by Gin Hollan
"Just a little nap," Melanie muttered then rolled to her other side.
"You'd better get her out of there," Graham called from the edge of the field, still not going in.
"Agreed." Sam stood and inched his way past Arabeth. "You have that polyester on you? The one Lacy wanted you to test."
Arabeth didn't respond at first then Marble nudged her hand. "The what?"
“Fabric. I want to make a stretcher.”
"We can't carry her for long, even with a stretcher," Graham said. He furrowed brow made it clear he wanted to go back, follow the tree line instead, along the cliff.
"She needs a doctor," Arabeth said, pulling out a roll of thin material and handing it to Sam. "And help is that way." She pointed down the road past her.
“Drag her out of there to the other end,” Graham wasn’t really asking. “I’ll start walking around.”
“There’s no reason to worry, Graham,” Arabeth said. “Sam and I are fine. Marble is fine.”
Sam moved past Arabeth, walking back out of the field and into the trees.
"Fine, but I want some of that fabric to use as a face mask." Graham still stood at the edge of the field. "Maybe those crystals only need a bit of time to recharge," he insisted. "We need to get out of here before it… comes for... for another of us."
"You can’t breathe through polyester. Just stop," Arabeth snapped. "If you don’t want to go this way, then go another way, by yourself."
Sam tore a strip one foot wide down the length of fabric and pushed it into Graham’s hand as he went past. "Rip this into quarters. And get a grip on yourself."
Graham a pulled out a short knife and ripped a quarter off and wrapped it like a face veil, tying it behind his head, before tearing the rest into thirds.
Arabeth understood his worry but it was working against them. Her recent experience with knock-out gas should have made her cautious, but somehow, a gas she could see worried her less. If it was a gas.
"Mel, can you wake up? Sam will catch up, but we need to get you to a doctor," she pulled Melanie to a sitting position, hoping she'd rouse enough to walk. It was more to comfort herself than get Melanie moving, she knew. "A few steps… can you do a few steps?"
Melanie mumbled but didn't try to stand. Arabeth crouched down and pulled one of Melanie's arms up across her shoulder. Trying to stand them both up, she struggled a moment. This wasn't working.
"Graham, a hand?" She called out.
He stared a moment. "Sorry, what? You're wanting me to go in there?"
"You have a mask now and we can see when the vapours move," she snarled. He was being such a baby.
Arabeth tried another way to get Melanie standing but they both wound up on their bottoms on the ground before Melanie flopped back to lay the ground.
"Fine, I'll drag you." Arabeth muttered with a sigh. "I hope those are sturdy trousers."
"I’m back," Sam called out, smiling like a Cheshire cat. He held two wrist-thick branches, each taller than himself by about a foot, with the fabric swung between them.
“How did you fasten it?”
“I made a series of cuts near the two edges and wove the branches through. It should hold long enough. This fabric seems to resist tearing.”
She moved to Melanie’s opposite side as Sam laid the makeshift stretcher down beside Melanie. Arabeth rolled her to one side as Sam snugged the nearest branch as close as possible to Melanie's back. Together they rolled her back and over to her other side, then pulled the other branch out to flatten the fabric. Once it was flat, Arabeth rolled Melanie onto her back again. "Ready."
"Right," Sam said.
Moments later they stood with Sam at Melanie's head, Arabeth at her feet. The catch was going to be Graham. He still hadn't come into the field.
"It's time, Graham," she called out to him.
"Don't mind him," Sam said, softly. "He'll come along."
He took a deep breath, his chest inflating several times as though preparing to hold his breath. He held out the other cloth squares in front as he walked in. "You need these."
"We're fine," Sam said.
As Graham neared, Arabeth thought she saw an extra bit of shine in his eyes, as though he may cry. He was genuinely scared, she realized. She took one square and lay it over Melanie's nose and mouth, but put her own square in a pocket.
With Sam holding the ends by Melanie's head, they made good progress. She didn't check for Graham. Melanie was lighter than Arabeth expected, but the effort over time became harder. She was tempted to ask to stop, but Graham would have had a meltdown, she was certain.
The edge of the field came near and the trees started up again, in an oddly precise, almost planned line. The crystals didn't enter the tree-line, and the tree seedlings didn't grow among the crystals at the edge. The path had widened to a proper road again once they were in the trees.
"A break," Arabeth said. "Let's take a short break. I need fuel."
"Ah, right," Sam stopped and together they lowered Melanie gently to the ground. "We haven't actually eaten."
Arabeth pulled out her pocket watch and checked it. "It's two pm." She said. "At least, back home it is."
"Good to know. Are you mapping?” he asked, munching on an apple.
"Yes," she said, sitting on the little square Graham had given her. She pulled out her notebook.
“Good idea," Sam agreed.
Graham crumpled onto the ground near them. "At least I hear birds now."
Arabeth's head shot up. It was true. This forest was actually quite busy, now that she paid attention.
"That's a good sign," she said. "If only I could trap, hunt, or track," she laughed. She made a quick outline of the broken automaton next to the mountain cave, hoping there weren’t more of them ahead.
"We're going to need water soon," Sam said. "Listen for that."
She finished her notes and pulled out an apple, chewing it slowly to keep the moisture in her mouth longer. Marble used her nose to bump for a treat. Smiling, Arabeth pulled out a medium sized strip of dried chicken and gave it to her.
"Wait, you have meat, but you're saving it for a pet that can hunt for her own food?" Graham said.
Arabeth ignored him. He could stand to skip a few meals.
"I doubt birds will fall from the sky for her," Sam said.
With a Grumble, Graham leaned back against a tree and closed his eyes.
She gave Marble a scratch between the ears. The fox sat up to nuzzle her hand a moment before laying down with her head on Arabeth's leg. Arabeth smiled, feeling her stress melt away.
Soon they'd be walking again, conveying Melanie to places unknown in hope of finding a solution to this napping problem. She looked at Melanie. There was no sign of discomfort. In fact, Melanie looked peaceful and not quite dead. She reached over and poked Melanie's arm.
"Hey Mel, you ready to wake up yet?" She’d hoped she would rouse once she'd cleared the field. Lifting Melanie’s face cloth, Arabeth checked for a response. Melanie mumbled but didn't rouse. A shimmer caught Arabeth's eye - something seemed to move around, just under Melanie's skin. Quickly Arabeth put the cloth back. If Graham saw that, he'd run for the hills. She had to admit, it did give one pause. All of this was outside the scope of her understanding.
"It's looks to be a long road. Let's get walking," Sam stood up and brushed the dirt off his trousers.
Taking up her position near Melanie's feet, Arabeth looked at her friend. She wouldn't be in this mess if Arabeth hadn't come up with the scheme to collapse the cavern. Yes, it blocked the automatons and stopped the riots and violence they'd caused, but still the guilt was there.
"Graham, take a post," Sam said.
"What? Oh," he stood and walked over.
Arabeth moved to the side, relieved to have help as he took one of the branch ends. He shouldn't notice the shimmer at this distance, but he did have his glasses with him. Maybe the lenses would reveal something helpful. She'd ask to borrow them at the next stop.
Arabeth's arms and shoulders ached, and still civilization was nowhere in sight. The road had turned twice and forked once, and the afternoon heat was beating down.
"I need a break," she called out. "I need another break."
Whether by pride or stubbornness, Graham hadn't complained about the steady, working pace they'd set. Nor had Sam. She hadn't expected Sam to, but Graham was soft-handed. He held one pole while Arabeth held the other at Melanie’s head. Should they change sides to even out the blisters, or keep one hand unscathed?
It would be hard to get up again only to walk off down a seemingly endless road. Food was in short supply but she gave Marble another bit of chicken in faith that a town had to be close.
"I have an idea you might not like, but I can’t see a better option..." she paused. "I'm going to walk up the road a bit while you guys take a break. There has to be a town near. I'll bring a horse or cart back."
"And we just wait here?" Graham asked.
"I'm not sure that's wise," Sam said.
"It may be time to move beyond conventional wisdom. We could be walking for days, headed into God knows what. I'd rather we knew what was coming."
"You walk like a city kid," Sam said. “It makes more sense that I go. You rest.”
"I'll be fine." This was the unknown, and no small challenge. She wanted to get out of the wild as fast as possible.
"Why don't we just take every right turn, until we get back to our own country? This is foreign territory, and they say we're at war with them, technically,” Graham suggested. “We will have to watch ourselves every time we meet people. And Tanner couldn’t have been working alone. The kind of resources he was able to bring in prove he had at least a benefactor.”
Arabeth took in a long slow breath. Someone had finally said it out loud. This was her real reason. Tanner. He was the real reason she wanted to walk ahead. She wouldn't be stopping at the next corner.
"Because that's how people stay lost," Sam said. "We need to take the best trodden path until we get Melanie back on her feet. That means food, water, and a doctor."
Arabeth's nerves calmed a bit. Perspective. They did have immediate needs. She sighed. She could do both though, right? She’d send help back while she went on forward.
"It’ll be fine," she smiled. "I have good boots and a fox that knows how to 'find Sam' when told. If it looks like I can't make it back soon, I'll send a note with her."
She stood and looked at Melanie. They came from a secluded area that reminded her of the ancient stories of a lost Tibetan paradise but with technology and a lack of monasteries. It was a fairly peaceful place, although not entirely enlightened. Until the incursion, their criminals were simple thieves, brawlers, and drunks. Faith was more important than church attendance.
"All right, Marble. Let’s see how long this road is." She pulled out her pocket watch a moment. Had they really spent half an hour here?
Her friends would be fine without her. They were resourceful. She wanted to see what was so terrible here that no outsiders were allowed into her home region. What was really out here, outside the plateau. She shook her hands out as she turned to walk.
Arabeth took the first few steps to clear her head. The air here was different, somehow. There was more... clutter. That was the only word she could think of for it. As they went, the tall evergreens began to spread out. They'd become equally noisy as any area in the trees at home, filled with birds and other creatures.
Soon the road split. Following the format that they had chosen, she needed to stick to the wider of the two roads. That meant she turned right. Not that it mattered. She had no idea where she was.
It wasn't long until a new sound came. A couple people talking along with the clattering of some metal rimmed wheels. Arabeth considered hiding in the tree line until she could see who it was, but it sounded like an older man and a young girl talking.
They didn’t look like highway bandits or thieves. Still, Arabeth tucked the chain from her pocket watch into the pocket and removed her necklace, tucking it into an interior pocket. She latched her satchel shut and made her best effort to stay positive about this impending contact. If they panicked when they heard her language, or accent, or whatever else set her apart, she decided to run into the trees instead of back down the road to her friends.
She tried to seem casual as they approached, refusing to put her hands in her pockets so that they would not fear she was hiding something. The girl stood a little taller than her grandfather's waist, but he was tall. Taller than Sam, she realized, even as the old man hunched. The girl looked to be about 12 years old. The age reference brought back the memory of Matty running to her and telling her about Constable Dawson’s injury. These people might know Tanner. They might know more.
A grey and white horse followed, not caring to notice her approach more than once. Bored. The horse was bored, she nearly laughed. The horse was smaller than she was used to. She started to wonder if people where she was from were simply tall, not that this girl and the old man were short. Then again, Tanner was tall. Really tall.
She looked at the horse again as they neared. It pulled a small wagon, made up clean would and having only two large wheels in the centre it reminded her of the wagons used to take a coffin to a funeral.
That felt a little morbid, but she couldn't think of another use for a wagon that size. Maybe farmers used that sort of wagon haul produce from the fields here. She really had spent too much time in the city, and was starting to lament her lack of exposure to anything else.
When they came close, Arabeth frowned. The horse wasn't actually pulling the wagon. It was attached by a thin rope, as though to guide, but it currently hung loose. Arabeth stopped and bent over to look as it approached. The axle was ordinary wood, but in the centre, there was a square wooden box the size of her forearm.
It has to be perpetual motion gear, she thought. She'd love a closer look. Something like that would save effort, no matter the industry.
The girl said something in a language that Arabeth did not understand.
"Sorry, I don’t know what you’re saying,” she said.
The girl paused a moment then smiled. "Goodness, your dialect is ancient. Elsian, but I understand you. Grandfather didn't tell me you were from the other side of the mountain.” She looked up at the old man briefly. “This will be quite a story for my friends."
The old man simply nodded.
"Archaic? I suppose it would be. We haven't allowed any outsiders for several generations now.” Suddenly Arabeth understood what the girl implied. “Wait – you knew I was here?”
"Grandfather saw you and the others as you left the crystal field. We've come to help."
Arabeth desperately wanted to believe in their altruism, and it would be rude to ask if there was a fee attached. Still, to help Melanie almost any price was worth it. She decided to stay her skepticism and accept this offer.
"You have my gratitude," she bowed slightly, then wondered if that was the custom here as well.
The girl turned and relayed the information to her grandfather. The old man grunted and started walking. The horse watched her as it passed, still bored but curious at the same time somehow.
Forced to choose, Arabeth decided to walk back with them instead of continuing down the road. There was no guarantee she’d meet others that spoke her language and this girl did.
Arabeth quickly followed, matching the pace as she walked beside the girl and her grandfather. "Tell me, do you have scouts out here or is there some other way you monitor?" Her own work with radar made her curious. The technology here could easily be advanced, considering the resources and people they would have available to work on things.
"No, we have people who can see long distances."
Arabeth did not want to argue with the girl, but wondered how they could see through the trees and beyond the event horizon.
"You don't have the crystals where you come from, do you?"
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"No, what do they do? What happened to my friend?"
"I'm not sure how to exactly explain it. At the age of transition, everyone goes to a Crystal field. There are lots of them around. That's when we find out if we're gifted or not. I got translation, with a secondary for cartography." She shrugged. "They usually pair up a physical and a mental thing."
"I can see how that would be useful. What other mental abilities are there?"
"There are too many to list. I think she’ll be a Seer, but Grandfather thinks your friend is going to be an Elementalist. You will want to keep that a secret. They still hunt those here." The girl turned and smiled widely at Arabeth. "I've never met an Elementalist before. I wonder what they do."
"Me too," Arabeth chuckled. "I mean, besides sleep a lot. You’ve met a Seer, though?"
“There are a few still. We had one, but he died and the King’s Advisor didn’t send another one. They’re too rare now.”
What would that mean for Melanie, if she were a Seer, Arabeth wondered? Good advice to keep it a secret, either way, but how easy would that be?
As Arabeth walked up, Graham jumped to his feet. "Hey, just how close are we?"
"I don’t know. We met on the road." Arabeth turned to the old man and his daughter. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your names. What do we call you?"
"I am Mabel. This is my grandfather, Sidrew."
Arabeth introduced the others as the old man moved over to Melanie. He placed his hand on her forehead then used two main fingers to check the pulse along her neck. He turned to his granddaughter and spoke a few sentences before looking at Arabeth.
"Grandfather wants to know if he can take her shoes off. He needs to check the colour of the bottom of her feet."
"I’m sure that would be fine," Arabeth said, puzzled.
The old man waved Sam over, pointed at Melanie then pointed to the back of the wagon. Together, they lifted Melanie up to rest in the back of in the empty wagon. The old man untied one shoe and tossed in the back beside her. Arabeth went over to see if she could tell anything by looking at her feet, but they looked... normal. The old man nodded then clucked at the horse. Hearing her cue, the horse turned, walking the wagon around to face back up the road and started walking. Just like that, they were on their way again.