Dogchild
Page 40
The 3 of us were together now, and as we stood there amid the wreckage of the fallen wall, looking on as the burning town lit up the night sky with a crimson glow, and the haze of gunsmoke drifted slowly in the dying heat of the battle, I could feel the presence of the Deathland dogs behind us. I could feel them all in their hundreds – every single one of them. I could feel their beating hearts in mine, their blood running in mine, their breath in my lungs, their hunger in my belly.
Theyd moved closer now – drawn in by the scent of carnage – and were massing together just outside the boundary of the fallen wall.
The Dau were aware of them.
Although the fighting wasnt over yet – sporadic gunfire was still erupting all across town – the fall of the watchtower and Pilgrims death had drawn the attention of dozens of Dau, and as theyd become aware of the dogs, and the news had quickly spread, the crowd had kept growing, and there were now at least 50 or 60 Dau facing us across the glassrock, no more than 20 yards away. They were all armed, and they were all watching us just as much as they were watching the dogs. Some of them were curious, others wary, and others just wanted blood.
It was one of these – a wild-eyed young Fighter – who suddenly stepped forward, pointing at me and shouting out in recognition, Thats him! Thats the cur who killed Skender!
He raised his gun and started towards me, and a moment later 5 or 6 others joined him, marching across the glassrock with murder in their eyes.
Take him alive! a voice from the crowd yelled out.
Skin the monger!
Watch the bitch!
Ide lost my pistol when the tower had fallen, but the knapsack was still slung over my shoulders, and the moment the Dau had begun to move, Chola Se had reached into the knapsack, pulled out the big Colt revolver, and leveled it at the approaching mob. My mother reacted instantly too, baring her teeth and letting out a bonechilling snarl, and at the same time – acting in perfect unison – the army of dogs behind us made their move---all of them advancing as one, stalking slowly through the ruined wall in a great mass of savage silence---their bodies low to the ground, their ears flat, their lips drawn back, their eyes fixed unerringly on the Dau---
My voice came to them as their own. I didnt tell them to stop – we told ourselves.
Stop.
Wait.
We stopped as one.
The group of approaching Dau had halted at the sight of the advancing dogs. They still had their guns raised though, and now theyd been joined by the rest of the crowd, all of them standing there with their weapons at the ready and their fingers poised on the triggers.
Listen to me! I called out to them, taking a step forward. This doesnt have to happen. If you let us leave, the dogs will come with us and wele go back to the Deathlands and leave you in peace. But if you try to take us---
I paused, gazing down at Pilgrims body.
The dogs might not get all of you, I said, looking back up at the Dau. But by the time its all over, most of you will be lying in the dirt with your throats ripped out---and all for what? For Skender? Skender was worthless. You all know that. You despised him, every one of you. He didnt deserve to live. So why waste your lives avenging his death?
I took another step forward, holding my hands out at my sides.
Its up to you, I told them. If you want to die for him, go ahead and shoot.
I stood there for perhaps 30 seconds, gazing around at them all, looking into their eyes – letting them see that my death meant nothing to me – and then, without another word, I turned round and began walking away.
We stayed together at first, hundreds of dogs running as one through the silent darkness of the glassrock plains, and as we headed ever deeper into the heart of the Deathlands, I felt the world coming back to me again – the closeness of the other dogs, the hypnotic rhythm of our movement, the cold night air freshening the skin of my aching body---this was where I was meant to be. With Chola Se and my mother, running together with the Deathland dogs---
Going home.
I let my voice come to the dogs again as we neared the foothills of the towering Black Mountains. Beyond the mountains, the alliance would begin to dissolve as the packs and families and solitary dogs split up and began heading back to their own territories, but for now we were still all together, and we needed to know that while our rising tonight was over for now, it would come again.
We knew it.
We could see it.
Wede heard the voice.
Our time will come.
When I first started writing this account, I didnt think I knew how to do it. 3 months have passed since then, and so much has changed that I can barely remember the way things used to be, but Ime still not sure if the words on these pages are anything more than dust in the wind. All I can say is that Ive done my best to follow the advice that Starry gave me when I sat with him that morning on the old sea wall.
Just take all the feelings from your heart and mind, he told me, and put them into words.
Its early evening now, and Ime sitting in the shade of the old blackwood tree at the far end of the plateau with my writing book open in my lap. The sun is still high and white in the sky, the air still thick with the Deathland heat, but the first faint breaths of a cooling breeze have just started fluttering in the tall dry grasses scattered sparsely around the hillside slopes, signaling the beginning of the end of the day.
Ile finish writing soon.
There isnt much more to say.
Everything is quiet for now – this world, our mountain home, is restful.
My mother is stretched out asleep on a patch of sandy ground in front of our cave, her feet twitching occasionally as she dreams – she spends most of her time sleeping now – and I can hear Chola Se playing with the pups in the vale beneath the plateau, splashing around with them in the shallows of the stream, keeping their minds off their empty bellies until the pack returns from hunting.
Chola Ses injuries are mostly healed now – her nightmares mostly a thing of the past.
I try not to think about that past if I can help it. It happened, its done. That world has gone. What good can come of reliving it? Thats not to say it isnt still with me – its in me, part of me---it is me – and sometimes I cant think of anything else. I think of Starry, of course – he comes to me with every breath – and sometimes I find myself thinking of Juddah and Gilder, wondering what happened to them, wondering if theres any possibility they survived---
But the rest of it, the rest of that human world, I try to forget.
The pups arent the only ones with empty bellies. Weare all hurting with hunger. The hunting hasnt been good for some time now, and I know that if it doesnt improve very soon, the big gray male and some of the others will begin to feel themselves being drawn by the desires of their blood. The ghosts of their ancestors will start whispering to them of hungers past, bringing memories to them of times they wont remember – scavenging scraps from wagon camps, the taste of horseflesh and human young---or running steadily through the Deathland night, their jaws laden with stolen meat, then gorging on the plundered feast and falling asleep with bursting bellies – and these whispered dreams of the past will become their hunger and turn their minds to the night of the rising. Theyle remember the smell of raw blood and burning flesh, the promise of human meat, and theyle begin to be drawn to the town again.
My mother will do her best to persuade them from going, just as she did all those years ago. Shele tell them of the dangers, and shele remind them that weare living flesh ourselves – meat in a world of starving dogs – and that we need to stay together to keep ourselves alive. And if they dont listen to her, Ile let the voice come to them and tell them they want to stay, and I think theyle accept it for now.
But the rising will come again.
I know it.
Ive already seen it beginning.
I saw it through the eyes of a neighboring pack from the mountains as they scavenged the carcass pit dug by the Dau
in the woodland to the west of the town wall---I saw them feasting on the rotting dead, and I saw the Dau Fighters opening fire from the watchtowers---I saw 6 dogs shot dead. And the following night I saw the rest of the pack – 15-strong – returning to wreak their brutal revenge on a family of Dau civilians---and I saw 5 humans torn to pieces---
The killing will continue – an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a claw for another bloodied claw – until eventually it will be war.
I know it.
Its coming.
Dog against human.
Human against dog.
The skies will burn again.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.
Copyright © 2018 by Kevin Brooks
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
First U.S. electronic edition 2020
First published by Electric Monkey, an imprint of Egmont UK Limited, 2018
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number pending
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