Stone Voice Rising

by C Lee Tocci

  “I’m sorry, Todd.” Marla whispered miserably.

  “What for?” Todd clenched his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering.

  “I shouldn’t have let the little kids go in the pool. If I’d stopped Lilibit, then we all wouldn’t be freezing now.”

  “Don’t be silly, Marla. How were you supposed to know that it would be this cold up here at night? If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine.”

  “I’m not cold!” piped up Nita.

  “Me neither,” said Devon.

  Todd looked over and saw that Devon, Nita and Lilibit had pooled their blankets and were huddled together. Marla picked up her blanket and moved over beside them.

  “Wow, Lilibit!” Marla said as she curled up next to Nita. “You put out more heat than a wood stove!”

  Donny knew a good thing when he saw it. He grabbed his blanket and joined them. Todd looked over at Jeff and caught his eye.

  “No way!” Jeff said. “Too queer!”

  Marla giggled from the pile. “Maybe it’s queer, but it’s warmer!”

  Todd endured the cold for another two minutes before inching his way over to join the cluster. He felt Devon huddle against his back. Next to Devon lay Lilibit. Todd was amazed at how warm it was near her. She really was like a smoldering ember of coal.

  Jeff held out shivering for nearly half an hour before Todd heard him move to lie down on the other side of the cluster. Todd bit his lip to keep from chuckling, but a snort escaped.

  “Faggot,” Jeff retaliated sheepishly.

  “Gaybo,” Todd shot back.

  The others giggled. Donny wanted to join the game.

  “Retard!” he called out gleefully, which made them all laugh for several minutes.

  In the center of this cluster of giggles and warmth, Todd felt Lilibit tremble. Raising his head, he looked over at where she lay, wondering if she might be upset or in pain, but a slight smile dimpled the left side of her face and she looked very peaceful.

  With a soft sigh, she fell fast asleep.

  Chapter Twenty

  The Hunters

  “She was checked out of County Medical on Friday by her social worker. You’ll have to check with Social Services to find out where she was placed.”

  Naircott General Hospital was still in emergency status, earthquake victims lined the hallways. Still, you could see curiosity on the admission clerk’s face. The Director’s glance took in the key information from the file before she pulled it away: the name of the social worker, Ms. Burbank, and her office address.

  It was easy to find the Social Services office building and even easier to break into it. Within minutes, the Director was rifling through Ms. Burbank’s desk. There was no problem finding the file on the child she called Sarah Woo, it was on top of the pile.

  He winced as he paged through the documents. Syxx would not be pleased. For more than a week, Naircott Social Services had been releasing bulletins seeking information about Charon Woo and her supposed daughter, Sarah. The Institute’s Information Analysis Department should have picked these up. Baxter and his accomplices must have buried them. There could be no other explanation.

  The Director smiled as he remember the fate of the traitors. Among the many perks of living in the service of Syxx was being able to eliminate weak links with impunity. Baxter had paid for his betrayal, a slow, painful and final penalty that the Director had enjoyed inflicting. He paused to relish the memory.

  There was work to be done, he reminded himself with a shake. He fingered through the file one more time, frustration growing. Quickly, he paged through the other files but he found nothing else of interest. There was no mention as to the current location of the child.

  Methodically, the Director slid the hard copies of the files into his case while the contents of Ms. Burbank’s computer was copied onto a memory card. Removing the card from the computer, he slid it into his pocket. From the same pocket, he removed a round metallic disk, larger than a silver dollar, smooth and black. He placed it on the desktop and covered it with his hand. His thumb slid the switch built into rim.

  Within seconds, wisps of smoke began to rise from between his fingers. Then flames shot out from beneath his palm. Arms of fire crept along the desktop, consuming papers and machinery with equal speed. In less than a minute, the blaze had enveloped the room. He was surrounded by the inferno. Heat darkened his slate gray suit and singed his briefcase.

  He laughed.

  Yet another perk. The flames would not harm him. They danced around him and stroked his legs. And the Director reveled in the glory of the power of Syxx.

  He needed no family. He needed no name. It was enough to serve Syxx.

  The Director felt the floor boards weakening beneath him. It was time to go. The doors swung outward as he approached. The inferno escorted him down the hall. The building imploded with a whimper as he exited.

  He did not look back.

  Ms. Burbank’s apartment building was in the area hardest hit by the earthquake. The Director stood before the rubble. The building was once a boring five-story box. It was now an intriguing one-story pile, but buried beneath its debris was the social worker. And she was the only one who knew where she’d placed the child. It was a dead end.

  “Where is she?” asked a cold voice.

  The Director was startled. From the shadows of a collapsed overpass, stepped Syxx. Immaculate in black, the sun shone on him, but did not reflect back. The Director had neither seen nor heard his master approach, yet he now stood beside him in front of the wreckage. How Syxx had appeared so silently, he did not know any more than he knew how his master had known where he was. It was another of the many traits that both thrilled and terrified the Director.

  The Director did not make the mistake of thinking that Syxx asked about the social worker. “On Friday, she was outplaced into a foster home. The social worker did not complete her paperwork, so we don’t know which facility she was placed into.”

  “And the social worker?” Syxx asked.

  The Director suspected that he already knew the answer, but he nodded towards the wreckage in response.

  “The child is nearby. I can feel it.” Syxx’s gaze slowly took in the desolation and chaos that surrounded them, as if he could see through the wreckage to the bodies beyond.

  He stepped towards a nearby pile and lifted a concrete slab with ease. A faint moan was heard. Light reached a man trapped beneath the rubble. For a moment, relief and joy could be seen in his face, then it slowly changed to terror as he read his fate in Syxx’s eyes.

  “No!” he screamed, his arms raised in both appeal and defense.

  It was futile. Syxx breathed heavily, as if feeding on his terror, and then dropped the slab, crushing the man to silence. Syxx chuckles faded before he turned back to the Director.

  “Find her. Use all teams. All resources. The child must be found.”

  Keotak-se wandered the streets of Naircott, his eyes and ears alert for any sign of his quarry, yet the sun rose and set and still he had no success. A flock of crows perched in a leafless tree watched him approach. Keotak-se caught the eye of one and gave a soft caw. The bird flew down and balanced on the tip of his staff. For several moments, their eyes locked. Then the bird launched itself into the air, squawking loudly. The other birds took wing, cawing as they danced in the air, circling the first crow. They then parted, all heading in different directions, their squalls fading as they flew.

  Keotak-se stood as still as the trees around him and waited. Minutes passed and one or two crows returned to perch on the tree, squawking once or twice as if in apology before flexing their wings and settling quietly on a branch.

  Then, in the distance, a small cloud of birds noisily approached. Among the smaller crows was a large black raven. The crows smugly cawed to each other as if congratulating themselves.

  Keotak-se watched the raven unblinkingly as it slowly descended. As it settled onto the end of his staff, Keotak-se saw a single grey pinion feath
er on its right wing, For a long moment, their eyes linked, then the raven turned its head northward towards one of the mountains which loomed above the city. As the raven launched itself with a parting “rawk,” Keotak-se nodded and permitted himself a small smile, the first in many years.

  Chapter Twenty One

  The Hunted

  The next morning, Todd secretly watched Lilibit as they walked through the mountains. His curiosity burned. Who was she? Why did she play with those stones? And what was so special about that stone she plucked from the Obelisk? Seeing the furrow in her brow, he guessed she probably wrestled with the same questions herself, so he held his tongue and wondered in silence.

  She was smaller than Nita and probably younger, but even with her handicaps, she had a bossy streak as she decided the rules for the silly games the three youngest made up as they hiked.

  Earlier that morning, Todd saw a long thick branch of dead wood lying along the path. He stopped to stare at it and the others glanced at him questioningly. There was something familiar about the branch. He picked it up and then grinned to himself. It looked like the staff he’d carried in his dream two nights earlier. Using his pocketknife, he nicked off the jutting knobs and twigs, then grinned. It was silly to copy his own dream, but a long walking stick would be a good thing to have on a long hike. He tapped it several times on the ground, before jogging to catch up with the others.

  Lilibit stood stock still staring at him. Her head tilted, her brow wrinkled and her eyes unfocused, she looked as if the staff had triggered some vague memory that she couldn’t place. The others kept walking but Todd stopped in front of Lilibit and waited for her to say something.

  But she didn’t speak. She shook her head and started walking again, but she kept looking back at Todd. For the rest of the morning, she was quiet, her thoughts somewhere else.

  The sun was high overhead when Todd began thinking about breaking for lunch. He was looking around for a likely place to stop when a flicker of movement on the horizon caught his eye. It only took a moment for him to identify it as a helicopter, probably from the Forestry Service on fire patrol, but its effect on Lilibit stunned him.

  She froze and let out a pitiful whimper. Tearing her eyes from the approaching chopper, she turned to run. As she stumbled past Todd, he reached out and grabbed her by her waist, lifting her off the ground.

  Her trembling surprised him. He felt as if she would shake apart in his arms. There was a look of animal panic in her eyes. Todd acted on instinct.

  “Under cover!” he hollered. “Now!”

  The others turned to see Todd carry Lilibit off the trail and scratch out a rude hiding place under the briar. Devon grabbed Nita’s arm and the two of them scrambled under the shrub. Marla stood in the middle of the path, looking bewildered and Jeff rolled his eyes in disgust.

  “Now what?” Jeff demanded.

  The helicopter flew slowly towards them. Todd’s feeling of alarm grew.

  “Move!” he barked, his eyes fixed on the approaching chopper.

  Plainly confused, Marla trotted over to Todd, who grabbed her arm and pulled her under the shrubbery. Donny followed Marla, grinning cheerfully, happy to be part of whatever the new game might be. Jeff, however, reveling in disobedience, turned to wave merrily at the approaching chopper.

  The helicopter swept low and the wind from the blades ripped at Jeff’s hair and clothes. Todd shielded his face as dust tore into their makeshift den. Peeking over his arm, he saw the markings on the helicopter and knew it was not a forestry vehicle. It was close enough that he made out the small logo on its matte black veneer, which read “NAVMRI.” Through the smoked glass of the windshield, Todd saw two figures staring coldly at Jeff as he continued to wave gleefully.

  Suddenly, the helicopter rose and veered westward, apparently continuing its reconnaissance of the mountains. Jeff continued to wave as it disappeared over the eastern ridge. Then he turned to face the others.

  “It’s only a helicopter, butt-skulls!” he smirked.

  Todd waited only until the helicopter completely cleared the horizon before bursting out of the brush like a wounded bear. He was only an inch or two taller than Jeff, but his anger gave him unexpected strength. He grabbed Jeff by the jacket and bore him backwards, pinning him against a tree.

  “Do you think this is funny? Do you think we’re on a picnic? If you want to go to the Hardwell Center, fine! We’ll leave you at the next road we cross.”

  Jeff looked frightened by the blast of Todd’s anger, but he braved it out. “Oh c’mon, it was just a helicopter. Even if they know we’re missing, they’re not going to send out helicopters into the mountains to look for us!”

  Todd’s nose was in Jeff’s face. “Listen. If we’re going to get anywhere, we need to be able to rely on each other. To trust each other. And if you’re going to do the opposite of everyone else, just because you think it’s cool, then you’re going to get us all caught.”

  Todd released his hold on the jacket and Jeff slid to the ground. Scavenging his dignity, Jeff brushed off his sleeves. “Yeah, right. ‘Trust!’ It’s not about ‘Trust’, it’s about obeying you no matter what you say. Just because you’ve got all the others kowtowing to you all the time, doesn’t mean I have to be another one of your peons!”

  Todd felt the temptation to tell Jeff to beat it, to go back to Dalton Point and wait for them to take him to the Juvenile Hall. Maybe it was Jeff who was supposed to fall, and that would take care of Devon’s prophesy. Of all the kids, Jeff was the one that he’d miss the least.

  And yet, some deeper instinct drove him to try to keep them all together. He couldn’t see forcing one of them out just to satisfy some dream which might not even mean anything. He bit the inside of cheek as he tried to get control of his temper.

  “Listen. We’re all going to need each other if we’re to get to Kiva.” Todd turned to look back at the others who stood by the underbrush, watching the fight with wide eyes. “All of us have to be on the same side or we’re not going to make it.”

  “Todd…” Marla’s voice was heavy as she gestured with her head to where Lilibit still huddled under the briar, shaking.

  Todd strode briskly back to Lilibit. She was curled into a ball again, sobbing.

  “It’s all right, Lilibit.” Todd soothed as he lifted her out and tried to set her on her feet. “The helicopter’s gone.”

  Lilibit’s legs collapsed underneath her and she sat staring at the horizon, her breath choppy. Todd carried her to a secluded grove off the path, under a tree, where they ate their lunch in silence.

  They’d finished eating and were packing up their gear when Jeff stood up and walked over to Lilibit.

  “Here,” he said roughly handing half his granola bar to her. “You want the rest of my dessert?”

  Todd was about to tell him where he could put his granola bar. That it was stupid to give Lilibit more food since she’d barely touched her sandwich. That this was a lame excuse for an apology for putting them all in jeopardy. But Lilibit’s reaction cut him off.

  Looking up at Jeff, she gulped back a sob and gave him a watery smile. She took the bar and nibbled at it listlessly, perhaps more out of consideration of Jeff’s feelings than from any enjoyment of the food.

  Jeff helped Lilibit to her feet and they returned to the trail. With his apology accepted, his cockiness returned and the incident with the helicopters seemed to fade into the back of their minds.

  But Todd still seethed.

  Todd didn’t talk much the rest of that afternoon. Jeff’s defiance didn’t bother him as much as the mystery of Lilibit did. His scalp prickled with a warning. He ran his fingers through his hair, rubbing away the tingle. If only he could get rid of his qualms as easily.

  The helicopter reconnaissance team had not thought much of the boy they had seen hiking alone out on the mountain, but to the Director, it was a deviation of significant note. A child does not cheerfully hike by himself in the middle of the woods, miles fro
m the nearest port of civilization.

  In moments, he cross-referenced the surveillance photo with the county social services records and positively identified Jeffrey Terrance, eleven years old, resident of the Dalton Point Foster Care Facility. He dispatched an investigative team to that location, but he was certain he had a positive match.

  As he reported his findings back to Syxx, it was agreed: the highest probability was that the girl was in the mountains.

  All nine Reclamation Teams were dispatched.

  To Keotak-se, the ground around Dalton Point was a book written in his native tongue. He saw Lilibit’s arrival, her first thwarted attempt to reach the mountain, her successful attempt the following morning and her return, carried back down the mountain by a boy on the verge of manhood. Where they slept, what they ate, when they left, and the direction they walked were all written in the soil like words on a page.

  Keotak-se felt a sting of grief in his heart for the evident pain the child suffered, but as he tracked the band into the mountains, his heart lightened as he read the signs of healing in her steps.

  Keotak-se stopped and sniffed the air. He recognized the signs of the coming squall long before the clouds masked the sun and the air grew chill. He quickened his pace, running like a wolf over the terrain, pushing to reach the children before the impending storm.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Mesa del Tío

  The sky turned grey and hard as the band trudged up the rocky trail. The light jackets, which they’d pulled from their packs, were little help against the biting winds of the mountaintops.

  The hasty change in the weather surprised Todd. While Dalton Point was a thousand feet or so above the valley of Naircott, it was still pretty warm all year long. Now they were a few thousand feet higher and he hadn’t expected it to be this much colder. And from the look of the sky, it would only get worse before it got better.