I sprinted down the branch and leapt into a nearby tree, taking a circuitous route back to where I first saw Eli. The beast’s desecration hung on the air despite my speed, and the trees mourned with me; meekly rustling their eerie understanding. The outcome was a warning to us all.
I jumped as quickly as I dared, and finally the original clearing came back into view, but this time it was completely empty. My ears started to pound, and I longed to call Eli’s name, but I knew that would be like lighting Arafel’s ceremonial fire beneath my feet. Instead, I tucked myself high up inside a tree fork, and scanned the forest. It was completely silent. Nothing moved. Nothing breathed. Then a hand closed around my mouth.
Panic flooded my limbs, followed by swift relief as I reasoned only Max or Eli could climb this high. The hand felt large and strong. It had to be Max. I tried to turn my head, but it was locked forwards as the sound of trampled branches and twigs drew my gaze back to the ground. I gasped, unprepared for the sight of a tall, black figure emerging into the patchy moonlight. He was wearing what appeared to be a full bodysuit and helmet, and I knew instantly it had to be an Insider. What did Grandpa used to say? Spy an Insider, watch out for the Sweeper.
I held my breath as the figure lifted his left arm, and considered a small bleeping device attached to the inside of his wrist. I guessed it to be one of the ‘Identifier’ devices the Council Elders had warned us about. The Insiders considered them essential, and the little boxes recorded everything from the wearer’s location to the position of the sun. Arafel Elders were suspicious of any piece of technology, and called the Identifiers a threat to mankind’s intuition and instinct.
The Insiders also kept old time, twenty-four hours in one day; although Arafel had long since dispensed with restrictive timekeeping, and coordinated days around light instead. It had been one of Thomas’s first suggestions for renouncing the old system, and forging a new path with the natural world.
As the Insider continued to tap the device, there was a sudden rush among the bushes and three smaller figures leapt into the clearing, tackling him to the ground. I recognized Eli immediately and a small crow of victory rose in my throat. Max must have felt something because his hand clamped even harder. I pulled at his resisting grip indignantly, just as a sudden, ear-splitting whistle paralysed us both.
The shrill sound made my ears ache, but it was the ominous response that sent rivulets of fear coursing through my veins. It was the same rattling as before, and it was getting louder. The Insider was somehow using the black box to call up his pack of vermin! Terrified, I pressed further into the tree and felt Max do the same behind me.
Within seconds, the macabre creatures broke the perimeter of the clearing. Eli and the others pulled the Insider to his feet, and spun him around to face the incoming pack. I shuddered as I took in their sinister faces once again; there was something far too knowing about them.
They halted immediately, and sat in formation with the leader clearly at the front, his mouth wet with blood. My heart ached with remorse for the tigress, but my priority was Eli and the rest of the task force now. I watched intently as Eli forced the Insider to tap his black box again. The alarm call disappeared, leaving only a heavy silence in its wake.
‘Stand them down!’
It was Max’s authoritative tone, and a fresh wave of dread washed over me. It couldn’t be worse. All those I cared about most were below me, in violent danger. Then I froze, the weight of my realization making every fine hair on the back of my neck prickle with fear. If Max was in the clearing below, who in the name of Arafel was behind me now?
Horrified, I shoved my hip back sharply into my assailant’s crotch. He muttered something unintelligible, as I used the momentary lull in his hold to force a half-turn. But as I caught sight of the figure behind, I wished I’d stayed ignorant. I was staring straight into the reflective glass of a black ventilation helmet.
I tried to pull my knee up, but my assailant was too close and deflected the move easily. He caught my wrists and pinned them in an iron grip between us, before slowly shaking his head.
‘Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t screech like a squirrel monkey this second.’ I hissed. ‘There are far more of us than you can see!’
Blood pounded in my ears as there was a small click of response, then the black glass rolled upwards to reveal a pair of startling blue eyes and dark bushy eyebrows.
‘If you want to live, you need to restrain your primate impressions … for now.’
His voice was calm, but his tone mocking.
I dug my nails into the fleshy part of my restrained hands, itching to lash out, but I didn’t get chance. There was a burst of fresh shouting below.
One quick glance sent a fresh wave of adrenaline flooding through my body. The bodysuited Insider below us had twisted out of Eli’s hold and was pointing a short cylindrical device at Max’s head. Fear twisted my stomach, and with a surge of strength, I yanked my hands free with the intention of launching my own artillery.
Instead I found my wrists caught with a thin black wire, which shrank and seared my skin painfully. When I opened my mouth to yell, a thick cloth was quickly pressed against it until it felt numb and useless. I fumed over the top of the itchy material.
‘Allow me,’ he whispered, his eyes glinting blue in the moonlight.
I kicked out with my legs, only to find my fury deflected by his tough bodysuit. I paused to catch my breath, and instantly he took advantage, pulling another thin wire from his bodysuit and clipping it to a branch above us. Then he paused only to hold a gloved finger against the mouthpiece of his visor, before disappearing into the black branches below.
Seconds later, he strolled out from the trees below, and greeted the Insider familiarly. Incensed, I twisted with all my strength, ignoring the painful red welt that formed as I worked away at the wires binding my wrists. Finally, with thin rivulets of blood running down my wrist, the clamp gave way and I whipped off the gag. I reloaded my catapult, trying to calm my shaking hands. How dare he leave me trussed up in a tree like live bait!
I watched the new exchange below me, waiting for the right moment to launch my ambush. I longed to let my fingers do the talking now, but Eli had taught me the value of waiting for the right moment. Then, just when I thought the moment had arrived, the Insider barked an order and the snarling creatures retreated. Shaking, I lowered my leather.
Eli and Max were the only men left in the clearing, but they were alive. I exhaled slowly, watching the Insiders negotiate, and for the first time I noticed how tall they both were – a head taller than any man in Arafel. Their voices rose in dispute, and I could tell the first Insider, who appeared to be the Leader, was determined to let the monkeys dispense of the prisoners without delay. I lifted my catapult again, and readied myself for the worst. But the command didn’t come.
As the Leader’s body language grew less rigid, I scanned the bushes for the rest of the task force, including Grandpa. A team of twelve had left Arafel, but I’d seen only three in the last half an hour. Were the rest hiding and watching, like me? I had no time to think further. There was a rustle from the bushes, and five pairs of eyes swung towards the thick foliage. Slowly, a weak figure shuffled slowly into view, and there was a mutter among the captive men. It was Grandpa, and my gut twisted as though I’d fallen upon a fired torch.
‘Let them go; it’s me you want.’ His feeble voice was barely audible, and I burned to rush to his side. Eli clearly shared the same instinct and started towards him, only to find his path blocked by one of the aggressive monkeys.
‘What is your name?’ the Leader demanded.
‘George Lucas Hanway,’ Grandpa responded with quiet dignity, ‘direct descendent of Thomas Hanway and last keeper of the Book of Arafel.’
The