“No. Edwena is telling the truth. Watch and fear,” Pratt said and walked over to the comps and sat down.
I followed him and stood behind his chair. He tip-tapped for a sec and an image sputtered onto the screen. It was the gravel track outside the triangular silo. I blinked and heard a low noise rise up from the comspeaker. Pratt swivelled round in his chair and beckoned for me to bend down.
I did.
“Take a good look, Adara, at what goes on above.”
Leaning close to the screen, I saw the building that had seemed strange. The one with and without windows at the same time.
As I peered at the screen, the almost hidden windows opened and what looked like a huge metal tube was thrust through. Below, a small group of black uniformed Agros appeared, and stood in one long line facing the pyramid silo where Wirt and the others hid.
The quiet noise that hummed from the comp became louder. I realised it was the thump, thump, thump of footsteps. A gut-churning sound of many feet pounding the ground in perfect unison.
“See and listen to the might of Agro power.”
Chapter Eighteen
Never Underestimate Your Enemy
Pratt leant back in the chair, pressed a button on the com, and the image disappeared. “Our army is on its way. Shall I press again and share the image with one and all?”
I straightened. “No. No need to dash hopes when only one side of the tale is told.”
“Meaning?”
“That we have bods aplenty too.” I would have argued further with the smug Agro when I caught sight of Kendra. What a transformation had occurred in her once brutalised face. Gone were the swollen cuts and red ringed slashes that uglified her perfect features. She noticed my stare and came over. The chief med fem Hildegunnr did too.
“All healed, my dear. These meds have skills beyond any I have seen.”
Behind me, I heard Pratt fiddle with the keyboard. I elbowed the back of his head and said, “Touch that com and I will smash your face into it.”
He stopped and Kendra gave me a squint-eyed look. I took her arm and led her away from the comps and Pratt. Hildegunnr followed and stared at me with such intensity that I almost felt she could see my innards. Kendra folded her arms. “What has come about?”
I took a breath. “The Agro have an army and it is near.”
“How near?”
“Not sure, but Pratt showed me some that are gathered outside.”
“We must tell the others. We must go back up to help Wirt.”
“I know, but we are few. How can we defeat an entire army?”
Our convo was cut short by an amplified sound of the marching I heard before. I snapped my head round to see Pratt standing to the side of the comp. He pressed a button and up on the big monitor came the view of the pyramid building and the silo opposite. Eadgard and the others walked slowly towards the huge screen. Pratt pressed another button and the image changed to a sea of black uniformed Agros marching.
“Still think you can win?”
“How far away are they?” Kendra said.
Pratt shrugged.
Brennus raced to the elevator. “We cannae leave the little ‘uns without protection.”
Eadgard joined him swiftly. I swear they would have jumped into the thing if Hildegunnr had not stopped them. She took a small transparent disc from her tunic pocket and aimed it at the rising and falling room.
The doors slammed shut.
“Are ye mad fem? Let us out,” Brennus said and both he and Eadgard tried to prise open the closed portal.
Pointing the thing again, the chief medi-fem drew an invisible line down the middle of the doors. The two males jumped back with a yell as the metal smoked, melted, and sealed the doors tight.
“It would be madness to attempt aid at this time,” Hildegunnr said and walked towards where I stood. She looked at me and I felt something slither down my back. “The army has not arrived yet, but you have, Adara. I’ve been waiting for you. They promised you would come and here you are. Praise the BabyCheesus.” She touched her forehead, chest, and left and right shoulder. Reminding me of the Praisebee traitor Lilith, and maybe not traitor, Elijah.
I gulped. Kendra stood in between her and me. Eadgard, clocking that something was afoot, walked briskly to my side. I looked around the room and saw a look of confusion on all present, all except for Pratt and Hacket. Who, quite recovered, was sitting on a bed, legs crossed and grinning as though the battle was already won.
Eadgard turned to Hildegunnr and wiped his hand across his brow. “What means this? Are you turning against us?”
She, still staring at me, answered, “Not at all.”
Pratt clapped his hands and went to Edwena. He took the gag from her mouth and untied her bindings. She coughed and rubbed her wrists. “If you will escort me?” she said and he held out his hand for her to take. She did and he helped her over to where Hacket reclined. Said Agro patted the mattress and they both sat next to him on the bed. “Ha! Thought you’d made an ally in that med fem huh?” Pratt said.
Eadgard flared his nose holes and stared hard into Hildegunnr’s eyes. Kendra half closed hers and I detected a look of jealous in them.
“I trusted you. You saved my life,” Eadgard said. He turned to me. “I cannot believe this fem would turn against us, not after she drugged the guards so that we could overcome them.” He pinched the bridge of his nose as though to stifle a sneeze and stood by Kendra. She took his hand and he pressed it to his lips.
I heard an echoing thud, turned, and saw Brennus kick the doors. “All this talk when our own are in peril. Never mind that loon, all of ye, come and help me break this thing down.”
Some of the ‘dults began to murmur under their breath and twist their necks as if dispelling some age old injury. Some looked to the floor and coughed, and some, straightened their tunics, walked over to the door and began to kick and punch it.
The solid barrier did not budge.
Brennus motioned them to step back and hurled himself sideways into it. He made a great ‘thunk’ sound as his massive shoulders clunked against the metal. But it remained firmly shut. His helpers pressed their shoulders into it and pushed with all their might. The thing remained closed. They tried once more, without result then stepped back panting.
With a slow clap and a smug grin, Hacket stood. “Nice try gents, but my med friend here is too good for the likes of you.” He walked over to Hildegunnr, stood beside her rigid bod and began to stroke her arm. She looked at him as though he was a bug and he pulled his hand away. Hacket sucked in his cheeks and addressed the males by the elevator. “That door cannot be broke. Agro Tech is beyond your puny abilities. Now, I suggest you all find a place to sit, or lie, and wait for what will be.”
Edwena and Pratt nudged each other and chuckled. Brennus put his fists to his forehead and leant against the wall. The other ‘dults stared at him for a sec and when he closed his eyes, they plodded over to a bed or two, and did indeed sit down. The meds huddled together by the comp desks and my bro and the other Meeks came to stand by me. Hacket leant close to Hildegunnr’s ear. He whispered something, she blinked, and he smiled.
“I’ve given her permission to begin the tests on you, Adara. I can’t honestly say that they won’t be painful.”
Eadgard lunged towards him, but Hildegunnr blocked his progress with her body.
“Let me pass, I will not allow harm to come to Adara,” he said and pushed her away.
The chief medi-fem stepped in front of me and waved a finger at Eadgard. “I have no intention of causing Adara, any harm.”
“Don’t see how you can avoid it when you begin your tests,” Hacket said and wandered back to Pratt and Edwena.
With a pursing of her lips, Hildegunnr looked Eadgard in the eye. “I will not carry out any tests.”
The newly cured Agro paused in his ambling and turned ‘bruptly. “What? But that is why you are here. To meddle with genetics, to discover things we can use.” He
stared at her with lowered lids. “In fact, it is the only reason we allow you to be here. Do you dare defy those who have given you a home?”
In way of reply to his menacingly spoken words, Hildegunnr, bent her head, reached up and pulled her collar down and across her shoulder to reveal a deep, wide scar. She stood straight, stared at Hacket and said, “Some home. That Agro did this to me. He wants me to probe and prod, but I will not. The years I spent in Agro service are at an end. You see, I know about your voice, Adara.” She righted her collar, folded her arms and grinned. “I know a way to defeat the Agro army. Come, Adara, let us compose a tune to pelt them with.”
Something heavy turned inside my gut. I screwed up my eyes and opened them wide. Hildegunnr tilted her head, and stared at my face. “You are quite flushed and ready to perspire. May I suggest you slip behind one of the partitions and relieve yourself.”
What with all the fraught and fright, my bod had seemingly shut down that part that needs to plop. Now that things were not so immediate, my innards were screaming to me for release. I nodded, walked quickly to the back of the room and slid behind one of the windbreaker thingy’s.
They hid two white plop bowls and I saw a medi-male standing beside one of them, holding a glass jar with what looked like a tiny creature with a head, three arms, two legs and, I swear, a bony tail, floating inside. He quickly flipped open the lid, threw the contents in and flushed. I was about to say, “What the huff is that?” and “Is this what you get up to down here?” when he briskly shoved past me and left.
I near spilled upon the floor so much in need was I of squirt and ploop. I went to the other bowl, yanked down my troos, lifted the lid and cared not for who could hear what, whilst I gushed and blasted until quite drained. I gave a goodly sigh, then a shudder, pressed the metal button behind the bowl and exited the place for getting rid of things unwanted. I washed my hands in the sinks at the back of the med room and went to where Hildergunnr sat at a cluttered desk to the left of the comps shelves.
The other meds hurried towards her, but she waved her hand at them and they scuttled back to the corner of the room. I saw Kendra standing by my Bro and a few Meeks. She beckoned to me and, although keen to know what was to come next, walked over to where my friend stood beside Eadgard and the others. He grinned and turned to Hacket.
“I was right to think Hildegunnr an allie. May I suggest that you take your own advice to sit down and wait to see what will be.”
Hacket folded his arms across his chest and remained where he was. Kendra turned to me. “It would appear, my dear, that you must become cosy with that medi-fem so as to dismiss the Agro threat.”
I looked to my friends. “I do not have that much power to fell an entire army. She is, as Brennus said, a loon of the highest order.”
Deogol and Esme exchanged a meaningful glance. “Sis, I reckon that fem is up to the task. She healed us all, even those that were close to death. We will work on a way to scupper their weapons.”
“And we,” Kendra said indicating Eadgard, “will try and make contact with the others.”
“Eh? What others?”
“I told you, my dear, we are not alone.” She took Eadgard’s hand, led him to another comp and both sat facing the screen.
I scratched my noggin.
Deogol, Esme and the other Meeks, sat down next to my friends and began to hit button after button. Images appeared then disappeared and I began to feel all-dizzy with the cutting to and fro of pics I did not recognise. So, I was more than glad when Hildegunnr waved to me and smiled. “Come. Sit.”
I shrugged, shook my head, then slouched over to Hildegunnr and sat next to her. I leant back in the seat ready to give over to dumb. With eyes all but glazed, I near fell into a slumber, but my attention became aroused when I happened to glance down at her desk. It was large and wooden, unlike the rest of the shelves and whatnots in the room. I touched its rough surface and noticed that as well as the comp, it was strewn with bits of broken devices and oddments made of materials I had never seen before.
She bent her head low over the keypad and her hair fell forward to reveal large ears. I tried not to stare but she must have felt my gaze, for she quickly covered said hearing holes with her thick black locks. She raised her head and said, “I will play some tunes and when you hear something of significant tone, we shall try it out.”
“May be dangerous to all in here if I were to give forth.”
“Goodly point. Ear plugs.”
“Nah, doubt if that will do. Not just tone but depth and base that make up my singing.”
“These plugs will work,” she said and opened a drawer at the front of her desk. She pulled out a see-through box and I saw a mess of tiny round, flesh coloured blobs. “Once inserted, they expand and fill the ear completely. After that, a small amount of narcotics seeps into the ear canal and up to the brain, dulling the senses for no more than a few secs. But enough time for you to have done great damage. Then they fizz and melt away.”
“Wow. And you have enough for many tries and then the real thing?”
“Oh yeah. I have access to a replicator.”
“Play on Hildegunnr, play on.”
She tip-tapped on the keyboard and up came all sorts of shapes and lines on the screen. She flicked back her long hair, stretched out her arms, intertwined her fingers, rotated them around and made them click. Then she wiggled them a few times and pressed many of the keys. Out came notes and tones that she weaved in and out until they became sounds so unpleasant, that I had to put my hands over my ears. I looked around the room and all, even the Agro scum, had their mitts attached to their hearing holes.
“I think this could be it,” she said and played the noise again.
“It is low yet loud. Harsh yet soft. Both an intake of breath and a huge puffing out. Higher than I may be able to sing, but low enough to shake the very marrow in my bones. Play it again and hand out the plugs, I am going to give it voice.”
Hildegunnr crossed herself and looked at me with more than a little fear in her eyes. I smiled and nodded my head by way of saying that it was okay for her to be a believer and a Praisebee. She picked up the earplug box, went around the room and handed them out. She even put them into the ears of those still bound and senseless. A testimony to the doctrine she once lived by.
I waited until she gave me the thumbs up sign, then listened to the sound again and to the best of my ability tried to emulate its nuances. I pushed all thoughts of how singing the tune could harm me, back into the farthest place in my noggin and listened.
Marcellus's face appeared inside my head and I took a deep breath. This I will do for you my once dear one. Although I let my voice play with the tune, I struggled to replicate exactly the highest of the high notes. I coughed and tried again, feeling more confident than before. After a quick scan around at those that stared at me, I realised I had no way of knowing if my song worked, ear-clogged as everyone was. A volunteer was needed to test the sound upon. I gestured for all to remove their plugs.
“What use is it for me to warble to dry ears. I need for someone to listen and so comprehend the severity of the sound.” A great shuffling of feet and a mass bowing of heads was the answer to my plea.
Eadgard stood, walked over to where Pratt and Edwena sat and yanked up the male Agro. “Here, Adara,” he said and pushed Pratt to the foreground, “here is your volunteer.”
Pratt’s eyes near bulged from their sockets. He looked at Eadgard, at me, then opened and closed his mouth several times real quick-like before saying, all high and whiney, “Wait, no. I do not put myself forward for such an unstable experiment.”
“Perhaps not. I am volunteering you on your behalf,” Eadgard said and before the white-faced Agro could stuff the sound barriers into his lugholes, Eadgard snatched them from his hands.
Pratt backed away.
“May I suggest that everyone else muffle their ears again,” Hildegunnr said.
Everyone in the room scrambled to g
rab another sound plug and shoved them into their ears.
All except for Pratt.
I opened my gob and gave full vent to the song Hildegunnr had made up. Pratt clutched at the side of his head and crouched down in the middle of the floor. Edwena ran to him, but Eadgard grabbed onto her arm and pulled her away. I walked forward trilling out the noise until I came upon the hunched up Agro. He sat all twisted and tense, if it had been anyone else I would have pitied his shaking form. But he was who he was and I gave forth one last mighty note.
He fell back, blood trickling from his nose and ears, his eyes wide open. I stopped and waited for a sign that the plugs had melted. It came in the form of everyone closing their eyes and wriggling their shoulders as if something with many legs were crawling along their flesh.
A thump of pain exploded in my innards. I clutched at my belly, went hot and shivery for a sec, then took a calming breath of air and said in as strong a voice as I could, “All gone? You can hear me?”
With one voice they answered, “Yes.”
The gut wrenching hurt subsided and I muscle relaxed. Deogol stared at me with a look of deep concern. I gave him a large grin and he shook his head. Hildegunnr walked over to Pratt, knelt down and touched his neck. “He is breathing. My guess is that he is in a state of waking sleep. I had hoped for such a reaction. “Praisebee Cheesus,” she said and stood.
I shook her hand. “You have a skill and no mistake. What a team we would make.”
“What a weapon you are,” Hacket said behind me. I twisted around and he peered full hard into my eyes.
“That I may be Agro, but you will never get to use me for your ill-gotten gains,” I said and poked him in the chest. He smirked and I found it more than hard not to wipe said grin from his face with a fist thump.
“Hey! Ye there, Agro scum.” I looked over my shoulder and saw Brennus walk over all quick and stiff. He chin gestured to one of the comps. “Show us wha is wha outside, Agro.” He grabbed Hacket, spun him around, frog-marched him over to the shelves and pushed him into a chair. “Tap, or I’ll pull yer spine out through yer behind hole,” Brennus said and dug his fist into Hacket’s back. He coughed, then set about tapping the keyboard.
A Silence Heard Page 16
