The fighters had clearly been prioritized, with multiple clones of specific individuals having already invaded our home. The commoners seemed about as useful as the worker bees, providing their overlords with all the nourishment and comforts they required.
“We have to wait for these guys to pass,” Jericho muttered as we lowered ourselves beneath a thick layer of ferns and spiky shrubs. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was necessary. Thorns kept poking my ears, but I gritted my teeth and put up with it while we watched the convoy move down the forest path. They were headed south. I’d counted twelve carts and about forty other men and women with baskets filled with food and household supplies.
“It will get busier as we get closer to the Dome,” Astra said, sighing. “I can’t think of a better route, though. There’s a lot of activity at this hour, so it will be hard to get past them.”
“We need a better home base,” Dafne whispered. “A place to go back to in case crap hits the fan. The cave is too far away from this location. And every single point of interest for us is in this region, not back there.”
Dafne made sense. But no good safe spot crossed my mind. Of course, if there were other structures here that didn’t exist in our realm, there was a chance we might find something good for sheltering. However, without a guide or someone who knew the area well, our odds weren’t great. The convoy kept moving, and the last in line were about to leave us behind. I was already bracing myself for a swift trek between the scarcer trees when another pack of clones came down the road.
“Damn,” I muttered. “Another convoy.”
“Not another convoy,” Jericho replied. “Check out their uniforms.”
There were forty of them, all clad in black GASP uniforms. They were led by Rose’s clone, her gaze cold and fierce as she watched the narrow road ahead. Vampires, werewolves, sentries—all of them people I’d grown up with. I’d sparred and broken bread with some. I’d trained and traveled beyond The Shade with others. These were my friends… Well, insanely accurate copies of my friends. The thought sickened me.
Astra looked around, trying to see as much as she could from our difficult positions, while we listened to the rhythmic drumming of boots coming down the beaten path. Left, right, left, right. They operated in unison, like a hive mind, each step perfectly synchronized with the others, with Rose’s clone dictating the march. I would’ve hated to go up against them. They were driven and relentless. I didn’t know what motivated them to be such good soldiers, but it had to be important. It had to be worth it.
“Thayen…” Astra whispered, catching my attention. I gave her a quick glance. She was staring at something in the distance, somewhere far behind us. “Remember that figure I mentioned? Who guided us to the cave?”
“Mhm,” I mumbled.
“There he is again. Pointing somewhere else.”
Careful not to make a single sound, I gradually shifted and moved closer to Astra beneath the shrubs, while Jericho, Dafne, and Soph held their breaths. The boots on the ground kept thudding, louder as they passed by our hidden spot. I froze as I followed Astra’s gaze and saw him. He was barely a silhouette between the redwoods about two hundred yards away, faintly visible and motionless. But I could see him, and I could see his extended arm, one finger pointing to his left. The woods thickened again in that area, though it would take us about a quarter of a mile farther away from the Dome.
“Are you sure it’s him?” I asked, my voice barely audible.
The platoon marched past us, the ground shaking slightly as they moved. I couldn’t let a breath out until the sound of their trotting began to fade. The air was so heavy and thick and my temples hurt, but I refused to give in. They would not get the better of us. They would not win.
Astra nodded slowly. “I know it in my bones… It’s hard to explain.”
“Do you think he’s trying to help us again?” Jericho asked, inching closer to us, his turquoise eyes beaming with curiosity and excitement. We needed something better than our current situation, for sure. We needed a better angle for that armory too. It wasn’t going to be as easy as I’d hoped, especially since there were so many of them and barely a handful of us.
I offered a faint shrug. “He hasn’t steered us wrong yet, whoever he is.”
“Should we follow his lead?” Soph asked. “Leave the armory for later?”
“I think so,” Astra said. “There are more clones coming down this road. If we keep going like this, it will be a matter of time before one of them spots us. You saw how they reacted last time.”
We were in agreement. It wasn’t what we had originally planned, but this was simply one of those situations where a sudden change could very well make or break us, and I was hoping for the former, not the latter. Astra was right. The road ahead was increasingly perilous, and I had begun to doubt whether we’d actually make it to the armory like this. The clones were significantly more active around these hours. We’d have to wait this period out and start moving again once they had moved away or were resting.
This wasn’t a good place to stop, however. Clearly, a better safe spot was key.
Astra moved first, crouching as she left the shrubbery behind and headed toward the dark figure. The guy wasn’t Haldor—it was an indisputable fact. His frame was slender, nowhere near as bulky as the shadow-master. I took comfort in that thought as I followed Astra and the rest of the group to put some distance between us and the forest path. Within minutes another convoy of GASP doppelgangers passed through, but we’d already left them far behind.
By the time we reached the silhouette’s location, he was gone. We looked to what would have been his left and noticed the forest becoming dense, rich bushes covering most of the ground and lush vines of ivy wrapping themselves around the massive redwood trunks. It reminded me of a virgin forest, untouched by man. No one had set foot in these parts.
“Let’s go,” Astra said.
“Where?” I asked.
“Look beyond the purple shrubs ahead. Our eleven o’clock.”
I did, and there he was again. The silhouette, motioning for us to follow him. It irked me. He could’ve just waited for us here. He could’ve said hello and introduced himself. I had a hard time trusting anyone who played games like this. Giving into my sharpened instincts, I bolted toward him.
“Thayen, wait up!” Jericho hissed.
I heard their rushed footsteps behind me. They kept up with me as I ran toward the silhouette. The closer I got, the better I could see him. He was tall. Athletic. Black hair. Blue sparks where his eyes would be caught my attention and sent chills down my spine. He vanished behind a bush, and I was determined to reach him.
As soon as I passed the purple bushes, however, he was nowhere to be found. We’d gone deep into these woods. We were so far removed from any form of society that I could breathe again, my lungs filling up with the fresh air. Birds sang from above, nestled in the canopy. Snakes slithered through the underbrush, and wild beasts watched us from afar. I spotted a pair of antlers, the deer’s round black eyes fixed on us.
“Where’d he go?” Jericho was panting. There was something about this place, I was now willing to bet on it—something that wore us out quicker than usual. Jericho was one of The Shade’s finest athletes. Sure, we’d had our encounters with the shadow monsters, and we’d run for a good two to three miles so far, but we were already tired. I could tell from our faces and our ragged breathing. We were getting sluggish, fast.