Resonance

by Dianne J Wilson

  The perimeter fence stood tall and strong, but the gateway stood open, unguarded. Kai approached warily, but the place seemed deserted. He gritted his teeth and marched into the graveyard. The water stopped outside, refusing to follow. Should he go where the water wouldn’t? Logic screamed no, but he walked deeper into the graveyard anyway. By the time he reached the centre, his LifeLight had dulled to a mere flicker. Grave Keepers slid out from behind the tombstones and circled him. Human and yet not, the tattered rags they wore rode the wind. They reached for Kai with metallic fingers that clicked and sizzled.

  He faced them with heightened awareness. His hands and knees trembled, and his throat was dry, making it hard to swallow. For the first time, he truly saw the Grave Keepers. Within the tattered rags and gnarled fingers writhed a twisted mess of green they’d worn so long it had become part of them. Deeper still, he sensed the tangled emotional torment that had caused the green to find purchase inside them so many years ago, breaking and twisting them beyond recognition as humans. Compassion and mercy had been torn out, leaving them with nothing at their core but judgement.

  Then Kai spotted Tau. Tau ambled amongst the graves, leaning down to read the stones. He moved quickly past one, but lingering at the next and whispered a few words. A slow smile crept across Kai’s face as he began to move forward. He’d found Tau. Could this be real? The Grave Keepers whooshed in closer, blue sparks crackling from their palms blocking his way to Tau.

  Kai stretched to peer past them. Tau was still there, crouched down next to a grave. The Grave Keepers inched forward, but Kai wasn’t going to be kept from Tau. He slammed his foot into the ground. “Move.” One word, spoken softly but the impact of it rippled through the ground and shook the Grave Keepers. As Kai stepped forward, they hissed and tittered but gave way before him. Another step and they fell back, rage contorted their faces. Shrieking, they closed ranks behind him as he passed.

  Kai found Tau at Zap’s grave. The death date was less than a millimetre from completion. Kai turned and fixed his eyes on Tau. “What about my friend?”

  ~*~

  Shasta turned his back on Ruaan and reached down to pull Zap up onto the platform. “Do you think your friend will allow himself to be coerced?”

  “I think you should feed him.”

  Shasta stepped up close, palms sparking wildly. “And what about you?”

  Zap shook his head. “I’ve seen enough. I will not serve.”

  Shasta shoved the lifeless body of the first boy off the platform with his foot. “You want to join him, then?”

  Zap looked him straight in the eye. “It’s better than serving you.”

  Shasta laughed, cold, mirthless. “As you wish.” He rubbed his palms together and sparks shot from his hands, burning wherever they landed.

  ~*~

  What about my friend?

  Thick silence fell, and the Grave Keeper’s tattered rags stuck out in mid-air as time froze. Tau waved Kai closer and slipped an arm around his shoulders.

  Kai blinked at the date on the tombstone. “He’s out of time.” He shivered, yet warmth rippled through him from Tau’s hand on his shoulder.

  “Out of time.” Tau rolled the words on his tongue as if tasting them. “Time is a big deal on earth.”

  “It’s too late to help him, isn’t it?”

  “Time is not relevant here in the spiritual realm.”

  “What does that mean for my friend? Is he stuck in limbo?”

  Tau laughed, but there was no malice in it. Another flood of warmth washed through Kai at the sound.

  “It means I’m the boss of time.”

  Kai frowned, “Can you help Zap?”

  Tau drew in a deep breath. As he breathed out, the air filled with the whine from the Grave Keepers as time ticked back into operation. Tau gave Kai’s shoulder one last squeeze before he began to fade.

  “But what about my friend?” Kai twisted about, hoping to find something that could help.

  Tau’s voice drifted back to him on a breeze that seemed to sweep away the last remnants of the man, I love your friend.

  Kai breathed out. “I thought so.”

  LifeLight flashed through Kai, and he gathered a growing ball of it in his palm. He pulled his arm back as far as he could and threw. It hit Zap’s gravestone and shattered it into countless tiny pieces that smouldered and burned away.

  The grave hole filled up and grass grew over the top until it might as well never have been there.

  ~*~

  Shasta cracked his knuckles and held up one hand, palm aimed at the top level of the auditorium. He walked a slow circle around the edge of the platform and the darKounds stopped pacing. Their blue-black bodies trembled as they froze, eyes trained on Shasta. He patted his thigh once and half the darKounds broke away and loped through the crowd to the platform in the middle. Each tier they passed fell silent. Dread settled over Evazee at the darKounds nails clicked on the stone next to her.

  Two darKounds bounded onto the platform and sought out Ruaan and Zap. The rest stood at the base. One animal sat down close to Ruaan’s leg.

  Evazee shot to her feet, but Elden pulled her down. “Evazee, you can’t help them.”

  “We can’t sit here and do nothing.”

  Elden held her hands, “I know, but do you honestly think getting caught will do any good?”

  Evazee stared back toward Ruaan and Zap, hunting for a gap, a plan, anything to help them. Both were on their knees, doubled over and blocking their ears. Evazee shuddered. DarKound thoughts were too much too bear. To be bombarded by them was agony. Shasta towered over her friends, waiting.

  The darKound whined, pawed the ground at Shasta’s feet and lay down with its snout tucked between its legs. Shasta prodded it with his boot, but the creature pulled away from him, snarling. Shasta muttered under his breath and clapped his hand to Zap’s forehead.

  It bounced off.

  He moved to the other side, shunting the darKound out the way with his foot and tried again. His hand jerked back as if he’d been shocked. He spluttered, swore, and tried again. This time, the rebound was so great, Shasta fell on his backside.

  Zap peeped through slit eyelids and glanced around, perplexed. Delight crept across his features and when he spoke, the platform microphone broadcast it to the entire room. “Ruaan, did you see that? Please tell me you did!”

  Ruaan frowned and clasped his empty stomach. “Dude. How did you do that?”

  “It’s not me. I met this guy in my cell. His name is Tau.”

  As he spoke the name, a giant raindrop landed at his feet with a plop. All over the room, it began to rain. The water drops glowed gold and brought light wherever they landed. They didn’t come from clouds, but from water that seeped through the holey rock that formed the ceiling. Above ground had been flooded.

  The next drop landed on Shasta. It ran down his forehead, sizzling as it went.

  Chaos erupted. Some ran from the room as if the drops were acid. Others sat in their seats with wonder on their upturned faces, palms stretched wide to catch the drops.

  Evazee grabbed Peta’s hand and shouted to Elden, “We have to get to the boys.” They climbed over rows of seating, winding their way between a melee of bodies. Peta squealed in delight each time a drop landed on her, adding another layer of glowing light to her skin.

  Evazee’s heart overflowed with joy. “Someone must have flooded above ground with Healing Stream water. This must be Kai’s doing.”

  Elden dodged the drops. “Let’s get them and get out of here. If this carries on, we could all drown. Even the darKounds are leaving.” Some of the falling drops landed on darKounds. They rolled on their backs as if the water were fire.

  “You think this is a bad thing?”

  “Drowning is a bad thing, yes.”

  How did she answer that? How could he not see this as good?

  Shaking, Shasta shoved Zap off his platform. Zap came down hard on the stony edge of the raised seats, narrowly missing
a writhing darKound. The platform rose to the ceiling with the same hydraulic whine it had descended with. DarKounds seemed to take that as a sign that their time was up. They broke ranks and bolted. Ruaan leapt from the platform before Shasta could push him and landed on his feet.

  Ruaan posed with his fists ready to punch, swinging wildly in all directions.

  Evazee reached him but dodged his fists. “Calm down, big guy. Look.” The darKounds that had circled the gathering were all gone.

  Zap’s face was grim. “This is not over. We’ve bought some time, but he’ll be back. This thing is bigger than any of us imagined, and he won’t stop until the world is his, and everyone in it either serves him or is enslaved by him. His mind is full of possession.”

  “Converted or coerced.” Evazee pulled Peta closer and hugged her, blocking the girl’s ears.

  Peta pushed her hands away, crossing her arms over her chest as her eyes grew flinty. “We need an army. An army of soldiers. Soldiers of Light.”

  ~*~

  Kai found Bree at her own grave.

  She looked up at him with sad eyes, “I’m dying.”

  Kai gently pulled back her sleeve and took her damaged hand in his. She tried to pull away, but he held on. “You don’t have to. Look at this.” He led her a few steps further away and they were at her father’s grave. “He’s still alive, Bree. There’s hope for him and for you. We just need to go find him.”

  “His time is nearly up. I wish I’d listened earlier. Maybe...”

  Kai slipped an arm around her shoulders, still holding on to her damaged hand. “Hey, don’t give up. Let’s go find him, and then you can decide whether or not Tau is to be trusted. Yes?”

  Bree nodded once.

  It was enough.

  36

  A vast crowd stood facing the mist that surrounded Stone City. Some were dark-skinned and painted a glowing-purple from Zulu’s village, Benan. Others were dressed in the cotton jumpsuits of Rex Lei, the city of stone. In between the two distinct groups were others, those with no special clothes or identity. Those who’d answered the call of the drums.

  If you want to get out of this place, follow me. That’s all Kai had said in the underground chamber where he’d found his friends.

  Kai’s heart pinched as he looked them over. He had a hunch how to get them back to the natural, but it was just that—a hunch. If wrong, he’d be responsible for more pain than he could wrap his brain around.

  He held Bree’s hand, and she let him. Zap and Ruaan flanked them. Zap chewed his lips and his face was pale. Ruaan glared at Kai and then at the mist and back again.

  “Are you sure about this?”

  Kai shrugged. “We can’t get home through the spirit cuttings. They’re still flooded. I’ve been thinking about the last time we went through the mist. I saw Runt.” He held up a hand to stop Ruaan from interrupting. “I spoke to her, I was almost right there at the OS. Maybe this is just a veil of consciousness. Maybe the dust they sprinkled was to keep our bodies asleep, but if we go in without it, we may just cross back to the natural. Think about it. Last time I was in the same room as Runt, but something kept me here. It could only be the dust.”

  “What about the pain?” Zap switched from chewing his lips to chewing his fingernails. “This lot,” he waved an arm over the crowd who’d followed them from the underground, “they followed you here because you offered them a new start. A different life. Do you think it’s fair to lead them into so much pain just because it might work?”

  “Pain is temporary. They made their own choice.” Kai turned to Bree. “I’m going to carry you, and you’re going to let me. I’m not leaving you behind again.” He swung her up against him before she could argue. Her arms clung tight around his neck, and her heart raced next to his skin.

  He gritted his teeth, cast one last glance at the crowd, and stepped into the mist.

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