Chapter – 29
Tremors.
It was impossible for me to have known beforehand. I never noticed it, but Jenna wasn’t long making it clear to me.
Dizziness.
Blurred vision.
Racing pulse.
Loss of hearing.
Fainting.
Tremors.
Tremors.
Tremors.
Midway through our second day of climbing, I started to notice it. People would speak to me, sometimes even shout, and it was as if my head were under water. The dizzy spells were mild at first, just causing a few awkward steps. The most alarming and obvious things I noticed were the tremors. They didn’t bother me when I was moving, but when resting I had to hide my shaking hands. I didn’t want to worry my family. I felt fine, while secretly a terror was developing inside of me.
Jenna pressed a hand to my chest and told me my lungs were abnormal. They were weaker than most, more vulnerable. April shared the defect, the imperfection. Jenna said the air would make things worse for us much sooner than for the others. She mentioned the gasses that were harming me, but I didn’t listen. I didn’t want to. I only wanted to reach the top. So we continued, and I didn’t heed Jenna’s warnings.
Early on day three, I was walking close behind my father, breathing hard. The pack on my shoulders was only getting heavier. My father turned to me, April still over his shoulder, and he studied me.
“Are you alright, Abel?” he asked, apparently seeing a warning sign I hadn’t. No sooner had I convinced him of my steadiness than I found myself face first in the dirt. I didn’t remember falling, or the impact, only a sudden confusion, and there I was. I claimed to have tripped, but Cain saw me collapse. Now with a bloody nose, we moved on again. It happened twice more that day before my family insisted we stop and look me over. It didn’t take Cain long to compare my condition with that of April, and distress broke out. I tried to wave off the fears, saying I would be okay. It was decided after a short rest, that I would continue on my own two feet, but my mother and Cain would rotate carrying my pack.
I fell asleep during our rest, and my family was very alarmed when they couldn't wake me. An hour passed before I regained consciousness. It was then I admitted to being scared.
It was obvious my family and companions were feeling the effects themselves, but their reactions were mild. My brother and mother seemed particularly resistant. The only person that could carry me when I fell was my father, but his shoulders carried enough as it was.
Whenever I was awake, we moved. I would stumble along between my mother and father, both of them ready to catch me if I fell. I’m ashamed to say that I slowed us down. We struggled on, our food reserves growing dangerously low. It was when we reached the last day of our travel, the final fight upwards, that I collapsed harder and more suddenly than ever before. I didn’t get up.
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Now I understood what my sister felt. It was an awful existence. One was never entirely awake. There were only flashes of memories. I could feel the unmistakable shoulder of my father pressed into my gut as he lifted me up the mountain. I could barely breathe. I was light headed, my limbs dangling uselessly. Everything was perpetually cold and numb, except for my father. He was pushing himself so hard I could hear his strong heart pounding. His lungs expanded and contracted defiantly against the thinning air. As time passed, I studied these noises his body made. I wondered if that’s how the body was supposed to sound. It seemed healthy and able. My body never sounded like this.
As twists and turns were made, I saw glimpses of everyone else. Cain had April over one shoulder, working as hard as my father to walk. My mother had two packs, but the third one wasn’t accounted for. I soon realized they left one behind in order to carry me. This brought me a great deal of shame. I should have been strong enough to keep going. I should have my own feet under me. I knew now why my family was moving so fast. It was because we were running out of time. With our food reserves so low, we had to reach the ship, and soon.
“Hold on, Abel,” I heard my father saying under his breath. He was talking to himself more than to me.
“We’re almost there,” he continued. “Just hold on.”
Those words were repeated over and over in my head. He made it sound like such a request, as if the power were in my hands. He also sounded desperate, carrying his limp son to the unknown.
Eventually his words faded. My lungs took in air so disappointingly, and my heart was, as always, feeble. The thought of ending my journey came to me again, the chance to have it end. At the same time I could hear my heart work slower and slower. I felt something very new to me, a sinking feeling so unlike all the others I’ve ever experienced. My vision was getting darker, the image of my father becoming smaller and more distant. I grew afraid. It felt like I was dying.
I tried to tell my father, but I couldn't make a sound.
__________
The next thing I remember was the feeling of wind on my face. It wasn’t cold, and there was no sand. It made my skin tingle, and I took a deep and satisfying breath. For several minutes, I forgot about the sense of sight. I just basked in the sensation around me. I was convinced I had indeed died. There was only the sound of moving air, and no hint of my family or companions. I suppose I can’t blame myself for thinking this was a different plane of existence.
I continued to enjoy the sensation, only just starting to feel my limbs again. They were happy for the enriched blood. I began to feel cold, pulling my arms up to my chest instinctively. This must have drawn attention. I heard some movement, probably someone kneeling down beside me. I felt a rough hand on my shoulder, then a gentle shake.
“Abel,” my father whispered. “Abel, are you awake?”
I moaned weakly, and realized I was propped against something in an upright position.
“Come on, Abel. Wake up,” my father said again. “You have to see this…come on.” He was speaking quietly.
Another gentle shake, and I opened my eyes. The wind stung at first, but I kept my eyes open. Everything was a little fuzzy at first.
“You’re alright,” my father said, putting himself under my arm. “Come on. Let’s get you up.”
I was on my feet, my shaky knees only taking a fraction of the weight.
“We can’t stay here much longer,” I heard my brother say.
“With luck we don’t have much farther to go. Something’s already changed,” my mother put in.
“I think Abel’s coming around,” my father answered. He then directed his voice at me. “How are you feeling, Abel? Can you breathe?”
I nodded, my mouth too dry to speak. My father must have gotten the idea.
“He needs water,” he instructed, and I heard a pack being opened. Again, the words were directed at me. “Can you walk?”
I shook my head, blinking desperately. The wind would be enough to throw me down.
“Okay,” my father said, taking a bit more of my weight. “Here, drink.”
A bottle was held to my mouth, and I drank what I could. When it was pulled away, I tried speaking.
“Where are we?” I asked, only now looking around.
“We’re at the top, Abel,” my father said. “We made it.”
“Not quite yet,” I said weakly. “April?”
“She’s getting better quickly,” he said. “She’s been awake longer than you.”
This was wonderful news, but it didn’t make any sense. The air quality at this height could have only gotten worse. I looked at my father.
“How is that possible?” I asked.
He smiled slightly, pointing ahead of us both. “We think it has something to do with that.”
I followed his gaze and continued blinking. The sight came into focus. There was no easy way to describe what we saw at the lowest peak of that mountain. There was...a collision of winds. It was difficult even to com
prehend. It looked like the space between two worlds of different pressures, for that split second it took for the pressure to equalize. Two different winds were battling against one another, somehow separating the air within the mountain range from the air beyond.
“What could that be?” I asked, mesmerized by the sight.
My father shook his head. “We don’t know, but the air is better up here. We can all feel it.”
“If there’s better air on the other side,” Cain said to father, “Then these two should be taken there now.”
I didn’t pay much attention to the decision making. In my opinion, there really was only one course of action. We would soon pass through the wall of wind. If I was right, and this wall did represent a difference in pressure and air quality, I think I finally had the reason why our ship’s landing had been a failure. The sudden change in atmosphere rendered all of our calculations incorrect. It wasn’t surprising that this barrier wasn’t visible from orbit. It was deceptive even now. I turned to April, sitting against a stone near Cain.
“Are you okay to move?” I asked her. Cain and my father stopped talking, turning their attention to us.
April gave me a sweet smile, and nodded.
I turned to Cain. “You?”
He nodded.
“You?” I asked my mother.
She nodded.
“You?”
The final nod came from my father.
I smiled…then I smiled wider…then I laughed out loud. I was so unbelievably happy in that moment. My family had survived, through a journey that threatened to kill us at its beginning. Now the final obstacle was before us, as far as I was concerned. Beyond was the end, finally. Just as my laughter drew to a close, I noticed something dancing in my vision. It was the fireflies, moving back and forth, teasing me to follow. Looking to my family I spoke.
“We’ve done it!” I shouted. “Let's go!”
Everyone smiled when they realized I was right. My mother grabbed our only remaining pack, almost completely empty. Cain picked up April, and I took some of my weight from my father. With slow and deliberate steps, the Orions marched forward, getting closer and closer to the wind. My companions followed behind at a good distance. I almost forgot about them, they had stayed so far back.
The farther we advanced the stronger the wind fought us. My hair was flung out of my face, and my eyes were punished. I would have been thrown to the ground were it not for my father. We swayed back and forth, but refused to be misdirected. My father was the muscle. I was the guide. I was following the fireflies, the one thing I could see in the racing wind. I could feel us leaning on the air it was so strong. This was a sensation I had never before experienced. My filthy shirt was barely clinging to my skin as we moved. Eventually, we reached a barrier of wind so strong it felt solid, but it didn’t stop us. We all pulled together, shoving ourselves against it. I could feel us heaving our collective weight. Then, without warning, we slid through the wall, finding the fury of wind was now pressing on our backs. Immediately we all toppled forward, landing in a heap, then struggling to our feet. I tried to move by myself, but it wasn’t long before my father helped me up. Finally, as if shoved, my entire company came out of the storm, all of us falling to the ground in exhaustion.
We all lay there, panting heavily. It didn’t take me long to notice the difference. The air here was easily the freshest I had ever inhaled. I felt full of energy. My lungs were overwhelmed as I took in the air greedily. It even smelled different, not at all hostile or stale.
We were on a flat plain high in the mountains. After a few more seconds of panting, I crawled forward, finding a steady stone to help me stand. I was patient with my legs, gently seating myself on the tall stone, overlooking the inner valley of the mountains. The breath I had taken only moments ago was stolen from me. Never in my life had I ever been so dumbstruck by what I saw. On the tallest peaks of the Mystery Mountains was snow, the chilly white substance I had only ever heard in stories. The sky was blue.
My eyes followed the mountains downward. There was a steady decline that looked friendly and safe to travel. It led down and down until it reached the valley, a beautiful stretch of land, a brown red soil covering its surface with an untold fertility. In its relative centre was the largest body of water I had ever seen. The water looked so crisp and flawlessly clear. Already I could see this land becoming the greatest of the once Great Gardens. The soil, water, and air would be tested once my ship was found.
My family slowly came to my side, taking in the sight themselves. They became equally speechless. Even my timid companions came to see. As much as it awed them, I saw a great deal of apprehension about them.
“Now all we need are seeds,” Cain said finally.
“We better move soon,” my father said, “before our remaining food stores run out.”
“I don’t think Abel or April should be going anywhere,” My mother insisted. “Cain, you stay with…”
“No,” I interrupted. I reached out for my father. “I need your help,” I said to him.
He looked hesitant.
I saw the fireflies slowly drifting away from me, passing into the maze of boulders and ridges. Looking back to my father, I insisted.
“Please, dad,” I said, stretching my hand out again. “Trust me.”
Another few moments passed while my father considered it.
“I think,” my mother offered, “he's been right so far.”
There was more consideration, and my father smiled to me, taking my hand and helping me to my feet.
“Follow me,” I said, pointing towards the dancing figures of light. Forward we moved, entering the maze. We didn’t travel in a line, but rather a group. My family was trying to keep track of our route, in case we needed to head back. That wouldn't be necessary. Slowly, we followed the path of the fireflies.
We were travelling for an uncomfortably long time, for the others at least. They often looked back, the sun’s light falling away.
“Son,” my father eventually asked. “Are you sure you know where you’re going?”
“Yes,” I answered promptly. The thrill that had overwhelmed my family a while ago was fading as the search appeared more fruitless. Every boulder looked like the last. Certainly if it were not for the fireflies, I would have believed we were going in circles.
Another hour passed, and nothing was seen. My companions were getting scared, and Cain appeared sour. Still we pressed on, dark slowly engulfing the maze. This place was daunting. I wouldn’t want to spend a night here, and indeed I didn’t intend to.
I saw the fireflies disappear around a corner. I could see they had stopped somewhere on the other side. Just as excitement gripped me, my father stopped.
“Okay,” he said, “It’s getting dark. I don’t see the point of wandering around in this place at a time like this.”
“I think we should turn back,” Cain finally said. He sounded angry. “We’re lost!”
“There’s no point going back now,” my mother said. “We couldn’t find our way now. We should just rest here.”
A smile curled my lips so wide it stung. “That won’t be necessary,” I said, turning to them. “We’ve made it!” They looked at me, this time without wonder. Now they looked shocked, believing I'd finally gone mad. I suppose they were right.
I smiled again, leaving my father’s support and limping with speed that surprised even myself. I turned the corner and entered an open space in the rocks. In the clearing, resting quietly amongst the massive rocks, was my ship. My company turned the corner after me, and one by one they erupted into cheers. There was hysterical laughter, even crying. Even my unwilling companions were ecstatic to see the vessel.
Amidst the madness was April, struggling her way towards me. She held me tightly then, whispering in my ear.
“How did you know?” she asked.
I responded without loosening my grip on her.
“I had a feeling.”
Abel Page 32