A Silence Heard (17 page)

Smoke plumed around us and through the fog I saw Agro after Agro fall in a smouldering heap at our feet. The air filled with the sweet scent of burnt skin. My ears rang with the booms from the guns and the screams from those that had been hit.

When quiet had descended and the haze gone, I looked around. The Meeks that still stood, shook. Some had tears in their eyes, others grinned. Esme lay on the floor, bleeding from a wound on her thigh. Stillman crouched and held onto his left arm, which I guessed was broken, and Deogol had one hand over his right eye. Blood oozed between his fingers and I rushed to his side.

“Let me see.” I tried to prise his paws away from his face, but he wouldn’t let me. He turned and dropped the gun he held in his other hand.

“Adara, where is Eadgard?” Kendra said.

Wirt came to her side and gazed at me all expectant-like. I shook my head and saw Brennus stride over to Hacket. He picked up a gun and held it to the puking head of said male. “Where hae they taken Eadgard? Answer ye filthy Agro.”

Hacket did not respond and Brennus gave him a cuff around the head. He lifted it and groaned.

“Ye know where our friend is? Tell or I’ll get Adara to plant another of her hurl bombs at ye.”

Hacket retched a few times more, wiped his soiled mouth and said, “My guess is to the medi-centre,” then he resumed his dry puking.

Wirt, Kendra and I stepped away from him. The sound of moaning filled the room and my aching head. Kiddles, all broken, bloody and bruised, lay or squatted around the place. The sight of these injured Meeks caused a pain to spread across my chest. I turned to my friends.

“We must find this medi-centre and Eadgard. We must take all that are injured there too. I am overwhelmed at how brave these young ‘uns were.”

“Brave indeed, my dear, for ones so close to juvenescence.”

I felt a soft tap in the middle of my back and turned to see Elita. I stared at her face for a moment then looked away.

“May we interrupt?” she said and led me to an unoccupied corner of the room.

“Glad to see you are not harmed,” I said, unable to look her in the eye.

“We not injured, Adara, many are. We must go to med place, have them fixed.”

She moved her head and I followed her gaze to where the Meeks slumped against the wall or each other.

“You know where it is?”

“No,” she said and hung her head.

How could I be mad at her for not knowing? But I was, or maybe at myself for not being able to do more. Then perhaps I was just vexed at the state of things, either way, my annoyance was a thing to be avoided lest it caused me to pause and over think the situation.

She sniffed and I thought my muscles would never relax. I sighed deeply and saw Kendra and Wirt walk amongst the kiddles, wiping faces, strapping up smashed arms and legs, speaking soothing words; comforting as best they could. I felt as useless as a Wolfie without teeth.

“Wha about this creature?” Brennus said and prodded Hacket with the side of the pistol. “He must know where the medi-centre is.”

I walked over to said Agro and stared into his eyes. “You know where the med place is?”

He blinked slowly.

“Well? Do you?”

He licked his lips. “Of course…but I will not…tell you,” he said and brought forth a plenitude of bile.

“Monster, tae let these young ‘uns suffer. Monster!” Brennus said and shoved the gagging Hacket to the edge of the hatch. The Agro’s feet jutted over the rim and he wobbled. Brennus clung onto the back of Hacket’s shirt and held him so that he did not fall out of the opening. I stood by his side and tried not to look down at the sheer drop.

“Tell or I’ll throw ye down.”

Hacket tried to wriggle free. “I’ll never tell.”

Brennus released his grip on him, and he fell.

His bod made a heavy splat when it hit solid. Brennus stepped back. Kendra and Wirt joined me. They looked down and both grimaced. I held onto Wirt and Kendra’s shoulders and followed their gaze. Hacket lay sprawled out, face down on the metal steps, a pool of blood seeping from a wound to his head.

“If he lives, he will tell us where the med place is,” Brennus said and climbed down the small ladder onto the spiral staircase to where Hackett lay.

“Let us hope the wretch still maintains, my dears.”

Brennus knelt on one knee and put a finger to Hacket’s neck.

“He lives. I will need help carrying him to ground level.”

We looked at Wirt. He rolled his eyes, then joined Brennus on the stair. I went to my bro-bro, who was sitting next to Esme. She leant against his shoulder, pale and shivering. I was glad to see that his eye had stopped bleeding. I knelt and looked at his older than old face. Esme lifted her head and managed a tiny smile. Deogol sighed.

I touched his cheek. “Do not be so sad, we won the battle.”

“We did?”

“Look around, all the guards are dead.”

“There are more. More that wish to hurt us. There are the others.”

“What? What others?”

“He means those that stormed the place. Folk like you and me. The ones the Agros fear so much. They will come. They will harm us.”

“Not so. They are here to free you I’m sure.”

A great noise of many folk shouting caused us all to rise to our feet. I ran to the hatch and saw a mass of Woodsfolk enter the silo chamber. Behind them a dozen or so Ladies and about the same amount of folk dressed in grey baggy jumpsuits. I figured they must be Techs, what with their lack of dress sense and all. They stopped by the staircase and Brennus addressed them.

“Wha took ye so long? I was a-feared ye had all been done in.”

“Nay laddie, we are made of sterner stuff.”

That was a voice I recognised.

Aiken.

He wore a dirty patch over his left eye and was dressed in what I assumed was battle gear, black pelt and long black kilt. He and the rest carried huge wooden clubs stained with red. Wirt ran back up the stairs and as far to the rear of the room as was possible to do so. I walked to where he stood biting his nails, a look of fear upon his face.

“I thought him dead and gone after ye did yer singing.”

“I told you that some would still prevail. Brennus did.”

“Do ye think he will be angry with us?”

“Might be.”

I turned back to see the Meeks huddled together in the centre of the room. Kendra went from kiddle to kiddle and tried to soothe their fears. “No, no my little ones, these are good folk come to regain power for the land. Come to free one and all from the evil Agro supremacy.”

There was a bang and the silo shuddered. The Meeks let forth a wail and sank to the floor, hands over their heads. I rushed to the hatch to see what was what.

More insurgents piled into the silo. I saw black smoke from outside follow them in. Aiken ran to the opening of the building. A sooty male staggered past him and he slammed the door shut. Another boom shook the place.

“They have destroyed the crops,” the dirt-faced Tech said.

Aiken grabbed hold of the coughing ‘dult. “Wha? Wha are ye saying?”

“The fields are all ablaze.”

All of the crops gone? My head swirled with the info. What would we eat? Sure the silo had grain, enough perhaps for the coming winter, but after that? And sure, there is seed, but it has to be planted, it has to grow. Until that time what do we eat?

I shivered as I contemplated a world without food. Another great famine like before. Only this time with so few remaining, I feared we all would perish. A heaviness tugged at my arms and legs and I bent forward as a wave of nausea swept throughout my bod.

A loud explosion blasted open the door. More smoke filled the place. I stood upright and peered into the chaos, but I could not see clearly. Voices shouting, names being called and a general clattering of feet on concrete as folk ran hither and thither, spread around the building.

The noise and haze befuddled my nonce so much so, that I was unsure if I stood or crouched. A hand grabbed mine and Kendra shouted into my ringing ears, “Agros. We don’t know how many are left. We must leave. Help me gather the Meeks and their weapons. It is our only chance.”

I wiped my stinging eyes and saw Wirt standing as if in a trance. Kendra touched his shoulder and he moved his head slowly to look at her. “We need your strength.”

He stared at her then at me, and hit his forehead with his palm.

“Ye have it, ye have it,” he said and straightened.

I patted him on the back and Kendra took his hand. We went to where the Meeks still crouched, and I squatted next to Deogol. “We must leave. You and the others need to gather your weapons to use against the massing Agros.”

He did not move.

“Deogol, please. You must, you all must rise and be brave once more. You are our best chance at securing a victory.”

The shouts from below became louder. Through the chaos of noise, I heard Brennus’s low gravelly voice say, “Agros!”

Wirt raced to the hatch and looked down. He backed away.

“Adara, hurry, they are here.”

I tugged on Deogol’s shirt. “Get up.”

Screams and clashes of wood on wood and metal on metal dug into our ears.

“You hear that? Quick-quick young ‘uns arm yourselves.”

They did not move and made themselves even smaller. Wirt grabbed two of the altered guns and threw one to me. I caught it and turned to my bro. “Show me how to work it.”

There was no time for an answer. I heard the clitter-clatter of heavy feet upon the staircase and Aiken and Brennus entered, dragging an unconscious Hacket with them. They humped him over to a wall and turned to where the Meeks huddled together in the middle of the room.

“What means all this?”

“They are a-feared beyond fear, my dear and will not rise.”

Brennus went to Stillman and pulled him up. He shook him hard, picked up a gun and shoved it into his hand. The lad let it fall. “What becomes of ye all?”

“Nay time to argue man, they are here. Gie us one o these all-powerful weapons ye told me of,” Aiken said.

Brennus picked up the gun and threw it at him. Aiken caught it, stared along the barrel and pointed it at the opening. Then pressed every nodule and button that he could find.

Nowt.

The thing did nothing.

I did the same with mine as did Wirt. They would not fire. Brennus turned to Stillman and held him by the shoulders. “What ails these things?”

Stillman took a gulp. “They cannot be fired again. They are all spent.”

“Wha! Wha kind o weapons are these? Useless,” Aiken said and flung the thing onto the floor.

“Pick it up and use it as a club, my dear. It is heavy and will, I’m sure, cause some damage.”

“Nay, I’ll stick to my mell,” he said and held his club before him.

Shouts and thuds from below made the Meeks squish themselves together and scuttle back into a far corner of the room. I followed and spoke to my bro.

“Why so terror-struck?”

“We have run out of weapons. Our best and only chance is gone. Now all is lost.”

I could not stand their plight any longer. They had given more than they needed to. For it to end like this, in shame, was not to my liking one speck. I'd vowed to avenge my beloved Marcellus and I was not about to let him down. I was, and am not, Aamlet.

The sounds of conflict became louder. Heavy thuds of wooden stick against bone turned my belly up and over. An idea cracked inside my head like an eggy-egg being broken. My slipshod thoughts tumbled together and I knew what to do.

I closed my eyes and let my breathing ease out in slow and rhythmic breaths. Then I opened my lids, walked to the opening and onto the top rung of the ladder. The smoke had cleared enough for me to see. The place was littered with dead and dying bods, and I gagged as I smelt the sweet metallic odour of flowing blood. I climbed down and onto the spiral staircase. Standing as straight and tall as the biggest, oldest tree in all of NotSoGreatBritAlbion, I let out a piercing shriek.

All stopped as if a switch had turned them off.

They dropped their weapons, fists halted in mid air, and turned in my direction. When my lungs were almost empty, the image of Brother Jude and his teachings appeared before me. My nose filled with oxy and the sweat of those that fought. Round and round the air flowed into my chest and out and in. In circle after circle, allowing me to sing continuously,
Th
e
Song of Forgetfulness
.

I felt the meanings of the words that were but few, and made each one seep into the heads of all. Kendra said the song was sweet and mournful, so it was, but also absolute. In that, it washed away all brooding niggles that keep the dead from passing on.

My hope was that it would serve to make the living get over their great woes and angst, and disremember all their detestation of those that did them harm.

With every part of me that was good and true, I sang with words as well as the Tune, “Let all that is and will be done become as one and all. Let all the stars blink secrets old that tell of what is to come. Let all those who cannot see gain sight of all that is and all that will be. Let all become as one and one become as all.”

A look of bemusement spread across their faces. A look as though there was something they should be doing, but could not rightly remember what that was.

Slowly, like the moon ascending, those that fought and those that feared, lost the purpose to their grieving, and sat as if expecting the arrival of a cherished pal.

I finished on a lasting note that echoed throughout the place, and wiped my soggy eyes. My head buzzed and my spine ached with the effort. The tune sapped me to the brim and I forced myself not to think that each time I sang, I lost a little life. I turned and saw the Meeks all-quiet, holding each other’s paws and smiling.

Shakily I went down the stairs, walked amongst the seated hominids and felt a gasp of letting go as I passed each open mouth.

All weapons dropped, all anger fled from face and head, I stared in awe as one by one the foes that were, turned to each other and shook hands. Wirt came towards me all smiles and light of foot. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and said, “Ye have saved us all.”