First World(24)

“Tell me you’re seeing that house?” Lucy whispered, practically climbing my back to see over my shoulder.

I squinted again. Finally the scene came into focus. “Holy moth... shut the door,” I managed to splutter out as I stared.

There was a house tucked into the trees, and I had almost missed it. And no, my sight wasn’t failing – the entire house was camouflaged. It looked just like the forest.

I moved into the small clearing. Four steps in and I was standing at the left side of the house. I glanced around furtively before leaning in closer. The material was unusual, smooth with no visible joins. I reached out to examine the texture, but did a double take as my hand reflected back at me.

“It imitates its surroundings, Abbs.” Lucy leaned her face closer, laughing as her blond-haired, blue-eyed image reflected back perfectly.

“That’s pretty damn clever. It allows the building to blend into the forest.” I was impressed. “This is so ‘not in New York’; the gangs would be all over this to hide their lairs or whatever they call them.”

Lucy nodded. “So this is an extremely advanced part of Earth – right?”

Even I could tell she didn’t believe that, but she’d reverted back to denial, the best kind of ignorance.

I shook my head. “You heard what Quarn said. Do you really think we’re still on Earth?”

Grimacing, she stuck her tongue out at me. Before I could retaliate, a bang shattered the silence.

We both jumped.

My heart galloped in my chest, threatening to burst out like a weird alien baby.

“Ahhh – what the hell was that?” Lucy crouched low.

“I think we might be about to see our first inhabitants,” I whispered back.

Lucy gripped my arm and gestured toward some large trees framing the back of the house. They weren’t going to offer much cover, but better than being caught in the open.

Moving quickly, we made it just in time. Through the branches I spotted a man standing in the exact spot we’d just vacated. And – wait for it – he was tall. Notice the pattern: Quarn was tall; Brace even taller. Even I was reasonably tall. I looked down at Lucy; she was going to hate it here.

“Guess I know where your ridiculously unfair height advantage comes from,” she whispered indignantly.

I was determined not to laugh at Lucy’s predictability. She was so touchy about her height.

As we watched, he turned on the spot, surveying the forest from all angles.

To me, he looked to be around thirty with blond, shoulder-length hair tied back against the nape of his neck. He was good-looking, but in that boring guy-next-door way, with lightly tanned skin and a few laugh lines framing his eyes.

My attention was suddenly drawn to a large black baton resting over his shoulder. I shuddered, thinking about being smacked around with that. It looked kind of lethal. I was distracted from this by movement close to his feet. Emerging from near-by ferns, an enormous gray animal padded over to sit beside him.

What is that? I turned questioning wide eyes to Lucy. She was mesmerized, her mouth slightly open. I turned back to the scene.

The only comparison I could think of were pictures of a pack of wolves from my animal textbook. The basics were there: body shape, four legs, pointed ears. But everything else was slightly off, its features more elongated, its eyes extra large and intelligent.

I’d always wanted a pet – what kid doesn’t? – but animals were rare in the city – practically non-existent. And don’t ask me why. Trust me, it’s better you don’t know.

“Bady, I don’t see anyone, but the alarm did sound. Can you take this side of the area and I will patrol the west end.” The man looked down as he talked to the animal.

Lucy nudged me, not that she needed to. I’d heard – same accent again. There was a smooth quality to this man’s, something Quarn’s lacked, although I preferred the throaty quality of Quarn’s. It was more real.

Taking into account how foreign this place was, I wondered again about their ability to speak English. I shook my head. This was yet another question to add to the growing list.

Bady took off at the command. Either he was well trained, or animals were far more intelligent than I’d been led to believe. The man disappeared around the front of the house.

“Got a plan yet, Abbs? That animal thing is heading our way,” Lucy asked worriedly.

I peered back through the bushes. Bady was running in diagonal strips, sniffing the ground as he went.

I spoke quickly. “Either we speak with the man, play dumb and see where we’ve ended up. Or we make a run for it and hope to find a town nearby.”

Lucy looked around nervously. “Not really a fan of the stick he was carrying. Let’s make a run for it.”