by Dan Glover
The waters of the Lake were fuller of life than she remembered... bluer too. The old villages bursting with wooden homes were gone but the stone cabin remained standing solid and sturdy. She was sitting at the table while Natalia cooked breakfast: freshly caught fish and eggs from the wild chickens, geese, and ducks that flourished in the hills surrounding the Lake.
"The Lake is more like I remember it being when I was a girl, sweet Natalia."
"It is beautiful, my precious Lauren... I never knew it could look like this."
When she woke, Lily was gone. Lauren reckoned she had went to Nate who slept by the Lake shore in a tent he brought. It bothered her more than it should to see her lover reverting to her old ways again so she talked of other things rather than dwelling upon Lily.
"How is our Chester coming along, sweet Natalia?"
"He is growing stronger with each new day, darling Lauren."
She had heard that once his wounds had healed and Amanda had extracted an infected molar, the big cat quickly bounced back. He rode south to Toulon in the back of the wagon that Natalia and Lauren had started out in to Lake Baikal a month or more ago. Their horses had run off when the chimpanzees attacked.
Though they were sure the horses were captured and eaten Natalia told her that one day about the time Chester was ready to travel they had returned fat and happy, no doubt grazing on the tall grass that grew in abundance by the clear-running creek that ran past the old barn.
Lauren had been so badly injured herself that she didn’t know how the big cat had fared... she thought he had died. Only after awakening in Toulon did she learn that he had survived. Though Lauren had never cottoned to animals a love affair blossomed with the big cat from the moment she saw him.
She blamed herself for his injuries... if she hadn’t been so out of it she would have talked Natalia into waiting for Nate to return before setting out for the Lake. Still, she thought returning to Lake Baikal would not only aid in healing her body but her spirit as well. Though her strength had returned, the depression she felt had not lifted.
"Things will never be the same between us, will they, sweet Natalia."
"You mean our darling Lily, my precious Lauren, and her propensity for running off with other lovers?"
"Yes... I had thought coming here might bring the three of us together again but swimming in the Lake with Lady Lily did nothing to cure the hurt I feel in my heart. I told myself I don’t care but I know I'm lying. I do care. I miss her. Why would she go to Nate when the two of us are here for her?"
"She didn’t go to be with Nate, my sweet Lauren. She told me she wanted to spend some time searching for medicinal herbs that grow along the shores of the Lake. She wanted to make a balm to apply to your injuries, something that would draw out the poisons left behind by teeth and claws."
"I feel so ashamed, my lovely Natalia. When I woke, I thought she had abandoned us again. Yesterday when we dove into the Lake the water was warm but I felt so cold next to Lady Lily, as if shards of ice were surrounding her body."
"I noticed you were keeping a distance from her, my precious Lauren, but I didn’t understand why, until now. It isn’t your fault. Our reunion will take time but you have always taught me that time is one thing we have in abundance. Perhaps it is my turn to remind you of the power of patience, my love."
The door opened and Lily walked in with a basket full of greenery in her arm and a large smile on her face. Lauren thought how she had never seen a more beautiful woman in her life.
"You're just in time to eat with us, my precious Lily! What did you find on your journey?"
"I have discovered tiny clumps of Artemisia, and Skullcap too, my precious Natalia. I also harvested Lamb's Quarters for our soup tonight and Lemon Grass for tea, along with Kidney Vetch to use in making compresses."
"I had no idea you were so well-versed in the science of herbs, my darling Lily."
"I don’t recognize the plants in old Scotland, my sweet Lauren, and I had forgotten what I knew about them here... until I saw the Lake looking so serene and unblemished once again.
"My grandmother was a healer. I heard it said she was born before the great crack in the earth created the Lake though I always thought that was a tale more than fact. She introduced me to the art of making others well again after grave injuries had sapped their strength.
"In those days, life was hard... of course it isn’t much easier now. Our people were always being attacked by wild creatures from both below and above the water. We were never safe anywhere."
"My people lived and died hard too, precious Lily. Remember... I was dying when I found you. We have each other now. Please don’t leave us again."
"I've been negligent, my darling Natalia. I forgot how much I need you both... I promise I'll never forsake you again... now, please allow me to place poultices upon your injuries."
Even though she thought her wounds had fully healed, when Lily applied the healing herbs to her skin Lauren felt a soothing restorative power seep into her bones and enliven her moribund blood.
She realized she had wronged her lover as badly as she had thought herself aggrieved. They had always allowed one another latitude when it came to being with other lovers. Lily hadn’t done anything wrong. She hadn’t done a thing to cause the anger that had arisen within her. Lauren had never thought of herself as a vindictive person but now she wondered.
The gentle herbal scent mingling with the waning of the sun brought on a feeling of peace making her eyelids grow heavy. Closing them she didn’t realize she was asleep as she dreamed she floated above the room looking down upon her own body, frail and broken. She could hear Lily and Natalia whispering quietly so as not to awaken her. Though she felt like an eavesdropper she listened as she hovered over them.
"We are finally all back together, sweet Natalia, but will we stay that way? I'm afraid to put too much into our relationship... what if my hearts are broken again?"
"There are no guarantees, my lovely Lily. You know that. All we can do is love her. If our hearts get broken, they'll heal and without scars too."
Lauren stayed silent while thinking they should know better, the both of them.
Guilt was a human emotion the depths of which she rarely plumbed. Perhaps it was on account of the short life spans they had heretofore suffered that these beings formed regrets over actions both unavoidable and necessary. In Lauren's view, time brought a sense of fulfillment by which she gauged morality. She supposed if she knew she was limited to a set number of days, she too might lament lost moments.
She thought it might take human beings eons to discover that secret, especially those born before the Great Dying. Time meant nothing in the face of eternity. To explore the ever-unfolding moment was all that mattered. Each fresh touch of skin was something to treasure and then let go, not to hold onto.
She never understood the concept of monogamy, of marriage, of pledging oneself to another until the mountains folded into themselves and the seas evaporated and the stars overhead began winking out. It was for weak-sighted short-lived beings trapped in a miasma of fear that such notions held their appeal.
When Nate asked Lily to marry him, she thought he knew that such relationships only burned out like a forest fire that having once spent its fuel left behind only destruction and desolation. Instead, he seemed to take great pleasure in attempting to hold onto her lover even though he must have known better.
Even though Lily made it clear that she no longer cared about Kāne, Nate's continual jealousy proved too much for her. She once told her how she thought the little boy must be taught a lesson about love among the immortals. Still... when Nate left Lily she lamented to her lovers how much she missed his gentle way and remarkable touch.
When Lily and Natalia asked her to go with them to Lake Baikal, she knew instinctively who'd be taking them there: Nate. She nearly refused to go. Since the debacle in the north of old France where she was mauled and nearly carried away to be eaten by wild animals, Lauren wa
nted nothing more than to go back to Orchardton Hall.
She was sick. The years away from the Lake had piled up so high that she began thinking she had no reason to go back, ever again. Though the pull of its waters haunted her dreams and even crept into her waking life, Lauren told herself that she was beyond the infatuation of diving beneath turquoise waves to cavort with her lovers.
Nate had no business insinuating himself back into their lives. They were happy without him. He long ago abandoned them to make a home in an alien place where the sun shined all the time and the rains rarely came. It was his human side rearing its ugly head. She should have refused Karen's request to lend her one of her eggs.
"We tried going back to Lake Baikal once, my precious Natalia. It nearly killed me. Please do not force me into making this trip. If something goes wrong I'm certain I will not survive this time."
"Trust me, lover."
Chapter 80—Blush
The remains of the building that reminded her of a grinning skull turned out to be empty.
What intrigued her, however, were the signs of recent habitation and perhaps distress. Blood stained footprints and leftover crumbs of a meal adorned the steps leading upward. With fluttering hearts Ena raced up the stairs only to find the building deserted.
Someone had been there recently. Though the drifting sand obliterated any sign of their going, Ena sensed it had to be her family... the ones who had been left behind. There would be no palatable food found in a building three hundred years old so they must have brought it with them.
"How far is Cornell from here, sweet Micah?"
"We're at the edge of the old City, Ena. I imagine it would be a good three days walk to reach Cornell University, especially through the sand. I'm sure we could see them from the air if they haven’t made it yet."
"I'll fly slow and low."
She was surprised to see a bit of green here and there emerging out of the ceaseless sand. If left to its own, in another decade the old forest would retake the dunes. Ena sensed a struggle going on here, one between the living and that which had never known life.
"You're machines are still viable entities, aren’t they, darling Micah."
"They are still capable of responding to the central core, or the nexus. But that was destroyed."
"You sound as if you're sorry."
"I'm sorry my creations wrecked so much havoc, Ena. I always intended them to benefit humanity. I suppose it was my own hubris that caused so much suffering and sorrow. If I had known, I think I would have rather died as a teenager than to live as long as I have only to hurt so many others."
"If you genuinely meant well, my sweet Micah, then you cannot blame yourself. My Father once told me that we all have a path to walk and we must do so alone. We may encounter companions along the way—friends and lovers—but in the end we all die alone."
"He spoke to me once."
"I'm surprised by that, darling Micah. Father never seemed to enter into conversations with human beings."
"I was sitting down by the sea one evening. I spent three centuries locked away indoors and now I've discovered that I love the sunshine as well as the starry nights I'm not sure what to make of that. Anyway, your father Kāne approached me. He just sat down without a word and began feeding twigs into the campfire. At first, I wasn’t sure who he was but then I remembered him from old America.
"He intimidated me so I sat there not saying anything either. He started humming, and then he began speaking. He said the sea separated him from his desires. I didn’t understand what he meant but I kept quiet. I'm not good for much but I've always considered myself a first-rate listener."
"Did he say what those desires are, darling Micah?"
"Eventually... he talked in a kind of sing-song voice, as if he was reciting a poem. He said he was two people: his hearts were both beating strong. One of them wanted to stay here close to someone he loved. Though he never mentioned a name I got the impression that person was you, Ena.
"His other heart desired to be free of the shackles that any relationship brought with it. He talked like a man in torment, torn between what is and what could be. Believe me, I know the feeling.
"I've never heard a voice like his... I was entranced by it... the words were hypnotic and mesmerizing. Though I didn’t mean to I must have fallen asleep. When I woke he was gone, the campfire was out, and the sky was pink in the east.
"I noticed he had laid his jacket over top of me. The night was chilly, especially after the fire had gone out. When I went to his cabin—I knew where he was staying because I saw his comings and goings but never had the nerve to actually approach him—I stood at the door listening for signs of activity inside. I remembered the old custom of knocking but I didn’t know if Kāne practiced it. I suspected not.
"After a long time of standing there and not hearing any sounds coming from inside, I decided either he wasn’t there or he was asleep. I left his jacket on a chair. Later, I learned he had gone away like he spoke of doing. I felt bad that I didn’t get to know him better.
"I'm an introvert. I'm not good at instigating conversations or even following through with them. I think this is as much as I've said in my entire life. That’s why I went into research; I didn’t have to associate with anyone. All I did was work and sleep and I wouldn’t have slept if I could avoid it.
"I hope we're able to find your husband still alive. It is a terrible thing to go through life all alone. I'd like to meet someone like you... I mean... I'm lonely and I don’t mean you in particular... I know you already have someone."
Despite her self assured confidence Ena sensed a blush crimson her cheeks as she looked at the man-child and smiled more sweetly than she intended. Being alone with him in a strange and disconcerting place like old America caused an uncomfortable closeness to begin developing for Micah... but she knew better.
"Thank you, my sweet Micah. If he is alive, we'll find him. Now that you are with us, why don’t you start coming to the dances we have each week? You might meet someone you like. There are lots of girls among the People who yearn for a man like you."
"I'm too ugly and I can't dance. No one would like me."
"Please don’t do that, my precious Micah. You're not ugly. You are a good and a kind man. I'll teach you to dance. There is a trick to it... just take off your shoes. That way if you step on your partner's toes it won't hurt."
She hadn’t expected him to start weeping as she was half-joking. She was used to more assertive males. She had never seen Alpin cry, not once. Father was a rock, as was Grandfather Nate. She suddenly realized how alone Micah must feel after centuries of isolation even if it was self-imposed. He finally composed himself and began to speak again.
"The Ladies affect me in ways I don’t understand, Miss Ena. I'm used to being hideous... a thing malevolent and without the simple morals that guide other human beings. I told myself that I was beyond love and hate... that my genius would come to rule all four corners of the globe.
"At first I engineered my Try-Rites as a tool to benefit society... to cure disease... to make death obsolete. In time, I forsook that noble venture and instead sought to impose my will upon others whether they assented or not. I wanted to be a god. I thought the entire universe would soon become my playground.
"But then Lady Lily appeared. I didn’t know what she was but I sensed she had some sort of power over living beings that I could only dream of having. I envied her. I wanted to dissect her molecule by molecule until I discovered her secret. Instead of being fearful of me and my dark longings, she seemed to give in, to relent, to allow my Try-Rites access to her when I knew she had but to put forth her will and they would fall inert and useless on the floor.
"She tricked me. At first I was angry about it, but then I realized she had to do what she did. I wouldn’t allow her to come close to me otherwise. By the time I understood what was happening, it was too late. She had won the war without even fighting.
"I'm in love with her,
you know. I dream of her every night, of her caresses and her kisses. I know she'll never be mine but that doesn’t matter... just knowing she's in the world makes my life more worthwhile than I ever thought possible... I want to live forever just so I can see her from time to time.
"I'm sorry, Miss Ena... I'm rambling. I must bore you."
"You are a very handsome man, my sweet Micah, and no, you do not bore me. You enchant me."
Now she noticed it was his turn to blush.
Chapter 81—Before the Devil Knows You Are There
Finding Pete alive was a shock.
Even more surprising was to discover he had food and water. Though he only took a few sips Maon could feel the gratitude ringing through his entire body as the moisture restored his strength.
Though Pete was obviously in the early death throes of Lake Syndrome, Maon could only surmise the nanobots still carried in his bloodstream must have helped sustain his life. Pete's body was bruised and battered from the pummeling he had taken but he was still breathing when they found him on the staircase.
"How long have you been here, Mr. Pete?"
"I don't recall, Mr. Alpin. I've been so sick I kept floating in and out of consciousness. I think I've lain here at least for three days, maybe four. I saw the building from afar when I parachuted out of the plane at the last second before it barreled into the nanobot nest. I was so close to the ground when I ejected that it's a wonder I survived at all.
The sand must have helped to cushion the impact but it got into every orifice of my body too. I must have coughed for hours before I could take a deep breath again. Finally I was able to get my feet under me. Afterwards I made my way here to get out of the weather.
"I expected to die or to begin reverting back to what I was when I lived in old New York City with Micah. I don’t know which I dreaded more... I guess I sort of got used to the idea of living forever and now all of a sudden that wasn’t going to happen."
"We thought you were dead, Mr. Pete."