The Valley

by Richard Stockham

death."

  The half circle of faces turned to each other and muttered andwhispered again. "In the name of God.... Let them go.... Contaminateus.... Like animals.... Get them out of here.... _Let_ them befinished.... Best for us all.... And them...."

  There was a turning to the President again and hands thrusting himforward to within one step of Michael and Mary, who were standingthere close together, as though attached.

  Haltingly he said, "Go. Please go. Out onto the Earth--to die. You_will_ die. The Earth is dead out there. You'll never see the city oryour people again."

  "We want a ground car," said Michael. "And supplies."

  "A ground car," repeated the President. "And--supplies.... Yes."

  "You can give us an escort, if you want to, out beyond the first rangeof mountains."

  "There will be no escort," said the President firmly. "No one has beenallowed to go out upon the Earth or to fly above it for many hundredsof years. We know it's there. That's enough. We couldn't bear thesight of it." He took a step back. "And we can't bear the sight of youany longer. Go now. Quickly!"

  Michael and Mary did not let go of the lockets as they watched thehalf circle of faces move backward, staring, as though at corpses thatshould sink to the floor.

  * * * * *

  It was night. The city had been lost beyond the dead mounds of Earththat rolled away behind them, like a thousand ancient tombs. Theground car sat still on a crumbling road.

  Looking up through the car's driving blister, they saw the stars sunkinto the blue black ocean of space; saw the path of the Milky Wayalong which they had rushed, while they had been searching franticallyfor the place of salvation.

  "If any one of the other couples had made it back," said Mary, "do youthink they'd be with us?"

  "I think they'd either be with us," he said, "or out in spaceagain--or in prison."

  She stared ahead along the beam of headlight that stabbed out into thenight over the decaying road.

  "How sorry are you," she said quietly, "coming with me?"

  "All I know is, if I were out in space for long without you, I'd killmyself."

  "Are we going to die out here, Michael?" she said, gesturing towardthe wall of night that stood at the end of the headlight, "with theland?"

  He turned from her, frowning, and drove the ground car forward,watching the headlights push back the darkness.

  They followed the crumbling highway all night until light crept acrossthe bald and cracked hills. The morning sun looked down upon thedesolation ten feet above the horizon when the car stopped. They satfor a long time then, looking out upon the Earth's parched andinflamed skin. In the distance a wall of mountains rose like a greatpile of bleached bones. Close ahead the rolling plains were motionlesswaves of dead Earth with a slight breeze stirring up little swirls ofdust.

  "I'm getting out," she said.

  "I haven't the slightest idea how much farther to go, or why," saidMichael shrugging. "It's all the same. Dirt and hills and mountainsand sun and dust. It's really not much different from being out inspace. We live in the car just like in a space ship. We've enoughconcentrated supplies to last for a year. How far do we go? Why?When?"

  They stepped upon the Earth and felt the warmth of the sun andstrolled toward the top of the hill.

  "The air smells clean," he said.

  "The ground feels good. I think I'll take off my shoes." She did."Take off your boots, Michael. Try it."

  Wearily he pulled off his boots, stood in his bare feet. "It takes meback."

  "Yes," she said and began walking toward the hilltop.

  He followed, his boots slung around his neck. "There was a roadsomewhere, with the dust between my toes. Or was it a dream?"

  "I guess when the past is old enough," she said, "it becomes a dream."

  He watched her footprints in the dust. "God, listen to the quiet."

  "I can't seem to remember so much quiet around me. There's always beenthe sound of a space ship, or the pumps back in the cities."

  He did not answer but continued to watch her footsteps and to feel thedust squishing up between his toes. Then suddenly:

  "Mary!"

  She stopped, whirling around.

  He was staring down at her feet.

  She followed his gaze.

  "It's grass!" He bent down. "Three blades."

  She knelt beside him. They touched the green blades.

  "They're new," he said.

  They stared, like religious devotees concentrating upon some sacredobject.

  He rose, pulling her up with him. They hurried to the top of the hilland stood very still, looking down into a valley. There were tinypatches of green and little trees sprouting, and here and there, apale flower. The green was in a cluster, in the center of the valleyand there was a tiny glint of sunlight in its center.

  "Oh!"

  Her hand found his.

  They ran down the gentle slope, feeling the patches of green touchtheir feet, smelling a new freshness in the air. And coming to thelittle spring, they stood beside it and watched the crystal water thattrickled along the valley floor and lost itself around a bend. Theysaw a furry, little animal scurry away and heard the twitter of a birdand saw it resting on a slim, bending branch. They heard the buzz of abee, saw it light on a pale flower at their feet and work at thesweetness inside.

  Mary knelt down and drank from the spring.

  "It's so cool. It must come from deep down."

  "It does," he said. There were tears in his eyes and a tightness inhis throat. "From deep down."

  "We can _live_ here, Michael!"

  Slowly he looked all around until his sight stopped at the bottom of ahill. "We'll build our house just beyond those rocks. We'll dig andplant and you'll have the child."

  "Yes!" she said. "Oh yes!"

  "And the ones back in the city will know the Earth again. Sometimewe'll lead them back here and show them the Earth is coming alive." Hepaused. "By following what we had to do for ourselves, we've found away to save them."

  They remained kneeling in the silence beside the pool for a long time.They felt the sun on their backs and looked into the clean depth ofthe water deeply aware of the new life breathing all around them andof themselves absorbing it, and at the same time giving back to it thelife that was their own.

  There was only this quiet and breathing and warmth until Michael stoodand picked up a rock and walked toward the base of the hill where hehad decided to build the house.

  ... THE END

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