Betrayed (Cry of the Guilty – Silence of the Innocent Book 2)

by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

  Chapter Ten

  The stoves were outside so the cooks were unable to prepare a meal for the prisoners. There was nothing for them to do but go to bed. The heavy clouds put an early end to the day. Overnight the wind picked up speed and the canvas roofs, whipped by the increased wind, began to tear. The rain pelted the people huddled in their wet blankets. In the morning the rain began to let up and then quit, and the weaker sun began to shine through the dissipating clouds.

  The wet, cold prisoners were slow at rising from their soggy beds. The dirt floors of their buildings were now thick, slimy mud that stuck to their bare feet. They slowly sloshed through it and went outside to stand in the mud there. The sun was not as hot as it had been and they couldn’t stop their constant shivering as they tried to warm up and dry their clothes. No one had eaten since noon the day before. They were hungry and unwilling to wait for the cooks to clean up the stoves and prepare something. They headed en masse to the warehouses.

  Those in the lead climbed the empty crates that had been leaned against the walls. The canvas here had also torn in the wind and soon the top slabs of the buildings were covered with prisoners who balanced on them as they grabbed at the wet sacks and cartons inside. They tossed them over the side to the waiting crowd below, heedless as to whether they landed on people or ground.

  Others broke open the doors. Water gushed out over their feet and legs. The bundles were soaked and the crates that had been opened and their lids not replaced tightly were full of water, their contents floating. The prisoners inside pulled at the packets they could reach. As they came away, the towers above them crumbled onto the people below. Once they had a package in hand they tried to retrace their steps, but the throng surged around them. Finally, they began handing bundles and boxes to those behind. Eventually food and other assorted objects were scattered in the mud as prisoners dug through them looking for something to eat. The extra movement warmed them slightly.

  As soon as the morning meal was finished on the spaceship, the governor sent the police to the village. She wanted a report as to what was happening there. Sari went with them. She was shocked at the scene. Masses of prisoners swarmed the sides of the warehouses trying to get to the food. Boxes and bags were being thrown over the wall by those standing on the pile inside the buildings. The doors of the warehouses were broken and men and women had set up a line to pass bundles and parcels out the small doorway to the others waiting outside. Broken crates, bags, and good food were all stomped into the mud of the streets.

  When she heard that the prisoners were attacking the warehouses, Governor Lind ordered the police to beat them back but they were so outnumbered they finally let them have their way. It was dark before the last prisoners had eaten their full and returned to their wet beds. The officers looked at their own buildings and decided on another night on the Federer. Sari joined them.

  The next morning after breakfast Sari hurried through the mud to see how the prisoners had fared. The sky was blue with no clouds and the sun shone. Most of the prisoners were out digging through the strewn boxes and bags from yesterday. Some were trying to get what warmth the sun offered. She checked her box of recordings under her bed and found it safe.

  The cooks dried out the stoves and hunted for dry wood for fires. They threw whatever they could find into pots and cooked it for the midday meal. It was served in cans and the prisoners were made to line up.

  Governor Lind and Judge Jym came out of the Federer to survey the damage. The warehouses were half empty. Much of the remaining supplies were ruined from the rain and the seeds that had been kept for the next planting were sodden in the rain and mud. All of the canvas roofs were torn and the buildings soaked on the inside. Mud had been tramped everywhere.

  The animals had fared little better. With no one to guard them the cows had run into the trees for shelter. The pigs had huddled in the corners of their pens against the rain and wind and some had smothered. Many of the chickens and ducks had drowned in the rising water trapped inside their enclosures. The fields were underwater and the plants in them were drowned.

  But the prisoners were angry. They had been left in their canvas-covered buildings to suffer in the storm while everyone else had spent the time warm and dry and fed on the ship. Even though the sun shone and the mud eventually dried, few were interested in cleaning up the village and continuing the forward momentum of the colony.

  Governor Lind announced that the police officers and many of the guards from the Federer would be working in shifts guarding the warehouses to prevent any more looting. Because their food was severely depleted and damaged, the prisoners would be rationed until a new supply could be brought back from Pidleon. The Federer would be sent as soon as a list could be drawn up of the provisions needed.

  She then ordered that priority be given to putting permanent roofs on the warehouses and dormitories. This was to be accomplished by the prisoners and she wasn’t waiting for volunteers. As many as necessary were to help and she’d use the guards and their trance guns if necessary to prod the unwilling ones into action.

  * * *

  Mikk moved the dials and watched as the temperature of the chamber fixed on the freezing mark. The frost gradually melted off the glass and he could see the prisoner lying in the frozen state. He’d shut off the automatic controls and taken over. He now had to slowly raise the temperature in the chamber so the body thawed evenly.

  He looked at the tracing machine hooked to the electrodes on the outer body and the body thermometer he’d inserted through the belly button before freezing. It showed that the body temperature inside and out was at the freezing point.

  Mikk needed some sleep and something to eat, but he felt he couldn’t leave. He’d had a cot installed but he seldom took the time to relax or sleep on it. He went over to the cot now and stretched out. He had time for a short nap before he had to raise the temperature again.

  But he didn’t get to sleep. As soon as his mind was off the chamber he thought about Gwin. How was she doing? Had she gotten his metal note? There were so many questions he wanted answered and no one who could do so. He knew the village had been established and spaceships had returned. The Space Organization was receiving messages from the Federer that had been left with the colony. He’d contacted them many times under the pretext of finding out how the tools he’d helped design were working. They’d only been able to tell him about the reports sent back on how the building and the planting were progressing. There was nothing about anyone specific, not even Beti or Tyl.

  He’d even asked about any ships flying to the colony planet, but had been told that none were scheduled. There just wasn’t any way that he could contact anyone there or even fly there himself. He felt so powerless. He missed Gwin so much and he wanted to do something to bring her back so they could prove she wasn’t a murderer. Then they would get married as they’d planned and start a family. It didn’t even matter to him anymore if she kept her job and flew to other planets, just as long as she always came home to him and their children.

  But all he could do now was hope something happen either here or on the colony planet to make a flight necessary. Then he would apply to go along.

  An hour later Mikk rose and adjusted the temperature again and he did it every hour until the body began shivering. Once the shivering started he raised the temperature at a faster rate until the body was at its normal state. Since this was going to be the last of his experiments if it didn’t work, he’d been instructed to contact his superiors just before the awakening so they could watch the final moments of the prisoner returning to life. He let them know the moment was imminent and they hurried over.

  According to the pulse instrument and the body temperature gauges the prisoner should be opening his eyes soon. Mikk leaned over the chamber to watch for movement. In the others the pulse, breathing, heart rate, and bodily functions returned to normal but their minds were dead. Their bodies had nothing to direct them.

  “How is the research g
oing on separating the mind from the body and transporting it?” Mikk asked his superiors as they watched for signs.

  “They haven’t been able to overcome the mind fighting that goes on when it enters another body.”

  Mikk felt a bit of satisfaction that he had been right with his idea of freezing the whole person. If only he could get the mind to thaw intact also. When that finally happened they’d only have to make sure the temperature of the chamber sent to a planet could be controlled from here. That way it would only thaw when the spaceship had securely landed. But that part had nothing to do with him. It would be up to the technicians to build a chamber that would fit in a clipper.

  Mikk undid the latches on the chamber and lifted the lid. He felt the body and it was warm. He removed the electrodes and probe but the contact failed to make the prisoner move. Mikk had a sinking feeling as he lifted an eyelid. Behind it was a blank stare, the same as the others. Mikk closed the lid.

  He turned to his superiors. “It didn’t work.”

  * * *

  Gwin had survived the rainstorm. But she was angry, angrier than most. She didn’t consider herself a criminal. She had not committed a crime as the others had, at least not the one she’d been sentenced here for. She wouldn’t have killed Conni if she hadn’t been framed in the first place. There was no way she was going to work on completing the buildings. As far as she was concerned her only job was to get off the planet and back home.

  She knew that with most of the guards being pulled from the Federer, Royd would make a move soon and she wanted to be prepared for when he did. There was no way that every prisoner’s movements could be watched and many of the lazier ones just took off into the trees. She did too, going to sit in the bush near the ship to watch for Royd. There were still guards around it and she hoped Royd had a good plan to get past them.

  In spite of the shining sun the air was cool. Some of the leaves had begun to fall from the trees carpeting the forest floor and sending up a pungent odour. She inhaled deeply, liking the smell. Early in the morning of the second day of watching, Sari found her.

  “What are you doing?” she asked sitting down beside her.

  “Shh,” Gwin warned. “I’m waiting for Royd to show up.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I think he’s going to try to steal the Federer and I want to be on it.”

  “Nobody else has been able to, what makes you think he will?”

  “He’s was a space captain before becoming Flight Director for this experiment.”

  “Well, he won’t be trying it today.”

  “How do you know?”

  “The governor has him in a conference. She wants him to explain why the air is cooler and the leaves are falling from the trees.”

  “Why does she think he’ll know that?” Gwin asked.

  Sari shrugged. “I guess because he was here before.”

  Gwin looked over at the large ship. She hated to leave her position but there didn’t seem to be any reason to stay.

  “Do you want to search for those inhabitants we saw?” Sari asked.

  Gwin grinned and stood. “Sounds like a good idea.”

  They headed in the same direction they’d taken before. There still hadn’t been any more attacks by wild animals, so they weren’t too concerned about them.

  When they reached the path where the dweller had stood, they stopped.

  “Should we wait here to see if they come again?” Sari asked.

  “They sure acted like they didn’t want us to go any further than here,” Gwin said. “But we could wait all day and they might not show.”

  “Good. I was hoping you’d say that. Let’s go.”

  They began to walk the path watching for one of the habitants to step out of the trees. But none did. They came to another meadow and they could see where the trail meandered through it to the hills beyond. There was still no sign of activity.

  “If they are in the hills, they’ll see us coming,” Sari said.

  “Then they’ll either come to meet us or hide.”

  Sari glanced at the sky as the day suddenly darkened. A lone grey cloud had covered the sun. She turned in the direction they had come and saw more clouds on the horizon.

  “I think we should go back,” Sari said. “It looks like another storm coming.”

  “We’re so close now we should continue,” Gwin said, thinking that this might be her only opportunity before leaving the planet.

  Sari looked at the sky again, then shrugged. “Okay.”

  They hiked along the path keeping watch ahead for any movement. The cloud moved off and the sun shone again.

  “This is getting spooky,” Sari whispered. “They should have seen us by now.”

  “Yes, I’ve been expecting them to jump out of the grass at us.”

  When they reached the hills they saw that the path led up and over one of the slopes. They climbed to the crest and looked down on a lovely valley. In the middle, a creek meandered. The golden grass waved softly in the breeze. They could see animals grazing in the distance. The trail continued along the slope to a cave in the hillside.

  “Do you think they live in there?” Sari asked.

  “The path leads right to it,” Gwin said.

  “Should we get closer?”

  “Why not? We’ve come this far.”

  Gwin led the way to the cave. As they drew nearer they could see where the sloped ground in front had been paved with rock to form a terrace, which would remain dry during the rains. A large pit with ashes in the bottom was to one side and a huge pile of bones lay halfway down the slope.

  “Hello,” Gwin called. “Anyone here?”

  There was no answer.

  She stepped closer to the cave opening and called again. No reply. Gwin walked up to the opening and peered inside but because of the sun all she could see was darkness.

  “I’m going further in,” Gwin said to Sari. “You stay here and watch for them.”

  “Okay,” Sari glanced around her just to assure herself they weren’t coming along the path.

  Inside, Gwen waited until her eyes adjusted to the dim light. She saw many small hearths with wood beside them and ashes in them. There were animal skins spread out on the floor and various tools, some similar to the one she’d seen in the inhabitant’s hand, leaned against the wall. Baskets woven from grass or carved from wood sat near the hearths. Long bones shaped as spoons were in the baskets. The cave didn’t look abandoned. It looked as if the inhabitants had left it but expected to return.

  Gwin didn’t touch anything, just quickly looked around and left. She found Sari staring down at the valley, her hand shielding her eyes from the sun. She followed Sari’s gaze.

  Far in the valley, she could see figures with long spears in their hands chasing one of the herd of animals. As she watched, one of the people threw his spear and hit the animal in the side. The animal stumbled and that was enough for the other figures to catch up and stab it with their spears. When that animal was dead, others hurried over and began to remove the hide. The hunters headed after the herd again.

  The skinners were fast. They had the hide off and the animal gutted in minutes. Another group began to cut up the meat as soon as they were finished.

  “They’re hunting for food,” Sari said. “That’s why the place is empty.”

  A cool, brisk wind came up and another cloud moved in front of the sun. Gwin looked up. There was a bank of dark clouds overhead.

  “We’d better get back,” she said.

  As they hurried along the slope, rain began to fall in large drops. Once over the crest they were facing into the wind and rain and soon they were soaking wet. As they crossed the first meadow the rain changed to icy pellets that stung when it hit. Walking fast kept them warm and when they reached the trees they were sheltered somewhat from the wind and rain.

  They hated to leave the trees to cross the next meadow but there was no choice. They alternated between a fast walk and a jog to the bu
sh beyond. Once in shelter again they had to stop to rest. Neither was used to the fast pace. When they’d gotten their breath back they headed through the trees to the edge. One more meadow and they would be in the bush beside the village. They were halfway across it when the wind died down and the hard pellets turned to white flakes. In spite of the cold and wet they had to stop and stare at the flakes.

  “What are those?” Gwin asked.

  “There used to be something like this on our planet called snow,” Sari answered in amazement. “I’ve read about this in our archives at home. Didn’t you see this when you were here before?”

  “No. Everything was like when we first came.” Gwin held out her hand and one landed in her palm. It stayed there a second then disappeared leaving a tiny drop of water.

  “Look at this.” Sari blew her breath out in a white stream.

  Gwin did the same. “It looks like smoke.”

  “But I don’t smoke,” Sari said. “So where is it coming from?”

  “Maybe it has something to do with the cold and this snow.”

  “Let’s get going before we freeze,” Sari said.

  As they neared the village they saw where the ground was white with accumulated flakes. The white seemed to offset the growing darkness.

  “I wish I could take you on the Federer,” Sari said when they parted. “But the guards won’t let me.”

  “I know,” Gwin said shivering. “I’ll be okay.”

  “Hopefully this storm won’t last as long as the last one.”

  Gwin nodded and waved. She wanted to get under her blanket although she knew it wouldn’t be much good against the cold. None of the buildings had gotten a roof yet and the canvas hadn’t been replaced. Entering her dormitory did nothing to stop the cold and the snow. She saw fires burning inside and the women crowding around them. The flakes were falling on the prisoners just as the rain had in the previous storm. When she reached her bed her blanket was missing. She looked around until she saw one woman with two and she grabbed hers back. She shook the snow off it, wrapped it around her and went to one of the fires. Being at the back of the circle did little good, though. There was no warmth to feel.