Burn

by G E Hathaway

  “I don’t mean that,” he said quickly, “I just want to understand you a little bit more.”

  She sat back in her chair and considered him for a long moment. He looked back. She wore a wide-necked graphic T-shirt that hung off one shoulder. With her hair tied in a knot on top of her head, her neck seemed particularly slender and long. Her skin was dewy and smooth from the damp monsoon air.

  “I’ll go to California when the rest of you can go to too,” she said.

  “What if we don’t want to go to California?”

  She scowled. “You sound just like Noah.”

  He smiled despite himself. “Noah has had a sudden surge of common sense. Might not last very long.”

  “Common sense is leaving the desert. There’s nothing here for us anymore, we have to leave to find more resources.”

  He picked up a can of black beans and snapped off the lid. He picked up a spoon. “No one knows what happened outside of Tucson. People didn’t come back. If we go, we might find something worse than if we just stayed here.”

  “If we stay here, we’ll die anyway.”

  Liam scooped a spoonful of cold beans in his mouth. He spoke around the food. “Hopefully it won’t have to get that far. Noah’s getting close to a breakthrough.”

  “What kind? What has he been doing?” Her eyes darted in the direction of Noah’s closed bedroom door.

  Liam never truly understood what Noah worked on, but he had seen what he’d done to generate power around the Barrio Historico and he knew that his roommate could restore the Grid if given enough resources and time.

  At least he hoped.

  “He’s going to restore the Grid,” he said. “If this sun god doesn’t kill us all first.”

  * * *

  Noah made a point to avoid Ellie, coming out to speak with Liam only when he was sure Ellie wasn’t around. But he couldn’t avoid her completely.

  “He spoke to me today,” she told Liam during one of their errands. Liam wanted to fix a leak in the upstairs master bedroom window, so they visited the closest Home Depot. The store was well-stocked with DIY construction materials, but the garden section was long dead to Ellie’s chagrin.

  Liam plucked a plastic pipe from the shelf and waved it through the air, testing its weight. He had lost his baton during the exodus and was always casually searching for a replacement. “What did he say?”

  “He asked me where the trash bags were. I told him, and he took one into his room. That was it. I think he was cleaning.”

  “That’s good,” Liam said.

  “Yeah.” She didn’t say anymore, but he could tell she wanted to.

  On the sixth night, after Ellie disappeared in her room, Liam knocked tentatively on Noah’s door. It opened, revealing a candle-lit mess of dismantled machines and computers. Noah stood in the doorway.

  “Can I come in?” Liam asked.

  “Sure.”

  Liam closed the door and looked around the room.. It was messier than he expected. Noah had managed to disassemble an entire refrigerator from the garage, its pieces lying scattered against the back wall. “When are you going to come out of hiding?”

  “I’m not hiding.”

  “You don’t have to bullshit me.”

  Noah stood with his hands in his pockets, and Liam looked at him closely. Even in the dim light, he could see the the dark circles under his eyes.

  “Are you okay?”

  Noah didn’t try to deny it. “I think I’m afraid.”

  “Why?”

  Noah swallowed hard, his adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “I was doing just fine and now that she’s here…”

  “What happened?”

  “It’s just... I wanted to kill her.” He flinched. “In the cave, I mean. I didn’t want to, the cave messed with my mind- with both our minds. I don’t like where it took me.” He blinked and shook his head as if trying to shake the memory away. “I wanted to hurt her and I didn’t like feeling that way. I know they weren’t my thoughts, but what if they come back?”

  They stood in silence. Noah sniffed and wiped his nose. He suddenly looked very young. Scared.

  “I know you,” Liam said. “I know you’re not that kind of person. Do you feel that way now? Anytime you pass her in the hall do you have that...urge?”

  “No,” Noah said quickly, slightly offended.

  “Okay. That’s good.”

  Noah chewed his lip. “Yeah,” he said reluctantly.

  “We don’t need to worry about the Darkness anymore, we’re working with Talisa now.”

  Noah snorted.

  “Okay, how about this.” Liam straightened up and stood in front of him. “If ever you are worried about how you feel, give me a signal. Something that tells me that you need my help. That you’re in trouble.”

  Noah thought carefully. Aside from their work in the city, they didn’t share a whole lot in common. From his best guess, they came from different worlds before the Fall. Noah was quiet and focused on his computers. Liam was social and enjoyed meeting people. They may never have met and become friends if it hadn’t been for their circumstances.

  Noah raised his right hand in the air to form the vulcan salute from Star Trek, his fingers spread into three prongs.

  Now it was Liam’s turn to snort. “You are such a nerd.”

  “That’s our greatest aspiration, right?” Noah couldn’t help but crack a small smile. “Live long and prosper.”

  Liam punched him playfully in the arm. “Okay, fine,” he said. “I’ll take it. But that’s for your signal to me, don’t expect to see me using it.”

  * * *

  The next morning, Talisa came down from the roof. The rain had stopped. She climbed down the stairs with damp hair and clothes, trailing wet footprints on the hardwood floor. The Darkness amulet still hung around her neck.

  Liam and Ellie were preparing breakfast when she walked in. She looked drained, her skin pale white.

  “Talisa,” Ellie said in surprise. Liam dropped his package of vienna sausages on the floor.

  Noah’s door opened and he burst into the room with unprecedented energy, causing all of them to jump. “Guys, I think I’ve got it!”

  He saw Liam and Ellie’s expressions, then followed their gaze toward Talisa standing in the at the bottom of the stairs. Water pooled at her feet. “Oh shit,” he said.

  “You must see this,” Talisa said, looking between Noah, Liam, and Ellie. “He moves.”

  * * *

  Ellie’s feet slipped on the wet metal rung and her heart leapt as she clung to the sides of the ladder. A hand caught her from behind, holding her so her feet could find purchase against the side of the house.

  “Careful,” Noah said from beneath her.

  Her heart beat rapidly, but she couldn’t tell if it was from the near fall or feeling his touch. He waited until she was steady on the ladder before removing his hand. She scrambled up the rest of the way, swinging her legs over the edge of the roof and pulling herself up to join Liam and Talisa. A moment later, Noah swung over the edge and stood beside her. Together, they all looked southwest.

  The sky was a flat expanse of grey clouds except for a tiny patch far in the distance. Rays of light streaked down through the gap in the clouds, illuminating the dusty air and casting a golden hue.

  “Looks to be about twenty miles away,” Liam guessed. “Just west of Tucson city limits.”

  “Only spot of sunlight in the entire region,” Noah said.

  “He’s there,” Talisa said. “He’s getting stronger. I can’t block out the rays.”

  Ellie felt a chill and she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. “What is he doing there?”

  “Burning,” Talisa said simply.

  “Burning what?”

  Talisa looked back her, and Ellie was surprised to see a tear slide down her cheek. “Humans.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “We have the D
arkness amulet,” Liam said, nodding toward the rock hanging around Talisa’s neck. “Let’s go. Now.”

  Protests erupted behind him as he descended the ladder back into the house.

  “Can we think about this for a minute?” Ellie slipped on the rungs and caught herself before she could fall on top of him.

  “You’re getting involved with things you don’t really understand,” Noah shouted down at him.

  “I understand fine,” Liam insisted. “If this sun god is killing people, I’m not just going to sit back and wait for him to find us.”

  They followed him inside the house and down to the first floor where he began searching for his things. He couldn’t go into a fight empty handed. He needed food, supplies, weapons, anything he could put in the car. Ellie hung back in the kitchen. Noah followed him to the living room.

  “I’m not done here,” Noah said. “I’m really close. I can take my work and convert it to the infrastructure, but I need time.”

  “There’s nothing to work on if you’re burned to a crisp.”

  “We’re all crisps if we don’t bring back the Grid. I saw him, remember? You won’t have time to pull your gun. If the Fall is why he’s here, then bringing the Grid back might get rid of him. You can fight your way, but let me fight my way.”

  Liam sighed heavily. “Okay. Stay and finish then. Ellie’s staying behind too. I don’t think it’s worth risking her life. Is that okay?”

  Noah hesitated, and Liam lowered his voice.

  “Tell her what’s going on. She came a long way to be up here, she deserves to know.”

  * * *

  Ellie surprised Liam by giving him a hug before he left.

  “Please be careful,” she said. “If you don’t come back by tomorrow morning, we’ll come after you.”

  “Don’t do that,” Liam said. “If we don’t come back, go to California.”

  Ellie frowned.

  “And take Noah with you.”

  Talisa waited in the front passenger seat, absentmindedly rolling the amulet in her hands. Liam slid behind the wheel and started the engine. He looked at her. “Are you ready?”

  He could see the fear in her eyes, but she nodded with determination. “I’m ready.”

  Ellie and Noah stood in the front doorway. He looked at them for a long moment, wondering for a split second if leaving Ellie alone with Noah was a wise decision. Then he saw Noah give a small wave and a smile, and he recognized his old roommate. Liam smiled back.

  Then he and the rain goddess were on the road again, heading south toward the expanse of open sky.

  * * *

  “Okay Talisa. Tell me what we’re getting into.”

  Talisa had recovered remarkably well from her time on the roof. Her hair was still wet, but Ellie had persuaded her to change clothes while Liam packed the car. The goddess now sat in the passenger seat wearing a pair of Ellie’s blue jeans and light grey T-shirt. He looked down at her feet to see the moccasins he had given her in Vail. She looked remarkably human, and Liam kept glancing at her to see if she was real.

  “To understand, you just first know our history,” she said. “For millennia, we listened to humans through their prayers. We heard the stories that were passed down for generations. Your ancestors have kept accounts of the many times the sun god performed this purification ritual. The ancient egyptians told the story of Ra and the destruction of mankind. The aztecs told the story of Tlaloc and his rain of fire that destroyed Earth.”

  “Those things actually happened?” Liam said. “I thought those were myths to explain scientific phenomena.”

  “No,” Talisa said sharply. “The stories may have evolved over time, but they were actual events.”

  “And you’ve always fought the sun god?” Noah asked.

  “It has always been that way.”

  “Why?”

  Talisa’s gaze was heavy on him. “Why do you think? I fight the sun god because if I didn’t, there would be no life here. Water feeds this desert. Without it, the plants wither and die. Perhaps you mean to ask the bigger question of why we exist in the first place?”

  “Come to think of it...yeah.”

  “We exist because humans want us to exist. Humans wanted to think there were beings greater than yourselves, governing nature from somewhere above. Humans are a submissive species, forever looking for things to worship. They worship more dominant humans, and they created stories of superior beings out of desperation to explain death, sickness, and famine. An idea is very powerful, no matter how far-fetched you may think it is. An idea can destroy cities, wipe out entire races. Start a reformation. You may not personally believe in God or in any higher power, but you respect the forces of nature and therefore cannot reject the powers we have over you.”

  Liam’s hands were shaking, and he gripped tightly onto the steering wheel. “So you exist because early humans explained away natural phenomena by creating the idea of you?”

  “Ideas are powerful.”

  “Then why are both of you here now? I’ve never seen either of you before.”

  Talisa looked nervous. “Darkness spoke of the Grid. Something happened.”

  Liam nodded. “Yes. It fell about two years ago. Did the sun god have something to do with it? Made us defensive against the forces of nature?”

  Talisa didn’t answer, but her expression was answer enough. If the sun god was capable of destroying the Grid, what chance did they have of restoring it?

  “What is it like for you?” Liam asked.

  “How do you mean?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know...is it weird not being a...cloud? A breeze?” He stammered. “I’m sorry, I guess I don’t really know what you-”

  “I feel like I’ve woken up from a deep sleep,” she answered. “I do remember things from my past forms. The mayans called me as Chaac or Yopaat, the aztecs knew me as Ehecatl. I have been a male, I have been a monster. Now, I am a woman.”

  “As a woman, do you feel things the same way humans do? Do you feel anger, jealousy...love?”

  She looked at him, unblinking. “I nourish all life, I love all things.”

  Liam wondered if she could read his thoughts. “What’s stopping you from going back to the way you once were? Go back in the sky?”

  “I don’t know. Something happened to all of us. To the sun god, to Coyote. Even to Darkness. I am still new to this body. Perhaps I can go back, but I don’t know how.”

  Liam nodded. “Then I guess the Darkness amulet is all we’ve got.”

  He turned onto Interstate 19 for ten miles and then onto a small two-lane road, tracking southwest until they came across an old spanish-style mission. It was easy to spot. The place glowed, sunlight flooding the area around the mission by a quarter-mile radius. He looked skyward. The light rays made a perfect circle out of the storm.

  “How is he doing that?” he asked. He parked the car just outside of the sunlight, keeping well in the shadows of the opposing storm.

  “He’s getting more powerful.” She kept her hand tightly closed over the Darkness amulet still hanging around her neck. “He’s found followers. Get closer, he’s in there.”

  He obeyed, driving the car slowly forward until they were bathed in light. He suddenly felt hot and couldn’t tell if it was because of the sun or because he was nervous. He wiped sweat from his brow and kept driving, stopping at the front gate. The wooden doors were closed. He grabbed his gun and started to climb out of the car.

  Talisa grabbed his arm. “Wait,” she said. “You can’t go in there, he’ll take you next.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You won’t want to see what’s in there.”

  “But you can’t go in there alone.”

  “I have the amulet now.”

  “I came to help you.”

  She shook her head adamantly. “No, he’ll kill you-”

  The air around them suddenly started to move. Liam wa
tched in amazement as clouds of brown dust lifted from the surrounding desert, swirling in a steady circle on the edge of the sunlight. The car rocked.

  “Tell me this is you,” Liam yelled over the roaring wind.

  Talisa shook her head.

  He waited for the sandstorm to consume them, but it didn’t. It rotated in a solid brown wall, blocking the storm clouds from view. Tiny particles of sand sparkled in the light.

  “He’s trapping us,” Liam realized.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Liam and Talisa had barely disappeared down the street when Noah abruptly turned and vanished inside the house.

  Ellie closed the front door and followed him down the hallway, stepping over piles of laundry and stray wires that had slowly accumulated during her stay.

  “Okay. What’s going on with you?” she demanded.

  He didn’t turn around. He opened his bedroom door and went inside, but to his credit, he didn’t close it in her face. She stood in the doorway.

  He had his laptop open on the bed and his Gridlight in pieces on the floor surrounded by dismantled appliance parts. He kept his back to her, rummaging through the pieces. He extracted several microchips. She looked around the room, amazed at the clutter.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Working,” he said simply.

  “Yes, I know that.”

  Noah didn’t answer her, keeping a careful distance across the room.

  So she went to him.

  He looked up in alarm as she picked up pieces of a dismantled microwave sitting on the edge of the bed. She stood inches away from him. “What did it ever do to you?” she joked.

  She could tell he was steeling himself against something, his body stiff.

  “It’s a converter,” he said reluctantly. “I’m trying to recreate the power feed. I was able to do it in Tucson, but the circuitry was too delicate. I’m trying to recreate it here, build it into the house infrastructure and see if I can activate it again.”

  Ellie was impressed. “You can do that?”

  Noah shrugged. “There’s different ways the Grid can be powered up. The trick is getting to a full system revival, including the cloud. Without the cloud, all smart functions will remain down.”