon. Again, she was struck by the sheer nothingness his presence gave her. Simolif stuck a spoonful of yogurt in his mouth, then kept it there as he grabbed the wheel and pulled out of the lot, getting into position between two trucks. As they prepared to reenter the interstate, he withdrew the spoon.

“They said we’re welcome to keep up with them. They’re going to try and push the speed limit a bit, since traffic is scarce. Cherron, why did you sniff me?”

She gave him a surprised look. “Does nothing escape you?”

“My senses are much greater than yours.” He cast a sideways glance at her. “Bet you didn’t smell anything, did you?”

She shook her head.

“And it surprised you.” It was a statement.

“Yes,” she admitted.

His concentration returned to driving as they continued on their way. Once they were settled in position, Simolif continued. “And you won’t. Smell me, that is. Only true mates have a distinct aroma with each other.”

“Simolif…”

“Please call me Simon.”

“Simon, Liam told me some about being on the slave ship. He said there were thirty-one of you that escaped. I was curious. Why did you spread out after you landed? Why didn’t you start a little colony or something, like the Amish? I mean, if there’s safety in numbers, why did you split up?”

“That’s an excellent question. I think we’re beginning to realize we made the wrong choice to split up. But back then, we were terrified of the Arra finding us and rounding us up. Herding us like cattle. We thought that by dispersing among the populace, we’d be harder to track and find.” He snorted. “Jebaral and I used to have heated discussions about big city life versus small town life. I argued that it was easier to be a face among the crowds, but he was determined to stay in small towns that were off the beaten track. Away from large, populated areas. He believed the Arra would target those big cities, thinking we would try to blend in among them.”

He stopped to concentrate on his driving. Like Liam, he gave it his whole attention, for which she was grateful. Neither did he use the cruise control. When they were settled back into position, he resumed.

“I think we’re starting to realize we shouldn’t have separated. When the Arra tried to take Challa and Compton, we met them as a unified front.”

“We?”

“Jebaral, myself, Compton and Challa, and Thom and Tiron. Sheriff Klotsky and many of the townspeople joined us to fight them off.”

“The townspeople? Of Tumbril Harbor?”

Simolif nodded. “Jebaral works at the lumber mill. Hannah is a waitress at the local diner. They’ve become part of the community. Same for Thom and Tiron. Thom’s a deputy sheriff in town, and Tiron works for the US Forestry Service. She’s stationed at the Beering Game Preserve. The townspeople have taken them all in. In return, Jebaral’s free to use his Ruinos strength on the job, upping their productivity. The few times Sarah and I have visited, we’ve met little resistance.”

“Who is Compton and Challa? They don’t live in Tumbril Harbor?’

“Challa was born on the slave ships. She has no memory of our home world. She used to work for a carnival until she met Compton. He used to be in your military until he was given a medical discharge. He and Challa live in a small farming community two hours away.”

“You said you all are thinking you shouldn’t have separated?” she asking, getting him back on track.

“I think we’ve come to the conclusion we should regroup. There are so few of us left. Jebaral said he’s going to approach the town council to see how they would feel about accepting more of us.”

“You didn’t tell me where you and Sarah live. Are you still in the big city?”

“For the moment, yes. Sarah is a professor at the Templeton branch of Northern State University. She runs the astronomy department in the sciences division. She has tenure.” He scratched the back of his arm. “She’s brilliant and successful. I’m just a construction worker. I can go anywhere to get a job, but she’s…” He scratched his arm again. It reminded Cherron of something Liam had told her.

“You’ve remained in your human form all night, haven’t you?”

He glanced at her but didn’t answer.

“I bet you’re miserable. Liam told me he can’t stay in his outer skin all night. Simon, if you need to shed your skin, I’m okay with that. Go ahead. It’s dark enough. No one will notice.”

This time he gave her a grateful look. The greenish flecks in his eyes sparkled like tiny emeralds.

He changed slowly to keep from frightening her. Cherron stared at his Ruinos features, what she could see in the dashboard light. Comparing them to Liam’s. Seeing both similarities and differences, not counting his eyes. Her gaze swept over his arms and hands, the only other parts of him that were also visible. Her curiosity satisfied, she flashed him a smile.

“There. Feel better?”

“Yes. Thank you, Cherron.”

His attention returned to the road. He began to slow them down when they passed a sign indicating a cutoff to a state road.

“This is where we leave our escort,” he commented, pulling away.

Cherron glanced up through the windshield. “Do you think we’ll be able to make it to Tumbril Harbor on our own?”

“We won’t have to,” he answered.

She started to ask him why not, when he pulled up to a car park-n-ride just off the interstate. He slowed but didn’t stop. They were in the middle of complete darkness.

Until several cars flashed their headlights. Simolif signaled back, and an SUV pulled out onto the two-lane blacktop. A pickup truck followed the SUV, and Simolif drew up behind it. Cherron watched out the back windshield as another truck and car joined the convoy. She looked to him. “Who are these people? Are they from Tumbril Harbor?”

“Better.” He smiled. His stress and worry seemed to have melted away. “They’re family.”

Chapter 27

Tumbril Harbor

            The sky was beginning to brighten when they reached the outskirts of town. Cherron glanced over at Simolif, who had reverted to his human self before the first rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon.

            They continued to travel in single file down the main street, stopping at the single light at the intersection. The town looked as if it had been bypassed by time, and stuck in the middle of the twentieth century. Right down to the revolving red and white striped barber’s pole and the hand-lettered sign in front of the church announcing a benefit fish fry on Sunday, directly after services.

This early in the morning, there was little traffic other than themselves. In front of their car, she could barely make out the single driver in the next vehicle. Same for the figure in the truck behind them.

            “Where are we going?” she asked.

            “Probably to Jebaral’s place. We’ll be able to rest there and work on our next plan of action.”

            She adjusted herself in the seat. “Good. I think my butt’s asleep.”

            Simolif chuckled but didn’t comment.

            They continued through and out of town. A few miles further on, the caravan slowed, turning onto a driveway of crushed oyster shells. Cherron spotted a log cabin sitting in the distance. She figured that must be their destination. Closing her eyes, she sent a mental message to Yarrolam.

           
I’m here,
t’kor.
I’m here among your people and your friends. I’m safe.

           
There was no answer. For a moment she wondered if he’d heard her. Maybe he was asleep. Regardless, she added,
And you’ll soon be back with us.