by T. C. Edge
We stay there together as a four in silence for a time, Athena or Markus coming in regularly to check if anything has happened. Mostly, we have nothing to tell them except for what one of the doctors tells us: that they’re still working on him, and he’s not yet out of the woods.
Each time, it’s the same man who comes out of the room. And each time, his words seem to grow a little lighter. Then, after many hours of waiting, and with evening now dawning, he appears with a small smile and addresses Ajax.
“Your father is stable,” he says. “We’ve managed to patch him up as best we can, but he’ll need to be transferred to Eden for proper monitoring and recovery.”
“Thank you, doctor,” says Ajax, taking the man’s hand. “Thank you so much.”
“Now you need to be aware that he’s suffered significant trauma. We’re going to have to keep him in a coma for a while as his body recuperates, and watch closely for infection. There is a chance that he may be a different man when he wakes up.”
Ajax’s eyes narrow. “A different man…what does that mean?”
“It simply means that he may not be as strong as he was. We all know what your father can do. However, those days might be behind him. Time, I’m afraid, will tell.”
Ajax nods, accepting the doctor’s words. “Can I see him?”
“Of course,” he says. “Come this way.”
The doctor leads Ajax off into the room, leaving the rest of us outside. As we wait, Athena comes sweeping in from the corridor, Markus alongside her.
“What’s the news?” she asks quickly.
“He’s out of surgery,” I say, raising a half smile. “But he’s in an induced coma while he recovers. They say he’s going to be OK.”
Athena and Markus look at each other and let out a collective sigh of relief.
“Well, that’s some good news at least,” says Markus. “We need something to go our way.”
“The doctor did say something else, though,” I add. “He said Link might never fully recover. His days as a Watcher might be done.”
The relieved expressions on Markus and Athena suddenly drop once again. If what the doctor said was true, we might just have lost our most powerful warrior. And with Drake missing, our numbers are quickly dwindling.
“We need to keep our heads up.” It’s Velia’s voice, strong and firm, that comes from behind me. “The good news is that Link is alive. We can’t know what happened to him, but we do know he was strong enough to get away. If anyone can recover from this, it’s him.”
Athena smiles at the young girl, perhaps seeing a reflection of herself in her. “You’re right, Velia,” she says. “There can be no space for negativity now. We are on the ropes, but we’re still in this fight. Now, we just need to find an opportunity for a counterpunch.”
As we speak, the doctor comes back out of the room, Ajax still by his father’s bedside. Markus addresses the man.
“We need to speak with Link,” he says, “to find out what happened to him. Is there any chance we can bring him out of his coma for a few minutes?”
The doctor considers it, and then begins shaking his head.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Master Markus. He’s very weak…”
“But can it be done?” asks Markus firmly. “He might hold information we could use.”
Again, the doctor hesitates, before eventually speaking again. “We can try, but only for a minute. Don’t expect to get anything out of him, though.”
Markus nods. “Do it.”
A few minutes later, we’re gathered around Link’s bed, all of us with our ears primed to hear what he might have to say. I look down at his large frame, covered in bandaging and hooked up to various tubes, and think of how strange it is to see him laid low like this.
Ahead of us, the doctor holds a syringe, which he sinks into Link’s mighty arm. Slowly but surely, I see Link stir, his eyes beginning to open up, weak and blurred and confused.
“Dad…dad,” says Ajax, leaning in.
Link’s eyes remain half open, his lips opening and closing silently.
“Link, it’s Athena, can you tell us what happened?”
We all hold our breath as Link’s eyes flicker, his light breathing carrying indiscernible words.
“Link,” says Athena again, “where were you? Who did this?”
She’s speaking loudly, forcefully, trying to pull Link from his stupor. Again, we turn silent as his lips continue to flutter, and out of them we hear a single word.
“Knight…”
Then, his eyes close once again, and he falls back into the blackness.
We all look at each other, and at that moment I know that he must have come face to face with the Seekers. That he will have seen them first hand, these clones of the evil Chancellor, the spitting image of their long deceased father.
The doctor steps forwards again, breaking the silence.
“OK, he needs to rest. Everyone out unless you’re family.”
We shuffle out of the room, and I look down at Ajax, still sitting by his father’s side.
“You staying?” I ask.
He merely nods.
Later that evening, we convene once more in the Master’s chamber. As per the doctor’s advice, Link is to be transferred to Eden, with a medical transport coming overnight to collect him.
“It will arrive in the morning,” says Markus. “We’ll send some of our best Watchers back with him. Cyra is there also, and we know what she can do.”
Velia looks at me.
“Your mum? Is she off her meds? I heard she was suppressing her powers.”
“She was, and now I understand why. But yeah, she went off them a month or two ago now when I left Eden to come here to train. I’m just hoping she’s got all her powers back.”
Velia smiles. “Yeah…your mum is a legend. We could really do with her help right now.”
Across the table, the conversation continues, Ajax the only one absent. Ever since Link was brought in, he’s been by his side. I’m not sure he’ll leave him until he wakes.
“I reckon Ajax will go as well,” I say. “He’ll want to see his mum and stay with his dad.”
“I’m sure of it,” says Markus. “And you, Theo, will be accompanying him.”
“Me? But I want to stay here and help. What about the file?”
“Oh, that’s precisely it. The file is going to Eden too, and I want you taking it.”
“It’s going to Eden…why?”
“Because I’ve had my smartest people working on it and no one can figure it out. We need Eden technology to decipher it. There’s only one person I can think of who might be able to crack open its secrets.”
“And who’s that?”
“A woman called Professor Lane.”
“Professor Lane? I had no idea she was still alive,” I say.
“Yes, well, she’s been keeping a low profile for a while, working down in the depths of Eden. Take the file to her, and see if you can figure it out together.”
“Yes, sir,” I say. “Whatever you need from me.”
“Good man.”
“And what about us?” ask Velia. “We wouldn’t mind going to Eden too, hey Vesuvia?”
“Oh yeah, we’ve always wanted to see it. Maybe we could help too?”
“It’s up to you, girls. You’ve earned the right to go wherever you want.”
They look at each other and smile. “Eden, then,” they say.
Velia smiles at me, and I can’t help but smile back. Frankly, the four of us have been through a lot already and have become a bit of a team. I wouldn’t want it broken up…
“What about you, Athena?” I ask.
She speaks without hesitation. “I’m sworn to protect this city, its people, and its Master. My place is here,” she says.
“But shouldn’t we all stay together?”
“And put all our eggs in one basket?” she says. “No, that wouldn’t be smart. It’s best I stay out here and search for
the Baron…”
“You kidding,” I say. “Talk about not being smart. You’ve seen what’s happened to Link. You can’t go out there alone.”
“I won’t be alone,” she says. “I have my Watchers. I’m going to gather as many as I can muster and we’re going to comb these lands for that coward. I can’t just sit in this mountain, Theo. That has never been my way.”
I make a move to cut in, but she holds up her hand.
“I’ll be fine, I can assure you of that. Just concentrate on breaking open that file, OK. And if you find anything, don’t hesitate to let me know.”
With that, she glides quickly out of the chamber and down the passage, no goodbye dropping from her lips. Markus, meanwhile, sits in his chair smiling as she departs.
“Athena was born for battle, Theo,” he says. “She relishes this. Not once in her life has she shied away from a fight, no matter what the odds.”
“Yeah, but usually the odds are in her favour. They’re not anymore.”
He nods, his smile fading. “I know. But regardless, we can’t just hide here. You weren’t here twenty years ago when Augustus Knight’s army was on our doorstep, starving us out. We went to war then, and we’re going to war now. It’s only the numbers that are different.”
He stands and moves over towards the painting of Eden, hanging behind his chair on the wall.
“Eden,” he says. “It’s a wonderful city…but this mountain is my home. This desert is my home. It’s the same for Athena. We’ll stay here and fight whatever comes our way. That’s what we do…it’s what we’ve always done.”
His eyes fall to Velia and Vesuvia. They stare back at him and nod. I don’t know what it is, but there’s just something in the water around here. Despite it being so arid and barren, the people born here have a deep love for these lands. A love so deep they’d put their lives on the line to defend it.
And when I think of my own home; of the woods and streams and hills, I suppose I can understand that. Our homes are in our blood. As much as the people in our lives, as much as our families and friends, where we live is a part of who we are.
But right now, it doesn’t matter where you live, where you come from. Lignum or Eden or the Deadlands or Petram. All of them are under threat from a hidden enemy. And if we don’t work together, we might just find all of our lands in ash and rubble.
Because that’s all Knight’s legacy is: chaos.
7
The Titan’s Hand
The rumble in the air indicates the arrival of the medical transport. We stand beside the landing platforms out on the plateau, watching closely as the plane emerges from the thick, white clouds.
There are a number of us there. Ajax, the girls, several Watchers trained by Athena. Link lies before us on a trolley, the doctor standing next to him, ready to pass him onto his new Eden carers. Beside his father’s bed, Ajax looks exhausted. He hasn’t slept since yesterday morning when Link was brought in.
Markus and Athena are there too, officially sending us on our way. As the medical aircraft descends, and Link gets loaded up onto it, Markus offers me a few words of goodbye.
“Take care, Theo, and stay vigilant.” His eyes look to the bag on my back. “Is it safe?” he asks. I nod. “Good. Take it to Professor Lane, and figure this thing out. Good luck.”
He shakes my hand as Athena steps forward, having said goodbye to the others. As they all board the plane, we find ourselves alone. She peers deep into my eyes, searching them as she often has.
“You’ve come a long way in a short time, Theo,” she says. “But there’s a long way yet to go. Take these.” She lifts up her left hand, and in it I see a pair of telescopic goggles. “They may come in handy,” she says, without further explanation.
“Thanks, Athena…for everything you’ve done.”
“No, it’s you who we should be thanking. You’ve been thrust into the middle of this and you haven’t missed a step. You have your father’s clear head and leadership skills, and your mother’s passion and power. It’s a potent mix.”
She draws me into a rare hug, and whispers into my ear.
“When you get to Eden, keep training. There’s more potential in you, I know it. You have to unleash it.”
She draws back, and fixes me with another customary stare, before her eyes rise to the plane behind me.
“They’re ready to go,” she says.
“Will I see you again soon?” I ask.
She smiles. “I hope so, Theo. Now go, there’s no time to waste.”
I take a couple of steps back, still looking at her, before turning and boarding the plane. It’s larger than Athena’s jet, fitted with medical equipment and supplies. Already, several doctors and nurses are hooking Link up to various machines to monitor him during the journey. Ajax looks on, sitting as close as he can, his posture sunken and drained.
I take a seat across from the girls towards the front of the plane. Behind, the space is filled by the half dozen Watchers accompanying us. Velia shuffles towards me, leaning across the gap and whispering: “Do you think we can trust them?”
Her eyes gesture to the four men and two women we don’t know. Watchers have a tendency to appear untrustworthy on the outside, their experiences typically hardening them and turning their eyes narrow and sleek. It’s something that comes with the territory when you spend half your life seeing visions of pain and suffering, and the other half continually focusing and searching the Void for danger.
I nod and respond quietly. “If Athena trained them, and trusts them, then that’s good enough for me. You know how she can read people.”
“Yeah…I guess I’m just being paranoid.”
“That’s not surprising at a time like this. Let’s just keep our focus on the real threat.”
She nods and slinks back towards her sister, the two of them entering into a private discussion, whispering back and forth. I’m quickly reminded of how they did the same thing when in the chamber beneath the stadium, hidden behind their black masks. It’s bizarre to think that I met them only a week or so ago. So much has happened since then.
Something else I find strange is how accustomed I’ve become to aerial travel. For years Ajax and I would get excited when we saw a jet pass by overhead back home, wondering what it would be like to fly in one.
'Up there, so high, we’d be able to see the whole world,’ we’d say, yearning to be set free from those quiet woods.
Now, we’ve seen more of the world than we could ever have hoped. And we’ve seen a whole lot more besides. Sitting on a plane, gliding through the sky, has quickly become a mundane and familiar experience.
As we go, however, I find myself drawing out the telescopic goggles Athena gave me to pass the time. The sky is clear, the vast world below barely more than an orange and brown blur. Yet with the goggles set to my eyes, everything changes.
Their range is quite staggering. I don’t know how far we’re up, but it’s got to be at least a few miles. Yet even from this height, I can make out clear vehicles and structures on the ground as I gaze towards distant settlements. I see people going about their quiet lives, seemingly undisturbed by the recent violence, unlike in the major cities. I suppose, for them, little ever changes. Whether back during the time of Knight, or during the last two decades of peace, their little lives subsisting on the Deadlands have been unaffected by any changes in regime.
It’s odd, I guess, that some people can go on, living for years, without really knowing much of what’s happening elsewhere. Many of these people live off the grid, untangled by the net that envelops the rest of us, the systems of society that spread from Eden to Petram and beyond. Mostly, the major towns and cities and other settlements have a symbiotic relationship, relying on each other to grow and expand and create prosperity and peace. Yet still, there are pockets here and there out in the vast wilderness where none of that matters; where the people get by in their little groups, year after year passing by with little influence from the outside
world.
As I look out, however, fewer communities appear as we cross over the flatlands, endless swathes of wasteland too relentlessly oppressive for even the hardiest of desert dwellers. Somewhere down there was where Link was found, his torn up jeep still sat in the sand. I spend some time searching for it, but find the task impossible and end up giving in fairly quickly.
Soon enough, however, the old dividing line of the nation grows in the distance, the skeleton of Knight’s Wall cutting a line across the earth. Mostly, it’s been dismantled, but even where it has been completely removed there are signs that it was once there. The earth remains discoloured, a darker brown staining the ground where the structure once stood.
I fix my telescopic goggles once more to my head and turn my eyes down below. Occasionally, at points between where the wall used to be, gigantic mounds of rock offer a natural barrier to the lands beyond the regions. Knight was smart enough to use the landscape when designing his wall, linking the man-made structure between the impassable mountains.
One particularly interesting outcrop catches my eye. I fix my gaze on it, zooming out with my goggles to take in its full picture. From the earth, five jagged peaks rise, each spread out and pointing to the sky in the shape of a giant hand.
I recall legends about it from my youth. The people would say that a giant was encased within the earth, only his hand reaching beyond its surface. When the world would shake with earthquakes, they’d say it was the giant waking and trying to break free. The lands, they said, were cursed. It was somewhere that they’d never go.
The Titan’s Hand, I think to myself, staring at it in wonder.
As I look at it, movement at its base draws my eyes. I run my finger along the touchpad at the side of the goggles, and begin zooming in closer. There, where the titanic thumb explodes from the earth, I see a portion of Knight’s Wall still being dismantled. There are workers there, taking down the final stretch of wall for many miles in either direction.
It’s hard to see from up here, hard to make out much. But as I look, I think I see the sight of a weapon glinting in the sun as it catches the light. Perhaps, even down there, they have guards protecting them from this fresh threat to the world. Or maybe the people have taken it upon themselves to carry arms. Frankly, I wouldn’t blame anyone for that.
