Desolace Omnibus Edition

by Lucian Barnes

  Edward looped the reins around the pommel of the saddle and slid the crossbow off of the spear. He held both objects up in the air, one in each hand, to show her what he had found. She clapped her hands together excitedly. "Yay! I can hunt for us again!"

  Edward laughed and held the spear out to her. "You can use this, too. Although, I will probably hold onto it while we travel and use it as a walking stick."

  Katie collected the spear and crossbow from Edward with a big grin. He picked up the reins and got the horse moving again, heading back to the little camp they had made where Mike was waiting. Katie walked beside the horse, carrying her new toys with a huge smile on her face. "Did you run into any trouble while you were in town?" Mike asked, raising his voice so Edward could hear him.

  "No. The town was just as deserted as it was when we left. Anything interesting happen out here while I was gone?"

  "We heard some rustling in the woods a couple of times that sounded like it could be a large animal, but other than that it was very quiet."

  "We might have to investigate that a little more after we get something in our bellies," Edward said with a laugh.

  Edward pulled the horse to a stop in front of the camp. He swung himself down from the saddle and walked the horse over to a tree just off the road. The tree he found had low-hanging branches that he could tie the horse to. Once the horse was secured, Edward joined Mike and Katie by the fire, bringing the sack of vegetables with him. "How are you holding up?" he asked Mike.

  "As long as I stay pretty much immobile, the leg pain is tolerable. Kind of like a dull throbbing pain," Mike answered.

  "Have you tried moving around any more on it while I was gone?"

  "No. I'm trying to rest it as much as possible so it will heal quicker."

  "That's probably the best thing to do. Just try to do a little every now and then so it doesn't stiffen up too much," Edward suggested. He opened up the farmer's sack and peered inside. He pulled out the handful of crossbow bolts that he had carefully put on top of the vegetables and handed them to Katie. "I couldn't find anything to put them in, but I suppose you could use this sack once the remaining vegetables are gone."

  "That's fine. I'll figure something out," she said happily. She then placed the crossbow on the ground and positioned her feet to hold it in place so she could test the pull of the drawstring. She used both hands and began to pull it back. There was significant resistance in the drawstring, but it wasn't more than she could handle ... just enough to work her muscles a little. She picked up one of the bolts and slid it into the guide, seating it firmly in place. She set the loaded crossbow to the side as she noticed Edward digging in the sack again.

  He pulled out the one remaining vegetable that looked like a cross between a tomato and a melon of some sort. When he then looked into the sack again, to see what was left, the expression on his face began to sink; the other vegetables were beginning to show signs of rot.

  "Damn it!" Edward said, turning the sack upside down, dumping its contents on the ground. He angrily poked at the half rotten vegetables with the toe of his boot.

  "At least that one still looks good," Mike stated, pointing to the melon-like vegetable.

  "True, but now we will have to rely mainly on hunting to provide us with food," Edward replied, a tone of exasperation in his voice. He began to rummage through his pack, looking for the knife he knew was in there, so that he could cut the melon-like vegetable. He pulled out a piece of cloth that he could later use to wipe the blade of the knife off with and set it aside, not noticing that it had a small piece of parchment snagged in its fibers. He found the knife a moment later and pulled it out. Using it to cut the vegetable into three roughly equal portions, he passed two to Mike and Katie. He picked up the scrap of cloth absently from beside him. As he raised the cloth to wipe off the knife, the piece of parchment that had been snagged in its fibers broke free.

  Katie noticed as it fluttered to the ground, landing near her feet. She reached down to pick it up so she could give it back to Edward. The instant her fingers touched it, words suddenly appeared on the once blank page. As if that weren't enough to wrap her mind around, the parchment also seemed to feel like it had grown cooler than it had been when she picked it up from the ground. In her shock, Katie gasped and nearly dropped the parchment into the fire. Mike and Edward looked up at her from their food.

  "What's wrong?" Edward asked her.

  At first, not able to make sound come out of her mouth, Katie turned the parchment so that both men could see. Written upon its surface in large letters was:

  Someone please help me.

  The men exchanged confused looks. "Whom are we supposed to help?" Mike asked.

  "The better question would be, where did that message come from?" Edward replied. "That looks like the blank piece of parchment that I have carried with me for a very long time. I use it occasionally when I need to send messages back home by using pigeons. I normally tear a piece off with the message I want to send. The parchment itself is magical and regenerates the torn piece back overnight when I store it in my bag. Every time I bring it out, it is like a brand new piece of parchment, with no evidence that it was ever torn."

  "Can I see that?" Mike asked Katie, holding out his hand to her. Still dumbfounded and speechless, Katie handed the sheet of parchment to him. As soon as Mike touched it the words began to fade, and as Katie's fingers left the parchment, the message disappeared entirely. "What the hell?"

  "What's the matter?" Katie asked, finally finding her voice. Mike turned the parchment so she could see that it was now blank. "Huh? Where'd the message go?"

  "I don't know," Mike answered. "As soon as you let go of the paper the message vanished into thin air."

  "That must mean that the message was intended for Katie," Edward said. "I have to admit, it was strange seeing something written on that page that wasn't written in my own hand. A message appearing out of nowhere like that has never happened before. Give it back to her so we can see if the message will reappear."

  Mike handed the parchment back to Katie. Once he let go and it was fully in her possession again she looked down, expecting to see the message once again. Instead, she found herself staring at the same blank page, restored to its prior state. Confused, she looked to Edward for answers. "Why didn't the message come back?" she asked with a hint of irritation.

  "I'm not sure," Edward stated. "I never knew that the parchment could receive messages like that."

  Frustrated, Katie looked down again at the parchment in her hands; a message that was meant for her alone. Who could be trying to send her a message? Just as she was beginning to draw the conclusion that perhaps it was Amber doing some sort of weird ghost writing thing, something suddenly appeared on the parchment again.

  Katie? Is that you?

  She looked at the parchment in astonishment. If it were Amber, she wouldn't have asked that question. That only left one person she could think of; it had to be Julie. The previous message began to fade and was quickly replaced by another.

  Oh my God! It is you! How in the world are you in my head like this?

  "Holy crap!" Katie muttered to herself out loud.

  "What?" Mike and Edward asked in unison.

  "What's happening?" Edward asked, looking curiously at the expression on her face.

  "I'm not sure, but it seems like it is my friend, Julie, who is sending the messages. It's very strange. It's like she can hear my thoughts and hers are appearing on the parchment." Katie returned her attention to the page in her hands and thought, I don't know how this is happening. I have a piece of paper in my hands that is magical. Somehow your thoughts are showing up as writing on it.

  That doesn't surprise me. This place is very strange. I just want to get out of here and go home.

  I've been trying to find you since I got here, Julie, Katie thought. I just don't know where to look. Amber has been trying to help, but I can only see her at night. Where are you?

  I'm not
sure. I think I am underground somewhere. I was taken down a river on a boat to the place that I am being held.

  Underground? How did you get underground? And are you hurt?

  Mr. M took me down a long staircase inside of a building. I'm not hurt, but the guards here keep us naked to hinder any attempts to escape.

  How degrading. Wait a minute. You said us. Are you telling me that you aren't the only one being held there?

  Yes. There are many of us here. We are forced to work for long periods of time with little rest. We don't dare protest though because we have been warned that if we do we will be sent to someplace the guards call Cemetery Hill.

  What do they force you to do? And do you have any idea what they call the place where you are being held?

  They call this place The Factory. There are crates that come in every now and then with various parts in them. Our job is to assemble the pieces according to the schematics we are given.

  What are you being forced to put together?

  Robots of different sorts. Most of them resemble animals or insects, but I have seen a few that looked human. When we have one of those to make we have to put them in a mold of some sort afterward. Then there is a fluid injected into the mold that looks like human flesh when it dries.

  Why would anyone do such a thing?

  I have no idea. Whatever these people are up to, it can't be good though.

  Hang in there and be strong Julie. We are trying very hard to find you. It's just a matter of time.

  Be careful, Katie. I don't know how many guards you will have to get through in order to find me.

  We will, Julie. I will keep this piece of parchment handy and check it often in case you need to get a hold of me. We will be there as soon as we can.

  Thank you so much for not giving up on finding ...

  The message suddenly stopped.

  Julie? Are you okay? Julie? Katie sighed heavily in exasperation.

  "What's wrong?" Edward asked Katie as he watched her neatly fold the parchment and tuck it inside her vest. She shivered slightly as the parchment brushed against her breast.

  "The message just suddenly stopped," she said with a worried look. "I hope Julie is okay."

  "What all did she tell you?" Mike inquired. For what seemed like at least an hour Katie relayed everything she had found out from Julie, and then the three of them sat around the fire trying to figure out their next move.

  Chapter 6

  As the three of them sat around the campfire discussing options for helping Julie, Edward suddenly went silent and put a finger to his lips to quiet the others.

  "What's wrong?" Katie said in a voice that was just barely a whisper. She had barely gotten her question out when a branch cracked nearby.

  "It feels like we are being watched," Edward whispered back.

  They all began to look around nervously, trying to find any sign that someone was lurking nearby. Just as they were about to go back to their conversation, two people emerged from the shadows of a tree near the road. Both of them looked like they had been through something terrible. Every patch of visible skin seemed to be caked with dirt and their clothes were in tatters that just barely covered their bodies.

  The three of them remained seated by the fire watching the battered couple as they slowly approached them. Silently they wondered what hell these two had endured. Moments later, the newcomers stopped just outside the makeshift camp.

  Edward was the first to stand. "May we assist you in some way?" he asked them politely.

  "Can we share your fire, sir? It has been a difficult night for us and the warmth of your fire would be greatly appreciated," the haggard gentleman replied.

  "By all means! Come! Sit!" Edward said with a sweeping gesture as if he were inviting a visiting nobleman to dine with him. The ragged looking couple shuffled forward into the makeshift camp and sat down on the ground between Edward and Katie.

  "We thank you for your kindness," the man said, looking at Edward. Katie sat on the other side of the newcomers, studying them intently. Somewhere, underneath all that dirt, the man had black hair that came down just past his shoulders. She thought he might be a little older than Mike, perhaps in his mid-thirties, but all the filth he was covered in could be making him look older than he really was. Through his tattered clothes she could see that he was somewhat thin, but definitely in good shape. His muscles weren't huge by any stretch of the imagination, but they were very well defined. From what Katie remembered of him when he was still standing, she thought he was maybe six feet tall or so, and if memory served, he had blue eyes.

  Turning her attention to the woman seated next to him, Katie saw that she also had black hair; but hers looked like it was streaked slightly with gray, giving her the appearance that she might be a little older than her companion. Katie remembered noticing the pale color of her eyes before she turned away to face Edward and thought that maybe they were gray. The woman was significantly shorter than the man, probably not much more than five feet tall, and was very petite.

  Edward introduced everyone in their little group to the newcomers. When he was finished, the man introduced himself as Jack and the woman as his wife, Natasha.

  "I hope this isn't too personal, but what happened to the two of you?" Katie asked.

  Jack turned to her and explained, "We are from the town of Haven. Last night, there was a large beast that had skin made of metal that came into town. It was smashing things and attacking the townsfolk. Everyone that could flee ran from town. We got separated from the rest and were trying to determine if it was safe to go home."

  Katie looked nervously toward Edward. Natasha noticed the look on her face. "What's wrong? Do you know something?"

  Jack and Natasha turned toward Edward as he began to speak. "We left Haven this morning after we spent a very intense night in a room above the tavern. I believe the same beast that caused everyone to flee for safety attacked us. Fortunately, we were able to escape with our lives, but Mike was hurt pretty bad in the attack."

  "You are either very brave or very foolish," Jack said.

  "I am neither of those in my opinion," Edward said with a grin. "We didn't really have much choice in the matter. The beast was attacking us and at the same time was blocking any possible escape. We did manage to injure it though. Right after that it charged at me and missed. Its momentum carried it through the wall where it landed outside and disappeared into the night."

  "Unbelievable!" Jack exclaimed. "How did you manage to injure a beast that looked to be indestructible?"

  "With magic; conjured lightning to be more specific. Two of its three heads were hanging useless and smoldering when it charged at me."

  Jack and Natasha both looked at Edward with a mixture of fear and awe on their faces. "I didn't know there was anyone left in the world that could wield such magic," Jack murmured. "No one other than the old gods, anyway. I always thought that the humans that once possessed that kind of power were dead and gone long ago."

  "I know there are at least two left in the world, and I've heard rumors that others still exist," Edward said. "My father can use magic, too. He has been my teacher and mentor for as long as I can remember."

  Jack tried unsuccessfully to suppress a yawn. “I hate to ask, but would it be okay with you folks if we laid down beside your fire for a while?”

  “By all means,” Edward replied. “Perhaps we can rustle up something to eat while you do.” He smiled.

  “You are very kind,” Natasha whispered, obviously exhausted. “We spent the majority of the night either running or hiding, and haven’t gotten any sleep, or had anything to eat, since we fled our home.”

  Jack and Natasha curled up together on the ground next to the fire and were soon snoring lightly. Katie gathered up the crossbow from the ground by her feet, picked up a couple of extra bolts, and attached them to the underside of the crossbow in the clips that were built into it. She slowly stood up, stretched, and told the others that she was going to check th
e woods nearby for small game. Minutes later she disappeared from sight into the woods.

  Chapter 7

  George dozed off for a bit during the trip to the factory. He awoke suddenly, as the voice of Morgana came through the console, letting him know that in thirty minutes he would arrive at his destination. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stood up to stretch.

  He made his way back into the holding area of the ship where all of his most recent captures were being held in their cages. Just outside of the holding area was the rope that he had used to lead his captives with. He had secured it to a large metal ring that was bolted into the wall. All of the empty collars were still attached at various intervals, waiting patiently to encircle the necks of the prisoners once more.

  As he entered the holding area, George looked over his catch once again. When he had secured them inside their cages he had removed all of their clothing, and now he paced from cage to cage, inspecting each of his prisoners. He contemplated the order in which he would reattach them in the collars in order to get the desired effect when he presented them at factory. Briefly, he thought about putting the most attractive woman at the front of the line, but soon changed his mind on that. He suddenly had the urge to keep that one for himself. He missed doing what he had started on Earth and didn’t want to suppress the urges that made him the man he was. All work and no play made him more irritable than usual and it seemed like now would be a good time to break the cycle and return to his former glory.

  By deciding to keep one of the women for himself, it left five men, and four other women, to deal with. As much as he would have preferred to have a beauty at the head of the line, he thought perhaps it would be best to put a man in front and alternate male and female down the line to make his presentation look better.

  As he went from cage to cage making his inspections, George decided to put the most muscular man in the front of his line of captives. He would then go down the line alternating muscles and beauty until he reached the end of the line, with the least appealing of the lot.