by Pirateaba
She hesitates, and then I feel a bit of strength return to her hand. She breathes in.
“Okay. Let’s go. I’ll clear a way. The road is—is gone. Follow me.”
She turns, and I hesitate. The village. What will we do there?
Think—it was an avalanche. Buried people, disaster area. Red Cross. Doctors Without Borders. What do they…?
“No—wait.”
Durene halts in bewilderment. I turn and point towards the cottage.
“A basket. We need all the food we can put in there, towels—clean fabric—um—”
I can’t think of anything else. Bandages, food, what else? The avalanche—
“A shovel.”
I run back towards the cottage, and Durene rushes into her tool shed for a shovel. I push open the door and see Frostwing screaming at me. She’s tumbled out of her nest, but fortunately she’s okay. I scoop her up and put her and the nest on the floor. I talk to her as I scramble around the cottage, using the clear image of the cottage in my head to pick up everything we might need.
“It’s okay. It’s okay—shush! We’ll be back, okay?”
To my surprise, the eaglet shuts up. I don’t have time to dwell on that though—six more seconds and I’m kicking the door open. Durene grabs the food and cloth spilling out of my arms and stuffs it into a huge basket she uses to collect produce.
“Okay. Let’s go!”
I lead us both away from the cottage. It’s so easy to move around Durene’s cottage. I’ve seldom ever run—being blind means I’m used to running into things, and I know that I can seriously injure myself running into something sharp at high speed. But in this place I’m sure-footed, and I force my unaccustomed legs to move faster. Durene is right behind me, carrying the basket.
Two steps outside of the circle and I falter. The world disappears around me, my sense of it returning to nothing. It wouldn’t have bothered me, before. But it’s like going deaf or losing my sense of smell. Or going blind, I suppose. The new sense I had is gone, and I suddenly realize how inconvenient it is not to have it.
I stumble, and a hand catches me.
“This way. Follow me.”
I take hold of the bottom of Durene’s shirt and begin to follow her. That’s easy—I’ve done that countless times before. But this time, the landscape is totally different.
“So much snow…”
I can feel Durene’s shirt straining as she grunts and pushes ahead. The snow around my ankles rises and shifts, and as I follow in her steps I realize that the snow rapidly becomes waist-deep in places.
No time to stop and think. I try to follow directly in Durene’s footsteps. But even then, the snow is already filling in her steps, and I can’t tell what’s in front of me.
The snow is so deep! Durene wades through it, but I can’t. the second time I trip, something grabs my legs and back, pulling me off my feet. I jerk in surprise, but Durene lifts me into her arms, cradling me with ease.
“I’ll—carry you, Laken. It’s faster that way.”
My mouth opens to object. I’m not a child. But then I close my mouth instead. She’s right. Even if I had sight, this is probably faster.
“I’ll hold the basket. Give it to me.”
I hold the basket on my stomach as Durene carries me in her arms. It is not comfortable, especially since Durene’s running means I bounce around like a rag doll. But she moves far faster than I can, so I hang on to her with all my strength as I feel cold air blowing past my face.
Powdery flecks of ice keeps hitting me. Durene is churning through the snow as if it’s not there. I can hear her breathing hard, but she doesn’t stop running.
Riverfarm is about ten minutes away from Durene’s cottage at walking speed. We get there in four minutes. My first instinct when Durene puts me down is to find the wounded. But my weak imagination isn’t enough to predict the reality of what awaits us.
For a few seconds after Durene puts me on the uneven earth, she can’t even speak. When she eventually finds her tongue, it’s still almost too much for her. She describes the scene for me, breathless. Horrified.
Riverfarm is gone. The avalanche poured through the tiny community in one horrific rush. The pounding snow covered entire houses and knocked the walls in on others. There’s so much packed snow that we’re standing several feet above where the ground is supposed to be.
“I can see the roof of Mister Prost’s house from here. It—oh, Laken! It’s all gone!”
“What about the people, Durene? Are they alive?”
I grab Durene’s arm, trying to keep her focused. My voice is urgent, and she starts as if coming out of a trance.
“A few. I can see some, but—”
Some of them are just standing around, motionless. Others wander aimlessly, and I can hear them calling. A few are trying to dig at the ground, but the snow isn’t loose. It’s been packed, and everything is buried. How would they even know where their families and friends are?
And no one’s really that coherent in the first place. Durene is experiencing it and so am I, to a lesser extent.
Shock. But I know—I have to fight through it. I can’t see, but I wasn’t caught up in that maelstrom of death. My head is the clearest right now.
“We have to start digging people out. Durene, where’s the nearest house?”
Again, Durene starts as if I’m waking her from a dream.
“Nearest? Over there—Mister Ballus and Miss Ven’s—”
“Let’s go to it.”
I push at her, and Durene moves forwards. I follow her until she stops.
“What does it look like? Do you see any of the family around here?”
“No—I—I don’t know. They could be over there. That looks like—it’s all buried, Laken. All of it.”
“How much is buried? The front? The back? Could we dig the door out—maybe they’re still inside?”
“I don’t know. It’s buried.”
I clench my teeth in frustration. I can’t see, and Durene isn’t being helpful. I want to shout at her, but in the next instant I feel her moving.
“I’ll dig! Stand back, Laken!”
I take the basket and move back. At once I feel snow flying through the air and here Durene grunting. Suddenly she’s all motion, and I hear her shouting, the first loud sound in the shocked silence of the village.
“Mister Ballus! Miss Ven! Cinney! Rober! Are you there!?”
The noise does something to the villagers not buried by the snow. After a few seconds I hear movement, and then someone runs over.
“Durene!? And – Mister Laken? You two are alive?”
“We are.”
I don’t recognize the name, but I feel someone rush over to me. A hand seizes mine, rough and callused.
“It’s me, Prost.”
“Mister Prost? Are you okay? Where’s your family?”
“I don’t see them. I don’t—”
Prost is trembling even worse than Durene was. He can barely hold on to me, but that he does, clutching at me like he’s holding on for dear life. I try to calm him down.
“Mister Prost. Listen to me. We have to start digging people out. Durene’s got a shovel. Can you help her? Find other people…?”
We need to get a group of people assembled. Even with Durene’s strength, every house in the village is drowned in snow. Prost nods, and then realizes I can’t see the motion even though I feel him doing it.
“I can do that. But—Durene! My house is over there!”
“Mister Prost?”
I feel the man let go, and then hear Durene’s voice. The sound of the shovel scraping the snow stops.
“My family—they were all inside when the avalanche hit! Help me dig them out!”
“But Mister Ballus and his family are—”
Oh no. I hear the two’s voices raised, and then it sounds like Prost tries to grab the shovel out of Durene’s hand. When that doesn’t work, he tries to drag her with him with the same amount of su
ccess.
“Please, you have to help. They’re trapped! I need—”
“Durene!”
This voice isn’t from a man. It’s female and cracks in desperation. I hear more running and then another villager is fighting with Prost for Durene’s attention.
“Durene!”
“Help me! My husband—”
“Help us!”
I can see nothing, but I don’t have to see to know that Prost shoves the other woman way. I hear her cry out, and then Durene’s voice.
“Stop fighting! Please! I’ll try to get everyone out. But if you could help me—”
“My family! Save them first!”
No, no, no! But I know even as the voices raise what’s going to happen. The villagers were still shocked when Durene and I arrived. But now that we’ve started moving, the confusion gripping the villagers has faded a bit.
But that only means they’re now desperate, and Durene is the only person that can help them. More people rush to her, an uninjured beacon of hope. But instead of working together, they begin fighting over her!
“Everyone! Please listen! We need to work together!”
I call out, shouting at them, but I can’t see a thing, and Durene is now trapped by the desperate men and women. They’re arguing, not listening to anything. And instantly, a scuffle begins. I even hear what sounds like a blow. Are they hitting each other? But it’s every villager for themselves.
“Listen to me!”
I shout desperately and even try to run towards the fight, but all that gets me is a hard shove as someone knocks me down. I fall onto the ice and hear a scream.
“Laken!”
Someone else shrieks, and then I hear the voice moving away. Durene runs towards me. She—threw a villager out of the way. They scatter as she anxiously helps me up.
“Are you okay?”
“I am—but this is insanity, Durene!”
I’m already on my feet. But the sounds of chaos haven’t faded. If anything, they’ve gotten worse. Now the people are fighting over Durene’s shovel. She’s helpless as she looks at the scene and I try to make sense of it all.
“No one’s listening! What should I do, Laken?”
I don’t know. This is a nightmare—two nightmares at the same time! We need order, but no one’s listening. And I have no idea where the buried villagers are, or even how many are still alive. I yell at Durene.
“Just—just start digging! Try to get this house out first. We have to—”
What can I do? Nothing. I could dig, but I have no idea where everything is. And Durene’s the only person with any kind of tool! She moves into action, running back towards the building and I cup my hands to my mouth and shout.
But it does no good. No one will listen to me. Eventually, the fighting villagers stop and return to trying to digging their loved ones out. One helps Durene, and others try to get their friends to work together, but there’s no cohesion. And again, there’s only one shovel and the ice is like stone in places. And no one knows where any of the victims are!
We’re running out of time. People are suffocating down there. I try to think. What can I do? What can any of us do?
What if—I could see? I can’t, but what about my Skill? Yes, that’s right! I saw Durene’s cottage, and even the buried plants in the garden. What if—
I take a few deep breaths. No one is looking at me and Durene is still shouting as she digs. I don’t know what to do exactly, so I point to what the center of the village is. I try to put conviction into my words as I speak.
“I claim this village.”
Nothing happens. Of course not. Would it really be that simple? But then what do I do?
“I claim this village—in the name of [Emperor] Laken!”
“This village is a Protectorate of the Unseen Empire!”
Nothing. I feel like the biggest fool in the world, and all around me people are screaming, calling for help. Dying.
I have to do something. And this is it. Why can’t I claim this village? I could do it with Durene’s cottage. Think. Why?
Because she let me. Because she gave me the authority to do it. Instantly, I realize what I have to do.
“Durene? Durene?”
She’s by my side in an instant.
“What is it, Laken?”
“Where’s the village head?”
I know this village has its own mayor, or leader or something. It’s not a very important position—the villagers choose someone every year, but only to negotiate with other villagers, towns, and traders. But it is a leader.
“What? Mister Till? I don’t know. I don’t see him…”
“I need to find him. Or his family. Do you see anyone who knows where he might be?”
“N—I do! I see his wife!”
“Take me to her. Hurry!”
Durene abandons her efforts and leads me across the uneven ground. I keep stumbling, and at one point I hear a shout and feel the packed snow shifting underneath me.
“God.”
Is this what it’s like after an earthquake? I hear stories of natural disasters, but this—
I don’t know what it looks like. But to my mind, the world is in chaos. Nothing is the same as when I came here a few days ago. It’s like I’ve walked into another world again. A horrible world of death and fear.
“Miss Feya! Miss Feya!”
Someone’s in front of me. I hear sobbing, and then someone’s in front of me.
“Durene? Oh Durene—help me! My poor boy is down there somewhere!”
“I—I’ll try to find him!”
I hear the sounds of Durene digging with her hands. I reach out, and there’s a woman in front of me. My hand recoils as I touch her frozen skin and find sticky blood.
“Miss…Feya?”
“Who is—oh! You’re…”
“I’m Laken.”
There’s no time for niceties. I guide the trembling woman a bit away from Durene and then get straight to the point.
“Miss Feya, do you know where your husband is? He’s the village head, isn’t he?”
“My husband…?”
She’s in shock too. I want to shake her, but I just wait for her, prodding gently.
“I need to find him. Do you know where he is?”
Even if he can’t transfer ownership of the village to me, he might be able to rally the disorganized villagers. But I can already sense something’s wrong.
“He—he—”
Choked words. I reach out and feel her shaking. Miss Feya sobs and I know what’s happened.
“I’m so sorry.”
But there’s no time even for that. I hesitate. Would she be next in charge? I have to try.
“Feya. Miss Feya. I need you to give Riverfarm to me.”
An intake of breath.
“Give? What are you talking about? There’s nothing left!”
“I can’t explain everything, but—I have a Skill. It can help find people, even under the snow, I think. But need to own this village to use it.”
“A Skill?”
I sound like a complete and absolute loon in my ears. But to Miss Feya, saying that might have been the best thing I could do. She understands Skills, even if she doesn’t know what I’m talking about. But she’s still hesitating, uncertain.
“You need the village?”
“Yes.”
“Can you really save them?”
There’s hope in her voice as well as doubt. But the world’s collapsed around her, and this poor woman is reaching out for any shred of hope. I don’t want to lie to her, so I tell her the truth.
“I can try.”
One second goes by as she thinks. Two. But she has nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
“It’s yours. If you can do something, please, do it!”
I nod and step back from her. I still feel self-conscious, but this time I don’t waver. I raise my head and speak with all the confidence I can muster.
“I claim this v
illage. I claim Riverfarm.”
Nothing. Again. I curse and hear Feya moan. What’s wrong?
Last time—it took a while before I realized that I could sense Durene’s cottage. Maybe there’s a waiting time? If so, I’m screwed. But maybe it didn’t work because Miss Feya isn’t the next village head. She wasn’t elected, and—does the village head have the ability to speak for an entire village anyways?
Damn it, there’s just so much I don’t know! I feel helpless, and angry as well. I have to do something! But nothing I’ve tried has worked and I can hear Durene. She’s barely excavated more than a few feet of snow, and it’s been over ten minutes since we got here. If anyone’s still alive—
No time. No way. The burning helplessness in my chest intensifies. And I hear the same whispering in my heart that I think everyone’s heard before.
Just give up. You can’t do anything.
It’s the same voice that used to talk to me on the worst nights. It’s the voice that told me a blind kid couldn’t ever do anything. It tries to drag me down.
I am an [Emperor]. But I’m not one, really. I just went through the motions. I’m an actor and I put on a good play, but in the end the genuine article is different from me.
Emperor Norton never questioned himself. Charlemagne, Peter the Great, Leopold—did any of these people ever act like I did? How would I know?
What would an [Emperor] do?
The little voice in my head mocks me as I listen to people cry out. More than anything, I want to help them. But how? I don’t own this village. There’s a wall in my way, a wall I can’t touch or feel or sense. I can’t break it down. And there’s a wall in the ground, a tomb of snow.
My doubts taunt me. But more than anything I want to act. The Emperor does not wait. He doesn’t hesitate. He does what an Emperor does because he is an Emperor. If Norton ever asked questions, he would never have become an Emperor.
And I—
I can’t let something silly like rules stop me. I don’t own this village? That’s not something a real [Emperor] would accept.
My heart is pounding. I don’t ask questions. I stop hesitating.
People are dying. I want to help them. Have to. Durene is doing her best, but for all her strength, she’s just one person. The villagers are disunited. There’s no one to lead them. No one but me.