Coll’s face flushed. He bowed, low enough to show the back of his neck in surrender.
“Forgive me, Alpha,” he muttered.
“Oh, get up,” she snapped. Coll straightened. “Give us a moment,” she said, and the others moved away. Luna gave Coll a single embarrassed smile before following Rudy. When Alpha spoke again, her voice was a little softer, but not much. “What’s this about?”
Coll swallowed. “You promised me a scout trip. You said I could go, but you pulled me again!”
“It’s hardly a scout trip,” she said. “Rudy thought he saw something during the fight, wants to check it out, that’s all.”
“That’s not the point,” protested Coll. “You said I could go. You promised. I’m as good as the others! I can fight, I’m a good aim, I can—”
“Your arm’s hurting, isn’t it?” she interrupted.
Coll stopped. “What? No.”
“You’re rubbing it. It’s hurting.”
Coll scowled and forced his hand down by his side. “It’s fine,” he muttered.
“I just think you’re not ready yet,” said Alpha. “And some of the crew…” She stopped.
“Some of the crew what?”
She didn’t answer, but Coll knew anyway. Some of the crew didn’t trust him. Some of the crew didn’t like how he was different.
Alpha sighed and looked away. “We’re heading into Scatter,” she said after a moment. “I’m going to talk to the mayor. You want to come with?”
Coll was still angry. He knew she was just trying to fob him off. But… He shrugged and turned away. “Fine.”
“Coll.” Alpha’s voice was hard again. Coll clenched his fists and turned back.
“Thank you, Alpha,” he said, loud enough for the others to hear. Behind him, someone sniggered. Coll’s face burned. He stalked off to the side and found Rudy getting ready to leave. Luna and the others were already on the ground.
“Sorry, laddie,” murmured Rudy.
“She said I could go,” growled Coll. “She promised. She’s never going to let me out of her sight!”
Rudy leapt up on to the deck rail and grabbed a tether. “You know how it is. She’s just trying to protect you.” He shrugged. “After all … she is your mum, eh?” He stepped off.
“Have fun in Scatter!” he shouted as he disappeared down the side.
Coll watched him go. As Rudy landed, Wolf stretched her forelegs out and clambered to her feet, lifting the deck thirty metres into the air. Huge pistons drove her legs up, motors hummed, and she arched her neck.
Coll held a rope and looked at his left arm.
His own arm ended just below the elbow, and the rest was metal and plastic. His left leg was the same; the bone and muscle stopped at the knee, resting on a metal lower leg. In the morning sunlight he studied the tiny threads of anthryl that weaved in between the panels of his prosthetic lower arm and hand. They wrapped his stump in a sleeve that went up to his shoulder and across his back, holding it secure.
The anthryl powered his limb, shaped it, made it react almost as well and smoothly as his other arm. Sensors responded to his nerves, even his thoughts. Touch signals fed back to the base of his stump. He could do anything with his left arm that he could with his right. His leg was the same – he could walk, run, jump as well as anyone. It was a miracle. But still, it made him different.
And aboard Wolf, different was bad.
Down below, the figures on the ground were tiny. One, with a dash of silver hair, was Rudy, leading the others away.
Coll rubbed his arm and watched them until they were out of sight.
Scatter was just a sprawl of buildings loosely collected on the side of a hill. It was the furthest south of all the Wolf settlements; a few kilometres beyond it, the poisonous Mortal River marked the edge of the Glass Lands. No one ever entered the Glass Lands – or at least, none returned. Scatter was the edge of the liveable world.
As Wolf padded towards the town, sunshine caught on its roofs and rough streets and made them sparkle. The locals had climbed on to their flat roofs to watch, and adults and children waved at their approach.
Wolf stopped a hundred metres away from the gates. Alpha slid down a cable to the ground, followed by Dolph, the huge master-at-arms, and then Coll. They walked into town, past a sign saying:
SCATTER
UNDER WOLF
A group of officials waited for them, standing beneath a banner that read welcome, alongside a picture of a Wolf’s head. Behind the officials were townsfolk waving little paper flags and smiling. Coll smiled back, but Alpha’s face stayed serious.
The leader, Mayor Ruprecht, stepped forward. He wore an ancient black frock coat and top hat, and a silver wolf’s-paw brooch on his lapel. He gave a wide smile, full of gleaming white teeth, and bowed.
“Good morning, Alpha,” he said in a chuckling, oily voice. “How is Wolf today?”
Alpha glanced at the banner, the people, the flags, and then back to the mayor. She gave a tiny curt nod. “Are the supplies ready?”
The mayor clicked his fingers, and from behind them a line of wagons started to trundle down the hill, loaded with barrels and boxes, heading out to Wolf.
Alpha ignored them. “I want a report,” she said.
