The Future's Mine (22 page)

He ran towards Matthias and hooked his arms under Matthias’s shoulders. Slowly and with Herculean effort he began to drag him away from the where the stags had gathered, poised for another charge.

Matthias moaned pitifully and I yelled, ‘Noah! Don’t drag him, he’ll lose too much blood!’

‘He needs to be behind the fire!’ he called back.

‘The fire? Why?’

But he didn’t answer. He carefully let Matthias come to a rest beside me and deftly swept down to kiss my forehead.

‘Are you OK?’ he asked swiftly. Before I could answer he said, ‘Of course you are, you’re Maida, and that’s why I love you.’ His kiss tasted of sweat and smoke and fear but it was soft and determined at the same time.

He sprung up and called over his shoulder, ‘Cover his wound,’ as he sprinted towards our camp fire. I felt a tightening in my chest which was not related to my broken ribs but came from my heart. He loved me. And I felt nothing but all-consuming love for him, for always, forever, I knew. He was heroic and graceful and clever and caring and mine.

The stags were fully recovered and were scraping back earth, as though to charge. Noah grabbed a burning branch from the fire with his bare hands. I cringed when he cried out in pain, but he didn’t let go. He dragged the flaming branch across the pine-needle floor. The fire took to the needles like a tinder box going up in smoke. A line of red hot fire began to blaze and separate us from the stags. Noah kicked the stones surrounding the camp fire and the fire spilled out from its enclosure like a wild animal released from a cage. The wall of fire and smoke grew taller, obscuring our view of the stags.

I could hear them whinnying and braying as the smoke choked their lungs and the heat prickled their skin. Matthias began to cough, the smoky air acting like smelling salts, prompting him to wake in a daze.

‘Lie still,’ I commanded him as I used a blanket to stem the blood flow, wrapping it around his torso like a corset.

‘Fire?’ he asked, looking at the dancing flames. ‘Did we really need such a big fire for such a small fish?’

‘Very droll,’ I replied. ‘He’s saving our lives, no thanks to you, getting yourself injured in the opening scenes. What use is that?’

‘Just giving him a chance to prove himself; selfless of me really, can’t hog all the glory all the time.’

His lips were turning pale and he had closed his eyes sleepily. That worried me more than the blood loss. I had to keep him talking. ‘Remember last year when we siphoned off the petrol from one of the Parrot’s trucks? You said you were going to build a fire big enough to roast a whole hog on, despite us only having a rabbit to eat, and you poured the petrol on the fire? That was the biggest explosion I’ve ever seen. You’re quite the pyromaniac, aren’t you?’

He smiled lazily. ‘… wasn’t bothered about the fire, just wanted to see the Parrot get rollicked by the Mayor for losing the petrol. His face when he tried to start his engine … classic.’

The wall of fire grew taller and I began to feel slightly safer as it shielded us from the stags, although I knew that we would have to leave pretty quickly and venture deeper into the forest if we were to avoid getting burned or overcome by smoke. My limbs were slowly recovering from their shock and I felt as though I would soon be able to limp about on them, but I failed to see how we could get Matthias out of here quickly. There was no way he could walk and even with all three of us dragging him, our progress would be slow. Perhaps even slower than the fire …

Noah returned to us and lay panting on the ground next to me. I turned over his hands to see his palms. They were mottled red and black, scorched flesh and ash creating a sickening pattern. I gasped and swallowed back bile.

‘It’s not too bad,’ but he was cringing as he said it. Sweat carved out pale rivulets down his ash blackened face. ‘Where’s the gun?’ he asked.

I pointed towards where I had foolishly placed it on the ground. He stood up and reached for it. He yelped and immediately dropped it. ‘The metal’s really hot,’ he said. He took off his sweat-soaked jacket and picked the gun up in it.

At that moment there was a yell; I couldn’t tell whether it was animal or human or devil but it frightened me to my core. In slow-motion horror, I watched helplessly as the stags appeared, blazing and terrible, leaping through the fire. Howling they emerged, bearing down on us with their antlers burning like torches. A shot rang out and the stag nearest to me almost collapsed back into the fire as Noah’s bullet lodged in its shoulder. The other stag cried out in pain as an arrow pierced its flank.
An arrow?

 The stags swerved and stumbled through the line of fire. They took off at full gallop away from us, careering into trees and, I saw with horror, flags. The sound of an explosion ripped through my body. It was ear-splitting. And it was close. Another one. Explosions rang through the air like a peal of bells. Explosions setting off other explosions, a chain reaction. The smoke was invading my lungs despite my best efforts to keep it out. The heat was unbearable; I felt like I was roasting alive. My vision blurred and my head swam as the explosions became too loud for my concussed head to cope with. The last thing I saw was Noah’s face hovering like a guardian above me.  Bright blue eyes, before the darkness took me.

Chapter Twenty-five

The Mayor was there again. He was always there. Always somewhere in my night terrors. Always at the back of my mind, conscious or unconscious, he was there. I could never get away from him. This time it was fire he was controlling.

 ‘Think that I only command the sea? Stupid girl. I command everything. I can make you drown or I can make you burn.’ A red flame danced on his palm which he held out to me. The smell of burning flesh was overpowering as he came closer. ‘Managed to escape my Flood? Well, see if you can escape my inferno.’

His wicked laugh rang in my ears as he stretched his fire hands around my neck, strangling and burning all at once. I was thrashing, crying, threatening, but still he would not let go. Fire took hold of my hair, spreading to my scalp. My neck blackened and blistered as he held on … until … no more air …

I screamed as my eyes flew open. An antlered head loomed down on me and I screamed once more and shot up, running with what strength I had until I bounced off something and landed painfully on the floor.

‘Well, at least we know her legs work,’ said a strangely accented voice.

I closed my eyes and prayed to wake up, unsure whether this was a dream within a dream. A hand touched me softly, brushing the tender skin of my inner arm.

‘Maida, it’s OK, we’re safe. You can open your eyes.’

His voice was as warm and comforting as tea, making me relax. ‘Noah,’ I breathed.

‘We’re OK. We escaped the explosions. We’re with a Highland clan.’

I looked sideways at my surroundings from my position on the ground and saw that I was in a square, wooden room which was draped with furs, antlers, and tartan cloth, all lit by candle light. The world up-righted itself as I came into a sitting position and stretched my stiff neck and back.

Noah pulled me to my feet and the pain from my broken ribs stabbed through me. I winced and touched them gently but found that I was bandaged underneath my shirt.

‘Plaster made from willow bark,’ said a female voice from behind me. ‘Willow bark is a painkiller too, so we’ve been making you drink some willow tea. Probably won’t feel the full pain of your broken bones until tomorrow, mind, so don’t go leaping around the room again or you might cause yourself some damage.’

I turned to thank the lady but leapt back in horror again when I saw her.

‘Ach, what did I just tell you, lassie? No leaping or hollering or jigging or nothing. Just sit and drink some warm ale.’ She thrust a cup into my hand that had been hollowed out from a wide branch. A cloudy liquid slopped unappetizingly inside.

‘Fermented oats, honey, and cranberry. Try it,’ encouraged Noah.

It was delicious but I couldn’t concentrate on drinking it. My eyes kept on straying to the woman. She was wearing
antlers
.

‘What’s? Whose?’ I was unable to form any coherent sentences and tried shaking my head to rid myself of the cloud of dumbness that had settled on my brain.

Noah led me to a chair covered in furs by a roaring fire. The chair was framed by a massive pair of antlers on either wing. Antlers protruded from the walls as though a stag had run headlong into the outside of the house, pierced the inner walls with its head, and was stuck there until someone freed it. I heard shuffling and looked towards some small children with wild auburn hair who were daring each other to get closer to me. The smallest one feigned bravery, strutting towards me.

I coughed and he fled in terror and joy, screaming with delight. His crew danced with giddiness and anxiety. Mini-antlers were affixed to their heads and they wore a red-and-black tartan cloth.

‘What on earth?’ I mumbled, marvelling at these deer people.

‘Maida, we’re at Fergus and Mhareen’s house. They helped us escape from the deer and led us through the explosions. They’re members of the Deer Clan.’

‘Hence the antlers?’ I asked.

Mhareen laughed. ‘Catch on quick, you do, lass. We take the antlers from the first deer we kill and we wear them to show our status in the clan. The bigger the better.’ She smiled and stroked her not inconsiderable sized antlers. Her voice perfectly fitted her appearance. She was round, soft, and comforting, as though she would be a very soothing person to have around in a crisis.

‘The children?’ I asked, pointing at their tiny horns, feeling sorry for the young boy who would be stuck with the miniatures for the rest of his life but also feeling slightly in awe that they could manage to kill at such a young age.

‘Ah, no. They are just toys to make them feel like they’re grown up. They’ll make their kill at eighteen, when they become adults.’

A muted explosion could be heard and I walked to the window, drew back the fur curtain, and saw that it was fully dark outside. An orange glow blazed in the distance.

‘Explosions still going, not safe to head down until tomorrow,’ said Fergus. He was the type of man who spoke in statements rather than sentences, dispensing with the words he found unnecessary to his meaning. He looked as though he was carved of old wood; strong, craggy, and knotted but still kindly. His antlers were huge and I wondered how he balanced his head or got through doors.

Mhareen saw me looking and said, ‘Fergus has the biggest antlers. He’s chief of the clan. Mine are next,’ she smiled, ‘good job I’m his wife or else there mighta been some fighting.’ Her laugh lacked any edge and Fergus smiled back, unthreatened by the fact that his wife rivalled him for power over the clan.

‘What are the explosions? I mean … what causes them? Is it the flags?’ I asked as I supped my warm ale. It was easing the pain of my ribs and I wondered whether Mhareen had secretly slipped some willow bark in there for me.

Fergus looked darkly out of the window. ‘Explosions are the Metropole’s punishment. Landmines. Around the edges of the island. Keeps us ringed in. Keeps others out.’ He laughed. ‘It disnae work.’

‘You mean because we got in?’

He grinned. ‘No, I mean coz we get out.’

‘And you put the flags there to warn you where the dangerous mines are? That’s really clever.’

‘You see, that’s the Metropole’s problem. They disnae see us as clever. Underestimate the Highlanders at their peril. But mostly we want to be left alone. We don’t want to mix with the weaklings and traitors. We do well by ourselves.’

‘You think everyone else in the Periphery is a weakling and a traitor?’

‘Listen, lass, I don’t even recognise the term ‘Periphery’. On the periphery of what? The Highlands are the centre of the world as far as I’m concerned and
they
are the ones on the periphery.’

I let the silence gather around us as I could tell that Fergus had more to say, it just needed to be left to flow from him. He was not a man who could be coaxed against his will.

He sighed and picked up his train of thought. ‘But yes, lass, I do see the rest of you as traitors. Only we stood up to the Metropole. Only we repelled them. We’re the only place in Britannia, in Europa, that isn’t occupied. And look how we’re punished. Landmines. Every few months they drop them from planes. We have to keep on top of the flag system or else we end up losing clan. But you. People in Britannia. You’re content as cows for the slaughter – obeying your master as long as you get one more day to live, even if it is in an abattoir. What do they give you in return for your slavery? A nice house? Food? Jewels? Gold?’

‘No,’ I replied.

He laughed heartily. ‘Then what the bloody hell do you let them do it for?’

Good point, I thought. But this man had me riled now. ‘It’s different for you. You have the mountains and the sea and the forests to protect you. We’ve nothing but marshes; people don’t have the stamina or the resources to resist,’ I protested, feeling fiercely protective of my people.

I wasn’t going to let this man slur Brigadus without even having experienced the hardship, the daily grinding difficulties that filled every day; the hunger, the thirst, the disease that we felt
every waking moment
and every moment in our terror-filled dreams.

‘Well, girl, if you really believe that, what are you trying to resist for? If you think it’s a lost cause and it will never work, why are you here?’

‘What? How do you know that’s what we’re here for?’

Noah looked sheepish but pleased. ‘Erm … I told them everything. They think they know where Iris might be.’

My heart quickened and I tried to stand up to embrace him but my ribs protested at the sudden movement asked of them.

‘It’s OK,’ he soothed, sitting next to me and putting his arm around me. He stroked my hair out of my eyes and whispered, ‘We’re almost there.’

I smiled, contentment lapping quietly through my body as the ale, warmth from the fire and the candle light did their job. Soothed, I felt myself yawning.

But I abruptly sat up, flustered.

‘Matthias?!’ I shouted. How could I possibly forget about him?

‘Don’t worry, he’s with a healer in the children’s bedroom. He’s … been better but he’s stable. He lost quite a lot of blood but his wound is closing and he should be ok after some rest.’

 ‘Your lad carried him all the way back to the house,’ said Mhareen, ‘I wouldn’ta believed that a man that size coulda been carried but your lad did it. Nimble too, avoided all the mines and explosions. Never seen such strength.’

Noah’s wonderful blue eyes lowered in embarrassment and he said, ‘Really, it’s nothing.’

‘Was not nothing, you saved his life. He woulda burnt to death or else bled dry if it hadn’ta been for you. You feel lucky that he’s with you lass,’ she added at me.

I stroked his hand, avoiding the bandages that covered his burns and he blushed.

‘Don’t you want to know how Grimmy’s doing?’ he asked.

‘Nope,’ I replied.

He laughed and I fell asleep to the sound of his soft rhythmic breathing.