Third Wave: Bones of Eden

by Zaide Bishop

  Up ahead, in a cleft in the stone, she saw the flicker of movement. A tawny round ear that shifted, followed by a brown nose scenting the air. There was a little chirp. A frightened little call that despite the species barrier between them, still betrayed a sense of hopelessness and desperation.

  Charlie rose to her feet again, moving carefully though the grasses. Two little faces peered out at her—then they flattened their ears and hissed, retreating with rumbly little growls into the darkness of the cave.

  That was okay, Charlie had not expected to make friends.

  Carefully she put down a clay bowl just inside the entrance and filled it with water from her water bottle. She looked for the third cub, but could only see two sets of golden eyes. Her chest tightened with the sad realization she may be too late. It was still warm enough that little bodies could dehydrate and die quickly. Particularly when dealing with creatures so young.

  She placed the meat down next. She wasn’t even sure if they were old enough to eat it. And even if they could eat the food, who would teach them to hunt? Who would protect them from snakes, boars and crocodiles? They had no hope up here alone.

  “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “Your mother saved the Kai. Now we’ve betrayed you. I don’t know how to help you. I’m trying. I’ll bring you food and water until you can hunt on your own or until you’re dead. It’s the best I can do.”

  The larger of the two cubs snarled in response. Charlie chewed her lip. It was not a good sign. There had never been a truly serious incident between the big cats and the Varekai. One jaguar attack, but no fatalities. If the big cats were angered by this, the attacks could come more frequently. People could die, and now was not the time, not when they had Raven to worry about and Charlie’s own unborn baby.

  It should have been India here, doing this. She was the interpreter for the wants and moods of the spirits. She was the smart one. Maybe she would have known what to say to appease their anger.

  “This is all I can think of. This is the only way I know how to help you. Maybe I can bring you goat’s milk as well, but not much.”

  They only glared back at her with furious, frightened golden eyes.

  She stood up, pack empty now but for the empty water bottle. There were some dried branches and logs gathered in the space between some of the larger trees, caught there in the summer floods, she guessed. She grabbed an armload and dragged them to the cave, placing the logs across the upper part of the opening, but leaving a gap for the cubs to come out under. She stacked the smaller, thornier branches on top of those and around the entrance in the vain hope of deterring possible predators. Hopefully the stink of their mother’s urine would scare off the wild pigs a little longer.

  Hope. Too much rested on hope.

  Charlie wasn’t even sure she could save her own people. What chance did lion cubs have?

  * * *

  With the lion pelt scraped and cleaned, but not completely cured, Ross was marching around the camp with it, wearing the lioness’s head over his own and claiming to be “Alexander the Great.”

  The sight sickened Vaca, but it also terrified him. In the middle of the camp, Whiskey had stopped eating and talking. She looked at them with the lean, feral look of a savage animal—her hair matted, her face disfigured with bruising. She was the one chained, but they were all prisoners, becoming increasingly scared to move around or talk too loudly.

  The murmurs of discontent only made the scientists more paranoid, and now they were refusing to do any work, making demands of what they wanted brought to them—goat, honey, lobster or fruit—and punishing everyone when their wants were not gratified.

  Jacobs bothered the Varekai, and they stuck together now in groups, too afraid to be alone with him. All four of the scientists slept, ate and even pissed with a gun in their hand. It was hard to imagine the Kai would be able to take back control without at least one death. It would be more likely that any attempt at revolt would result in several shootings, and even India couldn’t heal a bullet wound.

  Vaca wished they’d just leave. He wouldn’t have even cared if they took the best canoes, as long as they were gone.

  “Come on.” Dog held out his hand for Vaca. “Let’s go for a walk.”

  Vaca let Dog pull him up, grateful for the warmth of skin against skin. They’d been careful since Kay’s talk about marriage. They rarely touched in the camp anymore, not wanting to be branded as useless.

  “Will they notice we’re gone?” Vaca asked.

  “I don’t think so. Besides, we’re not doing anything wrong.”

  Vaca nodded miserably, not entirely sure the scientists would see it the same way.

  Their departure was noted by some of the Kai, but none of the newcomers, and as they made their way down the northwestern path, Vaca found himself absently looking and listening for any sign of Fox, India or Raven.

  He was confident Fox and India were capable of looking after Raven, but he still missed hearing her and seeing her. She might have been Fox’s baby, but she was the whole tribe’s legacy. Everything they had bled, wept and sacrificed over in one fat, stubby little bundle. It surprised him to realize he loved her as if she were his own sister.

  Dog climbed up onto a broad, flat rock that stretched out over the water. Below it the channel was deep enough to be dark, and mangrove plants were in abundance, creating a network of roots and fallen logs. Judging by the wear in the stone and the glittery traces of scales in the dirt, it was a popular fishing spot for the Varekai.

  Vaca crawled up beside Dog, leaning against him and closing his eyes. He tried to focus on the moment, on being here with the person he loved most, as if that was all there was, and the rest of the world, with all its stress and horror, didn’t exist.

  Dog kissed him, and Vaca had never been more grateful for physical contact in his life. His tension and misery faded away, leaking out of him and being replaced with the warm reassurance he wasn’t alone.

  “Fucking faggots.”

  Just like that it was back. Vaca twisted around to see Jacobs, lip curled in disgust.

  “What does that mean?” Dog asked.

  “That you’re fucking disgusting. I wondered what you were sneaking off for. I should have guessed it was fudge packing. You know, if you’re going to suck a cock, it might as well be mine.”

  Vaca felt a twinge behind his eye, as if something in his brain had snapped, filling him with a white, hot anger.

  “The only disgusting thing here is you,” he said coldly. “You’re just a parasite, shit out the ass end of a boat. You’re waste from the old world. You’ve no morals or honor, the only thing keeping you upright is greed and a slathering, dirty lust, because no one, Varekai or Elikai, would ever want to touch such a selfish, useless sack of rot.”

  Jacobs sneered. “You know, I decided back in college I wasn’t going to let faggots like you talk to me that way. I have a goddamn PhD. You’re just a lab rat. They grew you in a fucking jar and flushed your kind down the toilet like a goldfish when they didn’t have the right eye color. You’re not even real people!”

  Vaca took a swing at him, but Jacobs was expecting it and shifted, grabbing Vaca’s arm and jerking him off balance. He landed hard, falling across rocks and branches with a cry of pain. Defeated, he tried to rise, but Jacobs kicked him in the ribs, slamming him against the stone.

  “Hey!” Dog stalked forward with angry intent. Jacobs stepped up onto the rock to meet him.

  “Stop,” Vaca murmured, but neither of them listened.

  A better-timed punch left Jacobs with a bloody nose, but then he whipped out his gun, cracking the butt against Dog’s temple. The Elikai sank to his knees, eyes glassy with disorientation. Jacobs struck him again, and Dog toppled onto his side.

  Vaca pulled himself onto all fours, and Jacobs looked down at him, mouth and chi
n bearded with blood. He locked eyes with Vaca, smiled and used his foot to push Dog into the water.

  “No!” Vaca clawed his way across the stone, slithering to the edge on his belly, reaching for Dog’s feet. The current was pulling him away, but Vaca caught his toes, fighting to hold on and drag his lover back to the shore.

  Jacobs’s kick was unexpected, and Vaca lost his grip. Dog tumbled out of reach, vanishing in the deep blue of the water. Vaca tried to scream, but the second kick knocked the wind out of him. Then Jacobs started in with fists, and it all got hazy.

  All he could see was Dog sinking under the water, over and over.

  Eden—Before the World was Born

  The Elikai sat on the grass in a loose clump, warmed by the midday heat of the sunlamp. Meandering between them, fat white hens scratched at the grass, leading fuzzy yellow chicks that peeped in a constant and vaguely irritating chorus. In front of them, Teacher Bill was setting up a TV.

  Zebra scooped up a chick, sitting it on his palm, between his knees. It cheeped and pecked at his hair and eyelashes. He hated being still. Had hated lessons where they had to sit and watch a screen that showed funny places and funny-looking people that didn’t exist anymore. What was the point? He would never meet those people. He would never see those things. They were gone, and now there was only the dome. There were lots of better things to be doing than learning. Soccer, for example, or a game of tiggy or hide-and-seek. Wrestling. Even fetching the eggs and milking the cow was better than mindlessly staring. At least when they had to do math, it would be over quicker if he worked quicker, but the TV took the same amount of time regardless of how well behaved he was or how much he tried to focus.

  Teacher Bill used a remote to switch it on. He swore a few times, trying to find the correct input before an Elikai in a lilac-blue shirt appeared. He had a TV of his own playing in the background, and it showed scenes of devastation. Boxy gray buildings shattered like glass cups strewn across the roads and each other in angular fragments.

  “Here in Christchurch, the devastation is complete. However, unlike past disasters, there has been no reported loss of life, thanks, not to technological advances, but Simon Mori, a young man with a camera.”

  The image changed to an Elikai with a short black beard and a tartan jacket. “I saw the lights. They were like an aurora, but in a rainbow—all the colors in order, you know? Pete was like, ‘fucking aliens,’ but my father told me about an earthquake in two thousand and eight in China and he saw lights just like that. We jumped on Twitter and Scatter and called the local and national radio stations. Then we just got the hell out.”

  A high-pitched, disembodied voice asked, “What happened to your house? Is it okay?”

  “Nah, it’s fucking wrecked. We got a tent out of the garage. We’re sleeping in the yard, but there’s sewage all down the street. At least we have a tent, you know?”

  The image returned to the man with the lilac shirt. “Simon Mori is credited with saving thousands of lives thanks to his quick thinking and the speeds with which the warning was picked up on social media. While it is still too early for the full cost of the damages to be assessed, Christchurch Major Jeanie Simms says damage to the infrastructure may be in the billions and rebuilding the city may be impossible, and the region may once again be abandoned.”

  Teacher Bill paused the feed. “There’s going to come a time when you have to face natural disasters regularly. It’s important that you can identify them and plan accordingly, to save as many lives as possible. In the case of an earthquake, you need to go outside. Away from buildings and anything that can collapse on top of you. Sometimes an earthquake can happen out at sea, in which case it can form a tsunami. If you think that’s the case, you need to get up. Inland or somewhere high. Somewhere that can’t—”

  Tare put up his hand. “What’s a tsunami?”

  “A giant wave.”

  “Oh, right.” Tare grinned. “I knew that.”

  Fox rolled his eyes. “You did not.”

  “I did too! I learned all about it. While you weren’t here.” He paused, then gave Teacher Bill a wide-eyed looked. “But, uh, what’s a sea?”

  Teacher Bill sighed. “A huge lake. The biggest pond you ever saw, but salty.” He rubbed his temples. “I really don’t know why Helen thought you were ready for this.”

  “Who?” Tare asked.

  “No one,” he said through gritted teeth.

  A huge lake. Zebra liked the idea of that. Playing in the pond was fun, but he always wished it was bigger—deeper, longer, something they could all fit into at once and swim in. He thought he might have liked a sea, back before. He wasn’t so sure about tsunamis or earthquakes, though.

  Teacher Bill continued to ramble about cyclones and ice storms. About something called snow and tornadoes. About fire, but Zebra already knew about fires because he’d gotten into trouble for starting one behind the cow shed with sticks and dried cow dung.

  He sighed deeply, rolling onto his back and staring at the ceiling high overhead.

  “Zebra!” Teacher Bill snapped.

  He peered at him. “Sorry?”

  “The difference between a cyclone and a tornado?”

  “Uh, one goes clockwise?”

  Fox snorted. “Not even close.”

  Zebra pushed himself up onto his hands. “I don’t see the point, right? We’ve never seen any of those things in Eden. What makes you think they would come here? I think they’re just stories from before. Like cats and monkeys.”

  Teacher Bill groaned, pulling on his hair with that faraway, desperate look he sometimes got. “How about you just take my word for it? For once?”

  Teacher Dave appeared, striding across the grass toward them. He waved frantically at Teacher Bill. Teacher Bill held up his hand for the Elikai to remain silent.

  “What is it?”

  “Romeo has tested positive for dyslexia. Elaine wants to euthanize her.” He paused, looking at the class of eager faces. “I mean, him.”

  “For dyslexia?” Teacher Bill’s eyebrows went up in a kind of incredulous rage.

  “You know what she’s like. No impurities.”

  “It’s not a third eye! My brother was dyslexic. Tell Elaine her German heritage is really shining through.”

  “Bill...”

  “I’ll tell her myself.” He stalked toward the door, shoulders hunched.

  “HR already warned you...!” Teacher Dave gave up, turning his attention toward the cluster of Elikai. He blinked, eyes owlish behind black-rimmed glasses. “So. Natural disasters, huh?”

  “What’s euthanasia?” Tare asked.

  Teacher Dave cocked an eyebrow. “Something you do to animals, kid. To put them out of their misery.”

  “It means killing,” Fox said. “Are they killing an animal?”

  “Livestock of a sort. But I’m sure Bill won’t let that happen.” He flashed them a sickly grin and ambled after Bill.

  “He didn’t answer the question,” Zebra said. “He just did that thing where he pretended he was.”

  Fox narrowed his eyes, but didn’t say anything more.

  Chapter Ten

  The sun was shining, but the world was gray and blurry. The trilling of the birds was sharp and caustic. The air was suffocating, pressing down on Vaca like water, hot and saturating. His face pulsed with bloated bruising, and his blackened ribs made every breath a cruel blow. But the pain was secretly a relief, because without it the haze would have taken over—reality would slip away completely, and he would drift aimlessly into the nightmare void that seemed to gather in his peripheral vision.

  Vaca had not been able to drag himself back to the village for several hours after Jacobs abandoned him. He had told his brothers Dog was dead, then crawled into their tent and now, quietly, he wished for his own
passing. Not so the other Kai.

  Around the camp they were sullen, and he was dully aware of them, slinking around like frightened dogs, all teeth and hackles, their metaphorical tails tucked against their bellies. Whiskey was a bright spot of rage. Periodically her threats and cusses would rise, and she would struggle and bleed against her bonds. Kay would threaten to sedate her, and she would lapse into hostile silence. Her quiet rage crackled like a mounting thunderstorm.

  The four scientists dominated the center of the camp. Untended, the hot pots had started to burn in the coals as they naively built the flames too high, but no one would go near them to correct it.

  If he’d lifted his head, he’d have been able to see them. As he sprawled on the floor of his tent, the smell of the overcooked food and the sound of their voices were forced on him, like his pain and the suffocating weight of the air.

  “This isn’t right. We have to leave,” Vivian demanded.

  Ross scoffed. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “We can’t treat these people like this. We can’t come into their world and take over like it’s our God-given right to be in charge. They weren’t made to be controlled. They were made to flourish without intervention. Jacobs, you killed a kid. What was he, twenty? Twenty-four, tops? You killed him. Millions of dollars in engineering and genetics...for what? For you to throw him in the ocean and let him drown. This is sick. We’ve got a young mother chained up, and we’re holding the rest of them at gunpoint. Let’s just take a canoe and go to the mainland. Before this goes any further.”

  “You always were a fucking pussy,” Ross said. “That ‘kid’ attacked Jacobs. He acted in self-defense. Same with that crazy red-haired bitch. She could have killed me, and you’re still bitching about it.”

  Vivian was outraged. “Are you even listening to yourself?”

  “Calm down, Vivian,” Kay said. “Look, there’s been a few small communication issues and a terrible tragedy. The worst is over. If we were to leave now, we’d be closing the gate after the horse has bolted. Restraining Whiskey is just a temporary solution. For her own good. She’s going to hurt herself. She’s sick, all right? Postnatal depression. I saw it the day we got here. If she was loose, she’d probably kill herself or the baby. We’re just keeping everyone safe.”