A Silence Heard (21 page)

“May be dangerous to all in here if I were to give forth.”

“Goodly point. Ear plugs.”

“Nah, doubt if that will do. Not just tone but depth and base that make up my singing.”

“These plugs will work,” she said and opened a drawer at the front of her desk. She pulled out a see-through box and I saw a mess of tiny round, flesh coloured blobs. “Once inserted, they expand and fill the ear completely. After that, a small amount of narcotics seeps into the ear canal and up to the brain, dulling the senses for no more than a few secs. But enough time for you to have done great damage. Then they fizz and melt away.”

“Wow. And you have enough for many tries and then the real thing?”

“Oh yeah. I have access to a replicator.”

“Play on Hildegunnr, play on.”

She tip-tapped on the keyboard and up came all sorts of shapes and lines on the screen. She flicked back her long hair, stretched out her arms, intertwined her fingers, rotated them around and made them click. Then she wiggled them a few times and pressed many of the keys. Out came notes and tones that she weaved in and out until they became sounds so unpleasant, that I had to put my hands over my ears. I looked around the room and all, even the Agro scum, had their mitts attached to their hearing holes.

“I think this could be it,” she said and played the noise again.

“It is low yet loud. Harsh yet soft. Both an intake of breath and a huge puffing out. Higher than I may be able to sing, but low enough to shake the very marrow in my bones. Play it again and hand out the plugs, I am going to give it voice.”

Hildegunnr crossed herself and looked at me with more than a little fear in her eyes. I smiled and nodded my head by way of saying that it was okay for her to be a believer and a Praisebee. She picked up the earplug box, went around the room and handed them out. She even put them into the ears of those still bound and senseless. A testimony to the doctrine she once lived by.

I waited until she gave me the thumbs up sign, then listened to the sound again and to the best of my ability tried to emulate its nuances. I pushed all thoughts of how singing the tune could harm me, back into the farthest place in my noggin and listened.

Marcellus's face appeared inside my head and I took a deep breath. This I will do for you my once dear one. Although I let my voice play with the tune, I struggled to replicate exactly the highest of the high notes. I coughed and tried again, feeling more confident than before. After a quick scan around at those that stared at me, I realised I had no way of knowing if my song worked, ear-clogged as everyone was. A volunteer was needed to test the sound upon. I gestured for all to remove their plugs.

“What use is it for me to warble to dry ears. I need for someone to listen and so comprehend the severity of the sound.” A great shuffling of feet and a mass bowing of heads was the answer to my plea.

Eadgard stood, walked over to where Pratt and Edwena sat and yanked up the male Agro. “Here, Adara,” he said and pushed Pratt to the foreground, “here is your volunteer.”

Pratt’s eyes near bulged from their sockets. He looked at Eadgard, at me, then opened and closed his mouth several times real quick-like before saying, all high and whiney, “Wait, no. I do not put myself forward for such an unstable experiment.”

“Perhaps not. I am volunteering you on your behalf,” Eadgard said and before the white-faced Agro could stuff the sound barriers into his lugholes, Eadgard snatched them from his hands.

Pratt backed away.

“May I suggest that everyone else muffle their ears again,” Hildegunnr said.

Everyone in the room scrambled to grab another sound plug and shoved them into their ears.

All except for Pratt.

I opened my gob and gave full vent to the song Hildegunnr had made up. Pratt clutched at the side of his head and crouched down in the middle of the floor. Edwena ran to him, but Eadgard grabbed onto her arm and pulled her away. I walked forward trilling out the noise until I came upon the hunched up Agro. He sat all twisted and tense, if it had been anyone else I would have pitied his shaking form. But he was who he was and I gave forth one last mighty note.

He fell back, blood trickling from his nose and ears, his eyes wide open. I stopped and waited for a sign that the plugs had melted. It came in the form of everyone closing their eyes and wriggling their shoulders as if something with many legs were crawling along their flesh.

A thump of pain exploded in my innards. I clutched at my belly, went hot and shivery for a sec, then took a calming breath of air and said in as strong a voice as I could, “All gone? You can hear me?”

With one voice they answered, “Yes.”

The gut wrenching hurt subsided and I muscle relaxed. Deogol stared at me with a look of deep concern. I gave him a large grin and he shook his head. Hildegunnr walked over to Pratt, knelt down and touched his neck. “He is breathing. My guess is that he is in a state of waking sleep. I had hoped for such a reaction. “Praisebee Cheesus,” she said and stood.

I shook her hand. “You have a skill and no mistake. What a team we would make.”

“What a weapon you are,” Hacket said behind me. I twisted around and he peered full hard into my eyes.

“That I may be Agro, but you will never get to use me for your ill-gotten gains,” I said and poked him in the chest. He smirked and I found it more than hard not to wipe said grin from his face with a fist thump.

“Hey! Ye there, Agro scum.” I looked over my shoulder and saw Brennus walk over all quick and stiff. He chin gestured to one of the comps. “Show us wha is wha outside, Agro.” He grabbed Hacket, spun him around, frog-marched him over to the shelves and pushed him into a chair. “Tap, or I’ll pull yer spine out through yer behind hole,” Brennus said and dug his fist into Hacket’s back. He coughed, then set about tapping the keyboard.

A boom, loud and fierce came through the comspeaker. All turned as another boom and shouts and screams were heard. We all lifted our heads, stared at the hanging screen and saw smoke billowing out from the pyramid. Black robed Agros with sharp and blunt weapons raced into it. Then we heard the sound of young ‘uns wailing.

“Enough,” Eadgard said.

Brennus slammed down the com lid and the image disappeared.

A murmur arose from all in the room.

I looked at those that had come with us from the silo. The ones I had sung to, friend and foe alike, frowned, shook their heads, and then backed away from me.

“What gives?”

The newly cured Agro wounded, moved slowly and clumped together by the elevator door. Brennus growled. “Thoughts have come back tae us, little warrior. Ye song has lost its power.”

I gulped.

“Wirt and the little ‘uns,” Kendra said.

Eadgard turned to me. “Do you think you are ready to go into battle?”

“Not sure if I ever will be, but we have no time for goosebump fright.”

“How are we tae get above? The door is sealed,” Brennus said and stared at Hildegunnr.

“What is done can be undone.” Hildegunnr took the disc from her pocket, aimed it at the door and swiped it up and down. The metal sizzled for a sec, then opened.

“Stay where ye are,” Brennus said to the Agro guards that were attempting to cram their five bodies into the rising and falling room.

“Eadgard, do ye have some bindings tae secure these quivering dolts.”

“Set them onto a bed or two and I will tie them tight.”

Brennus puffed his mighty chest out and walked towards the guards. He pointed at the beds opposite them and like naughty kiddles in bub class, they trotted off to said sleeping berth and sat upon it in a neat row. Eadgard pulled some pieces of binding material from his leg trouser pocket and handed some to Kendra.

“Hold out your hands,” he said to the frown-faced Agros.

They did and both he and Kendra wound the white cord around each of the guard’s wrists and ankles. “Sure that flimsy looking cord will hold them?”

“Absolutely sure, Adara. You see if they try to remove it or struggle too much, the cord tightens and cuts deep into the flesh and bone.”

“Goodly bond.”

“That it is. Now, go to your bro.”

I walked over to Deogol, who was bent over a flickering screen, and touched his shoulder. He stiffened and turned to me. “Managed to encode the comps with a buggalugs that should disarm the info in their weapon data bank. I need only press this remote and that should be that. It will only work once, then they will have access back.”

“What is it with you Meeks and this one time only thing? Can you not make it so that it can be used many times over?”

Deogol looked at me as though I were an ancient and said very slowly, “Because the programme in their weapons is quite sophisticated. Meaning that it will quickly adapt to any jumbling of its data. Even if we could concoct a device that was able to continuously scupper the coded software, said info would adjust rendering such a thing useless.”

“Oh.”

With a sigh, he continued to tip-tap as though I no longer existed. I turned away from him and saw Eadgard rummaging around the busted furniture. He stood and brandished a large piece of metal. “Let us go. Grab anything that could be used to harm.”

Folk did not hesitate and scrambled on the floor, snatching up bits of broken bed frames, chairs and comp consoles. Hildegunnr went to her assistants who did not join in with arming themselves. They stood head bowed, staring at the floor.

“We do not know the ways of combat, but we do know how to defend ourselves and those who need defending. She took her lightcure stick from her breast pocket and said, “Come, it is time to fight. Lift your heads and do as I do.” The medi-staff raised their noggins, looked to one another and took their cure sticks from their pockets.

“Turn them onto max. They will cut like a thorn on that setting.”

“Gather one and all,” Eadgard said, and we assembled by the entrance.

“What about us?” Hacket said. “Are you just going to leave us here? I mean what about Pratt?”

“See to him yourself, my dear. We have another problem to attend to,” Kendra said, and along with Eadgard, stepped into the elevator. Brennus took it upon himself to supervise the ascent, gave each a number and up they went in pairs. I stayed with him and when all had gone, walked into the lifting room. Brennus joined me and as the doors closed, I saw Edwena kneel beside Pratt and lift his head onto her lap.

Chapter Nineteen

Into The Fray

There was a yellow moon, full and bright. The air hummed with a distant noise. It was a mournful sound not unlike that of a bub all lost and alone. For a moment, everything was still.

We stood in the overgrown alleyway above the medi-lab not knowing what to expect, or what to do. The sound of Agro footsteps that had been so loud on the comps, was but a far-off murmur. Eadgard peered into the darkening landscape. He stood close and spoke softly into my ear. “We have no notion of what harm, Wirt and the others have sustained. We are ready for battle but my concern is for those that are behind us. They are not fighters.”

My heart thumped hard and fast. I looked to the Meeks and the med folk, and judging by the expression of anxiousness upon their faces, knew that they too feared the worst. Eadgard walked forward and we followed.

He stopped for a moment, bent down, fumbled amongst the debris and picked up a large rock. He held it high and said, “Our weapons may be crude, but what we lack in fire power, we more than make up for in conviction of purpose.”

His words sang like the first birdybirds of spring. Like said melody, it was uplifting and raised our spirits. Kendra and Brennus hooted and held high their rudimentary clubs. I joined in and the Meeks and meds did too.

“Onwards,” Eadgard shouted and strode along the rough track.

Brennus bounded after him and Kendra took hold of Esme’s hand. I tried to do the same with my bro, but he snatched it from me and marched alone. I hurried after him and turned to see Hildegunnr spur her folk on with a fist punch in the air. She ran and they followed, and we all raced up the narrow, unkempt path and out onto the smooth tracks by the silo buildings.

We readily gathered around Eadgard and Brennus, for they emitted a feel of safe and purpose. For a reason I cannot tell, my attention was drawn away form them and up to the windowed silo. The big guns that protruded from it were gone. The clogging smoke was nowhere to be seen. In short, it appeared as if nowt horrid had occurred.

Yet, the ground around the pathways was churned up as though many feet had trudged across it. Eadgard followed my gaze and squatted down. He put his hand upon the troubled earth and dug his fingernails into it. He lifted some soil high above his head and shouted, “This land is ours.” He stood, turned to face the gathered folk and let the muck fall. “Agros have stolen what should have been for all. Now is the time to take it back. Are you with me?”

I have never heard the word, “Yes,” spoken with such force. The volume and emotion that came from all mouths in response to Eadgard’s ask, was thunderous. A wash of enthusiasm drowned out any second thoughts or qualms about what must be done. I was filled with purpose and punched the air with my fist.
 

“Yes,” I said and was echoed by the rest.

A trembling silence ensued and without the need for further instructions, we readied ourselves for combat.

In one long line we marched towards the pyramid building in the distance, prepared to do whatever it took to overthrow the Agros and save those that could be saved. The steady tramping of our feet was invigorating in the extreme. As one rhythmic force, we marched. As one small army, we could be defeated, but not today.

The darkness seemed to follow us as we sped on. The light fading with each step we took. I raised my head, winked at sister moon and thanked her for providing us with enough brightness to see our way. Hildegunnr tapped her forehead, chest and either shoulder. “Keep us safe BabyCheesus.”

I was never one for prayer and could not rightly say who or what I believed in. But I knew that asking for help from some greater being at this moment in time was the right thing to do.