by West, Shay
“How much closer do you want to get?” Jon shouted.
“Until I can see the machines through the ash. If the sound gets too loud, put the cloth back in your ears.” Fa’ Vel shouted without turning around.
Jon had no choice but to follow. Each step stirred up the ash as it piled on the ground. Sounds were muffled, eerie. He couldn’t tell if the shouts and faint screams were being carried from a great distance or if they were only a few feet away. Underneath it all was the vibration and rumbling of the machines as they dug.
EARTH
“NONSENSE. THE SOONER I’M ON MY FEET the better.” Forka glared at Sawbones.
“And I say you need rest.” Mark Halliwell refused to look away.
“I need to move. Being in bed is making me weak.”
“You just had your leg cut off at the knee and your broken bones will take months to heal. Why are you so anxious to be up and about? Think you can help the strong lads in moving boulders from the tunnel entrances?” Sawbones raised his eyebrow.
We won’t survive a few months. “I just want to see what we’re up against.”
“Blocked tunnels, little food, not much air,” Sawbones said bluntly.
Forka growled, knowing the man was never going to let him leave the bed. “Can I get something to eat at least?”
Sawbones’ eyes softened a little. “We are on single rations. Only the men clearing the tunnels get two.”
His stomach clenched, knowing the decision was the right one. He had learned more about their situation with that one statement than he could figure out by hobbling around the compound. He watched Halliwell walk away and lay back against the wall, fighting the urge to scratch the phantom itch that plagued his stump. It still oozed and the bandage needed to be changed multiple times each day, but Halliwell said Forka was healing just fine. Forka wished he had better pain herbs. Pain had become a close friend, with him morning, noon, and night. The blanket lying across his legs felt like it weighed a ton. When he moved it, the air felt too heavy or it got too cold and he was forced to pull the blanket back up, clenching his jaw against the scream that wanted to force its way past his lips.
Sometimes he would scream.
Mark said all he needed was time but Forka knew that was something none of them had. The Mekans could come back any moment and continue to dig. Unless the men could clear the tunnels, they would die under the mountain.
ASTRA
SAEMUS COULDN’T TAKE HIS EYES OFF the Mekan as it crawled slowly along the peaks of the Shadow Mountains, ripping through granite as though it were paper.
“Do you think it will stay there or come down here after us?” Kaelin asked.
“I don’t know. They don’t seem to even care that we’re here. All they want to do is dig.”
“Maybe that will be to our advantage. If we can stay out of their way, we may live through this.”
“You saw the smoke from Fire Mountain, Kae. The machines are doing serious damage. Who knows what else they are capable of?”
“I don’t want to even think about it. Has Rome decided what he wants to do?”
Saemus shook his head. “He just sits and stares at the mountains, as though they will somehow tell him what he should do.”
“He’s the leader. The people are waiting for him to make up his mind.”
“Either way he chooses, people will die. There’s no right or wrong decision anymore.”
“But if we go back home, we might buy ourselves some time.”
“How much time? Does it really matter?”
“I’d rather die at home than out here on the plains!” Kaelin stormed away.
Saemus looked east to the giant pillar of smoke and ash rising on the horizon. Even at this distance, he could see the machine digging near the shore of the Sea of Solace.
If one machine can cause a dormant volcano to explode, what will they all do together?
***
--This is close enough--
Fa’ Vel and Jon had been forced to use telepathic communication as they got closer to the machine. With their ears stuffed with cloth, they couldn’t hear each other even when they yelled.
--What’s your plan?--
--I’m going to speak to them--
The dark magician turned toward the Mekan. Jon’s skin tingled as Fa’ Vel drew on the dark power. Unable to resist, Jon grinned and drew on the power himself, moaning a little as the magic filled his body.
Fa’ Vel stood silently, staring at the machine’s leg intently. Jon hoped it didn’t decide to move toward them. One step and it would crush them where they stood. He tapped his foot impatiently, wondering what was taking so long.
Maybe I should try.
EARTH
FORKA AWOKE TO SHOUTS AND SCREAMS. He pushed himself up on his elbows, trying to see past the crowd and into the tunnel. Sloan stumbled into the room, covered in dirt, coughing violently.
“Another cave-in. We lost so many—” Sloan doubled over, his face turning an alarming shade of red.
Sawbones handed him a glass of water, the one thing they had in great supply. “Slow down and tell us everything.”
Sloan cleared his throat. “We were almost through the south tunnel when the cave-in happened. I don’t know, maybe the roof was weaker than we thought. We lost about a dozen.”
Forka sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He wished he wasn’t becoming so accustomed to the death of others.
“We’ll rest for a bit, retrieve our dead, and keep trying to get out of here.” Sloan gulped more water before leaving the room.
Forka lay back down, his body humming with rage. He was their General and one of the Chosen. He should be out there with his men, helping dig everyone out. Instead, he was stuck in bed. The faces of those who had died flashed through his mind, a collage of people who deserved to still be alive, not rotting in the ground as a result of the machines that had come to destroy them.
We can’t win.
ASTRA
--WHAT ARE YOU DOING?--
Jon ignored Fa’ Vel, directing his power at toward what he thought was the head of the machine. Its body towered above them, its head disappearing into the clouds.
--I asked you a question!-- Fa’ Vel spun Jon around.
--Maybe I can help. After all, I am one of the Chosen--
--When I want you to try, I’ll let you know. Release the magic--
Jon considered ignoring the dark magician but one look at the man’s dead black eyes gave him pause. He released the power and, along with it, the feeling of being alive. The world was bland and colorless without the power rushing through him.
--Whatever you’re going to do, do it fast. The longer you wait the more damage the machines do--
--Don’t tell me what to do, boy-- Fa’ Vel turned back to the Mekan.
I’m giving him a few more minutes and then I’m going to try again--
***
“Saemus, what do we do?”
Saemus turned to face his twin. “I don’t know, Kae.” His voice shook as he watched the Mekan make its way down the Shadow Mountains, heading right for the large group of people trying in vain to make their way across the plains and back toward their home villages. The Mekan would be walking right in the middle of them in a matter of minutes.
A roar sounded from the direction of the now active volcano. Another Mekan was making its way toward them. It was so large it blotted out the light from the sun. The slow-moving mass of people stopped moving forward, many trying to move back the way they had come, back toward the Shadow Mountains. The rest moved west toward the Stone Mountains.
Saemus watched the panicked townfolk of Heart Stone, Oak Brooke, and Willow Haven. In seconds, he found himself surrounded by people looking for answers, hoping he would lead them to safety. He turned away, trying in vain to find a way through the growing throng, unwilling and unable to face them and the terror in their eyes.
Dear Spirits, what do I do?
EARTH
; THE VIBRATIONS RATTLED FORKA’S TEETH in his skull, and the pain shooting up and down his leg from the stump thumping on the pallet made spots dance in front of his eyes. He spotted Brad running through the tunnel, heading in the direction of the Mekan that was once again digging above their heads.
Sawbones was helping someone next to him drink some water. When he turned, Forka’s stomach sank. Mark Halliwell’s eyes sat in dark sunken pits, disappearing in his gaunt face.
Brad and Sloan entered the room. Their faces were streaked with dirt and their clothing was ripped and torn.
“It’s no use. For every rock we move, five more take its place. We’re trapped until the Mekan leaves.”
It wasn’t the news Forka hoped to hear. When the vibrations had started again, the people had panicked, wondering if the whole mountain would fall down and crush them. He had ordered every man and boy to the tunnels to remove the debris, hoping they could break free and seek the safety of the open plains. Even Samson and Wild Bill’s people had helped.
The two men looked at him expectantly. Forka closed his eyes, angry at them for thinking he would have the answers and angry at himself that he didn’t. He wracked his brain for some way to escape the machine, but with the tunnels collapsing, there was no way out.
Unless there’s another exit.
“You two, search every inch of this facility for another way out of here.”
“We already looked when we first arrived. We didn’t see any other doors,” Sloan said.
“I can’t believe that a compound like this would only have these two tunnels as a way to get in and out. It doesn’t make sense if you think about it from a defensive point of view. They would have had another way to get out.”
Brad nodded. “We’ll take another look.”
Forka held their eyes with his own piercing blue ones. “I don’t think I have to tell you to make it quick.”
ASTRA
JON PANTED, TRYING TO CATCH HIS BREATH. The Mekan had moved, forcing him and Fa’ Vel to run back toward Faerow, hoping the Mekan would only go a few steps before coming to a halt. They couldn’t outrun it if it decided to keep coming.
--I think it stopped-- Fa’ Vel said.
Jon turned and collapsed in the middle of the road in relief when he saw that the great leg of the Mekan was at a standstill. He had held onto the dark power for longer than he’d ever done before and it was slowing draining him of his life energy.
--Are you going to try to speak to it again?-- Jon asked.
--I’m not so sure it’s possible--
--Ready to give up so soon?--
--Are you saying you care to try?-- Fa’ Vel smirked.
Jon shrugged. –It couldn’t hurt--
--Let’s move further away from this thing first--
Jon nodded, his heart racing as they jogged back toward Faerow.
***
Saemus shouted as he hurled fireballs at the Mekan that was walking slowly across the ground. Its huge legs had already crushed hundreds of villagers. The strip of cloth he had tied around his head to cover his ears against the noise was coming loose. Screams from the injured and dying and the whine of the engines pierced his brain.
He spotted Kaelin nearby. She was firing a plasma rifle into one of the legs of the machine. Several other villagers who hadn’t run in fear were using the plasma rifles as well. Following Kaelin’s lead, they shot at the joints, crippling one of its legs.
The machine stopped and a panel opened in its side. Several long arms emerged. Two of them picked up the piece of leg that had been blown off and a third was tipped in a bright blue flame. In moments, the machine had repaired its own leg and was once again walking across the ground.
Saemus drew on his power and hurled fire balls at the approaching machine, trying to aim for its head. He hit his knees, exhaustion robbing him of his strength.
“Maybe if Jon was here, he could use the dark power to stop them.”
Saemus glanced up at his twin, shaking his head. “I can’t believe what you’re suggesting.” He had to shout to above the noise of the machine.
“He was stronger than the two of us together. Who knows, maybe he can do something to them that we can’t do.”
“It doesn’t do any good to wish for what we can’t have. He’s far from here.”
“The clone can talk to him.”
“We tried that, remember? He closed off his mind.”
“The Kromin needs to try again. We’re out of options.”
Saemus sighed. He knew it was no use but he wasn’t willing to admit that to his sister. He contacted the clone and asked it to try once again to speak to Jon.
--I can see into his mind but he is unwilling to listen to me--
--Does he say why?--
--No, but I have ascertained that he and the one you call Fa’ Vel are trying to contact the Mekans using telepathy--
Saemus paused before answering. –Is that even possible?--
--Unknown--
“What are you saying to the clone?” Kaelin asked.
Saemus waved his hands, needing a minute to think. –Can you somehow make him aware of what’s happening here? That his family, his sisters are in danger, and that we’re surrounded by these blasted machines? He needs to use his power to take them down rather than talking to them.
The more he thought about Jon trying to make contact with the Mekans, the angrier he became. Jon had always been headstrong and often acted like a child, but this was the worst display of his impetuous nature. Saemus knew Fa’ Vel was most likely to blame. Though he couldn’t understand why, Jon had clearly become closer to the dark magician.
The man is his father.
Saemus shook his head, trying to shut the voice up before it could speak again. The man may have fathered Jon but he certainly was no father. Willam Stone was Jon’s real father. Saemus couldn’t believe that Jon would so easily turn his back on his family, even if it meant being able to use the dark magic freely.
--I conveyed the message but I don’t know that he received it--
I don’t know what else to do.
EARTH
FORKA SAT IN THE PITCH DARKNESS, listening to the sound of falling rock and the high-pitched whine of the Mekan as it drilled over their heads. The people trapped in the facility had finally reached the breaking point. They refused to leave the tunnel, clawing and scraping frantically and futilely at the rock blocking the tunnels. They ran through the compound, trying in vain to find another way out, despite Sloan and Brad’s thorough search. Though they had found several other doors, they too were blocked with debris that had fallen long ago.
As he sat there waiting for the end, Forka wished he could see No Name’s foal one last time.
ASTRA
JON FLINCHED AS THE IMAGES FLOODED INTO HIS MIND. He knew they were from an external source rather than his own thoughts. He shook his head, trying to focus on the task of trying to communicate with the Mekan.
Willam’s face.
My father.
Beth.
My mother.
Holly, Fara, Niki.
My sisters.
Kaelin, Saemus, Gwen, Master Brok, his old horse, Piper.
The other Chosen, dead or scattered.
The Mekans coming at the people he had grown up with.
The cave and the portal on the wall.
His face and a green computer chip.
Jon shook his head again. The last image was familiar but he couldn’t remember quite where he had seen it before.
I didn’t see it! It looks like the computer processor Feeror saw in his vision. Why am I seeing this?
The images of his family and that of his face and the computer chip flashed so quickly through his mind that his stomach turned circles and he feared he would vomit. Fa’ Vel tugged on his sleeve but Jon pulled out of the man’s grip and walked away, trying to make sense of the computer chip and why someone or something was planting an image of it in his head.
Am I goi
ng mad like Mystic Anali?
Jon felt as though he had lost all control of his brain. He tried to focus on the task he and Fa’ Vel had set out to do and all he could see was the green computer chip. He whirled to face the Mekan, ignoring Fa’ Vel’s voice in his head, demanding to know what was happening.
He drew on the power, much more so than what he had ever drawn before. He knew the grass and nearby trees were dying but he didn’t care. He probed the head of the Mekan with the dark power, able to see inside the metal skin to the inner workings.
The chip!
Jon lost his hold on the magic. He growled deep in his throat and tried again to make contact, to explain to these machines what they were doing to his world so that maybe they would leave them alone. Acting on instinct, Jon moved his consciousness outward, using the magic as a conduit, slithering amongst the strange circuitry of the Mekan, trying to make sense of it. He followed a pathway, drawn along by forces he couldn’t control.
He reached the end of the silvery wire road. It opened into an area that looked like a glowing room. It pulsed with energy. Jon spread his consciousness out to fill the space and gasped.
He was looking through the eyes of the Mekan. Jon could see further than he ever imagined. Even though his mind was in the machine, he could still feel his body: racing heart, heaving chest, shaking muscles. His body was nearing the end of its strength and yet Jon didn’t care. The part of him that was in the machine was very much like the machine, cold and unfeeling.
I wonder if I can control the Mekan from in here.
Jon focused his thoughts on making the Mekan turn its gigantic head. He wanted to shout in elation when the view changed as the machine slowly moved its head to the right.
With a cry, Jon shuddered and tottered on wobbly legs, his thoughts flowing backward and back into his own head in a flash. He hit the ground, heart galloping unnaturally. Tears sprang to his eyes as pain crushed his chest. His breath caught in his throat as his heart jumped and skipped.
