by Aaron Hubble
CHAPTER TEN
They found the woman scrunched up in a corner of the storage room, reminding Calier of a cornered animal. There was a wild look to her eyes, much different than the vacant look he’d seen in her eyes before he’d left to go to the university.
Calier waved Maltoki away, not wanting to frighten the woman more than she was already. He took a step into the room and saw her shrink, wrapping her arms protectively around her knees. He stopped and crouched. Unscrewing the cap of his water bottle, he offered it to the woman.
“Here, drink something, you must be thirsty.” She made no move. Her arms remaining folded around her scratched and abraded legs. Calier hadn’t noticed that before, and he made a note to clean those wounds as well, if she would let him.
He pointed to his chest. “My name’s Calier. I found you in the park. You were wounded and I took you to the hospital. Do you remember any of that?”
The woman squeezed her eyelids shut and bobbed her head slightly, then rested her chin on her chest. Her body shuddered, and a moan escaped her lips.
“He’s dead, isn’t he?” she said in a whisper.
Yet again, Calier’s heart broke at what he was seeing in front of him. A woman’s world had been shattered, ripped from her unfairly.
Calier looked away from the woman. “Yes. Who was he?”
“He was my olam’ani. The man I was to share my life with.” She covered her face with her hands and began to sob.
Calier turned to Maltoki and handed him the water bottle, then slowly moved toward the young woman and wrapped his arms around her. She laid her head on his shoulder and her black hair fell over her face, hiding the anguish that was etched into her features. He held her for several minutes, all the while thinking about their need to get out of the city, but understanding that this woman needed time to grieve and someone to be there for her. He had no idea who she was, but he realized that now and for the foreseeable future, she was his charge.
As the sound of her grief began to abate, Calier motioned for Maltoki to hand him the bottle once again and offered it to the woman wordlessly. She took it and sipped a little. Raising her head, she looked at Maltoki and then Calier. “Thank you,” she said.
There was a moment of silence and then Maltoki said, “I’m Maltoki, and I am, or was, a graduate student at the university.” He paused, looking at the floor. “I’m sorry for your loss. It seems to be the theme of the day.”
Wiping tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, the woman slowly pushed herself off Calier’s shoulders.
“Berit,” she said in a small voice. “I’m Berit.”
Calier smiled. “Nice to finally know your name, Berit. I was starting to think I would need to make up a name for you. I didn’t feel right just calling you ‘the girl I found’.”
She grasped Calier’s hand and then looked into his eyes. “Do you know how he died? How did my olam’ani die?”
Calier looked down at his hands and remembered the grisly and heartbreaking scene he had come upon earlier in the day. Exhaling a tired breath, he said, “He had been struck by a piece of metal, I assume from a building that had exploded, and it…it pierced his chest. I’m sure he died instantly. You were holding his head in your lap, just staring off into the distance with a blank look on your face. You were hurt as well. I tried to fix it up for you, but you’ll probably have a scar down your jawline and your ear was sort of mangled. It was torn and bloody.”
Berit’s hand went to her face and felt the bandages.
“I’m sorry,” Calier said. “I’m sorry you have to go through this. It isn’t fair.”
She stifled another sob and nodded. “Do you know how all of this happened?”
Calier and Maltoki looked at each other knowingly and a silent message was passed between them: only tell her what she can handle now.
Maltoki replied, “The city was attacked, very suddenly.”
“Attacked?”
Maltoki nodded. “First aircraft came and besieged the city. They’ve destroyed many of buildings, and later soldiers were brought in by some sort of troop-carrying aircraft. They seem to have set up a base at the university.”
Berit shook her head in disbelief. “Why?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Calier said, “Your guess is as good as mine. They seem to be roaming the city now, capturing some people and killing the rest.”
“It makes no sense,” Berit said.
“You’re correct, but right now that’s not what we need to be concerned with. The professor has a plan to get out of the city and find a place we can hide. Why don’t you come with us?” Maltoki looked at the woman expectantly.
“Where will you go?”
Calier shifted his position on the floor. “I know of a cave in the mountains that should work well. Maybe we can find other people and regroup.” He shrugged. “I don’t know, really. All I know is we can’t stay here. Eventually we’ll be caught and we’re no help to anyone if we’re dead.”
Maltoki placed the cap back on the water bottle and put it back in Calier’s pack. “Do you have family in the city?” he asked Berit.
She shook her head. “No, my parents live in a small village not far from the city.” She looked hopefully at Calier. “Maybe the village wasn’t hit. Maybe they’re okay.”
“We’ll go through the village and see if there’s anyone there who would like to join us.” Calier smiled at the young woman as her countenance lifted at the thought of seeing her family. He prayed her hope was not in vain.
****
An hour later, Calier carefully opened the door and peered outside. Darkness had fallen and he saw no one. Reentering the supply room, he saw the faces of his two traveling companions illuminated by the hand lamps.
He crouched down beside them. “Remember, stay close together. Keep the noise to a minimum. We won’t be able to use our lights. The moons will be up soon, which will help light our way, but also make us easier to spot. Stay in the trees until we absolutely must come out.”
He stood and they followed his lead. Maltoki shouldered his pack, as did Calier. They refused to let Berit carry anything. Calier was worried that the trauma she had suffered had weakened her and he didn’t want to burden her and wear her down any sooner than necessary.
Calier looked at both of them. Maltoki, the bright-eyed young scholar who seemed determined to overcome anything, and this remarkable woman, Berit. He knew what she was feeling. The face of Halom flashed through his mind, dragging up feelings long buried. He had lost too many people in his life and he didn’t plan to lose these two. He felt a need to protect them both.
Wrapping his arms around both of them, he said an old Aerean blessing. “May the blessings of the Lord rest upon you this day. May He wrap you in the protectiveness of His wings and carry you in His mighty hands to the end of your journey.”
The three of them were silent for a moment and then Calier turned and exited the little room, stepping out into the dark night and to whatever might lie ahead. Berit and Maltoki followed.
Calier prayed he wasn’t leading them to their deaths. He had seen enough of that already today, and he was sure they would see more gruesome sights as they made their way to the bridge. He had tried to prepare Berit for what they might see, but he didn’t think she quite understood what had happened to the city, hadn’t fully grasped the level of devastation and death that had been perpetrated on her home.
Calier wasn’t sure he fully understood it either.
They stepped out into the cool night air. A breeze ruffled Calier’s shirt, and he gazed through the trees toward the city and was struck by the blackness. There was no light coming from the city, something he had never seen before. There were always softly glowing street lights and building windows lit by overhead lights and lamps, but now there was nothing. It felt empty, devoid of life, a husk of what had been: a place full of vibrant life and joyful noise.
Maltoki moved up next to him. “Looks strange, doesn’t it, Profess
or.”
Calier nodded, and then Maltoki slapped his shoulder. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to get caught just as I’m leaving my hiding spot. Let’s get moving. I hear the view of the city is better from the other side of the bridge.”
Calier chuckled. Maltoki had always been a headstrong self-starter, never afraid to voice his opinion. That trait had grated on Calier when Maltoki was just a graduate assistant because he often wouldn’t listen to wisdom from older mentors, but now it was an attitude that would help them on a perilous journey.
Gesturing for Berit to move in front of him, Calier brought up the rear and the trio moved silently into the trees. They would skirt the northeastern edge of the city until they reached the end of the park. After that it was a short distance to the bridg,e and Calier hoped there would be cover to hide behind.
The city might have been dark, but it was not silent. Aircraft buzzed overhead, skimming the city with spotlights, undoubtedly searching for survivors. That was going to make this a bit more difficult. They were able to move quickly through the trees, the light of Zontu, the first moon, filtering through the trees and giving them enough light to navigate through the woods. Calier figured they had about thirty minutes before Zontuawa, the small moon, began chasing his bigger brother across the sky. They would be easier to spot with both moons reflecting the sun’s light, but there was nothing he could do about that now. Getting out of the city was still the priority.
In front of him Berit stumbled over an unseen obstacle, but caught herself. To Calier she looked weak, and it was definitely work for her to keep up with Maltoki, whose long strides were eating up the distance between them and the bridge. Quickening his pace, Calier moved up beside the young woman.
“Are you all right?” he whispered.
She nodded, but said nothing. It was plain to see that her breathing was labored. She had suffered through a lot today not the least of which was the substantial cut along her face. She really should be resting and recovering from the trauma and loss of blood, but that was a luxury they didn’t have. Calier offered his arm to the woman, who looked at it pensively and then succumbed to her fatigue and slipped her arm around Calier’s and leaned on him for support.
The tree line bent slightly following the line of the gorge. Ahead of them was the terminus of the METS line, its towers bent and burned. There had been so many other things to worry about today that Calier had blocked out the harrowing experience of earlier this morning.
They emerged from the trees cautiously, Maltoki pausing for several minutes surveying the area for signs of movement. Calier stood beside him, calming his breathing and feeling the weight of Berit on his right arm. Confident that there was nobody lurking in the shadows, Calier looked at Maltoki and nodded as the three of them left the relative safety of the trees and moved into the open. Zontu’s light cast a silver glow on all it touched.
They weren’t completely in the open - there were a few trees along the now broken sidewalk - but it was still not enough to let Calier relax at all. Calier wondered how his aging heart was handling all this stress. He smiled grimly to himself as he realized he might not need to worry about the soldiers taking him out; his own heart might do that for them.
Maltoki was looking over the edge of the gorge as he moved along the it.
“You might want to keep your eyes on where you’re going,” Calier said in a hushed voice.
Maltoki’s head snapped up and then he whispered to the professor, “There’s part of a METS car hanging by its cable. No way anyone made it out of that alive.”
“One did,” Calier said, and then he and Berit moved past Maltoki, who had slowed while mulling over Calier’s words.
“How do you know one person survived? Professor? Hey, Professor, wait up.” Maltoki quickened his pace and settled in beside Calier and looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer.
Still looking ahead, Calier said, “There’ll be plenty of time to regal you with stories. Let’s focus on the bridge.” When he motioned the young man forward, Maltoki picked up his pace and once again led the way, but with a bemused look on his face. Won’t he be surprised when he learns his old professor made a daring escape worthy of a high-wire act, thought Calier.
Looming out of darkness, Calier saw the outline of the ancient bridge spanning the river. It had served Gadol City for thousands of years as the most direct way into the city. At the peak of Gadol City’s power and dominance, the bridge had been built, a monument to what the city had become and a testament to the army’s ability to defend its home. Hundreds of bloody battles had been fought in front of that bridge, but no enemy combatant had ever stepped foot on the ancient stone and metal latticework that formed the deck.
There were shapes on the bridge that Calier was having trouble making out until the moon came out from behind a cloud and reflected off the metal of personal transports that had been abandoned. People with goods to sell still had their own personal transports to bring what they had to sell to market. Eventually, they would all be replaced with the METS as it continued to expand and became more convenient for the farmers and merchants. Or would have replaced the transports, Calier thought as he remembered his last METS ride. The bridge was always going to be a monument to what had been, it had just happened a little sooner and in a more violent manner than anyone had expected.
Approaching the foot of the bridge, Calier strained his eyes trying to ascertain the condition of the structure. The moon began gliding out from behind a cloud and cast its pale light upon the bridge. The skeletal piers and cables shone in the silvery light and illuminated the abandoned transports…and the bodies.
Berit gasped and turned her head away and buried it in Calier’s shoulder while Maltoki hung his head. The people must have been crossing the bridge when the attack started. In a panic they had abandoned their vehicles and began running only to be mowed down as the bridge was strafed by enemy weapons. Calier closed his eyes as he imagined the fear that must have gripped these people. They’d had nowhere to hide, totally exposed, easy targets for the monsters in the black fatigues.
Opening his eyes, Calier looked past the bodies and forced himself to analyze the state of the bridge. It wasn’t good. Torn and twisted metal decking dominated the bridge, showing gaping holes where he had hoped to pass in relative ease.
Great, nothing easy today.
He began to move forward, steeling himself against the grim and difficult task that lay ahead of him, but Berit remained rooted to her spot, pulling at his arm. He unlocked his arm from hers and turned to face her, knowing exactly what the girl was feeling.
For the second time today he was talking someone down from the proverbial ledge. When was someone going to talk him down?
“I know what you’re feeling…”
“No, you don’t…” Her voice was a cracked whisper.
“Yes, I do. Earlier today these were people going about their day, just like you and me, but then their lives were cruelly taken from them. You and Maltoki and I were spared to live and hopefully to take this all back someday. But to do that, we must get through this first. This is going to be the hardest thing we’ve ever done, but keep your eyes on me or Maltoki, don’t look at the bodies and we’ll reach the other side.”
She tore her eyes from the grisly scene on the bridge and nodded. Moving up beside him, she took a deep breath and then set her jaw in grim determination. She nodded again, and they moved onto the bridge.
****
Passing under the second great stone arch, Calier looked up as he always had when traversing the bridge. The arch was massive. Its craftsmanship was the work of hundreds of stone masons over the course of a decade and it had stood the test of time. Now, great pieces of the deck were missing and holes showed where it had taken enemy fire. Though battered and broken, the great bridge still stood.
They were three-quarters of the way across the bridge. The journey had been arduous picking their ways around great holes that threatene
d to swallow and feed them to the hungry gorge below. The worst part had been stepping over and around the bodies, some of them horribly disfigured by the weapons that had brought about their end.
They were almost across, and Calier was beginning to hope they would make it without incident when Berit stopped. She was the first one to hear the sound carried on the light breeze blowing in from the ocean. Tilting her head to the side, she strained to separate the noise from the sound of the breeze and the river below her feet.
“Shhh…listen. Do you hear that whistling?”
Calier and Maltoki stopped and held their breath. At first they only heard the metallic creaking of the broken support cables, but then faintly they heard the whistling as well. Calier turned around and saw the lights of two aircraft moving across the city not far from the bridge. Calier prayed they would keep on their course away from the bridge, but all too clearly he saw one aircraft peel off from its previous course and move rapidly toward the bridge.
He turned toward the other two and screamed, “RUN!”
They weaved among the transports praying they would be able to see any holes in the deck before it was too late.
The aircraft was upon them in seconds. Calier looked back in time to see bright white fire erupt from the underside of each swept-back wing. A transport on his left exploded in a ball of flame. He heard a loud groaning and the transport disappeared as the stone under the transport crumbled. Calier heard the strained twanging of steel support cables that were now being pulled to their limit and then beyond.
The searing heat of fire scorched his skin as vehicles around him exploded under the onslaught of enemy fire. They continued to run, pressing on toward the other side. It was so close, but so was the aircraft. It had almost reached the second arch, continuing to spew destruction from its cannons.