Tommy Graves's Arc

Chapter 4 of 4

The fire had burned to coals by morning. Tommy woke to a hollow ache in his belly. Lumina lay beside him, her glow thin and gray. The dog lifted its head and whined, ribs still sharp under its black fur. They had eaten the last scrap of meat the day before. Tommy knew the truth. If he didn't find food, none of them would last another day. "I have to go out," Tommy said. He pulled the diamond sword onto his back. "There has to be something to eat on this mountain." Lumina caught his sleeve with a tentacle. "Don't go far. The light hurts my eyes when I'm this weak. I can't fight the spider like before." Her four red eyes dimmed. "Come back." Tommy nodded. The dog rose and followed him out. Cold air bit his face. They climbed a narrow ledge, and Tommy's heart lifted. A tall turquoise tree grew from a crack in the crystal. Amethysts hung in its branches. Fat purple fruits swung between the leaves, striped with black. Mushrooms clustered at its roots. The dog sniffed the base and barked once. Tommy stripped a fruit and bit it. Sweet juice ran down his chin. Food. Real food. He tore off more and stuffed them into his hoodie pocket, laughing for the first time in days. He filled both arms. Then the dog growled low. Tommy turned. Four figures climbed the ledge below him. Three wore long black coats and moved as one, faces hard and matching. Tommy knew them at once. They had followed the man who killed his family. Behind them walked that man himself, gray-skinned, purple braids swaying, a ray gun in his hand. His dead eyes fixed on Tommy. "There you are, boy," Victrum Mortus said. His voice was flat and cold. "We don't leave loose ends." Tommy's arms were full of fruit. He couldn't reach the sword. The dog lunged, snarling, and one of the coated men swung his boot. The dog yelped and rolled. Mortus raised the ray gun. A green bolt cracked against the crystal beside Tommy's head. Chips flew. Tommy dropped, scrambled behind the tree trunk, and the fruit spilled around him. He grabbed what he could and ran. He pounded back down the ledge, dog at his heels. Behind him the men shouted. Another bolt scorched the ground. Tommy dove into the cave and pressed against the wall, chest heaving. Lumina stared at the fruit in his hands. "You found food." "They found us," Tommy gasped. "The man in the suit. The one who dumped me here. He's on the mountain. He came to finish it." He dropped the fruit at her feet. She ate, and her glow brightened. The dog stood guard at the mouth of the cave, teeth bared toward the ledge. Tommy pulled the sword free and faced the entrance. They had food now. But the men who killed his family were climbing toward them, and there was nowhere left to run.