The Fall of Tartarus (15 page)

I
could not tell from its facial features, but I wondered if the alien was
smiling at her. ‘To meet the gods and my destiny.’

‘Destiny
. . .’ she repeated the word in a whisper. ‘You’ll meet your destiny on Tartarus?’

‘I
will remain here until the end,’ he said.

‘You’re
staying here?’ Leah almost cried.

‘It
is my destiny to go in flame.’

She
was shaking her head. I could see her mind working, her disbelief reflected in
her features. She was a young girl, and life seemed endless, and she could not
comprehend how the alien could so stoically contemplate his death.

‘But
you could leave with the evacuation,’ she said.

‘I
have had a long life. I have achieved everything. I will follow my destiny.’

We
remained on the island for perhaps an hour, Leah asking Zur-zellian all manner
of questions. I delighted in watching her response, her exclamations of
surprise, her frowns and grimaces, as much as I was interested in the alien’s
answers.

At
last, after a thoughtful silence, she said slowly, ‘If you’re a monk, a
religious person, then can you marry people?’

I
stared at her, but she would not meet my gaze.

Zur-zellian
replied. ‘On my planet we have certain . . . bonding ceremonies, and I
officiated at them, yes.’

‘Then,
in that case ... I mean - could you marry Joe and me?’

Still
looking at the alien, she found my hand and squeezed, forestalling my protests.

Zur-zellian
was old and wise, and must have known that we were young and foolish. In his
reply he showed great . . .
humanity,
if that is the right word to use.
He turned his hand in an equable gesture. ‘My blessing would have no legality
on Tartarus,’ he said, ‘but, if both of you are willing, I can bless you and so
confirm your love in the eyes of the gods.’

By
the time we left the island, clutching our seed pods and paddling for the far
shore, Leah had arranged a date. We were to be ‘married’ in a week’s time, on
her fourteenth birthday.

It
remained our secret; we did not want our friends to know in case word got back
to our parents. Leah glowed with the knowledge of what was to take place. She
seemed radiant, her contented, lazy smile ever-present. The others noticed
something changed about her - Gabby even asked her if she were pregnant, but
Leah just smiled and shook her head and withdrew into silent communion with her
thoughts.

My
immediate fears concerning Hulse were unfounded. With Susanna departed, he did
not bother us with his company, clearly unwilling to be seen as the odd one out
in the group. A couple of times over the next day or two I did see him standing
across the lane from the hollow-tree, staring at us with what I interpreted to
be solitary longing. Not that his brooding presence overly bothered me: I had
other things on my mind, and I no longer considered Hulse a threat.

When
he made his move, I was quite unprepared.

We
spent the day before our ‘wedding’ walking in the hills, and night was falling
by the time we made our way back home. I had decided, since it was a special
occasion, that Leah should spend the night with me in my room. I would sneak
her in past my parents and for the first time we would make love in my bed.

We
were walking up the track, our arms about each other, when Hulse appeared from
nowhere and barred our way. He carried a wooden club, and before I could
collect my wits and run, he attacked.

I
recall only a hail of blows, and Leah’s screamed entreaties for him to stop,
before I fell to the ground and tried to squirm away. He came after me, kicked
me in the ribs so that I rolled gasping onto my back. Then he straddled my
chest. He forced the club beneath my chin and pushed my head back, almost
strangling me.

His
head hung above me, silhouetted against the star field, and his long fringe
fell across his face as he panted with the exertion of keeping me pinioned to
the ground. I bucked like a landed fish, but he applied pressure to my neck. I
spluttered that he was killing me.

‘I
will kill you, you bastard! I’ll kill you if you don’t leave Leah!’

I
tried my best to laugh. Then I swore and spat in his face. He grimaced down at
me, and his expression, more than his assault, sent a surge of fear though me.

‘It
was going so well . . . and then you came along, you
bastard!’

And
with the epithet he pressed down on the club, and I swear he would have killed
me were it not for what Leah did then.

She
had been silent for some seconds, and I had assumed she’d gone for help - but
now she returned, staggering, burdened with some heavy object. She lifted the
boulder above her head and brought it down with terrifying force. Hulse cried
out in pain and rolled from me, holding his head and moaning. I sat up,
alternately gagging and gasping down great breaths of air. Leah, not done with
her attack, launched herself at Hulse and bundled him into the ditch. She leaned
over him and hissed invective in his face, the words too rapid and impassioned
for me to make out. He cried out in wounded pride at what she said, climbed to
his feet and staggered off down the lane. Leah ran across to me and helped me
to my feet.

‘Joe!
You okay, Joe?’

‘I’ll
live,’ I assured her, shaking now at the thought of the assault. ‘The
maniac!
The crazy, stinking maniac . . .’

‘Come
on, we’ll get you home.’

We
continued up the lane and into the garden. It was late, and the house was in
darkness. Silently we crept though the entrance arch and up the stairs to my
room. There Leah inspected me. But for a few minor scrapes and a bruise across
my neck, I was fine.

She
insisted on bathing my battered torso, and I basked in her concern.

That
night we made love in my bed as the cooling breeze lapped over us, and at first
light next morning Leah rose quickly and dressed.

‘Happy
birthday,’ I said sleepily from the bed.

She
came over and kissed me before she slipped away. ‘Meet you on the island at
noon,’ she whispered.

‘Why
not by the lake? We can swim over together.’

She
pushed her fingers through my hair. ‘Don’t you know anything, Joe? Bride and
groom don’t go to church together . . .’ And with that she hurried from the
room.

I
slept, then woke to the sunlight streaming through the window. I lay in bed and
smelled Leah’s scent on the sheets, and the thought of what the day would bring
was a physical thrill within my chest. An hour before noon I rose and dressed
and crossed to the drawer where I’d concealed Leah’s birthday present, a silver
necklace. It was then, standing beside the window-hole, that I glanced out and
saw activity in the lake.

A
moving divot of displaced water showed on the otherwise pristine azure expanse.
As I stared, I saw others, five or six - swimmers, I realised with disbelief,
heading out from the shore towards the island.

My
heart hammering, I pocketed the necklace and ran from the house. I sprinted
down the lane, angered that on this day of all days others should decide to go
to the island. I emerged from the lane and came to a halt on the shore. I
stared out across the water and saw that the first swimmer was Hulse, with the
others in his wake; they seemed to be gesturing and shouting at him to turn
back.

We
had told no one about our marriage, and so his invasion could only be a
terrible coincidence. Almost in tears, I cursed Hulse and swore that I would
kill him. By the time I dived into the water, deciding not to waste time
collecting a seed pod to aid my crossing, Hulse had reached the island.

I
swam with all my might, intent only on doing grievous harm to my enemy. The
others had gained the island and stood in knot on the beach, clearly
remonstrating with Hulse. I was wondering what had happened to Leah, when I saw
her. She appeared suddenly on the knoll atop the island, arms akimbo, and
stared down at the invaders.

I
could tell by her stance that she was furious. Hulse advanced up the beach,
followed by the others. Gasping and swimming frantically, I watched as events
unfolded in a terrible, inevitable slow-motion.

Hulse
confronted Leah and for perhaps a minute they argued: Then he stepped forward
and struck her. She staggered back, holding her cheek. At that second
Zur-zellian appeared by her side. Hulse went for Leah again, hit her and
knocked her down; she stumbled from sight, disappearing down the other side of
the rise.

Then
Hulse turned to the alien. I cried out in rage and frustration. The others, my
friends, Bobby and Gabby, Rona and even the soporific Satch, surrounded Hulse.
He pushed them away, ran to the top of the island and, instead of attacking the
alien, which I had expected, knelt and seemed to reach into the grass. I saw
something silver glint in his hand - his lighter! - and pure dread exploded in
my head.

The
island went up in a sheet of flame. One second it was an idyllic, grassy isle,
and the next it was transformed into a blazing torch. Even Hulse, aware of what
he intended, could do nothing to escape the conflagration. He turned and ran as
the flames whipped about him, then fell as gouts of fire leapt at him like wild
animals. The others stood no chance. Within seconds they were surrounded by a
circle of fire, tiny, petrified figures huddling together on the knoll. I cried
out for them to run, but, even as I yelled, the fire consumed them and they
fell to the ground and rolled in a futile attempt to douse the raging flames.
The furnace roar swept across the water, and seconds later I felt the full
force of its heat in my face. I cried out Leah’s name. I could not believe that
our special day had turned within seconds to tragedy.

I
never made it to the island. I was floundering, perhaps a hundred metres from
the beach, when I heard a sudden roar and a powerboat cut its engines nearby.
Strong hands reached out and dragged me, protesting, to safety. The last I saw,
as I grasped the gunnel and stared at the island, was Zur-zellian. He was
kneeling on the knoll with his arms in the air, consumed by flame and
reconciled to his destiny.

I
left the hollow-tree and walked along the road and up the hill to the
grave-garden overlooking the lake.

The
TWC transporter waited on the greensward beyond the cemetery. I judged that I
had time to pay my last respects before it departed. I entered the garden and
walked through the trees and the gravestones.

Other
citizens had come to say their last farewells, too, but the glade that was my
destination was empty. I paused on the incline, staring down at the gravestones
side by side. Fighting back the tears, I stepped forward and made my way down
the slope.

I
paused before the first headstone, set proudly in the short, well-tended grass.
I wiped my eyes and read the name. ‘Bobby,’ I said. I moved to the next stone.
‘Gabby.’ And the next two. ‘Rona, Satch . . .’ I paused before the next headstone,
even now unable to suppress the bitterness that welled up within me. ‘Hulse
Gabor,’ I read, and asked him, as I’d asked so many times before,
why?

The
last stone of all was set a little apart from the others. I crossed to it,
knelt and bowed my head. We do these things, we follow well-worn protocol, even
though the dead are dead and nothing we can do, no respect we pay, can ever
alter that. We go through these meaningless rituals in order to help ourselves,
but I knew that in my case it was no help.

I
read the headstone: ‘Zur-zellian of Zanthar, an alien visitor to Tartarus,
1271? -1671.’

I
closed my eyes and heard the songs of the birds in the trees, felt the heat of
the sun on my face. I was almost ready to go, to leave the planet of my birth
forever, when I heard a sound behind me.

‘Joe
. . . Joe Sanders?’ A woman’s voice. ‘Is it you, Joe?’

I
turned and stared and was filled with a powerful emotion - that heart-wrenching
ache we experience when confronted with a reminder of who we once were, of who
we might have become.

‘Leah?’
I said.

She
was small, and dark, and the passing years had been kind. She was as beautiful
as I remembered her, with just a touch of grey in her short, dark hair.

‘Joe,
it’s been so long.’

Instinctively
we both reached out, and at arm’s length held hands, and with the physical
contact the years seemed to fall away.

I
was back aboard the powerboat as it edged around the island, and I felt again
that sudden, heart-exploding joy when I saw Leah swimming away from the island.
She had climbed aboard the boat and collapsed into my arms with tears of pain
and relief, but it had never been the same again.

We
had tried to renew our relationship after the tragedy - oh, how I had tried. We
met every day during that last month before we returned to our respective
schools, but something had happened to change the girl I loved. I tried to talk
about what had occurred that day on the island, but Leah remained determinedly
locked in the fastness of her silence. Our love had brought about, however
indirectly, the deaths of our friends and the alien, and this knowledge was too
much for Leah.