by Jason Letts
Mary’s gut reaction was to dismiss her argument. There was so much Mira didn’t know about what was going on between her and Vern. He cared about her, and that’s why Aoi had become so bitter. Not wanting to hear anymore, Mary started to walk back to their belongings, shouting over her shoulder.
“Of course I remember. Do you? You told me to use my imagination and fight, and that’s exactly what I plan to do!”
The volume of Mira’s response startled her. It was as though she was right in her ear, even though she remained several paces back.
“Don’t do it, Mary! You’re going to ruin everything! It’ll tear us apart!”
But Mary had gotten what she wanted, Mira’s anger, and it became clear to her then that her longtime friend had finally turned against her and left her completely alone.
Mira trudged after Mary, swiveling her head in search of the others. Hopefully they hadn’t gone too far or managed to get lost. Shapes set against the darkness brought her relief from that worry, though there were far too many others left rattling around in her mind.
Aoi, Vern, and Chucky met Mary near their baggage, and Mira started jogging just in case another conflict flared up. She felt as though they were walking on eggshells, and any careless word or gesture would be enough to derail their progress. No one seemed to be saying much as Mira rejoined the others. Except for Chucky, who still carried Knoll, they were all empty-handed. Roselyn and Will approached from the opposite side, their arms hanging easily at their sides. They weren’t even holding each other’s hand.
“No one found anything?” Mira asked, and a few nods confirmed the obvious.
“There’s nothing out here anywhere. At least we have a few sticks from back near the mountains. They’ll be enough to let us see till we’re ready for sleep,” Vern said, poking at them with his foot. Roselyn and Will shook their heads as they rejoined the others.
“Alright, we’ll have to make due with what we have. It’ll be nice to get warm for a minute.” Mira kneeled down to build a fire. She reached into her bag and pulled out two metallic bands, which they used to make sparks that would ignite Chucky’s oil. “Chucky, can you help?”
A whimper from Knoll echoed her words as Chucky prepared to hand off the child. Before he could make it clear who he intended to give Knoll to, Mary stepped in to receive him.
“Poor thing looks like he’s about to start bawling,” Mary lamented. “This can’t be healthy for him out here. No room to crawl around. Constantly in these blankets, which aren’t even wrapped properly. Let me take care of this. Sometimes babies need a woman’s touch.”
“I’ll be right back,” Chucky said, jogging off and pumping his arms and legs to work up a sweat. The thick clouds blocked the light from the web, and just a few steps were enough to cloak Chucky entirely in darkness.
Mary sat on her bag, placed Knoll on her knee, and started to adjust his layers. His shape always looked odd because of the carafe lumped against one side. The others pulled their bags around Mira’s newly constructed fire pit. Chucky returned moments later, breathing heavily. Mira handed him one of the sticks, and Chucky reached underneath his sleeve and slathered it in oil. He set it on the pile and Mira started scraping the metal plates together. As soon as his hands were empty, he motioned to reclaim Knoll from Mary.
“Oh no, I’ve got him. It’s fine. Take a seat and catch your breath,” she said.
It became hard to see the others’ faces even though they all huddled in such a tight circle. The sound of sharp clanging accompanied Mira’s attempts to light the fire. One, two, three tiny claps of thunder, and then sparks started to shoot forth onto the oil. Mira continued to strike the plates together, directing the little orange flashes.
The oil started to catch, but instead of a healthy flame racing from one end to the other, a red glow slowly bubbled up here and there. Mira didn’t know when to stop banging the plates, so she kept sending the sparks raining down. A flame grew in slow motion, as a plant from the ground might. It had the luster and texture of a crystal, more like a solid but glowing as a dying flame would. Finally, Mira relented her clanging, and simply observed the embers sprouting from within the wood.
“What is going on out here?”
“We all laughed at Fortst when he said he ate fire,” Chucky said, the dim orange glow on his face. “This must’ve been what he meant. There’s so little heat or light, must leave room for plenty of something else.”
The fixed flame ceased growing after reaching a height of several inches. Everyone stared at it, bewildered. Roselyn slid off her bag and kneeled beside the fire pit. Mira wanted to tell her to be careful, but she would be able to sense well enough if it were too hot to touch. Letting her fingers dangle over the frozen flame’s tip, she tapped at it twice, caught it between her thumb and forefinger, and then snapped it off. Smiling, she played with it in her hand, tossing it up and rolling it around. It retained the same color and glow. Finally, she popped it in her mouth.
“Not good, huh?” Will asked. It must’ve had a sour taste to make her squeeze her face the way she did. Mira sighed and put her hand to her forehead. They had some food still, but what they didn’t have was a warm fire. Everyone leaned in to tear off a hunk from the edible flames. No one appeared to enjoy the sour taste, but they chewed it and swallowed.
“So fire produces food and not heat? How are we going to keep warm now? If this goes on, we’ll have to burn and eat the clothes off our backs, leaving us freezing to death!”
“I’d rather not starve anyway,” Vern chuckled. “That would be the worst.”
“But there’s got to be a reason for it,” Mira went on, beside herself. “Things like this don’t just happen. There’s fuel, oxygen, and ignition that combine to make fire, not something you can eat. I don’t understand!”
She leaned back and stared blankly at the odd phenomena before her. Fixing her attention to it, Mira startled when Mary spoke up behind her.
“You know who must understand, Aoi,” she said, causing Aoi to immediately look up. “If this has to do with a reaction, she must be able to tell us why. After all, there’s not but a few people in the entire world with a gift more powerful than hers.”
Mira glanced over at Aoi, who slunk back and watched Vern from the side of her eyes.
“I have no idea,” Aoi squelched. “I’m really not that…”
“Oh, come on! Don’t be shy,” Mary incited. “All you have to do is clear your mind and feel it passing through you or whatever. Not too different from me, really.”
Kicking against the ground, Aoi pushed herself and the bag she sat on away from the circle.
“How do you know what it feels like for me?” she cowered.
“Why’s your hand in Knoll’s blankets?” Chucky asked Mary.
“Aoi, don’t be afraid. Embrace it. This is who you are! Now go ahead and tell us what the fire is. Or change it into something else. I can’t wait for your next incredible show!”
Mira’s heart started to race, and it shocked her when she turned back to Mary and saw the feigned, entranced look on her face. Vern turned back to Aoi, who jumped to her feet.
“Mary, let go of the carafe and give Knoll back to Chucky!” Vern shouted.
“That’s it! I can’t take any more of this!” Aoi burst. “As long as she’s still here, I’m not going to be. I’m leaving!”
“This thing works great,” Mary said under her breath.
“Chucky!” Mira called, rising and going after Aoi. Chucky stepped over the frozen fire and took Knoll. Mary surrendered him without a fight.
“What? I wasn’t doing anything,” she said.
“Aoi, you can’t leave! We need you! There’s no way we can do this without you.”
On the verge of tears, Aoi shuffled between storming away and coming back. She cast her eyes to Vern, who watched her carefully. Behind him, Mary watched her too, and she had nothing but malice in her eyes.
“I can’t live like this anymore. What did I
ever do to deserve this from you, Mary? It just can’t go on any longer. So either you’ve got to go, or we will!”
“I can’t leave!” Vern jerked, rising to his feet.
“Let her go,” Mary demanded of Vern, marching over to Aoi and Mira. “I think you’re much better off with me. Do you really want Goober or Arent or anybody else sneaking up on you when you least suspect it? I’m the only one who can save you from that!”
“Can’t we calm down for a minute?” Chucky pleaded from his seat by the fire pit.
Things were happening much too fast for Mira’s liking. She tried to position herself between Aoi and Mary in case something happened, but both of them made it clear they expected her to do something. This would’ve been the perfect time for Vern to resolve the situation, but he seemed strangely fascinated by the commotion taking place.
“Come on, we’re all friends here, and we’ve got to do this together. We need both of you,” Mira said.
“I’m not her friend,” Aoi snapped.
“She’s not my friend,” Mary shouted.
Mira couldn’t see any way out of this mess. She strained to find some sort of compromise, but she didn’t know enough about people to sort it out. She squeezed her eyes shut as she thought, her arms stretched out to distance her two friends from each other. Mary would never attack Aoi, and it impressed Mira that Aoi would sooner choose to leave than attack Mary.
“Let’s call a truce, OK? No one leaves, don’t talk to each other, and we’ll try and cool off for a while,” Mira suggested.
“How is that going to change anything?” Aoi asked. “It’ll only put off dealing with the problem.”
“That’s exactly right,” Mira answered honestly. Turning her back to Mary, Mira faced Aoi, who seemed to fade into the darkness, only her tears catching the faint rays of glimmering firelight. “But that’s better than sending you off into the desert. We have to stick together.”
Aoi relented and said she would accept the truce, but Mira’s ill feeling persisted. If Mary felt so strongly, it would only be a matter of time until she seized on another opportunity to push Aoi away or draw Vern closer. But this would have to do for now.
Back in the circle, Will sat next to Roselyn. He spit out a piece of the sour fire and glanced at the lovely girl beside him.
“Mary really should’ve known better than to press her luck like this,” he said.
Roselyn’s eyebrows dropped with displeasure. She crossed her legs and turned her back on him.
“Wait, you think she’s right?” Will groaned. “Unbelievable.”
His face was in his hand by the time the three other women returned. Everyone seemed moody and grumpy, but no one said more than a few words for the rest of the evening. They set up their bags and blankets like small tents, choosing to forsake increased protection from the cold for a small semblance of privacy.
The next day and a great distance away, Ogden Fortst led Kevin, Jeana, and Clara from the northernmost edge of the mountain chain and into the frozen desert. He’d outfitted them with animal furs to keep warm, and they struggled to keep them from sliding off their backs.
“In case you don’t like the idea of an animal being slaughtered for its pelt, don’t worry. These were dead when I found them!”
“That’s so comforting to know,” Jeana griped, cringing at the fur wrapped around her.
Fortst carried several thick logs over each shoulder. Kevin bobbled a few also, constantly shifting them against his side. He looked out over the seemingly endless desert.
“I see now what you meant about missing the mountains. How long will it take us to cross this desert? How far away are we from the old palace?” Kevin asked.
Mulling over some abstract calculations in his head, Fortst gave as precise an answer as he could.
“Somewhere above a week to cross the desert, and our destination lies somewhere beyond that. Let’s hope we see enough of the web to keep our bearings straight. Last thing we need is a lengthy detour.”
“A week?” Kevin gasped. “Doesn’t look like there’s a source of food out here. We should be carrying food instead of all this wood.”
“The wood’s for eating,” Fortst replied.
“What?” Jeana asked.
“We’re entering a strange place now, where things as we think they should be aren’t. This far north, it might be because we’re that much closer to the web. It might even be because we’re approaching the spot where the first being was created. Either way, there’s a heightened sensation that comes with being here. It’s more spiritual and visceral. Best thing we can do is just keep on course and not let anything distract us,” he explained.
They passed over the first dunes, which had a thin layer of sand stretching over the tightly packed ice and rock below. Jeana put her hand over her eyes to peer into their surroundings.
“Somehow I’d hoped we’d be able to see Mira once things became flat like this. Clara, do you know if they’re out here?”
Furs covered Clara’s mouth, so when she spoke it seemed like the words came straight from her intense, brown eyes.
“They been out here for a while,” she answered. “Seem to be spending more time fightin’ than walkin’.”
“Who are they fighting? Maybe we can get there and help!” Kevin said, alarmed.
“Each other. I been watchin ’em sometime in the dark. Somethin’ with the short girl and Mary over one of the boys.”
“Oh!” Jeana chuckled. “Fighting over boys? I guess it had to happen eventually.”
“Couldn’t they do it a little later?” Kevin shrugged. “We’ve got some more important stuff going on now, don’t we?”
But Jeana continued to laugh, leaning against her husband.
“You know, when you’re that age it’s hard to tell your head from your tail. Somehow nothing seems to matter more than any sudden yearning in your fickle heart. You must remember how it was. It wasn’t that long ago,” she said.
“Eons, to my recollection.” Kevin shook his head, running a hand through his gray hair.
“Clara, the next time you go back there you should tell those girls there are better things to fight over than men to begin with. If they lose track of what they’re doing now over a boy, they’ll never forgive themselves,” Jeana said.
“I ain’t never had a boy want to do nothin’ to me other than cut me to pieces. That don’t seem worth fighting over at all,” Clara mumbled.
Chapter 7: Chucky’s Plan
A tense and monotonous day in the desert was mercifully drawing to a close. To get water, Mira had taught them how to rub blocks of ice together and strain the sandy drippings through a blanket. But as they continued north, ice became scarcer instead of more abundant. Though only Aoi and Mary had agreed not to talk, most everyone joined in their silence. The fighting of the first few days had already stunted their progress, and now there was nothing for any of them to do during the day but walk.
Chucky glanced around at the small pup tents occupied by his friends. They propped their bags over their upper bodies and spread the blankets out underneath them. Aoi and Vern shared one, as did Roselyn and Will, who happened to have Knoll for the night. Mary had planted herself off to the side a ways. He had a spot right next to Mira, whose legs were sticking out of the bottom of their makeshift shelter at this very moment. Her ankles were extended, the tops of her shoes pressed flat against the sand.
Unable to think of a worse way to start a relationship, he wondered what it all would’ve been like if they didn’t have this monumental responsibility. Why couldn’t they take leisurely walks in a forest or romantic dinners by candlelight? Their conversations were always dominated by the task at hand and Mira’s constant analysis and engineering of the situation. Worse, he began to feel like the friction between Aoi and Vern had spread into their interactions. Even Will and Roselyn seemed affected, and their security was one he envied.
He picked up the last glowing, edible flame and slid down beside Mira
, letting it fall from his fingers and illuminate their tiny space. Supporting herself on her elbows, Mira had her face in her hands. She didn’t react to his entry, and even that pained him a little.
“Are you crying?” he asked, and Mira sniffled and turned her head to him.
“No, I’m not. I’m just trying to figure things out,” she said. Despite the answer, her red eyes told a whole other story.
“What’s to figure out? I’m sure tomorrow will be better and then soon we’ll rejoin the carafe shards and it’ll all be over.” He tried to calm her, but it didn’t even remotely work.
“It won’t be better unless we make it better. In fact, if we don’t do something, there’s a good chance it could get so much worse. There were about ten times today when I thought Aoi and Mary would rip out each other’s throats, and I don’t know what to do about it. We’ve overcome so much, how can this be the thing that kills us?”
Chucky sympathized with Mira, but most of all he hated to see her hurt. As long as she felt that way, there was no chance he would be able to have her the way he wanted.
“This isn’t going to stop us, Mira. You’ll find a way to get through it. You always do,” he said.
“Most of the time it’s just dumb luck,” she countered, hanging her head. “I don’t know what I’m doing. How can I? Nothing anybody does makes any sense. There doesn’t seem to be any way to fix this.”
Lost for another way to support her, he finally made the connection between her frustration and his wishes to impress her. If only he could invent something to solve her problem, she would be so appreciative. Digging his fingers into his thick hair, he tried to think of what they could do. Aoi and Mary would never relent on their own. Vern couldn’t bring himself to spurn either of them. What they all needed was someone to show them that relationships weren’t meant to be painful struggles.