Noor(51)

I watched him go and take his seat. “It’s simple, all right,” I muttered, watching the clock count down to a second before 1:11. The virtual view of the Hour Glass near sunset became obscured with dust and sand. DNA and the others held hands. Dolapo said, “Here we go.” Force sat in his spot looking at me. My left arm twitched, but that was all. I felt good. I felt strong. I was clear. After sixty seconds, I shut my eyes. And then I was sweeping, searching for a drone in the northwestern part of the Nigerian desert.





CHAPTER 18


    Bukkaru



It was like flying and taking candy from a baby. I was looking out over miles and miles of sand dune. A glorious bird’s eye view. Oh how nice it was to see the sun and open blue sky. I took the moment to enjoy the drone’s 3D perspective. It had a fully charged battery and a good camera, one that picked up the sound of the wind but also the distant laughter of the girl below who was looking up at me. She wore a green veil and a loose green dress. She was about ten years old. I could see her dark brown face as she smiled up at me, the drone controls in her hands. Not far behind her was the Bedouin-style black tent, where a woman who was most likely her mother sat reading from a tablet, and a man who was most likely her father was laying out flat black solar panels beside the tent.

I saw the girl’s smile drop from her face as I took her drone higher. She looked at her controls and then back up at the drone. Then she began shouting and running after me. Her father was calling his daughter’s name, it was Naziha, and telling her to stop. Interesting that he spoke English. She couldn’t keep up and soon I had taken little Naziha’s drone, to be used for more important things.



* * *



—

    Once I was ready, it was easy to gather the Bukkaru. They’d grown comfortable in 24 hours, each person secretly switching on their cell phones and tablets, sure that no one would notice and anxious to see what was going on in the world, to watch streaming series, check in on friends. I sent messages to every single one of them.

“No point in switching off. We’ve found you. Gather, so we can talk. Ten minutes. Sincerely, DNA and the Last Herdsmen.” For good measure, I locked their devices and watched as most of them rushed with their devices to a central location in the Bukkaru council camp. People bring their tech everywhere with them. Why it didn’t dawn on them to leave it behind was just a sign of these foolish times.

“I’ve found and alerted them,” I said. “They’re gathering. Wait a few minutes.”

“How are you feeling?” Dolapo asked.

“Her heart rate is still normal,” Force said from where he sat.

“Feel fine,” I said. My lips felt heavy, my whole body felt heavy. I was mostly with the drone, which was still flying toward the camp. I put the images from the drone and from all the gathering devices on all the screens for everyone in the room to see. Only the drone image was steady, the images from mobile phone and tablet cameras in constant motion.

“Look at that,” Force said.

“Can they see or hear us?” Dolapo asked.

“No,” I said.

“The image from above is the drone, so you found one?” DNA asked.

“Easily,” I said. I slowly opened my eyes and sat up to look at all the camera connections I’d unlocked. All around me were boxes showing what people were doing, shaky images as people walked, stood with their phones in hand, near black screens from phones in pockets, people seeming to peer at us as they looked at their tablets or phones. Ninety eight screens. The biggest being the drone’s bird’s eye view.

You could see it happening. All the screen images were doing ninety-eight separate things. Then gradually, every single one of them began to show or move to the same place—the center of the camp. It was uncanny. And once the drone I’d stolen arrived, hovering far above, we could see them all gathering. All the points of view told pieces of the same story. I hadn’t expected everyone in the camp to jump up and gather so quickly though.

“Have they been expecting this?” I asked, sitting back on the chair.

“Doesn’t matter now,” DNA said. “You all ready?”

The herdsmen nodded and straightened up. We watched as more faces began to appear in their screens. An old man with rich brown skin wearing a plain tan kaftan looked into one of the screens. “That’s a member of the Bukkaru,” DNA said.

I lowered the drone to the point where people began to look up and point. What looked to be about fifty people had gathered. Sixty-five to be exact. Sixty-six. The herdsmen began to point and speak in Pulaar at the same time. “That’s the Bukkaru,” Idris said. “They have gathered. Start it!”

“Who?” I asked. “Which ones? Point them out.”

They were gathered farthest from the camp, the people streaming out to face them. It was obvious who the Elders were. Important-looking men wearing important clothes being looked at by everyone else because they were important.

I glanced at DNA, and he nodded.

“Your heartrate is still normal,” Force said. “Remember to breathe.”

I felt Dolapo reach forward and squeeze my arm. When I closed my eyes, she put her hand on my shoulder. “Keep it there,” I said.

“Okay.”