Reunification (19 page)

“
Doth ye have any way of
knowing?” I asked. “Do ye have some kind of locator device, perhaps
implanted under your skin, that could point us to the way back to
civilization?”

“
Wish I did,” said
Resita, looking down at his clawed feet. “But I don't. I'm not like
most people on Xeeo. I don't have a whole lot of robotic implants
or mechanical add-ons, so I usually have to make do with exterior
devices.”

“
How curious,” I said.
“I thought all Xeeonites had marred their natural bodies with your
abominable technology. Indeed, I even thought it must have been the
law of your world that mandated it.”

“
There aren't any laws
that say you have to have robotic implants if you don't want any,”
said Resita. He sounded as though that were the silliest thing
anyone could say. “It's just that most people do because it makes
life easier for them. I'm what you'd call an untouched, though
that's the kindest term to describe someone like me.”

“
I take it that your
kind are not very common among the Xeeonite general population?” I
asked, shifting my legs so that they would not fall asleep from
lack of movement on my part.

“
The untouched are a
very tiny percentage of the planet's population,” said Resita. He
began to trace a circle on the floor with one of his feathery
fingers. “Especially among my people. Studies say that most Checrom
have at least a dozen implants, though that's on the conservative
side. My older brother, for example, replaced his old beak with a
new metal one that he says is stronger, but I don't
know.”

“
I find these implants
and 'add-ons,' as ye call them, disgusting and unnatural,” I said
with a shudder. “Back on Dela, we do not mess with our bodies like
that. Most Delanians die with the body that they are born with.
Even many wizards and witches do not alter their bodies for any
purpose, save for a few.”

Resita looked up at me, an annoyed look on
his face. “Hey, just because I'm an untouched, doesn't mean I think
implants and add-ons are useless or immoral or whatever you
Delanians call it. I just happen to think I don't need any. That's
all.”

I bit my lower lip. Seemed that I had
misunderstood his words. I had thought that Resita might be as
against implants as I was; however, it was obvious that he was not.
Though when I thought about it, I found no surprise, for Resita had
shown no real animosity towards this common Xeeonite practice aside
from his own personal preferences.

Nonetheless, I did not apologize. I simply
said, “Well, it sounds to me as if ye must face much pressure from
your friends for your decision.”

“
I do,” Resita admitted.
“Or did, anyway, before those lizard creatures killed off the other
Foundation members. My older brother used to randomly subscribe me
to magazines like
Implants Weekly
and
Add-ons Monthly
just to trick me into wanting to get some, but they've still never
tempted me much.”

“
Why do ye not want
them?” I asked. “After all, is it not a custom on Xeeo for all
people to use mechanical implants on their bodies?”

“
I just don't want
anyone messing with my body,” said Resita with a shudder. “You
usually need to go to a trained mechanic or surgeon, depending on
what it is you need done, to get the implants put in correctly.
Then you have to do routine maintenace to make sure that they don't
fall apart or break or glitch in some way. Basically, it's just too
much work.”

“
It certainly sounds
like it,” I said, nodding. I looked out the cavern entrance again,
just to be certain that the Destroyer was nowhere nearby, and I was
glad to see that he was not. “Well, what should our next course of
action be, Resita? I ask ye because ye know the Dead Lands better
than I.”

“
We should find out how
far away we are from Xeeon, and what direction that city is in,”
Resita said, gesturing toward the cave mouth. “Then we head in that
direction until we reach the city.”

I frowned. “And what do we do if the
Destroyer attacks us?”

Resita looked down at his feet. “Hope he
doesn't.”

I waited, thinking that perhaps this was a
strange Xeeonite joke I did not understand, but Resita's expression
remained serious and he did not amend his suggestion with a laugh.
Did disturb me for a moment before I remembered that neither of us
stood much of a chance against the Destroyer in the first place;
therefore, Resita spoke only the truth, as grim as that truth
was.

“
But first,” said
Resita, as he leaned back against the cave wall and yawned, “we
sleep. After everything we've been through, I am just about ready
to fall down and call it a night. How do you feel?”

I was about to say that I felt like I
could stay up all day, but then a sudden drowsiness fell over me
like a curtain, and I yawned. “Aye, I am also tired and sleepy.
Perhaps I will take a nap as well.”

“
All right,” said
Resita. He glanced out the cavern mouth. “I just hope that the
Destroyer doesn't get us while we sleep.”

“
There is not much we
can do about it, should that monster attempt to kill us while we
rest,” I said. “Therefore, it would be best for us not to worry
deeply about it, for worry is the killer of sleep.”

“
You're right,” said
Resita, nodding. He put his feathered hands behind his head and
closed his eyes and in a moment, was fast asleep, his chest heaving
up and down with every snore from his beak.

As for me, I lay down on my side as best
as I could, for I did not think I could sleep sitting up. I folded
my hands under my head as a pillow, and not a very comfortable one,
either, but better than the hard ground or the rocks in the desert
at any rate.

Before I drifted off into dream land,
however, I prayed to the Old Gods once more for protection while we
slept. It seemed unlikely that the Old Gods heard any of my
prayers, for they had no power in Xeeo, but I did it anyway, for
prayer had been a regular part of my before bed routine ever since
I was a little boy.

Yet though I prayed for safety and
protection, I kept mine energy knife near my hands, so that I could
instantly grab it, if necessary.

-

I must have been far more tired than I
thought, for when I awoke, the sun in the sky outside of the cave
mouth had crossed much of the heavens, which meant it must have
been the afternoon, though I knew not for certain whether that was
so, for mine internal clock was still not quite adjusted to Xeeon
Standard Time yet.

But, praise be to the Old Gods, I was
still alive. I saw no sign of the Destroyer anywhere, which made me
relieved. I wondered if perhaps the Old Gods had indeed protected
us … or if, perhaps, the Destroyer had simply decided that we were
not worth killing.

In any case, my legs felt cramped, for I
had pulled them up to my chest while I slept to give Resita more
room in which to rest. 'Twas not much of a problem, however,
because I knew I would get the cramps out of them soon enough, once
we both got up and started our journey back to Xeeon, wherever that
city was.

My stomach rumbled, causing me to grab it.
I had forgotten that it had been at least a day—perhaps
longer—since I had had a decent meal. The only thing I could
remember having since arriving in Xeeo was that cup of that
so-called 'genuine' South Delanian tea I had drunk at that cafe in
Xeeon. The thought of that disgusting concoction made my stomach
twist; nonetheless, the hunger within me was as real as the
cramped-ness in my legs.

And my mouth was as dry as the Dead Lands
themselves. Thus, I needed water as well, but I did not know if
there was any water or food around here. Of course, I did not need
water purely to quench my thirst; my mouth burned with the stink of
the waste from the Foundation's HQ, a stink that could only be
cleaned out by the purest of water.

Thinking of that stink made me aware of
the awful smell my own body gave off. 'Twas not as strong as it had
been before; however, I could still smell the rat excrement and
slime from before. That gave me yet another reason to find water,
though I wondered if there was pure enough water in Xeeo that could
wash away this filth or if I would smell this awful for the rest of
my life.

But now 'twas not the time to be lying on
the floor of this place, thinking about mine problems. Now was the
time to rise, rise to my feet I say, and set forth out into the
Dead Lands and hopefully to civilization itself.

Hence, I stretched my legs and yawned
widely. 'Twould take me a minute or two to get all of the kinks out
of my legs, but that was no matter, for I had plenty of time in
which to do it.

As I stretched my legs, I looked over at
where Resita had been resting earlier. I intended to see if he was
awake, but to my shock, I saw not one sign of my feathery friend
anywhere. Well, that was not entirely true, for I did spot a few of
his sludge-covered feathers on the ground, but aside from that,
there was no other clue as to his whereabouts.

Worried, I sat up without thinking about
the cramps in my legs and looked around the tiny cave. 'Twas
perhaps a useless gesture, for the cave was not very deep or large,
but I searched for him anyway just to be certain.

“
Resita?” I said, though
I did not raise mine voice very high. “Resita? Are ye there?
Resita, where are ye?”

No answer came from anywhere at that
moment. There was a slight breeze blowing outside, but that only
made me feel lonelier than ever. Clearly, then, Resita had gone
missing, but whether he had been kidnapped or not, I could not
say.

My first instinct was to get up and begin
searching the area for Resita. He was my only ally in this strange
and hostile world, after all. I did not feel safe traveling the
Dead Lands without his guidance, even though he himself was not a
very strong or powerful fighter. After all, I knew even less about
the Dead Lands than he. I had no idea how to navigate it or find
out how far I was from Xeeon.

But I did not get up right away. For I
remembered, in my training as a Knight of Se-Dela, a lesson that
Sir Lockfried had taught me when I first joined the Order a year
past. It was a lesson I had not thought on in a while, but remember
it I did, for it now seemed relevant to my current situation.

Sir Lockfried had taught me once what I
had to do when I found myself alone in the middle of the wilderness
like this and my only ally had gone missing. He had said that I
should first examine what clues or evidence that had been left
behind before I acted rashly, for if I did not, then I was in
danger of running into more danger than I was able to deal with.
'Twas not bad advice, though not advice I had ever thought would be
relevant to any situation I found myself in.

So I crawled across the floor toward
Resita's feathers, even though they were as awful-smelling and
hideous as a dead skunk. Though that matter little to me; after
all, I did not smell much better and my clothes—which had since
dried out after being out of that waste dump for so many
hours—stuck to mine skin in a way that was exceedingly
uncomfortable, though I tried to ignore it for now.

Then I noticed a trail of Resita's
feathers that led from the spot where he had been resting out
toward the cavern's exit. Then, a little outside the cave, I saw
the trail of feathers turn to the right and vanish from my
view.

Odd. It appeared as though Resita had
simply walked away, for I did not see any signs of a struggle.
Perhaps there was nothing nefarious about this situation; perhaps
Resita had simply gone out to relieve himself, or perhaps he was
searching for any sign of the Destroyer or trying to determine how
far we were from Xeeon.

Yet why would he leave a trail of feathers
behind him like that, if indeed nothing nefarious had happened to
him? There was something about this situation that left me deeply
unsettled, for I knew that Resita would have told me if he was
going anywhere. After all, the Dead Lands were too dangerous for
someone to go wandering about on their own without telling their
own ally of where they went.

Therefore, I had to assume that Resita
must have been captured by something, though by what, I did not
know. Nor did I know why this thing had apparently left me alone;
maybe it was some creature that liked to prey on Checrom and had no
taste for humans.

I thought it queer how I had not heard
Resita's struggle against whatever had taken him. This cave was
small, and it seemed unlikely to me that Resita had gone without a
fight. He may have been a scrawny chick, incapable of doing much
harm to anyone, but I could tell he had a fighting spirit that
would not allow anything, even a terrible monster from the Dead
Lands, to take him out without a lot of pecking and scratching.

Whatever had taken my friend, then, must
have gotten him while he slept. Or somehow made him walk out of the
place silently. In any event, Resita was undoubtedly in trouble,
which made it my job to rescue him.

I did a quick search of the cave for his
laser gun, but I did not find it anywhere. That meant that Resita
likely still had it on his being, though I doubted he could use it
against whatever had taken him. Otherwise, I likely would have
heard it been used by now, for most Xeeonite weapons were not very
silent.

So, after making sure that my energy knife
still worked, I crawled toward the cavern entrance. I followed the
trail of feathers that Resita had clearly left behind, though I did
not follow it quickly, for I did not want to be ambushed by any
creatures that might have been waiting for me outside.