by Michael Soll
After class, I took Cotta aside to gauge where his head was at. “Would you leave this place with me?”
The question seemed to confuse him. “Why would we leave? This place is perfect. Have you tried chicken yet? It’s what all food should taste like.”
“Cotta, I’m going to leave Newbury.”
“Where else is there to go?”
“The surface.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“I want to go to the top. I want to go beyond.”
“But, we’ll die.”
“Says who?”
“Everybody.”
“Yeah, everybody who’s never been up there. It doesn’t make it true just because others say it so. If we started our own hive and told all the kids the surface was melted and nobody could survive, they would believe that to be true.”
“But it is true.”
“Cotta, we only know what is true and what isn’t if we witness it for ourselves. Newbury is the same as the Hive, it’s just bigger, but it has the same walls. It has the same ceiling. Up there, there aren’t any walls. There aren’t any barriers.”
“Are there chickens?”
“There might be. There might be anything. That’s the beauty of it, don’t you see? We know what’s here. We know there are chickens and carrots and dirt. But up there, Cotta…up there is a mystery.”
“What if we breach the top and we die?”
“That’s a possibility. But I know if we stay here, we’ll die eventually. And I’ll always wonder if we had tried, if we had gone up there. I’ll never stop wondering. And that seems a lot worse than dying.”
He stared at me for awhile, contemplating all that I said. I could see him weighing everything as methodically as he could, and then he said:
“Okay, Spec. I’m with you. Until the end.”
***
We had been training for a few weeks, and already we learned the basics of sword and knife play. We were also taught several maneuvers with our hands. The Mayor thought it was time to send out search parties along the borders to find the NaNa breach into our city. My search party happened to include Cotta and Kaolin, along with a few other students and a couple of adults more adept at self-defense (including Alex) in case we were to run into a NaNa. There were 8 of us in total.
We started along the East Sector and wound up by the water mill. Alex studied the stream. “The current’s too strong for us to go up. Keep a lookout along the walls for any holes.”
We walked along the border of the city for awhile when I noticed some loose dirt, pounded in to look like the dirt around. I had seen it done several times before by Cotta and myself as we filled in gaps while hiding our secret path.
I dropped to my knees and started to dig and after a few seconds, I easily breached a tiny path. A portly man looked down at the narrow hole. “Too small for any normal-sized human to fit through.”
“We should get back and let the mayor know,” said a girl from my class.
Alex examined the path with his flashlight. “We can go through and find where the NaNas came from. We can locate their village. We’d be heroes.” He stared at the hole and seemed lost in thought, trying to hold back a grin. “We gotta go through.”
“It’s too dangerous!” the girl shouted. “They could get us.”
“They’re not gonna get us,” Alex said dismissively.
“I’m staying,” she announced.
“Fine. I’m going.” He looked out at the rest of us. “Come if you aren’t afraid.”
Alex got on his hands and knees and crawled through the path, clutching his sword tightly. The rest of us followed behind, minus the portly man and girl.
The path was crudely constructed and highly unstable. Luckily, it wasn’t that long and we soon found ourselves in a small cavern. Alex led the way, and once again, we followed behind. I saw some unusual grooves on the wall. There were four parallel indentations carved in.
We walked for awhile until we found another crudely formed pathway. Alex didn’t even hesitate. He got down and moved ahead and we followed until we reached an even bigger cavern. Our flashlights cut through the black when we heard a sound in the distance. “Flashlights off!” Alex said in a loud whisper.
We turned the lights off and stood in complete darkness. I felt a hand on my back. “Is that you, Spec?” Cotta whispered.
“Yeah.” I reached forward and grabbed into the darkness for anybody else, trying to form a chain, but I couldn’t feel anything. I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t hear anything. For all I knew, I no longer existed.
“Okay,” Alex said softly. “Flashlights back on.”
I turned on the light and standing inches in front of me was a large man covered in hair, teeth jagged, metal protruding from his knuckles. He made the loudest sound I had ever heard and the noise echoed through the cavern.
Alex turned and swiped at the beast with the sword but the beast swiftly dodged the attack and knocked the weapon to the ground, metal claws gleaming.
One of the boys in our class lunged with his sword, stabbing the beast in the arm when suddenly, a smaller beast appeared, metal daggers on his knuckles. He swiped at my classmate and connected with his throat. The boy fell to the ground, clutching his wound, trying to keep the blood from flowing out, but it was no use. He stopped struggling and laid there dead.
I turned around and spotted several beasts circled around us, daggers in their mouths and knuckles. The largest raised his fist up high, about to strike Cotta when a shrill voice pierced the cavern.
A girl appeared. No older than Kaolin with a prominent scar on her cheek. “We nelfurvlo alive.”
The female NaNa walked up to Cotta and came face to face with him. She stared straight into his eyes, raised her claw and then, slowly slid the daggers down the side of his face. She smiled and simply said --
“I’m Valasca -- and you’re mine.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Nanash:
The five of us were escorted through cavern after cavern by the NaNas. Cotta was taken to the front of the pack next to the girl who called herself Valasca. She kept eying him and glaring her teeth. I could tell he was frightened. His fear prompted her to move closer and glare them even more.
Kaolin and I walked behind Cotta and behind us were Alex and Jennifer, one of the teachers at school. In the back, one of the NaNas carried our fallen classmate.
The beasts were wearing some sort of decorative cloth around their genitals. They were painted red, either constructed that way or stained by the blood of their victims.
Valasca grabbed Cotta’s hand and examined it. “You’re not from Newbury, are you?”
Cotta looked back, asking me with his eyes if he should answer honestly. I gave a little nod and he replied, “No, not originally.”
“I can tell. You’re much too beautiful to come from there. Your hands are rough and worn in. Theirs are soft and fragile. What about the others?”
Cotta glanced back at me, but Valasca quickly stepped in between us. “Don’t lie to me.”
He looked back at the others, unsure of how to respond, then retreated to the truth. “Kaolin and Spec and me aren’t from Newbury.”
She ran her claw through his hair. “And what’s your name?”
“Cotta.”
“Caught-tuh. Say my name.”
“Vuh-lask-uh.”
“Good.” She glared her teeth again.
“You speak English,” I interjected.
She and the other NaNas laughed. “I do speak English, but this isn’t English. This is Newburyian. This is harlech you sprulch English.”
“I don’t understand,” I said.
She smiled. “Don’t worry. You will.”
***
We walked for what felt like hours until we came across a much larger path. Valasca moved her hand to Cotta’s and interlocked their fingers. “This is Nanash.”
Before us was a large, circular village. It was about
the size of the Old Hive, but much smaller than Newbury. There were houses spread across the village comprised of dirt and clay, ovular and lying low to the ground. In the middle of the city was a small stream. We walked over a tiny path constructed above the stream and continued through the village. Lining the village walls were large, round life forms that brightly glowed green, causing a greenish hue to cascade across the village. They looked like some sort of large fungus, but I had never seen them before.
We reached the back of the town and lined up against the wall were dozens of cages, like the pens in Newbury, except instead of chickens, people sat hopelessly inside.
Valasca turned to the others. “Onelech those two. The othleals will be incheclicon.”
Alex and Jennifer were pushed toward two empty cages and locked inside. Valasca turned to the three of us. “Come with me.”
She escorted us through the town, accompanied by several male NaNas. She clenched her hands, then undid a strap around her wrist, taking off her claw. She rubbed her bruised hand and gave her claw contraptions to another NaNa who quickly walked off toward a nearby building.
“So how long have you been with the Bungs?” We looked at each other, but none of us knew what she was talking about. “How long have you been in Newbury?”
“About 8 months.”
Valasca pinched Cotta’s shirt, caressed the material. “You like it there?”
I watched Cotta as he watched Valasca’s hand rub his shirt. He seemed to be intrigued by her.
None of my friends were speaking up, so I took the lead -- “We were just passing through.”
“And are you just passing through here?” I didn’t know how to respond, so I didn’t. “I guess we’re all just passing through until we stop moving,” she said with a smirk.
“How do you know Newburyian?” Cotta asked, finally out of his daze.
“A long time ago, before I existed, the Bungs invaded our village and set it ablaze. They collapsed our exit and most of our people died. My father was captured along with a couple other children. He was just a boy at the time so they thought they could ‘save’ him along with the others. They taught him their language and customs and then one day, they decided to stop their little experiment. They executed the children, but my father got away. He found the rest of our tribe at one of our outposts and taught us all what he was taught, including the language and culture. To know your enemy, you must become your enemy.”
Valasca walked us back to another set of houses. Whenever we passed a NaNa, they looked over at her like people would look at the Mayor in Newbury. The giant beast from the cavern appeared. Valasca placed her hand on his arm. “I’m making these three provisional Nanashi. Cotta will sleep with me in my hut. Kaolin and Spec will take Melanippe’s old hut.” She turned to me. “Gunnar will show you where to go. Come with me, Cotta.”
Cotta followed Valasca while we were escorted by Gunnar to an empty mud hut. “You shetcha herelo and grundalo by grunds.”
Kaolin and I stared at him blankly.
Gunnar grimaced and looked up toward the ceiling. After several seconds, he looked back down. “My Newburyian is not so good. Understand but can’t speak good.” He glared his razor sharp teeth. “This your hut. Guards watching.”
We examined the hut. Several NaNas stood by the entrance. I looked over at Kaolin who gave me the same look she gave me on the dance floor in Newbury. I went in and she reluctantly followed.
The hut reminded me of my cubby back in the hive. It was sparse and empty without any paintings on the walls, but who needs an image still and beautiful frozen on dirt when something more beautiful is breathing in front of you?
“Are you alright?” I asked. I felt as if there were a thousand crags in my stomach trying to get out.
She nodded her head.
“I shouldn’t have let you come with us,” I said.
She rolled her eyes, a gesture she had learned while living in Newbury. “You didn’t let me come with you. I followed you.”
“Still. You could be back in the hive right now instead of being held here.”
“What difference does it make where I’m being held? All I wanted was to go to a place where somebody wasn’t telling me what to do, but everywhere we’ve gone, I have to mimic. I have to do what I’m told. I want to decide what to do. I want to go somewhere where there are no walls. You know what I mean?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Yes.”
“Are you okay?” she asked, concerned.
“I don’t want to stop and settle. I want to keep moving.”
She lay back on the ground and stared over at me. “You want to go to the surface.”
I leaned forward and kissed her. It was automatic, as if somebody had taken control of my body and pushed me forward. It was as if Joey entered my being and forced me toward the girl.
Our lips connected and a fire ignited inside my chest and spread to the rest of my body. A conflagration roasted my organs and boiled my blood, but I wanted the burn, I needed it. I needed my heart to be toasted and my lungs roasted. Our lips created a solar flare, wiping away any last remnant inside my mind that I could continue my journey without her. Everything I had known, all of my selfish endeavors were scorched. It was at that time that I knew wherever I went, whether the above or the deepest place on Earth, that Kaolin would be by my side. She had become my surface, and I would do anything to protect her.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Power:
I awoke to an empty hut. I peeked my head outside -- there wasn’t a guard in sight.
Lying beside the opening was a tiny article of clothing. I stripped out of my Newburyian clothes and put on the small cloth-like material that only covered my genitals.
I left the hut and decided to explore Nanashi. I started at the center of the village and dipped my hands into the tiny river when I spotted a small, translucent animal floating beneath the water. I moved my hand toward the creature and it ran away through the water, effortlessly with rounded limbs that cut through the liquid.
I stood up and looked around at the city that was less-developed than I had come accustomed to, but for a moment, I felt free, or at least as free as one could feel surrounded by dirt. There was nobody telling me to follow them, nobody telling me I barely got any crags or clay. Nobody was concerned with what I was doing, and I felt like I could breathe…really breathe.
I continued through the village, past a variety of NaNas of all ages. I’d get a strange look every now and then, but nobody gawked at me like they did in Newbury. And that’s when I came across the cages again, and I saw the people trapped; the only person I recognized was the school teacher from our search party. I looked over at the cage Alex had been put in yesterday, but the cage was empty.
“If we don’t eat, we die.”
I turned and spotted Valasca standing alone, staring at the cages.
“It’s either them or us. The mushrooms and fish alone can’t sustain the tribe. For every hunter, there’s a hunted.”
I examined Valasca. She was smaller than me and much younger, but she spoke like the elders back at the hive. Girls her age in Newbury complained about dresses and homework, but Valasca was different.
“Cotta looks up to you, so I figured it was worth my time getting to know you better. I want to show you a place I think you’ll like.”
“What about Kaolin?”
“Don’t worry. Her and Cotta are being given a tour of the city. Come…”
I followed Valasca through the village to a small opening beneath the ground that was too small for me to fit through. “Wait here.” She quickly ran off and returned several minutes later with her claw contraptions. “You like them? They’re called ‘spikes.’” She tied them on and then punched into the dirt. The claws pierced the Earth like my ax. She pulled out some tiny, glowing fungus from her pockets and handed them to me. “Hold these for light.”
She continued to punch and dig through the path, widening it for me as I craw
led behind her until we reached a larger opening. I looked up at the ceiling of the cavern and it was riddled with glowing fungi of varying sizes.
“In Newbury, my father was taught about the night sky and the stars that shone above. When I was born, he climbed the walls and recreated a night sky for me. Every so often, when the mushrooms die, I add some more. Cotta said you were fascinated with the surface, so I thought you’d like this.”
I looked up at the top of the cavern, at the gleaming “mushrooms.” I looked back at the girl who was watching me, examining my every movement.
“What happened to your father?” I asked.
She sat on the ground and eyed the night sky. “He was the greatest warrior Nanash had ever seen. He defended us from every attack, founded this new settlement, and was loved by all. He had survived situations no other man could, and then one day, he got sick and he died. Even my father couldn’t defeat that. I’m his only child, and I’ve taken it upon myself to perpetuate his legacy.” She smiled at me, glaring the daggers in her mouth.
“Why do you sharpen the teeth?”
“When a child becomes a warrior, her front 12 teeth are whittled down. Do you like?” She glared her teeth again. “Can I ask you a question?”
She seemed timid. It was the first time she had lacked any confidence in front of me.
“Does Cotta like me?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, caught off guard by such an intimate question.
“Do you think he likes me? Or could like me?”
“Cotta?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know. Do you like him?”
“Yes. A lot.”
“But you don’t know him.”
“What don’t I know about him?”
“Everything.”
“Like what?”
“Like who he is. Where he comes from.”
“Do you need to know those things in order to like somebody?”