The second effigy faced the first statue and stood much taller than the other. It wasn’t bipedal. The monstrous representation looked enraged. Its appearance reminded Da’Mira of a lizard. From its long snout that formed its mouth, with razor sharp incisors, right down to its long tail that curled up behind its large body. The creature’s four arms stretched outward as if preparing to attack the other sculpture.
“Why would someone put these here?” Da’Mira asked. She felt uneasy looking at both of the images and turned her light to the floor.
“These could be religious effigies. We could be in a church or holy sanctuary.”
“But you don’t know.”
Charles laughed and said with a superior educated tone, “Archeology isn’t an exact science. But I’ve seen enough to believe my hypothesis is sound.”
Da’Mira flashed her light further into the chamber. How big is this place?”
“Let’s see how far it goes,” Charles replied. “Those with flashlights pair up with someone who hasn’t got one and stay together. We don’t know what we will find here – so be ready for anything.”
Da’Mira focused her light ahead. An icy finger slid up her back giving her a cold chill. She puckered her lips, followed by a deep apprehensive breath. Her body became rigid and she said nervously, “What is this place?”
“That’s what we hope to find out,” Charles replied struggling with one of the portable lights. He didn’t see Da’Mira’s defensive posture.
When My Own approached, Da’Mira jumped. “Are you all right?” the Highlander girl asked in her soft Scottish accent.
A pit formed in Da’Mira’s stomach and her mouth caked dry. Before she could answer a bright ethereal light beamed out of the darkness, then another and another and another. Dozens of isolated lights dotted the chamber and looked like stars against the night sky. More and more pin pricks came from nowhere. Loud whispers filled the room.
“Quiet everyone,” Charles ordered and stepped forward. One of the light beams flickered onto his chest and hovered there – he froze in his spot. It moved upward to his forehead and then moved back down the length of his body.
“Professor?” My Own called out concerned and charged forward.
Charles threw his hand out, shouted, “Keep back – all of you! I think it’s scanning me.”
As if on cue the other lights in the chamber found contact with others in the expedition party.
“Everyone stand still, and allow the light to scan you,” Charles said between shallow breaths.
A light hit Da’Mira and swooped over her body and centralized on her neck. She slipped her duffle bag off her back and let it fall to the floor. Another light scanned over her, followed by another and within seconds all the lights in the room focused on her.
“Da’Mira!” Gregaor called out.
Charles swirled around. “No one touch her!” he ordered.
“What… what are they doing?” Da’Mira asked.
“They seem to be fascinated with you.”
“Really, professor… I would have never guessed.” Da’Mira felt a tug at her neck as the Z necklace she wore wrenched free from under her coat. It jerked forward like a giant magnet had taken it in its invisible clutches. The chain pulled out to its furthest extent.
“Where did you get that, Milady?” Charles asked and took a step forward. When he reached out to touch the pendent one of the light beams became enraged and forcefully pushed him back. “Uh – it didn’t like that.”
With all the lights in the room engulfing Da’Mira she felt a warm sensation caress her body. The light lifted her off the floor.
Gregaor reached out for her, a light attacked him too, pushing him to the floor with an incredible force.
“Gregaor – Charles?” Da’Mira called.
“Someone do something!” My Own shouted.
Da’Mira hung suspended in midair. She tried not to struggle. Then the dark chamber flashed on in a sundry of colors and sounds. Bright lights blinded her, but her eyes adjusted.
The walls became alive with images of planets – star charts – alien life forms she couldn’t explain. “What is happening?” Da’Mira yelled – she was frightened, more frightened than she’d ever been. Further pictographs shimmered across the wall. Da’Mira saw Earth and a timeline of the planet unfolded before her, depicting its history in vivid detail.
A thunderous boom echoed throughout the lit chamber. Da’Mira screamed – the sound sliced through her head. A voice bellowed throughout the room, speaking in an alien language unfamiliar to her. Its strange words sounded eloquent but made little sense. Then the words changed into different dialects over and over. Finally, the voice spoke in a language that Da’Mira understood.
I AM ORIGIN>
The North America Wasteland
The Tribe of the Free
May 6, 2442
For fourteen days Colin McGregor concentrated on healing, despite everything that had happened to him in the last month, that wasn’t an easy thing to do. The whirlwind of events felt like something pushed him down a certain path. From his sister’s abduction, to the death of his friend Shane Gibson, to the shuttle crash that brought him to the North America wasteland. It all seemed guided. When he realized that he held no control over the direction he’d gone, Colin gave in and rest. He needed to sleep and allow his body to recuperate. The fight with the scavengers reminded him, although relatively young, he’d abused his body over the years.
In spite of the crash, Colin faced the realization he might never find his sister. Avery Lexor had been lying to him all along and now he faced a future where his best friend was dead, and his sister gone forever.
In the two and half weeks of his recovery he learned what he could about the Tribe of the Free, Avara and her daughter. Though Avara seemed reluctant at first, she talked about her daughter, and her deceased husband Chapel.
Avara brought Colin his dinner every evening, usually some kind of soup, more broth than vegetables and no meat. Colin never complained, though it lacked flavor, it filled his empty stomach. He had seen little of the tribe, but he could tell by the food Avara served that the people were undernourished.
Veranda would sometimes come along with her mother. The young girl reminded Colin of his sister and he didn’t mind telling the child of Scotland or singing her a song that Colin sang to his sister when she was young. Veranda laughed, would sing a song back to him. Sometimes, Three blind Mice, or The Baa black sheep and Colin would laugh before Veranda scurried up into her bed in the upstairs loft.
Avara would tell more grown-up stories to Colin, about the scavengers – the nomads that lived in the black foothills. She called them mutants, but Colin found no discrepancies in the three scavengers he encountered, they looked healthy for the most part. Mostly because the scavengers sent raiding parties down into the flatlands to steal what the tribe grew.
Colin learned the black hills held many mysteries, besides the scavengers, Avara told him that the old Earth government once had a base tucked away in the hills. At night a strange green glow emanated in the distance, near the foothills. What information Avara supplied was scarce. Colin’s curiosity intrigued.
After his self-imposed respite, Colin met the new day with a warm juvenescent renewal. He prepared himself for a long walk into the black foothills, his mind filled with the riches and treasures he might find.
“You can’t be serious,” Avara exclaimed when she found out Colin’s plan.
“Look, this isn’t just to satisfy my curiosity, it might help out your tribe.”
“How do you come to that conclusion?” Avara asked.
“The scavengers have been raiding your village for a long time. If I can find them and parlay with their leader I might stop them from attacking you,” Colin said. His unconvincing reply seemed to dissuade even him.
Avara winced and said angrily, “We know where they are. Chapel thought the same way and he ended up dead!”
Colin didn’t hav
e the heart to tell Avara that he just wanted to see what wonders lay beyond the black hills. The old Earth government might have left behind something he could use to recover his sister. And if… if it were possible he’d talk with the scavengers. “I’m not your husband.”
“You say that as if you’re better than him.”
Again, Colin held his tongue even if he wanted to tell Avara that he was alive, and Chapel wasn’t. “I won’t be gone for more than two or three days.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I’ve always been a free spirit. It’s the reason I always locked horns with my clan chieftain. He thought it better if I stayed with the clan instead of looking for danger. Where I replied I never looked for danger, it always seemed to find me.”
Avara crossed her arms in front of her. She narrowed her honey eyes and said. “I’m going with you.”
“What – why?” Colin asked stunned. Why couldn’t he just have been honest? Why did he give a damn what Avara thought of him? He was a scavenger of sorts too, the riches of the complex foremost on his mind.
“If you find the leader of the scavengers you don’t have a right to speak for the tribe, I do. As daughter of the tribal leader I have more of a right than you.”
Colin stared at Avara, he could tell by the hardened features that her mind was made up. Although part of him didn’t want her to go along, another part looked forward to the company. He held up his weatherworn hands, “All right… under one condition.”
“Name it.”
“If I say run – you’ll run as fast as you can away from any danger I might be in.”
Avara didn’t take time to think, she answered with a glib smile and said, “Ok… I will.”
Too easy. Colin softened to Avara, though still not thrilled with her going along, her father would be harder to convince.
“Are you both out of your minds?” Norvene said and swung his arms about enraged.
“Father, Colin is going to broker a peace between us and the scavengers shouldn’t one of us go with him?”
“Yes,” Norvene said; his tone sharp. “And that someone should be me.”
“No… I mean… you’re – well you’re… that is –”
“I’m not old!” Norvene exclaimed.
“But you’re not up for the trip, Norvene,” Colin said. “I’m not happy with your daughter going, but I don’t have a kinship to your tribe, she can bring things into a meeting I cannot.”
“So, why are you doing this?”
Colin cleared his throat. Instead of saying he just wanted to explore, wanted to loot and wanted to see what he could find in the black hills he said, “You rescued me. I could have died out there in that ship. This is my repayment to you.”
Colin could tell by the silent reply on Norvene’s face he believed him. But the conflict over his daughter going into the black hills where the scavengers lived didn’t set well with him. He looked at Avara. “What about Veranda? She just lost her father. What if something were to happen to you?”
“And what if I don’t go, father? What kind of future will she have if I don’t?”
“Why now… what’s changed?” Norvene asked, though by his glance at Colin he knew the answer before Avara could say a word.
“We are not warriors. Colin is. He’s already fought and conquered three scavengers. Sooner or later the scavengers will come to find their men and the man who killed them. It would be better to go to them.”
Impressed, Colin added, “I will do my best to protect her.”
Norvene stepped forward and said harshly, “You had better, because if something happens to my daughter, I will leave it to you to explain it to Veranda.”
By late morning Colin and Avara gathered their supplies, some food, and water, warmer clothes for the extreme cooler temperatures common in the hills. Colin refused to discard his kilt but wore a heavy white cotton jersey and a dark knit cap; his long sangria hair poked out from under it. He armed himself with the plasma rifle he took off one of the defeated scavengers and strapped the generational sword to his back.
Avara wore a dark pair of denim pants, and an old hooded chesterfield coat filled with patchwork and laced up leather boots. They started out across the barren waste that surrounded the tribe’s green valley.
Avara insisted they wear respirators, something Colin protested. In Scotland the air wasn’t as dirty and although he frowned on their use, he understood them.
Veranda cried while standing with her grandfather and Avara didn’t turn back... tears pooled in her eyes.
“You don’t have to go,” Colin reminded her. Avara didn’t reply – he liked her stubbornness – it reminded Colin of him.
After a long silence Avara said, “She’ll understand when she gets older why I’ve done this. And hopefully by my actions she’ll get a chance to get older.”
Colin understood Avara’s point. Though he wondered how long it would be before those on Earth would be as extinct as a common fowl or horse. The Earth was nearer to death every year. Though in Scotland respirators weren’t yet needed, Colin knew it was a matter of time. How much time do we have left? He wondered, realizing without a doubt that in his lifetime that Earth would no longer be a viable biosphere for any life.
Avara finally stopped and turned around. She found Veranda standing with Norvene and she waved toward her. Then, Avara’s eyes were attracted to a glare on a distant hilltop. “Who’s that?”
Colin turned back. “What?”
Avara pointed. “There… for a minute I thought I saw someone watching from that hilltop, I don’t think it was a scavenger though.”
Colin watched the hilltop for a few moments to make sure it wasn’t a scavenger shadowing their journey. “No… I don’t see anyone. It must have been a trick of the light. Could you make anything out about them?”
“I thought it was a woman… you’re right it must have been a trick of the light.”
With one last look, Colin led them out of the wasteland, keeping a close eye behind them just to make sure they weren’t being followed.
To conserve air Colin and Avara spoke when necessary. They stopped every mile to rest and share a canteen of water. It made the journey slow and arduous, but Colin thought it wise to go slow, not take any unnecessary chances. Though he said nothing to Avara, his wounds were still tender, and their soreness made his walk harder with each step.
At late afternoon the sun set on the horizon when they arrived at a channel cut through a chasm between two large hilltops. The mountainous region became rocky and made passing through the stone corridor difficult. Soon the canal smoothed out and became level. The remains of a road covered by centuries of debris and neglect lay before them like a long winding snake.
“Do we keep going?” Avara asked between deep breaths.
“It’s starting to get interesting,” Colin replied elated. Vegetation grew up over the old blacktop – the planet reclaiming itself.
The deep cracks in the century old asphalt ran through the aged road like spider webs, causing fractures that left huge chunks of ground missing, separating the road by several feet.
“How deep do you think it goes down?” Avara asked peering down into the black pit separating the road.
Colin joined her at the edge and looked down. “I don’t think I want to find out – do you? I mean it could be several feet, or several hundred feet.” He jumped over first and reached out for Avara. Some of the breaks in the ground parted by one or two feet while others were much further; some were several feet apart. Colin hoped he didn’t find the road impassable further on. This forgotten road had been their best lead since they entered the black hills.
“I’m not sure I can make this one,” Avara said after Colin ran and jumped five feet across a gap.
Colin removed a climbing rope from his shoulder and tied it around his waist. He tossed the other end to Avara. “Tie the other end around you – if you slip and don’t make it I can pull you up.”
Avara secured the rope snug around her waist, shaking nervously, she had a hard time tying a knot. With a rattle in her voice, she asked, “You won’t let me fall?”
“You’ll be safe. Trust me,” Colin replied and motioned for her to take the leap. He glanced at the sky and how dark it had gotten in such a short amount of time. He heard loose rock fall from a cliff above them, he looked up. Shadows covered the mountain range above them, but for an instance he saw movement. “We need to go,” he urged.
Avara stepped back as far as the rope allowed her and took a running start. She leapt off the edge that separated the two sides. She reached out for Colin and he caught her in his arms. Avara lost her footing, and she fell backwards but Colin kept a hold of her, pulling her to safety. Giggling with relief, Avara held tight onto Colin – she buried her head in his chest.
The evening sky turned gray making it difficult to see very far. He pulled Avara away from the edge and untied the rope around her. “Let’s keep going.”
Avara followed Colin’s eyes as he peered into the dusk and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I think we’re being followed,” Colin replied in a hushed breath.
“It will be dark soon, if we keep moving we won’t be able to find our way.”
“We still have a few more minutes of light left. Let’s see what’s around the bend in the road. If we find nothing we will settle down for the night.”
“And do what – wait to be murdered in our sleep?”
Colin ignored Avara. He was too busy looking for the scavengers. Sooner or later they would show themselves. He gripped his plasma rifle and ushered Avara along hoping they would give their pursuer the slip – but he found that unlikely since they knew the area better than he.
When they turned the bend in the road Colin stumbled and Avara gasped. Before them they found the remains of a manmade tunnel cut into the side of the mountain. An old rusted fence and gate lay broken before the entrance. Patches of dried brown weeds grew out of the asphalt. Remnants of animal feces laid piled about and looked fresh. Colin scanned for wild animals; he saw no signs but kept his gun at the ready.
Origin Expedition Page 34