Haven

by Vincent E. Sweeney

  Stephen tried to keep a clear head and think out logically what he could do to help. Almost instantly, he realized that the gate to the front entrance of the city should be opened at once to let the stampede out as quickly as possible. Stephen stopped himself from shouting out the order when he turned and saw that the door was already open, and the watchman above it had begun to run away from the dangerous area.

  ‘Good,’ he thought to himself. ‘What next?’

  Stephen tried as best he could to block out the frantic screams of certain unlucky humans that were being stomped to death under the raging herd below him. His eyes continued to scan the city, searching for anything useful that he could do. His sporadic glancing stopped sharply when he saw the little girl, whom he had watched climb the tall tree earlier, dangling precariously from one of the higher branches as the raging beasts slammed one after another into the thick trunk.

  At first, he just assumed that the tree would hold up long enough for the stampede to pass by, if only the girl could hold on. He researched that possibility quickly, but was stopped in his mental tracks when he saw a large chunk of the tree’s bark soar high into the air, soon to be followed by another, and another. He glanced back at the forest behind the city, and for as far as his eyes could reach, the dust cloud continued to stretch on and on. The tree would never last long enough to simply wait out the ordeal.

  Stephen shot a look back at the girl, and was pleased to see that she had at least gained a better position - clinging to the thick center of the tree and not the flimsy branch she was clutching earlier. He quickly judged how well she was holding on and then figured that her frightened grip would last as long as the tree stood. However, Stephen’s heart sank when he noticed the horrified expression on her tear-washed face, and he felt a yearning to put a stop to it. Stephen’s mind took a sharp turn as a possible solution entered his brain, and he ran hurriedly back into his room.

  Kirin too was watching in fear as the tree continued to shake and quiver after the impact of each beast’s thick skull. She shifted her attention when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Stephen Carlisse emerge from the darkness of his room with an odd-looking device in his hands.

  Stephen held the grappler tightly in his grip, trying to muster the courage to do what he knew was necessary. His better judgment was stifled by the screams of the terrified little girl, and he prepared himself for what he was sure would be the most stupid attempt at heroism he would ever attempt.

  Stephen raised the metal stock of the gun to his shoulder, pulling it tightly towards himself. He used the electronic scope to zero in on his target: the highest part of the tree that could safely hold the impact and weight of a grappling hook and himself. He then looked down to see where his position on the patio related to the distance between the ground and the tree. Using his best guess, he figured that a lower spot on the tree would be a wiser target for the harpoon-hook. This decision also helped quell some of his fear of firing into a part of the tree that wouldn’t support his weight.

  With a final exhalation of worry, Stephen again raised the gun to his shoulder…aimed…and fired. A small tuft of smoke emitted from the rear of the gun as the harpoon shot out of the barrel, trailing behind it a strand of thin, black wire. Some dust and a few pieces of bark scattered when the harpoon shot into the tree, embedding deep within the dying trunk.

  Stephen hurriedly looped the harness around his torso and took a final breath. Out of curious instinct, he shot a quick glance to his right to see if Kirin was watching him, and was surprised to see that she actually was. Trying not to let his mind change focus, Stephen quickly leapt over the rail and soared, legs flailing, into the open air.

  With a less than graceful demeanor, Stephen swung over the stampede below him and slammed chest-first into the middle branches of the tree. Even with the security of his harness, Stephen was unwilling to release his grip on the stock as he flipped up and over one branch and landed hard into another, higher one. Stephen’s chest shuddered as he felt the air in his lungs being forced out. Coughing, he slowly regained his composure and wrapped his arms around the limb he had landed into, planting his feet on another sturdy one directly below it. Over the noise of the rumbling stampede, he heard the nearby cries of the little girl.

  Kirin leaned over her deck rail, trying to get a better look at what was happening inside the tree branches. She could barely see through the cloud of choking dust. She had lost track of the exact place where Stephen had entered the jumbled branches, so she began scanning the tree for a glimpse of the little girl. Kirin continued to search worriedly. Horrific thoughts that the girl might have suddenly fallen entered her mind when she was unable to spot her.

  Finally, through the thick mess of dust and brittle branches, Kirin spotted a tiny speck of pink shirt. She was relieved again when she spotted Stephen close behind the crying child, gradually working his way closer to her. A brief wisp of dust interfered with Kirin’s view, and she momentarily lost sight of them again. When the cloud spread out a little, she saw the little girl again - this time clutching firmly to Stephen’s neck with her legs wrapped in panic around his torso. A sigh of relief crossed Kirin’s lips but was cut short when the tree suddenly lurched forward.

  Stephen’s legs buckled under the impact below, but he was kept from falling by his firm attachment to the grappler. He clambered to his feet, clutching a tree branch with one hand and the handle of the hook-launcher with the other.

  The girl continued to cry and scream pitifully into Stephen’s ears. He maintained his grip on both the tree and the grappler for he felt there was definitely no need to hold onto the little girl. Her grip was so tight that Stephen was sure he would later need help to pry her from his body. He then activated a switch in the stock of his gun and a signal was sent up through the cable into the lodged harpoon, commanding it to retract its barbs from the tree.

  The now-narrow harpoon slid easily out of its point of entry and fell straight down through the tree branches, whizzing past Stephen and the child to land somewhere within the blinding fury below.

  Stephen activated another switch, and the gun hummed loudly as the coil of rope began to rewind itself, retracting the harpoon towards the gun-barrel. Almost a full minute passed, and Stephen became suddenly worried that there wouldn’t be enough time to make a successful escape, as he realized the tree was quickly beginning to form a flatter angle with the ground after each impact from the beasts below. At any moment, Stephen thought, the tree could topple over, killing himself and the child he was desperately hoping to rescue. His mind continued to work, but he was suddenly surprised when the hum of the gun stopped and he heard a metallic click.

  The cable had finished recoiling, but Stephen was mortified to see that the harpoon’s head had been twisted and flattened under the pressure of heavy hooves. He only hoped it would still fire.

  The tree shook violently, and the child’s screams grew suddenly louder as the enormous wooden mass began to creak and slide closer and closer to the ground. Stephen quickly raised his launcher and frantically chose the best target he could find: the window of a tenth floor apartment in the building next to his own.

  “Hurry up!” he yelled to himself, firing the launcher.

  The now-bent harpoon spiraled wildly through the air, flailing without any form of a straight path. Stephen frowned when the harpoon impacted ten feet below his intended target, but he found comfort in the fact that at least it had stuck. He was suddenly struck with another idea just as the tree began to accelerate its descent.

  “Hold on tight!” Stephen yelled to the girl, as if it were necessary.

  The child’s grip remained firm as Stephen jumped from his perched position on the limb. The massive tree fell swiftly behind him and crashed loudly into the ground, briefly scattering the beasts running beneath it.

  Stephen continued to swing to safety, holding the switch that re-coiled the cable as he went and praying it would be enough to keep him from slamming into the
ground. At the halfway point of his finally graceful swing, Stephen began to relax. He saw that the recoiling line would be just short enough to keep them sailing above the angry stampede.

  As a smile crossed Stephen’s lips, a shriek of terror crossed Kirin’s when the damaged harpoon became dislodged from the wall of the building. Stephen joined Kirin and the girl in a guttural yell as he fell helplessly, swallowed by the raging dust cloud that hid an untold number of heavy, relentless machines.

  Kirin lost sight of them and was unable locate the point where they fell into the stampede. She only knew that they had fallen close to one of the buildings. Her hope was that they were somehow able to run to the safety of the structure before they could be trampled. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for the safety of the little girl and the foolishly bold young man whom she now desperately wished to see alive again.

  Moments later, Kirin opened her eyes when she noticed that the loud rumble of the gigantic stampede was beginning to lower to the soft patter of individual hooves. Eventually, all was deathly still, but the dust cloud continued to mask the streets of the city like a looming spirit of evil preying on the innocent. Kirin let out a trembling sigh of relief in that the nightmare was over, and she began fearfully searching the dissipating cloud of dust for any sign of Stephen or the little girl.

  The city streets, which had earlier been buzzing with activity, were now desolate and empty. Bodies covered in dust lay everywhere: some of humans, some of beasts, but all were bleeding and disfigured. A few still squirmed with horrid life and yearned to have that life ended. A few people cautiously stepped outdoors again, carefully piercing the dust, which still hung thick in the air. They returned to the city streets looking like ghostly shadows that glided through a battlefield, searching for missing comrades.

  Kirin held her scarf tightly over her nose and mouth. The choking dust seemed to pass through anyway, and she was occasionally forced to cough. She could not be sure from the lack of good vision, but she guessed she was somewhere near the place where the young man and the girl had vanished. She was sure her help would be needed in the infirmary soon, but she could not help investigating for herself. She wanted… she needed to know what had happened to them.

  Kirin kept her eyes on the ground. She was afraid that she might walk up on their formless bodies at any moment, but she knew she would only find anything by keeping her gaze low. The dust cloud was still much too thick to see more than four or five meters away. She looked up to the sky for a moment and could see the towering form of an apartment building above. She knew it to be the one that they had landed near and felt she must be close to them now. As she continued to shuffle around the area she began to feel that maybe the search was a hopeless one. She then spotted something curious.

  A short bit away, Kirin saw a pair of feet standing still. She lifted her gaze to see that they belonged to one of several people gathered together, looking at something ahead. She slowly slid in between them to see what they were watching. Through the screen of dust, she could make out the motionless form of one of the beasts lying on its side. Two men were bent over it, lifting the creature’s massive legs as much as they could. Kirin found this extremely odd until she caught sight of a woman rushing in to the beast and reaching toward its bowels. From there, the woman produced a small object wearing a bright pink shirt. She clutched the body and began crying loudly.

  Kirin’s heart sank, and she started to turn away when she was stopped by the sound of another crying voice and she knew the child was alive. Her mother turned and rushed the girl out of the scene, towards more fresh air. Kirin heard some mumbling from one of the men holding the legs up. The man beckoned for another of the bystanders to step in and help.

  From under the downed beast rose another form: this one larger than the girl. Stephen’s face was bloodied, and he limped slightly when he stepped. The other man was called in to help him walk.

  Kirin’s heart lifted, and she stood in awe of the young man before her. He looked up only briefly as he passed by her, and his eyes met with hers. She was obliged to watch him as long as he watched her. Although he was disoriented and sore, he remembered the face that was watching him now, and he felt joy from her attention. The man leading him away asked him a question and he turned to answer. Soon, he was gone.

  Kirin suddenly realized she was standing alone, still watching after him, although she could no longer see anyone. She shook her head quickly to return her wandering thoughts. Kirin then rushed off toward the infirmary, where she knew much work awaited her.

  4

  Stephen winced slightly as the doctor examined his knee.

  “You’ve not broken anything,” she said with a smile. “Looks like you just stressed this joint pretty good.” She looked at his face, which was caked in dry blood. “The bleeding has stopped. I don’t see anything bad enough to need stitches. Just go easy on that leg for the rest of the day. I’ll give you something to put on it before you leave.”

  The doctor then glanced over Stephen’s shoulder and motioned to someone.

  “She’ll clean you up,” she said. “Just relax for a little while.”

  Stephen nodded. “Thank you, doctor.”

  The doctor smiled again, then turned away to attend another patient.

  Stephen glanced up and noticed a pretty, young nurse with pony-tailed, brown hair watching him with a smile. He smiled in return. The nurse then put her work-glasses back on and returned to her task at hand.

  Stephen laid his head back and closed his eyes. He began to replay the whole incident in his mind: swinging over the stampede, climbing the treetop, falling into a swarm of enormous beasts, scrambling beneath a fallen one for shelter, and then having the girl pulled from his arms by… the girl!

  Stephen sat up quickly and met Kirin face to face.

  “The girl, is she ok?” he asked worriedly.

  Kirin placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and laid him back down.

  “She’s ok. She’s with her mother. She was only scared.”

  Stephen was all at once relieved and captivated. He had never heard Kirin’s voice before, and it was more beautiful than he could have imagined. It was soft and soothing - almost a whisper. He had to think a moment before he could remember what he had asked.

  “Oh… good,” Stephen sighed, and then relaxed again.

  He liked her touch on his shoulder, but she removed it quickly and turned her attention to the cart she had brought over. She dipped a white cloth into a bowl of water and began wiping the blood from his face ever so gently. This sensation enthralled him even more. He swallowed hard and began searching for something to say to her but was surprised when she spoke first.

  “Who is she?” Kirin asked sweetly.

  Stephen’s mind was blank.

  “Who?”

  Kirin kept working, never meeting his eyes.

  “That little girl.”

  Stephen blinked in realization. “Oh…I really don’t know…”

  Kirin stopped for a moment and looked into Stephen’s eyes.

  Stephen then noticed that her eyes were a light brown.

  “But you saved her,” she said.

  Stephen nodded meekly. “She was in trouble.”

  Kirin smiled and filled Stephen’s heart with warmth. She resumed her cleaning.

  “What’s your name?” Stephen asked without thinking. He was afraid he might be asking more than he deserved and kept silent, hoping for an answer.

  “I’m Kirin,” she said, smiling. “Who are you?”

  Stephen froze with panic. He did not know. Frantic, he searched his brain for what seemed like an eternity.

  “Stephen,” he almost shouted, when he finally remembered.

  She smiled again, and the room seemed to brighten.

  “You’re beautiful,” he said impulsively.

  She immediately stopped and leaned away from him. In his mind, Stephen shouted obscenities at himself for being so rash. But then, her lips began
to part and another smile proceeded forth.

  “That’s sweet,” she said softly. “You’re very brave.”

  Stephen was not sure what he had just heard. “I am?” he asked dumbly.

  She resumed her work, giggling as she did.

  “Yes, you certainly are. I’ve never seen heroism like that before.”

  He was perplexed. “All I did was tell you the truth,” he replied, innocently.

  This time she could not help laughing. “I mean what you did earlier… saving the child.”

  Stephen resumed cursing himself and closed his eyes in embarrassment. “Oh…” was all he could say.

  He put his shame aside and kept his eyes closed, relishing her tender touch.

  “There you go,” she said, removing her hand.

  Stephen was agonized to let the moment end, but he knew it must.

  He sat up and put his feet down on the floor.

  “Thank you, Kirin,” he said sheepishly. “I’m glad I met you.”

  She reached her hand up to his face again, smiling. Stephen was flushed with joy once more, even though she was only pulling a fallen hair off his cheek.

  “I’m glad I met you too,” she said. “I hope we see each other again sometime.”

  Stephen stood up, trying his best to mask his pain as he put weight on his knee.

  “I’m sure we will,” he quickly interjected. “The city isn’t that big.” He worked up the courage to return her smile.

  “Here you go,” came another voice.

  Stephen turned to see the doctor holding a blue wrap in her hands.

  “Put this on your knee overnight. It’ll keep the swelling down and help it heal quickly.”

  Stephen took the wrap and thanked her. He wasted no time returning his attention to Kirin.

  “Bye, Stephen,” she said.

  He was ecstatic. She knew his name! “Bye, Kirin,” Stephen said. Then he turned and left.