RABAN (The Rabanian Book 2)

by Dan Haronian

  "Itgass’s database," said Zariss. "What were you looking for there?"

  "Information," I answered looking at May-Thor.

  "And it’s just a database?" Continue Zariss.

  "Yes."

  "And what did you find?"

  "No-no-thing s-s-special," I said. "I didn't have e-e-enough time."

  "I don't believe you," said Nout-Thor. "You've done much more complicated things when you were here.

  "Why didn't you share your intentions with May-Thor?" asked Zariss.

  "I di-di-didn't have t-t-time."

  Wrinkles appeared on May-Thor’s forehead.

  "What do you mean you didn't have time?" asked Nout-Thor.

  "It ha-ha-happened f-f-fast. I su-su-suddenly discovered the do-do-door. I th-th-thought it was my o-o-opportunity and I was sure that May-Thor wo-wouldn't mind."

  "I should've expected you would behave like a novice," said Nout-Thor. "Only a novice would act abruptly without consulting anyone."

  "You're p-p-probably right. I'm so-so-sorry," I said.

  Zariss shook his head with disappointment. He walked over to Nout-Thor and whispered something in her ear. He then walked to the door.

  "I'm so-so-sorry," I said again but he ignored me.

  May-Thor looked at me. "I promised myself I would punch you in the face when I saw you next," she said.

  "Go a-a-ahead. I'm sure it will ma-ma-make you feel be-better."

  She stalked past me and walked out of the room.

  A soldier walked in. "We don't have a jail here so you'll stay in your room until further notice," said Nout-Thor. "This soldier will be guarding your room and you cannot leave it without him accompanying you. Not even to go to the bathroom."

  I walked to the door and the soldier grabbed my arm. I thought of May-Thor. She was mad at me now. Maybe she even hated me, but she’d lied. She didn't know where I was.

  The sleepless night and trip back came to my mind. I suddenly felt completely drained. I lay down on the bed as soon as I got to my room. I was hungry but I was so tired that I immediately fell asleep. I woke up after a few hours feeling cold. I covered myself with a blanket that was on the edge of my bed but I remained awake. I thought of my grandfather. How was I going to reach him now? Would they allow me to send a message to him? They would understand immediately that something strange was happening. What stuttering words would I use to explain why I need to speak to Oziri-Dos?

  My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an alarm. The strident sound was familiar and scenes from the attack on Base 33 flashed in front of my eyes. My heart was beating like a war drum. I ran into the corridor as it started to fill with half-asleep people still dressed for sleeping.

  "Do not use the capsules. Leave through the central elevators," repeated an announcement. People began to move toward the elevators as they started to realize that this was not a drill.

  Faint explosions rumbled in the distance and the ground shook a bit. The lights dimmed for a moment.

  "They know," came a voice from behind me.

  Even before I turned around I knew it was May-Thor.

  "Yo-yo-you don't k-k-know it's be-be-because of me."

  She was about to say something but a big explosion threw us into the air. I landed on the ground and tried to pull myself together. She stood above me.

  "Get up," she hissed.

  I tried to get up and she took hold of my arm and pulled me up. She pushed me along the corridor between people who were struggling to their feet. We ducked into one of the corridors and she pushed me into capsule.

  "It's forbidden," I yelled. I wanted to tell her about the announcement. I remembered something I’d heard from Nout-Thor about the synchronization between the door at the bottom and the door at the top. Suddenly I thought she might be trying to bury me, and then she squeezed in beside me. The door closed behind her and we accelerated toward the surface. The capsule broke through top of the shaft, and fell onto the sand.

  We lay there for few seconds stunned. Distant explosions and shockwaves got us moving again. I braced myself against the capsule door and shoved with all my strength. When the door opened wide enough I pushed May-Thor out then rolled through myself.

  We lay on the sand, completely exposed. It was nighttime. I didn't realize I’d slept so long. This thought lasted only a split second. Three bright dots in the black sky spat short bursts of light that raised waves of fire where they met the desert sand. The shockwaves hit us a few seconds later.

  I thought of Nout-Thor’s discussion of the Fear Balance. That balance was gone now. Only fear remained. My head ached and I felt dizzy. I stood up and tried to lift May-Thor as well.

  "We must hide," she said coughing.

  "Wh-we-where aaa 33?"

  "What?"

  "Ba-ba-base 33."

  She turned and glanced around. She focused on something beyond the cloud of sand and pointed. "There!"

  I held her hand and we started to run. I caught her several times when she tripped. Finally I stumbled myself and pulled her with me to the ground. We lay there breathing hard listening to the echo of the explosions. After a few seconds we stood up and continued to flee. The explosions faded after a while and we slowed our pace. That attack was still going on but I could tell it was less intense. We stopped to watch at the flashes that now seemed like a distant light storm.

  "They are crushing the place," she said breathing hard.

  I looked forward. "How much fa-fa-farther?"

  She laid her hand on her forehead and looked at the sky. "I'm not sure. I'm not sure this is the right direction," she said looking at bit to her left.

  We stood there for a few seconds looking around us, as if we were at a crossroads.

  "What is the di-di-distance be-be-between the bases?"

  "I'm not sure – a few hours on foot."

  "Le-le-less than a day," I said. "We ca-ca-can do it."

  "But I'm not sure about the direction," she said in despair. She went down on her knees. "I can't walk anymore."

  "We have no choice. We cannot stay here." I pulled her up. Dion was starting to rise behind us. In the dim light I could see that the desert around us was flat except for a few dunes protruding slightly from the ground.

  We stopped to rest several times throughout the day. By the time Dion was setting in front of us we were barely able to stand. My muscles ached and I wanted to lie down on the sand and close my eyes.

  "Get up," I urged her.

  "I cannot walk anymore," she whispered back.

  "We must find shelter or we will die here," I said, and she lifted her head. Her eyes were barely open. "You know you have an odd accent when you don't stutter."

  I didn't respond. I wondered how she had the strength to notice such a thing. I helped her up and we dragged ourselves across the sand. I hoped for nightfall. Once Dion had set I stared into the distance and something caught my eye. A bit below the horizon in front of us I saw something sparkling in the light of Dion.

  "Is there a re-re-reservoir in th-th-this area?" I asked placing my hand over my forehead gazing at the sparkling horizon.

  She followed my gaze but when she noticed the sparkling she said, "No, it's just a mirage."

  "Come on," I said. I took her hand and we started again towards the horizon. She started to lag behind so I draped her arm over my neck.

  "I can't," she said. But I ignored her and switched sides.

  I don't know how long we walked like this. It was like chasing a ghost, but I had to do something. I wasn't sure how much time we had left, and May-Thor looked like she was about to faint.

  Suddenly it felt like I was stepping on something crispy. I stopped and released her. She fell limply to the ground. I walked a few more steps and the cracking noise beneath my feet grew louder.

  "We’re here," I said excitedly. I went back picked her up once more. "Ma-Ma-May-Thor, we’re here!"

  She opened her eyes. "Here?"

  We stumbled forward a few more s
teps. I felt her body stiffen as if she was waking up from a coma. "What is this?" she whispered.

  "It's glass."

  "Glass?"

  "Silica."

  "What?"

  "The sand turned into glass from the heat."

  I stopped and pointed forward. "That’s the crater," I said.

  We walked towards the blackened pit that I’d clawed my way out of months earlier. The noise crunch of glass beneath our feet grew louder and louder. Suddenly her strength gave out. It was as if May-Thor’s legs had received an order to stop.

  "Come on, just little bit further," I said and lifted her once more.

  "Careful," I said when we reached the edge of the crater. I kicked the glass aside exposing clean sand and we sat down.

  "We have to go d-d-d-own the-the-there. It’s our only hope," I said. "The-the-there may be wa-wa-water and food."

  She didn't answer. I slid forward on my back pulling her down by her legs. The slope was steep at first and we tumbled out of control for a short distance before skidding to a stop at the shallower slope. Although my memory of the crater was foggy I remembered it being much narrower. I began to wonder if it was the same crater.

  "Enough," she said.

  "Just a bit fa-fa-farther," I said pulling her down.

  We gradually descended until she held got a solid grip on a pipe. "That's it. I can't do it anymore."

  I scrambled back up and cleared a space next to her. I wrapped my arm around her and did my best to comfort her. "I'm so-so-sorry," I said. "This is all my fa-fault."

  She leaned her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes.

  In the morning when Dion rose, we could see flat, solid ground just below us. We slid down past a few twisted metal bars that melted in the attack and jumped onto a poured concrete surface. The daylight illuminated the crater, but it was dark further along the slab. It looked like it had once been part of a corridor.

  "I'm exhausted," she said feebly.

  "We’re de-de-dehydrated. We have to find so-so-something to eat and drink." I walked along the corridor. On the left side, where the rooms used to be, was now only vast a black space like a bottomless cave.

  "Stay close to the wall," I said feeling my way forward with my hands on the wall.

  "There is an emergency storage room here," she said.

  "Storage room?"

  "At the end of every corridor. It should be behind a sealed hatch on the floor."

  "We don't we have the s-s-strength to make it th-th-that far. Let’s find something closer." I found a door, but it was completely twisted and refused to open. The next door was twisted as well, but I managed to open it after pounding on it several times with my shoulder. We went inside and started to dig around in the rubble.

  "I think it's the kitchen," said May-Thor excitedly. "I think I've found something."

  "It's some kind of food container," I said feeling the metal box she was holding. I walked along the kitchen wall and found the sink. I turned on the faucet but nothing came out. I felt my way back over to May-Thor and picked up the container.

  "It's swollen," she said.

  "Probably from the heat."

  We continued to search the kitchen. We picked up a few more containers, and then took them out into the light.

  I used a metal beam to pierce one of the containers in several places and gave it to May-Thor. She drank the liquid eagerly. I opened the rest of the containers and we drank every last drop of the liquids in them. Eventually I was able to bend the covers of a few containers enough to access the food inside.

  "It tastes odd," she said.

  "It's because of the he-he-heat."

  "Do you think that’s why we don't smell them?" she asked.

  "Who?"

  "The people who died here. Their bodies."

  "I don't know, probably."

  She gave me an odd look. "You know you’re a bit odd."

  I stopped chewing and looked at her. She’d been more accurate the last time. Perhaps she’d been so lightheaded that she’d said exactly what was on her mind without looking for logic. Out in the light fell I could see that her face was scorched and her lips dry.

  "Maybe when I don’t st-st-stutter you can tell that I do-do-don't have a De-De-Desertian accent," I said slowly, not sure it was the right time.

  She looked at me and tried to smile but her lips cracked and her smile immediately died.

  "There are many Desertians with a Mampasian accent," she said.

  "That's not what I me-me-mean."

  "So what do you mean?"

  I put down the container. "I'm not Ma-Ma-Mampasian," I said.

  "You are Desertian," she said trying to understand.

  "I'm no-no-not from he-he-here."

  She chuckled and my heart started to beat fast. She shook her head a bit and looked at my face carefully. "Even with all your scars and the burns I can still tell that you have Desertian features."

  "Yes. My mo-mo-mother was De-De-Desertian."

  "So?" she said.

  "My name is Raban P-P-Plaser. I'm the son of So-So-Sosi and S-S-Su-Thor from Na-Na-Naan."

  "Su-Thor?" she immediately said.

  "Yes, my –mo-mo is Oziri-Dos's daughter."

  She opened her eyes wide. "The daughter of Oziri-Dos?" she said incredulously. "The traitor from Naan?"

  "Yes," I said. I lingered for few seconds before adding, "If that’s what you want to be-be-believe."

  "So what are you doing here? You grew up there and now you’ve come here to redeem your mother’s betrayal? Or maybe you’ve come to complete her work?"

  It was an interesting point of view but before I was able to respond she waved her hands around her. "It looks like you're doing a very good job."

  "I-I-I was ki-ki-kidnapped. I was b-b-brought here from Na-Na-Naan. I was framed. They said I s-s-s-scrambled in-in-in-information for the Desertians."

  She lifted her eyebrows. "I am trying to think if there is more than one contradiction in that story." She let out a sigh and put aside the container she was holding. She tried to stand.

  "Ma-Ma-May-Thor p-p-please listen to me."

  "I cannot listen anymore," she said. "You have caused so much damage that nothing you can say will matter anymore."

  I shut my mouth and she looked at me. "We need to get out of here. Let's focus on that," she said.

  "What ha-ha-ha-happened to us is all ti-ti-tied up with what's going on he-he-here. You mu-mu-must listen," I said getting to my feet.

  She placed her hands over her ears and closed her eyes tightly. "I should have never gotten involved with this," she said her eyes still closed. "I should've left you there in the base."

  "Yes, you're good at that. Bu-bu-but if you had left me there you would've died in the de-de-desert."

  She opened her eyes and looked at me. She was furious now. "If I hadn’t gone with you to Mampas I wouldn't have needed to fight for my life."

  I had to admit she was correct on that count.

  "I don’t understand how you are even alive. I was sure Zariss would shoot you in the head as soon as he saw you," she continued. I immediately thought of my grandfather. Maybe it's because of him.

  "Ma-Ma-May-Thor I ne-ne-need you. I ne-ne-need yo-yo-your help."

  "I don't think so," she said immediately.

  "I need-"

  I fell silent. I suddenly could not manage a single word. My excitement overwhelmed me and my tongue got all scrambled. I shook my head and tried to focus.

  "We need to get out of here," she said.

  I nodded.

  "As soon as it is possible I ask you to please let me go. Just leave me alone."

  We were silent for a few seconds more. I decided it was pointless. Even if my words were as organized as my thoughts, they wouldn't have convinced her.

  "Thank you fo-fo-for helping me ge-ge-get out of the base," I said.

  She looked at me. "And thank you for dragging me here," she said with contempt, and looked around us.


  I nodded again.

  "Let's find the storage room," she said.

  "I’ll make a fire," I said and started to climb out of the crater.

  "How?"

  "With the help of Di-Di-Dion and g-g-glass."

  "I don't remember when we have ever had such a problem with scrambling in Mampas," said president Monash.

  "I do," said Naan.

  Thesh looked at him. "Thirty years ago," said Naan, "someone from Naan came here to scramble information in Seragon.

  Thesh's smiled. "Thirty years ago? You even weren't born yet."

  "That doesn't mean I don't know what happened then. You don't know about it because the man who did it was such an expert that neither Mampas or Seragon were able to put a hand on him."

  "How do you know this?"

  "I grew up with the story. I was taught that it’s thanks to that man that Naan is what it is today."

  "I hope you're not talking about your father."

  "Of course not," Naan said promptly. "But your words only clarify how ridiculous this story is."

  Wrinkles appeared on Thesh's forehead. "I don't understand. Was there a scrambler or not?"

  Naan smiled. "There was, and I have no doubt he scrambled information in Seragon more than once, but that does not mean I believe all the stories surrounding him."

  They were in Thesh’s office. Naan was looking out the window. It was an exceptionally clear day, and the park at the campus circle just in front of the building looked like a small green stain below. He shifted his gaze towards the embassy building on the other side of the campus circle, and looked for the huge flag that was hanging off the building wall. He couldn’t find it and his gaze wandered towards all buildings he planned to replace with the new embassy building.

  "Who are we talking about?"

  Naan pulled his head from the window and looked at Thesh. "Sosi. Raban's father."

  "Raban's father? Your uncle?"

  Naan nodded. "Raban was a sophisticated scrambler, but his father tops him tenfold."

  "I heard from your father that he is not doing well."

  "He has never done well. He's a weirdo but I wouldn't underestimate him."

  Thesh sighed. "But it's not him."