Seven-Eight wanted to argue the point, but the trailing voice had indicated that his friend had fallen asleep almost mid-sentence.
Laying against the wall, Seven-Eight watched the moon as it passed through the doorway, and between the legs of the ever watchful guard outside.
His own eyes drifted closed an hour or so later. His thoughts were of her soft face.
Chapter 6
“Daniel, come this way we need your help,” a female voice said.
Seven-Eight turned his head and looked down the dimly lit hallway. The concrete on either side echoed the noise. He felt like they were buried deep. Very deep.
“Where are you?” he called back.
“In the chamber,” the voice said.
He scrambled down the corridors, turning left and right, searching for them. The sound of happy voices seemed to come from everywhere. Nervous laughter.
“We’re waiting!” the voice whispered.
He stepped into another T-junction and looked left and right. A lit doorway to his right spewed yellow light.
Jogging down, he turned the corner, “I’m here.”
He stepped into the room, and everyone was sleeping. The ethereal forms were asleep, forever in the darkness. Sadness washed over him. Why hadn’t he gone back them? Why?
Seven-Eight woke sobbing. The guilt washed over him like warm flames. Where were they? Why was he crying? What had the dream been all about? It faded from his mind again.
“Another dream?”, Three-One asked.
“Yes. A sad one. I can’t remember. I never can remember them.”
“Go back to sleep; I think I can find something to help you tomorrow.”
Seven-Eight turned to his friend and was tempted to wake him, ask him what could help, but the old unit had fallen back asleep.
“Wake up. You are coming with me today,” Three-One said.
The sun had barely crested the hill outside.
Seven-Eight rubbed his forehead, “What? No.”
“Don’t you want to know why your dreams keep you awake?”
“No…”
Three-One gave him a stern look.
“Yes.. I do, but we need to talk about this,” Seven-Eight conceded.
“There’s no time for discussion. There are open spots on the forest team. Come now. It's our only chance. We need to get ahead of the rest. Get the tools and line up for the Master to take us to the trees. If we are late others will take our spot,”
Three-One reached down and extended a hand.
Seven-Eight hesitated and considered the idea of never getting a full nights sleep. His hand reached for his friends, and he rose from the floor. Stepping quickly, they were first out the door, and first to stand in line for the nutrient cubes.
“Take two; you will need them,” Three-One whispered.
Seven-Eight grabbed two from the unmanned feeding box. Usually, someone was handing the cubes out, but this early no one was on duty.
As the sun crept across the ash-covered clearing, they pulled cutting tools from the racks and formed up with the early risers. The new volunteers had quickly replaced the recycled victims of the tree fall.
Seven-Eight stood in line waiting for the Master.
Movement from the factory caught Seven-Eight’s eye, and his body tensed, as the Master's ancient body hovered out of the doorway and into the light. The yellowed plastic of his face was hardened, and patch worked with the soft skin of the recycled.
“We only need six,” boomed his voice, and the guard pushed away two of the eight units. The discarded pair rushed to join the others still rising, equally satisfied with not being near the Master for the day.
Seven-Eight wondered if they were the lucky ones.
“Follow,” the Master commanded as he turned. The group of six units trailed in behind him flanked by four guards. Seven-Eight Taking up the rear just behind Three-One. He silently followed, realizing that any deviation would likely be cause for his immediate death.
They marched for most of the morning, and the ash around them began to melt away into stone and dirt, which slowly gave way to lush green expanse.
Seven-Eight let his hands touch the plants as he walked by them. They were a green like he had never seen. The air felt moist on his skin, cooling in the shade of the thick canopy of leaves. They stepped up a rise in the hill and plodded upwards. Seven-Eight could see the Master slowly lifting, pointing ahead to the guards, who quickly secured the area over the rise.
“How are we ever going to clear all of this by hand?” Seven-Eight asked his friend.
“We are not. The Master will burn this tomorrow or the day after. We are just here to cut the trees. These plants are so large that the fire has no effect on them. To kill them we need to cut them down. The Master will do most of the work with the light cutter, but we need to remove the smaller trees. Just watch out if they fall on you.”
Seven-Eight shuddered thinking about how the other six were now recycled due to the Master's disregard for their safety. The units eyes flicked to the hovering black figure.
Cresting the rise, they looked down the hill. A central tree as thick as the factory was wide, and it reached towards the sky. It's thick textured skin wrapped around its girth like armor, cracked and broken in some places. Seven-Eight estimated that it was ten times as wide as he was tall.
“I’ve never seen a green thing so big!” Seven-Eight said to Three-One, whispering.
“Neither have I.”
The Master began descending, and the group followed down the soft ground. Seven-Eight’s footsteps sank into the soft moss. The spongy feeling made him smile.
This was much more fun than coring small plants. Why hadn’t he volunteered for this earlier?
His mind flitted back to the story of the crushed units, and he looked up watching the Master’s movements.
A few minutes later they stood at the base of the trunk. The Master waved his hand to the guard, and the towering sentinel gave him a long energy device. Its grip at the back held a trigger, and the front hand hold allowed the body of it to hang down. The Master’s hovering height dipped as he took on the weight, and Seven-Eight could hear and almost feel the whine as it began to charge.
Seven-Eight Could not see what the Master was doing, and climbed onto a root as tall as he was. Peering at an angle he could see the tip of the strange device begin to glow orange, and molten material dripped from the tip. Small flames licked up from the ground where the molten slag fell.
The shadows of the forest evaporated, as the Master ignited the cutter, and a blazing line of pure energy severed the tops of nearby trees as it was pointed indiscriminately into the distance. The crackle and crash of the far away trees caused Seven-Eight to stumble backward, tripping over a thick root.
Looking up from his new position on his back, he watched the Master swing the burning light towards the tree trunk. Flames erupted, and crackling sparks exploded upwards into the sky followed by billowing black smoke.
“Come, quickly now while he is distracted,” Three-One said, pulling at Seven-Eight’s shoulder.
Seven-Eight could only gaze at the destruction he was witnessing. Fear rose up in him, and his hands shook.
“Come, Now!” Three-One hissed.
Seven-Eight rose to his feet and snuck away, around a tree and into the bush. Glancing backward, everyone was watching the Master. The tree was halfway severed.
His friend pointed to a patch of gray bulbous organic matter, “Quick, put these in your digester.”
Seven-Eight’s shaking hands grasped at them, squishing them into mush.
“Don’t worry, just put it inside you,” Three-One was keeping watch, “Quickly.”
Seven-Eight jammed hand full after hand full of the gray circular organic matter into his digestion compartment as Three-One kept watch.
“Come now. Close it. The Master's almost done,” Three-One grabbed at Seven-Eight’s arm and pulled him to standing.
Seven-Eight snapp
ed his compartment closed and walked back around the smaller tree. Sneaking back towards the group and the distracted guards, they watched the impossibly tall tree slowly creak and groan. The light from the cutter extinguished, and the deafening noise subsided replaced by the warm sound of licking flames and the dry cackle coming from the Master.
The sound of the cruel laughter made Seven-Eight’s mind crawl with fear.
Slowly the organic spire toppled. Seven-Eight could hear the final wind whistling through it as the weight fell, crashing to the forest floor. Branches snapped off, smaller trees compressed before the ground shook with a thundering crash. Seven-Eight could feel the impact in his legs.
The displaced air whipped by them, fanning the small flames. They licked at the underbrush. Some of the guards attempted to stomp them out, but the Master waved them off.
“Let them burn. Let it all burn. We will come back later once the fire has done its work.”
The group trudged back in the direction of the clearing. The units all stepped into line with Seven-Eight at the rear. He couldn’t stop shaking. His hands vibrated.
Looking down at his fingers, he watched the color evaporate from them in tendrils of multicolored smoke.
“Three-One, something’s wrong.” He hissed.
His friend turned around, “Just act normal. Everything is okay. It’s all in your head.”
Seven-Eight stood up straight and followed as calmly as he could. Each step felt like an eternity. He checked his hands again, and gray. A tendril of light flickered across his face, and he looked up at the sun shining down between the open spaces in the trees. The light rang out with a beautiful sound, humming to the beat of each step. It enveloped him, washing over him like rain.
“Stop humming,” Three-One hushed.
“It was the light,” Seven-Eight stated.
“It’s going to be your end soon if you don’t stop making noises. You are going to get us killed.”
“you're going to get us killed.” Seven-Eight giggled to himself.
The Master stopped in his tracks and turned, “Silence!” The sound boomed, and Seven-Eight stood ramrod straight. The Master’s eyes dripped liquid fire, and the world shook with the vibration of the noise. Seven-Eight could feel the heat emanating from the foul creature.
Slowly, the Master turned back and continued on the path to the clearing.
Seven-Eight trudged along following the darkness that hovered before him. He stayed on the edge of the shadow the entire time. With each step, more and more ash accumulated on the ground, falling like snow. When they erupted into the clearing, and he saw the factory he felt the happiness. He wanted to find his spear and never see the dark forest again. He never wanted to see another ancient tree cut down. The sound played over and over in his mind, creaking and groaning as he walked.
His skeleton jangled with each step as he veered from the group and made his way to the tools. Pulling his spear from the rack, he looked at it. It was textured in something. Symbols. His fingers slid over the smooth surface. The symbols sat on the edge of his mind. He had seen these before. They were numbers. Writing symbols were used for counting.
Three-One stepped up to him, “how much did you put in there?”
Seven-Eight looked at him. His old face appeared to be a wooden mask. It creaked and groaned slowly.
“The tree I am slowly sorry for?”
“Oh no,” Three-One said taking his arm and walking away from the entrance to the factory. The Master was on the other side of the clearing inspecting the progress.
“The ground isn’t wrong. It’s us that’s wrong,” Seven-Eight whispered. The words were not coming out right. His language was garbled, and no matter how hard he focused on choosing the right words, they would not appear in his mouth.
“It’s going to be okay. It’s alright. You just took too much,” Three-One’s face groaned.
“Dying like the ground. Like the green. Make me green,” Seven-Eight blurted.
Movement from the corner of his eye made him turn. The Water Carrier stepped forth smiling. Her half face soft and pink. Hair was flowing from her head. The white fabric of her body was ethereal and delicate. His hand reached up and touched her arm, “It is light.”
Her face dropped, and she looked at Seven-Eight, then at Three-One, “Is he malfunctioning?”
“No. He’s okay. Just has put the wrong organic matter in his digester, or too much of it. Spear show me your Digester.”
Seven-Eight bent his head down and opened his abdominal cavity. It bubbled with gray mush; steam rose from the compartment, and the warmth spilled over his legs. His hands caught the mush as it fell to the ground through his fingers.
“You’re killing me,” he laughed.
“What did you do to him?” the ethereal being said. Her glowing form exuded calm, washing over them.
Seven-Eight looked at her, “You are beautiful, and extraordinary.” He reached up and touched her face. The green lines spread across her face, and the color changed from white to green.
“Oh yuck, don’t do that,” She snapped her head backward, and scowled, “You're going to get us recycled.”
“Give me the water,” Three-One said, grabbing the bucket and poured the clear liquid into Seven-Eight’s abdominal cavity.
“You are wasting it!” she reached for the water, “Your going to get me recycled. The Master will beat me for this!”
“He won’t. I will tell him that I was clumsy. It will be fine,” Three-One’s hands came up reassuring the Water Carrier.
“You are friendly,” Seven-Eight said watching Three-One flood his insides with blue pouring light. Looking down the tooth fell out onto the dirt.
“Stay still,” she said holding his arm.
“All family. We are all made of one. From the same star. Long away. A long, long way away,” Seven-Eight said looking up at the sky.
“What did you say?” Three-One stopped pouring and snapped the abdomen closed.
“All from up,” Seven-Eight said looking at the sun. His eyes hurt, and he blinked. Spots erupted.
Three-One handed him his spear, “Root out the green. Do what you do. Try to act like everything is fine.”
The Water Carrier caressed his arm, “Stay out of trouble Spear.”
Both of them walked away to get more water.
Seven-Eight sighed, looking down into the ash. The mush encrusted tooth lay at his feet. It's bright gleaming surface was glowing up at him. There was a message in all of this. Was it him? Was he the message?
Bending down, he picked up the tooth and slid it back into his secret hiding space. The water inside felt good. Cool. Calming.
Looking at the ground far below, he searched for the green. He would help it today. Instead of killing it, he would help it. Like he was meant to. They were all meant to.
A small pile of green light popped up from the ashes, and he knelt, “Shhh, go back to sleep.” He said, piling ashes on top of the little flower.
Chapter 7
Seven-Eight absently drove the spear into the ground missing the plant. His body felt like it weighed a hundred times more than it did. His face drooped. He looked up, and the bright green sun was finally setting. The glowing pillars reaching into the sky of the rest of the units were starting to move back towards the sleeping box.
Dragging the spear behind him, he began the long journey across the field. His mind slowed to a crawl, and the sleep started to overcome him at the door, stumbling, hands caught him.
“It’s Spear,” nameless voices washed over him in the dark.
“Carry him.”
“Help him down.”
“He will be okay.”
“You will be okay, Spear.”
Three-One’s voice pushed through the others, “This will be the last time you dream Spear. Stay asleep as long as you can, and try as hard as you can to remember. Remember the others who came before you…”
The world faded away into static as he fell into the v
oid.
“Do you understand what this is Daniel?”, A soft hand held up a piece of flat material. An image on it showed a great body of water, and a river.
“Yes Ma’am, it’s a map,” Seven-Eight’s voice stated.
“And where are we?’
Seven-Eight watched as the soft fingers of the hand raised, and touched the map near the shore of the body of water. The sensation brought the texture of the paper to his mind.
“And where are you going?” the soft voice asked again.
His finger traced a line south along the shore to a large green area.
“What will you be doing there?” came the voice again
“I will be meeting the rest of my family. Ma’am, why can’t I stay?”
“You need to make a new world. A safe world. Maybe one that you can do a better job on than we did. It’s your turn now. Be kind and good to each other above all else. Tell them to get us when the radiation dies down. Remember us. Remember us always.”
The map lowered, and a soft pink hand swept in to touch his face. He closed his eyes and leaned into the warmth.
The vision faded, and the world changed, and he was walking along the ocean. The cold wind buffeting at his clothes. Ash fell from the sky. The loose material kept most of the moisture off of his synthetic body. Looking back, he could see the small trail up to the cave flanked by two large black boulders.
Turning, he followed the footprints in the sand. The others had moved on ahead of him, and sadness filled his heart. He would never see them again. It was over. Their time had ended. For better or worse, those that slept would likely be forgotten about except in the memories passed from unit to unit.
The memory...
They were all parts of one. Part of a whole.
Seven-Eight woke with a start, “I know where they are… I know where they are… I know where they are!”
Three-One sat up next to him and put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, “Remember it. Hold onto the memory.”
Chapter 8
Seven-Eight opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling of the sleeping box. He was still exhausted. His body ached, but something had changed. The world seemed more complicated, yet simpler.
Spear's Journey Page 3