The scout who had quietly joined them touched Dave’s arm and pointed to an easy route down. It was well chosen, since it was off to one side and kept them out of sight until they reached the lower ledge. Al and Dave made the descent as quietly as they could, hoping the gentle breeze would mask the sound of their boots. When they reached the lower ledge, Al put his finger to his lips and crept up behind Pam’s prone form. He lunged forward and, quick as a striking snake, clamped his hand over her mouth.
Despite Al’s advantage of surprise, Pam whipped around with the speed of a cat and hit him on the side of the head with her elbow. The unexpected blow knocked Al over to his side. Free from his grip over her mouth, Pam pulled a knife out of her boot and sprang to her feet ready to strike. A look of relief, joy and then concern replaced determined ferocity as she dropped her knife with a clatter and rushed over to Al, cradling his bruised head in her arms.
“Al, what have I done?” she whispered.
Dave, arms crossed, leaned against the cliff wall and broke into a grin.
When Pam saw Dave, she gently helped Al lean back against the cliff wall, then sprang to give Dave a hug.
“Dave! I was so glad when I heard that you were alive! Help me with Al and then tell me what’s going on,” said Pam.
“Don’t worry about Al, Pam,” said Dave. “It was all his fault. He made the unpardonable mistake of assuming you were a woman.”
Pam bristled until she saw the twinkle in Dave’s eye, and then softened.
“If I’m not a woman, what am I?” she asked sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes.
“You’re somewhere between an Amazon and a tigress. Anyway, I’m sure Al is playing up the injury in order to get you to do the ‘cradling his head’ thing again. Hadn’t you better humor him and get started so that we can get out of here?”
“If you insist,” she said. She turned to go back, changed her mind, came back, and gave Dave a kiss on his cheek. “I’m glad you’re still the same pesky Dave. I actually missed your needling.”
Dave felt himself reddening. Pam smiled in triumph.
She went back to Al while Dave crept back to the ledge and followed the progress below. The stone figure on the wagon had been pulled almost to the citadel gate. Other wagons followed, filled with metal implements that gleamed in the sun and clinked as the procession rolled along. After these came two more heavy wagons in tandem, together they carried a long, worm¬like creature, about eight feet in diameter and about fifty feet long.
An earth borer! I wonder what Hoffstetter plans on doing with that? Whatever it means, Hoffstetter’s plans were laid long ago. There’s no way Hoffstetter—or whoever controls him—put all of this together in the last few days.
Dave had had enough. He crept back from the edge and saw Hanomer waving to them from above. Pam and Al were talking quietly. Dave came over to them, knelt down and spoke softly.
“I think we need to go,” said Dave.
“Go where?” asked Pam.
“To the Hansa,” said Dave.
“Who are the Hansa?”
“Pam, you’re going to be surprised at this,” said Al. “Dave has met some creatures, some friendly creatures, that have helped him and may help get us out of here.”
A look of fear crossed her face. “What kind of creatures?”
“They’re nothing like the ape¬men. They’re waiting for us up there on the rock face,” said Dave, pointing. “They won’t hurt you. They’re smaller than we are and look more like badgers than people—I mean men—but they’re trustworthy and won’t hurt us.”
And so they began to climb, with Dave leading. Al followed, and Pam came up last. When Pam caught her first sight of Hanomer, she was visibly startled. Hanomer approached her slowly and bowed. The gesture was so unmistakably “people” that Pam relaxed and smiled down at the furry creature.
They had little time for introductions or explanations. They rejoined the party and then moved swiftly through the mountain and reached the village by the lake before nightfall. Clouds were moving in from the west, and the sun set in red splendor.
__________
The next morning Dave woke to the sound of a light drizzle on the reeds of the roof. He looked over and saw that Al was still snoring softly, and so he crept out onto the veranda. A mist hung over the lake, and the meadow glistened with raindrops. Higher up the mountainside, the rain had turned to snow, and all the trees were clad in a new coat of white.
It felt good to be home. He went to pour himself some siph. Looking out over the lake, he felt his soul drenched with the tranquility of that place that had given him such joy.
Al came out of the hut, yawning and stretching his arms. “What’s that you’re drinking?” he asked.
“It’s a drink the Hansa make called siph. On days like today I like it warmed up. Here, I’ll get you some.” Dave went over to the fire pit and poured from a clay pot sitting in the embers.
“Hmm, this is good!” said Al, after taking a small sip of the steaming liquid.
Settling back, Al said, “Dave I need to talk to someone.”
Dave looked around mischievously. “I guess I’m the only one around, so I’m going to have to do.”
“I didn’t mean it that way,” said Al. “I usually work things out myself, but I need to get your impartial advice.”
“Sure,” said Dave. “I have to give out my advice freely, since I’ve never found anyone who wanted to pay me for it.”
Al grimaced. “It’s about Pam.”
“So what about Pam?”
“Remember what Stan said to me? He said he and Pam have a son back in Halcyon.”
“Yeah, I remember. I also remember he’d come specifically to stick the knife in after he shafted you.”
“I know that was Stan’s intent, but still I think I need to leave her alone and bow out of the relationship.”
“Hmm. How do you feel about the child?”
“Well, it was quite a shock!”
“I can believe it.”
“I’m not very good at explaining this,” said Al. “Give me a moment to think.”
“I guess I don’t really understand. To me it’s pretty clear that you two are in love. Whatever happened in the past, she’s high quality, so why not go for it? Is it the thought of Stan’s child?”
“Sure, the baby bothers me a lot. It bothers me even more that I had to hear about it from Stan. But you know, the baby—I guess I should say “child”—can’t help who his father is. No, that’s not really what bothers me. How do I tell Pam how I feel?”
Al heard a noise in the brush behind the hut. He looked around but saw nothing. He paused for a moment as he shifted his position. He chose his words carefully. “Should I even be telling her that I love her? Am I not just thinking about myself? Do I have the right?”
“I don’t get it,” said Dave. “Why wouldn’t you have the right to tell her you love her?”
“Well, as I see it,” said Al, “in the earliest part of the Old Testament, no distinction was made between sleeping together and being married, since the two happened together. So it seems to me in the biblical sense Pam and Stan are married, and I should respect that.”
“I don’t know what to say. Your point never occurred to me before,” said Dave. “Why are you even talking about the biblical concept of marriage when Stan doesn’t even give a fig about the Bible? It seems to me if you follow your thinking to its logical conclusion, you’re going to leave Pam stuck with that stinker Stan, and the child without a father. If you don’t care enough for her to accept the responsibility of someone else’s child, then you should tell her now, break it off, and spare her further heartache. If you love her like you say, then you should talk to her and at least tell her how you feel and let her make the decision. After all, what she does or doesn’t do with Stan is her decision, isn’t it?”
At that moment Hanomer appeared on the path.
“Come and join us, friend Hanomer,” Dave called out. “Have
you had breakfast?
“Yes,” said Hanomer, “but come to think of it, I could use another bite to eat.”
Soon they were all eating and talking.
When Hanomer had finished his second breakfast, he pushed back from the table and waited patiently, as if he had something he wanted to say. Dave stopped talking and looked at Hanomer.
“Friend Hanomer,” said Dave, “I can tell this is more than a casual visit. You have something on your mind.”
“Friend Dave,” Hanomer began, “I cannot stop thinking about the terrible deed we saw under the mountain. I think the power under the mountain has broken out of the wall we had set around it. My heart troubles me, and I fear that perhaps even our village may eventually be in danger.”
“Was it not in danger before?” asked Al.
“There was always some danger,” said Hanomer. “Before this, the main danger was the ape-men, as you call them. They only traveled a certain distance from the cavern, and this village is beyond their range. Now that Meglir has occupied a new host, I don’t think anyone is safe anymore. Furthermore, it is probable some men from your company have gone over to him.”
“Are you sure men have gone over to Hoffstetter, to the power under the mountain?” asked Dave.
“While we were looking for you, we watched the citadel carefully. Some men were armed; others were enslaved and shackled. It all happened without a fight. We think that about half of the men have gone over to the man you call Hoffstetter. He will lead them to commit greater and greater crimes on the others in your company, by small degrees, so his hold over the traitors will become more and more secure as their evil deeds increase. It is ever so with evil; men can be beguiled into choosing evil deeds for a seemingly good end, only to find that their hearts have changed so that even the good purpose is lost as time goes by.”
Hanomer put down his siph, stood, and looked at the tunnel at the end of the lake. “I do not think Meglir knows where we are, and he will have to search long to find us. Still, I will strengthen the lookouts so that we will not be surprised if Meglir’s next stroke falls here.
“As for me, my duty is clear: I must take you to the lore masters. They may know what all this means and give council to both you and me.”
“Who are the lore masters?” asked Al.
“We do not write many things down,” said Hanomer, “but we have a guild of people who remember for us many things that have happened in the past. They recite the songs of old and remember the years of sorrow as well as the years of joy. If there is any knowledge among my people about what happened in the cavern, the lore masters will know.”
__________
Pam woke from a sound sleep. She heard the quiet chirping of a robin in an apple tree behind Hanomer’s house, and remembered where she was. She felt more cheerful than she had at any time since they’d started on their voyage up the river. With a light heart, she went to look for Al. She was walking down the path to Dave’s house when she overheard Dave and Al speaking quietly. She stopped.
Should I intrude?
Then she heard Al’s voice clearly.
“Sure, the baby bothers me a lot. It bothers me even more that I had to hear about it from Stan. But you know, the baby—I guess I should say “child”—can’t help who his father is. No, that’s not really what bothers me. How do I tell Pam how I feel?”
Pam choked back a cry as tears welled into her eyes. The moment she had been dreading had come, and Stan had lied to her again and gotten to Al first.
Stumbling back blindly, her thoughts raced through her mind.
He knows about little Thomas! Stan has talked to him and poisoned the well. Now he’s trying to figure out how to tell me he’s really not interested in raising someone else’s child—especially Stan’s after all he’s done.
She ran back to Hanomer’s house just as Hanomer emerged. She did not even greet him as she stifled her sobs, ran to her room and flung herself on the heather mattress. Only then did she give way to her tears, and sobs racked her body.
After a time, she sat up and wiped away her tears. Her disappointment and sense of loss was slowly being replaced by hot anger. I may have been a fool to fall for Stan, but it’s not Thomas’ fault. If Al can’t bring himself to care for Thomas, then I want no part of him. My son doesn’t deserve that!
Similar thoughts flooded through her. She grew angrier with Al and determined that he would not be given the chance to have pity on her. She would put an end to the relationship herself. She would not let Al humiliate her or her son though his condescending kindness.
I don’t know what got into me. How could I put Thomas into the Staycare Center? He should have stayed with me. If he had been with me, I wouldn’t be hurt like this. Al would have stayed away without breaking my heart.
__________
Al and Dave were sitting on Dave’s veranda ready for their journey. They didn’t have much to take along, but what they had was bundled ready to go.
Hanomer and Pam came around the hut. Pam had her few things in a bundle under her arm. Hanomer greeted them, but Pam said nothing. Her face was drawn, and she had streaks down her cheeks.
“Good morning, Pam,” said Al after the silence became awkward.
“Good morning,” said Pam icily.
I wonder what’s eating her?
There wasn’t much more time for conversation as Hanomer led them to the village meadow, where the elders were assembled along with a small company of warriors. Within a few minutes the company began their journey to the lore masters. The drizzle had stopped, but all the leaves were wet, so soon they were all drenched. Their path took them up to the mountains along the route Dave had followed for the rokash hunt. But soon they climbed to a ridge and headed southeast. At this point they were above the tree line, and the rocks were covered in a blanket of snow. They crossed a high boulder-strewn pass and continued along a ridge bordered by snow-clad pines, until late in the afternoon.
All this time Al made few attempts at conversation, and Pam maintained a stony silence. Dave met with better success, and soon Dave and Pam were speaking with laughter and enthusiasm. Al thought the laughter on Pam’s part was forced, but by now he felt so low that he blamed himself. When they finally called a halt for lunch, Pam went off by herself and sat a stone’s throw from the company on a rock outcropping that gave a sweeping view of the trail they had covered.
Seeing Pam alone, Al determined to talk to her. When he approached, he saw Pam’s face grow graver.
“May I sit down?” asked Al.
“Sure,” said Pam without enthusiasm.
Al unwrapped his lunch, offered her some, and then ate in silence for a few moments.
“Pam,” he said at last, “I need to talk. About us.”
“About us?” said Pam. “Actually, Al, I’ve been meaning to talk to you myself.”
“You have?”
“Listen, Al, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about my coming back to rescue you.”
“Wrong idea?”
“Yeah, the wrong idea. You don’t owe me anything. You’re a friend, and I wanted to help. But there’s something else.”
“Something else?”
“I think I’ve misled you, and I’m sorry.”
“Misled me?”
“Yes, you know, given you the impression that there could be something between us, when there can’t.”
“There can’t?”
“No, there can’t. We’re very different people and have very little in common. You don’t value the things that are important to me. Friends value the same things, don’t they?”
“I hadn’t thought about that—”
“Let me finish,” said Pam. “I think it best if we stayed friends but leave it at that. Do you understand?”
“I guess so,” said Al, his head spinning at this turn of events. He felt as if his whole world had caved in.
How could I be so stupid? I thought she cared for me! I guess I just do not know how t
o read women.
Al’s thoughts were interrupted when Hanomer called for the company to resume their journey.
__________
Dave could tell that something was wrong. Al and Pam avoided one another as they continued on their way. Dave tried to talk to Al, but there was little opportunity. Besides, Al was clearly not in the mood to talk.
After entering another shallow valley, they came upon a narrow defile that passed between two high bluffs. The cloud cover was so low fog dogged their steps. The walls of the narrow passage—only a few feet apart—climbed on either side until they were lost in the fog. They descended following a well-worn path that picked its way around fallen boulders. When they finally emerged from the fog, Dave saw a broad valley with a long lake that wound between the mountain peaks for as far as his eye could see. He heard a sound—like the continuous roll of thunder—from a waterfall that plunged into the lake from an unseen river in the mountain.
Hanomer pointed to a cluster of green projections rising from the water. Dave looked with astonishment on a grove of trees growing directly out of the lake.
The party descended the slope rapidly by well-used paths, and soon they were standing in a clearing that bordered the edge of the lake. Evidently they had been expected, since boats for their transport out to the village had already landed, and the tree Hansa sang a song of greeting to their visitors. The Hansa from Hanomer’s village sang a song in reply.
Having finished the formalities of the introduction, the first group entered the boat. Dave, Pam, and Al were honored by being asked to join the first group to cross the lake. The distance to the trees was about 300 yards. As Dave was paddled across, he observed his surroundings. A strong wind was beginning to disperse the clouds high up on the mountainside. About two miles away, the lake ended in a sheer mountain wall that rose a thousand feet to a high mountain valley nestled between even higher peaks above. A river thundered from glaciers that capped the tops of these towering mountains. In that fall, much of the water was blown into a mist that shrouded the end of the lake. Ahead, the trees that rose out of the bottom of the lake looked like a giant sequoia forest that had been flooded. Such a comparison, however, did not do justice to these trees, since they were much larger than the sequoias he had heard about. The trunks at the level of the water were at least 100 feet in diameter and were spaced several hundred feet apart. As Dave approached, he realized that there was more than one kind of tree here. There was a deciduous tree with smooth bark like a beech. Then there was a conifer like a large Douglas fir with rough bark. When branches of these trees met above the water, they joined and fused as if to help one another stand, rather than fight one another for sunlight. Dave was surprised to see that this joining of branches even occurred with trees of different species. Thus, at the lower levels at least, there was a network of branches that stretched over the whole tree island.
The Halcyon Dislocation Page 32