Spirits of the Earth: The Complete Series: (A Post-Apocalyptic Series Box Set: Books 1-3)

by Milo James Fowler

  I wish she would finish healing my arm so I can check on Rehana.

  "What about the daemons? How do they fit in with the Creator's infinite mercy?" My tone is not as respectful as it probably should be. "And what about that rockslide and—" My mind flashes back to the sand rushing up from the ground. "This?" I hold out my arm. "How does this...?" I trail off, unable to explain what happened to Rehana and me.

  But if it was caused by the Creator, then it would seem we're definitely on her bad side.

  Mother Lairen wraps my arm in a cool bandage. "Do not confuse the work of our Creator with the work of evil, my child," she says softly. "In Her infinite wisdom, She is protecting us from the dangers without. Even now as we speak, each of the entrances to our caves is being covered by Her hand. We will be safe from the daemons, secure inside this holy mountain. Our Creator has consecrated it for us. We will not come to harm."

  How will we breathe? My lips part, but I say nothing.

  "Fear not, Daiyna. We are safe again, as we were in the bunker. But now we have the strength of the Almighty on our side—not the technology of a sinful human government. We have nothing to fear. We have Her word."

  Her word? "You mean, you've..."

  She ties off the bandage and smiles. "Yes, Daiyna. She has spoken to me. We have Her word: we will not come to harm as long as we remain in this mountain. She will provide for all our needs, and She will bring our husbands to us. Even now, She is speaking to them through dreams and visions." A hint of sadness creeps into her eyes as she reaches to touch the scarf on my head. "We are Her fertile womb..."

  I stand. "Thank you, Mother. I need to check on Rehana, she was in worse shape—"

  "Rehana is a danger to us all." Mother Lairen rises to her feet opposite me, and the sadness has been replaced by a cold severity. "She has no thought of the Creator's will, and she leads others astray. She hearkens to the voice of evil!"

  I take a step back. "What do you mean?"

  "Do not be misled by her, my child," she adds in a gentler tone. "Only harm comes to those who do not follow the will of our Creator."

  Nodding slowly, I thank her again for tending to me. Then I excuse myself.

  I make my way to the other side of the cavern, all the while feeling Mother Lairen's eyes fixed on my head. A shiver snakes its way down my back. Maybe all that time in seclusion praying and fasting has gotten to her. Or maybe she really did hear from the Creator. Either way, she seems...different somehow.

  I ask a couple of my sisters where Rehana is being healed, and they point me toward a bed against the far wall of the main cavern. Most of the other women have returned to their slumber; the quaking outside has stopped.

  I glance toward the mouth of the cave as I pass. It's sealed up tight, as silent and still as if it's always been like this. Does every opening to our cave network look the same? That would indeed take an act of God. I'll have to check it out for myself in the morning.

  Rehana lies on her back. Her shredded garments have been removed, her flesh covered in a layer of clear healing salve that glistens blue and white in my night-vision. Her chest rises and falls evenly due to the sedative she's been given. Sleep would have been impossible, otherwise.

  I look at the earthen ceiling above me. How long can we last in here? If rockslides have covered all the exits, how will we breathe in a day or few? Mother Lairen would say I lack faith. But I don't believe it was the Creator who sealed us inside.

  It was that Presence, the one I've felt all along. It wants us to die. Somehow, it appeared to Mother Lairen and made her think it was the Creator so she'd let us suffocate without a fight.

  I shake my head and release a heavy sigh. My thoughts are out of control, far from logical, and not even close to scientific. I need rest.

  I glance back at the effects of the avalanche. There's no longer any need for the night watch. We're safe inside for now. I can sleep.

  If I can.

  I curl up next to Rehana's bed and pull my knees to my chest. My eyelids sink, and the muscles in my body begin to unclench like an impotent fist...

  Darkness slowly dissipates, and in its place I see grass, green and lush, passing swiftly below. Yellow flowers sprout between soft emerald blades and spread out their petals under the sun's warmth. I fly over them, my arms outstretched, my long chestnut hair whisking across my back. I blink into the wind and look up. The sky is clear and blue, its hue rich enough to take my breath away.

  The grassy hillside drops away, and I sail out over the sea. The ocean swells reflect the sky, moving with a life all their own. I gasp as a pod of dolphins emerges, jumping out of the water with salty splashes, one after another, only to plunge back nose-first. I want to wait for them to reemerge, but I can't stop. I fly across the entire ocean in a matter of seconds, then I pass over the desert. The ground below me lies bare, cracked, and desolate. As I gaze across it, a sick feeling lurks in the pit of my stomach. There should be life in the desert: reptiles, barrel cactus, sage brush, even flowers. But there's no life here. It's been obliterated.

  What looks like a long stretch of mangled highway runs below me now. Mounds of rubble and the twisted remains of buildings stand half-submerged in ashen sand. A great expanse, a level plain covered in dust and gravel, leads to the base of the mountains, thirty kilometers away. My flight gradually slows as I drop closer to the highway. The sun beats hot on my back. A dry breeze catches my hair. Silence reigns as I catch sight of a single figure on the move. Clad in a hooded standard-issue jumpsuit and face shield, he heads toward the eastern mountains at a steady, unhurried pace.

  How can anyone survive such loneliness? What does it do to one's soul?

  The ground comes alive all of a sudden, gravel and sand flying upward, spraying the figure who breaks into a run—faster than anything I've ever seen. Super-human. Rocks dislodge themselves from the earth and follow, mercilessly striking the figure in the back as if some invisible force is throwing them.

  I must do what I can to help this poor soul... Or they'll kill him.

  Banking in mid-air fifty meters ahead of the running figure, I hover upright. An enormous cloud of dust rises in his wake, and the gravel at his feet relentlessly launches itself upward, tearing at his jumpsuit, bouncing off his face shield.

  I stare at the dust cloud and open my arms wide.

  Spirits of the earth, I whisper. I see you.

  The rocks and gravel hit the ground and lie still. The cloud of dust hovers, then seems to drift away reluctantly. The figure stops running. He's not doubled-over from the exertion, even though he's run thirty kilometers in a matter of seconds.

  I'm not flying anymore. I stand on a mountain ledge high above him. But before he catches sight of me, I turn back to the cave—

  "You can see them? The spirits?" Mother Lairen blocks my path. Her hair is as red as fresh blood, her pupils completely dilated. She grabs me by the throat. "You are unworthy, child." Claws extend from her other hand, and she rakes them across my chest. She grips my throat tighter as I scream. She chokes me silent and lifts me off my feet. "Join him!"

  Screaming, I'm hurled headlong toward the figure below. Why can't I fly? The ground rushes to meet me before everything goes black.

  "Bad dream?"

  Gasping, my heart thumping, I look over and see Rehana's face, her head turned toward me with a faint smile on her lips.

  "Hey." I rise onto my knees and take a deep breath. Just a crazy nightmare. That's all it was. "How do you feel?"

  "Like hell. What do you think?" She manages a weak chuckle. "They put this goop on me that's supposed to regenerate my skin." She closes her eyes. "Creeps me the hell out. And it stinks."

  I sniff at the air. It's stale, the circulation already beginning to deteriorate. We won't survive long like this—not a hundred and fifty women cooped up without fresh air. Mother Lairen is wrong. Even if there is a Creator, she didn't have anything to do with this.

  "Spirits of the earth," I mutter.

  Th
e Presence? It makes sense—metaphysically, anyway. The life force of the earth, asserting itself against us. After all the destruction we wreaked upon her, it's no wonder Mother Earth would seek to return the favor.

  But why were we given our gifts? Could it be that these spirits are disparate entities, some wanting to help us while others wish us harm?

  "Spirits what?" Rehana frowns.

  "Nothing."

  I rise and look around. Our sisters are beginning to stir, readying themselves for a new day. How will they react to being shut in? What will Mother Lairen tell them?

  Nausea sloshes around my stomach as I remember my nightmare.

  "What happened out there, Daiyna?" Rehana sounds almost like a child. I've never seen her this vulnerable. "What happened to us?"

  "I don't know."

  "But you've got to have some kind of idea. You're smart, I'm sure you've got a scientific theory or something."

  "Everything is different now." I shake my head, avoiding the pleading look in her eyes. "I'm not sure if anything we studied applies anymore. The world has changed. There could be...forces at work that we don't understand."

  "Ghosts or something? Those kinds of forces?" She waits for me to respond, but I don't say anything. "Good and evil spirits, something like that?"

  "How many pain meds did you take?" I force a smile, even as what she says—despite the implications—makes sense in a weird way.

  "I know, I probably sound crazy. It's just...it felt like we were being attacked, you know? Like the earth itself was out to get us."

  I reach to squeeze her shoulder, but I pull back my hand. I don't want to interfere with the coat of healing salve. "Get some more beauty sleep."

  "God knows I need it." Her scarred face relaxes, and she lets out a sigh. "Wake me up if those forces come after us again, all right?"

  I half-smile as I turn away. Then my brow furrows. Forces? Spirits? Is that really what we're up against? My nightmare returns to haunt me, but I can't think about it right now. There's a more pressing matter.

  Fresh air.

  I make my way up to the sealed cave entrance. It sits just as we left it. Hands on my hips, I survey the rocks piled haphazardly but effectively. It'll take those of us gifted with strength to move the biggest of these boulders, and even then it won't be an easy undertaking. Where should we put them? If we drop them off the ledge outside, the descending racket will be like an invitation to any daemons lurking about. And even if we manage to clear this opening, what if there's another rockslide as we move on to the next cave entrance? Some of us could be stranded outside in the process.

  All I need to do for now is clear enough rocks to let in some air. If I can do that at each of the rockslides, we'll have enough fresh air circulating to get us by. Then, maybe, Mother Lairen will be right. We'll be able to survive.

  I climb the rock pile and find a large stone surrounded by sand, lodged between two others halfway up. I give it a push, and it doesn't budge, but some of the sand trickles down. I try pulling instead, and it shifts in place. With enough effort, this should work. I pull again, changing the position of my fingers. The stone slips out and falls with a loud clatter before I can catch it. Instinctively, I glance over my shoulder.

  "What are you doing, Daiyna?"

  Mother Lairen stands watching. Behind her a group has gathered, their eyes fixed on me. How long have they been there?

  "I'm—" My stomach tightens. "We need air. I'm just—"

  "We have air, my child. What do you think it is that you're breathing?" She smiles, and the others laugh. They look almost identical in their cotton frocks and long hair pulled up tightly, pinned behind their heads.

  "Yes, but—"

  "Do you doubt the Creator's will for us, Daiyna?"

  A hush falls on the other women. They watch me intensely. More join them, a silent throng. I don't see any shaved heads among their ranks.

  "Do you doubt Her almighty provision?" Mother Lairen's voice is as calm and gentle as ever, but there's a strange edge to it. Her eyes stare, unblinking.

  "No, of course not."

  "Then why do you interfere with Her handiwork?" She gestures to the missing stone in the rock wall behind me. "Why do you invite danger upon us all? The Creator has protected us, yet you seek to destroy what She has done?"

  A murmur sweeps through the others. There are so many of them now.

  "We—we need fresh air, Mother. Can't you feel it?"

  She inhales deeply and smiles, turning to the others. They follow her example, filling their lungs.

  "We don't seem to notice any difference, my child. Do we?" The throng murmurs in agreement. "Perhaps we have been blessed with a new gift by the Creator, as a result of our protection. We can breathe perfectly fine here. Whereas you..." A sad look crosses her face as she steps toward me. She glances at my scalp. "You apparently cannot."

  I draw back as she touches my cheek. "I don't think the Creator did this to us, Mother," I say quietly, hoping only she will hear me. "You weren't there. It was like Rehana and I were...attacked."

  Mother Lairen's brow creases slightly, and a look of uncertainty flickers through her eyes. "Daemons?"

  "No. I don't think so. I don't see how. It was beyond what any human—or whatever they are—could do."

  "The Creator, child," she says with feeling, as if I'm blind and desperately in need of someone to lead me to the truth.

  I shake my head and lower my voice to a whisper. "It's something else. Something that wants us to die. Something...in the earth."

  "You speak foolishness, Daiyna. Worse: blasphemy. The Creator forgives you, and so do I, but—"

  "You said you heard her, that she spoke to you."

  "What of it?"

  "Has that happened before? Ever? Because if it did, you never told us." That uncertain look passes through her eyes again as I go on, "What if it wasn't the Creator who spoke to you? What if it was something else—and it wants to harm us?"

  "Harm comes to those who do not follow the will of our Creator!" Her voice is loud and authoritative. She steps back from me to join the others. They nod and murmur their assent. "Daiyna, you will bring danger upon us all! Have you no concern for the safety of your sisters? We are the fertile womb of the New Earth, and we must be protected!" Eyes wide, pupils dilated, she points at the rock I removed. "Replace that stone this very instant!"

  My heart skips a beat. I can feel adrenaline kicking in, that fight or flight choice staring me in the face. I look down at the stone, then over at the space where it was lodged. Behind it, there are slight cracks of light around another stone. If I punch it through to the other side, we should have a boot-sized hole in this wall of protection. We'll have fresh air.

  Then what? Will Mother Lairen's cows attack me? I'm curious what that might look like.

  Without another moment's pause, I turn and reach into the space, shoving the stone on the other side. It falls, clattering as a beam of morning light streaks inside with a burst of cool, fresh air. I close my eyes and inhale deeply, my face warmed by the light.

  Sharp fingernails dig into my shoulder, whipping me around to face the wide, furious eyes and red hair of Mother Lairen. She screams unintelligibly and slaps me hard.

  "What have you done?" she seethes. "You want air? Here!" She turns me around and shoves my face into the hole, pushing the back of my head with a shocking, brutal strength. "You have defied the will of the Creator, and you are a danger to us all. Harm will come to you. Harm must come to you!" She shoves with all her might. "You will replace the stone with your skull!"

  Should I laugh? It's so absurd, but the pain keeps me frightfully in the moment. I choke, my throat crushed against rock, my arms and legs flailing without purpose. My face stings—from the slap or the sunlight? I can't cry out. I can't fight back.

  She jerks my head to the side for a better fit, flattening my ears as she pushes. I can't breathe at all now; my windpipe is cut off. My limbs drop weakly.

  Random
thoughts spiral through my mind like flurries of ash. Such a bizarre way to die. I never could have seen this coming. I guess I should have put the stone back. Too late now. Mother Lairen is killing me. What will the others think of this? How long will they last in here? Will I meet the Creator? Or will I simply cease to exist?

  Dark. Everything is so dark all of a sudden...

  "Let her go."

  Rehana's voice comes from kilometers away. Gasps and short cries erupt from the other women. Mother's hold on me releases slightly, but I still can't breathe. My eyelids flutter to sparks of light.

  "Rehana, you shouldn't be up. You need to—" Mother Lairen's voice is serene, soothing at first. But then she grates with menace, "Don't you point that thing at me!"

  "I said let her go. Now."

  The hand on the back of my head releases me, and I slip down just enough for my trachea to expand. I inhale in a loud gasp.

  "She has defied the will of the Creator," our mother shouts. "Blasphemy is a sin!"

  "What do you call murder?" Rehana counters.

  "What?"

  The scream from Mother Lairen is wild and guttural as she falls away from me and hits the ground sobbing.

  "Stay back," Rehana warns, her voice approaching me. "Or the next one goes through her heart."

  "Damn you," our mother wails. "Vile pagan bitch!"

  Able to breathe at regular intervals again, I push with my arms and stumble back from the rock wall. Blood trickles warm out of both my ears.

  "You all right?" Garbed only in her bed sheet, Rehana points a loaded crossbow at the other women and swings it side to side, keeping them at bay.

  I nod, holding my throat. It'll be a while before I can speak.

  "May the daemons devour your flesh!" Mother Lairen writhes on the ground, unable to stand with the short arrow through her thigh. Blood spreads from both the entry and exit wounds.

  "Stay back!" Rehana warns the others again as they press forward. This time she points the crossbow at our mother's head. "Tell them."