by Louise Wise
Feeling wrung out, Jenny knelt upright and noticed a few honnards return to the dell. They were looking around at their devastated territory. But there was Zack! She was so pleased to see him uninjured she almost started crying again.
He stood over the dead Jelvia and pulled out the spear, only to plunge it back in to make sure the man was dead.
Jenny squeezed around the boulder and walked out of the cave on shaky legs. Out in the open she saw that the dwelling was more wrecked than she’d thought. The campfires had been kicked apart, wood piles gone, collected fruit and vegetables stamped on, skinned furs that had been hung up to dry were ripped and ruined.
They hadn’t come into the caves, and looking around she saw why. The lookout on top of the hill had alerted the honnards of the visit and they’d pushed boulders in front of all openings, making them appear naturally blocked. And if they’d looked they would have been empty because the females and young had hidden themselves below, but the Jelvias hadn’t looked—obviously thinking them too dumb for such a stunt.
The settlement became a hive of activity as the honnards began to put their small village back together again. Jenny didn’t think it’d ever be the same again. There were bodies, native bodies, seemingly everywhere. There were a few dead birds as well, which the cave people were now plucking.
She walked over to the dead Jelvia. He was lying on his back in a puddle of dark blood with a chest wound that had pierced him all the way through. Blood had filled his mouth. It was pooling there and bubbling out. Jenny turned and caught the gaze of Zack. He wore a fur skirt about his waist but it barely covered his genitals.
‘Chuff-huff, Chi-Chi, Che-lers, huff-duff.’ The Jelvias come and take us prisoners, Jenny. They kill whoever resists.
‘Where do they take the prisoners?’
We think the mountains, but we don’t know.
‘Why the mountains?’
It’s where the birds come from.
‘Do you think that’s where Fly is?’
Ji-ji is one of them. He’s a Jelvia. Maybe trusting him is our downfall?’
‘He thought he was the only Jelvia alive. You were his family. He’d never do anything to hurt you.’
You want him back?
‘Yes! Yes of course I want him back!’
The females, the elderly and the children were returning from exile, and she turned from Zack with a sudden need to cuddle Diana. She wasn’t sure of the conversation they’d had; most of it she made up in her head.
She walked back feeling both hopeless and helpless. In the warm cave, she was disturbed to see Melinda suckling Diana. The baby’s little hands were lost in Melinda’s fur as she clutched at the breast. On seeing her, Melinda disengaged Diana and held her out, as if feeling Jenny’s anxiety.
Jenny almost snatched the baby from her, and turned angrily to go back up to the cave. She bypassed Bo whose yellow eyes seemed filled with disapproval as they followed her movements. In the cavern, Jenny used water from her flask and wetted a muslin nappy to clean Diana’s face and mouth.
She was angry, but knew she shouldn’t have taken it out on Melinda. She was only trying to help. Jenny exposed a breast to feed the baby herself. Diana latched on straight away but immediately fell asleep without properly sucking. She’d obviously had enough from Melinda. She took Diana off the breast and held her in her arms, looking down into her tiny face.
‘I don’t know where your daddy is,’ she said. ‘I don’t know what kind of life you’re going to have. I just hope you never have red hair.’
She ran a hand over the baby’s downy head. What little hair she had was a light brown.
Melinda came scurrying up from the rear of the cave, holding her baby one-handed, as her other hand was used to support her body as she half crawled. She fluffed up the fur nest and laid her baby down, then sat herself next to it and began to pick at her fur as if something was crawling there. She looked glumly at Jenny. What was I supposed to do? Let her cry?
‘I’m sorry,’ Jenny said. ‘Seeing you feed Diana was like… Let’s just say I wasn’t ready for it.’
She picked up the teddy bear she’d made for Diana and gave it to Melinda. Her long nose quivered and she sniffed it before taking it in her hairy hands. She licked it with a short, pink tongue.
‘It isn’t food,’ Jenny said.
Melinda looked at Jenny, then at the teddy. She turned it over in her hands, and then grinned the teeth-together smile.
Jenny’s answering smile was watery as she battled against her desolation.
Chapter Twenty Four
Pip was jiggling about, shying away from shadows and tumbleweed, and above, giant birds circled in the sky. One had landed a moment ago, cocked its head at Fly, and swore in Jelvian. Fly deduced that the birds were mimics with no intelligence at all, and weren’t really ‘talking’.
Fly urged the animal on. The mountains had spaced out into many, and one of the suns was rising and casting dim shadows on the ground. On hearing the sound of water, Pip picked up pace without any urging and Fly allowed it its lead.
They both could do with a rest and a drink. The mud had dried on Fly’s body and was cracking and flaking. It felt uncomfortable and he hoped the water was deep enough for a submerged dip.
He could smell it now, and so could Pip because the animal broke into a gallop. Fly leaned low over its long neck as the birds above squawked. He jumped off Pip while the animal was still running, then they were both walking down to the water’s edge.
It was a body of water fed from several slight waterfalls running off a mountain. Pip began to drink, and then lowered its body and rolled over in the shallows. Fly kept hold of the chain as he waded into deeper water. He ducked under and washed off the mud, then burst upwards, pushing his hair out of his eyes.
A bird swooped low and landed on a rock, folding its wings away. Pip whined and pulled Fly off his feet as it tried to jump out of the lake and run. Fly held fast to the chain, but allowed the nervous animal to climb out of the lake. As he followed, the bird cocked its head at Fly and crowed ‘Sexy.’
Fly started, then gave a short laugh. He stroked jittery Pip’s long nose to comfort the animal, but as the bird took off it reared almost pulling the chain from Fly’s hands. The bird was small against Pip, but it was a predator.
Fly looked up at the circling birds. The way the bird had spoken ‘sexy’ so easily and hadn’t tried to attack him, made him realise that they were used to Jelvias. That made him close to their settlement; he’d have to be careful.
He patted Pip’s long neck. It seemed calmer now: the birds; out of sight out of mind. He urged the animal inside a hollow in the side of a mountain, laid the chain on the ground and rolled a boulder over it before turning towards the mountain that the birds were circling. He began to climb.
***
Fly stood upright on a grassy ledge, and shielding his eyes, turned to see if he recognised any of the landscape. This mountain range, he was certain, was the one where he thought the Jelvias lived. It was tall and had looked completely green at a distance, but in reality, the greenery was sparse.
He peered around, trying to locate the ocean. If he found the sea and kept it to his left that would be his guide home; but there was nothing but dry ground.
He lowered his hands and looked back at the mountain. He couldn’t see the top, but there was another ledge. A little higher and he was certain he’d be able to see more of the landscape. He pulled himself up, using twisting tree or shrubbery roots as handholds. He’d passed the sheer part of the mountain and now it gently sloped. He could almost stand upright and walk up.
The ledge jutted out above his head, and Fly skirted it to reach above before testing it with his weight and resting on it. Looking outward, mountains towered around him but he appeared to be at the top of this particular peak; the land around him was comprised with tufts of spiny grasses and short stumpy trees; he couldn’t see the lake below. It was lost beneath the mountain’s many cr
aggy ledges.
Fly turned and wind whipped his gasp away. He flattened himself to the ground as his throat automatically expanded. The other side of the mountain fell away into a huge valley. The drop was vast, but below, was an army of Jelvias.
Fly crawled forward and peered over. Within the valley walls were caves, which an army of workers looked to be excavating—and they weren’t doing it willingly. Several Jelvias stood around swinging chains ready for any unfortunate man who wasn’t working hard enough.
So this was their lair and why there were more birds. A Jelvian parasite or friend? It all made sense now, and why the birds had seemed unsurprised in seeing him. The wardens had escaped the ship, but had resumed their rule over the prisoners. Fly’s plan to cause mutiny and cause the ship to crash had worked only in the short term. The wardens had obviously regained power.
His climb back down was faster than it had been going up; his shock at not only seeing the Jelvias but the amount of them was adding speed to his movements. He was almost at the bottom, and was turning to jump when he caught sight of a Jelvia leading Pip from the cave. The surprise caused him to lose his footing and he fell.
Pip whickered in shock as Fly landed in a sprinkle of rubble, and the Jelvia and Fly stared at one another for a startled moment. He made no attempt to attack Fly, but dropped Pip’s chain and ran—or tried to. The Jelvia was shackled around the feet and hands as Fly had been, and he fell awkwardly, rolling, and causing dust to spiral around him.
Fly scrambled up and darted after him; his claws exposed and ready to rip out another throat if the Jelvia didn’t give him the right answers. As the man struggled to rise, Fly straddled his back and pushed his head into the dry earth. His body was slight.
Fly flipped the Jelvia over onto his back, one hand ready to seize the man’s mouth and hold it closed to prevent him from spitting.
The ‘man’ was a boy.
Fly gasped. The inadequate young were used for body parts or simply terminated on Itor. Why someone so young was made a prisoner on the ship baffled Fly—unless he’d been a stowaway. There had been rumours of many fugitives; kindred members hiding in hope that when the ship landed they’d be reunited with their loved ones and able to live in peace on the planet without the wardens.
The prisoners had been a mixture of murderers and thieves, but most had been simply against the Itor governors and that included ‘runaways’ who had dropped out of a culture that engendered Itor kind for the benefit of the rulers.
Fly relaxed his hold slightly saying, ‘Name?’
‘M-Molver.’ The voice was afraid and the boy’s eyes were sunken in a hungry-looking face. His hair had been roughly cut and was unkempt but his clothes, although dirty and ripped in places, looked well made.
‘You’re just a boy,’ Fly said. He stood up, and lightly kicked him in the side. ‘Up.’
Molver rolled onto his side and then stood up cautiously.
‘How many are there in the valley?’
The voice, when it answered, was small. ‘Hundreds.’
Fly drew a breath. He had to kill him. If he didn’t, he’d be found and would reveal Fly’s presence.
‘I won’t tell anyone,’ the boy said, as if reading Fly’s thoughts.
‘You will.’ Fly grabbed him around the throat. He squeezed as the boy tried to bat him away with his shackled hands. He choked and wheezed against the pressure of Fly’s hands but then Fly dropped him and strode into the lake where he threw water over himself as the boy lay spluttering on the ground behind him. He cursed himself for inheriting Jenny’s compassion.
Pip’s snorts and stamping hooves made him turn. There on his animal was Molver looking triumphantly down at Fly. He wasn’t sitting astride, but sitting awkwardly side-saddle because of his chains. Pulling on the mane, the boy turned the animal and then pushed it into a run towards the plain. He was clearly used to the animals and an accomplished rider.
Fly yelled, splashed out of the water and ran after them.
The boy was heading towards lower ground but a huge bird flapped over them making Pip shy, and Molver tumbled to the ground. Fly ran at him as he struggled to his feet, kicked him hard, and ran after the terrified animal.
He caught it, and climbed on, and leaving the boy lying on the ground, trotted away without looking back.
Chapter Twenty Five
She couldn’t tell how long Fly had been missing; her days and nights had become disjointed. It was impossible to sleep during the night because of the howling, and the days seemed busy with natives coming back and forth with food.
She deduced that Diana was four days old, and it was four days too long without Fly. Jenny tugged at the harness, making sure it was strong and then slipped Diana into it. When the baby was secured, Jenny fastened the fur around her body. In his hurry, Fly hadn’t packed nearly enough clothes for the baby, and only a small amount of the nappies that Jenny had cut up in preparation. With one final glance at Melinda, who was looking as puzzled as a honnard could look, Jenny walked out of the cave. Many of the males were sleeping off a big meal, others were repairing the damage to their camp. There wasn’t a lot of activity. It felt like grief had settled over the settlement.
She’d never been in the jungle without Fly, and she stood at the threshold of the camp, hesitating, but then strode out into the alien wood with baby Diana asleep in the harness on her stomach. She woke almost as soon as they left the settlement as if picking up Jenny’s anxiety.
She hadn’t gone far when she had a strange sensation that she was being followed. Whipping around, she caught two honnards: the leader, Zack, and Bo. Bo had been in mid-stride, and he’d frozen as she turned. He lowered his foot to the ground and chuffed at her. Both natives carried decorated spears.
‘OK, boys, coming for the ride, eh?’ Big hairy, brutish honnards they might be, but it was nice to have them with her. It made her feel not quite alone.
She followed a well-worn track but didn’t recognise any of it. She supposed, considering her condition when she came in, she wasn’t paying much attention. She didn’t like the dimness of the jungle and was glad to see the track led to a clearing. As she neared, she caught a glimpse of the buggy. She stopped and the natives stopped with her. She placed a hand on Diana’s head.
‘It’s OK,’ she said. But the baby had been lulled to sleep by Jenny’s steady pace. She forced her feet to walk towards the vehicle as her heart pulsed in her ears.
The buggy’s doors were closed and the dashboard looked damaged. Jenny opened the door cautiously. It was empty with no sign of Fly ever being there. She climbed inside and put her hands on the steering wheel and stared through the windscreen. It was dirty and splattered with rich brown marks.
She closed her eyes, realising what the marks were but not wanting to know. She became aware of how the steering wheel felt: sticky in parts and flaking in others. She took her hands off and looked at her palms. They were covered in red crusty skeletonized blood. Some of the blood was clot-like and still wet.
Jenny looked over at Bo and Zack. Their faces were expressionless as they patiently waited for her to make the connection between the drying blood and Fly’s disappearance.
No. ‘NO!’
Jenny didn’t realise she’d screamed out loud until Diana jumped and began to wail. She wrapped her arms around her in the harness, and rocked rhythmically in her seat, comforting herself as well as the baby. She screwed up her eyes, wanting, needing to cry as loudly as the baby but held back. Once her tears started, she didn’t think they’d stop.
A piercing howl made her jump and Diana lessened her bawling. Jenny looked up and watched as Bo, his shaggy face tilted towards the sky, howled long and hard. Diana cooed; the sound pleasant to her. Jenny wiped her nose on the back of her hand and met Zack’s yellow gaze. His eyes seemed to hold an intelligent knowing—as if he knew of her distress.
‘Where is he?’ she asked him. ‘Who took him?’
He jabbered and gestured with his s
pear, and as she lowered her head in defeat of not understanding, Bo stopped his morose howling and spat a ball of foaming spit into the ground.
‘Che-lers,’ he said. ‘Nardi, Ji-ji, chuff-huff, Che-lers.’
Jenny stared at him, as she comprehended his words. ‘Che-lers’ was said in a furious tone full of anger and disgust, while ‘Nardi and ‘Ji-ji’ was softer. Respectful, almost.
‘Jelvias,’ she said. ‘You knew about them all along, didn’t you?’
Bo chuffed.
She climbed out of the buggy and scouted the area for Fly’s body. When she didn’t find it she didn’t know whether to feel relieved or dismayed, but it did give her hope. Yet, to think Jelvias had captured him and was torturing him made her feel ill. The natives hadn’t helped her search for Fly, probably because they already knew he was long gone.
Refusing to allow her emotions to take over she started the buggy and reversed it up the flattened path until she could turn it around. Diana was making grunting noises and gave an odd cry as if she couldn’t make up her mind to wail or not. With both hands on the steering wheel, Jenny couldn’t comfort her.
Driving towards a clearing, the area became more familiar to her; and soon she was on the plain with the tall walls of the warm caves behind her. The buggy wasn’t fast, and the two honnards ran behind.
She passed the remains of the old spaceship, and behind in the distance, the mountain ranges stood tall and proud. Fly had wondered what was on the other side. Maybe he was there now? Maybe that’s where the Jelvias had taken him?
A flapping of wings brought her out of her thoughts. She swerved as the fluttering caused a blanket of dust to momentarily blind her. She jammed on the brakes and the buggy came nose-to-nose with a tree. Diana began to cry, the honnards roared at the bird. Zack threw his spear, but missed. The bird circled and then nose-dived; its beak long and sharp but Bo lunged at the bird and swiped at it with his huge arm and the bird, squawking, fluttered to the ground.
While the bird was disoriented, Bo drove his spear into it until all movement stopped. Zack retrieved his spear but strangely, he kept his eyes lowered from Jenny as if he felt embarrassed that he’d failed to protect her.
