The Culling ttk-1 Read online

  Another turret juts through the earth in front of her and unleashes a volley of firepower. She flattens herself on the ground about ten feet from us.

  “Ophelia! This place is rigged. Hold your position!” Digory tugs my arm, pulling me to my feet. “Any ideas?”

  More shots ring through the sky.

  “Ah!” This cry comes from behind me. I whip around just in time to see Cypress tumble to the ground.

  “Cypress!” I tear out of Digory’s grasp and stumble toward her.

  Her face is twisted into a grimace. Her right hand is tucked under her left armpit, and even in the dim light I can see the dark trail oozing down.

  I wrap her in my arms. “How bad?”

  She clutches me tight with her other hand. “Flesh wound.”

  BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

  More blasts hit the ground beside us. I pull her away, hugging her tight.

  Digory darts toward us, dodging a spray of sparks and smoke that nip at his heels like an unrelenting shadow. He swerves to a stop beside us. He jabs a finger toward the base of the hill. “We need to get over that wall now!”

  I prop Cypress up against my shoulder. “She’s been hit. Her hand.”

  Trying not to hurt her further, I ease her injured hand out. It’s covered in blood. Near the center of her palm is a ragged hole outlined by scorched flesh.

  “Looks like it went straight through.” Digory tears off a piece of her sleeve and wraps it around her hand, ignoring her winces.

  A steady hum fills the air, getting stronger and stronger. Ophelia looks up. “Something’s coming.”

  Cypress grabs my collar. “I’m okay,” she hisses through gritted teeth. “We have to get out of here. It’s not safe in the open.” Her body slumps back against mine.

  Digory nods. “She’s right.” Then he moves in close and lifts her into his arms.

  “What are you doing?” She makes a fist but it barely glances off his shoulder. “Put me down, Tycho!”

  RATATATATATAT!

  More bullets zip past our heads.

  Close.

  “I’ll put you down just as soon as we’re out of firing range.” He turns to me. “C’mon!” He tramps down the remainder of the hill after Ophelia, carrying Cypress in his arms as if she were light as a baby.

  My eyes search the dark. I stop dead in my tracks. “Wait ! Where’s Gideon?”

  Digory freezes and turns. His eyes dart from me to the blazing turret.

  Ophelia shakes her head. “There’s no time-leave him.” She starts to run, but another blazing turret springs from the ground and fires. She dives onto her stomach and holds still.

  “Look! There he is!” Cypress points behind me.

  I whirl.

  Gideon’s sitting down in the grass a few feet up the hill from us. He’s completely immobile, eyes opened wide as if he’s in some kind of meditative state. He’s sitting in the shadow of another turret, right underneath its swerving barrel.

  “Gideon?” I take a few steps toward him. The weapon roars to life, flinging death at me in fiery flashes.

  I dive to my right, slamming into the ground on my injured leg.

  “Lucian!” Digory yells. Still carrying Cypress, he runs a few steps toward me. Yet another turret springs to the surface and fires at them.

  Digory drops to the ground and Cypress rolls away from him, still clutching her bloodied hand. When she attempts to get up, another gun breaks through the ground and swivels her way.

  A blast of pain rips through me, and for the longest second in my life, I think I’ve been hit again.

  But it’s only the old wound in my leg, squishing open to douse my bandages with the warmth of fresh blood. I roll onto my stomach to take the pressure off.

  Dead ahead, the barrel of the second turret faces me, a dark, gaping snake just waiting to spit its lethal poison through me.

  And still Gideon sits there, beneath it, staring right past me, past the field, as if he’s relaxing under the shade of a tree on a hot summer day.

  WHIRRR …

  I lift my head and risk a glance behind me. The first turret veers until it’s pointing at my back.

  They’re motion activated, I realize. Its sensors must be tracking our every movement. That’s why Gideon hasn’t been fired at yet.

  And now we’re all trapped right along with him, each at the mercy of one of the turrets, unable to move forward or backward without getting ripped apart.

  The hum in the air is louder now. From the circle of sky above, five lights zoom toward us like angry wasps in a perfect V formation.

  Squawkers.

  It’s a no-win situation. If we stay still, the turrets won’t get us. But we’ll be easy targets for these aircraft to take out.

  Unless …

  I raise my cheek off the ground as far as I dare without entering into the turret’s sensor range. “Everybody listen! These guns are motion activated. As long as we stay close to the ground and don’t move too fast, they won’t fire on us!”

  “Great!” Cypress shouts back. She repositions her hand and winces. “You know how long it’s going to take to crawl our way down like that?” Her voice barely carries above the approaching craft.

  Digory sighs. “We’ve got bigger problems. Those birds are heading our way. They’re almost on top of us. We’ll never make it in time.”

  The Squawkers blaze a path in the sky like shooting stars.

  Shooting stars. I glance from one turret to the next, calculating the distances, approximating the angles of the barrels, tracing a mental line from one to another just like I did with the star patterns I showed Digory on top of the Observation Tower.

  Picking up a handful of pebbles, I toss them at random turrets.

  One … two …

  Ratatatatatatatatatatatatat!

  “What are you doing?” Ophelia shrieks. “You’ll kill us all!”

  It might just work …

  My heart pounds against the grass beneath me. “We can do this if we work together. That’s the key, how this Trial was designed.”

  The wind picks up, rippling through the grass as the Squawkers roar into the simulated valley.

  “Whatever you’re going to do, do it fast!” Digory shouts.

  I clutch fistfuls of damp grass and raise my upper torso. “I’ve been timing the blasts. It takes just under three seconds for the gun sensors to track their marks and fire. When I give the signal, Gideon and I will run toward each other’s turret, while you guys run toward the turrets ahead of each of you-Digory over to Cypress’s, Cypress over to Ophelia’s, Ophelia to the final turret by the wall.”

  “Let’s just make it easier for them to kill us, why don’t we?” Ophelia cries.

  “We’ll be safe as long as we drop to the ground no later than two seconds in!” I shout back. “The guns will react to our movement and take each other out before they can redirect their course. Then we’ll be clear.”

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  The ground rocks with the force of the Squawker’s blasts, which rip out chunks of landscape in bright red fireballs. The air’s filled with acrid smoke that clogs my lungs. Burning tears streak down my cheeks.

  Digory’s eyes meet mine. “I’d rather go down trying than just wait here to die.”

  “I’m in, too.” Cypress chimes in.

  Ophelia’s eyes are glued to the sight of the Squawkers as they bank back toward us. “Let’s do it then,” she groans.

  I turn to face Gideon. His eyes remain blank, unfocused. He’s the last cog in this carefully constructed machine. If I can’t get through to him …

  “Gideon.” I lower my voice. “Please. We need you.”

  He blinks, removes his glasses, wipes them with his shirt, then pushes them back on his nose.

  “I’m ready,” he says.

  Thank you, I mouth.

  I turn to the others, four sets of desperate eyes, trusting me with their lives. “When I give the signal, we move. Remember-drop at two seconds, not
a moment later.”

  The growl of the Squawker engines rips through the sky toward us.

  My heart’s thundering. My breaths come in quick, shallow bursts.

  “Run!” I sprint, heading right for the dark eye of my gun turret, a black hole of unblinking death.

  thirty-two

  Everything’s a slow-motion blur. I bolt toward Gideon and his turret, ignoring the searing pain in my leg, the piercing shriek of the Squawkers overhead-nothing matters except the cold gleam on the barrel of the gun, blinding me. For a split second I can taste its metal, but it’s only the blood of my lower lip as my teeth sink through.

  One second …

  CLICK!

  The sounds of the guns locking onto our movements are like gigantic tumblers shifting into place, crushing my brain …

  Gideon’s a blur almost parallel to me …

  Two seconds …

  “DIVE!” I shriek at the top of my lungs, half expecting the blast of the gun to rip me apart before the word’s last echo fades into nothingness. I drop, slamming against the hard earth. The breath I’ve been holding bursts free. The flesh on my palms and cheek burns as my momentum slams me into the base of the gun placement …

  BAM! BAM! BAM!

  I shove my palms against the sides of my head, barely able to suppress the blasts ripping through my eardrums. Then the turret above me bursts apart in a flaming ball, singeing my hair and spraying the air with a geyser of smoldering shrapnel. I clamp an elbow over my eyes to shield them from the onslaught digging into my uniform and roll away from the impact.

  My eyes risk a peek over my arm.

  One by one, the gun turrets topple over in a haze of smoking, twisted metal until they’re all nothing but silent, steaming heaps, casting wispy trails up the hill.

  Hot tears sting my eyes.

  It worked.

  I spring to my haunches, ignoring the pain. “Is everyone okay?”

  “I–I-I think … so.” Cypress calls back. I can make out her silhouette through the smoke as she crawls to her knees.

  “Looks like I’m still in one piece!” Ophelia shouts, hands waving from further down the slope. Despite the hard edge in her tone, I can almost hear the giggle hiding just beneath it.

  Ahead, Gideon sits up, his face smudged with blood and dirt. His glasses hang askew on his nose. “Still breathing,” he mumbles, sounding more cursed than relieved.

  But what about-?

  I leap to my feet. “Digory!” My heart pistons up my throat. “Are you hurt?” I stumble down the slope, wiping my eyes against the wet haze obscuring everything.

  Smudges of blood and dirt glisten through the sweat on his forehead, contrasting against his noticeably paler face. “Guess I banged myself up a bit.” He climbs to his feet and moves his hand to rub his injured shoulder, jerking it back as though he’s touched an electric fence.

  “Careful!” I hold him steady, gently grazing his exposed shoulder with my palm.

  He flinches, squeezing his eyes shut. “You think it’s broken?”

  I shake my head, studying the angle of his shoulder. “Nope. Looks dislocated to me. We have to reset it.”

  He shakes his head.“No time. Let’s go.” His hand grips my arm as he struggles to retain his balance. Another flash of pain on his face.

  Touching his good shoulder, I hold him firmly in place and gaze right into his eyes. “I just want to look at it.”

  “Okay.”

  Digging my fingers into his shoulder, I yank on his hand.

  Pop!

  The snap echoes through the valley. Digory drops to his knees. “Son of a-!” His jaw flexes and his eyes squeeze shut for a moment. Then he looks around at the fallen turrets, turns back to me, and winks. “You did good.”

  “We all did good.” Turning, I make eye contact with Gideon and give him a thumbs-up.

  He nods and returns the gesture.

  The entire valley thunders with the hum of the Squawkers’ engines.

  They’ll be on us again any second …

  “I’m not waiting around!” Ophelia dashes toward the wall.

  The Squawkers are directly above. Tiny black shapes drop from their underbellies and zoom toward us, reminding me of the bees that stung Mrs. Juniper to death.

  Cypress grabs my arm. “Run!”

  Without bothering to answer, I haul Digory to his feet and motion to Gideon.

  Then we’re all scrambling down the rest of the hill toward the wall.

  KABLAM!

  Another of the Squawkers’ bombs plows into the field behind us, striking with the force of a major earthquake, scattering us like paper dolls in a breeze. Waves of heat emanate from the fireball, shoving me forward with fiery hands.

  Then the next bomb hits, and the next, rocking the ground with a deafening roar that transforms the entire field where we stood just a moment ago into a raging inferno.

  A black cloud covers everything. I choke on the thick, pungent smoke, trying in vain to cough out the gritty intruders lodging in my lungs. I drop to the ground, gasping for air and only succeeding in inhaling more dark death, smothering me with each breath. My eyes water, and I can’t help but think how unfair this all is … how close we were … making it past the guns, just to suffocate … I lose focus … as if I’m drifting into a nightmare …

  Digory latches onto my arm, rousing me from my stupor, pulling me through the smoke until I can glimpse the small scrap of sky. He half carries, half drags me from the smog. We stagger to the wall a few feet ahead. His strong hand is slapping my back over and over again. I alternate between gulping fresh air and hacking out ash.

  My eyes regain focus.

  Everyone’s crowded around us, staring up at the wall’s smooth surface. It must be almost thirty feet high, with no footholds or handholds in sight. Something glistens on its top surface, reflecting the deep oranges and reds of the blazing tongues that lick at our backs.

  Bracing against the steel of Digory’s arm, I pull myself to my feet for a better look. There’s a metal ring embedded at the top of the wall. A metal ring attached to … is that what I think it is?

  “Up there!” I shove a finger in the direction of the ring. “It looks like a rope ladder!”

  More explosions rock the terrain behind us. The Squawkers fly past. I can already see the angle of their flight pattern arcing in the sky, preparing to zoom in for another run. With the blazing field behind us and the wall blocking the path ahead, we’re boxed in.

  “What good is a rope going to do us up there?” Cypress shouts over the aircraft’s growing buzz. “If we could reach it, we wouldn’t need it!”

  Ophelia sucks in her cheeks. “Looks like the Establishment has a sense of humor after all.”

  Digory and I exchange glances. He shakes his head, probably thinking the same thing I am.

  There’s no way out of this.

  But that makes no sense. If the Establishment wanted to murder us outright, it could have done so at any time.

  I glance above and then back at the others’ faces. “That rope has to be there for a reason. It’s a test, just like the gun turrets were. Somehow, someway, we have to reach it and pull ourselves over.”

  “Maybe only one of us is meant to reach it.”

  We all turn to look at Gideon. He takes off his glasses and wipes the sweat from his eyes, focusing on me.

  “Gideon’s right,” I say. “We need to form a human ladder.” My eyes bounce from one to the other of them, estimating their different heights, adding them up and figuring the distance between the ground and the top of the wall.

  Ophelia’s eyes roll. “That’ll never work!”

  The hum of the circling Squawkers gets louder.

  “Doesn’t look like we’ve got too many options. Let’s go.” Cypress holds out her uninjured hand to Gideon. “You coming?” She fixes a tender gaze on him.

  He shrugs, and his eyes drop to the ground. But he takes her hand and slips his fingers through hers.

&
nbsp; Digory’s staring above us. He squeezes his injured shoulder and winces, then turns to me, shame flooding his eyes. “I’m not sure how much weight I can take on this damn shoulder.”

  I smile at him. “Don’t worry. I got you covered.”

  “What order do we go in?” Cypress asks.

  Ophelia steps forward. “I’m the lightest. I’ll go first-”

  Digory bars her way. “Not a chance. The moment you get up there you’ll climb over without tossing us the rope and leave the rest of us behind.”

  Her eyes become angled slits. “How surprisingly self-righteous of you, Tycho.” She circles him. “What’s to stop you”-her gaze burns through the group-“or any of you from doing the same thing?”

  Gideon swats cinders away from his face. “She does have a point … ”

  Cypress avoids eye contact with all of us.

  I can’t blame any of them for having doubts, especially Gideon and Ophelia. They know better than the rest of us what’s at stake.

  I clear my throat. “We don’t have time to debate this. The Squawkers will be here any second. Even though Digory’s the strongest, with his shoulder in the shape it’s in, he won’t be able to support any of our weight. So he’ll have to be the one to climb to the top-”

  Digory shoots me a shocked look.

  “But-” Ophelia interrupts.

  “All of you, especially you, Ophelia, believe that Digory and I have each other’s back. Which is why we’re going to be on opposite ends of this task. He’ll be at the top of the wall, and I’ll be at the base of the ladder. If you truly believe we’re working together, then you must believe he’ll never go over the wall and leave me behind.”

  For a few seconds, the only sounds are the steady crackling of the flames growing closer and the purr of the returning Squawkers, which soon becomes a steady growl.

  “You’ve convinced me.” Cypress breaks our silence at last.

  Gideon nods.

  I back against the wall. “Ophelia, since you don’t trust me, you get to stand directly on my shoulders. Then Gideon, so he can lend Cypress a hand because of her injury. Cypress, you’re next, so you and Digory can help each other.”

  Another burst of flame billows our way, narrowing the gap between us and the smooth stone.