Kholvaria (The Color of Water and Sky Book 2)

by Andrew Gates

  “It’s just all so crazy!” she continued. Her voice was a little too loud. Iris hoped she was not waking anyone up. She quickly turned to see if anyone in the group was moving, but it seemed like nothing had happened.

  “I know, I know,” Iris said in a reassuring tone as she turned back to the girl. She leaned in closer to Ophelia and embraced her. They held this position for a few seconds before the girl pulled away. She was quiet for a moment and then lowered her head, looking down to the grass.

  “Jallah is even worse. I’m afraid for him,” she explained.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, he worries about things. You know how he is. When we first arrived, he freaked out about his parents. Then he got over it, or at least, made it look like he did. But now he’s freaking out about the monsters. I’m not sure how he’ll get over this. I don’t think he’s even closed his eyes in days.”

  Iris noticed Jallah’s behavior too. She was worried about him. Fortunately, Margery was doing an amazing job keeping him collected. Whenever he freaked out, she seemed to be the only one who could calm him down. The girl was talented.

  “Something tells me you didn’t want to talk just because you were worried about Jallah,” Iris said.

  Ophelia shrugged.

  “Yeah, you’re right. It’s more than that.”

  “What is it?”

  The girl sighed and then paused, as if trying to find the right words.

  “Are we going to die?” she eventually asked.

  That was a tougher question than Iris was ready for, especially at this time of night.

  “Are we? Uh…” Iris stumbled. She did not know what to say. How would anyone be prepared to answer that question?

  Ophelia looked back at her. The light from the space battle fluctuated, illuminating the world in short bursts at a time. When the field brightened, Iris noticed how the girl shuffled awkwardly.

  “We may,” she simply said back. There was no point lying. “It’s hard to say. There are a lot of things that can kill us.”

  “You mean like the mantises and the zombies?”

  “Yes, and also starvation, disease, the environment…” Iris realized these details were probably just scaring her. She stopped listing things. “I don’t know what will happen to us.”

  “Do you think the government can help us?” she asked.

  Iris shook her head.

  “The FCP is in bad shape. They can’t do anything for us. Actually, it looks like we’re going to have to help them.”

  “So you’re sure there aren’t any other people up here? It’s just us?”

  “That’s right.”

  “But are you sure?”

  When they first arrived on the surface, Ophelia strongly believed that there must have been other humans up here with them. She was so adamant that she would not hear any other idea. Even when she got lost and discovered the mantis road, she mistook it for a Federation transition zone. But Iris noticed that as time went on, Ophelia believed her own theory less and less. In a way it was sad to see her optimism fade, but in another sense, Iris was glad that she seemed to accept the reality of the situation they were in.

  “I know it’s hard to accept, but we’re alone up here.”

  Ophelia lowered her head again and took another deep breath. A tear flashed in the light of an exploding ship thousands of kilometers up in space. After a long pause, she looked back up.

  “I know,” she admitted with a sigh. “I… I kind of always knew that. I just didn’t want it to be true.”

  Iris could certainly relate to what she was feeling right now. She felt her stomach again.

  The soon-to-be mother opened her arms wide and embraced Ophelia once more. This time, they held the embrace for nearly a minute.

  “It’s normal to be afraid of death. That means you want to live,” Iris explained. “But we’ve been doing great so far! How long have we been up here?”

  “I… I don’t know. Several weeks. Maybe a bit over month?”

  “Exactly. It’s been a long time. We have a lot more time to go,” Iris responded, trying to sound optimistic.

  She pulled away from the embrace and Ophelia took a step back. They looked at each other. Even in the darkness, Iris could make out a faint smile.

  “Thanks, but I’m still scared.”

  “I am too,” she admitted. “But I find comfort in the people around me. We are stronger as a group. We help each other. That’s what keeps us going.”

  “But more of us will probably die, just like Garren and Felix and Rina.”

  “Yes, that is probably true.”

  “So then the group will get smaller,” Ophelia explained. “And when that happens, it’ll get harder.”

  “It might,” Iris agreed. “But we don’t know that.”

  “We don’t know anything!” she exclaimed. The girl was so loud, Iris was almost sure someone was going to wake up. But she did not even bother turning around to check this time. She placed her right hand on Ophelia’s shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

  “I know the uncertainty is scary, but-”

  “It’s not just the uncertainty. We don’t know what the mantises want, we don’t know where the zombies come from, we don’t even know what’s happening on the moon right now! We don’t know anything at all!”

  “That’s not true,” Iris debated. She spoke very quietly, hoping to bring down Ophelia’s voice. “We know a lot. We know the mantises live on the surface in big cities, but not in the forest. You helped us find the road, remember? That’s how we found the city. We also know they live in a big spaceship in the southern sky. We know they set traps for the zombies and hunt them. We know-”

  “You know what I mean,” Ophelia interrupted. She kept her voice down this time. Iris was glad to hear it. “There are still so many things we don’t know about the world.”

  “That’s true. But we discover more and more each day. Pretty soon, we’ll be able to answer all those questions. Think how much we’ve learned in such a short time.”

  “It thought you said we were on the surface for a long time. Now you’re saying it’s a short time.”

  “Well… long for survival, short for knowledge,” Iris answered, knowing her response was probably more confusing than she intended.

  “What?”

  “Forget it. What I mean is… the longer we stay on the surface, the more we will learn and the stronger we will be.”

  Ophelia paused, as if trying to come up with another argument.

  “I guess that makes sense,” she eventually said. She slowly nodded her head and looked around. Then she turned to Iris, took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her dirty hair. “Do you think the zombies are humans?” she asked, changing the subject.

  “Humans?”

  “Yeah, like the one that was standing straight up. I heard you and Dan talking about it yesterday. You were talking about if you thought it was human or not.”

  Iris sighed. This was another complicated question.

  “I’ll tell you what I told Dan,” she started. “The surface was destroyed. After that, the planet re-started and evolution took its course. Evolution is what made these animals what they are today. There are creatures on this planet similar to what we would have had before the Descent. There are also new creatures like the mantises.”

  “But some are exactly the same, right? Like rabbits and squirrels. You said they used to have those before the Descent,” Ophelia challenged.

  “The rabbits and squirrels we encounter here are probably a bit different than the ones our ancestors hunted. Think of these as new animals that just share traits with old animals.”

  “So they’re not rabbits and squirrels?”

  “Technically speaking, no, they’re not. These are brand new animals. What we see on the surface now are creatures that have evolved in a similar manner to what existed before.”

  “So you think the zombies are creatures that evolved to look similar to
humans?” Ophelia asked.

  “That is my thought, yes.”

  “Then how do you explain the one that stood up? He looked just like a man. He looked like someone from the station,” she said.

  “I… I can’t explain that. This is all just a theory,” Iris replied, reluctantly.

  “Well, what did Dan have to say?” Ophelia wondered.

  “Dan doesn’t seem to agree with me. He thinks more like you. He thinks they may be some sort of human savages,” she answered, remembering back to their conversation from yesterday.

  “Oh. That’s weird. Well what does he think about the other animals? How come they aren’t savages?”

  “Dan agrees that the animals we see are new versions of what existed before. He doesn’t challenge that point.”

  “But he does challenge the zombies?”

  “Yeah,” Iris replied. “He can’t get over the fact that the leader looked human. He says evolution alone would never cause something to look that identical.”

  “Well you know, he does teach science. He probably knows more about this than you,” Ophelia said in a snarky tone.

  In any other context, Iris would have been insulted. But in this case, Iris knew that Ophelia was teasing her. The gesture actually brought a smile to her face. It was comforting to see that Ophelia was in a joking mood so shortly after worrying about death.

  Whatever you’re doing is working, Iris told herself.

  “Hey look!” Ophelia said, pointing upward. “The moon! The ships are leaving!”

  Iris looked to the moon. There were no more bright lights or explosions. Some ships seemed to be flying away, while others stayed behind. Whatever was happening, it looked like it was over.

  “Do you think one side gave up?” Ophelia asked.

  “Could be,” Iris responded.

  “I can’t believe there was a war on the moon. That’s crazy!” Ophelia replied.

  “Me neither,” Iris answered in a more serious tone than she intended. “But I guess there’s a whole lot I didn’t expect.”

  “It’s the mantises, right?” Ophelia asked.

  “Probably.”

  “So the mantises are fighting each other?”

  “I guess so. Maybe there are different factions.”

  “What is a faction?”

  “It’s like a group. Like the Atlantic Federation.”

  “Oh.”

  “And sometimes a group that already exists can break up and form separate factions,” Iris explained, “like smaller groups.”

  “Oh, I get it,” Ophelia replied. She continued staring up at the moon. “Do you think our group will split up?”

  “Our group?”

  “You know,” Ophelia continued, “like how Dan and Selena are always fighting. Do you think we’ll split up into factions?”

  Iris did not have an answer for that either. It was too late to be talking about this kind of stuff.

  As long as you live, I’ll make sure our group survives, Iris remembered. Dan’s words from the other day were very particular. Part of her wondered if she was the only thing keeping the group together. She dared not ask him for clarification.

  “I hope not,” was all Iris said in response. She would hold in her thoughts for now.

  Ophelia must have understood that Iris was in no mood to talk about it. She looked down from the moon and studied her for a moment.

  “Why do you keep rubbing your belly?” she eventually asked.

  Iris pulled her hand away. She did not even realize she was still doing it.

  “Oh, no reason,” Iris replied. She wondered how long her hand had been there.

  “You’ve been doing it a lot these last few days,” Ophelia added. “I saw you do it the first time when we were on the beach, right after we found the third pod.”

  “When we had our first real talk together,” Iris said.

  “Yeah.”

  Iris thought about the significance of that first heart-to-heart conversation. That was the moment she realized she could do it, when she realized she could be there for Ophelia the way her father had, when she realized that she could really be a mother.

  The thought brought a smile to Iris’s face. Ophelia, she’s like the child I never had, like the child I will have. This smart and wonderful young woman, this girl is talking to me, trusting me, telling me about her own fears, hopes and feelings. And here I am helping her through it all.

  Maybe I have nothing to worry about.

  “Ophelia, I have some news. I thought I should share it with Dan first, but I think I’d like to share it with you instead,” Iris started. She felt nervous.

  “What is it?”

  Iris took a deep breath.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  The girl took a step back and shouted, “No way!”

  “Ssh!” Iris said. She turned to face their sleeping companions. She could see some bodies moving in the grass. It seemed Ophelia had woken a few people.

  “I mean, no way,” the excited girl repeated in a much quieter tone. “How long have you known?”

  “I guess I’ve known for a few days, but I’ve just recently come to accept it.”

  “How recently?”

  “A few minutes ago,” Iris admitted. “Right before you wanted to talk.”

  “No way,” Ophelia repeated, struggling to stay quiet. “And Dan’s the dad?”

  “Yes, definitely,” Iris said. “There is no other possibility.”

  “Well I’m honored you would tell me first. That means a lot. Thank you, Iris.”

  “No, thank you. You’ve shown me what it means to be there for someone. I think we have something special,” she admitted.

  Even in the darkness, Iris could see Ophelia smile. She opened her arms and let Iris come in for a hug.

  “I know you’ll make a great mommy,” Ophelia said. “I know it.”

  For some reason, hearing Ophelia say those words made her believe it.

  “Thanks,” Iris replied as they left the embrace.

  “What are you going to name it?”

  “Oh… I don’t know. It is too early for me to answer that,” she admitted. “But hey, how about we try to get some sleep, huh?”

  “Right after that news?”

  “Yes. You need sleep, right?”

  Ophelia nodded reluctantly.

  “Yes.”

  “And you feel better now, right?”

  “Yes. Talking to you helped a lot,” the girl said.

  “Good. Then let’s try to get some sleep. We need it.”

  Ophelia hugged Iris one more time. They did not say anything to each other for the rest of the night. When they rejoined the group, a few more people were wiggling around as if they had only recently woken up. Iris felt partially responsible, but did not say anything. She simply lied down on the grass and closed her eyes.

  I know you’ll make a great mommy. I know it.

  Iris awoke to another loud rumbling in her stomach. She opened her eyes as the sunlight blinded her. She instinctively held up her hands, blocking as much of the light as she could. She blinked a few times, trying to move past the blinding sensation.

  I slept!

  Iris sat up but kept her head down, away from the light. She brushed some insects off her legs and yawned. She still had to pee, but she felt surprisingly well rested, a feeling she had not experienced in a while.

  Her late conversation with Ophelia was fresh on her mind. She instinctively held her belly again. I have to tell Dan, she thought to herself. Better to do it early and get it out of the way soon.

  Someone said something next to her, pulling her focus away from her thoughts. Iris was surprised. Once again, she did not hear anyone walking up to her. She quickly turned to face whoever was speaking.

  “Good morning!” said Dan, excitedly. She was glad that he was the first person she saw this morning. It was almost like fate. She could not wait to tell him the news.

  “Uh... hi,” she replied, still a bit fl
ustered and not quite fully awake.

  Dan smiled. He seemed giddy about something.

  “What is it?” she asked as she stood up. “You seem happy.”

  “You won’t believe what we caught,” he answered.

  Iris could smell the scent of fire burning. She turned to face the smell and saw Ryan and Tobias standing by a roaring flame. They had cleared the grass around the area so that the fire was contained. Inside the flames was a large animal with a stick through it, hoisted up by thick logs on either side.

  “What are you cooking?” she wondered. Whatever it was, this creature was easily 10 times the size of a squirrel.

  “I think they used to call it a deer on the surface.”

  “A deer? How did you manage to catch a deer?”

  Dan grinned as if he were proud of this story.

  “Grey and I stumbled upon it while it was sleeping. We sprung on top of it. The others in the pack scurried off, but Grey grabbed this one by the leg and wouldn’t let it leave. I sliced its neck while I had the chance.”

  “Wow! That’s quite impressive,” Iris said. She tried to envision that.

  “Well, it sounds more impressive than it was. We really lucked out. The deer was slow,” he explained.

  “Slow? Why was that?”

  “Because it was pregnant.”

  Iris froze for a moment. She did not know how to respond. Not that. Anything but those words. Suddenly sharing her news did not seem like such a good idea.

  “We didn’t know it was pregnant at the time,” Dan continued, “but we figured it out pretty quickly when we tried to pick it up and bring it over here.”

  “Wow, that’s… that’s quite a story,” Iris said, figuring she should at least say something.

  “Yeah!” Dan replied. He paused for a moment and studied Iris. “Are you okay?” he asked. “You seem different.”

  “Well, I just woke up,” Iris said, making up an excuse. “You kind of startled me with this story.”

  “Sorry. I was just excited. We’re going to eat like kings today!”

  Iris felt conflicted. On one hand, this was the happiest she had seen Dan in weeks. Part of her wondered when he would ever be in a mood like this again. But on the other hand, the irony of it all made her feel like this was the wrong time and place to share the news.