Tremor: If your world was falling apart, how far would you go to save it? (The Tremor Cycle)

by Ryan Mark

  ‘How do we know you’re telling the truth and won’t hand us in to the Peace Force for trespassing?’ asked Althea, rubbing her lower back. ‘For all we know you could be one of them.’

  The man dipped his hand into an inside pocket then withdrew a piece of paper. ‘That’s my wife’s population certificate,’ he said, passing it over. ‘Please, read it.’

  William smoothed out the paper. ‘Marian Everward, she worked as a nurse for Terrafall.’ He read down the document. The name Ichabod Everward appeared in the spouse section. He looked back at the man.

  The man pulled out his passport and opened it, keeping his gaze steady. ‘Look, my name is Ichabod Everward. She’s my wife.’ William took a closer look and sure enough there was a picture of the man with the name Ichabod Everward written next to it. If the man was lying he was doing an exceptionally good job of it.

  ‘It’s a great story, and I’ll give you a clap for that evidence, but why should we trust you? Tell me what you’ve found out so far,’ said Althea, one eyebrow raised. William knew what Althea was thinking: get as much information as possible and then run if it got messy.

  The man nodded. ‘I’ve been looking into this for some time, and know that the majority of the abductees were involved with Terrafall in some way. I tried to raid the archives a few days ago and only managed to get my wife’s population certificate. It was shortly after this that Terrafall locked the place up, and increased the guard. Since stealing that population certificate I’ve been on the Peace Force’s most wanted list,’ said Ichabod. ‘However, I do have something that might help us both.’

  William thought for a second. Was he actually telling the truth? If he and Althea revealed too much, what could he do to them? He summed it up in his head: not a lot, probably. Besides, they didn’t really have much to lose, did they?

  ‘The files we looked at all had a link to Terrafall,’ William told him. ‘But people it says are abducted sometimes reappear, dead.’

  The tall man gasped at this information. ‘Are they all dead?’

  Althea shook her head sadly. ‘There was nothing on the population certificates that suggested they were dead or alive, just that they’d been abducted. So we can’t be completely sure if they’re all dead, but we know two for definite… my parents…’ It came out in jittery breaths.

  ‘And from what I heard last night, the Peace Force have been finding abductees dead around Kentvale too,’ added William, rubbing Althea’s back.

  ‘Anything else?’

  ‘Um, the power plant is Terrafall’s base in Kentvale so we’re going there next. You never know, there might be clues on where people have been taken and who’s behind it,’ explained William, passing back the paper.

  The man considered them, his expression solemn. ‘As luck would have it, I’ve been planning on trying to access that plant for days now, and I’ve managed to obtain a work pass,’ he explained, patting his breast pocket. ‘You see, the person who runs things there is also in charge of the archive. Getting into their office at the plant was my next step.’

  ‘Why haven’t you gone there yourself?’ asked Althea suspiciously.

  ‘The work pass is for a child. Terrafall only employs orphans at the plant now, children who have no family left. They’re easier to control than adults, so they make the perfect workforce. Terrafall lures them in by offering the promise of food and comfort, but what they get in return is nothing of the sort. The rest of the population is oblivious to this. I mean, who’d miss an orphan? People have too much on their plates, don’t they? And that’s why I cannot go, I don’t look like an orphan.’ He looked at William. ‘But from what I’ve heard just now, you two fit the bill.’

  The corners of William’s lips twitched. He kept the smile from forming, as he didn’t want the man to think they were getting too comfortable. ‘Can we really trust you?’

  ‘I’ll leave that for you to decide, but be quick. If some of the abductees have turned up dead, we might not have much time to save those still alive.’

  Althea turned away, eyes filling with tears. Time had run out for her parents.

  William took her hand and quickly changed the subject for all their sakes. ‘Last night there was blood, a pool of it. Do you think my mum’s still alive?’

  ‘There was blood left behind when my wife was taken too, and I’ve seen it present at other abduction sites. I think it’s done to weaken the victims, make them easier to transport.’ The man leaned heavily on his cane. ‘They need to be stopped. Trust me, we’ll find who’s responsible.’

  ‘I’m still not sure,’ whispered Althea, her hand tightening around William’s.

  ‘He wouldn’t have told us all this if he was trying to trap us, would he?’ William whispered back.

  ‘I suppose, but I’m still on the fence.’

  The man bowed his head. ‘I want you to know that I really am one of the good guys, but I’ll leave it there for now. It’s in your hands to decide.’

  Althea nudged William in the ribs. ‘So, what now?’

  ‘We mustn’t be seen together in the open. Like I said, I have a bad track record with the Peace Force, so we’ll meet just before curfew at the Lame Mare Tavern. Enforcers rarely venture over to that side of town. Do you know the place?’

  William nodded, but his face quickly scrunched into a frown. ‘Can’t we get this over and done with? If there’s a chance that abductees eventually turn up dead we should go to the power plant now!’

  ‘We can’t just barge in there without a plan, they’d just kill us or put us in The Pit, we need to plan this carefully,’ explained Ichabod. ‘Meet me there an hour before curfew and come prepared. There has to be a reason behind these abductions and we’ll get to the bottom of it. Good luck.’ With a flick of his hem he was off, diving through another alley with the help of his cane.

  ‘Can we really trust him Will? Can we risk it?’ asked Althea.

  ‘I guess he’d already have taken us in if he were lying,’ William replied, as they watched him walk away. ‘But, seriously, Ichabod, that’s one weird name.’

  ‘I don’t know…’

  ‘I think he is telling the truth. It would take a lot nowadays to forge documents like the ones he showed us. He’s going through exactly what I am, and anyway, he’s just made things a whole lot easier by having a plan to get into the plant,’ said William, leading Althea into a wide street. ‘I just hope it works.’

  ‘Ok, but I’m not going to let my guard down. I trust you, that’s the only reason I’m going to go along with this.’ She squeezed his hand again.

  He squeezed back.

  As they walked, William wondered what was going on. All signs pointed to Terrafall, but if it was responsible, why would it want to kidnap people? What would it gain from that?

  Slavery was the first thing he could think of, but then why would some abductees turn up dead?

  Sinister. That was the perfect word to describe the world they lived in. The link was just too obvious: Terrafall employed all the abductees, the disappearances practically paved a path to the company. Then again, his mother didn’t work for Terrafall directly. But the hospital was probably funded by it and therefore under its control. Come to think of it, was anything truly out of Terrafall’s control?

  The centre of town was deserted now so it didn’t take long to get back to Althea’s house. As they walked along the cracked footpath, William could feel a renewed energy to move quickly, but when they reached Althea’s front door the feeling stopped. The house seemed far too quiet.

  ‘Something doesn’t feel right,’ he whispered as they unlocked the door and slipped inside.

  Althea must’ve felt the same because she immediately ran from room to room shouting, ‘Ori, Ori, where are you?’

  William stood in the open doorway. His experience of the previous night rendered him unable to move any further.

  Finally, a small voice answered. ‘I–I’m upstairs. He fell asleep, Althea, and wouldn’t get back
up.’ Ori’s words came down the stairs, drifting through the air like melancholic piano chords.

  ‘What do you mean?’ said Althea, leaping upwards two by two.

  William followed her as fast as he could. He didn’t like where this was going. Not one bit.

  Althea’s brother stood at the entrance to his grandfather’s room, clutching the doorframe. ‘He, he won’t g–g–get back up,’ said Ori, voice cracking.

  Althea and William stepped into the dark room, to find Jim lying prostrate on the bed, unmoving.

  ‘Oh no… please no,’ whispered Althea, hand clasped over her mouth.

  ‘He’s cold. I put more blankets on him, but it hasn’t done anything. I tried to get the doctor too, but he wouldn’t come,’ said Ori, sniffling. ‘He said he was too busy at the hospital because his nurse hadn’t come in or something.’

  ‘If only my mum had been here,’ whispered William, stepping towards the bed. He tentatively placed two fingers against their grandfather’s neck. He couldn’t feel a pulse, and gosh, was he cold. William felt a lump rise into his throat as he struggled to form the words. ‘He’s gone,’ he whispered, wrapping an arm around Ori’s shoulder.

  Althea sobbed at the end of the bed, biting down on her fist. How much more loss could they take? William couldn’t say and just cuddled Ori more tightly.

  ‘To a better place, Will?’ Ori looked up to William. ‘To see Mum and Dad?’

  It didn’t matter how clever or how far his head was screwed on, Ori was still a kid, and you had to be careful what you said to kids. ‘To see everyone we loved who’s gone there,’ William replied, trying to make his tone as soothing as possible. ‘He’ll be planting vegetables with them right now.’

  Sitting on the end of the bed, Althea pulled her knees into her chest. ‘He’s gone to paradise,’ she said through her tears, reaching out to pat Ori’s head. ‘Away from all this mess.’

  ‘Can we go there too?’ asked Ori, his brown eyes finally drowning in tears.

  ‘Not yet, little one,’ said Althea, pulling him into a hug. ‘We need to carry on. We’ve got work to do.’

  Ori cried into Althea’s shoulder then, and William joined them, grabbing them both tightly. ‘And remember, we’ve got each other,’ he said, ruffling Ori’s blond hair. ‘We’ll always have each other.’

  They sat for some time in the small room. Silence became their comfort blanket and no one wanted to crawl from beneath it. William looked out of the window. The sun was slowly drifting down the blue sky. Night was coming fast. An unpredictable time filled with danger, especially now, when laws were on the fringe of extinction.

  They had to meet Ichabod, but William knew Althea and Ori needed a moment to grieve, one last time with their grandfather before… well, he didn’t know what.

  They couldn’t let Jim’s death put a halt to their mission. They couldn’t give in. Althea’s grandfather had never given in, even when he’d lost his daughter; he’d carried on for Althea and Ori. William would help Althea take care of Ori, and he would carry on with the mission, because maybe his mother still had a chance at life.

  And so, with this in mind, he decided to break the silence. ‘What do we do now? Curfew’s going to hit soon.’ He gently pulled a blanket over Jim.

  ‘Burn it down,’ Althea muttered.

  William frowned. Did he hear her right? ‘What, I don’t get you?’

  ‘Burn the house to the ground. No one lives on either side and it’ll draw in the Peace Enforcers so there’ll be less chance of us bumping into one on the streets,’ replied Althea. ‘We aren’t going to come back here. Once we’ve found your mum, we’ll go to the coast. Dad said it was a much better place. He went there to find plants months ago, just before, well, you know, and when he got back he told us it was as green as before the war. Kentvale’s done for, and I think Terrafall knows it. The food isn’t going to last much longer.’

  ‘B–but…’

  Althea’s inner strength had returned. ‘No buts, we have to do this. Ori, pack a bag, fill it with stuff you’d take if we were going on a camping trip. Food, bandages, medicine, clothes, you get the idea,’ said Althea, standing up and straightening her grey cardigan. ‘I’ll get my plated gloves and dad’s crossbow.’

  ‘Weapons, what the hell?’ said William, grabbing Althea’s arm. ‘I know your grandad’s just passed, but seriously Alfie, we need to do this carefully. We can’t draw attention to ourselves.’

  ‘We will be careful, but if anyone spots us I want to make sure they don’t call for help. And I want to be armed when we meet this Ichabod again, because I still don’t trust him, Will.’ Althea walked out of the room, calling behind her, ‘We’ll set off for the Lame Mare in ten minutes.’

  ‘There’s no point in arguing Will,’ said Ori, kissing his grandfather through the sheet. ‘Bye Grandad, keep gardening up there.’ He wiped his tears away and followed Althea out of the room.

  William stood with his mouth half open. He knew he couldn’t change her mind once she’d decided on something, but using weapons and starting fires could lead to someone getting seriously hurt. However, he had to remember that this was Althea, and her way of dealing with trauma usually involved an angry outburst and violence. And to be honest, she was right – Kentvale was beyond help.

  He quickly grabbed a trowel from a collection of tools that sat on the mantelpiece, lifted up the sheet and placed it in Jim’s hands, carefully covering him back over. He really had gone to a better place. Any place was probably better than Earth right now. He left the room, wiping a tear away.

  ‘Are we ready then?’ asked Althea, pulling on her gloves, the metal plates covering her knuckles rusted and lethal-looking. She swung her crossbow over her shoulder and attached a quiver of arrows to her belt. ‘Got everything? Shoes, coats, bags?’

  William nodded.

  ‘Good. Let’s go.’ She piled up some papers and wood, lit a match, and balanced it above on the edge of the stove, which she turned on to let what little gas remained escape.

  ‘Goodbye,’ Ori whispered, slamming the door behind them, causing the match to fall into the papers.

  They ran through the streets, not looking back. William knew it wouldn’t be long before the whole neighbourhood was filled with Peace Enforcers – the fire and smoke would see to that. The sooner they got across the river Kent, the better. They’d still be at risk on the other side, but the Peace Enforcers rarely ventured there. It was where all the criminals hid, and where people turned into drunken babbling crackpots.

  When they reached the bridge, William dared to take a glimpse over his shoulder. A fireball exploded into the air, illuminating the dark corners of the town. ‘I guess that’s it.’ He sucked in a quick gulp of air. ‘We’re really leaving,’ he said, looking up at the smoke curling into the sky before carrying on over the unstable bridge.

  A scrawny, blotchy-faced teenager blocked their path halfway across, his muck-ridden cape giving him the appearance of a bat. ‘What have we here then, something for me to play with?’ he said, snickering, teeth protruding from his mouth.

  ‘It’s not curfew, we have a right to be out,’ said Althea, eyes narrowing. ‘I don’t have time for this, and I’m really not in the mood.’

  ‘He’s going to get it, she’s upset,’ whispered Ori, poking William in the ribs and grabbing his hand nervously.

  ‘Well, this is my bridge, I’m not a Peace Enforcer and really don’t care much about the laws. All I want is some fun,’ he spat, pulling out a frighteningly large club. ‘The girl’s pretty…’

  Althea clenched her fists, the rusty plates of her gloves creaking. ‘You asked for this,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘Dirt bag.’ She punched him square in the face, knocking him into the soupy water below.

  William raised his eyebrows.

  ‘Totally shouldn’t have said that to her,’ Ori remarked, moving forward once more.

  Althea didn’t take anybody’s abuse when she was angry, and given that she’d
just lost her grandfather, and found out her parents had been abducted before they’d been murdered, it was probably fair play.

  He glimpsed over the side of the bridge. The teenager clung to a broken pier, looking completely dazed and confused. He shouted, but no help came, and it probably wouldn’t… only the very desperate would cross the bridge so close to curfew. William looked away.

  ‘Let’s keep moving,’ said Althea, voice remaining in a low tone. ‘We don’t have time for him.’

  The Lame Mare was close to the bridge, clinging to the muddy riverbank, as if wallowing in the polluted waters like a lazy hippo. Its sign had fallen down the post, barely hanging on and almost touching the surface of the brown stew that curled beneath it. The other buildings surrounding it were all but shells. Ragged groups of people huddled amongst the remains, surrounding barrels of burning rubbish to keep warm, waiting for the end of the world.

  William took a step towards the boozer, pausing when raucous laughter gushed into the damp street. Great, the place was full. They had to do this though; there was no turning back now. He sighed and pushed open the door.

  ‘Um, here we go, I guess,’ he said, taking a long breath.

  She looks around. The steel box is dark, but a small fraction of light penetrates through a crack. She clambers towards it, presses her lips against the cold metal and gasps for air. The deep cut on her arm stings, but it doesn’t bleed through the coarse bandages.

  She knows she’s moving forward. The road’s bumpy. They definitely aren’t in town though, because everything’s so quiet.

  Her captors talk on the outside, but she can’t make out their words. The box trundles on and she crashes back down. Her head smashes against the side and pain cloaks her eyes.

  Where are they taking her? Who are they? She can’t remember much. She’d come home after work and that was it… how had she not seen anyone lurking in the dark? The questions come but fade away as her vision drifts into the black. It’d happened suddenly, and it’s all a blur now, nothing’s clear.

  I have family. My son, or my husband, or my father? Her mind cannot fully focus. Her head aches with confusion, but she knows she can’t leave him alone in this cruel, unforgiving world.