the pit has been cleared of last night’s wood. A figure, wrists bound with rope, is sitting in the center on a bed of ashes, his back to us.
The crowd watches the figure in silence. I expected them to be taunting or insulting the drone, but they aren’t doing any of that. They’re just staring as he sways back and forth in the pit. I spot Assassin Elite in the crowd, but other than him, these are mostly unfamiliar villagers.
Veidman immediately strides away from me and Liam, directly toward the fire pit. He walks halfway around it, stopping in front of the drone.
“What’s your name?” he asks sternly, but he receives no answer.
I hang back a little with Liam.
“We dragged him here with the hoofers,” Liam whispers to me. “He’s one of the drones who attacked the village last night.”
As we start walking around one side of the pit, I look closer. It’s only then, as I see the red face paint, that I realize this is no typical drone. “Oh my God, that’s David!” I exclaim, rushing forward.
I reach the edge of the pit a few seconds later. Most of David’s paint has been scraped off. He looks exhausted, all the energy kicked out of him. He’s dirty and bruised, and his clothes are just rags. His left foot is badly swollen. He looks over at me, and his eyes brighten with recognition.
“Alenna!”
“This is David,” I say to the crowd, looking around at everyone. “David Aberley. The kid who I woke up next to yesterday when I got here. He’s not a drone. He’s one of us. Let him go!”
The crowd eyes me like they think I’m crazy. I look around for Gadya. She could help confirm my story right now, but there’s no sign of her.
“All I want to know is what you’re doing in our sector,” Veidman says to David, ignoring me. There’s no warmth in his voice. His face is twisted into a scowl, making him look almost ugly—something I would have thought impossible just minutes earlier.
“Stop,” I plead.
I feel a hand on my shoulder. It’s Liam. “Alenna, whether he’s new or not, the drones might have threatened or bribed him last night. He might be corrupted already. Just let Veidman talk to him.”
“I was a drone for less than a day!” David cries out hoarsely, like he’s overheard us. “I was actually trying to get away from them! I got lost.”
It’s obvious that most of the crowd doesn’t believe him.
Assassin Elite steps up on the stone rim of the fire pit and stares down at him. “Lost? I thought you drones were supposed to know this forest. What’s your Monk gonna think of you now, chump?”
“I couldn’t care less, because I’m not a drone,” David insists. “This is ridiculous.”
I look around at the crowd. “Why not just give him some truth serum?”
Veidman doesn’t reply.
“I want to be here with you guys, not with the drones,” David says. “I mean, am I acting like a drone right now? Think about it.”
Veidman crouches down at the edge of the pit, directly in front of David, at his level. “Okay, I hear you. But try to see it from our perspective. It’s difficult to trust someone who attacked us last night, wearing face paint and holding a spear. So just tell me what happened, and then I’ll decide what to do with you.”
“Last night, after that thing in the sky came down, I managed to ditch the other drones who brought me here,” David says. “But then I got turned around in the forest, and—”
“Couldn’t find your friends!” a girl in the crowd yells. “Couldn’t burn down our village and capture any of us!”
Voices rise up in support of her words. Whether David is a drone or not doesn’t matter to these villagers. The fact that he looks like one is enough for them to take their anger out on him.
“Quiet!” Veidman admonishes. He addresses David again: “Keep talking.”
“I lost my way in the dark,” David murmurs. “I couldn’t find anyone. So that’s why I hid in the forest all night and waited until daylight.”
The crowd watches the figure in silence. I expected them to be taunting or insulting the drone, but they aren’t doing any of that. They’re just staring as he sways back and forth in the pit. I spot Assassin Elite in the crowd, but other than him, these are mostly unfamiliar villagers.
Veidman immediately strides away from me and Liam, directly toward the fire pit. He walks halfway around it, stopping in front of the drone.
“What’s your name?” he asks sternly, but he receives no answer.
I hang back a little with Liam.
“We dragged him here with the hoofers,” Liam whispers to me. “He’s one of the drones who attacked the village last night.”
As we start walking around one side of the pit, I look closer. It’s only then, as I see the red face paint, that I realize this is no typical drone. “Oh my God, that’s David!” I exclaim, rushing forward.
I reach the edge of the pit a few seconds later. Most of David’s paint has been scraped off. He looks exhausted, all the energy kicked out of him. He’s dirty and bruised, and his clothes are just rags. His left foot is badly swollen. He looks over at me, and his eyes brighten with recognition.
“Alenna!”
“This is David,” I say to the crowd, looking around at everyone. “David Aberley. The kid who I woke up next to yesterday when I got here. He’s not a drone. He’s one of us. Let him go!”
The crowd eyes me like they think I’m crazy. I look around for Gadya. She could help confirm my story right now, but there’s no sign of her.
“All I want to know is what you’re doing in our sector,” Veidman says to David, ignoring me. There’s no warmth in his voice. His face is twisted into a scowl, making him look almost ugly—something I would have thought impossible just minutes earlier.
“Stop,” I plead.
I feel a hand on my shoulder. It’s Liam. “Alenna, whether he’s new or not, the drones might have threatened or bribed him last night. He might be corrupted already. Just let Veidman talk to him.”
“I was a drone for less than a day!” David cries out hoarsely, like he’s overheard us. “I was actually trying to get away from them! I got lost.”
It’s obvious that most of the crowd doesn’t believe him.
Assassin Elite steps up on the stone rim of the fire pit and stares down at him. “Lost? I thought you drones were supposed to know this forest. What’s your Monk gonna think of you now, chump?”
“I couldn’t care less, because I’m not a drone,” David insists. “This is ridiculous.”
I look around at the crowd. “Why not just give him some truth serum?”
Veidman doesn’t reply.
“I want to be here with you guys, not with the drones,” David says. “I mean, am I acting like a drone right now? Think about it.”
Veidman crouches down at the edge of the pit, directly in front of David, at his level. “Okay, I hear you. But try to see it from our perspective. It’s difficult to trust someone who attacked us last night, wearing face paint and holding a spear. So just tell me what happened, and then I’ll decide what to do with you.”
“Last night, after that thing in the sky came down, I managed to ditch the other drones who brought me here,” David says. “But then I got turned around in the forest, and—”
“Couldn’t find your friends!” a girl in the crowd yells. “Couldn’t burn down our village and capture any of us!”
Voices rise up in support of her words. Whether David is a drone or not doesn’t matter to these villagers. The fact that he looks like one is enough for them to take their anger out on him.
“Quiet!” Veidman admonishes. He addresses David again: “Keep talking.”
“I lost my way in the dark,” David murmurs. “I couldn’t find anyone. So that’s why I hid in the forest all night and waited until daylight.”
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