by L M Feldt
Khane taps my shoulder, bringing me back to reality. Aito and Naoaki are conferring and they don’t look happy.
“What’s up?” Khane asks as we approach.
“There appears to be a wide crater between us and the city of lights. It could take days to go around. If we go straight across we gain time but risk traveling without a water source.” Aito pulls out his canteen and holds it upside down. It is dry. I shake mine and hear some sloshing.
“I have maybe a half bottle.” I offer.
We have a combined reserve of two full bottles for five people. Not enough for a full day of travel under the hot sun. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that we will find a water source if we go around either. Ultimately, we vote to go forward, through the crater. It is a risk but Naoaki has noticed green plant life in the crater which means there is water somewhere. Also, a strange sort of desperation has gripped our souls.
The brief, tantalizing view of the city of lights has settled in our minds and blossomed into the conviction that it is a free city, one where twists are the majority. We will be welcomed with open arms and live free from oppression. Well, dreams are supposed to be impossibly extreme and fanciful, otherwise they would be called goals. The dream city has grown disproportionately to our view of it and so has it’s grip on our hearts, so we choose what we hope will be the faster route.
I am staring out at a desert landscape when my booted foot slips. I glance down as Khane catches my arm and steadies me. There is a lip of glass that encircles the crater, a slippery rind of orange and burnt brown. The slag is hard evidence of the wars we learned about while we were students/inmates of Keimusho Red Compound. I slide my inner lids down to cut the glare and survey the twisted desert we plan to cross.
It appears innocent enough. Past the glossy edge is a smooth plain of rust colored sand broken up by clumps of greenery. There are no large trees, nothing that might offer some reprieve from the melting sun. It is still and dry and bright. I figure we will make good time and if we set off a few hours before sunset, it will minimize the time spent under the white hot ball above us. We settle under some shade near the lip and rest as the day winds down.
“What do you think the city is like?” I ask Khane. His eyes are open, staring unfocused into the branches above us.
“I don’t know. I worry mostly.” He turns to look at me, his expression pensive.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if it is a city of twists, those that were Banished but managed to survive, it will be a pretty harsh place, full of people at least as dangerous as us if not more so.”
I hadn’t considered that. I had been busy dreaming of an oasis, a refuge for us away from the unreasonable laws and violence of the compound. I hadn’t thought about what a society built from the labors of twists banished and left to die might be like. We’ve had it easy compared to that. He’s right, we will have to be careful.
“But what if it isn’t a city build by Banished. What if it’s something else? Something from before?”
“Then we could be trading one nightmare for another.” Aito chimes in, his face unreadable.
Fifteen
The nighttime desert is alive with soft scurrying sounds and I curse my lack of forethought. I should have realized that if it is too hot for us during the day then it would also be too hot for the critters that live here. It is cool now without the suns punishing rays and we are not alone. We keep a close group, walking steadily, wary, skirting the clumps of oddly bent greenery. Aito calls them cactus but I think they looked like men, or husks of men. Gone is the innocence of daylight, this is a place of hidden menace. The landscape by moonlight throws long black shadows that hide skittering, chittering things. They stay just outside my line of sight and seem to be following us, keeping pace. I fear we are being herded.
Naoaki comes back from a quick reconnaissance, her eyes wide, whites showing in the darkness.
“I saw one, some kind of worm with stick legs. They’re fast and have an arched tail to watch out for.” Naoaki pants. She is frightened.
“One isn’t bad.” I say.
“There’s more, I could hear them moving. It sounds like an old knife scraping a whetstone over and over.” She’s shivering. “I think they were whispering to each other.”
That sends chills down my spine. I know there are animals that hunt in packs and that they can communicate with each other but the whispering lends a human element to the creatures. I can’t imagine what sort of things these might be but I want to get us away from them as quickly as possible.
“We need a fire. Fire keeps things at bay.” Aito informs us. His wide eyes gleam in the moonlight.
“Not helpful. We have no wood, nothing to burn. We have to keep moving.” I realize I have just overridden Aito, our self assigned leader, but there isn’t time to dwell on it or smooth over hurt feelings. “Stay close. Khane.” I nod for him to join me in front. We are the only two with real weapons so we take point.
“Aito, keep us heading west.” My breath quickens. Some small part of me longs for the comfort of a soft bed, someplace safe….the rest of me hums with energy, alert and alive and determined to redeem myself for Fish’s death.
We walk forward again, trying to move as quickly as we can while still watching for danger. The wan moonlight leaves it up to me, with my keen night vision, to spot any immediate threats before they are upon us. Then I see one and my gut twists. Electric fire sparks down my spine and my wings lift. The nightmare has three friends, all with the same arched tail, long spidery legs and long, wormy white midsection that vaguely resembles a person rolled up in a blanket. They huddle in a group, watching us with multiple bulging eyes and I can hear their scraping whispering. The foremost creature bleats a high pitched cry and the others begin tapping their long thin legs in a rapid beat. I tense.
“Get ready, there’s four coming from the front.” The two knives that haven’t melded to my flesh are in my hands already and as I crouch I feel Khane’s energy shield flair up. His ax is out and I glance at his face, surprised to see him grinning. I wonder if he’s snapped or if maybe he is just re-channeling the fear. Or maybe, like me, he is looking forward a fight to distract him from the loss of a friend.
The creatures charge and while Khane’s shield helps keep them away from Aito and Naoaki, they are still exposed on one side. I step away from the protective shield, my wings of steel fully extended, shimmering darkly in the moonlight.
Khane has engaged two of the spider-worms, swinging first at one and then the other while using small puffs of his shield to block when needed. I haven’t seen him fight like this before and I am impressed. He has good rhythm. There is little time to observe, however, as one of the creatures is trying to spear me with it’s pointed spider legs. I block with my knives crossed and edge my way around to engage the other creature as well. This one hesitates, seeing me with my wings out must have alarmed it. I look larger now, more threatening and most creatures will back down from a more aggressive opponent. I take the advantage and directed all my attention to the closest creature. It is hard at first trying to remember and implement my training while also allowing my instincts and my twist to run free, but trial by fire is not a myth.
I spin, trying to catch the creature with its side exposed. Using my knives to distract, I dart in close, hoping for a shot at the throat or underbelly. It isn’t so easy. I can see the soft white belly but the spider legs block me. They are as hard as the iron bars in the re-education cells and my knife clinks off harmlessly. Quickly I roll to the side and keep moving, watching the deadly tail as I do. I need to get around the thing’s defenses and quickly. Its shy friend is feeling bolder after watching my first attack fail. Discordant whispering fills my ears and the hesitant creature turns away from me, focusing instead on Naoaki. They are working as a team now.
I take a breath and refocus, hoping Naoaki will keep her head and remember our training. I only need a moment. I fake a dodge to the left as th
ough making a second run at the creature’s belly. It turns to head me off and I shift my weight at the last moment and dart in the opposite direction, before it can face me and bring it’s tail into play. We are close now. I can see the milky grayish white of its round eyes. They look like raw dough stuck on a bulbous, softly furred head. I grab a handful of sand and throw it as I roll again, hoping my aim is true.
The creature bleats and a muted thump startles me as the tail smacks the hard sand where I had just been standing. The sand has gotten in the creatures eyes, just as I’d hoped. The tail is still flowing back to it’s upright position, it’s now or never. My wings flare and I swoop in, slashing at the face with everything I have. It shrieks, a piercing cry of pain and anger. It skitters in a circle, unable to see, plunging it’s tail into the ground wildly, missing me by a mile. I turned to engage the next but the creatures are backing away. They look confused and are shaking their heads, egg shaped eyes darting in fear.
Whether it is the distress of their leader or something else driving them away I can’t tell, but they move off and fade into the shadows, leaving their leader to thrash blindly, alone.
“What happened? Is he hurt?” I crouch down by Aito who is huddled in a ball holding his head. He looks to be in pain but I can see no wounds.
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. He was behind me.” Naoaki is shaking as the adrenaline wears off, her knife still clutched tightly in her hand.
I slid my hand under Aito’s arm and help him stand. He wobbles and groans, his footing unsteady. I try to put his arm around my neck to help him walk but my wings haven’t fully settled.
“Khane, can you…” I release Aito to Khane. “We need to keep moving.”
“Are you ok?” Khane asks worriedly. He can see the glint of my wings hovering just above my shoulders.
“Yeah. I don’t know why they won’t settle.” I shrug. “You? Are you hurt?”
“Not a scratch.” He grins, tucks Aito to his side and strides off.
I shake my head a huff a laugh. Then I notice Naoaki. She stands quietly, her hand to her face.
“Shit, are you hit?” I ask her, alarmed.
I pull her hand away to see. There is a thin red line down her cheek.
“It looks shallow, are you ok otherwise?”
She nods.
“Good, you did good. Go after Khane now.” Micha is next. He stands as though frozen, his hand clutching Jax’s neck like it’s a lifeline. “Micha? We need to go now, ok? Before they come back with more friends.”
That does it. He pulls free from whatever glue had rooted him in place and hurries after Khane. I sigh, glancing back at the human spider still thumping the area around it with it’s stinger. If we actually do make it somewhere safe I will be amazed. We travel through the night and the rising sun finds us not yet out of the desert. We’ve seen no more of the creatures, which is fortunate since we are all exhausted and not in any condition for another round. Once the high of the fight has worn off, I am tired and sore. My back itches and my wings still haven’t completely settled. My neck is stiff from constantly scanning for more creatures and the desert’s fine sand has seeped under my leathers and into my boots.
Now that daylight is upon us, we need shade, somewhere to rest while we decided whether to continue during the day and risk dehydration or wait for night and risk another attack. Micha spots the outcropping of rock. A stone slab appears to have fallen from the sky and landed at an angle, one end buried in the sand and the other shading the ground in a wide arc. I don’t care for the collection of husk men surrounding it but Aito assures me they are just plants. They looked like guards from the compound, up to no good, spiky arms raised for a fight. Still, shade is shade and it’s better than broiling in the fierce sun. We settle down to rest and I watch Aito curl up tight, his head cradled in his arms. What is wrong with him? I’m worried but let him be, hoping a rest will restore him.
It takes forever for me to find a position that’s comfortable. By the time I’ve stretched out on the cool sand, wings up, my head resting on my arms, I can hear soft snores coming from someone. I squint through the ring of husk men at the shimmering heat beyond. There is no way we will make it through that furnace. I sigh, exhausted, and hope Micha is up for first watch. I remind him to wake me in two hours and fall into a deep, untroubled sleep.
I shift and groan. I feel like I’ve been run down by a herd of large, sandy animals. Rubbing orange sand from the side of my face, I sit up and look around. It’s dusk now, the sky shading to orange at the horizon. The side of my face not covered in fine granules of sand is hot to the touch. I must have been lying in full sun with one side of my face pressed into the ground. Why did no one wake me? Then I realize that no one is on watch. They are all asleep. We’ve been sitting ducks all day.
The seven husk men still stand sentry, their dark green and brown color nearly black in the shadows as the sun sets behind them.…. Nothing moves except for an occasional twitch from one of the sleepers. I freeze. Seven cactus? I check again. Six still have their arms up in varying poses of vegetative aggression. One stands stock still, arms down at it’s sides, head bent forward. Odd. I squint. The others aren’t so well defined, so human looking. I must have been really tired before and miss-counted.
“Guys?” I rasp. My throat is bone dry. I grab the bottle from my belt and am rewarded with one lonely drop. Not good. Moving back into the shade of the stone, I shake Naoaki. “Do you have any water?”
Her eyes flutter as she tries to wake. Her bottle too is empty. One by one I wake everyone and we all have bottles full of hot air. We have a water thief. Someone guzzled all of the water while the rest of us slept.
I am beyond angry. Not only had we left ourselves open to attack by not continuing to keep a watch but now only one person will make it out of the desert alive. I open my mouth to shout and ferret out the culprit when Naoaki suddenly scuttles back away from me, eyes wide in terror.
At first I think Naoaki is afraid of me, so it doesn’t register right away that there might be something behind me. Then there is a tug at my thigh strap… I spin, my hand flying to an empty sheath… The extra husk man is moving, arm raised with my knife in his fist. Naoaki screams, then coughs as her dry throat gives up. The knife descends, an arc of death….and I sit like a stone, too surprised, too sluggish from lack of water to move or duck. The knife slices down, striking the husk man next to it, biting deep and loping off an arm.
The husk man shaves off the spines and offers me it’s companion’s arm. I hesitate, a million thoughts running through my head, mostly relief that I haven’t been chopped in half. Tentatively, I reach out and take the arm. The center turns out to be hollow, with a clear syrup inside. The husk man waits, watching me intensely. I can’t make out his features against the fiery glare of the setting sun but I sense he wants me to drink. I glance behind me, seeing four pairs of wide eyes as my friends stand shocked and curious… and, I am happy to see, with weapons out.
Well, nothing is to be gained by just sitting here and the liquid does look like water. I sip. My relief is instant. The cool syrup melts in my mouth, running down my parched throat and soothing my cracked lips. It tastes like normal water with a slight hint of vegetable. I drink my fill and pass it back to the others.
“Thank you.” I say.
He straightens, drops my knife and steps back, blending once again with the other cactus. I want to see him better but even partially blinded by the setting sun I can tell he isn’t like the others. He is more man shaped, meaning legs for starters, while the others grow from a single wide base. A detail I hadn’t noticed before.
We cut down more husk men and drink our fill. If only we had known sooner we could have been out of this desert by now. As it is we don’t have terribly far to go and now we are rested and our thirst quenched. We head into the setting sun, continuing west in our search for the city of lights. I glance back, thinking to give a jaunty wave to the husk man who’d helped us and re
alize he’s following us.