Echoes from the Lost Ones (15 page)

“Come,” she said.

I left Wirt and followed her out of the home tent past the food place to a tall brown shack fashioned from all manner of oddments. The walls and roof were made from corrugated metal and the door looked like it came from one of the ghost houses we saw as we passed through the bone site. Vea pulled it open and I saw rows of open cubicles with holes in the ground. The only light came from two large windows in the middle of the roof. I could not help wondering if they could be opened for there was a general smell of plop in the air. I pinched my nose and cautiously stepped in.

“See at back?” Vea said and pointed to a large screen that blocked the entire back wall. “That is where we dress after cleansing. You see to right, long channel in floor?” I nodded. “Drainage. Look up.” I did. “See in ceiling pipe with holes in? Water pours down, we all wash.”

“When you say, ‘we all wash’, you mean more than one at a time?”

“Certainly. Save water that way. We do not fear sight of flesh from own.” Vea’s words were sensible enough and I took my leave of her. I walked past the poo chambers to the screen at the back and slid behind it. There was a long low stone bench attached to the wall and above that, a row of metal hooks. No doubt to hang one’s clothes upon. I turned my head and looked from left to right, just to make sure no Clonie were present and took off my tattered frock.

“I leave you to dress in private,” Vea said.

Hastily I delved into my Synthbag and pulled out a heavy pair of pants and shirt. I peeled off my once-pretty dress and left it on the stone bench behind me. I shook my weightier garments, turning my head away from the cloud of dust that wafted from them, and when satisfied they were as clean as they could be, sat on the bench and placed my right leg into the troos. Then I quickly hoisted them up and threw on my upper garments. I secured my Synthbag on my back and hurried past the no-door poo places, stepped out into the cleaner air and saw Wirt and Eadgard standing by the food hut, all huddled together and deep in chat.

“I am not keen to have this Clonie with us,” Eadgard said.

“I adhere to yer opinion.”

“They are abounding in subterfuge and therefore not to be trusted.”

“Ye are right.”

“I can hear all that you are a-saying, despite your whisperings,” I said, walked over to Wirt and Eadgard and stood between them. They were gasbagging just outside the exit flap of the eating-place. Both had wrinkled brows and down turned mouths, which made them look as though they had once more eaten of the gloop Wirt had so bravely consumed. They turned when they heard me speak and I attempted a friendly smile. It was met with frowns.

“Adara, you do not appear to be so much worried by the addition of this Marcellus.”

“I am not enamoured by the prospect of his company. He presented a fierce and unfriendly face to us in the Beyondness to be sure. But to his credit, he gave me some well-needed and heeded advice. I am inclined to think that for all their growls and spit-spat ways, these Clonies are an honourable bunch.”

Wirt gave me a wide-eyed look and stood closer to Eadgard, who picked dirt out from underneath his fingernails with his teeth. I took such a gesture to mean that he was ambivalent about the situation, despite his earlier words.

When Wirt spoke, there was no such doubt. “Humph and piffle. Ye have been amongst these folk for nothing more than a few heartbeats. I grant that Vea has a power that sets the senses reeling so that ye cannot tell what from what, and more, no longer care. But that I think it is a power that can just as easily be used to harm as well as heal.”

“Wise words, Wirt,” Eadgard said.

“Indeed. I have chill neck too and then some, but also a niggle-naggle in my nonce that tells me they are more than their sum. Besides, he is to come and that is that. No use grieving and sulking and the like. If we encounter something bizarre and threatening, what better creature to have as companion than one who knows this place and calls it home?”

“Ye have all the answers, Adara,” Wirt said, then hung his head and set about moving dirt with his foot. I looked to Eadgard; he wiped his face with his hand and took a long look at my person.

“Good to see that you have changed into more suitable attire.”

I smoothed down my heavy Synthowool tunic and brushed muck from the bottom of my thickly woven troos. When I stood straight again, I saw Marcellus approach and wave to us all in a friendly manner. And despite our earlier misgivings, we all smiled back. He stood tall before us and grinned.

“All ready for leavings?”

“To be sure,” I said and noticed how different his face looked when his mouth was upturned. It took on an almost innocent appeal and I felt all-jolly for a moment. That is until Wirt gave him such a glare that I was compelled to reprimand him for his lack of geniality.

“Do not fret, Wirt. We go in front, you leave gap as big as you think fit.”

“That is where I draw the line,” Eadgard said and stepped forward. “I am the Backpacker here and I am the only person that knows the place where we are to go. I will lead. Let there be no mistake.”

“We step aside then,” Marcellus said.

“That is how it shall be from now on. I will always walk in front, Adara behind me, Wirt behind her and you, Marcellus; keep to the rear.”

I nodded and Wirt put his hands on his hips. Marcellus wiped his tiny nose on the back of his hand and lifted a large brown sac over his shoulder. It looked full and heavy and I wondered if he was hoarding some of that genomeat we had tasted earlier. Part of me was curious as to what the creatures that it came from looked like. Apparently my thoughts became words without me knowing, for out of the tent came Vea carrying what can only be described as a pink legless blob. Wirt stepped back and I gulped down what I had eaten before.

“In answer to earlier query, here is what we call chickie,” she said and held it out. “Do not be afraid. It will not bite. No teeth, no need. Gums are hard, though.”

The creature wriggled in her arms and she set it upon the ground. It wobbled then stretched out so that a sort of head and stumpy neck appeared. Two green eyes blinked and I saw a pair of holes below them contract then blow out dust. It opened its mouth (a lipless slit underneath the nostrils) and made a clicking noise that sounded like it was reprimanding us all for something we had yet to do wrong.

“What a sad and sorry thing,” Eadgard said.

“It is well taken care of as are all animals in our care.”

“An abomination against Mother Nature herself is what it is,” Wirt said and turned away.

“Kind Wirt, you are too sensitive. Do not fret about this creature or others. They not wise to their plight. We not butcher animals. They modified to live certain time and then they simply stop.”

“All the same,” I said, “to what we are used to, they do appear unnatural and grotesque.”

Vea walked up to me and took my hand. She placed it onto her face and said, “As did we to you. Have you changed mind about us?”

“Yes.”

Wirt pulled my hand away from Vea’s cheek. He stood facing her and said, “Not the same. Most of yer strangeness came from costumes and forced aggression.”

“Point is made, however. Do not condemn others to your interpretation of what you imagine them to be.” Vea held out her hand for Wirt to take, but he brushed it aside.

“Words, words, words. Ye are all too keen to talk ye way out of dark doings. Do not come near me, good woman, I fear ye will taint my mind to acquiescence like ye did before. I will retain my own thoughts however much they disagree with yours.”

Marcellus loomed over my friend and held up a mighty fist, “Not speak to our great Lady in this fashion, or we will…”

Vea stood in between the two, grasped Marcellus’s arm and gently lowered it.

“Marcellus, hush. This boy soft and gentle and must not be abused. All journey together. Behave and help, not judge. Have we taught you nothing?”

Marcellus took a deep breath and Vea smiled.

I turned my attention away from them and onto Eadgard. Who, all the while they were jabbering, had been squatting on the floor and stroking the chickie as if it were his pet. I hoped that I concealed my look of disgust at his actions and dared to speak of our most impending mission.

“If all are finished and done a-bickering, may we take to our heels and continue to travel?”

Eadgard rose and straightened his back. “Well said, Adara. This place has a strange effect upon me. Let us move before our tardiness causes us to miss our rendezvous.”

“We not be cause of bother on travels. This we pledge,” Marcellus said and bowed to Vea.

“This happy news to our ears. We trust Marcellus not meet with further hostility from your companions?”

“This I pledge on behalf of Adara, Wirt and myself. We will be as kin and watch each other’s behind.”

“If I find anyone a-looking at my nethers, I won’t be afraid to give out clout,” Wirt said and all but he chortled at his remark. “I do not jest. This ye know.”

He looked in my direction and I lowered my head in shame. Not so much time had passed since Wirt was set upon and defiled. I ceased my jollification.

 
“Eadgard, let us on our way.”

“With all pleasure. Many thanks for the use of your communication system.”
 

“Glad to be assistance. Much fortune on your quest. Return to us swelled with those we have lost. Take provisions offered and do not be squeamish as to their origin,” Vea said and gave us all a package.

“Thanks to you and bye-byes for now,” I said and found myself impelled to hug her.

She clasped me close and I heard unspoken words fill my head. Warnings about the dangers of our trip. I could not cipher them exact, so all I got was a sense of doom and foreboding. Which really was of no help at all. Vea released me and Eadgard nodded in respect, then headed toward the black Beyondness. We followed in the order previously assigned.

Chapter Sixteen

We Take Flight

Although the sky is the same all over, I swear out here it was darker. Darker and a nasty shade of navy blue. Sounds the like I have not encountered before caused me to twitch and jump. The moon, what there was of it, shone so dimly that I found it more than tricky to keep sight of Eadgard.

Wirt mumbled and grumbled at just about everything, and I caught a familiar name spat out here and there. Loud enough for Marcellus to hear his moniker spoke between profanities. I turned from time to time in the hope of engaging Wirt’s eye and giving him a look of friendliness, but the black we moved in all but obliterated his shape.

A shriek as shrill and loud as a bub in a hissy, scratched into our ears and Eadgard told us to fall down until he gave the signal all clear. I tasted dust and curled into a ball hoping Wirt would do the same. The raptor shrieks came close and I swear I felt the rush of wind across my back from wings flapping nearer than I would have liked.

Turning my head to the side, I saw the earth around me swirl as talons plucked the ground. I made myself smaller, buried my head in my hands and waited for the hideous creatures to leave. Their screeches swept across my squidged up form and I was almost close to giving way to a fearful scream when their sound dissolved into the diminishing night.

Slowly lifting my head I saw Eadgard rise from the ground. “All gone. Get up,” he said and reluctantly we did. “Come, we must continue forth.”

Swiping away the dust from my clothes, I straightened and felt Wirt engirdle my waist with his arm. I was glad to have it there and even gladder that he had ceased to be all crisscross with me.

Eadgard waved us on and we. I turned and saw Marcellus walk a few paces behind and smiled for no reason. He returned my gesture with a grin that made his face appear strong and friendly all at the same time. Wirt noticed my gaze, made a snort and pulled me to face the front. On we tramped through the ash to where only Eadgard knew.

Clouds heavied the sky and our only source of illumination went out. “Stop. Do not move until I furnish us with luminance until the sun rises, which cannot be much longer now.”
 

I heard a crack and hissing noise and in an instant all was bright. Eadgard held up the dandiest torch lamp and it illuminated our way as though the sun was shining through it. Even though the only thing it shined upon was dirt and dust.

 
“We are here,” Eadgard said and shone the lamp upon a humungous grey flat wall.

“I have a feeling vile about this place,” Wirt whispered into my left ear.

“Don’t be such a bubs. I’m sure all will be as fine as a kittle close to sleep.”
 

“When we enter you must not look directly at the light in front of you. It is not for viewing. It is a slight malfunction of the overall ambient lighting that was issued to these crafts as a prototype. This particular model broke. Unfortunately, there was not time to mend it. It dazzles, be warned.”

“So, I am a bubs am I?”

“Step back whilst I enter the code,” Eadgard said and produced a small black thingamabob from his leg band. We inched closer gathering so near his shoulder that he almost lost his balance. “Did I not inform you to step back?” We did. “And do not watch as I tap.” We did not.

A whoosh like that from a raptor swooping filled our ears and blew across our faces as the wall slid apart to reveal a grey corridor. At the end was a blinding white light that seemed to hover above the floor.

“Do not look into it. Bend your heads and follow my feet.”

Eadgard led the way, head lowered so as not to peer into the brightness. We three entered also. Wirt made sure that I was next to the Clonie and stayed close to my side as we walked. He shielded his face with his hand and Marcellus produced a pair of shades and put them on. I chose to look upon the floor and thus we stepped gingerly along the metal corridor.

It was a wide passage, smooth and devoid of any ornament. I could not get a goodly look since my eyes saw mostly ground and other people’s feet, but the air was stale and somewhat warm. The white radiance became brighter the nearer we got to it. I could feel its heat upon my exposed neck and put my hand against my nape to prevent further scorching of my flesh. Although I longed to lift my head, I heeded well the caution Eadgard spoke of and kept my gander down.