by Gin Hollan
"I am feeling a little stupid about adding water right now. If they are radioactive, the water dripping out is going to poison the ground," Arabeth admitted.
Graham patted her shoulder. "It happens. Try not to breathe any of the vapours." He walked up to Melanie with more questions. Now that he'd grown accustomed to her augmented abilities, he had started studying her. It would only be a matter of time before Melanie caught on and punched him.
A motion from the back of the wagon caught Arabeth's eye. The leak had slowed to a few drops a minute, but now the wood seemed to be corroding.
"Graham!" she yelled. "We have a problem." She looked around for Marble, hoping the fox hadn't been travelling under the wagon for shade. "Marble," she called out. A moment later the fox came bounding out of the woods with a small animal in its mouth. Marble paused to finish it off, then went over to let Arabeth pick her up.
Sam stopped the wagon and turned as everyone else went to look.
"The ground is smoking slightly, and look...." She pointed to where the wood was crumbling away.
"You lucky girl. It's not radioactive—it's caustic. Corrosive," Graham said.
"It's not lucky if we lose the back half of the wagon," Melanie said, bending to look underneath. "It's dripping through the floor, right over the second wheel bar."
"The rear axle? We can fix that, but if those crystal shards fall and scatter on the road, we're going to be here for hours waiting for them to dry so we can handle them," Arabeth said, thinking. "If we dump the box out on the wagon floor and spread them out, we'll get a few scorch marks but they'll dry faster." She looked to Graham for confirmation.
"That may work, but how will we handle them?" he wondered.
"We're surrounded by trees. I'll snap off a Y-branch and use that."
"Okay, how do you plan to tip the box over safely? More trees?"
"Yes, and plan B will be to push them out of the back, onto...." She headed for the trees. "Something. I'll think of it if we need it."
If they had a long, wide stretch of canvas, they could each stand on a side and roll the shards around, drying them much faster. With the day's heat increasing the way it was, it wouldn't take long. For now, this would have to do.
The roof of the wagon could be used as a last resort, but she hated that idea. There was a quality of workmanship in the images woven into the canopy that made it feel like a sacrifice. And this situation was her fault. She'd find another way if she had to. Something glass.
"Hold Marble, please," she said to Melanie as she held the fox out. Melanie hesitated.
"I need to keep her out from underfoot, and if she walks under that wagon...." She let the thought linger until Melanie agreed.
The few trees here were thin, but they'd have to do. She went to snap a long, dry branch off a tall tree, wondering what kind of outdoor crystal would turn caustic when wet. That didn't make sense, she thought. What had Sebastian done to them?
"Make sure it's old and dry," Graham called over.
"Oh, like you?" Arabeth retorted as she returned, not liking the condescending tone the man had adopted since the water mistake.
"Amused, are we?" he said back. Arabeth stared at the box a moment. She needed a way to tip it over, but with some level of control. There was no way to do that without touching it, and she didn't have gloves. If she stuck the branch under one side and used that, there was a chance everything would go flying.
Next best thing would be to put a rope around it somehow and use that to control the speed it rolled at.
"Would you quit stalling and get to it?” Graham snapped.
"Or you could do it. I think the box has stopped dripping out," she snapped back.
Arabeth walked over and, leaning forward, she took the box by the sides and tilted it, spilling the contents out across the floor. The water had mostly drained out, so the risk was negligible.
Taking her branch, she spread the crystals out and left the canopy flap open for airflow.
"Let's get moving," she said. The sooner they were done with this, the better. "Melanie, how far would you say we are from the next large centre?"
"Not that far. Owen is next up. We shouldn't have a problem blending in. Are we not going to head over to the friary?"
“Yes, the friary is our next stop," Sam said.
“Fine, fine,” Graham grumbled.
“How big is Owen? Does the map say?” Arabeth asked. She hoped it had a connection to the underground shuttle system. It would be good to get home again. Why couldn't her mind stay made up, though? It was getting annoying.
“It seems pretty big, if this little circle means what I think it does. The friary is in the middle,” Melanie said.
"All right, then. Let's get rid of these," Arabeth said. Then find a shuttle bay, she added mentally.
Sam started whistling a tune, perked up by this new plan.
His energy was infectious, and soon everyone was walking quickly.
Soon, a structure came into view.
"The friary," Melanie said, pointing at a large, square stone building on the right side of the road. Graham hurried ahead and rapped using the brass knocker in the centre of the wide wooden door.
They waited a few minutes and still there was no response.
"Do you think they're here?"
"Where else would they be?"
"Maybe they had to leave, or move somewhere else."
"It could be that they're all busy with something. I can't imagine they expect many visitors."
"Should we just sit down and take a break until they're back from whatever it is they're doing?"
"Fine. My feet hurt again, anyway." Arabeth went to the back of the wagon and started gathering the now-dry crystals together.
Placing the box underneath the tail end of the wagon, Arabeth slowly started guiding them down. A few moments later the door opened and a man a long, grey friar's robe walked out.
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
That was when he spotted the case. "We're not taking any more of those. You can go back to Sebastian and tell him that he and his people...." He paused, looking at the group. "Well, I'm guessing you're not going back that way, but we don't want anything more to do with him or his organization."
Arabeth felt herself begin to panic. "You have to take them."
"We're going to leave them on your doorstep, or in your backyard, or anywhere that means we gave them to you. Sebastian has a way of seeing or at least finding out what we do," Melanie said.
He searched their faces, looking for something; Arabeth couldn't tell what. He dropped his shoulders with a sigh. "I will help you in a better way. I will teach you how to cleanse the crystals yourself. Then you can do whatever you want with them. Sell them, use them as batteries, whatever."
"Batteries?" Arabeth asked.
"That's all cleansed ones are good for. "
"Could they be used to start a field?" Sam asked.
"Doubtful. They'd fracture before they let themselves be used like that again."
"What do you mean, fracture themselves? Are they sentient, somehow?" Melanie asked.
"And what did Sebastian do to them?" Arabeth asked.
"First, no, they're no more sentient than any plant, but you'll notice that a plant that gets trimmed with scissors doesn't grow back as well as one that's had parts pinched off. It’s like that," the friar said.
"But what turned them caustic?" Arabeth wondered.
"He's running them through various heat tests this year. Hardening and using them in steam engines would make coal obsolete."
"He's running a few different experiments, then," Sam said.
"You said you'd show us how to fix them—how is that different than doing it yourself?" Graham asked.
"It will take time and attention to fix them, and we are in harvest right now. Wait here." He turned and went back inside.
"He expects us to babysit these?" Melanie asked, disgusted.
"It might be worth learning
," Sam said. He turned to Arabeth. "You've gone suddenly quiet. What are you thinking?"
Arabeth shrugged. "I'm wondering, once their pH level has been returned to normal, if we let them sit and rest they would, over time, become plantable again."
"What is your interest in it?" the friar said from behind her, causing her to jump.
Her face flushed red as she turned. "I understand you're the expert, and I don't mean to dispute, but I would love to repair the damage. It seems wasteful to me."
He frowned a moment, then held out a bag for her. "Create a solution with this—five parts water to one part trisodium phosphate. That's all the advice I can give you on them. Water is over there." He pointed to a long-handled water pump to one side of the friary. "Good day, then." He turned and went back inside, closing the door behind him.
Arabeth looked at the bag. It was a simple burlap sack filled with salt. Rather, salt of a strong base and weak acid. At least the part about changing the water pH made sense.
"This week just gets weirder and weirder," Melanie huffed.
Arabeth picked the box up and put it back in the wagon. She'd add water to the container the monk gave her, shake it while they walked, then pour it over the crystals. She walked over to the water pump; it was highly responsive, and moments later she had the solution started.
"So, which direction, Melanie?" Sam asked, in his role as horse leader.
"Owen is that way, but will they let us in with these?"
"I've got the solution started.” She shook the container to stir the contents. “Maybe by the time we're there, they'll be safe enough.”
“Or we can leave them hidden somewhere,” Graham said.
“I'm starting to like you less these days,” Sam said, frowning.
“I think the babysitting part includes somebody stirring it on a regular basis, but he didn't say what interval," Arabeth said. “I doubt they can be left alone.”
"We can get them started and ditch them somewhere," Graham said. "Or leave them here, soaking."
"Is that what we call ethics, Graham?" Arabeth stared a moment, then walked over to the hand pump.
"It's what we call survival," he muttered.
"At least you were half-right about the water bath," Melanie added.
Sam wasn't much of a talker, and being up by the horse kept him out of earshot. Arabeth wanted his input, but she expected he'd side with her. That was getting annoying. Where was the Sam that irritated her on purpose, challenged her in order to get her thinking in new directions, or made her worry when he acted funny?
// Chapter 15 //
"THAT'S OWEN?" Sam asked.
Standing at the peak of a long, steep hill was what looked like a large metal box with one large window on each side, not quite big enough for the group plus horse and wagon to stand in.
In a perfect circle around the base of the hill, ten brick-and-steel steam and exhaust vents rose up at least a hundred feet. Between them sat ten metal posts standing five feet tall. At the top of each post was a panel with seven unmarked buttons.
"I'm just telling you what the map says. This," Melanie fanned her arm out across the horizon ahead, "is Owen."
"Wait, folks ... just you wait." A man's voice came calling out from one side as he jogged toward them. "Not getting me fired today—not for heeding the call of nature." A young man in his mid-twenties stopped in front of them, leaning forward to catch his breath.
Relieved, the group turned to wait for him to come explain this situation.
"Welcome to Owen. What is the nature of your visit?"
Everyone looked at Arabeth.
"I'm looking for a relative,” she bluffed. “Last name is Barnes. I heard he set up here."
"Barnes, eh? Well, that's a good name to have, if you share it."
She nodded and pulled out her Bail Enforcement Permit. "I'm Arabeth Barnes." She stuck her hand out to shake his, a little surprised.
"That's as good as a ticket in," he said. "I see you thought well enough to pack light. Walk with me. I have to say, not many travel in the daylight these days, with the sun being so intense."
"Once I make my mind up, there's little can be done...." She let the thought trail off.
"Yes, yes. You're a Barnes," he said with only a little sarcasm in his tone. "And I'm the lift master. Follow me up.”
It took a good fifteen minutes to get up to the metal box and, once there, it seemed no larger than it had before. Now that she had a good vantage point, she looked across and saw what looked like four more of these cleared hills, with stacks of smoke and steam spread out in the distance.
“All right. All of you, inside," he said, grabbing a broad metal handle near the base of the metal structure. Pulling it, the side of the wall lifted with ease. Inside, Arabeth spotted a pulley system and nodded.
"How is this powered? It's all pulleys and winches, right? Is the winch manual, or powered?" she asked.
The young man looked at her, frowning. "I push this button, it goes down. Push the buttons below, it goes up, or down farther, or wherever." He shrugged and waved them in.
"Electric, then," Arabeth said.
“Probably. They don't tell us much about it.” He shrugged.
"And it's multi-directional? That must be a nightmare of engineering and maintenance," Graham said.
“If you don't mind,” the young man said as he indicated they should get inside.
"Should we leave the wagon outside?" Sam wondered. “I can carry the box by hand.”
"I think we're okay," Melanie said. “I didn't see anywhere to leave it parked outside.”
The door closed with a solid thunk and immediately started rattling as it descended. Arabeth felt the dim light confine her as the entire carriage descended. Her escape from the tunnel was too fresh, and she was sure this smelled the same. Reaching out, she grabbed Sam's arm. Just to steady her feet, she told herself, ignoring the spike in her heart rate though it pounded in her ears.
Moments later, light flooded in through the carriage windows and the door reopened. Instead of leaving, the group stood almost frozen in place. Ahead lay a wide cobblestone path, but no more than fifty feet away there was an impossibly tall transparent barrier.
Through the glass, another fifty feet away, was a pillar that stretched up out of sight, and descended to depths she couldn't see from here. Inside, there rose and fell a series of staircases and what looked like tree swings, except that these ones were being used by people to change floors. Every direction led to a wall, though. They were fully underground.
"We'd better get off the lift," Arabeth said, stepping forward once, still clutching Sam's arm. She realized what she was doing and let go, stepping forward again.
"Yes, let's...." Sam replied, leading the horse and wagon forward, making space for Melanie and Graham.
The four of them stood at the glass wall facing the centre, each silently looking at the many-tiered garden, with healthy green plants growing in a column. Swing-lifts raised and lowered people who were changing levels and trimming the plants into baskets. The light in the centre was brilliant.
"I don't understand.... We're underground, right?" Melanie asked.
"It is kind of bright in here, isn't it?" Arabeth nodded. She glanced at the horse. It must have been here before, she decided, as it stood looking entirely bored. That, or it was so dull to life that nothing phased it. How old was that horse?
"That lift stops at about the middle floor, I think. And we seem to be about ten storeys down," Graham said, gaining confidence as he continued to examine his surroundings.
"Can't be afraid of heights and live here," Melanie said softly, starting to look around.
Wanting to get them back on task, Arabeth shrugged. "We need to find their external transport system.” She'd send them along home, then grab one that took her to wherever the king lived. Suddenly she regretted the loss of her listening device and sighed.
“That's assuming they have one,” Graham said.
&
nbsp; “Obviously," Sam replied.
“This place seems big enough and is far enough away from other places to need one,” Arabeth said, still staring at the enormous tower garden.
"These underground shuttles are supposed to be a secret. What would they use to mark them without giving them away?" Sam asked.
"Maybe…." Arabeth said, turning left and right to pick a direction.
“Wait, what underground shuttles?” Graham asked.
“Ah, right. It's kind of one of those need-to-know things, where you swear on your life to never mention it outside a certain circle of people,” Arabeth said, hating how melodramatic it sounded. “You'll know it when you see it.”
“That's not at all helpful,” Graham grumbled, looking at Melanie. “Did you know about this?”
She shook her head. “But I trust Sam and Arabeth. They've always done right by me.”
"We're going to want to sell or give away the horse and wagon. Let's look for a stable first," Sam suggested, ignoring Graham's concerns.
"I hope they have one. I don't see any horses wandering around, although there are a number of people with conveyances doing the job of the wagon," Arabeth said.
"Are ... are they hovering? The carts are floating. Am I seeing this right?" Melanie asked, only now spotting one.
"They must use magnetic systems," Arabeth said.
"At least it feels like a city," Graham said. "That I understand. All that ‘forty days in the wilderness’ stuff...."
"We've been in Vensay for five days," Melanie corrected. “Not forty.”
"Whatever. I'll be happy if we never see another forest," he said.
"Excuse me! Excuse me! Wait one moment." A man resembling the one from the surface but with spindly legs and a red tunic hurried over. "Are those the Faratson crystals? From Sebastian Faratson."
Arabeth nodded. “I suppose, but they're neutralized.”
He tapped a small panel strapped to his arm and the wall behind him opened to reveal a narrow passageway. "You can leave the wagon here until you need it."
Arabeth didn't know if that meant the horse too, but the lack of light and provisions said no. “Sam, help,” she said as she started to undo the simple harness. “I don't think the pony goes in there.”