by Susan Lowry
His body trembled at the possibility that the evil thing had been able to follow him across the sunny field and was waiting in those shadows ahead where it could thrive. The rapturous elation it would then draw from his suffering might do him in, once and for all.
Had it not been for the angelic voice calling him at that very moment, Travis might never have entered the wood. His first steps made his hairs rise, his chest thump, and his senses so acute they picked up the buzz of energy all around him. He could not lose sight of the treacherous darkness beneath boulders and in the cavern entrances, the murky corners between closely-neighboured trunks, or the black depressions tunneling through the undergrowth.
Those things would not be ignored – yet, before Travis realized it, he had been drawn deep into the wilderness. His ears picked out the sound of every snapping twig as he walked further into a primordial network of breathing vegetation. A reverberation of wings beat in the brushwood not far from where he stood as claws scratched below piles of leaves. Somewhere in the brush closer to the lake a drumming against bark resonated. Higher in the branches and far off there was a boom he could not identify.
***
(An hour earlier)
Rose was flipping through her papers, an assortment of home remedies and suggestions she would share during the morning conference, and she could see that Chris and Sarah were already headed to the hotel. She stuffed the pile into a folder and started after them.
It was time as a group to grapple with the overwhelming array of problems that would determine the quality of their future life and perhaps their very survival. They had at their fingertips all of the remnants of an extinct civilization, and an endless supply of things – but that certainly did not provide them with a dependable source for future needs.
Their accessible supplies such as clothing, food, and most importantly, medications, would eventually be gone – used up, expired, or mouldy. It was daunting to even think of the centuries of refinement that would be lost forever, the wasted luxuries entombed in buildings too far off to retrieve, the elements slowly destroying them.
They’d have to rely on their own ingenuity. Rose had no misconceptions about her future or the hard work ahead; the impact on generations to come would depend on intense learning for all of them.
She hesitated near the entrance to the hotel pleasantly surprised by an early ping; it seemed a small animal, maybe a squirrel or a chipmunk, had posed for some photos. She relayed her encouragement for the passion in art Travis was discovering and continued around the back of the building to the shaded patio.
***
Sweat trickled from his brow and Travis huffed as he scrambled higher up the steep path. The forest was so thick it was almost solid around him, with barely a breeze to discharge the heat. When the terrain leveled out it was repetitive and unchanging; he could easily have become confused. But the sun, creeping over the top branches – along with those accommodating green and red patches marked on the tree trunks – gave him some assurance as he visualized the route ahead, preparing to swing north whenever it was possible.
It was the nearly continuous summoning sound in his head with its mesmerizing quality that enticed him and furnished the courage Travis needed to be taking such risks. His fears were slowly diminishing, outweighed by the promise of magnificent rewards becoming unmistakably closer by his every step, and yes, he understood the perils of his vulnerability; the dangers lurking were stark in his mind. He knew, above all, that to stray from the path could undoubtedly be fatal – the route he must take had been predetermined by the passages of time and, meandering as it was, he had no choice but to take it.
The path began to ascend again, but more gradually than before. His confidence seemed only to grow the deeper into the wood he went and Travis trekked with steadfast determination, focused only on the positive that would come from his efforts. Finally he reached a lookout point and, allowing himself the luxury of a short detour to absorb the view beyond the edge of the bluff, he approached a protective rail and leaned against it.
From quite a distance west of the lake, the serene blue waters of Moonstone were entirely visible far below, snug amid the trees, which were touched by the yellows and reds of autumn. Forming a row of tiny squares on the north shore were the cottages. The hotel was at the west end, ten times bigger than the other buildings, and Kevin’s place was not even perceptible.
***
The early meeting had been highly unorganized, Kevin had thought, with not much accomplished other than all of them agreeing much was to be done to create a perfect world for their offspring. The list of possible scenarios presented by each of them only brought to light their awkwardly differing opinions. The need to procreate, in fact, was the one thing they did seem to agree upon.
It was all kept casual and frivolous with easy laughter – but Kevin suspected each one of them harboured a deep concern that they would not get an equal say. Yet, they did not discuss democracy, voting, or even if they intended to elect a leader.
By ten o’clock the meeting was adjourned in order for them to get on with more promising endeavours, to which Kevin had absolutely zero qualms – the cooler weather had already reached them, but had been fickle the last few days, and left for a while. It would descend upon them again with more conviction and he was as eager for hot running water as the rest of them. With most of the work apparently already accomplished and everything set to go, he should be standing in a steaming shower that very evening.
***
Travis rushed excitedly to the end of the trail where he got his first glimpse of the railway. He heaved a sigh of relief, finally certain that he’d been going the right way. Here was his passage to the valley which he had once viewed from the highway while exploring the territory with Kate and Jack. He’d also noticed the faint line of a bridge stretching across the gorge.
He looked to his left, remembering from his map how the railway arched around the western half of the lake and then veered south. To his right the tracks rolled down the middle of a tree-cleared corridor headed toward the skirt of a mountain.
Out in the open, his ears began to hum with the wind that now rushed by as he stood in the road bed, his shirt flapping, and the grass between the wooden ties tussled in waves beyond him. He lifted his arms and continued on his journey without delay, not forgetting what little time he would have before the threat of darkness would force him to start homeward.
Almost entirely consumed by the wonderful presence that was becoming ever more insistent in his head, Travis had never felt so calm, carefree, and strangely powerful. With his arms out like wings he soared along the tracks while a melody arose deep from within him and the music of his spirit flowed triumphantly from his lips.
Chapter Eighteen
The Impossible Ping
(October 27th, Year Two, PA, Afternoon)
Rose stopped just outside her door and chuckled at herself. How silly of her for nearly shouting up to the hotel window. Instead, she let out a happy sigh and returned to her computer. “We did it!!!” she wrote, tapping the mouse over the reply icon.
A moment later she heard Chris whoop from the second story computer-room. Kate and Sarah’s cheers emanated a moment later from the next cottage and a congratulatory reply appeared on her screen from Kevin. Soon emails were arriving and being sent by everyone.
Rose couldn’t wait to get started. With all of her research, there were dozens of documents she wanted to share. She was busily attaching the files to be forwarded when the words on her screen faded into the background. Her focus had been completely hijacked away from it and all she could do was lean against the back of her chair completely taken aback by this sudden urgency.
But it faded almost as fast as it had arrived and Rose was left feeling horribly confused. Clearly this was real! The sender was in some kind of trouble but why had it stopped? Search as she did for a reconnection it seemed there was nothing and she truly hoped this was not the last occurrence.
<
br /> It was no longer fair to hold this back from the others, but, with so much excitement going on, and a second meeting planned that afternoon, Rose would have to be patient. She certainly could not reveal her secret with Kevin around.
***
The bridge went across the narrow part of the gorge. It was the length of a long city block, Travis guessed, and perhaps as high as a tall apartment building above the river. As he slid his hand along the steel fence the thrill of it hit him. He gazed down at the crashing white water gushing past the rocks while the misty vapours were rising up to him.
It would have been wonderful to linger, marveling at such a sight, but anticipation lured and he began to walk to the centre of the bridge. Each step brought them closer to each other, and their excitement mounted. At the highest point over the river his heart suddenly jumped as he recalled that first glimpse of Lucy’s physical being; he picked up his pace eager for the exquisiteness he was soon to behold.
Yet, as he made it past the half-way mark his legs felt uncomfortably wobbly. The wind blowing across the gorge nudged him toward the north side of the gorge where he wanted to go while something equally invisible tugged him back in the other direction, as if a giant rubber band had been stretched around his waist pulling him back to Moonstone. His backpack bumped against him heavily as he neared the rocky edge of the valley where the bridge ended and he was ready to find a place to sit down.
***
Kevin might only be twenty-five but he had an excellent education already and he wasn’t stupid. The ravages of the plague had taught him about emotional trauma better than any class he had ever taken, better than witnessing it in returning soldiers; it was personal now and he would probably suffer from it always. That’s why he just couldn’t understand the optimism surrounding him as he examined poor little Ben’s innocent face.
He’d been asked his opinion and he would speak honestly, as had been requested of him. The others watched intently as he stated his opinion.
“Well, I have to admit, I do worry about Ben, for one. I’m not sure it’s um, moral – bringing kids into this kind of, um… uncertainty. But, to be planning more of them? Well I – I just think… perhaps we should figure out what we’re up against first. I mean, what do we really know? And, ah, yeah… at least give it a bit more time. That’s all I’m saying.”
***
Travis sat on the hill by the tracks taking another swig of refreshing water, thinking how pleased they would all be once they fathomed what he was about to do. He squinted at the flawless cobalt vastness noting that the sun was directly above him. Rose hadn’t bothered to ping him yet, which was fortunate – although it did seem odd.
Hastily tucking his water bottle beside an untouched muffin he zipped up his backpack and with the roar of the river fading behind him, continued walking along the side of the tracks unable to ignore the tangible closeness of something wonderful growing stronger as he continued.
Finally, reaching a meadow, he stopped to gaze at a farmhouse far off in the distance, his heart beginning to race at the knowledge that he was suddenly being observed, and that only a short walk beyond divided them.
The ground felt dry and uneven beneath his shoes with ridges and tufts of grass as he trekked closer, straining through the hazy brightness to see. Reaching the surrounding fence, he stared at the rickety porch of the farmhouse, two blank windows above it, and at the door which was slightly ajar. He leaned back against a wood post and slowly unzipped his bag.
***
“I’m just saying, the suffering they could face, if… well, if things go wrong. There’s a pretty good chance you won’t even be around for them as far as I can guess. Why take that kind of risk?” Kevin continued. He’d already realized the mistake in voicing his opinion even though they hadn’t raised a brow. They had asked him to be honest, but he was sorry he had.
***
“Come on,” Travis encouraged.
He’d seen her timidly slip from the shelter of the forest, run over to the barn and duck behind a pile of logs. He’d been persistent and his coaxing was working and now she was walking toward him through the grass.
He remained poised against the fence, pinging as she approached, her body language wavering between cautious and outright joyful. She edged toward him until she was close enough that Travis, holding out his arm, could peer into her beautiful face. “I promised you this, now didn’t I?”
Crouching low in the grass with gold-green eyes gazing up at him was an exquisite, charcoal-grey and white wolf. She gently took a piece of sandwich from his hand and swallowed it in one gulp. Her tail wagged.
“I’ve got more, see… a muffin too,” Travis promised, pulling the rest of his lunch from his backpack.
Her ears stood up straight and she tilted her head, listening to his strange voice for the first time. And while Travis spoke, he gave her small chunks of his lunch, one after the other, sending her his familiar, soothing pings. When she’d eaten every last morsel, she began to sniff him all over, finally licking off the sweet remnants of a sticky muffin from his fingers.
Not having expected her to have done so well, Travis could not take his eyes off of her dense, glossy coat and powerful physique. Soon after arriving at Moonstone the wolf’s lonely calls had drifted across the valley to the lake – they’d arrived each night after that, and Travis grew to expect them as he was trying to fall asleep.
One night a few months before Lucy’s arrival while lying in bed waiting, he began to ponder what it would be like to be a wolf; he listened to her melancholy songs and imagined what she was feeling and thinking and doing. With so little wildlife left, it seemed clear that she was slowly starving and he began to worry.
Gradually Travis came to realize that he was not just interpreting her howling – that, without even trying, he perceived what was in her mind, the way he’d done with Lucy at the beginning.
He began to telepathically nudge the wolf and gently prod her, anxious to tweeze out a deliberate response from her. It seemed improbable that he would actually get a reply, but he kept on trying while sending comforting pings that were similar to his fingers reaching out and massaging her everywhere. She loved the relief from her suffering – he could tell immediately because although unaware, she was asking Travis for more.
He wanted her to be conscious of what she was doing and it really wasn’t all that hard to reach her after that – tweaking the techniques he’d used with Lucy, Kate, Sarah and then the astronaut. He persisted relentlessly and there finally came a moment when Travis suspected the wolf’s requests for more of his pain-killing pings were conscious and deliberate.
Yet, the more she caught on, the more a part of him came to regret what he had done. Enduring the pain of a starving wolf nearing death was more than Travis could handle – almost as bad as what he had gone through with Lucy in her darkest days. Unfortunately, there was no other way. Nurturing a telepathic relationship meant he had to feel her suffering.
The wolf craved his pings which were like potent analgesic medicine and she sensed they were keeping her safe. But Travis was being drained of everything he had. There came a point when he couldn’t take much more and with the demon at Moonstone relentlessly on his trail he was near the end of his tether. If it hadn’t been for the telepathic therapy he’d received from the women he might have had to let the wolf die.
But them, he came up with a different approach. Instead of just taking on her pain, he would show her where to find alternative sources of food. She’d had no contact or understanding of humans. Travis taught her to enter houses where she could chew through bags of cookies, boxes of cereal and plastic jars of peanut butter. Slowly she regained her health and eventually their pings became pleasant and increasingly complex.
Now, she stood before him for the first time, strong and magnificent; and soon they were frolicking blissfully in the tall grass. Travis never wanted to leave her alone again.
***
The overjoyed mood
set off by the group’s successful hooking up of the electricity and then the internet was beginning to dissolve. Even on the shaded hotel patio, the heat was unusually oppressive and Kevin watched the atmosphere smolder with tension.
The subject of babies had been dismissed and Kevin felt his blood pressure rising. Although they were doing a valiant job of concealing their feelings, he realized that the scheduled agenda had suddenly changed and the focus had turned, uncomfortably, to him.
He squirmed in his seat with the suddenly invasive line of questioning and tried, politely, to introduce a distracting topic. This only made them more determined. They were requesting the details of a time that had been impossibly traumatic for him. It was grossly insensitive and he felt trapped.
***
Quiet time in the grass lying close to a telepathic wolf was the most divine experience Travis had known in his entire life. But if he didn’t pull himself away soon, he’d be travelling home in darkness, and that would be stretching his luck.
“I love you Angel,” he chirped, snuggling up to her thick fur. “I’ll be back soon, and I promise I’ll bring more muffins!” Angel’s intelligent eyes sparkled and she wriggled at the suggestion of more treats. Then, reluctantly, Travis pulled himself away.
As he strode to the railway track Angel began to play a game, looping around him until she was at his heals and then dashing off teasingly. At the tracks she pranced by his side, frisky and cavorting, until they reached the gorge and there, she stayed back, sitting forlornly as Travis continued toward the bridge.