by Alex South
“Praise the sun! Praise the moon.”
Zack paused, mid swing. The words were forcefully loud. Before he turned his head, before he saw who had spoken, he knew they were intended for someone in the distance. His eyes moved to a male of the group, staring and waving both his arms. Zack followed his gaze to three men coming down the road towards them. He quickly sized them up. This meant there were others outside of his group. A hollowness spread through him.
What would they do?
All of them seemed focused on Stones. They stopped, a short distance away – their eyes staring at him. Zack tried to guess their next move.
“I come from the high priest!” said the middle one upon drawing close, “I have a message that you all must hear.” A serious expression sat on his freckled face. His thinning hair showed a pale scalp which matched his complexion, giving him an overall ghoulish appearance. His hands gripped a plastic, red box, which he placed on the ground and stepped onto. The group gathered around.
“Praise the sun. Praise the moon. The high priest has declared the following, after hearing the sun and moon speak:
“Pray more. Worship the moon. Don’t show your bare feet to the sun.”
The man scanned the crowd as he spoke, slowly moving his gaze left to right, and then back again.
“Destroy wires. Be careful of wires, they can hurt you. If anyone dies they must be carried to the city. Put rocks in your pockets if you pass under wires.”
“Is it all wires?” someone said.
“Yes. All wires, but the ones that go above your head are the worst,” he replied. “If it rains you must all pray to the sun, and the moon. Don’t go in caves. Don’t burn anything. It’s dangerous. Anyone with different-coloured eyes must come with me. Anyone with pink hair must come with me. All buildings must have their windows smashed. That is one of the most important things. Don’t walk on yellow flowers. They have the most sun. Lorries are defeated. Don’t attack the lorries.”
The two men with him remained silent. One of them with a flat, ugly nose and broad shoulders. The other short with messy black hair and a beard to his waist.
“Clocks are not to be destroyed. Do not destroy clocks!”
The man paused, looked at Macy and pointed at her, his face remaining expressionless.
“You have to go to the devil’s bowl in the big city,” he said, “and…” he looked around the crowd, his arm hovering in front of him, “you should go with her,” he pointed at a man to his right, before choosing a few others to join him.
Zack’s stomach dropped. Did he mean now? Was it up to the group? He couldn’t split from Macy. He searched for options, some way to change the messenger’s mind, some excuse or escape. He looked at the faces around him. They all kept their gaze forwards. The messenger returned to his speech.
“When does she go?” said Zack loudly.
The messenger stopped and stared at him.
“When does she go,” said Zack again, this time pointing at her, and trying to sound more nonchalant.
“When you have heard all my commands, then she may go.”
“Tomorrow. Tomorrow’s better.”
“What do you mean!?”
“I mean… we can wait… we’ve got so much to smash. If she stays she can help us, and tomorrow she can go instead.”
A long silence followed Zack’s words, until he realised he would have to keep talking.
“We’ve gotta fight the devil,” he shouted, throwing his fist in the air and walking forwards to be in front of the group. Turning, he saw horror on their faces.
He put his arm down and turned, looking up at the messenger, who frowned down at Zack from his box.
“The devil is in many places,” he said calmly, “do not disagree with the high priest’s orders.”
Zack knew he couldn’t keep her and switched his approach: “I… I will go to the big city too. I want to fight the devil there.”
The messenger nodded. “I have to finish,” he said, turning back to the crowd. Zack searched for an excuse to take Stones. What if he said that Stones helped him fight the devil? The messenger’s words kept coming. Zack couldn’t process them. He could only wait for the speech to finish. He watched the man’s mouth and prepared himself.
“… and then you should put it in water. And leave it there.” The messenger stared around the group for a few moments, looked downwards at his feet and stepped off his box.
Some of the group began to walk down the road. Zack followed them. Macy walked by his side. He didn’t dare call to Stones – he would follow him anyway, once a certain distance away.
“Wait.” The messenger’s voice cut right through him. Zack turned to look.
“How did you control the dog?” he said to no one in particular.
“The dog is controlled by Zack,” A woman said, pointing at him. Zack’s eyes flicked from her back to the messenger.
“Yes, he has to stay with me. He is extra protection against the devil,” said Zack.
The messenger was quiet for a while. “You will stay,” he said, before pointing to a man, “you will take his place,” he continued to point at different members of the crowd, “and you… and you… and you…” before turning back to Zack, “You will stay and show me how you speak with the dog.”
“No I need to go. We’re strongest together.”
The messenger looked at him with distaste. “To travel in a small group, you must be ready. I see that you are not ready to leave the group.”
“No… the dog keeps away the devil, from me and, and her, we must all stay with the dog. It wh-“
“Never be alone!” the messenger screeched over him, his eyes lighting up with fury. “Never be alone.”
The rest of the group joined in, their voices crashing against each other. Zack could feel his heart thumping. “I will prepare the dog,” he said once they had stopped, “I will prepare him to separate from us, and… I’ll just teach him to follow a new person.”
Did that excuse him? Zack thought. Would they just let him go now? He could barely remember his own words. Everything blurred in his mind. He walked over to Stones, patted his thigh a few times, then began to walk away from the group, Macy at his side.
“Stay here!” shouted the messenger behind him. Zack turned around, “I need to do it alone, he gets confused when there’s a lot of people.”
“The devil is trying to take him!” shouted a man.
“Hold him!” shouted the messenger. The crowd began to charge. Zack didn’t have time to turn away. Instead he moved back towards them, screaming at Macy to run. He spread his arms and dived forwards, clattering into them.
He felt himself slam against the ground. They closed around, filling up his vision. He put his hands up to push against them, as they grabbed and pulled – flipping him onto his back. Grass pressed against his face. They yanked his arms behind him, their weight pushing him down. His head twisted sideways, he tried to glimpse Macy. Feet and legs blocked his view. A space opened up, his heart sank. She was struggling in a man’s arms. Somewhere behind him, he heard Stones barking loudly.
Zack screamed, throwing everything into his limbs – his vision blurring as his head snapped back and forth.
…
The darkness, the itchiness in his wrists, the ache of the hard metal on his spine, his head full of anger, his body, full of burning acidic fear – it all poured into Zack with the same message, the same relentless, destroying message.
He had lost her.
Night had fallen. He had been left in the silence of the village, surrounded by broken, twisted destruction. The tribe had moved on. He suspected they were still close by.
He moved his wrists up and down behind him to fray the ropes against the lamppost. If he did it long enough… if he started now… how many days could keep him here…?
What if another tribe came? A separate one that he could convince to let him loose?
Something had to happen. It had to. He couldn’t lose he
r.
Chapter 21
Laura woke up to a rising sun – a huge ball coming out of the horizon. But it was colourless and dim. Everything was. The glass had changed and it had changed the light. There were only differing shades of grey, making the room monochromatic. Laura guessed the effect was to help her sleep.
If she got up, would she hear Adam’s voice? She left the bed and walked over to the window. What if something had happened to Adam? Some random act of God killed him and she was left here alone. Would she be able to make it her home, find a way to open the doors and roam around?
That would give her access to the crystals – as much as she wanted. What would that do to her? Would she limit herself to a few hours a day? Or one day on, one day off? Would she break the glass that encased them? Was it safe to break the glass? Fuck it, she would get used to them. Build them into her life, without losing herself. She would live like a queen. Food. Safety. After all the tragedy she had lived through, this could be the final conclusion. Her. Alone. Here in her strange futuristic castle in a forest. She deserved it. At the very least, she deserved it.
“Good morning Laura,” Adam’s voice pulled her out her thoughts.
“Were you watching me sleep?” said Laura.
“No… no, of course not. I… when you wake up the computer here tells me. I don’t want to keep you waiting around.”
“Give me a bell. I’ll ring it when I want you.”
“I’ll look into that Laura. How do you feel today?”
“Fine.”
“Fantastic! Well come and meet me in the lab. I’ll just send Jimmy down.”
She eyed the door. Would she return to the crystals? Part of her wasn’t sure if she wanted to, if it was safe, if she was ready.
The door opened. The guard stood there, staring at her for a moment, before making a lumbering turn and leaving. Laura stepped into the red-carpet hallway. She saw the guard heading right and followed. She hadn’t gone this way yet. This was something new. She took another corner and a door opened ahead. Through it, she saw the MRI machine. Her route had been new, but her destination the same.
The dead air hit her – she forced herself forwards, moving over to the machine. She sat on the edge. On the other side of the thick glass, she saw Adam enter. His red Hawaiian shirt had been replaced with a blue one.
“Okay Laura. Lie down over there for me please.”
She hated his voice in here. She hated every noise. They were worse than the silence. She lay down and watched the ceiling. The surface beneath her began to move. The top of the machine crossed her vision. Then darkness.
…
Adam knew what should happen. The last result should be a blip – an unexplainable mystery that fell away into the past. He didn’t care if he never found out why it happened. He just needed it to be gone.
Up flashed the number. Adam’s eyes stayed on the screen as the machine brought Laura back. They stayed, as she got up. They stayed, as she spoke:
“Adam…”
Finally he looked at her and forced a smile.
“We’ll have to go in the magnet room again,” he said, trying to keep the panic out his voice.
“With the crystals,” said Laura quickly.
“Yes.”
Chapter 22
Adam put on the goggles. His office disappeared, replaced by a corridor and a downwards view of Laura and the guard. He became without a body – a point of vision able to move freely. He watched them pass underneath him, then moved to the scan room to watch them enter.
Metal detection. The idea began within him, flowing out through the goggles and rolling into reality. He stared at Laura, watching her until the scan finished.
Safe – the result popped into his mind, almost as if it were his own thought.
He opened the door for her.
“Thanks Laura,” he said.
She was pretty. He hadn’t been sure at first, but he had come to like the way she looked. She entered the crystal room. Adam watched as she fell to her knees, her arms stretching out to her sides. Then she fell flat on her face, squirming against the glass floor like an insect on a window.
Adam watched nervously. She wasn’t supposed to be there. One time only – they had told him one time only. But once started it was impossible to interrupt the process. He had to wait. Finally her time was up. The door opened. He watched Laura head towards it, moving agonisingly slowly and looking at the crystals the whole time. He thought about asking her what had happened, what she had felt – but somehow he couldn’t see the point. This was just another horrible uncertainty. He wouldn’t let it get to him.
Chapter 23
Laura sat in the same chair as before, feeling it sink into every contour of her body. A few seconds and the voice began:
“In the last lesson, I told you about how human beings affected us. How we arranged for a peace treaty, and how we tried to provide them with food, housing, whilst also trying to reduce their rate of reproduction.
“As we built more cities on the sea, we began to achieve our aims. The situation improved. Many human representatives pledged a new era of restraint, no longer would their excessive nature lead them. Instead they would manage their resources responsibly. It seemed that humans were entering a new golden era. We were happy, as their wellbeing affected ours.
“What followed was in one sense very complex, and in another very simple. I will give you the simple version for the sake of brevity. Humans didn’t change.
“They continued their consumption on a slightly reduced level. We were in touch with their scientists, and had access to the same data. We could see that our planet was being changed irreversibly. We could see that the climate would collapse, that weather patterns as we knew them would collapse. That everything would change. They were no longer at war, but they still engaged in their own destruction.
“We held strikes, no longer willing to work with them. As their ocean cities relied on us, they had no option but to acquiesce to our demands. We demanded that we keep a portion of the food we produced. That was all. At this time, the food shortages were over. It was a simple demand to meet. They met it. We stockpiled this food, waiting. We agreed amongst ourselves upon drastically reduced reproduction, shrinking the size of our species.
“Then when the time was right, we left. We moved to an area of the ocean they did not use. We moved as deeply as our bodies would allow. And we waited, in darkness.
“We had made our calculations. We knew roughly when humans would destroy themselves. We planned to return at that time. Unfortunately the surface of the ocean became incredibly acidic, and inhospitable. We were forced to remain very deep for generations more than we intended.
“Eventually it became safe, and we returned. The humans were all gone.
“Sea levels had risen, engulfing their cities. We began to harvest the technology they had left behind. This technology was advanced, and we were able to alter much of it to work underwater.
“We developed a breathing apparatus, which allowed us to walk on land.
“I want to state for you again, that we are a species that need an idea to unify under. I explained in the last lesson that it was the power of numbers.
“But events had challenged our great idea.
“We found ourselves in a world destroyed by humans. Would it not have been better for them to never have existed? The power of numbers had created them, but they had limited and destroyed and restricted and removed. They had ruined the balance. We also had a better understanding of the universe. Back at the beginning, the stars represented an unknown beauty. But we had learnt from the humans that space was mostly empty and cold.
“In short, we could no longer have such a positive view of life.
“In addition to this, we began to talk about a new concept, which we called the great filter.
“Why, with there being so many planets, and with the universe being so old, was there no sign of intelligent life? Surely, if the universe was as big
as we thought, there would be life out there. Why wouldn’t one form of life have mastered travel? Why wouldn’t they have mastered colonisation? Why weren’t we, a small, primitive species, gazing in wonder at the species that had got there first? Gazing at their ships that would fill our sky, their technology sophisticated far beyond ours. Why hadn’t they come to our planet to use its resources? Why hadn’t they – at the very least – visited long enough to leave something behind, something that proved their existence?
“Why were we so alone? We believed that given a million years the humans would have taken over the universe, spread to every corner. That was their nature. But the universe wasn’t a million years old, it was billions of years old. So where were the species with the same nature as humans? Billions of years, surely enough for one species to rise above them all.
“The answer? The great filter. Life had a type of self-destruct code built in. Just as we had seen in humans. Life didn’t spread through the universe because technological advancement brought immense power. And immense power brought self-destruction. The great filter.
“Unfortunately the new way of seeing things brought more questions than answers. It began as debates. Passionate and exciting. But then it all changed. Collectively we realised we could not agree, and that the first oceanbeings to act would be the ones that won the argument.
“It took a long time, but eventually, after many generations of human technology, war broke out. Only a small minority of us believed in war, but they had never had the opportunity to wage it, and then suddenly, because of human technology, they did.
“We broke away from one another, forming groups based on what we thought should become our new great idea. It was a short war. One side quickly established dominance and the others surrendered. Our species emerged with a new idea to unify under.
“We would move away from our old philosophy of multiplication and infinite numbers. Instead, we would become replicators and preservers. We would make copies of what was good, so that it could not be destroyed again. At the same time we would fight against any destructive forces we came across, even if that meant that we become destructive ourselves.