“Hmm! What happened? Where am I?”
“We’re in the MRU. We will soon be home,” Trancavel answered her while firmly holding her head.
Suddenly Matilda remembered everything.
“Mum! Paul!”
“Mum?” Aymeric, who was watching over Trancavel’s shoulder, said surprised.
“Paul?” He also added.
Matilda was desperately looking for her backpack, wondering at the same time what she could answer to the two dumb faces staring at her. OK, she was alive, but that didn’t mean that the people who had rescued her were neither smart nor her friends, she was thinking.
“Esclarmonde? Your mother, is she Esclarmonde?” Aymeric insisted.
“It’s quite possible,” Matilda laconically answered him.
“What do you mean, quite possible?”
“I don’t know! It’s possible, that’s it!”
“OK, OK, let’s quiet down!” Trancavel intervened. “We will find out later.”
“Montségur right ahead!” The pilot yelled.
“Do you want to see this, kid?”
“Stop calling me kid, it’s starting to be annoying!” Matilda raged while pushing him back with one hand.
“She isn’t easy going, the kid,” Gaucelin said, laughing alone of his silly joke.
“Wow, wow … quiet. What’s your name?” Trancavel asked her.
“Matilda, my name is Matilda. And you should better remember it!”
“OK, chief,” the Viking looking man joked while laughing loudly.
“Matilda, come! You will see, it’s worst the sight,” Trancavel told her and handed her a friendly hand.
While openly ignoring the two other men who were discreetly staring at her, she accepted the invitation and stood up with the help of Trancavel’s arm. Tao, still warm in her cleavage, said nothing.
“See what?” She asked, shyly.
“Montségur!” He declared impetuously.
Curious, she followed the handsome long hair rebel without letting his hand go, scared to fall again. They got closer to the cockpit and Trancavel offered her to sit in the co-pilot seat.
“Bend over a little, it will be easier to look.”
“Hmm!”
“By the way, I’m Jourdain, nice to meet you,” the pilot welcomed her with an extended hand.
“Oh my God, where did I end up? What are these names?”
“Oh! Oh! Be careful about what you say, do you think Matilda is much better?” The offended pilot answered.
“We’ve to admit that for profanes, Cathar names sound completely archaic,” Trancavel joked trying to calm the situation.
Ouah! “Archaic,” he knows this word? Matilda thought, looking at him intrigued.
“There, look!” Trancavel pointed with his finger.
The sky was quite cloudless, just a bit pink in some places. In the distance, one or two hundred miles away, huge columns of black smoke were rising on the horizon, testifying of the violent fires burning everything on their path. Closer, a dry and puny red and green vegetation was covering most of the surrounding mountains. The Pyrenees, these fabulous mountain chains of the South of France, were stretching up to the horizon. At this time of the year, glaciers were covering the largest part of the highest peaks. Matilda was looking in the direction Trancavel was pointing to. There must be something but what.
“It’s splendid. I’ve never seen such big mountains in my life,” Matilda declared. “But, where are we?”
“In the South of France, in the Pyrenees,” Jourdain spontaneously answered. “Welcome in the former Cathar land.”
“South of France, in the contaminated regions?” Matilda worried.
“Not contaminated for everybody!” Gaucelin added, laughing at the rear of the cabin.
“"Don’t worry, ki... Hmm!” Trancavel reassured Matilda. “We aren’t living in the open air. Here, here it is... Do you see?” He insisted while pointing at a mountain peak covered with small coniferous trees with red and orange leaves and strangely flat tops and angular sides.
Jourdain started a few very smooth approaches, showing he wasn’t such a bad pilot. From far, Matilda wasn’t seeing anything extraordinary in those few stone walls in poor condition. Then, the MRU gently encompassed it and went down to the main wall level. The dimension became meaningful when Matilda saw a man wearing a weird jumpsuit inside the fortress.
“It’s huge! How did you build such a building? Why such an inaccessible place?”
“Ah! Church followers, you’re well educated,” Gaucelin declared.
Matilda exhaled deeply and while she was probably going to answer him with a diatribe of her own way, Trancavel interrupted her momentum.
“What he is meaning, ki... Hm, we haven’t built anything here. This fortress was built during the 13th century. This place has been standing for almost a thousand years.”
“A thousand years!” Matilda said in a low voice.
“Seventy-yards long, 20 yards large, walls of more than thirteen feet thick and 80 feet high. The perfect place for a good hideout,” Jourdain added. “Look!”
He aligned the MRU over the fortified wall and pushed a small button which started the partial opening of the cockpit armour shell under their feet. Matilda was then able to follow the operation through the glass floor, having the most comfortable view for these manoeuvres requiring a real accuracy. Forty yards under, the rocky soil of the Cathar fortress started to move on most of the main entrance of 20 yards large. Soon, a wide open gap, large enough for the aircraft to go through, was revealing some lights to guide the landing on a metallic platform on which a landing target was painted. Jourdain was fully focused. He ensured the landing, inches after inches, with an unparalleled accuracy. He turned his head toward Matilda and smiled at her to show off. While he stared a bit at the young woman’s cleavage, who was bending over, Tao discreetly grunted toward him to remind him he was still taking care of his master. At this moment, the edge of the port wing slightly rammed the landing well.
“You must look below, Jourdain! Below,” Trancavel insisted while capping a bit his head.
“Do I need to remind you that just a few inches more and this aircraft wouldn’t be able to land in our military base?” Jourdain argued embarrassed.
The aircraft landed with a deafening noise because of the reflection of the reactors roar on the walls. Jourdain turned off the engine and laid a hand on Matilda’s shoulder.
“Welcome in Montségur, kid!”
Tao, protective, started barking louder. Matilda stared directly at the pilot then looked at his hand, silently making him understand “Don’t touch me!” Jourdain, distraught, removed his hand in a hurry while coughing slightly. The man outside got closer to the aircraft from below and knocked on the window to signal everything was good.
“What is this jumpsuit?” Matilda asked.
“Because of the fires, we can’t take the risk to go outside without proper protection.”
“I thought it was impossible to live in the contaminated regions,” Matilda said surprised. “I’ve seen many television stories showing the damages on the human body. The burns, the pimples, the decomposition of the internal organs.”
“It isn’t that simple. The radioactivity had decreased to normal level a long time ago. Except for these damned fires, we could do without jumpsuits.”
“I don’t understand! This makes no sense.”
“Forget the Church propaganda. The air isn’t radioactive any more, for a long time. Except in some areas next to old nuclear plants which had imploded. However the soil, the trees, the plants, the animals, they’re all contaminated. And when there are fires, clouds of deadly radioactive particles are rejected into the atmosphere.”
“Animals?”
“Yes, stags, boars, squirrels, wolves, bears and ibexes. Since mankind has fled these regions, the wildlife took over its right place. It hasn’t rained for a few weeks. Fires are propagating quickly because of the southern win
ds. We can stay outside without any protection during a dozen minutes maximum. After that, damages on the organism are almost irreversible,” Trancavel explained her. “And we don’t have medical technologies advanced enough to treat the injuries caused by radiation.”
“I thought life was impossible,” Matilda mourned.
“The populace must be kept in fear and ignorance,” Aymeric, standing at the rear next to the MRU lateral door, joked.
Outside, the man was operating a control handle fixed to a cable linked to a pulpit in the left corner of the landing base.
“Hey, we’re moving down.” Matilda declared.
“Indeed! Our military base is under the mountain. We will go through a decontamination process, then we will be able to reach the main hangar.”
Trancavel just achieved his explanation when the lift abruptly stopped. Above, the huge trapdoor was closing the military complex entrance. The man wearing the one-piece rubber jumpsuit took position next to the pulpit and widely opened his arms to grab the iron bars built-in the metallic wall of the lift then he spread his legs to attach his feet in some indentions planned for this use. Matilda was warily observing the strange ritual. What would happen now? Coming from every side, powerful gushes of a white foaming liquid invaded the narrow space where the MRU was. During several minutes, the gushes were sweeping all the aircraft surface from top to bottom, left to right without missing the slopes. Outside, the operator was struggling to miraculously keep his frail body standing, while being hit from everywhere by this small chemical storm. Everything abruptly stopped to be replaced by powerful water gushes taking care of flushing everything. Finally, the lift resumed its vertical trajectory, sinking in the mountain depth.
“All this water wasted, this won’t help us,” Gaucelin said.
“Right! And if we don’t find a spare atomic pile quickly, we won’t be able to fill our tanks,” Jourdain informed.
“How is that possible?” Trancavel asked surprised. “It was literally full when we stole the MRU three months ago.”
“Who knows, the drones maybe. We took some heavy shots when you were having tea with the kid at the rear.”
Matilda was getting ready to react to the disdainful name. Trancavel prevented her.
“If we hadn’t taken time to remove her chip, the drones would have hunted us.”
“We would have lost them.”
“Really? And by the way, they would have got even more information about our destination. A blessing for the Legatee. It’s unthinkable to take such a big risk and to endanger our Kathar brothers and sisters.”
“All right!” Jourdain complained as he couldn't get the last word. “I’m going to control the energy system. Maybe the problem just comes from the gauge sensor, he cleared off.”
“Report to me as soon as you will have more accurate information.”
Behind, Aymeric opened the door to great his friend who had just removed his thick jumpsuit, letting a dense red braided hair and sublime green eyes appearing, highlighted with a few freckles. Once outside the aircraft, they manly seized each other just under the elbow. It wasn’t a proper handshake but more like a forearm shake. Aymeric was the first to speak.
“Happy the one living for science and improving the world...”
“And who will overcome darkness through science,” his fellow spontaneously answered. “I’m happy you’re safely back, my friend. So, how many?” He asked him, full of excitement.
“Four.”
“This almost exceeds the record! Can I?”
“Be my host,” Aymeric answered.
Matilda who just recovered her backpack was getting ready to disembark when she looked at the firery-haired stranger who was engraving four vertical bars on the MRU keelson with a long combat knife.
Finally, somebody my age!
Trancavel, already on the ground, offered her his assistance.
“Thanks, but I can take care of myself alone,” she retorted.
He doesn’t seem to be interested by my backpack. So he hasn’t seen anything?
“As you wish, Miss,” her host joked while moving away to open the hangar door.
She jumped with both feet over almost three feet high from the rear cabin and landed with an outstanding dexterity while holding her bag against Tao who hadn’t left his pleasant hideout. Her panty-dress, stretched on her hips and very wide and slightly transparent below the thighs, was perfectly fitting her generous buttocks while she graciously landed on one knee to absorb the impact. The firery-haired man, whom she was still ignoring the funny name, abruptly stopped engraving the counting of the dead militiamen on the MRU armour to curiously look at the generous shapes of the young woman. While she was standing back, pretending she hadn’t noticed his attention, the young man got closer.
“So you’re the one they went to save!”
“It seems so,” she answered looking away.
“Ermengarde, at your service!” He told her, bowing down.
“Ermen... what?” Matilda chuckled.
“Ermengarde,” he answered, offended.
“Uhh! Seriously, is this a local speciality to have corny names?”
“Hey! Be respectful, kid, or we bring you back where we found you!” Gaucelin, who just took foot on the ground, said.
“No worry, we’re leaving now!” She provoked him. “Ah! Shit! I’m so silly, there is no more atomic pile. Such a pity... right? You’re starting to piss me off with your stupid names, your vague actions which gave me a bump on the head as big as a potato and with your eyes always directed to my cleavage or my ass. What do you believe guys?”
Ermengarde was literally stuck right there. He was looking at the perfect body and at the angel face acting like a real little devil and didn’t intervene. Usually full of energy, and not letting himself get pushed easily, he couldn’t do anything. For the first time in years, his fast quips was completely off. Nothing, zero, absolutely nothing. Trancavel came closer.
“OK, OK, let’s quiet down guys! At least Matilda is right with one thing, you’re a bit annoying. It looks like you haven’t seen a pair of breasts for months.”
“Right, but about the names?” Ermengarde added.
Matilda had just put again her backpack on her shoulder. She pulled Tao out of her cleavage, stared at the firery-haired man and told him with a too theatrical and indulgent tone.
“Ermy! Yes, here it is... I will call you Ermy! Is he happy? Everything is all right? So can we go now?”
She followed Trancavel toward the huge weapon room where Aymeric was already in charming company. Behind her Ermengarde was stuttering a few inaudible answers, without being convincing at all.
“Come on, kid! Hurry up to check up the MRU,” Jourdain told him while friendly clapping on his back.
“Ermy?” Trancavel called him from the hangar door, “can you take a look on the right arm actuators of the exoskeleton. If you had adjusted it better, the Legatee would now just be an old memory.”
“Ermy,” Jourdain repeated in a low voice, smiling, while he was getting back his expedition bag from the MRU rear.
Matilda couldn’t realise what was happening. The Kathar military base was surprisingly spacious. The main room had a huge arch directly cut in the stone at approximately 50 feet high. A dozen of MRU could have easily fit inside. On the sides, she quickly noticed some tunnels and two big secondary rooms a bit smaller. Each circulation area was strengthened with metallic structure to ensure its sealing. On the ground, tracks were leading toward the different tunnels. One rebel was there, handling a cart full of weapons with a kind of wired remote. A light water noise attracted her attention. Glancing at it quickly, she understood its origin. A small powered waterfall was gushing in a drainage channel going around the main room before disappearing behind some containers stored in the back. Then, she noticed a pungent humidity smell probably due to the lichens covering some parts of the walls. Neons producing an extreme white light were illuminating the whole place and their
slight vibrations reminded her the sunlight. Welding noises attracted her attention. She shyly moved forward, looking at almost two dozen grey-haired people all busy with different tasks. Some of them seemed to be preparing some strange vehicles she was seeing for the first time in her life. Probably some old models from the Godless Decade, she thought. Others were training for hand, knife and rod combat. She dwelt a bit on a grip aimed to take the machete away from your opponent that a man, she would have considered as old just a few hours ago, was skilfully executing.
Not bad for some old people.
On the left, a group of two men and two women, all older than the other, was manipulating some data on some touch screens while indulging in mysterious debate. A bit behind, a few men looking like geeks were scrambling on a MRU carcass which wasn’t really fit for flying.
Trancavel abruptly stopped to say a few words with Aymeric and a thirty-year-old woman wearing a black and stretching military uniform marked with a nice red cross which was the symbol of the Kathar rebels. He turned back to introduce Matilda who was holding back.
“Matilda, Blanche… Blanche, Matilda.”
Finally, a normal name.
“Hi,” she mumbled in a low voice, a bit intimated by the poise and the strength of character emanating from the beautiful stranger.
“So, you’re Esclarmonde’s daughter?” She asked a bit authoritatively.
“It seems so, yes,” Matilda answered without any conviction.
“Namely? You aren’t sure?”
“Let’s say, for me, my mother’s name is Helena.”
While Blanche was going to answer her, a deep and husky voice of an old man did it for her.
“No! The true name of your mother is Sophie Lecuyer, kid.”
Blanche, Aymeric and Trancavel immediately turned back, then placed their hand on their heart while bowing down the head.
“Happy the one living for science and improving the world...” they all said in unison.
“And who will overcome darkness through science,” the old man with a forked beard and a disarming goodness, calmly answered. “Welcome among us. It’s a huge honour to meet the daughter of my tender and dear Esclarmonde.”
Escaping Page 7
