Riddley Walker (14 page)

Stanning on The Warnings looking at that boat out of the dark! Never ben befor. Never be agen.

O that water wer col. I pult the boat on to the stoans it wer � ful of water and hevvy. Sail dragging in the water the marsed bustit itd come down on the bloak what ben sailing the boat he wer stil unner it dead with his head smasht in. Musve happent in the storm parbly he ben blowt Souf of Fork Stoan then with the tide terning he ben driffing back the other way a long the shoar tords Do It Over.

That dead bloak wer from other side dark as it wer I cud tel by his boots. What ben he doing out there any how? Cawt in the storm parbly and nitefel on the water. Ben he stearing for that fire on the clifs when the marse come down on his head?

Nothing in the boat only oars and a bayling skoop. Hooker roap and hook. Bow and arrers and spears. The bloak had a knife on him he had some roady and some drowndit bread in 1 pockit. In a nother pockit he had flint and striker and makings and a candl stub. About a � cut of hash and some rizlas. Plus a bag of littl stoans all wet and crummly. Not hard at all you cud break them with your thum nail. There wernt nothing else on the bloak nor nothing else in the boat I got my self good and wet looking every where I even lookit inside the drobber case. It wer only a littl open boat there wernt that many hidey places.

Lissener took that littl bag of littl crummly stoans in his hans he said, "This is what I ben lissening. Hol it in your hans and you can feal it in them stoans and scrabbling to get out you can hear it hispering to its self and clacking like a skelter of crabs."

I said, "What is it?"

He said, "I tol you I dont know nothing only when we gether but I know theres Power in it. And where theres Power theres foller. We bes not ful this circel on no farther we bes get in to Cambry qwicks we can with this here bag of stoans Im going to gether deap Im going to work that Power."

I had that bag in my han I begun to feal like it wer liting up the dark like a torch and bleaping follerme all over Inland. Suddn I wantit the nite to get darker I wantit dark a nuff to smuvver it qwyet. I thot a littl on our suching waytion and I done what I cud to dark it down a littl. We roalt mos of the water out of the boat so I cud row it then we put the bloak and every thing else back in it only kep out what ben in his pockits and the bow and arrers for Lissener plus I cut off a good lenth of sail roap it wer boun to be neadful some time. Then I got in and pult out to where it wer deap a nuff even at low water. I tyd the hooker roap short roun the dead bloaks leg then over the side I droppt the hooker and him boath. Thinking wylst I done it: That Powers working me all ready nor I dont even know what it is.

Pult back tords shoar and when I come to where some big rocks wer sticking out in to the water I clum out on to them and ternt the boat over and lef it floating up side down and driffing how it wud.

Then we vackt our wayt out of there and roading for Cambry.

13

Heading for senter then. I never ben to Cambry befor but I knowit wer a bit farther from Fork Stoan to there nor it wer from Bernt Arse to Fork Stoan. I reckont we had dark a nuff to las our road out if we kep on steady.

Out thru the Norf part of Fork Stoan outers we gone and Norfing on the A260 track by the Frogs Legs. Going thru the outers the 2 nexter dogs forkt off to the lef and by the time we come to Stickit Flats they wer back and the others with them we had the woal pack with us agen. I kep wunnering how long wewd have them I knowit they ben long pas ther markings and far off ther groun.

Peopl talk about the Cambry Pul theywl say any part of Inland you myt be in youwl feal that pul to Cambry in the senter. May be its jus in the air or may be where the Power Ring ben theres stil Power in the groun. You tern your self that way and it comes on so strong you cud beam your self in with your eyes closd. Or with no eyes thats how Lissener gone. He dint go slow and easy like a blyn man on strange groun which that wer about the only kynd of groun there wer for him he hadnt never ben no where in his woal life only 1 hoal to a nother from Cambry roun the circel 9wys to Fork Stoan. No he dint go slow nor easy. He stayd with that black dog some times with a han on his neck some times not he leggit so fas I cudnt hardly keap up with him. Hewd stummel and fall in to hoals hewd go arse over head down suddn drops it dint matter nothing to him. It wer like he had a winch inside him with a roap going right the way to Cambry and him winching his self in. All ways lissening and out of him there come a farring voyce with no soun going a head in to the dark.

I said to Lissener, "Howre we going to work it so you can gether with them Eusa folk in Cambry? Have you got that progammit?"

He said, "Not yet."

I said, "With the woal 44 of them to gard therewl be moren 6 hevvys wont there?"

He said, "Theres all ways 12 in Cambry plus theyve put on a exter 6."

I said, "Be them Eusa folk all in 1 hoal to gether?"

He said, "Yes."

I said, "Wel we bes progam some thing hadnt we?"

He said, "There you go agen getting in front of your self. We dint progam nothing in Fork Stoan and we come out of that all right dint we?"

So I dint bother him no mor about progamming nothing. I said, "How dyou do that kynd of gethering what youre going to do? Do you all set down and pul datter or dyou jus think to gether or what?"

He said, "We do some poasyum."

I said, "Whats poasyum?"

He said, "It aint jus poasyum you all ways say _some_ poasyum. You ever seen a nes of snakes?"

I said, "Yes."

He said, "I never but 1 of the hevvys tol me they do the same theywl get all in a tangl slyding and sqwirming and ryving to gether. Which is how we do it all the many rubbing up to 1 a nother skin to skin and talking vantsit theary. Which is a kynd of hy telling and trantsing. Thats when the singing and the shouting come the many cools of Addom and the party cools of stoan. The strong and the weak inner acting and what happent in the cloudit chaymber."

I said, "Is that where the seed of the red and the seed of the black come in to it?"

He said, "Yes howd you know that?"

I said, "When you ben having your fit you ben talking vantsit theary. If you cud do it then and you can do it now may be you dont even nead to gether may be you can get them Nos. oansome."

He said, "No when I talk in a fit or what Im saying now that dont mean nothing thats jus only the outers of it. It never comes the woal thing realy without the all of us gethering. Weare jus like scattert peaces of a broakin pot them peaces wont hol water without theyre gethert nexy and glewt ferm in the shape of holding dont you see. I cant make the shape of holding oansome."

I said, "What is that fit you get is it some thing coming in to you and you going out of your self?"

He said, "Im mosly out of my self Im mosly elser lissening like I do. Thats what brings on the fit some times Iwl lissen some thing in too strong then the vy brations of it move in on my emty space and I have to sturgl back to my connexion."

I dont know for cern what put it in my mynd then may be it wer the word _connexion_ or him talking of scattert peaces but suddn it come to me we wer like Eusas 2 boys we wer going to have to go 2 diffrent ways some time I dint know why nor how nor when but it fult me sad it come like a weaping inside me. In the dark beside me Lissener begun to cry.

I said, "Whatre you crying about?"

He said, "Im crying for what ben Im crying for whats going to be."

I said, "Whats the use of that?"

He said, "Whats the use of not?"

I said, "May be it dont have to be."

He dint say nothing he jus let my words littl off and dwindl stupid on the air. The black dog bumpt agenst my leg like he wer showing me at leas his part of the dark wer frendy. I said, "I wunner where they gone them 2 boys of Eusas?" Lissener sung:

1 to live and 1 to dy 2 boys gone

1 to lite and 1 to dark roading on

Never did the Good Luck brother

Tern a roun to help the other

Never did the other 1

Ever have the sents to run

I said, "Whats that then? I never heard that song is it about Eusas boys?"

He said, "I dont know what it is its jus a bit of a old song nor I dont even know the res of it."

I said, "Did you ever hear any story of Eusas boys tho?"

He said, "No I never. Whats the diffrents any how it wunt help us nothing knowing what be come of them."

I said, "Why do we have to go to Cambry why do we have to go for that gethering?"

He said, "What else is there to do? Wait for Goodparley to close his han on us?"

I said, "It dont look like there ben no foller on us parbly he dont have the leas idear where we are."

He said, "Thats what Mr Mouse said jus befor he be come owls meat."

I said, "You lissen hes on to us then?"

He said, "Thats what I ben lissening for a wyl now."

I said, "Since when?"

He said, "I aint sure only it wer some time after I had the fit."

Then I membert that smel back at Rose & Power and it come to me what it ben. If that dog pong hadnt ben so hevvy over it Iwdve knowit right off. Partly it ben that wax they dip hard clof in to keap the rain out and partly it ben hash smoak and sweat and mud and meat smoak and torch smoak and beer. What it ben wer Goodparley & Orfing with ther fit up. They cudve ben there befor us they cudve gone a head to Fork Stoan thatwd be like Goodparley to suss which way wewd jump. I said to Lissener, "You think theyre in front of us or behynt?"

He said, "I lissen them in front."

I said, "Whynt you say nothing befor this?"

He said, "What diffrents does it make? Be they follering behynt or leading on a head weare going where weare going any how aint we."

I said, "Even if they ben right on our backs they cudntve seen us take them stoans off that dead bloak. At leas they dont know nothing about that."

He said, "If I have any Luck gethering in Cambry theywl know soon a nuff."

Thats when it come to me what them hevvys roun the fire ben talking about. I said, "Belnot Phist."

He said, "What Belnot Phist?"

I said, "Thats the littl witey bloak them hevvys ben talking about wylst you ben lissening the boat and the stoans."

He said, "What about him?"

Which I tol him then how Phist wer coming the do it man at Widders Dump plus I myndit him what them hevvys said about him being Goodparleys boy and ben throwt over and how his dad ben 1 Stoan Phist and parbly past on knowing. I said, "It wunt sneak me if hes got knowing hewl use agenst Goodparley nor it wunt sneak me if Belnot Phist is out to be Belnot Goodparley."

He said, "Iwl give odds youve sust that right and you know what the nex thing is."

I said, "What?"

He said, "Split up and dubbl our chances. Iwl go on to Cambry with � the stoans and gether how ever I can. May be Goodparleys waiting there may be not. May be I can work some thing with them stoans its a chance any how. You go to Belnot Phist with the other � and see if you can put some thing to gether with him. If hes Goodparleys nemminy he cud wel be our frend."

I said, "And yet you know may be weve boath got it wrong. May be Goodparley aint on to us may be Belnot Phist dont have a thot in the worl agenst Goodparley may be the bes thing is jus vack our wayt over the border in to Outland and take our chance there."

Lissener said, "You can do what you like moon brother but my peopl ben the Power Leat when Goodparleys peopl ben the maggits in the iron. My peopl ben the 1s as bilt the Power Ring and sent the air boats out beyont the sarvering gallack seas. He aint nothing only rottinness growt out of rottinness nor I aint leaving Inland to him jus yet."

Wel I wernt realy too kean to split up I wernt realy on for what I wer getting in to. When I gone over the fents at Widders Dump it ben jus me throwing my self in to the black and taking my chance what it myt do with me. Swaller me up or spit me out I dint care I dint have no 1 on my back only my self. Only my self! Looking at them words going down on this paper right this minim I know there aint no such thing there aint no only my self you all ways have every 1 and every thing on your back. Them as stood and them as run time back way back long long time they had me on ther back if they knowit or if they dint. I had Lissener on my back plus a woal lot moren him I cudnt even say what all it wer and mor and mor I wer afeart it wer coming to some thing I wernt going to be hevvy a nuff for.

I said, "I know you all ways say every 1 goes in to every thing blyn but you know if you go in to Cambry oansome you aint got the same chance as a bloak with eyes."

Lissener said, "You know and I know Ive parbly got a better chance so dont try to bul shit your self out of it if youre afeart to go jus say it strait."

I said, "Im afeart and Iwl go but we myswel road on to gether a littl way yet. Iwl fork off in a few faggers."

He said, "Lissen me now Riddley we dont have no minims to spare. The sooner you piss off out of here the sooner Phistwl have them stoans working for us."

There wernt no mor to say about it. We boath knowit cud jus as wel be arga warga at boath ends. I said, "Im off then. The sooner I get to Phist the sooner Iwl get back to where you are."

He said, "Good Luck moon brother."

I said, "Good Luck to you the same." O I dint want to leave him. We huggit each other and I ternt to go. The black leader bumpt his sholder agenst my leg. I dint even want to think if any dogs wer coming with me or not I wer progamming to go it oansome what ever. Soons I movit off tho the 2 nexter dogs movit with me and it lookit like � the pack follert on behynt so I wernt qwite oansome in the worl after all.

Lissener gone Norf and Wes tords Cambry then and I gone Wes and Norf tords Widders Dump. For a wyl I dint hardly know which 1 of us I wer with. I knowit I wer Riddley Walker heading for Widders Dump but I wer mor with Lissener heading for Cambry. I never ben there I never ben no closern the Ring Ditch yet I cud feal it coming closer to me with every step I took the other way. No 1 uses the old place names now they ben unspoak this long time but mos of them are stil there in the places. You know Cambry ben Canterbury in moufs long gone. Canterbury. It has a zanting in it like a tall man dantsing and time back there ben foun there girt big music pipes as big as fents poals peopl said. You try to think of how it musve soundit when the Power Ring ben there and working not jus crummelt stannings and a ditch. It musve ben some girt jynt thing hy hy up and with a shyning and a flashing to it time back way back when they had boats in the air and all the res of it. Did it woosh and hum or ben it dumming and beating like the hart of the worl and what ben the music come out of them pipes? You dont know nor you wont never know. You can feal how there ben Power there. You go down 1 side of the Ring Ditch and up the other side you can feal it in your knees how youre walking tremmery and you can feal it in your belly. Feal it hy hy over you and overing you. Old foller in the air the after blip and fading of what ben. Fading fading dwindling on the air but the fading and the dwindl sending out ther sylents roun and roun that circel never slowing to a stilness. Wel realy there aint no stilness any where is there. Not 1ce you begin to take noatis.