by Jen Minkman
The Deep
Jen Minkman
© 2014 by Jen Minkman Smashwords Edition
Cover design by Jen Minkman
This book is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without the prior permission of the author.
World Across The Waters
1 – Leia
The world is never-ending.
I never realized just how much space there is – how far and wide the water around our island stretches out. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I may have believed that a second Wall ran around Tresco, containing the infinite waters so we wouldn’t all wash over the edge and plummet down into the deep.
But that Wall isn’t there. We sail on, and on, day and night, and there are no boundaries keeping us in, no border to stop us from going on. Nor is there a deep abyss to swallow us up. There is just the horizon, ever coming closer and yet remaining unchanged. And at night, there are bright, twinkling stars that never seem to move despite the Explorer’s ongoing journey.
“Walt,” I whisper, on the third night we are on deck together. “You think we’ll ever get somewhere? It’s like we’re standing still.”
Walt shakes his head, smiling down on me. “No,” he replies. “For the first time in years we are actually moving. On our way somewhere. The endless wait is over.”
I smile back at him. “You sound so poetic.”
“Yeah, I can be romantic.” Walt pulls me in for a hug. “Or am I bragging too much if I say that?”
“No, you’re not.” It’s strange, but the further we sail away from the island, the more relaxed Walt is getting. It’s as if he no longer needs to prove anything – and he doesn’t, in fact. To put it bluntly, his people were right, and mine weren’t. Still, people on both sides of the Wall have lost their faith, though it may have struck us harder. In Newexter, the tension was mounting when I left. Youngsters who’d left their parental houses years ago were suddenly forced to move back in, and the change wasn’t a success in all cases. At least Colin didn’t have to deal with that problem because he was going to get a house with Ami anyway. Besides, he wouldn’t have minded living with our mother for a while longer. He was so happy to see her. Now that our old rules no longer apply, he can visit her every day.
As for me – I don’t know where I will live once I come back. East and west are both viable options. Maybe I can build a house near the passageway where the Scilly Way cuts through the Wall, and become a gatekeeper. Traffic between Hope Harbor and Newexter is unrestricted, but it can’t hurt to keep an eye on things, I suppose.
“What are you thinking of?” Walt whispers above my head.
“About my future on Tresco,” I reply.
“You want to return?”
“Yes, of course.” I give him a sideways glance. “Don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do. I want to rebuild our city. After all, I’ll be old enough to become the next Bookkeeper soon.” He sighs. “But I have to admit, it’s kind of nice to be a nobody for a while.”
Both Fools and Unbelievers are traveling on the Explorer, and they get along quite well. It’s not surprising, because these are our adventurers. The people who usually stand back and see which way the wind blows have decided to stay at home. “Well, people on board still look up at you,” I say. “You just don’t find it that important anymore.”
Walt slowly nods. “I guess. The only thing I’m worried about these days is whether you like me enough.”
I smile at him cheekily. “Of course I like you enough.”
Walt laughs a little. “Then show me,” he says softly.
“Then come over here,” I challenge him.
He dips his head and kisses me gently on the mouth while his hands slide down from my back to my waist, roaming a little bit lower, even. Slowly, my cheeks heat up as he gingerly opens my lips with his tongue to caress mine. In a flash I think back to that first kiss we shared – in the graveyard, of all places. My entire body thrums with need under his touch. Everything about this situation is new, and yet, my body knows exactly what it’s supposed to do, and what it wants.
I slip my hands around his neck and tangle my fingers into his curly hair. Walt moans almost inaudibly when I crush my upper body against his to get even closer. “Leia,” he says hoarsely. “You want to stay over?”
Walt has his own cabin. Well, not entirely – he shares it with his dad, but William is usually busy well into the night, helping Captain Tom and Tony to keep the ship on course.
“I don’t know,” I say, suddenly shy.
In the ensuing silence, my breathing is just as fast as his. “Sorry,” he murmurs, stepping back and dropping his hands to his sides. He lets out a nervous chuckle. “I, uhm, got carried away.”
“No worries.” I run a hand through my hair. “Me too.” Actually, I’m scared of not being able to stop at all once it’s just the two of us. Now that I got rid of the dictator in his manor, exposed the lies about our island and safeguarded the well-being of my family, I feel the irresistible urge to enjoy life. And Walt certainly adds to my enjoyment of life – that much is clear.
“Why don’t I stay with you until you fall asleep?” he suggests. I’m in one of the female dorms below deck for the girls from ‘my’ side of the island. The girls from the manor are so used to being separated from the boys until they make a choice and get married that they’d have a hard time sleeping in one room with male members of our group. Most of them are happy about the all-female sleeping room. Not Padma, though, who has her sleeping mat next to mine. She would have loved to get in touch with boys from the western part of the island, because she’s about as curious as my friend Mara.
“Yes, I’d love that.” I take his hand and kiss his cheek. I’m so glad Walt is with me. Even though I haven’t known him for very long, we’ve been through so much that it feels like we’ve been friends for more than just a few days.
We descend the stairs to the lower deck. The soft rocking movement of the ship on the waves made me jolt awake continuously during my first night on board, but the second night was better. And now I’m even enjoying the feeling of being rocked to sleep as Walt lies next to me and tells me stories from his childhood.
“Why don’t you tell me that story about the Unbelievers again?” I say, stretching out on my mat. Padma is already asleep, so I have to keep my voice down. “Just how long were our talons exactly?”
Walt chuckles, embarrassment crossing his face. “Hey, I didn’t believe those stories anymore by the time I climbed over the Wall, okay?” he replies defensively, taking my hand and rubbing the back of my hand before continuing. “The priests said it was all true, of course. They even had a book full of fables about a man who could walk on water and claimed he was sent by the gods. According to Praed the First, he was an Unbeliever in disguise whose goal it was to tempt us to follow him, into the water, so we’d drown before Annabel came for us.” Walt’s mouth pulls up in a bitter smile. “His name was Jesse, and the legend told us he had chopped off his talons and swapped his black cloak for a white one so we wouldn’t recognize him for what he was. Crazy, right?”
“Pretty crazy, yeah,” I reply with a teasing smile. “Just the kind of tale I’d expect from a Fool.”
“Ha-ha.” He tickles me in the side, and I bite my lip to stop myself from laughing out loud. “Stop,” I giggle anxiously. “We’ll wake Padma.”
Slowly, Walt releases me and gives me a contemplative look. “I still can’t believe you managed to survive without parents from the age of ten,” he mumbles. “That must have been tough.”
“It was okay,” I whisper. “I had Colin, and Mara.”
We’d supported each
other, lending each other a little bit of Force whenever the other hadn’t been able to go on. In fact, we three had figured out years ago that collaboration made us stronger than anything else. We knew it wasn’t just about seeking out the Force within yourself.
Colin had always known that the best. He had always been there for me, despite the fact he’d never entirely forgiven me for prepping him for life in the manor house so brutally. After we’d left Newexter, I hadn’t allowed myself to get emotional. I had scolded him during those lonely nights full of tears he shed for our missing father and mother. I knew we’d never be able to go back, and the sooner my half-hour younger brother would get used to the idea, the better.
It wasn’t until later that our roles were reversed. When Colin seemed to have grown inches overnight, turning into a young man with broad shoulders and muscular arms, almost as strong as Saul, Cal, and Max. He’d been my protector then. And Mara had known all my secrets, except for my biggest fear – expecting too much of life and being disappointed.
All of a sudden, I miss my brother and my best friend terribly. I understand very well why they didn’t come along – they wanted to build a life at home before venturing out. Colin and Ami had started to build a small house by the time I left Newexter, and Mara had moved in with Andy and his parents to get used to living together. “You can tell me everything about Cornwall,” she’d said. “And once we have weekly ships sailing there, I want to take Andy and have a look around.”
“Once the coast is clear, Colin and Mara can sail to Penzance as well,” Walt says quietly, apparently guessing my thoughts.
“Why wouldn’t it be safe?” I mumble. “Tony told us that the people in his town live together in peace. And the leader of that other place, Dartmoor, works with them to maintain that peace.”
“I don’t know.” Walt stretches out next to me and pulls me into a warm embrace. “I’ll have to see it before I believe it. People on the mainland may have learned from their ancestors’ mistakes, but I don’t intend to jump into the deep end without keeping my eyes open.”
I kiss his cheek. “I’m happy you’re not such a risk-taker,” I admit softly. “You make me feel safe.”
The rolling movement of the vessel and Walt’s breath against my cheek slowly rock me to sleep.
2 – Leia
The next morning, the entire dorm is in turmoil. Padma kneels down next to my mattress and grabs my shoulder. “We’re here!” she says, a quiver in her voice. “We can see land!”
Holy Luke. Is she serious? I sit up and stumble to my feet while looking around. The other girls and women are huddled together near the stairwell. They all want to head up and catch a first glimpse of the Other Side.
When I get on deck, Walt and his father have joined Tony at the railing near the bow.
“We did it,” Walt says breathlessly, turning toward me. “We’re here. You can see the old buildings of Penzance in the distance.” He pulls me into an enthusiastic embrace and kisses me on the cheek. I stare at the Other Side – a coastline I didn’t dare believe in before. A land I’ve never seen. And the buildings Walt mentioned look so different from what I’m used to. The structures in the harbor are square, gray, and made of stone. But further inland, I also spot beautifully-ornamented houses with swirls along the cornices and walls made of a reddish-brown material. And further still, I see piles of rubble and oddly-shaped ruins. Not much is left of this town. The people who once decided to drop bombs here didn’t care about the beauty of Penzance. Everything had to be destroyed.
And yet, I can’t stop tears of joy from welling up in my eyes when I take in the view. We’ve made it. This is the town where our ancestors sent off their children to offer them a new life.
Tony smiles enthusiastically, a glimmer in his brown eyes. “I’m happy I managed to find my way back,” he remarks. “The old sea map we found in Penzance was destroyed along with our ship. I really had to trust my memory in this case. Henry would have done a better job, I guess. He was a gifted navigator.” For a moment, his face clouds over as he thinks of his friend, dead and buried back on our island.
I put my hand on Tony’s arm. “Thanks for coming to find us,” I say solemnly. “Without you, we never would have had the chance to go on this adventure.”
If Tony and Henry hadn’t washed up on our beach, Walt might not have crossed the Wall and he never would have met me. Without him, I’d still be suffering under Saul’s iron rule – or possibly be married to another ‘left-over’ like me.
The coastline is getting nearer and nearer. I stare at everything with wide, eager eyes, and Walt is equally impressed with our new surroundings. “Mary and Agnes,” he stammers once we are close enough to see the intact buildings of the Penzance harbor from up close. The buildings are so tall. It’s as if the builders put ten regular houses on top of each other to construct these gigantic, towering buildings.
“Why did people want to live so high up?” I ask softly.
“To save space,” Tony replies. “The land used to be overcrowded. But now, all the big cities lie in ruin. Everything was bombed. And the smaller towns and villages succumbed to diseases. All the places that used to be densely populated are uncultivable. Poisoned with radiation.”
“Then how did your ancestors manage to rebuild Bodmin?” Walt asks.
“The old Bodmin is gone.” Tony fixes his gaze on the coast. “Our forefathers built a new city on Bodmin Moor. The moors were barely inhabited before, so the enemy didn’t strike there. The soil is hardly contaminated.”
A few days ago, he told us that there are two large cities in this region – Bodmin in Cornwall, and Dartmoor in Devon. The people in Devon created their capital city by rebuilding an old prison and adding more dwellings to it. Now, Dartmoor is a region with ten thousand inhabitants – an unbelievably high number for a village girl like me. Walt had to explain to me what a prison is. His people have a number of holding cells in Hope Harbor, which they use to lock up people who’ve done something wrong. The more serious the offense, the longer they get locked away. We don’t have anything like that. If the adults of Newexter can’t abide by the community rules, they get expelled. This has hardly ever happened. Everyone on our side of the Wall knows that a life alone, without friends or partner, isn’t really a life at all.
When Captain Tom finally brings the Explorer safely into Penzance Harbor, everyone is standing on deck. We’re quiet – only the captain calls out his orders to the deckhands. For the first time in a long while, a ship is docking at the quay of this shattered town. Seagulls screech as they tear through the blue, empty sky.
“What’s going to happen next?” Walt inquires. He turns toward his father, who’s standing there a bit helplessly. William keeps his eyes fixed on the gangplank that is being extended to the docks – a bridge to a new world we don’t know.
“I have no idea,” he replies.
“You might want to visit the graveyard where your ancestors were buried,” Tony gently suggests.
“Yes.” William nods. “I think I might.”
Slowly, the ship’s passengers pour onto the quayside, looking around awkwardly and curiously at the same time. Tony leads the way to a large, gray building a little ways away from the docks.
“This is the port building where Henry and I found the radio emitting the distress call,” he tells us, raising his voice as much as he can so the people in the back of the group can hear him too. “This is also where we found the ship’s manifest with all the names of the children who boarded the Annabelle.”
We shuffle into the building. Inside, the air is warm and stale. The summer sun pours through the glazed windows. They look like the windows in Hope Harbor – we only had glass in the windows of the manor, and nowhere else. Tucked away in the corner is a sort of desk with buttons and sliders. It reminds me of the device Tony used to play us the message. That must be the radio, then.
“Is that thing still working?” I ask Tony.
He shakes his head. �
�Henry disconnected most of the solar panels hooked up to that VHF radio and mounted them on an old bus, so we could drive back to Bodmin once we got back to Penzance. He used the lightweight panels to power up the engine of the old boat we used to sail to Tresco.”
“Ah.” I have no idea what he just said.
In the meantime, Walt has walked over to a table full of old books. His hands caress the covers reverently. “Leia,” he calls out to me. “Come and have a look. Here’s the diary that belonged to Luke’s dad.”
I still have to get used to the fact that Luke’s father is not Dark Father – he was a nice, normal guy, trying to save his son by broadcasting one final message. A few days ago, I read through the list of names in the ship’s manifest together with Walt, and that’s how we found out that the boy who once wrote our Book was called Lucas Walker. Maybe that’s why he felt inspired to take on the name of his hero, Luke Skywalker, when he started a new life.
When I open the diary and stare at the last page, I can’t help but shed a few tears. The words muddle together and swim away. If only Lucas had known how much his father loved him. If only we had known. I have to bring this book and show it to the people in Newexter so they can see with their own eyes that parents are not unreliable – that Luke should never have turned his back on his father.
“Can I keep this?” I ask Tony hesitantly.
“Of course,” he says. “That diary should be your new Book.”
I slip the notebook into the pocket of my pants. It’s not big – even smaller than our old Book with Luke and Leia on the front cover – but its contents mean the world to me.
Walt puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me along to go outside, leaving the stifling heat of the port building behind. We end up in the graveyard. Many of the grave markers here are made of wood and have a strange shape – two beams crossing each other. No idea what it means. Our graves are always marked with flat, square tombstones. Silently, we follow William on his way down the path, reading the names scribbled on the markers. Some of them sound familiar. There’s a Toja, a Walter, a Tom. But we also encounter names I have never seen before – Tamsyn, George, Vincent.