by Jared Ravens
Warn leaned his head a little.
"There is no death," he repeated. "I told you that. All those people going into the water are being recycled. Into new people. But if you have a real desire to help, I will let you help me. And it will help me.”
“So you will help?”
“I do not care for Fairfax but it does not mean I care for Celia.”
He turned again, wailing past the edge of the lake into a large, cavernous hallway.
"Where are you going?"
“We have to start digging," he said. "Very rapidly.”
The Driver
Fairfax starred westward, towards the setting sun but also to the prospects there. He looked to his former home, towards the green forest that lay well over the horizon. He wondered if there was any way he would see them again, as a free man at least.
"There was this time," Eryck said, standing beside him. "That I drove over those hills, way over there, with a delivery and all. Back in Sigma, when I lived there. I had a pile of wood that barely made it down that canyon path and into this desert here. So, I came over the desert and my wheel was broken halfway there. I was stranded there, and these creatures all over here, they start to smell me from far away. They come up to me, animals and all, and they want a taste. And I tried to scare them, night and day, all day and such. Then they came over anyhow. I thought, yes, I am a goner.
"Well, there it was, these big toothed things, they turned out to be soft as house pets, inside and all. So they didn't try to eat me, in fact, one he let me ride it all the way to Eae. I was going to get some people to repair the wagon, get my stuff back, and when I turned around it was angry. It started trying to attack us all, and so we had to kill it. I loved it, though, and and I made a pelt out of it that I wear still. That thing is my favorite, of all the things I killed, that was mine, cause it acted so strange. Mean one minute, nice the next. I thought of that every time I wear it as a coat."
“Sounds like it was related to Vivian," Fairfax said.
"Vivian? Vvian you say? " Eryck laughed. “Don’t be so hard on her. You see her nice side, too.”
“True,” Fairfax said. “I’ve been drudging up some memories of her in my dreams. Seems like even the ones that like us are mean to us. They abandon us.”
"Well," Eryck sighed. “My point is, sometimes things are just like that, without an explanation. They are good one moment, not good the next. It doesn't have to be that someone’s pulling strings.”
They watched the light disappear and something fly through the air, directly towards their camp. Marcus’s body became larger as he came closer, a person wrapped in his arms.
“Eryck," Farifax said. "You have to..."
He cut off his speech and looked to the ground.
"Have to what?"
"You have to do what you ahve to do."
"Sure do."
"You know what I mean."
"Sure."
"No, you have to do what you have to do to protect your people. You've been more than fair to me."
"Oh, well.."
"Eryck," Fairfax repeated, looking him in the eyes. "Its not fair, you just have to do it."
Eryck tried to smile but his eyes kept diverting from meeting Fairfax's eyes.
"We're your body guards, Fairfax."
"Not by choice."
"What, you want me to just slice you in half? That ain't going to happen."
"If you have to," Fairfax said. Eryck stopped smiling. "Quit pretending that you don't want to. Do it if you have to, or you'll be dead to."
Eryck sputtered some words out but Fairfax was lookign past him.
"Look who he brought," he said, interrupting Eryck.
Marcus had landed far way, a body tied in thick rope laid at his feet. Guards came to pick the person up off the ground.
"Who is that?" Eryck asked.
"Who else could it be? I don't remember shit and I know who it is."
Dani could have been anyone to Fairfax. And at that time, he was so discombobulated that he felt he could have been anyone. He looked frail and thin, laying on the ground in ropes that enveloped. His eyes darted every which way, at every face that looked on at him.
Though he could not place his him, Fairfax knew he knew him, the same way he knew McKenna. His mind was not working but his heart was. He could feel a kinship beyond the physical appearance of an unknown man.
"Why is he tied up like that?" Fairfax asked Genesee. A dozen soldiers stood between him and his friend. Genesee gave the word to cut the ropes and one of the soldiers tentatively obeyed.
"To keep him safe," Genesee said. "He had a long flight. We couldn't have him acting out."
"What did you do to him?" Fairfax asked, watching the man slowly gather himself and take in his surroundings. He was dazed, his eyes totally blank.
"What didn't I do to him, is the question," Genesee asked. "What did I protect him from, that is the question. I put him into saftey to keep him from harm."
"He looks entirely out of it."
"I brought him here to you," Genesee said, "In good will."
He nodded his head towards Dani and Fairfax realized he wanted him to speak to Dani. Fairfax inched forward towards Dani. He remained sitting and barely acknowledged Fairfax as he approached him. Dozens surrounded them, waiting for the awkward conversation to begin.
"How are you?" Fairfax asked.
Dani turned his attention to the man kneeling in front of him, the shock draining from his eyes.
"Good I guess."
"Do you know who I am?"
Dani looked at him and then jerked a little, turning his attention elsewhere.
“Don know," he replied.
Fairfax sighed and looked behind him, requesting a more private setting.
"This is private enough, Genesee explained.
Fairfax swallowed an looked back to his former friend.
"I'm Felix, or I was."
"Oh," he replied quickly. "Don't know."
"Did they hurt you?"
"Of course we didn’t,” Genesee interrupted.
“Don’t know," Dani replied.
"See?" Geensee said.
Fairfax stood up and turned to Genesee.
"What's the purpose of this?"
Genesee looked at him, confused.
"Do you know how many people want him dead?" he asked. "I kept him safe."
"You'll do the same for me…"
"You're stronger than him. He released Bautomet. If Waring had his way he'd torture him til the end of time, and Celia would watch. I kept him in a cage and used him for knowledge so I could find you, so I could protect you both."
"So nice of you," Farifax said, looking at the ground.
Genesee tilted his head.
"If you die, she wins," he explained. "You wanted to see him, so I brought him to you. You see the not so pretty parts of our existence, and that is the price of being what you are. You have to be tough enough, and you are, and he isn't. He wasn't made to be what you are. He chose to get in the middle of it, and he paid an unfortunate price. I put my cards up so you see that I am not lying to you. You want this to be better, then you work with me to make it better. If you don't, she will win. And the next thing Goetz asks me to do won’t be so pretty."
Fairfax looked at Dani again. He was trying to stand up, unsuccessfully.
“You’re righ, it’s not pretty," Fairfax said. "Why don't you just do it again? Make another one with a bigger shoulder or legs? Wasn't that your plan?"
Genesee gave an awkward smile.
"I don't think Martel's heart is in it anymore."
A realization dawned on Fairfax.
"You tried again, didn't you?"
Genesee didn't answer.
"You couldn't do it."
Genesee's lips clinched.
"We did do it. With you."
Fairfax's mind went wild with the implications of that statement. He didn't like thinking what it meant. He turned back to Dani and helped him sta
nd up. He balanced unsteadily on his legs but once he got the hang of it he smiled, the first bright expression Fairfax had seen from him.
"Good job, pudge," Fairfax said. Dani looked at him, a moment of recognition in his eyes.
"Thanks, Pudge."
"When I come back, he gets to leave," Fairfax said.
"There's a lot of danger in that..." Genesee replied.
"He leaves."
Genesee held his hands up.
"Its done," he stated.
Fairfax helped Dani to walk forward. A group of soldiers stayed with him, surrounding them as Genesee followed close behind. Fairfax and Dani approached McKenna, who had come close to the group to watch. She nervously asked Dani how he was doing and he seemed to come more alive, but still was not sure how exactly to answer the question.
"Where am I?" he finally asked.
"Exactly," McKenna snorted. "I'm glad you're safe, Dani."
"I think I am," Dani said, smiling a little.
Later in the day, after Fairfax had been taken back to his post and Dani put under guard, Genesee went to Spaulding, who waited patiently in the midst of the desert, a ways from the camp, scrapping up rocks and examining them to pass the time.
"I think we have it settled, for now," he told Spaulding.
"I hope so,” Spaulding said. His face rough with sand. He looked filthy. Genesee couldn't smell a stench but he kept his distance just in case. "We're all losing time out here. So much to do, and so many other damned people that need our attention besides this damned one."
“It's important," Genesee explained.
"Yeah, we'd have a right riot on our hands if something happens to him. I'd put him down myself if I had my way, but damned if we all have a boss telling us what to do."
"Thank you for being cooperative."
"I wasn't talking about you. It’s these people, all these damned people I was talking about. You have to keep them happy or they do get angry."
"I think," Genesee said. "We have a compromise. Fairfax will go peacefully and we will work with everyone to make him a significant part of our operation. One that works with us all for our greater protection." He sighed and looked to the west, the light beginning to dim. "I just hope Harper gets here. If he isn’t here by the time we see the other side of the desert then I'll know he's dragging his feet."
"Yeah, well, we'll able to see Alby woods before we get done walking tonight. It not far. He's all lazy and shit. But with Martel here, I can't see why. If she was my wife I'd be here on the double."
Genesee looked to the Spaulding, pausing for a moment to erase from his mind the thought of the thick man in overalls fucking his sister in law. Maybe no one else shows up, Genesee thougth. Maybe everyone else avoids responsibility.
"Be ready for tonight,” Genesee said, tilting his head in the direction of his wife on the other side of the encampment. She was on her back, sleeping, her mouth open. Handmaidens scattered around her large, limp body, picking dirt off her and cleaning her nails and toes as she rested.
"Yeah, its now or never," Spaulding said, finally stopping his dig. "Its a shame. I do like that spunky bitch. I mean, your wife and all. She is something to behold."
"Just hold her back,” Genesee said. "I will get Fairfax away. We have a plan."
The night took hold and the camp began to pack up. Celia woke and turned her eyes onto them. As her girls moved below her, stacking supplies onto wagons, she watched the post where Fairfax lay, his body wrapped in a blanket to protect him against from the sun, his girl a lump beside him. She picked up her spear, touching its tip to make sure it was sharp. She knew it was, it just felt good to feel it. The sensation of pain sent shivers through her body and she smiled. Now would be the time to end it, to get the full weight Goetz’s and Genesee’s anger rolling towards her so she could start dealing with that problem and not this one. Her aim did not need to be too accurate. She could still slice him in two with the enormous weapon even it was off target. The action would cut her life in two as well, in a way.
She would wait, just a moment, for a better opportunity. She watched the camp, looking for anything unusual. Guards milled about, tents were folded, torches sprang up and danced about. She watched the wagons and caravans spread out clumsily into a line and the soldiers move to the back, towards her, as a weak buffer between the spear and the prize. The Eae people in the ramshackle armor moved in closer to the bundle on the ground, bodyguards adding another layer to the defense. One moved in to the bundle. She watched him, seeing his head pull up, confused. The guard called for another guard and that one came and looked.
They pulled the blankets back to show what she suspected: There was nothing there but rocks. There was a flurry of voices clicking at each other and anxiety moving through the camp like a wave. One after person called after another to say he was missing, she was missing, they were both gone. She looked for Genesee and spotted his bald head. She waited to see his reaction and delighted in the jerk of his head, the nervous adjustment of his glasses, and his agitated manor as he called together the men around him to form a plan.
There was no time for that. A wagon at the edge of the caravan reared and started moving The animal at the front, a large wooly thing with four large legs that dwarfed tis body, cried out and raced as fast as it could. The wagon bounced in back of it, a hooded figure in the front driving it. The back of of the wagon was covered in a cloth that blew out like a cape as it raced across the desert westward.
"Curson!" she yelled. "Atrios! Let's go!"
They sprinted towards the wagon. They gained ground on it quickly and Celia thought she could crush it beneath her boot if she moved fast enough. The wagon shifted directions and she had to pivot, causing all three of them to lose a step on it. She lifted her spear put, taking aim as she ran.
A force pushed her from the left. She skidded across the ground. Her body slid into Curson's legs, who was knocked into Atrios. The ground shook in response. Spaulding stood above her, huffing through yellow teeth.
"Get you back, ma'am, unless you're going to capture him safely!" he said.
In reply Celia lifted her spear up. Before he could move she had thrust it into Spaulding’s stomach. As he gasped in shock she lifted herself up. She pulled the spear from his stomach and kicked him to the ground, her anger venting from every pore.
"Stay there," she commanded. She saw the wagon, now a speck in the distance. Curson and Atrios were still pulling themselves off the ground. She left them, racing ahead, the tip of her spear dripping blood with every step. She pushed herself forward, gaining ground with every movement. But she was running out of steam and the animal did not seem to be doing so. She saw the canyon’s rock wall at the edge of the desert, the ones that held to Alby woods on top of it , appear just on the horizon. As they came closer she saw a speck of a thing, something that wasn't a tree or a building or a man. Harper was standing there, waiting for the group to arrive.
Fuck him, she thought. Fuck them all.
She skidded to a stop and gripped her spear. Taking aim she pulled back and thrust it forward as hard as she could. She watched it travel, its arc slowly gaining on the spot that the wagon was arriving at. As long as he didn't look back and see it. As long as he didn’t turn.
It struck the ground, cutting the wagon in two. The animals fell, baying as they fell to the ground. The driver tumbled onto the desert floor. Celia rushed towards it. The animals picked themselves up and raced away, dragging the wood that attached them to the wagon. She smiled slightly, nervously, as she bent down. Something told her immediately that it was wrong. She felt it.
McKenna was there, in the robe, coughing for air. She looked up at Celia and closed her eyes for good.
The Escape
The rock moved in spurts. It wobbled and rattled and then jerked until, finally, it flew up and tipped over. The hole underneath the human sized rock was just large enough for Fairfax and his companion to squeeze into and more difficult to squeeze out of. His sho
ulder was giving him trouble when a hand reached out to him. He took it and pulled himself up.
“Looks comfortable," Eryck said to him.
"I couldn't stay any longer," Fairfax replied, pulling Sophi up behind him. "I was crushed and I don't think she could stand my smell anymore."
Fairfax brushed the dirt from her face. Eryck marveled at the hole Fairfax had been able to dig silently under his small canopy of blankets. The rocks, brough from nearby ostensibly to be used as a something for Fairfax to hang his blanket from like a lean to, had then disappeared under the blankets as Fairfax discretely dug under them. It had not been a safe plan, as part of the rock had fallen on top of Fairfax after he hid under it, and he had to prop it up with his shoulder for hours to protect Sophi. Eryck had made sure everything was well hidden when he came to deliver food. If they had bothered to look closely when they uncovered the rocks they might have seen that they were not firmly planted in the ground, but hovered a little above it. But McKenna knew to take off as soon as she heard the word pass through the camp and they had taken her bait. Almost no one remained in the camp except for a few stragglers that watched in disbelief as Fairfax walked among the supplies and wagons that had been left behind in the rush. He nodded to them, knowing they dare not attack him.
A few of the people of Eae had kept a wagon and animal to pull it. They were loading the back of it with whatever they could find: spears, swords, food, water all filled the back. Eryck pulled a blanket back to reveal the most important item.
"They left him behind?" Fairfax asked, looking at Dani in disbelief. The young man looked around him, stunned at the vacant camp.
"I told them I would pick him up," Eryck replied. “They were in too big a rush. So, I did as I said I would. Look here, That's not all."
Eryck smiled as he walked over to a pile of sand and dug into it. A gleaming piece of silver appeared.
"Curson's axe," Fairfax said in disbelief.
"Buried it," Eryck said. "Like we knew, he ain’t too smart. He looked around after he woke up but he just started running, without it."
There was a cry from the west. They looked that direction and could see the shapes on the horizon. They would be back at the camp just as quickly as they had left away.
