Withered World

by Sara Kincaid

  How could this be? Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence; but a third time is a pattern. And yes, there was a third occurrence. What explanations are there? Aster, I think I made it rain.

  Bram

  Chapter 3

  Under cover of darkness, we scurried from our hiding spot beneath the thorn trees and continued our trek across the spoiled earth. The going was slow. We relied on the dim light cast by the moon, muffled by the smog.

  For a long time, the only sound was that of our breathing and our steps through the crunchy bramble. I used some of my reserve energy to protect my skin from the razor-like foliage, and even that began to drain me before long. The good thing about No Man’s Land was that everything was already brown. Anyone trying to track us by the footprints I left in South Farm would have been at an utter loss. My telltale mark upon the earth was invisible here.

  Leo shifted the pack he’d been carrying since we left South Farm. If he hadn’t known that the CPA was coming for me, he must have been anticipating it for some time or he wouldn’t have had time to pack necessities in the chaos that marked our last night in my home. In spite of myself, I was grateful. Attached to his pack were two thin bedrolls and though they were not as nice as a bed, they were significantly better than sleeping on the hard ground alone.

  It was probably close to midnight when Leo asked to stop and rest. Unlike him, I could eat as I went. I didn’t need food in the normal sense. My entire existence was tied to the energy I leached from the earth and I could walk for miles without stopping.

  Leo handed me a bedroll and we both took a seat. The blood pulsed through my body from the exertion of our trek and I pressed deeper into the earth in search of nourishment. Even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to see it, I looked back in the direction we had come, hoping for a glimpse of the green of home. It felt like a huge betrayal to leave the soil I had cultivated and I wondered how Bram must have felt the day he left his home for the City.

  Leo hadn’t spoken for nearly half a day since our disagreement about our intended destination. He was nothing more than a stubborn City Slicker. I just couldn’t work out why he cared so much about the Curare. Despite his disagreement and his silence, I could tell that we were traveling in a northeasterly path. He was leading me where I wanted to go.

  When he finally broke the silence, his words were surprisingly gentle and his eyes soft. “Can we talk?” He put a gentle hand on my arm. I didn’t flinch away.

  I took a shaky breath, hyper-aware of him in the twilight. My heart beat a hasty rhythm in my chest. “About?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  I blinked in the darkness. “For?”

  “About before. There are so many things in the works. There’s so much you don’t know.” He withdrew his hand and eyed me shyly beneath thick lashes.

  “So I’ve been informed.” I put my hands on my knees. “Maybe if you cared to tell me.” I kept my tone light and without accusation.

  Leo sighed and seemed about to speak again. But instead, he reached out and covered my hand with his. “Don’t panic,” he whispered. He looked beyond me out into the desert and his face was grim. To keep myself from whipping around, I stared at the soft dent above his lip, shadowed by his snub nose.

  My breath caught in my throat and I could barely speak. “What is it?”

  “CPA soldiers. Stay still,” he urged. I looked up into his eyes and watched him swallow his fear, his gaze urging me to fight my instincts to run.

  I remained motionless as he instructed but after a few minutes, I could hear the unmistakable sound of boots pounding across the crunchy ground. “Citizens,” a gruff voice called out. “Identify yourselves.”

  Leo stood then and motioned for me to stay put. A beam of light from the direction of the voices shone on Leo, revealing his rich, dark skin and a face filled with defiance. I knew if I stood, my legs would shake. My stomach churned and the seconds stretched into centuries. I could barely breathe. For comfort, or perhaps support, Leo kept his hand on my shoulder. “I am Leo of South Farm.”

  “And the woman?”

  “My wife. Linley.”

  I too was then illuminated by a giant light and I squinted at the sudden brightness that flashed against the dark. “What are you doing out here?”

  “We’re traveling to the City,” Leo answered.

  “I’m going to need to see your papers.”

  My heart raced as I looked up, taking in the soldier’s dusty hemp uniform with a string of colorful patches on the arm and chest. The colors would have been beautiful had they not been attached to the intimidating soldier. I had no papers.

  Leo removed his hand from my shoulder to reach into his pack and retrieve his identification card, and I felt the ground dip beneath me. I wanted to cry, to charge at the soldiers and drain them to husks. I knew I could. I’d done it before on the farm. My fingers twitched at the memory of the helpless lamb in my arms and my eyes burned with unshed tears. It was an accident. But this didn’t have to be.

  Leo left the pack on the ground near my knee and handed the card coated in thick plastic to the soldier. His movements were slow, like he was stretching through water. I couldn’t remember the day, my name, my family. I was a storm of panic and could feel the energy collecting around me as my body took over. Without his support, I was teetering on the precipice. “Of course, officer. Is there a problem?” Leo’s voice was light, clueless.

  The officer grunted, but ignored the question as he scanned Leo’s identification card. After handing it back, the officer turned to me. “Miss? I need to see your papers.”

  I pawed hopelessly through Leo’s backpack and began to stutter. My mind was in a panic and I pictured the end. A slave of the CPA. Or worse, a lab rat, wishing for death. We fled South Farm only to be captured in No Man’s Land. Leo would be killed and it would be my fault. This nice boy from the City who risked himself for me, only to be executed in the desert and left to rot with no one but me to mourn him. I nearly doubled over at the thought. My hands shook. “I…I can’t find them.”

  Leo put a comforting hand on my shoulder again. “It’s alright, honey,” he reassured me calmly. “We must have left them at home.” Then he looked at the officer. “You see, we’re kind of in a hurry. Unwanted pregnancy.” He shrugged sheepishly and I began to blush hard, my hands shaking for a different reason, until I realized the genius of his lie. Curare couldn’t have children because our abilities required too much energy. We were barren. “We already have one little one at home so that meets the cap, you know? And unfortunately there are only a certain number of transports to the City each month.” He shrugged his shoulders. “We missed the one that went earlier this week, so we had to set off on foot.” I tried to look forlorn and put a hand absently on my flat belly. The gesture felt awkward to me. I had never imagined the possibility of having a baby.

  The officer nodded. If he was thrown off by Leo’s confession, he didn’t show it. His round face was unreadable beneath the brim of his dusty cap. “Well, unfortunately, you’re going to have to turn back and get those papers before going to the City. You’re a little off course as it is. Do you have a map?” Without waiting for a response the officer turned his attention to me again. “They won’t let you in without them, ma’am.”

  “Yes, sir,” I whispered, too afraid to look him in the eye.

  “Will do, officer. Thanks for letting us know. It would be terrible to get all the way there and not be allowed in.” Leo shook his head in disappointment.

  The officer flicked off his flashlight. “That will be all.” The sound of his boots on the dead grasses receded into the distance until finally we believed ourselves alone.

  The darkness rushed in and for a moment, I was blind. I took a shaky breath, trying not to think about how close we had been to capture, to death. Thanks to Leo’s quick thinking, we were safe. With a sudden jolt, I reali
zed he had saved me. Again. Again he had risked himself for me. But why?

  “Thank you,” I finally managed to whisper. My eyes were full and my heart still trembled at the danger we had faced. The encounter with the soldiers seemed to signal that my choice to hide in East Farm was the right one.

  “Of course,” Leo nodded, studying me closely. “Are you okay? I know that was terrifying. My heart is still beating like mad.” He laughed hollowly. His eyes were shadows, barely visible in the moonlight.

  I managed a small smile. “Mine, too.” Suddenly I felt cold. It was an odd sensation, one I had never felt before because the earth always regulated my temperature. I dug down deep into the ground, but was rewarded with only a tiny trickle of energy. I shook with the chill and clamped my mouth shut to keep my teeth from chattering.

  “You’ve had a little shock, I think,” he said, moving closer. This time, I didn’t pull away. With gentle hands, Leo guided me down onto the pallet and laid beside me. He nestled close, offering his warmth to me as I shook. As the adrenaline faded and my vitals returned to normal, he remained by my side, quiet and constant, and I slowly fell asleep to the steady beat of his life energy—my own personal lullaby in the night.

  I woke sometime later, blinking in the thick gloom of night. The sky was hazy above us. It seemed that the smog had descended to the earth, filling the flatlands with a rolling smoke. It was black all around us except for the light of Leo’s small lantern. Leo sat nearby, chewing on a stick of jerky he’d swiped from my family’s store in the barn. He held out his hand, offering me a piece, but I just shook my head. It made more sense for him to save those supplies for himself, though the smell reminded me of home.

  Instead, I bent to inspect my feet in the yellow glow of the lantern. The ribbons were torn to shreds, but I rewrapped them out of habit. Like the ground beneath my toes, the ribbons themselves offered me comfort in a world where I had no control.

  “Do you think you can go a bit further before the sun rises? It’d be best if we could move away from here. I’m worried that soldier might come back to see if we are still around. It was lucky that we were resting so he thought we were camped for the night.”

  “Yes. I think I can.” I felt recovered from the shock, but was beginning to notice the effects of the poisoned soil and hoped that the trip to East Farm would not take too long.

  Leo repacked his bag and we headed east. The land around us was quiet. No bugs buzzed and no creature stirred. The overwhelming silence sang eerily of a dead earth, our withered world.

  Even the hum of the earth, to which I had grown accustomed in the gardens of South Farm, was gone. It made me wonder if there was anything that could be done for this wasteland where chemicals had soaked down nearly to the core, shadowing the earth in death.

  My energy flagged. The tiny tendrils of connection I shared with the earth were not enough to sustain me. Near the end of our walk I became hot and dizzy. Ahead of us, I blinked into the sunrise. The incessant cloud cover of No Man’s Land obstructed the weaker rays. But the round disk still faithfully rose from the horizon ahead.

  I focused on the feel of the sun on my skin and closed my eyes. It was warm through the smog. I had dominion over the earth, the air, fire and the water, but I yearned for more. If I could access power from the sun, then I could put an end to my hunger. I sighed and opened my eyes. In the distance, I could see the blessed end of No Man’s Land. Behind it loomed a darkness that I assumed to be the borders of East Farm.

  With every step closer to our destination, I grew to sense an ancient presence beneath the surface. There was damage, to be sure; I could feel that even at a distance. But beneath the chemical spills, the earth lurked.

  East Farm was a relic among the farm communities. It was the original farming community and it was where Bram’s family hailed from before moving west after the chemical spill.

  We followed an old road that may have once been made of gravel. It was mostly dirt due to the rains washing the rocks away, leaving the bare, dead earth beneath exposed. The road wound around ancient trees that no longer lived and I was overwhelmed with the sense of loss. The sight reminded me of the home I had left behind and the ancient tree marking our land that had become one of the many victims of my abilities.

  The inherent respect for nature that I bore in my heart was always at war with my base nature. At times, the shame overwhelmed me. Back in South Farm, I would often retreat to a large tree whose dead trunk and branches rose up high into the sky when my abilities went awry. I had killed that tree one day when I’d lost control. My mother, Meta, would often find me there. Each time, she’d patiently talk me back down, reassuring me that I wasn’t a monster and that she wouldn’t abandon me to the CPA like all the others did to their children.

  The world was afraid of Kade Hollis, but not my mother. She would have taken on the entire CPA herself to protect me and to get Annel back, if my dad had let her. I remembered her dark hair, streaked with gray and how I’d always thought it was beautiful.

  What my mother always left unsaid when she’d reassure me, was that my parents were as afraid as I was of what the CPA would do if they knew that someone like me existed. The other Curare died young because they exhausted their life energy by order of the CPA. They did a noble thing, sacrificing themselves for the sake of humanity, although I wasn’t convinced that anything someone was forced to do was noble. They had no choice. But of me, the CPA would have been afraid. I put their balance of power on a precarious edge and so it was best to stay undetected.

  This was why I had to hide.

  Hours later, Leo and I stood on the edge of an empty road leading into East Farm. We saw no footprints or old transport tracks in the dirt, indicating that this place had been abandoned long ago. The wind whistled in my ears and ruffled my hair. On the path ahead, dots of green melded together until a forest overtook the horizon. After so many days in the stark desert, the green was a welcome sight and the earth called to me like a siren.

  At the side of the road lay a heap of rubble. Stones, rotted wood and rusted metal melded together, most of it held together by mere threads of fiber. I sat down on a large stone to rest and surveyed the mess around us. East Farm was a tangle of death and weeds. It was going to take some time to work through the rabid landscape. I started to pick through the leavings in hope of finding something sharp to cleave our way through the tangled shrubs when my hands fell upon a rusted sheet of metal. It had once been green, or so I thought. It was hard to tell with the brown rust. I held it up in front of me and tried to decipher the words written there. “He_m___n..” I read aloud. The rest of the sign was missing.

  “What is that?” Leo asked, sitting down beside me.

  “I don’t know. It says He_m___n. Whatever that is.”

  Leo regarded the sign and traced his hands over the letters, once white and now dulled to a dusty gray. “I can’t believe this has been here all this time. This is old. Really old.”

  “What is it?” I leaned forward with interest.

  “This is what East Farm was called before it was East Farm.”

  “You mean in the time before?” The time before the end of society as it was understood. The time before the City and the farms. The time when people had been abundant and life was more than any of us could have imagined, when the sky was clear and the stars were visible nearly every night. The time before Curare.

  “Yes.”

  I stared in wonder at the sign. It was rare that anyone mentioned the time before the farms and the City. It was not taught in schools nor mentioned by our elders. It was willfully forgotten. Even as I spoke those words, I shrunk into myself expecting someone to overhear and reprimand me for it. But there was no one else around. “There are letters missing. Do you know the rest of them?”

  Leo shook his head sadly. “No. I wish.” After a time he spoke again. “Well, shall we explore our new home?�
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  I turned once more toward East Farm and felt my heart swell with the possibility of safety and the hope of beginning anew. I didn’t know if Leo would stay with me long. Perhaps he would get bored and return to the City. But for now, I had a companion and I had actually grown to appreciate his presence. With him I could be myself and not worry about revealing my secret. He already knew and still he wanted to protect me. He had proved himself, first in our flight from South Farm and again in No Man’s Land when the soldier questioned us. I tried to push away my worry about all the things he wasn’t saying.

  “I wonder if we’ll find Bram’s ancestral home,” Leo whispered, hope warming his voice.

  “I doubt it’s still there. After all this time?” I asked, though inside I wondered why he cared.

  Aster,

  Have I ever told you that my family originated in East Farm? My great grandfather moved his family to West Farm following the spill. Our farm was far from ground zero, but he felt it was best to leave, even going so far as to deny our heritage. It is a great secret, our origins. Most, if not all, farmers who hailed from East Farm will deny this if you ask them.

  Chem Sickness was real. People lost their hair, they couldn’t eat, their skin grew wan and rubbery and their eyes burned with fever. They died. Anyone who was remotely near the spill perished. But this fear that people carry still, it is no longer justified.

  I have progressed in my experiments and have concluded that I can apply my will to water in any way that I can imagine. I have cleaned specimens impossibly tainted. I have transmuted water into steam with just a thought. Can you believe it?

  I’ve often wondered what will be the price for this, for every action must have an equal and opposite reaction. That’s basic physics and the baseline principle for energy and, thus, for life. I am an ecosystem. Am I using myself to clean these tainted waters? Am I tainting my ecosystem? What does the future hold for me if this is the case? I’m getting streaks of white in my hair and I sleep more hours than I am awake. I’ve started timing my sleep patterns because I’ve lost days to my weariness. I feel ill and some of my symptoms seem to echo that of Chem Sickness. But it might just be my exhaustion. I can’t say with any authority.