The Forsaken

He stops baying and gestures at David again. “Take care of these girls, like I told you to.”
    “We’re taking you back with us to the orange sector,” David says to me and Rika, halfheartedly brandishing his spear. He’s just playing a role. I look around for someone to help us, but everyone’s fighting or putting out fires.
    “Draw some blood,” lizard boy coaches David. “That’ll get their attention. Go after the fat one first. That’ll scare the other one into doing whatever you want.” He grabs his crotch, making his meaning clear. “She’ll come back to our camp if she knows what’s good for her.”
    “We’re not going anywhere with you,” I tell him, revolted. But my voice warbles with fear. I feel pathetic. Useless. He knows I’m scared of him.
    I move closer to Rika. If it weren’t for the gigantic firework and the knife, we’d just run into the forest.
    “Are you a coward, or a killer?” lizard boy starts yelling at David, seemingly enraged at his inaction. “Tonight’s your only chance! Show these villagers that you mean business!”
    David lunges forward awkwardly on his injured foot, and grabs me around the neck, putting me in a loose choke hold. “Play along,” he whispers. “Maybe we can take this guy down before he does something really crazy. Just promise me I can seek shelter here and join your village?”
    “Of course!” I whisper. “I wanted to come back for you, but—”
    Suddenly, I see lizard boy race behind Rika, grab a fistful of her braids, and yank hard. Rika turns and fights back, kicking and punching her assailant with surprising fury for a pacifist, making him drop his cigarette lighter and back away. “Don’t mess with my hair!” she snaps.
    For a second, it seems like we might have the upper hand. But right then, a third drone appears, also clutching a spear. He’s thick-necked and thuggish, with painted zebra stripes crisscrossing his face. He holds up his weapon, like he’s about to attack.
    “This initiate is a wimp!” lizard boy yells over to him. I realize he’s talking about David. “He won’t draw first blood!”
    “It’ll be my pleasure to do it for him.” Zebra-face lashes out and catches my arm, pulling me away from David. I stumble and nearly fall. His fingers tighten. He starts laughing like he’s enjoying himself.
    His laughter makes me angrier than anything else. With a surge of energy, I rip myself free of this drone’s grasp, lashing out with my fist. The blow glances off the side of his jaw, smudging his face paint.
    “Stay away!” I warn. I spin around and see that Rika is battling lizard boy again. David is trying to help her without making it obvious whose side he’s on. I turn back just in time to see zebra-face moving forward again. His chiseled teeth are bared like a wild dog. He’s not laughing anymore.
    “You’re mine!” he spits, raising his spear. “I’m gonna take you back to my sector. Make you bow down to the blessed Monk.”
    A hundred paces away, a bevy of village kids suddenly tumbles out of the trees.
    “Help!” Rika screams at them, but they don’t hear. She has managed to get away from lizard boy. Her shirt is torn. We exchange a scared glance.
    I know that lizard boy and zebra-face aren’t done with us yet. I look around as the pyrotechnic display continues overhead. There’s nothing to use as a weapon nearby. And even if David lunged at the drones with his spear, they’re larger and more skilled. They’d probably kill him before he could get in a blow.
    Wordlessly, lizard boy leans down and picks up his cigarette lighter from the leaves. With a casual flick, he sets the short wick of the firework alight. Before I can do anything, he swings back his arm and pitches the explosive into the night sky. A moment later there’s a deafening crack, and the sky flashes with a multicolored palm-shell burst.
    He and zebra-face start laughing like maniacs as embers slowly drift downward toward the treetops.
    “You’re crazy!” Rika yells.
    Right then I hear another sound, a high-pitched electronic squeal, like a sonic buzz saw. The boys hear it too, and they instantly stare upward. Their painted faces reflect the light from the fireworks.
    Rika grabs my arm. I don’t understand what’s going on. Is this some other form of attack? Some new kind of weapon? David looks confused too.
    My head starts feeling funny, like everything inside is vibrating. The noise increases in intensity. My eyes