The Forgotten Ones Read Free Page B

he doesn’t growl. He almost looks friendly. Whatever I was expecting when I tried to nail him with my Legacy, this wasn’t it.
    “Uh, hey there,” I say, trying to modulate my voice so that it’s soft and nonthreatening, holding out my upturned palms. No sudden movements.
    He’s right in front of me now, studying me, sniffing me. A low whine is coming from his throat. I didn’t have a dog or any pets growing up—my father, the great general, didn’t see any value in pets that couldn’t do something useful—so I have no idea how to read this animal and no idea whether or not I should be running right now.
    When he licks the palm of my left hand, though, I’m pretty sure it’s not the prelude to an attack.
    “Good boy.” I reach out and, ever so slowly, pet him on the head. His fur is thick and soft, and he gazes at me steadily. I have no idea why, but he suddenly seems to trust me.
    I turn to see what Rex thinks of all this, and discover that he hasn’t been watching any of it: he’s passed out. For a second I worry that he’s dead, but then I see that he’s breathing, but barely. His injuries—in addition to the exertion and dehydration—must have caught up with him.
    I need to get him out of the open desert. The sun’s starting to sink toward the horizon. I’ve heard it gets cold in the desert at night. The temperature’s already starting to drop. If nothing else, it would be nice to have four walls protecting us from the elements.
    “You gonna stick around?” I ask the wolf as I lift Rex up by his armpits and begin to drag him toward the guard station. I feel stupid talking to an animal, but it’s not like I have any better options for conversation. He looks me up and down and then begins to follow me, silently loping along.
    Luckily it only takes us a few minutes to reach the structure. All the windows have shattered from when it collapsed, but there are wooden shutters that look intact. After a couple of hard shoves, the door swings open.
    The place is on its side, but it looks mostly intact. The inside’s got a few desks, some chairs, clothes lockers, filing cabinets, a smashed computer, and a busted-up minifridge. Yeah, this should do nicely.
    I step inside, dragging Rex with me, and the wolffollows behind us. I’m not sure why, but I feel strangely reassured to have him with us.
    Unfortunately the place is pretty tiny. After I drop Rex’s body to the ground, there’s barely space to turn around without tripping over the wolf. I’m thinking maybe there isn’t room for all of us in here.
    He studies me for a second, as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking. He lets out a bark.
    And then he starts to change. First the edges of his body lose focus, and then his fur begins to glow, somehow smoothing itself out into a glossy shell around his body almost like armor. He turns from white to green.
    I take a shaky step back. I wonder if this is what happens when you spend a whole day wandering around a desert dragging a guy almost twice your size. I open my mouth to speak and then realize I have no idea what to say.
    He’s not done yet either: now his skin is rough and scaly, and then his whole body begins to ripple like water in a pond just after you’ve tossed a rock into it. He’s shrinking.
    It’s all happening so fast that I barely have time to wonder what’s going on. But then it’s over. Sitting at my feet, blinking up with huge, glittering eyes, is a lizard.
    “Holy shit,” I mutter. They’re suddenly the only words I can remember.
    It’s not like my life has been boring. I was raised in a secret community of alien conquerors, had my mind grafted onto the mind of a dead girl, recently developed superpowers.
    But none of those things has been weirder than watching a wolf transform into a lizard right before my eyes.

CHAPTER FIVE
    “ I KNOW WHO YOU ARE .”
    It’s the first time Rex has spoken to me directly. We’ve been here a few days now. I decided to stick it out to let