Kholvaria (The Color of Water and Sky Book 2)

by Andrew Gates

  He could hear footsteps above the ridge, human footsteps. The relief he felt was like a warm drink of obliterole.

  “I see them!” bellowed Iris.

  Grey looked up, holding one hand up to block the sun. Both Iris and Jallah were standing there, looking down at them. They seemed visibly exhausted.

  “Is it just you two?” Grey shouted to them.

  “No! You two and Ophelia are the last ones missing!” the boy replied.

  Ophelia is missing. Damn.

  “Where is everyone else?” Grey asked.

  “Looking for you! Hey, how do we get down there?”

  “I had to jump!” Grey shouted back. “Don’t worry, I’ll find a way up! You stay there.”

  Grey looked for another way up the ridgeline. To the right of the water seemed to be an easier incline. It was no simple route, but it was doable.

  He grabbed Misha and pulled her onto his shoulders again. She was a lot calmer now than before. And since they were not in a hurry, Grey did not need to run.

  The path up was steep. At times he needed to use his hands to pull himself up. But after a few minutes, he reached the top and joined Iris and Jallah.

  The two of them did not look a whole lot cleaner than Grey and Misha. Their jumpsuits were dirty and torn and their faces were flushed. Iris’s skin was definitely a few shades redder than when she’d woken up.

  The boy ran up to them first, excited.

  “You did it!” he said. Iris followed, smiling.

  “I’m glad we found you,” she added.

  Grey nodded and pulled Misha down from his shoulders. She stood close next to him, refusing to let go of his hand.

  “We barely escaped,” he told them. “What happened to you guys?”

  “I climbed a tree,” Jallah answered. He turned to Iris, expecting her to speak next.

  “Oh? Me?” Clearly her hearing was still bad. She smiled, awkwardly. “The big one, the mech, it decided to follow me. I found a hollow tree trunk and hid inside. I lost it.”

  “Mech?” Misha asked.

  “That’s what we’ve decided to call the big one,” Jallah explained.

  “What about the other UBE?” Grey asked.

  “The mantis followed Ophelia. When Dan realized it was after her, he darted in between them, hoping to draw it off her path,” Iris explained.

  “Mantis?” Misha asked.

  “That’s what we’re calling the small ones,” Jallah explained again. He looked almost proud, like he was the one to dub them with their new names.

  “Did it work? Did Dan save her?” Grey asked.

  Iris nodded.

  “Yes, the mantis followed his path instead. It chased him far. He finally ran into a narrow crevasse in the rocks. It was too thin for the mantis to follow. He lost it there,” she answered.

  “And still no sign of Ophelia since then?”

  Iris nodded again. Then she lowered her head in silence. Grey could tell the girl’s disappearance hit her hard.

  “Where is everyone else?” Grey asked, changing the subject.

  “Everyone broke off in small groups to look for you guys. We agreed to meet by the stream where we split off originally,” Jallah explained.

  “Stream? Like the thing in the cave?”

  “It’s this thing. The water. Iris says when the water is thin and moves like this, it’s called a stream. And when it goes over the edge like that, it’s called a waterfall,” said Jallah, beaming as he pointed to the water. The kid was a beacon of pride.

  Stream, waterfall. I have to start learning these words.

  “Okay. Let’s head back there then,” Grey said.

  Jallah and Iris both nodded.

  “Dad, can we go home now?” Misha asked.

  Grey placed his hand on her back and guided her forward.

  “No honey. We still can’t go home.”

  Grey splashed around in the stream and rubbed his body with the water until all the mud was gone. His hands and face stung whenever something brushed against his skin. He wondered if this was because of the atmosphere, or part of his sickness.

  He helped his daughter clear off the dirt too. He wanted her to look a little better when they got back to the group. Selena would be glad to see that Misha was perfectly alright. The girl’s skin, however, was a few shades redder under the mud than it had been.

  It did not take long to walk back to the point where they split off. It looked so different now, with trees smashed against the ground all over the place. Dan was already there. The others all seemed to be arriving at the exact same time.

  “Glad you guys are back,” Dan said, addressing the group. Selena, Kaitlyn and Margery had all just joined them, back from searching for lost group members.

  “Who found you guys?” Selena asked with a relieved look on her face.

  Jallah raised his hand.

  “Iris and I found them. They jumped down a waterfall.”

  Selena hugged Grey tight. He could hear her sniffling as if she had been crying.

  “Don’t worry, I’m fine. We’re both fine,” he said.

  She let go of him and reached for her younger daughter, who ran right into her arms. Selena’s eyes filled with tears as they embraced.

  Kaitlyn ran up to Grey and gave him a hug.

  “Daddy!” she said. Her arms wrapped around him so tight it squeezed the wind from him. He didn’t mind. “I missed you.”

  “Me too. I love you both. I’m glad you stayed with your mother.”

  “We were scared. Mom said one of the creatures followed you!”

  Grey nodded and rubbed her back to calm her down. Her eyes were wide, but they held the look of a child’s bewilderment more than anything else. She was too young to understand.

  “It did, but we made it out alright. Your sister was very brave.”

  “What do you guys think happened to the mantises?” Margery asked.

  Grey let go of Kaitlyn and turned to face the rest of the group.

  “Not sure,” Dan replied. “I think we tired them out. I haven’t seen them. Grey, that was a great idea you had, using our size and agility to our advantage.”

  “Thanks. At least we got something out of our hunts. But how do we know they won’t come back?” he asked.

  “They might,” said Dan, shaking his head, “but I don’t think we were worth the time to follow. Otherwise they wouldn’t have given up so easily.”

  “I don’t understand!” Iris interjected. “Why would they go through the trouble of setting a trap like this and then give up so easily?”

  Dan shook his head.

  “Not sure.”

  “How do you know the trap was meant for us?” Jallah asked.

  “It had to be. It was centrally located. We found it right away. There was firewood available. It was even close to a cave and an underground water source. The bait was specifically for us. They knew we’d take it, rest there, get lulled into a false sense of security. And the sensor was wedged in tight, right?”

  Jallah nodded his head.

  “So if it was tight, a squirrel or bird would not have been able to remove it so easily. I think it was meant for us, you know, humans,” Dan explained.

  “What’s a squirrel?” Misha asked.

  “It’s like a rabbit but it climbs trees. Your dad and I tried to hunt some earlier,” Dan answered.

  “Does it taste good?” Misha asked.

  Selena leaned down towards her. She too could not avoid pushing the wet hair from her daughter’s face, unable to stop touching the daughter she almost lost.

  “Now is not the time, Misha. Why don’t you go play with your sister?” she said.

  “But I just wanted to know about squirrels!” she protested.

  “Go play, but stay where we can see you,” Selena said again.

  “I want to stay with you!”

  “Then stay quiet, okay?”

  Misha nodded reluctantly and pouted.

  “She raises a good point,”
Margery said. “What do we do about food now? All our supplies from the pod are back in the cave.”

  “We hunt!” Jallah added.

  Dan put his hand in the air as if he were thinking. Then after a few seconds, he put his hand down.

  “We can’t go back to the cave. It’s probably not safe anymore. They know where we are,” he said.

  Grey shook his head and took a step forward.

  “I don’t think so,” he said sternly. “The mantises probably expect us to move somewhere else. If I were a hunter, I wouldn’t look for my prey in the same place so shortly after. I think we can go back and get our stuff.”

  “Go back?” Margery gasped, “Is that a good idea? What if they’re waiting for us?

  “Yeah, they could be waiting!” Jallah agreed.

  “The kids are right, Grey. I don’t think we should risk it. Let’s move on. Head west, further inland,” Dan said. He motioned further into the forest.

  Grey turned to look at his family.

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  Selena shook her head, saying, “I… I just want to stay safe. I don’t know.”

  “We survived a few nights in the cave already and we spent practically the whole first day on the beach. We had no problems!” Grey explained, hoping to change their minds.

  “You’re saying you think closer to the water is safer?” Iris asked.

  Grey nodded.

  “Historically, people would cluster around sources of water. Oceans, rivers, lakes, these were places you would find the highest population densities,” Iris explained. “The mantises will probably be there.”

  “We’re not talking about cities though, are we? It’s not like the mantises live on the surface!” Grey explained. Although after saying this, he realized he was not so sure. Perhaps they did. They truly knew nothing about them.

  “Let’s take it to a vote,” Dan said, clearly done debating. “Those who want to head west, raise your hand.”

  Dan, Jallah, Margery and Iris all raised their hands.

  “And those who want to stay here.”

  Grey, Selena and Kaitlyn raised their hands. Little Misha simply stood still, not sure what was going on.

  “That’s four to three. We head west,” Dan said.

  “And leave Ophelia behind? She’s still out there somewhere!” Grey protested.

  Dan and Iris looked at each other. Neither of them said a word. Iris subtly nodded her head, as if she agreed with Grey’s point.

  “Shit,” Dan added under his breath. Grey could tell he hadn’t considered that until now.

  “What did he say?” Iris asked.

  “He said ‘shit’,” Jallah answered, always the teacher’s pet.

  Thanks, Jallah.

  “We can’t leave her out there. If she finds a landmark, like this stream, hopefully she can follow it back to us. But if we leave, she won’t be able to find us at all,” Grey explained.

  “You’re right. You’re absolutely right,” Dan said. Grey could tell he did not like being defeated, but he knew Dan would never want to leave her behind, especially after he had just risked his own life to save her.

  “Should we send out search groups again?” asked Iris.

  “That’s a good idea, but let’s not go all at once like last time. We’ll send people out two at a time, but keep the rest of us here,” Dan suggested.

  “I can go first,” Grey volunteered, raising his hand.

  “Alright.” Dan turned towards the remaining adolescents. “One of you goes with him.”

  “I’ll go,” Margery said, stepping towards him.

  “How do we communicate with you while we’re out?” Grey asked.

  “We don’t. The suit helmets are back in the cave. When we searched for you guys, we just approximated a half hour and met back here,” Dan answered.

  “That works. We can do that again. I’ll see you guys in a half hour,” he said.

  Selena hugged Grey again and gave him a kiss.

  “Good luck,” she said.

  Grey nodded.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too. I’ll be here with the girls.”

  “Keep them safe for me.”

  Selena smiled and nodded back.

  Grey turned to face Margery.

  “Let’s go, Margery!”

  She followed behind him. Grey chose a direction at random and started walking. He did not know if they would be able to find Ophelia or not, but as long as they could both walk, they would try.

  Now that he was not galloping at full speed or eager to get his daughter back safely, Grey noticed for the first time how full the forest was. With every step, his feet would bump into something or get tangled in a bush or thicket. It was almost easier to hastily plow through it all than to simply walk at normal speed. Adrenaline was a hell of a drug.

  He was also surprised how much noise he and Margery made. Now that he was not preoccupied with getting away or meeting up with the group, he could hear every crack of sticks beneath his feet, every rustling of leaves in the wind and every scurry of animals.

  Margery seemed to be keeping up well. She limped a bit, but was more or less walking fine. By the look of things, she seemed unfazed. Grey wondered if Margery even knew she was limping. Hell, maybe I’m limping.

  “Do you think we’re going to find her?” Margery asked, warily, as they navigated through the forest.

  “Not sure. It’s easy to get lost out here. If it weren’t for that stream, we may not have been able to find each other.”

  “Should we be going so far away from the stream now?” Margery asked.

  Grey turned around. He could still see his companions, though they were far away.

  “We’re fine now, but let’s stay close. Use your ears. As long as we can still hear the water, we can get back to it.”

  Margery nodded.

  “How were you guys able to meet up after the mantises attacked?” Grey asked.

  “I kept Jallah in my sight the whole time. We both climbed trees. It was loud when the mantises were out. Even once the noise died down, we stayed in the trees a bit longer. After a while, we saw Selena and Kaitlyn walking back to the stream, so Jallah and I crawled down and joined them. By the time we got there, Iris and Dan had already met up.”

  “It’s lucky you six all found each other. And lucky Iris and Jallah were able to find me and Misha,” Grey said. He looked back again and could no longer see the others. He paused to make sure he could still hear the water.

  “Everything alright?”

  “Yeah, just don’t want to get lost,” he answered.

  “What if Ophelia is lost? Are we going to stay here and wait forever?”

  Grey shrugged.

  “Not sure. I don’t think staying here is a bad idea, but I know my brother disagrees.”

  “So do I,” Margery added.

  I know.

  More insects flew into Grey’s face. He picked up a twig from the ground and used it to swat at them. The stick seemed to do nothing.

  “Are these bugs making us sick?” Margery asked.

  “What?”

  “The bugs. Are they making us sick?” she repeated.

  “You mean the insects?”

  “Yeah, bugs, insects, it’s the same thing. They mean the same word,” Margery explained.

  This kid seems smarter than me sometimes.

  “I think it’s a combination of things, but the insects are part of it, yes.”

  “Do you think it’ll get really bad?”

  Grey thought this was a strange time to ask about getting sick. The first morning had been the worst for him. His immune system was already low from the hypothermia and his fever was pretty bad when he first woke up. But since then, he seemed to be getting better.

  “Not sure. Let’s hope not, but it’s possible,” Grey answered.

  There were loud footsteps in the distance. Grey held out his hand, signaling for Margery to stop. She caught on quickly and
they both stopped in their tracks.

  “Do you hear that?” he whispered.

  Margery nodded.

  Both of them got down low, crouching in case the mantises were returning. They could hear the footsteps getting closer, but they did not sound like mantis steps. They sounded softer, like a person’s.

  “Hello?” he eventually heard. The voice was familiar.

  Ophelia.

  Grey stood up straight and faced the direction of the sound.

  “Hello!” he shouted, though he could not see anyone. “Hello! Ophelia!”

  “Dan?”

  “No, it’s Grey! Where are you?”

  The footsteps came faster now, as if she were running. Grey kept looking into the woods, but it was hard to see anything through the thicket of trees.

  “Ophelia!” Margery shouted now.

  Suddenly the lost girl burst from between two large tree trunks. Her jumpsuit was muddy and the left sleeve was torn. She limped as she walked, but like Margery, it seemed she might not have realized it.

  “Ophelia!” Grey exclaimed. He dashed towards her with open arms. He hugged her tightly, like she was one of his own daughters. The relief at having found her almost felt the same.

  “Where did you go?” Margery asked, catching up to them.

  Ophelia pulled away from Grey and looked at them both.

  “The monster chased me,” she said. “I saw Dan running behind me. He drove it away, but I kept going. I didn’t know if I lost it.”

  “Well you’re safe now. The monsters are gone,” Grey explained, trying to assure her that everything was alright.

  “I know,” she answered. “I found help.”

  Grey did not know how to respond to that. He was not quite sure what she meant. He looked over to Margery for guidance, but she seemed just as confused.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “I found a path, like a transition zone. It’s big and there were movers. It’s just like in the station! I told you the government was here!” she said.

  The girl was trembling with excitement, her smile wide and warm, lighting up her face like a beacon of hope and pride. Clearly she genuinely believed what she was saying.

  “You’re saying you found people? You actually saw people?” Grey asked, trying to understand.