Cat Out of the Bag Page 6
“I have no idea where to even look.”
“I wish I knew what to tell you, but the League of Summoners is extremely guarded. I have told you everything I know. I wish I could do more.”
“You’ve done a lot,” I said. I was more confused than ever. But at least I had some level of understanding of the whole thing, and I wouldn’t have had that without Sasha’s help.
We climbed onto the bike and started back down the mountain. The moons were full, and the stars spread out in the blanket of blackness. A spaceship sped through the atmosphere overhead and disappeared into the distance behind the mesa. I sighed at the thought of riding in a spaceship and traveling to distant lands. I wanted adventure and excitement. I wanted to see the many worlds beyond our own. But until I helped Pappi out of the junkyard, saved his eyes, and got him back to the farm so he could take care of himself, I couldn’t go anywhere. Maybe the whole summoner thing would help me find a way.
My biggest concern for the time being was getting back to the hut and getting enough sleep so that I didn’t make any mistakes in the race the next day. I dropped Sasha off at her house and thanked her for everything she’d done. She’d helped me find a whole new level of understanding of myself and of the strange voices I’d been hearing.
To’tonya said I had a mission. What that was, I still did not know, but I had always felt like there was something important I needed to do. I had always thought that meant taking care of Pappi—I had never thought of battles or fights or summoning goddesses and dragons. I just wanted my Pappi to be safe at home and then maybe get a chance to see the many wonders of the galaxy.
When I got back home, I locked my bike up in the garage and tiptoed inside. Pappi was snoring on his couch, and I let out a long sigh of relief. I was too tired to deal with any chiding. I just needed to get some rest. When I climbed into my loft and lay down, I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. And even though I had been in some other plane of existence up on the mesa with Sasha, I didn’t dream of anything that night.
Chapter 10
I woke at dawn, starving and aching. I groaned as I pulled myself out of bed. Down in the main room, Pappi was still sleeping. I placed my hand on his shoulder, checked his breathing, and decided to let him sleep. I didn’t have any money for food, and we had eaten all the kebabs and pancakes the night before. I found cactus stew on the stove but refused to eat it no matter how much my stomach ached.
I checked the time on my music player and found that it was still early. I had eight hours until the race. I figured I might as well get to work. Hopefully, I could make enough credits to get something to eat. Racing on an empty stomach was never a good idea.
When I left my hut, the feeling out on the street was heavy and strange. It was as if there was a chill in the air, except it was a hundred degrees. I plopped my hat on my head and started toward the junk heap. The Imperial trash ships were dumping mountains of garbage into a fresh pile near the shantytown. There were already a few pickers out on the heap, and I grabbed my basket and garbage spike. The uneasy feeling in my gut wouldn’t leave me alone, but I had to stay positive. Today, I will win the race and get my prize. Unlike dog-faced Jym Boe, I won’t be moving to a house on the hill overlooking the trash heap. I will leave the dump forever.
No picker had ever won a high-level race. It had the most difficult obstacles and the most advanced riders. It also carried the biggest reward. I had won plenty of races in the B and C leagues. But the prizes were nothing compared to the grand prize of an A race. The entry fee alone was enough to keep most pickers out, but I had squirreled away whatever I could.
I should have won the last race, and if it hadn’t been for Jym Boe throwing rocks in my hover core, I would have. I walked past the buyers’ hut and tipped my head at the garbage buyers. They scowled at me, and I smiled, continuing up the mountain of garbage with a song in my heart. I put my earphones in and listened to my favorite music, which made the day of picking garbage go by so much faster.
I was jamming my stick into the garbage, mouthing the words to my favorite song about a Sho’kin rock star tearing it up on stage when I heard To’tonya’s voice inside my mind. “Stay alert,” she whispered. I was so taken off guard that I nearly dropped my stick. I looked around to see if anyone had seen my reaction, but there were few people out on the mound this early in the morning. I turned the music down.
“Mango,” I heard Toby say as he came up behind me.
“Good morning, Toby,” I said, pulling my headphones off my ears.
“Why are you so happy?”
“I’m gonna win the race today,” I said.
“Is that all you ever think about?”
“No, I also think about getting Pappi home, healing his eyes, and going on adventures in space.” I didn’t include my new interests, dragon taming and goddess avatars.
“Pepper and I are leaving tonight, after the race, when everyone is celebrating and drinking. It will be our chance to slip away.”
“So you’re really going to do it?”
“What choice do we have? Stay here and be slaves for the rest of our lives?”
“After I win the prize money, I’m going to buy back our farm. You can come with us. Everyone can come. And when we’re back home, we can save the money to pay the taxes on everyone else’s farms.”
“Sho’kin Forest is lost, Mango. When are you going to grow up and forget about reliving your kittenhood?”
“I don’t think forgetting your roots makes you a grown-up,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. Toby and I had always been close, but since he and Pepper had decided to leave the junkyard, he had been acting kind of like a jerk—or maybe that started when he decided he was in love with me and I didn’t show any interest. Either way, I didn’t know what to do. I had always counted on Toby’s friendship, but I knew I would survive without it.
He grunted at me.
“You’ll see. I’ll win the race tonight, and then I’m going to walk right up to the head Landlord at the race, and I’m going to pay him the taxes on our farm. Then I’m going to pay for the surgeon to fix Pappi’s eyes. We can leave the junkyard by morning.”
“You’re living in a dream, Mango. And I don’t know if I want to see what happens when you finally wake up.”
“Well, hopefully, I never will,” I said, stabbing my poker into the garbage.
He turned away with disgust, shoved his hands in his pockets, and skulked down the hill and out of sight. I hated fighting with him, but I hadn’t started it. I’d offered him a place on our land, and I didn’t know what else I could do.
The rest of the day went by quickly, and although I was feeling bad about fighting with Toby, I knew I couldn’t let that get me down. I had to have my game face on for the race. Any little slipup could cause me to make a mistake. Today is the day, I told myself. I had everything I needed to win. There was no reason and no way I would lose again.
After I sold my finds, I went to the tavern for food. I got two raptor sandwiches and a plate of fresh greens, which were quite a delicacy.
When I got home, Pappi was still sleeping. I shook his shoulder, concern rising in my chest. He’s getting worse. I knelt beside Pappi as he turned to face me. His skin was ashen, and his eyes were dim. It hurt my heart to see him that way.
“Are you all right, Pappi?” I placed my hand on his forehead. He was damp and hot. “I brought food,” I said.
He waved me away. “I’m not hungry. You should save your money for rent.”
“I’m going to win the race today. When I do, I’m getting you out of here.”
“It’s too late for me,” he said.
“Of course it’s not. You’ve just got a fever. It’ll pass.”
“I can’t see your beautiful face, Mango. I can’t see it at all.” He ran his fingers over my features.
“It’s pitch-black in here.”
“I haven’t been able to see anything all day. Even when I had the windows open. I think my
eyesight is finally gone.”
“It’s going to be okay. They can still save your eyes. I promise that everything is going to be better once I win this race.”
“Mango, I want you to leave this place if you can. I should’ve taken you away from here a long time ago. But I’m a weak man, and I was afraid.”
“Don’t say that. You’re the strongest man I know.”
Before we arrived in the desert, he had been a different person, not always telling me to be cautious and to hold back. Back then, he always told me to believe in myself no matter what. I would give anything to have that Pappi back.
Chapter 11
I went out to the garage to give my bike one final tune-up. It was the moment of truth. It was time for me to finally prove myself, to show the naysayers what I was made of. Failing wasn’t an option, and I intended to achieve my goals, no matter what. Nothing would stand in my way ever again.
I was beginning to feel as though I wasn’t going to have another chance. With everything going on in the camp, there could be an explosion at any moment.
I hooked my bike up to my monitor and read the analysis. All of my systems were functioning at top performance. The race was in less than an hour, and I had to get to the track to sign up for the meet and pay my entry fee.
I hopped on my bike and rode it out of the garage, locking the door behind me. As I rode through the shanty, I felt the eyes of the people around me and the desperation in their hearts. With the increased rents, most pickers wouldn’t have enough credits to eat, and everyone knew that the cities didn’t offer much better alternatives to living in the camp, if they could even get there. If I didn’t have a plan, I would feel just as despondent as everyone else.
As I rode my speeder to the track and pulled up to the entry line, I noticed that all the usual suspects had come out. Jym Boe was three bikes ahead of me, and I barely recognized him. He was riding a brand-new bike. I gritted my teeth. The Landlords would do anything to keep a picker from winning. The races were for the pickers to waste their money on bets, not for them to ever believe they could win. The true money was meant to stay in the hands of the Landlords and their flunkies.
My heart dropped, and anger rose in my chest. For a brief moment, I felt like all was lost. Maybe I should give up and try to leave with Pepper and Toby. Pappi can stay here until I can return for him. But I knew that if I left, there would be no coming back. I would be abandoning my pa. And even if it meant spending the rest of my life in this camp, I would not do that. He might not have supported my dreams, but he had taken care of me to the best of his ability my whole life, and I loved him more than anything else in the world. There was no way in all the hells that I would just leave him to go blind and die of starvation.
I gulped and reaffirmed my resolve. I will win this damn race. It’s going to happen.
The race official walked down the line with her clipboard and looked up at me with a smirk. The goblin was one of the Landlords’ flunkies and believed, like everyone else, that a common Sho’kin picker would never be allowed to win. But I was going to prove them all wrong. And then when I won, the pickers, the Landlords, and the Imperial officials who stood idly by while the Landlords abused us would all see. And then things would really change for the better.
“It’s a hundred-credit entry fee,” she said, rolling her eyes at me.
“Here it is,” I said, handing it over.
Her big, round eyes grew bigger and rounder as I dropped the credits into her hand. “Here’s your number,” she said after finally regaining her composure.
“Thank you. My lucky number, sixty-seven.” I pinned it to my back as she walked away, muttering something that sounded like “you’re going to need it.”
I didn’t need her to wish me luck. I had something better—hard work, determination, and an unrelenting belief in what was right and good.
“Riders to their starting line,” the announcer said from the podium. The stands were full. The Landlords sat on the highest bleachers, far removed from the pickers in the seats below. I’d been in those seats before, and it was nearly impossible to see the screens from there. But we still came out to watch and put down our hard-earned credits to bet on our favorite riders. I knew that nobody would be betting on me. My odds were a hundred to one.
“Stay alert,” the goddess’s voice whispered. I startled, not expecting to hear my avatar’s voice at this pivotal moment. I took a deep breath and looked around, wondering what she meant.
“Stay alert, and all will be well.”
“Stay alert for what?” I muttered. But she didn’t answer.
The announcer explained the usual rules and encouraged the spectators to cast their final bets. When he mentioned my odds, there was a roar of laughter and booing from the crowd. Most of them were goblins and kobolds. But even some of the Sho’kin pickers joined in.
I had to admit it hurt a bit, but I had to forgive them because they were just like Pappi. They just wanted to survive, and I was a threat to how they understood the order of things.
I pulled my goggles down over my eyes. The other racers were gathering at the starting line. I noticed that Sweeney wasn’t there—maybe his dad finally talked him into giving up his dreams, or maybe he would go back to the minor leagues, as he should have in the first place.
I’d spent the last year riding in the lower-tier races to increase my skill. I’d won most of them in the last few months, and it was my time to level up.
Chapter 12
The race was challenging, and there were a couple of moments when I was sure Jym Boe would catch me. But my speeder was better than before, and I felt more confident. Jym Boe caught up to me after the second-to-last obstacle, and I saw him reach into his pocket then flick his wrist at me, as he had in the last race, but I had protected my sensor.
I winked back at him through my goggles and gave him a wide grin as I flipped on my turbo boost. I charged toward the loop the loop. Jym Boe didn’t have any more speed in his bike and would never be able to catch me. I zoomed into the loop the loop at the perfect angle with intense speed. I spun upside down in the obstacle and came back down to the ground without slowing even slightly. The finish line was only yards away. I could hear the roar of the crowd blaring in my ears. I crossed the finish line with a rush of momentum from my turbo boost and had to skid to avoid slamming into the bleachers. I pulled off my helmet, raised my goggles, and waved up at the crowd.
The Sho’kin pickers were all cheering for me, and I got off my bike, waving at them and wearing the biggest grin I’d ever had in my life. I wished that Pappi could have been there to see that moment. I’d never been so proud. All that hard work, all the time, all of the scraping and saving for entry fees had finally paid off. I would be able to afford Pappi’s surgery and the taxes on our farm. We would finally be able to go back home. I’d done it—I’d won.
I walked up to the podium, expecting to be congratulated and have my hand thrust into the air as the winner as the other riders finally crossed the finish line. Jym Boe was barking mad and cursing, and the other riders seemed just as agitated. I wasn’t supposed to win. He had tried to cheat yet again, but he didn’t know that I had fixed my speeder.
Even with his souped-up new bike, he wasn’t able to beat me. My skills as a rider and a mechanic had shown through, and I beat him fair and square. I waited near the announcer and felt my heart pounding. Soon, he would announce me as the winner.
But the judges were huddled together, conferring with each other. I didn’t understand what was going on. It was quite clear that I had won.
Jym Boe walked toward the judges, howling in his native language. The announcer waved at him as if to tell him to wait.
“Mango! Mango! Mango!” the pickers chanted. My heart burst with pride. They were finally on my side. They finally supported me. They finally believed that one of us could do something great.
The announcer cleared his throat. “There appears to have been a mistake.”
“It would appear that Mango Mew won the race. But due to a lack of entry-fee payments,” he said, “she is disqualified.”
“What are you talking about?” I growled. “I paid the entry fee. How else would I have this number?” I gestured at the number sixty-seven, which I still wore.
“We don’t have a record of your entry fee,” The announcer said. “You can’t win the race without an entry fee.”
“This can’t be right. I’ve been saving for that entry fee for months. I won, fair and square. Jym Boe even tried to run me off the track again. I didn’t say anything last time when he threw rocks at my bike. I won.”
The pickers were talking loudly and quickly. There were calls of anger and shouts of disbelief. Suddenly, the pickers were all grabbing their garbage spikes and shouting at the judges.
“I won this meet,” I said again. “Why are you lying? Why don’t you want me to win? I tried my hardest, and I won. You can’t do this.”
The pickers were hissing and charging at the judges, who were all Landlords who oversaw the junkyard. The announcer called for the guards but was too late. The pickers were overtaking the judges’ podium and climbing up the walls with their garbage spikes. The kobold and goblin guards hurried in with their automatic laser rifles and aimed at the pickers. The Landlords were screaming for the pickers to stand down, threatening them with every possible torture. The guards obviously didn’t know what to do.
A shot rang out, and a picker stabbed a Landlord with a garbage spike. I screamed and ducked as anarchy descended around me. All I could think about was Pappi. I jumped on my bike and hurried away from the devastating scene. There were screams and cries and explosions. The unrest that had been bubbling under the surface erupted into violence.