Kiromir 66

The Songbirds had us outclassed for planning, I’d admit. But, for people that didn’t care for technology or the outside world, they did well.

Their elders stayed in communal quarters, like ours. Grizzled hands spread out over a long rough-hewn table. Grey hair dotted the room while the few younger people allowed in had stern expressions.

“What’s going on? This doesn’t look like a battle plan.” I picked up a sheet of parchment from the table, old and hand-scrawled. The script looked like our old tongue, and they bickered back in forth in Anil over whether something applied to our circumstances or not.

“They’re trying to figure out if we can exercise authority without declaring war. It’d require them to give up Rolyn and anyone in the know on that project.” One of their warriors said. I saw a lot of our free spirit in the songbirds, especially in their clothing. An auburn-haired man with golden eyes like my own, wearing denim and a cut-to-fit shirt, looked at me appraisingly. I’d known him in my younger years but had little to do with him.

“Miela?” I questioned, and his half-grin met my own.

“Mothman.” He commented back in greeting. I let it slide this time. His expression ran serious once more as we peered over their documents. Considering flock law on this before just running in made me glad. We could have earned the wrath of the Grells or the Horizons. But even still, I felt restless as I watched them argue and write.

“This is going to take a while, isn’t it?” I asked Miela.

“They’ve been at it since last night. Some of them haven’t slept. We’re waiting on a response from the Horizons. We sent messages that haven’t been returned, so either they’re complicit, neutral, or have been struck.” Miela’s tone sent a shiver down my spine.

“This is really bad.”

“Oh, it gets worse. If there are others of our kind out there beyond the wildlings… Like Niala… this may get their attention, and we may not be safe from them, either. Rolyn had some sort of contact, we’re sure.” He shrugged, “But Niala may be able to help us bridge.”

My stomach knotted.

We had a lot of work cut out for us, and Miela led me away from the elders. Fortunately, Rana, Touk, and Torga greeted me with stern gazes; they also wanted to save the kids. So I followed him to another room and sighed in relief when I saw the glow of a laptop screen.

At last, there’s some technology.

“Wifi is terrible here, but I have everything up we’re going to need,” Miela said

I glanced at his computer screen and saw a floating map with a blip over several spots in the US and immediately recognized it as our tribes. The Wanderers and the Sentinels spread out in red. The Horizons showed yellow, and the Songbirds had been filled in green. The Grells, though, were in black.

“The red means that your flocklands have already been razed—”

“Wait, what?”

“Agents were coming in last night while we were getting your elders. They were burning everything they could to the ground.” Miela moved his cursor a bit.

I had so many memories at the barracks that I’d never be able to live through again.

“Did they get Rev’s?” I asked. I still kept the building he owned for his clinic, though I only used it for storage nowadays. I prayed he’d come back, and I hadn’t even changed the locks.

“No, but there’s been someone there. So it’s off-limits for the time being.” Miela tapped on the screen, leaving a print on the monitor I wanted to wipe away.

I sighed in relief. I stored all of Niala’s pictures and sentimentals there. I could care less about my own, but something felt right about having those photos, trinkets, and her first lost tooth. If we ever found her family, maybe they’d want to see it, too.

“Sentinels were the same. Burned to the ground, whole neighborhoods. The best we can figure they didn’t have an escape plan. We found a lot of ashes there, and the place stank of Mana. We’re reaching our connects and feelers out, but I’m certain that a lot of people died.” He pulled up some pictures, and it made my stomach clench to look at.

“And the children?” I asked with dread.

He shook his head. “It’s not just about Ni and Gaff until we account for the families.”

I felt absolutely sick.

“We did get someone of interest, though. I think you’ll be happy to know that Prim got on a camper with the Westwinds. She’s sweet on Lizer, apparently.”

“She told you everything she knows?” I felt a little victory rise within me. Of course, prim wasn’t old enough yet, but I assume that she used any excuse she could to get out with us.

“Yeah. She knew some things, had a feeling for others. She said she warned you to get Niala out. Apparently, they had staged a coup to force you to send Niala off to the Cuervos or Nyota? They set it up funny, but now we know she had intended to hand Niala over for a while.”

“So, where’s Rolyn now?” I asked.

“According to her phone records, she’s with the Grells. A few others are with her; looks like their elders and council.” Miela tapped up at the Grells on the map.

“So much for ‘flock first.’” I grumbled.

“Yeah, right?” he ran his fingers through his dark brown locks.

“So what kind of weapons did they use to be able to take us out?” I asked, recalling watching blood spray and corpses burn.

“Us? No. Them? Yes. It was just high-caliber rounds. The sentinels are just too weak these days. They’re strong, but they’ve forsaken our ways to the point that they’re losing their gifts.”

“Losing their gifts?” I’d heard that the Sentinels had flameless kids, but not how far it went.

“A quarter of their kids can’t fly. Less than half can fly a straight mile. They learn barely enough Anil to function, and they even have a half dozen youth in their twenties that never even got their fires.” Miela bit back a shudder.

I felt tightly coiled grief in my stomach.