“He has a plan,” Iry stated.
“The king? Please, Iry. He shuffled us out. Susan takes from my blood, I tell of what I saw, she speaks of an attack and the king—”
“Shuffles us along?” Iry finished my sentence. “I believe he is ingesting it.”
“I believe he is coming up with a cover tale.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because he knows. This was not news to him.” “You are right …” the king’s voice entered our dining hall, “and wrong.”
Iry stood, and the king held out a hand to still him and then he joined us at the table.
“Which part am I right and which part am I wrong?” I asked.
Iry gave me a scolding look, as if I had spoken out of turn.
“I knew of the queen being a Savage,” the king said, “but I thought she had long died or was killed. Savage’s life spans are not that long without food and oftentimes they eat spoiled food and die. I thought she had died.”
Iry asked, “So she never reverted during the Starvation?”
The king shook his head.
“But Nito knew,” I said. “According to Susan, Nito knew. She wanted my blood for her mother. Nito brought the Savage attack on Arkana.”
The king nodded. “I would assume she had her mother’s help. I did not know, nor did I know Anubis was involved. It makes sense.”
“Which part?” Iry asked.
“That it is Anubis and that the queen is at his side. She was addicted to power.”
“I am a historian,” Iry said. “No one has ever seen Anubis in person, only through visions. Could this simply be a vision?”
“Perhaps, yes,” the king answered. “Only Anubis would have the ability to pull Vala in, show her things, and get her past our guards. So Anubis is there and the queen could be using him to get Vala’s blood. The more she consumes, the more she will return and regain power. The blood of the Mare is very powerful. I believe this is a scare tactic.”
“A scare tactic?” I questioned.
“Yes,” the king replied, “to frighten you into either joining them or giving your blood. Scare us all with the threat of an attack.”
“So you don’t believe that there is a sea of Savages?” Iry asked. “Vala saw many.”
“The Savages are feeble minded,” the king answered. “They follow only the scent of food. They lack the comprehension to follow a leader, let alone follow instructions to go into battle. I believe they placed Vala in a vision of make believe. Rest assured, we are fine.”
Rest assured? I was unable to find peace in his words. He hadn’t been there, I was. He didn’t see it, I did. I wouldn’t be able to ‘rest assured’ because what I witnessed was far too real to be simply a vision.
I vowed to myself right there, I would not rest until I knew the truth.
TWENTY – TANNER
It wasn’t what I expected. For some reason, in my mind, if the people of Hopeland were good, then surely they lived in squalor. We discovered it was clean, crisp, and high tech down below. Another world.
And I thought we had it together in Angeles City. For as much as we believed those from the Straits had been brainwashed, I started to believe perhaps I was the one who had been.
Life beyond the confines of Angeles City was different. The people of Hopeland didn’t know the struggle of the Savages. No one looked worn, beaten, scarred.
Snake, of course, was in his glory.
“Good Lord, is that air hockey?” he asked.
Air Hockey? I turned to where he pointed. There were two people, a younger male and a girl about my age, who were holding palm sized paddles in their hands, shoving a slate across a table.
Snake nudged me. “That is what young people do. Have fun not go out looking to kill.”
“I have fun,” I said in my defense.
“Sure. But killing Savages and Ancients is always in the forefront.”
“Um, yeah, Snake, they’re a threat.”
“Not here,” Burt cut in. “I don’t believe we ever had a Savage attack. Too close to the Ancient City, I suppose. Or they just don’t catch our scent.”
“So they play games all day?” I asked. “Seems counterproductive.”
“No, they have jobs. We farm down here, we keep the solar generators running. Cleaning, cooking. You name it.”
“How many people do you have down here?” Snake asked.
“One hundred fifteen,” Burt replied. “We have everything but a good seamstress. Thought we’d snag one up, but that didn’t pan out. She…”
While I listened to Burt, my attention was on the loud fun the two people playing air hockey were having.
Burt must have noticed my attention was there. “Go on. Go introduce yourself. We don’t bite. We aren’t Savages or Ancients.” He chuckled. “Get it? Bite. Ancients? Maybe not.”
Snake laughed loudly at the really bad joke.
“I get it,” I said and made my way over to the air hockey table. I needed to get a closer look.
“Score!” the girl shouted. “Ha!’
“You suck,” her competitor said. “Best out of five?”
“Sure…” she looked at me. “Unless the new guy wants to play.” She set down her paddle and extended her hand. “Brea.”
“I’m sorry?” I said, shaking her hand.
“Brea. That’s my name. That’s Josh.”
“What’s up?” Josh nodded.
“Did you want to play?” She reminded me a lot of Erin from Angeles City. Perky, cute, darker hair that was straight and came to her shoulders. Only Brea seemed, I don’t know, more tomboyish.
“No, I…. I haven’t a clue what this is. This is the first time I ever saw this game.”
“Seriously?” she asked. “You been living in the Straits?”
“Nah,” Josh said. “He doesn’t look or dress like he’s been in the Straits. Maybe a rogue.”
She tightened her lips and nodded. “Yeah, makes sense. You from a rogue?”
“Okay, I am really lost now,” I said. “A rogue?”
“That’s what we call places that are maybe a farm with one or two families,” Josh explained. “Small communities.”
“No, I’m from Angeles City.”
The paddle dropped from Josh’s hand as if I had said something shocking. “For real? You’re a rebel?”
“Yeah, if that’s what you call us.”
“Wow. Pretty cool. Pleased to meet you.” He finally shook my hand.
“Thanks. Nice to meet you, too.”
“So, Rebel, instead of a game, they hand you a gun, growing up,” Brea said.
“Pretty much.”
“That sucks.”
“It’s the way of life.”
“Not really. Not for all. How about playing?”
“I told you, I don’t know this game.”
She handed me a paddle, grabbed my arm, and pulled me over to the same spot at the end of the table. “How about you learn? Josh here is the perfect first opponent. He’s horrible.”
Josh laughed one of those fake exaggerated laughs and took his spot.
“I have no idea what to do,” I said.
“No worries.” Brea smiled. “I’ll teach you.” She placed her hand over mine to show me how to hold the paddle. Her hands were soft and delicate. No scars, no rough edges. No rough life.
If I wasn’t so aware of how bad things were out there, Hopeland would be a great place to stay, at least from what I was seeing.
For the time being, while there, I would enjoy all it had to offer.
TWENTY-ONE – NITO
I suppose I appeared a little silly basking in the moment with Davis. I didn’t think so at first and my arms stayed tight around him, my face plastered to his chest. Then he said, “Okay, okay, that’s good.”
He removed my arms and smiled. Something changed at that moment. I believe he saw me differently. Suddenly, he wanted to spend time with me and know everything there was to know about me.
He had me wait and then he raced from the room and returned with wine and food. Surely, he had a seduction plan on mind. It must have been time for him to do that portion of the conditioning.
I was ready.
“This calls for a celebration,” he said, pouring me wine. “Do you drink?”
“Doesn’t everyone?”
“True.” He poured me a glass. “You can take a break from conditioning.”
“Tell me, why do we celebrate?”
“Because you, my new friend, have vital information. I have needs.”
“I’m glad.”
“Let’s run you dry.”
“Hmm. Then I’ll need this.” I brought the wine to my lips. “Too bad we don’t have a little honey.” I caught myself. “I jest.”
“If you want honey, I’ll get you honey.”
“Maybe later.”
He winked. “Sounds good. So...” He downed his whole glass and then poured more. “We have established you were a housemaid in the Ancient City. Tell me a little about you. What do you remember? Your life.”
“You don’t think I am weird anymore?”
“Oh, no, you’re definitely out there. But I need to hear your story.”
“Why?”
“Knowing you will help me gauge the validity of what you tell me.”
Understood. Surely I couldn’t tell him my real story. But what about human life did I know? Suddenly, I recalled all the television shows.
“Where shall I begin?”
“Do you have brothers or sisters?”
“Yes,” I replied. I didn’t really, but I had to make up something. “There were six of us. Three boys and three girls. My father was an architect.”
“Did you have a maid, too?”
“As a matter of fact—”
“I’m joking. Did you work? What did you do? Before the housemaid thing.”
Knowing I had a skill as a seamstress, I could share that. But he may not have known the term seamstress. I wracked my brain again, I answered according to what he’d know with the television shows. “Fashion designer. I was a designing woman.”
“I see. Okay, where are you from? Originally, before the Event. Before the plague and war.”
Dare I spew out, ‘Deep in the caverns of the Laurel Mountains in Pennsylvania’? No…think. Shows. Finally, I figured it out. “Green Acres.”
He sat back. “Is that near Petticoat Junction?”
“Yes. Yes it is.”
Again, he downed his glass. “Enough of your past. If I showed you a map, could you show me where the Ancient City is?”
“I can. Anything for you.”
“Then I’ll be back.” He stood and walked to the door.
“Davis?”
He paused at the door. “Yes?”
“Just so you know, if you want, you can have your way with me.”
“Um… thanks. Maybe later.”
“I can wait.”
He flashed a hurried smile and raced out the door. His urgency was impressive. I suppose he wanted to get that map so he could eventually get to me.
Despite that he did not know I was at one time an Ancient, surely he sensed the generosity of my offering. After all, it is not every day a woman like me offers herself to someone like Davis.
TWENTY-TWO – VALA
Sophie had a coldness to her soul. That was the one thing I noticed right away. She lacked deep emotion and understanding. Granted she was only a child, but still, when I told her of our mother’s passing, she merely nodded her understanding. The Sophie I knew before would have cried. Even I shed a tear for our mother.
She needed to rest. Not that Ancients or ‘Humancients’ as I learned they were called, needed to sleep, but they did require rest. Sophie was so young, she required more. I made sure she had a lunch of fruit, and then I read her a story, kissed her, and left her room.
The events of the early morning were still on my mind. The king was insistent that it was a ploy, a mind game played on me by Anubis.
I needed to escape, to forget about it. I was saddened to learn that Snake and Tanner had left without saying goodbye. Did they truly harbor ill feelings toward me? The hallway was long, and my destination was Iry’s hidden room. I felt the need to watch ALF.
I took four steps and the hallway, decorated with golden paper, turned dark and cold. I spun around and no longer was I in Iry’s house, I was somewhere else.
I was in a cavern of sorts, with dark, wet walls, it was damp and smelled foul. Where was I? How did I get there?
Had I fallen asleep? Wake up, I told myself. Wake up!
I reached down to pinch my arm and as I grabbed hold of the flesh between my two fingers I saw the Savage. He growled hungrily at me. I backed up.
“Mare,” a deep voice called.
I turned slowly to my right and in the distance was Anubis. He lifted his staff. “Welcome to our world.” With a slam of his staff to the ground, he cried out, “Attack!”
From behind him a wave of Savages raced my way. A herd of hundreds ran after me. The one Savage that was near me reached for my arm, scratching it with his claws.
If this was a dream or transport, surely I wasn’t waking up.
Doing the only thing I could, I spun and ran in the opposite direction. The passageway was long and dark, and from what I saw, was nothing more than a dead end. I was trapped. For some reason I was faster than the Savages, and when I arrived at the wall, I pounded my fists against it.
They drew closer and closer, surely I was facing the end of my time. Not wanting to see it coming, I turned and faced the wall and in desperation, I threw my hands against it. The wall crumbled and I tumbled forward into Iry’s personal chambers.
He was seated at a desk and stood in alarm. “Vala?”
I scurried to my feet, looking behind me to see only a door.
“What’s wrong?” He reached down and helped me to my feet.
“Iry,” I said breathlessly, “they pulled me through again.”
<><><><>
When we arrived at the king’s palace, I expected him to emerge with a ‘what does she want now?’ attitude, instead, he appeared scared, shaken.
“So this wasn’t a vision?” Iry asked.
“I’m afraid not,” the king replied. “I hoped it was, but after hearing this, I fear they have locked in on her.”
“Vala, pack up, grab Sophie, we are leaving Ancient City.”
“It doesn’t matter,” the king said. “They found her. They have her. Next time she may not be so lucky. This was a warning, their arrogance to let us know the power they have.”
“Is there nothing we can do?” Iry asked. “Surely, your spirit guards can—”
“They are no match for Anubis, he is a God.” The king stood from his throne.
“What do they want?” I asked.
“Your blood. Your soul.”
“What about the things that Susan said? That they want to attack We need to find this out. The Savages are mighty, I can defeat many, but the numbers I saw…”
“That has to be a delusion,” the king said. “Anubis is using them to get to you.”
“Then can I project?” I asked. “Can I travel to them? See what is real and what is not?”
“If they see your essence they will apprehend you.”
“So we’re at a loss,” Iry said. “She isn’t even safe while awake?”
“They can pull her in and we will lose her,” said the king.
“Why now?” Iry asked. “Why did they wait until now?”
“Because she married you. Marriage means an offspring. They can’t have that. A child of a Mare and purebred Ancient would be more powerful than Anubis.”
“Where’s the fight?” Iry snapped. “There has to be a way to protect her.”
After a moment of silence, the king dropped down to his throne, and peered up at us from the tops of his eyes. “There is.”
“What?” Iry asked. “Anything. We need to protect
her.”
“They can take her, overpower her at any time, unless….” He paused. “Unless she is with child, and the child of an Ancient. The power of the child will protect her and make her too strong for them to control.”
“Will I be able to safely see what they are up to then?” I asked.
“Yes,” the king answered.
“I see.” I nodded and thanked the king. My gut swirled with feelings of trouble. I had embarked on a journey to change the world, to defeat the foe. I was fast finding out, my foe was not the Ancients after all.
TWENTY-THREE – TANNER
“I delivered game systems to restaurants, bars, you name it,” Burt said. “That was my job. I liked it.”
We sat around a table in their main room. The air hockey game was popular and folks had to write their name on a board to line up to play. It was relaxing and I wasn’t antsy, although I couldn’t wait to get back to Angeles City. Burt said they’d take us close. About a two hour walk from there.
Brea joined us at the table, though she said she couldn’t stay too late. She was a pretty cool girl. I liked her. I invited her to come to Angeles City with us and she laughed.
“We’re pretty happy here. I arrived here when I was a kid.”
I asked Burt, “How did you guys get this place?”
“Geez. Hard to remember what came first. But I got here early on. I delivered games here. That’s how I knew it existed. And the Ancients left us alone, Savages too. Pretty good living.”
“How do you get people from the Straits?” Snake asked.
“They wander to the shack above,” Burt replied. “What did you do before becoming a soldier against the Ancients?”
Snake took a drink of his whiskey. “Rocket scientist.”
We all laughed.
“Seriously,” Snake said. “I worked for NASA, fifteen years. Hydraulics. If I hadn’t been working there I would have never seen the satellite images that pushed me west.”
Burt furrowed his brow. “But west was where the war was and the virus missed.”
The War for Mare (The Fall of Man Book 3) Page 6
