I heard the word “excruciating” more than once when asked about the hike up. “Glorious” regarding what they’d found. And they wouldn’t stop teasing the big surprise that was coming—and why it was taking Jorge and Karl a bit longer.
Once the fire was sparked, I leaned down and blew on it to catch the husk, then closed my little pyramid by leaning a few thin strips of bark across the opening. Tarsi had already made a trip to the base of the tunnel to bring me the firewood we’d stored there in case of rain. I sorted through the pieces and leaned a few smaller ones around the growing flames. I wasn’t sure what Kelvin wanted with the fire, seeing that the morning was quite warm already, but they were the ones that had just scaled to the treetops, so the least I could do was chop some more wood.
I cut a few fat logs out of the tree by hacking the top of one outcrop’s corner, then the bottom, before finally prying out the loosened piece with the edge of the blade. Kelvin pulled himself away from the chatter around the fire and came over; Tarsi followed along.
“You need help?” he asked.
“Are you kidding? After what you just went through?” I took another swing with the machete, concentrating on doing it well now that I had an audience.
“Coming down was easy,” he said. “We were joking around the entire time, pausing to take in the view.”
“What was it like?”
“The other night was miserable, with the rain and all. But yesterday was unreal. The clouds blew off and the entire sky was as blue as the hole we made in the canopy. Only, it was as far as you could see. Just bright blue all around. And you can move around up there, the canopy is so tight on top. And—well, I want you both to see it for yourself.”
I laughed and shook my head before taking another swipe at the base of the tree. “I’ll take your word for it. I don’t think I’d enjoy the hike or the height.”
Kelvin stepped up and helped me pry loose a hunk of wood the size of my arm. “Nonsense,” he said. “The hike isn’t that bad.”
“You used the word excruciating.”
“That was because I didn’t know it would be worth it at the time. Damn, Porter, just say you’ll go.”
“Maybe after the harvest,” I said, kicking a few splinters on the ground out of my way and readying the machete for another hack.
“The
“Exactly.” I took a swipe at the tree, the blade singing with a poor blow. “What were you saying about Mica and Peter?”
“We found another carving at the top, so they were definitely there. It pointed across the canopy, away from base, but we could see in all directions without any sign of them.”
“How far did the canopy spread?” Tarsi asked.
“There’s a ridge of mountains west of here. Steep and snow-capped. Our heavy rains must be caused by them.”
I set the machete down and tried to recall what Kelvin had taught us about rain clouds—but I couldn’t remember. While prying another hunk of wood loose, I saw Samson casually drop two more small logs on the fire and realized I was falling behind.
“West is away from base,” I said, thinking out loud. “That’s where the arrow was pointing?”
“Yeah, why? Wait—are you thinking that’s where Mica and Peter were going? Why would they head to the mountains?”
I shrugged. “Why would they climb the tree?”
A surge of noise erupted from the girls, a cacophony of squeals, shrieks, and outright screams. I turned, expecting to find at least three of them on fire, and nearly fell over at the sight of the creature coming out of the tree next to me.
It looked like a furry snake, but was bigger than a man lying on his belly. Three times as big and four times as long. Its body was covered in bristles that waved along its length, seeming to propel it forward. I reached for the machete and backed away, my heart thudding in my chest. Kelvin laughed at me and took a step forward; he grabbed a loop of rope tied around the creature’s forward end.
The hysterics from the girls continued as a second creature came out after the first, its head almost touching the other’s rear.
“Come on!” Kelvin yelled at me. He pulled on the rope, steering the first creature away from the tree and across the moss. I ran after him but kept my distance.
“What the hell are those?” I asked.
“We call ’em vinnies,” Kelvin said. “In honor of Vincent, who nearly jumped to his death when he discovered them. Or, rather, when
I backed away from the thing as Kelvin swung it my way, bringing its face into view. The stiff hairs ended a foot from the tip, the brown and black follicles leading to a light green head with two large, moist, charcoal eyes. A stick extended out from the thing’s back, tied there by loops of rope.
“Their faces are kinda cute,” I said.
“They look like giant Earth caterpillars,” Kelvin told me. “Nearest thing I know of, anyway.”
“I don’t know what those look like, so I’ll take your word for it. I immediately thought ‘snake’ when it came out.”
Kelvin laughed. “Yeah, I suppose not many people have phobias of caterpillars.”
“What’s the stick for?” I asked.
“Propulsion. They eat these leaf-like chips from the tree. We hung one ahead of it to get it started down. Must’ve fallen off.”
“I let him eat it once we got to the bottom,” Vincent said. He ran up to help Kelvin steer the creature. “Figured he deserved it.” I looked back at the tree and saw a third vinnie had exited the tunnel, the nose of the fourth right behind.
“How many did you guys bring down?”
“Seven, if they all stayed together.”
“Why?” I asked. “What’re we gonna do with them?”
Kelvin and Vincent both looked up at me as they continued to guide the lead vinnie.
“Are you kidding?” Jorge asked, walking up behind me. I turned and saw him slapping his hand with the side of his machete.
“We’re gonna eat them.”
• 19 •
The Slaughter
Jorge and Karl led one of the vinnies aside. The remaining six marched in a circle, the lead vinnie having been guided around until his nose met the last one’s rump. The entire column writhed, their brown and black thistles waving over and over down the length of each body. I was as hungry as the rest, but for some reason I didn’t like the idea of eating something alive. I could find nothing in my training so different from the other colonists to justify my lone revolt, but nobody else seemed to be bothered by the idea.
I tried talking to Kelvin about it, but Jorge and Karl began mocking me, and I could see confusion on Kelvin’s face as well. After being called a “sissy” several times, I gave up my protests. Jorge guided the chosen creature away, patting it on the rump with his machete as he walked beside it. I grabbed the other blade and went back to chopping wood, which allowed me to keep my back turned to the ordeal.
My eyes may have been averted, but nothing shielded me from the cries of the animal as it was slaughtered.
I froze, and over the shrieking and squeals—eerily humanlike—I heard some of the others in our group
