The Last Battery

Lily sat in darkness, empty jar in hand.

Blue and Emerald had explained that there was always a risk when trying to soothe a feral kami… but it didn’t amount to much more than what she already knew. And the detail didn’t really matter, either.

Yellow was gone.

They’d taken a risk. Tried something she hadn’t realised was possible. And while the gamble paid off, since they’d managed to protect Haven, the cost was far more than she’d been willing to pay.

She ran her fingers across the glass. Yellow had always been a little grumpy. Even negative. But this time… He was encouraging me more than usual. Why did it have to happen right when he’d been so hopeful?

It was as though Yellow had seen his fate and didn’t want to worry her.

Other kami in the settlement had dimmed.

From her position in the lookout’s nest, concealed within the dead tree, she should have been able to see the glow of their patterns in windows or the trees. Instead, it was their humming that reached her. Each voice blended into a soothing chant, one that faded into the background as she stared.

“I shouldn’t have agreed to their plan,” Lily said, the words so soft that they were barely a whisper.

A knock echoed on the hatch beneath her.

Lily shifted to one side. When the hatch opened, it was Mia who climbed into the lookout. The woman’s fine features were hard to see under the starlight, but there was enough that Lily recognised an expression of sympathy.

“I heard that, you know,” Mia said. “And it’s not true.”

Lily hesitated. “What do you mean?”

“Kami keep plenty of secrets. You weren’t to know the risks, Lily.”

“Well…”

“And remember the people of Haven. Not everyone is a fighter here. Not to mention the children. How would Robin have fared if the mutant wasn’t stopped? Stopped by you and your kami.”

Lily sat the jar down with a long sigh. “Mia, I…”

The woman waited.

“I know you’re right, but I don’t feel… I just know that I should have done more.”

Mia put an arm around Lily’s shoulders, her touch bringing welcome warmth. “I don’t agree, but if you want to do more – just strive for what you’ve already promised. And take this with you.”

Lily accepted something small with both hands. Something heavier than its shape suggested; a dark, smooth item. In the poor light, she had to rely on her fingertips to be sure, but at one end there were two metal protrusions: one round and the other… a special shape. Something familiar…

Hexagon.

It was Emerald, but the kami did not add anything more.

Mia had given her a battery. And not just any battery – it was the last spare battery! The one that had always been locked away in the citadel’s safe for emergencies. Lily met Mia’s gaze. Starlight had gathered in the woman’s cat-like eyes.

“Mia, I can’t accept this.”

“Of course you can. And tomorrow, Noah and I want you and Gabriel to take it when you leave.”

“But –”

Mia smiled as she raised a hand. “No arguing. After all, what sort of leaders would we be if we sent you off unprepared?”

Lily opened her mouth to ask another question, only for Mia to chuckle.

“I know your next objection, too. Our master battery can still be recharged – and it’s too big for you to take, anyway.”

“Even so –”

“Even so, Haven’s supply won’t last forever?” Mia nodded. “You’re right. That fact hasn’t changed. But if you can find Virren, we won’t have to worry about that. Personally, I’m more concerned about the death-marks.”

“Each time we check, they’re growing a little closer.”

“Let us worry about that until you return. You have your own difficult task ahead.”

Lily nodded, but this time, she couldn’t meet Mia’s gaze – afraid that all her doubts and fears would be revealed.

***

[Do you really think we should have left this way?] Gabriel asked as they strode toward the Eastwood’s edge the next day, soft morning light falling upon their faces.

“Maybe.”

Her brother paused to swat at a pair of gnats, their glimmering wings far too pretty for such annoying creatures. Being common to the east of Haven, she’d have to put up with them a while longer. After all, they’d only been walking for an hour, since sneaking from Haven via an emergency tunnel. One that Noah had revealed with some pride.

[We should have said goodbye to Amir face-to-face, at least.]

“Probably.”

Mia and Noah had favoured a proper send off, but instead, Lily pleaded for something simpler. Something without fuss. Without everyone watching. That way, she wouldn’t have to see the hope in their eyes…

Because we might not come back at all, she thought, and it was an unwelcome one.

A ceremony only would have made leaving more difficult.

And so the Twins relented. Instead, they loaded Lily and her brother up with supplies in the pre-dawn. Not only food and water, and rare medicine among other useful items, but a newly-repaired rifle for Gabriel. And last of all, the battery. Stowed safely at the bottom of a pack, a pack which now thudded gently against Lily’s back as they neared the wood.

The tree trunks in Eastwood were the colour of snow with dark, splayed leaves above. An unusual species known as snow-birch. Their mutation took place long in the past, making the forest safe. In fact, more than safe, since the bark was harvested for a water-resistant material. Ariana, Robin’s mother, then spun it into something the Twins claimed was quite close to a fabric known as ‘wool’.

Apparently, ‘wool’ was something once taken from an animal.

Long-since extinct, of course.

Like us, if we don’t reach the Ringwood.

Gabriel put a hand on her shoulder, then signed a little deliberately. [Hey, are you paying attention?]

“Sorry,” she said, signing quickly. “You’re probably right, but I just couldn’t face everyone.”

[Why not?] he asked. [What you did was amazing, you know.]

The empty jar at her belt told her otherwise.

So did the silence from her kami.

Her surviving kami.

But Lily knew he wasn’t trying to be insensitive.

Ahead, a tall figure stepped from the shadows of the tree line, rifle slung over one shoulder.

Amir.