Page 81 of Rebirth

Gazing at the Corrupted before me now, seeing the small hyu’man within their ranks, I can already tell Soh’fee will not turn her back. For she is too pure.

But me…I have been blackened. She is now my priority. My purpose is to keep her safe.

I take a step forward at the same time that Soh’fee rises.

“It’s okay,” she says again, as if sensing my nearing presence. She moves to the small shelter, keeping the Corrupted in her sights as she rolls her strange bedding and secures it to her pack before digging inside the pack itself. Out pops a small packet. A meal bar. She smiles as she slips her pack on her back and retraces her steps to crouch on the level of the small hyu’man. She stretches the meal pack toward the child, but the child does not move.

“It’s okay,” Soh’fee smiles again. “It’s food.”

She strips the protective covering from the meal bar and breaks a piece, popping it into her mouth and emitting a deep, overindulgent moan that has my sazi forgetting the position we are in.

“It’s yummy.” She smiles at the child. “Strawberry yogurt flavor.” She stretches it in the child’s direction again. “You can have the rest. I’m already full.”

Her throat moves as she watches the child, her scent filling with hope. She wants the little hyu’man to bite. I want the little thing to stay away. For her three guardians stand ominously still. Silent. Watching. Waiting.

The child moves forward slowly, eyes on Soh’fee the whole time, until she is standing right before her. Eyes far too big for her face stare at Soh’fee as she reaches forward and takes the sustenance in her small hands. She brings it to her lips, taking a bite and chewing so quickly, I do not believe the flavor had time to seep into her tongue.

Something like a sob jerks Soh’fee’s frame as she reaches for the child, wide eyes on the adults behind the little being as she takes the child into her arms.

“It’s okay,” she whispers. “Let’s get you out of here.”

The child stiffens, suddenly struggling in Soh’fee’s arms, a scream that shouldn’t be possible from a being so little piercing through the forest as she twists in Soh’fee’s arms. At her back, the corrupted start moving, seemingly called by the child’s growing distress and I’m about to cut them down when Soh’fee screams, “Wait!”

She sets the child down, eyes wide as she glances over her shoulder at the Corrupted who have frozen once more.

“I won’t harm you,” she says to the little being. “I have more food at another place.” She glances behind her again at the Corrupted still standing there. “And people who can help. There are even other little boys and girls you can play with.”

Unity. She’s referring to Unity. But Soh’fee must know she cannot truly integrate this child there. It is corrupted. Just like the female she chased through the trees.

But from the way a breath shudders through her shoulders, I can tell she knows this and that it weighs down on her.

“Would you like to come with me?” she whispers, hand outstretched to the little hyu’man. “You don’t have to be alone anymore.”

The child stares at her for long, slow moments before she nods. A hesitant movement of her chin to her chest.

Soh’fee forces a smile across her lips before she finally looks up, eyes scanning the area before they somehow land in my direction.

“Unity,” she says. “Let’s go to Unity.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

HE’ROX

Traveling alongside the Corrupted would be easier if I wasn’t constantly watching Soh’fee.

Soaked from the torrent that had rained down on us, shivers go through her frame now and then as she holds hands with the little hyu’man and we make our way through the underbrush.

Still camouflaged, leading them is difficult. Discreet brushes against low-hanging vines and bushes tell Soh’fee which way to go. For only she is looking for such signs. The Corrupted at her back walk like mindless beings, controlled by something else entirely.

The child.

The network needs a host in order to control others. Feed off them. Spread. It makes sense. The Gryken did the same. They used the veins to control hyu’manity, turning them into mindless beings.

Now, with them gone, the network is evolving to survive without them. But one thing is clear: this early in the evolution, it is still trying to figure things out.

Soh’fee trudges on, leading the group through the underbrush. When the child begins to slow down and stumble, she pauses.

“Can I carry you?”

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