The dream was likely a memory from another unit. The thunder and falling ash had felt wrong. It was as though he had witnessed the end of the world. He looked around; it had not been the end. Everything was still here.
Everything that they had left was now overgrown and hidden by the green. Maybe it happened hundreds and hundreds of years ago, even thousands. He wished he knew.
The path leveled out, and they worked their way past the last of the ruins. It had been easy traveling on such flat ground, but now the wide path seemed to run into the river next to them. The trail wound around to the left, following the water, but through the heavier greenery.
Spear stepped behind Eric and Iris avoiding the branches as they snapped back at him. Over the course of the day, they passed fewer and fewer ruins. After a day's travel only an occasional a piece of spalled graystone left over from some marker would lay by the side of the road. No other signs of the ancient civilization that had once existed presented itself.
Spear all the while was wondering how far they would be going, but soon he was more concerned with the rushing noise of water which was building with each step.
Pushing out from the trees into a clearing, Spear could see that ahead Eric and Iris had stopped. The trail opened out into a cliffs edge. The entire river that had been paralleling them on their right was now a waterfall which continually threw itself into a great abyss below. Hundreds of feet down the river continued like a blue serpent, winding its way through the distant valley. Far beyond that, a glistening, flat horizon.
Spear pointed, his face filled with amazement.
“Yes. It’s the ocean. It’s not very pleasant. Everything rusts, and occasionally, it rises far enough to destroy anything near its shores. Oh yeah, and the city is down there. Try to avoid it if you can. Thieves and murders mostly. Most of them don’t do the gel, but they will rob you, likely cannibalize you for parts, all the same.”
Spear lowered his hand and watched as Eric turned to follow the edge to the left. The edge sloped down exposing a staircase carved into the face of the wet granite wall. Spear watched Eric and Iris descend, but did not follow. He wanted to take a moment and survey the world below. It looked like a bit more than a days walk to the ocean if Spear moved quickly. The trees down in the bottom of the valley were a lighter color, and he recognized the type of forest which never contained a lot of green growing under the trunks. Only dead branches and leaves would lay like kindling over the thick dry roots. A good fire could clear it quickly.
He chastised himself for thinking of it like that. He was no longer his Master’s puppet. Spear considered the idea for a moment and concluded that there was no longer a need to live like a slave. Those ideas that had been planted by his Master did not apply. The Master was far beyond the river, and Spear was past his reach.
Standing taller for a moment, he considered the idea that he was now the navigator of his own future. He could go where he wanted and when. The distant horizon seemed familiar somehow.
The far off ocean flickered the reflected sunlight back towards him.
If the ocean existed, he mused, then maybe the older units existed. Did the ones who had built him and all the others still exist?
"Are you coming, or what?" Iris yelled from down the cliff side staircase.
Spear could see them descending the wet granite steps, and he turned to follow.
Chapter 22
Most of the day had been spent carefully stepping down the uneven stairs of the cliff face. Some were more sloped and rounded than others. Even Eric’s exact movements were indicative of concern about falling over the nearby edge. Every so often they would step down onto a large wide flat area presumably built for passing or resting. As the stairs often narrowed at places, Spear considered how important these broad areas would be to allow more than one user to cross safely at such a height.
The group paused for a moment and looked over the tops of the trees. Spear saw that they were most of the way down. He gauged their progress by looking up at the towering waterfall and its white curtain of misting water. Even this far away, he could hear its roar, and occasionally spray would blow by on the breeze, coating them with its cool moisture.
“Hardly anyone comes up here other than to look around,” Iris said, “The tunnel… Not the one you got through, and the one I tried to get through, but the one beyond that. It collapsed a long time ago. I went up there to try and find a way around. I thought If I could get over the pass I could find something new. I never made it, but now that you cleared the way, maybe someday I will check it out again.”
Spear shook his head at her to tell her it was a bad idea.
“Ah, it will be fine. Maybe next time I will bring both of you, and if we get stuck, we can work together. Watch each other's backs? Hey, Eric? What do you say? Next time maybe you come with me, big guy?”
Eric snorted and shook his head at the foolish idea.
“Well, when I find a way out of the valley that doesn’t involve going through the city, I’ll tell you. Then you will have wished you came with me.”
Eric turned and continued the trudge down the stairs.
Spear admired the view again. They were just above the trees, and he could see the wind caress them in waves, sending the green surface rippling with changes. He smiled. This is exactly what he wanted out of life. He wanted to be free. Like this.
He grinned widely and followed smiling.
Hours later as they reached the bottom, Spear noticed a flat wooden surface leaned against the cliff face. Strange symbols on it were carved in rows neatly. He touched Iris’s shoulder and pointed to it.
“What? The sign?”
He nodded and she stared at him for a moment before looking back at it, then back at him, “You don’t know how to read that do you?” A disappointed look on her face.
Spear shook his head
“It’s okay. Most units can’t read. We almost all forgot how for the longest time. We spent a lot of time just existing. We stagnated…” Her voice drifted as she thought about something then raised her eyebrows, coming back to the present, “It says that the tunnel collapsed,” she stated a matter-of-factly.
Eric, ever the taskMaster, ignored the interaction and turned to continue into the trees. The thick canopy of branches and green obscured most of the sun, leaving an old wooded forest before them. Spear took another look at the sign. His fingers ran over the carved notches and lines of the symbols as he wondered how many had climbed those stairs only to be killed by the marauding quartet.
Realizing that the others were almost at the tree line, he stepped away to continue but still trailed behind as usual.
It was hard not to be distracted by the change in scenery. Spear had to remind himself constantly that another unit might be hiding behind the next tree waiting to kill you and drink the fluid in your head.
Time passed easily as they walked under the trees. The path moved away from the river and skirted the stone cliff. Soon they came upon a fork in the road.
Eric stopped and turned looking around them. The beasts sang in the trees; the sun hung somewhere above the leaves in the cloudless sky. Spear smiled for a moment, taking it all in. It was a perfect day.
Eric veered hard left, off the trail and bolted into the trees. Spear only heard him disappear. Looking around he spun.
Where had they gone?
Spear stepped back. Had they abandoned him?
“Psst..” came Ivy’s voice from the thick brush, “You need to hide…. Now! Someone’s coming” she whispered from an unseen position.
Spear stepped off the trail and continued to scan for her and Eric.
Where had they gone?
“Get down! Hide!” she whispered again. It sounded like her voice was carried by the wind.
Something was making clanging noises.
Spear began to panic. Had the guards found him? His feet carried him further off the trail as his eyes scanned for some hollow to hide in. A set of tree roots par
alleled out from a giant trunk, providing a natural depression between their thick barriers.
Crouching between the roots settled into space. From the path, Spear was hidden from sight, unless whoever was on the trail deviated from it. His anxiety built as the rattling became louder and louder, creeping closer with each moment.
Spear forced his body lower and lower into the carpet of leaves, pressing his back into the hollow. Despite the initial feeling of safety, his hands clung to the length of his weapon as it lay next to him.
Soon a cacophony of movement was occupying the trail. It crashed and rattled in a combination of dragging metal and clattering plastic.
Spears curiosity overcame his fear of the noise, and he rolled to his side peeking his one functioning eye around the tree. His movements slow and cautious to avoid being seen.
He could see figures walking along in single file. A group of units carrying large sacks made from a fabric netting swayed under the weight of the burden. Their legs chained together in series. Each movement clattered and jangled the links as they dragged across the ground. Spear could see the hunched bodies shouldering the weight of their packs. Hands chained together only wide enough to allow them to cling to their packages. It was apparent that their only use was to carry.
At the front of the line were two units. These colored like the others Spear had killed; A blue painted face and another black. Three similar sized units were taking up the rear. Each painted in variations of red or orange.
Spear was satisfied with letting them go, watching them pass until he spotted a hand sticking out from the bundles in the netting. A hand that grasped and ungrasped the netting as though struggling and in pain. His eye began picking up the detail of the metal stacked inside. An eye filled with terror and suffering peered out at him, the face underneath, pressed against the material.
Why? Why were these painted units doing this?
Spear gripped the metal length of his weapon, considering his options. Fear held him in place as he waited for them to pass. He hated these units almost as much as he had grown to hate the Master. These were all cruel, just weaker, and only powerful because they had numbers.
He imagined his brethren packed into nets, stored for safekeeping before being disassembled for usable parts and gel. Coiling his legs under him, he prepared to leap forward.
A grasped Spear's wrist firmly, and he looked down. Iris and Eric lay next to him. They had moved forward silently under a well-camouflaged cloak of green material. They had avoided detection, but it was a risky move to stop him.
Spear pulled away. He was losing the opportunity with each moment. The tail end of the caravan was passing, and soon the advantage would be lost.
The hand grabbed Spear again, pulling him away, “She told you to stay,” came Eric’s dark voice. It was whisper quiet, but the tone was loud and clear. The grip tightened on his upper arm pulling him downward under the cloak.
Spear watched through the folds of fabric as the group passed and as he considered shaking off the grip, movement in the trees across the trail caught his eye.
The green and yellow paint of camouflaged units in a parallel column materialized. Each fell in behind the convoy. The paint on their faces varying styles and shapes, but none of them welcoming. Each face painted, each hand carrying edged weapons.
Spear shrank back angrily.
Soon the numbers dwindled into the distance, and he watched them walk out of sight. He had not seen the others walking in the trees beside the trail. It was only luck that they were not walking in the brush on the cliff side where Iris and Eric had fled.
Spear realized that there had been so many of them, he would have been easily killed or captured. If he had attacked, he would have walked right into a crowd of them, likely to be added to their collection.
He hated them; Hated what they represented.
Spear felt the heat of anger dissipate, and looked at the invisible form.
Spear hung his head in embarrassment. Mostly it was because he had not tried.
Iris chastised him, “There must have been twenty of them. You would have been killed! Don’t be so stupid!”
Spear’s shoulders sank. The prisoners were like him, but trapped alive, destined to be killed.
“You can’t save everyone,” Iris said, “Most of us are lucky enough to escape that.”
Eric gave him a sad look through the mask and nodded his head. A consoling hand dropped onto Spear’s shoulder.
After agonizing minutes, they agreed that the convoy had passed completely. They stood up and moved back towards the trail cautiously eyeing up and down the path before continuing their trek. The idea of running into more slavers was not a welcome one.
Chapter 23
Spear checked over his shoulder. The forest had become dark, and the sun which earlier sparkled and danced through the canopy was now hiding behind the mountains. He imagined the shadows around him filled with teeth and eyes during the night and was eager to get wherever they were going.
“Almost there,” Iris said noticing Spear’s anxiety.
Soon after the earlier close call, the three had deviated from the path and had walked off into the trees, bashing through the underbrush over the last few hours. Spear had no idea where they were. He was turned around and lost. With no bearing, he could only follow.
It didn’t make him feel any better to have to trust them. Paranoid thoughts leaked in with the darkness. Maybe they were walking him into a trap?
Eric stopped for a moment and turned to let Iris face Spear.
“Alright, so … here’s the deal. Where we live is secret. It’s what has kept us alive, and growing as a society.
I ignore a lot of their rules, but I can’t break this one because it puts everyone I ever have known at risk. If word got out where we live, it wouldn’t be long before the scrappers and slavers came.”
Spear just stared at her, waiting impatiently for her to make her point.
“We have to cover your eyes. It’s so that you can’t find us again if you turn out to be a crazy.”
His apprehension was not hidden from his face.
“It’s okay. I promise. We won’t do anything weird. It's just so that you can come and see the witch. I promised you that she would try to fix you. Trust me,” her face peering around Erics shrouded head, showed genuine concern, “Please.”
Spear considered the options. He looked back from where they had come, a dark forest full of dangers lay behind them. The other choice was to risk being held captive but find a safe place to sleep the night. Reluctantly he nodded.
“Good!” She grinned, “Eric will you do the honors?”
Eric shook his head in reluctant objection but pulled a strip of cloth from around his waist. Reaching up, he wrapped it twice around Spear's head before taking the unit's hand and placing it on his clothed shoulder.
“Don’t worry, the path will be smooth,” Iris’s said. Spear couldn’t see at all. At this point he was helpless. They had left him his spear, and he felt better about the disadvantage. Moving slowly, they crossed a patch of ground that crunched under his feet. The now familiar feeling of small broken branches snapping underfoot and the shifting of fallen leaves told him that for now at least they were not near the path.
It took some time, but they stopped for a bit, and Spear could feel Eric’s shoulder move as he lifted something heavy. Metal groaning sounds echoed through the trees. It was not a subtle sound. He imagined that they were far from any wandering eyes or ears.
A hand touched the top of his head forcing him to duck. It pressed down, pushing him through an entrance way. The wide open sound of the forest was replaced by a claustrophobic echo.
“This way,” Iris whispered, and a hand grabbed his wrist to place it on Erics back.
They quickly moved across a curved floor. Spear could feel each side was raised slightly on the left and right. He expected there to be water in the center, but it was dry under his feet. No splashing with each f
ootfall, only the occasional stone kicked to the side.
After a minute, he stopped as he felt Eric’s pace slow to a halt.
“You can take off the blindfold,” Iris commanded.
Spear reached up and practically tore it from his head to hang around his neck. It was dark inside the tunnel they were standing in. The stagnant air seemed to cling to them.
He could see that Eric had a small torch, and it was held up next to a large metal door. The unit raised a fabric wrapped hand and thumped the door in a patterned sequence before unslinging Iris's torso. Eric lay Iris against the curved wall next to him before he sat down.
Spear followed suit wondering if they would be going through the door or spending the night here. He looked at Iris, but she had already closed her eyes. Eric peered down the tunnel from where they had come to check that they had not been followed. The darkness beyond betrayed no sound or sign that someone was inside with them.
As Eric closed his eyes, Spear relaxed back against the opposite wall. At least it was warm and dry inside. The flickering flame of the torch lay on the floor sparking every so often and casting a warm orange glow over them.
Spear closed his eyes, enjoying the relative safety. It wasn’t the sleeping box, but at least there were others. Sleep came quickly, overtaking his exhausted mind.
Metal clanged and groaned. Sunlight pressed into Spear’s eyes and blinded him as he tried to look up. Someone had opened the door.
“Come with us Spear. Stay close,” Iris said cheerily. Still lethargic from sleep, Spear rose, shielding his face from the brightness.
It was hard to see after so much darkness, and he kept his eye on the ground, following the others blinking until he could see. Spear lifted his head and peered around. Other units looked at them gawking. Some pointed while others stepped closer to the security of the sleeping boxes that lined the small square.
Spear felt fear rise as he considered the idea that they might have a Master, and a new unit in their midst might attract his ire. Iris must have noticed his hesitation because she turned to look at him as Eric plodded forward, “Come on. It’s okay. They just don’t see a lot of outsiders.”
Spear's Journey Page 11