The Tree

by Na'amen Gobert Tilahun

  And Carlie lying statue-still on the floor, wrapped in a thin, gossamer layer of darkness.

  “Carlie,” Zaha whispered softly, hurrying down the final steps.

  Carlie’s mouth opened and closed as Zaha stepped closer. Carlie was struggling for breath, trying to speak, and the darkness that covered her body writhed and swirled like a living thing. Finally, Carlie’s eyes shot open and her head turned to look at Zaha. Tears gathered in her eyes and her lips parted. The darkness exploded from Carlie’s mouth in ropes thick as Zaha’s wrist, forcing the mouth so wide it looked like it might split at the corners. Zaha tried to flee up the stairs but it was too late. She felt the darkness wrap around her ankle. The same aching cold she remembered from the mall shocked through her body.

  She fell to the ground, hitting her chin on the last step. There was nothing to hold onto and her nails scratched furrows in the floor as she was pulled closer to the darkness. She screamed and heard the thunder of footsteps on the stairs above. She looked up and saw Patrah and Tae come running through the door above her armed with large knives.

  “Help!” She reached out for them.

  They hurried down the stairs and Patrah immediately struck out, her knife cutting through the tendril holding Zaha. Zaha was able to scrambled to her feet and rush over to the stairs, where she turned and watched as they sliced through the tendrils, one after another.

  She knew what was coming. She knew it. Still, she watched as the knife severed Carlie’s neck. Zaha’s breath was caught in her chest and it felt like everything was going black around her, but she was denied the comfort of unconsciousness. Like the reports she had read of the mall, without the anchor, the darkness faded away. Patrah and Tae turned to look at Zaha. Tae moved to block her direct line-of-sight to the body. It did nothing to help, but she appreciated the gesture.

  “Go upstairs. Wait for us. We’ll be there soon,” Tae said.

  She stumbled up the stairs and out the door, where Melinda restlessly moved from foot to foot. When she saw Zaha she walked forward and threw her small arms around Zaha.

  “I’m sorry. I left to go get them and then I had to bring us all through the dreaming and it took longer than I thought. I’m sorry.”

  Zaha finally embraced her back.

  “It’s not your fault. Thank you for bringing help,” Zaha said, looking around. Except it now seemed she could not stop seeing the now headless corpse of her Carlie no matter where she looked.

  Yes. Help.

  MATTHIAS

  Matthias took off after Byron, ignoring the yells behind him. This had been a long time in coming and he could not wait—not when his prey was in sight. Perhaps later he would blame it on the way the power had started burning and bubbling in his blood as soon as he’d caught a glimpse of Byron: the thrill of the hunt.

  Matthias pushed himself faster and skidded around a corner. A sword swung out at neck height and Matthias bent backward just in time to go under the blade. He saw the room he had entered was filled with weaponry that was randomly shooting between the shelves, rearranging itself and causing a danger for anyone who wanted to cross. Byron was bending and twisting his way through the room. Matthias watched closely. He was sure that the weapons were somehow slowing as they got closer to the other man’s body.

  Matthias pulled more power through his body and world around him snapped into black and white, all the movement in the room immediately known to him. He moved quickly, darting and dodging, and reached the end not that far behind his quarry. The next hall was a straightaway and he pushed himself, getting closer to Byron as he turned another corner, around which was another door. Matthias went through it, and saw Byron moving towards an exit on the far side of the room. Even as Matthias took a step forward he knew he had made an error. He could feel the stone sinking underneath his feet.

  “Great. Now I’m in Indiana Jones,” Matthias muttered as stones fell from the walls and the room began to fill with sand. He slowed his forward progress and looked back at the door behind him. It was closing slow enough that he could make it, but Byron would also make it through the far door. Who knew how long it would be until they found him in this labyrinth?

  “The hell you say!” Matthias yelled, making a decision, then reaching into the front pocket of his cargo pants and pulling out a small ball of twine. He threw it at Byron and watched it expand into a full net that took Byron across the legs and dropped him to the floor.

  “You piece of shit!” Byron yelled, twisting to tear at the net on his legs. He got free just as Matthias came into range.

  “Believe it or not, Matthias, I am sorry for all I put you through. But it was necessary,” Byron explained as he circled.

  Matthias was silent, taking in his opponent’s body language.

  “We had to be here right now. At this time. It was meant to be.”

  “Stop spewing bullshit. You’re no Seer,” Matthias growled out and struck, catching Byron with a glancing blow to his cheek.

  The serious expression dropped from Byron’s face as he dodged and came up sporting a wicked smile. “It was worth a try, right?”

  Matthias just sprang at him. Byron tried to come under him but Matthias was a hunter and he would not be tricked by his prey. He came down on Byron with his full body, slamming him into the ground with all his weight.

  Matthias straddled Bryon and pulled his head up by his collar before punching him.

  “That was for Ruth,” Matthias said.

  Byron moved out of the way of the second punch and bucked Matthias off of him. He scrambled to his feet and spat blood into the sand.

  “Now, Matthias. You know as well as I do that Ruth abhorred violence. Not a very loving tribute, eh?” Byron smirked, revealing pink, blood-stained teeth.

  Matthias dove forward. His hands went for Byron’s throat. “You don’t get to say her name!” Before he could connect, Byron caught him with an elbow in the chest and pushed him off trajectory.

  “I knew her better than you ever could,” Byron hissed, moving forward.

  Matthias dropped and caught Byron’s legs with his own. He wrestled until he was on top and got his hands around Byron’s throat. Byron looked deep into his eyes and Matthias’s hands started to loosen before he could fight off the charm.

  Byron slid from underneath him and stood.

  “Snake.” Matthias jumped to his feet.

  “So, what you really thought about myself and Ruth finally comes out,” Byron replied.

  “Don’t ever compare yourself to Ruth. She used her power to help people, not manipulate them and hurt them!” Matthias feinted left and kicked right.

  “Is that what you think? That Ruth didn’t reach into minds and make people love her, slowly but surely? Maybe that’s why you’re still mad about it. You did get attached to her awfully quick, didn’t you?”

  Byron laughed and turned so Matthias’s kick hit his shoulder and countered with a kicked at Matthias’s crotch. Matthias moved to the side easily.

  “Really? You’re gonna go there?” Matthias asked.

  Byron smiled. “If you’re not using it with me anymore, why should your new boy enjoy it?”

  Matthias went to sweep Byron’s legs out from underneath him and noticed that the sand was now above their ankles in some places and growing higher quickly.

  “Yes. Maybe you want to pay attention to the fact that we have maybe five minutes until we both die in here,” Byron said, following his gaze.

  “Yeah, I noticed,” Matthias growled at the man. He turned his senses to the room around him, taking in the stones that made up the walls. There was a small round one by the exit that was not the same as the others. A different composition. He moved over to it as fast as he could with sand now up to his knees and pressed it. It sunk into the wall, followed by a grinding sound as the sand slowly stopped falling from the walls to the floor. Matthias was winded by the fight and having to move through the sand. He watched Byron fall down exhausted. Byron was well-trained but his po
wers did nothing for him physically, unlike Matthias’s own.

  “So do we keep trying to kill each other right now, or wait until we’re rested? Maybe wait to be rescued? How do you vote?” Byron laughed.

  Matthias didn’t say anything; just watched him, looking for glimpses of the boy he had once cared about in the monster he had become.

  “You always were a dreamer, Matthias, dreaming of a better world. Dreaming that people were good. But you never were much for action.”

  Matthias looked pointedly at the bruises on Byron’s face. He lowered himself against the wall and sat. “I wouldn’t say that’s still the case, would you?”

  “I guess not,” Byron said, touching his face lightly.

  Matthias caught movement in the corner of his eye. Something humping its way under the sand, moving fairly fast toward them. “We’re not alone.” He whispered and rose to his feet.

  “On your feet, unless you want to meet whatever it is in its own environment, so it can burrow into you through your ass,” Matthias shouted, eyes never leaving the movement.

  Byron leaped to his feet.

  “What lovely imagery.”

  “It got your lazy ass up, didn’t it?” Matthias asked.

  It came straight for them and they both dived to the side, watching it disappear when it hit the wall.

  “Maybe it hit the wall and died?” Byron asked.

  “You are entirely too hopeful. When did that happen?” Matthias asked.

  Byron went quiet and Matthias heard the sound of it behind them. He turned in time to see it rear up out of the sand. It was long and thick like an anaconda, but mottled brown, and lining each side were a hundred legs that ended in flippers that pushed it through the sand. It struck forward and Matthias moved, knocking Byron out of its way. The thing dived into the sand again but Matthias was already on his feet and jumping towards it. He landed heels down on its back and its head reared out of the sand in front of him.

  He whipped his hands around the neck, avoiding the fangs that were snapping in the air.

  “Look out!” He heard the warning and rolled to the side, hearing the sound of tearing flesh but not feeling the pain yet.

  Warm wetness fell onto Matthias side and he pulled harder, leaning farther back until the creature’s spine finally snapped under his hands. He waited even longer, until it had stopped moving before he finally let it flop from his arms. Matthias started patting down his body for a wound until he heard the stuttering of breath from Byron behind his back. He knew the sound of death. He turned and saw Byron gasping on the ground. The inside of his thigh was a mess of blood and muscle, quickly turning the sand below him into a swamp. The tail end of the creature had ripped open his thigh and his femoral artery.

  Watching his first best-friend-turned-greatest-enemy bleed out in front of him was more affecting than Matthias had expected. Not enough to take Byron in his arms, but enough to sit beside him on the sand.

  “Wouldn’t have given you the warning if I knew it was going to lead to this,” Byron frowned. Matthias could see the lie in his face.

  “Why save me?” Matthias asked quietly.

  Byron shrugged. “Seemed like the thing to do.”

  Matthias had no response.

  “At least we did right by you,” Byron suddenly said.

  “What the hell are you talking about? This hardly makes up for all the problems you caused me. All the things you did,” Matthias said with a bitter tone.

  “You got out of the Organization. That was all Ruth and I really wanted for you,” Byron gasped, eyes going unfocused.

  “You’re not making any sense, Byron,” Matthias replied.

  “It’s a shame. It would have been so beautiful. I would have made this world so great. It would have been a golden age for us all and you stopped it before—” He stopped speaking and went still. Matthias sat there looking at the corpse of the first boy he had ever loved. There was no satisfaction in his belly. There was no feeling of completeness. Just a hollowness in his chest where he thought he might have once felt something.

  MIN

  Min was not happy. She had just been reunited with her sister and now Lil was gone again. At least this time she knew Lil was somewhere close. She sat quietly with Davi while Arel and Jagi asked Razel questions about what had happened in the Rulig Courts while they were gone. It wasn’t long before other ‘dants started to show up. Some were carrying bags with them, but most came with nothing but the clothes on their back. A lot of them paused when they saw Arel and Jagi, but Razel and the others urged them to come inside. The older ‘dant Uchel was very good at calming anyone who was panicked.

  The conversation around them got much louder and Min started to pay attention to what the ‘dants were talking about. She listened harder and started to shake.

  Arel must have noticed because he leaned over to her. “What is wrong, pup?”

  “Is this world going to end?” Arel and Jagi shared a look over their heads and then looked back at them.

  Davi was staring at them all. She didn’t know if he could understand the idea of their whole world ending. Min wasn’t even sure it made sense to her, but it scared her.

  “Lil will save us,” Jagi said with confidence.

  “But how?” Davi asked.

  “What did your sib say to you when you first came to the Ruling Courts?” Jagi asked them.

  “That she would take care of us,” Min answered.

  “And hasn’t she done that?” Arel asked in turn.

  “Yes,” Davi answered.

  “Then trust that she will continue to do that,” Arel whispered.

  They were quiet until Davi leaned his head against Min’s side and looking at the two Antes asked, “Can you tell us a story?”

  Min was too old for a story, but she listened anyway as Arel and Jagi took turns telling them about a young girl called Mbande of the Swamps who lived in a different world and ended up ruling it. It did a good job of taking her mind off of what she had learned.

  Eventually she must have fallen asleep, because the next thing Min knew, it was only her and Davi, and Arel and Jagi were not there. They were surrounded by ‘dants, with everyone jostling for space. That must have been what woke her up. She was nervous without Arel and Jagi nearby but trusted they were close.

  “Hello, young one, you are Liliana’s sibling.” The voice was like music and she looked up at the most beautiful Ante she had ever seen. She remembered him vaguely from the fight in Lil’s room. She looked at its clear skin filled with lights that moved and exploded. She heard Davi gasp next to her.

  “You look all sparkly, Mister,” her little brother said wonderingly.

  The Ante winced.

  “Please call me June, not mister. I’m a they, not a he.”

  Min saw Davi put his hand in his mouth. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

  June smiled. “It’s alright. Now you know.”

  They both nodded.

  “I remember you,” Min said. “You were there when this happened.” She held up her arm.

  “Yes, I was. I am sorry I could not help your sib more then.”

  Before Min could say anything else a familiar pair of hands dropped onto her shoulders. She leaned her head back and saw Arel behind her and Jagi picking up Davi and settling him in his lap.

  “June,” Arel and Jagi greeted at the same time. “We are glad you got the message,” Arel continued.

  “Arel. Jagi.” June nodded at both. “I have some contacts who passed the warning on. I passed it to every House of the Madame in Corpiliu. All the ones in Zebub at least have closed and evacuated everyone here. It is good to see you both whole and healthy.”

  “We have you to thank for that. The Houses of the Madame offered us shelter when we needed it. You have our thanks,” Jagi said.

  June shrugged and smiled sadly. “Only doing my part.”

  “We thank you anyway,” Arel said.

  “You are very welcome.” June looked over their shoulde
rs. “I believe I see some others from my House. I would like to greet them. We shall speak again.”

  Without waiting for a reply June began to push their way through the crowd. They all watched June go, shoulders drooped, lights dimmed.

  “June looks sad,” Min whispered to Arel and he nodded back at her.

  “Yes. They’ve always wanted to change the world. To make it a better place. I think those will be the ones who take this ending the hardest. They will have to start all over again, learning a whole new way of life, and all they will have to remember of the old is that they did not change it in time to make any difference,” Arel said quietly.

  “That is all many of us will have to remember,” Jagi added.

  They watched more ‘dants arrive, and eventually they started to spill onto the stairs and down the halls. Any time ‘dants seemed to be getting close to breaking the boundary that Lil laid down, Arel or Jagi left Min and Davi behind and went to remind them that it was for their own safety.

  Min saw a few Antes in the crowd here and there. Most were like Arel, Jagi, and June—shaped like ‘dants just with different skin or faces or a few too many limbs.

  She asked Jagi why this was.

  “Well, you see, pup, a lot of the Antes that don’t look like ‘dants look down on us and think we are lesser. So you’re bound to find more of our kind speaking with ‘dants or listening to their warnings. Some probably belong to the revolution. Others might just have friends among the ‘dants.”

  At one point when both Arel and Jagi were gone, a group of ‘dants Min’s age surrounded them. Min had not seen any other children since the night her parents had died. She looked at them and thought they looked strange. Their eyes moved to and fro quickly, following any movement. She looked over at Davi and her sib also watched them with a wary expression on his face, hand already in his mouth.

  “What’s with your arm?” One of them said, pointing at Min’s gloved arm. Min unfolded it in front of them. It cracked, and a layer of frost fell off; a sign of how nervous she was.