Chapter 18. Lennix
LENNIX
I’m there again, standing on a rise of rock overlooking the sacred grounds where my tribe has wed and danced and sung and mourned.
We cluster at the edge of the cliff, watching the clearing.
Mena, my father, Mr. Paul—everyone from my Sunrise Dance all stands with me.
A gentle touch pushes my hair away from my face.
“Mama,” I whisper. My throat burns, and she blurs in front of me through a scrim of tears. “I thought you were gone. They said you were gone.”
“No.” Mama’s eyes shimmer with tears, too. “Never. I’m always here, Lenn. Always with you.”
I reach for her, needing to hold her, to feel her solid and soft against me, but she disappears.
A sound forces my attention to the plains below.
The trees, there moments before, are gone now, and the land has been invaded by monstrous machines.
They claw through the dirt, overturning clumps of it and shoving it aside.
The bulldozer’s massive jaw scoops up the earth, and an arm dangles over its row of steel teeth.
The truck turns and drops its burden of soil and limbs to the ground.
The body falls and rolls over, revealing the face.
Lifeless eyes stare back at me through a veil of dark hair.
A low, keening scream builds from my belly and scrambles up my throat. “Mama!”