A Silence Heard

by Nicola McDonagh

  The light wand made a fizzing sound and all became bright. Eadgard held up the stick and gently pushed me to one side. He climbed up the last few remaining steps and entered the room above. I put Deogol’s device in my pants pocket. It did not fit so well, so I squiggled it about a bit until it lay against my thigh without bulging, then I placed my hand on the rung, ready to follow.

  I did not get far.

  Eadgard appeared at the hatch, face pale and hands shaking. “Let Brennus through.”

  “Eh? What?”

  Brennus did not wait for an answer. He climbed up the steps and I did too.

  Eadgard raised his hand. “Wait, Adara, do not come in.”

  The Woodsmale stormed past me and I followed him all quick like, but Eadgard held his palms up to stay my progress. I slapped his paws away and pushed myself up and through the hatch.

  The light stick lay on the ground next to the opening and shed a shivering light around the room. Shadows inched up the walls and scuttled across the floor as if looking for a means of escape. I put my hand to my mouth and nose to smother the stench of fresh blood, and saw Brennus standing in the right hand corner, his fists against his temples.

  Elita, and Lucus clutched onto one another and squatted on the floor. Nuncio stood over them, head bent, hands hanging limply by his side. Around them lay bits of bodies all hacked and sliced so, that I could not tell what was leg or arm or foot or hand. I turned to Eadgard. He licked his lips and nodded to the back of the room.

  Aiken, or what was left of him was propped against the wall. The left side of his head smashed to a pulp, his limbs severed. A Meek lay across his stomach, a metal pipe thrust through his back.

  “We told you not to come in,” Elita said, and began to rock her brother like a bub.

  Chapter Twenty

  Agro Army

  “Brennus, get them out of this place,” Eadgard said.

  The big ‘dult did not move.

  “Brennus?” Eadgard walked to him, stepping over flesh and bone. I knelt by Elita and Lucus. Nuncio squatted too and huddled close to his kin. I put my arm around the shaking kiddles, turned my head to the hatch and saw Kendra pull herself through. She stopped dead and clasped her hands over her mouth. I put a finger to my lips and she blinked slowly.

  “Brennus, come, we must leave,” Eadgard said and touched the Woodsfolk male on the shoulder. He jumped as if bitten by a wolfpup.

  He pointed to a Meek lying on his side. “The laddie, look. Still has a club in his hand.”

  “Stillman?”

  “Aye.”

  Kendra stepped between the bod parts and stooped over Brennus’s kin. She bent low and put her ear to his chest. “There is yet life in this little ‘un.”

  The Nearlyman leader fell to his knees and put his fingers to the kiddles throat. “A pulse,” he said, picked up a limp Stallman and carried him to the hatch. He looked below and called out, “Hey, Wirt, ye cuz remains. Gae us a hand.”

  Wirt’s head appeared in the opening. He stuffed Aiken’s club under his armpit and lifted his arms towards the sickly young ‘un. Brennus carefully handed the kiddle to him, and my friend retreated down the steps. Followed quickly by Brennus, who brushed past folk as though all of us in the room no longer existed.

  Kendra took Eadgard’s hand and pressed it against her cheek. He looked into her eyes for a sec then pulled away. She sniffed, then walked about the room, stooping now and then to check for signs of life on those that were intact.

  “Adara, bring the little ‘uns,” Eadgard said.

  Without hesitation, I stood and helped Elita, Lucus and Nuncio to their feet. They were wobble legged and seemed not to know what to do next. Eadgard stood by the hatch and held out his hands. Nuncio and Lucus grabbed a mitt each and he picked them up. Elita shook free of my embrace and walked to the opening.

  The light stick that lay next to it, fizzled then went out. A shaft of light from the room below shone onto their faces making them appear as white and lifeless as the corpses on the floor.

  “You go first, Adara, I’ll hand you the bubs.”

  “We not bubs. We Clonies. Put bros on floor,” Elita said.

  Nuncio and Lucus wriggled out of Eadgard’s arms and their sis took their hands. She pushed them to the hatch and they slowly lowered themselves through it. Elita took one last look around and grabbed either side of the portal. She sat at the rim, looked down for a sec, placed her feet on the rungs and clomped heavily down the steps.

  I saw Kendra’s shadowy figure come towards me. She shook her head, silently walked past Eadgard, went out through the hatch and down to the room below. Eadgard nodded at the opening and I stepped through it onto the stairs. I heard him clang the hatch shut, and I quickened my descent.

  Brennus, Wirt and Kendra, stood by Hildegunnr and the other meds, who were busy passing their magic wands over the Meeks. Eadgard caught me up and put his hand on my arm. “I do not know what to make of all this. I do not even know if there is an Agro army. I do not trust or believe the Pratt and his lying vids.”

  “Army or no army, these Agros are beyond our capabilities.”

  My Backpacker friend sighed and rubbed his eyes. He stared at the Meeks and the injured ones and shook his head. Then he cleared his throat and said all loudly, “The battle is not lost. Know that there are those without who are coming to our aid. Unfortunately, I do not know exactly when. Our coms do not work so well in this vile place. If all are well enough, let us leave this scene of sad.”

  He waved to Hildegunnr and she waved back. I saw Brennus lift his still weak kin and carry him bub-style to the exit. The medi-fem gestured to her folk and the other ‘dults and they too left. With a longly look at me, Kendra gathered the Meeks and walked them out of the building. Wirt remained, leaning against a grain container, head bowed low, banging Aiken’s weapon on the metal in hard, slow, thumps. He looked up when he heard the sound of our footsteps and stood straight.

  “What happened here?”

  Wirt stared straight into Eadgard’s eyes. “We fought. We fought and lost.”

  I wanted to hug him close, but the look of hardness on his face held me back. He slow- blinked, turned and walked out.

  “Come, Adara, let us leave this horror,” Eadgard said and we trod quickly through the exit.

  The air outside had changed.

  As well as the smell of burnt, there was a faint aroma of fear sweat. Not unusual given the circumstances, but it became stronger as a westerly wind brewed up and brought with it a cloud of dust and ash. I looked at Eadgard. He lifted his snout to the sky and inhaled. Wirt did the same and a look of fear spread across his face. He ran to where I stood at the pyramid entrance and fell to the ground. He placed his ear upon it and said, “Feet marching this way.”

  I felt it in my toes first. Then in my thighs and up my body until it reached my ears. A quaking sensation that throbbed more than trembled. The dirt danced on the ground and I heard the sound of boots thumping upon the earth.

  Deogol ran to me. “Sis, you have the weapon?”

  “Yup.” I pulled it from my pocket and held it up. He snatched it from my hand and pointed it in the direction of the ground thundering sound. The other Meeks except for the one that Brennus held so tight, came and stood behind him. Deogol twirled his thumb across the contraption and froze. He lowered his arm and turned to me.

  “You pressed it.”

  “Wa? I did not. I just put it in my pocket to keep it safe.”

  “Which way round?”

  “Wa?”

  He pushed the thing into my face and with his other hand smacked the surface, turned it over, and smacked the other side. “When you thrust it into your trouser side slit, you pressed the button.”

  “No, I…”

  He threw the device onto the floor and gave me a look as if to say, “Even an oldie near to the end would not have done such a doltish thing.” My bro turned away and with the Meeks behind him, walked to where Hildegunnr and the others sto
od.

  “This does not bode well. We are few and without the Meeks weapon to defend us,” Eadgard said.

  The ground trembled.

  Kendra stood with the Meeks. “We should head back to the medi-centre.”

  Wirt clenched his hand and his eyes became slits. “Retreat, after all we have been through? Ye can go and hide behind the skirts of the enemy if ye like. I’ll stay and fight.”

  I did not know that my gentle friend was capable of such venom. His soft features coarsened before my eyes and I swear I saw a whisper of grey appear in his hair. Eadgard put his hands on his shoulders. “I have no doubt of your resolve, but think of the young ‘uns. We cannot in all conscience allow more to perish.”

  “Ye words make sense, but my heart and nads tell me to stay,” Wirt said and tossed Aiken’s club between his hands.

  “If you are bent on self-destruction so be it. I am not. These tender things are not. Stay and be brave warriors. Die a futile death. Let the Agros win.”

  Brennus stiffened at Kendra’s remark. He walked over to Wirt and placed the Meek he was holding onto the floor. Stillman’s bod was stiff.

  “They’ll not win lassie. They cannot.”

  The wind blew stronger carrying the scent of Agro males and incinerated crops. My nostrils twitched and my ears rung with a gut churning sound. The thud, thud, thud, of a multitude of feet on dirt. Kendra took Esme by the hand.

  “Time for talk is over. I am taking the Meeks back. Those who wish to follow do so, those that do not, farewell,” she said and led them towards the medi-lab. The other folk sped quickly after.

  Hildegunnr came to me. “Adara, can you not sing?”

  “That I can.”

  The stomping of Agro feet grew louder and was accompanied by a low murmur of angry male growls that sounded like a Wolfie on the attack. Eadgard wiped his brow and turned to me. “Do what you can. I will go and protect those who need me most. Brennus, I will carry your kin back with me.”

  Brennus stood over Stillman and shook his head. “Too late. My son is in need of nae further treatment. Go man. I wi stay with the lassie and keep her safe.”

  “I too, will stay,” Wirt said.

  Eadgard touched my cheek and I swear I saw a tear in the corner of his eye.

  “You will triumph,” he said and ran in the direction of the medi-lab.

  “Go with him. I do not want to harm you.”

  “Do not worry about us, Adara. Sing and bring the Agros down.”

  “No, Wirt, go. Both of you. Hildegunnr is right. I need only sing and that will be that.”

  “I will never leave your side, not when there is danger,” my once timid friend said, and stood in front of me.

  “Neither will I.”

  “But you will suffer just as much as they.”

  “Nay, not so much,” Brennus said and pulled out some earplugs from his skirt pouch.

  “Brennus you are truly a great warrior. You have more?”

  “That I have,” he said and handed the muffling things to Wirt.

  The marching noise grew louder.

  The moon shone bright. A shock-faced ball in the black sky that looked down on the three of us as if to shout, “Prevail. Stand steady.” The wind whipped around our feet and legs and a swirl of ash and dry earth spiralled up before us. I coughed and spat out the filthy soil that bore the taste of Agro boot.

  Through the cloud of churned up dirt came the sound of Agro army.

  “Where are they?” Brennus said and blinked.

  “In front of us.”

  “Wa? But, Adara, I see nowt.”

  I reached behind me and touched my Synthbag. I tore it from my shoulder and held it up for Brennus to see. He rubbed his eyes and poked the thing, then said, “Tech.”

  “My guess is that they are adorned in the same kind of camouflage material that my bag is made from.”

  “Dirty tactics. Bullies, nay warriors.”

  The marching stopped.

  Brennus looked around him, and then bounded into the pyramid. He emerged a few secs later carrying a large piece of metal torn from the broken staircase. He stood next to Wirt and held it above his head.

  There was a ripple in the landscape before us.

  Four figures appeared and walked steadily up the gravel path that led straight to where we stood. They halted. Behind them, the scenery shivered.

  I looked over their shoulders and shimmering into view, row after row of Agro soldiers dressed in the same black shirts and troos. They wore black peaked hats and below the brim identical round black-eyed faces looked out. In each cloned hand was a black stick-like weapon.

  They stood still as a forest.

  A blast of dusty wind hit my face and I shuddered.

  An Agro from the group of four stepped forward. Like the others, he was not so tall, but bulky around the shoulders and legs. His arms were thick and his hands big and strong. What I could see of his face was not pleasant. His nose was bulbous and his lips thin. He licked them with a purple tongue, and I caught a flash of pointed, yellow teeth.

  He placed a small round disc against his mouth and blew. A high-pitched whistle that made the army males click their heels together and stand straight, arms pressed firmly by their sides. The separated soldiers walked towards us.

  “Get ready tae sing lassie,” Brennus said.

  I opened my gob but a flurry of ash blew into it. I began to cough and choke. Between my tear streaked gulps I saw the Agro four approach. Wirt slapped my back and I spewed up black.

  The four halted.

  I sucked in tiny breaths.

  “Surrender,” the lead soldier said.

  “Never,” Brennus said and wielded his weapon in the air.

  The Agro, that seemed to be in charge, smiled and stared at the ground beside Brennus. “What are you hiding there?” He walked over to Stillman’s dead bod and poked it with his weapon. “What’s that? Another brave little warrior?”

  Brennus knelt beside his son. He brushed back the blood caked hair that stuck to the young ‘un’s cheek and softly kissed the pallid flesh. He put his club down, picked up Stillman, carried him to the side of the pyramid and laid him down.

  He placed the kiddles arms across his chest, walked back, picked up the metal bar and said, “Ye soulless wolfbeast.” Then let his club crack down upon the Agro’s skull.

  The male fell in a heap at his feet. Brennus stepped over the lifeless bod and raged towards the other three soldiers. He let forth a sound loud and hard that seemed to come from deep within. I covered my ears and saw the Agros back away.

  Too late for them to turn and run, for Brennus swiped and thwacked with such force that within the breathing in and out of but one breath, he felled all three. They lay twitching for a sec, stiffened, then went limp.Brennus turned his blood splattered face to me. “Can ye sing yet?”

  I cleared my throat. “Yes.”

  “Then sing.” I looked to Wirt. He quickly stuffed the earplugs into his sound holes, hunkered down behind me and covered his head with his hands.

  The rows of Agro army began to move.

  They walked in file like a giant centipede.

  They raised their guns and marched, slow and steady. The air around them shuddered and they disappeared.

  “Sing,” Brennus said.

  “Don your sound stoppers.”

  “Sing Lassie.”

  “No, not until you put…”

  “I gave my plugs to young Wirt.”

  “You have no other? But you said you had more.”

  “I lied.”

  “Brennus. You may perish.”

  “So be it. Now sing.”

  He brandished his weapon before the invisible advancing Agros and thwacked at whatever he came into contact with. The blows struck true each time, for as he brought his club down with one great thud after another, each Agro soldier that was hit became visible.

  I did not hesitate.

  I opened my mouth, took in air and let ri
p with the tune that Hildegunnr created.

  Then I added a deeper noise. A sound that echoed that of Brennus’s ache, pain and anger, and saw him hack into soldier after soldier before falling to his knees.

  The whole place began to shiver and wobble and as I reached a mean and grating note, the entire Agro army appeared. They halted, stared at each other for a sec then pressed their fists against their temples. I stopped and ran to Brennus.

  “Sing!” he said and fell forward, blood running from his nose and ears.

  I looked up and saw the Agro scum lift their weapons.

  This time, I summoned up a nasty.

  A venom filled noise that let them hear what I had seen up in the secret room of the pyramid. An aural image of slaughter, fear and hate. I let Marcellus’s face loom large and strong before my eyes and strode towards the enemy. I let a vicious, revenge-filled sound stab into each and every head.

  One by one their black eyes began to bulge and bleed. Their purple tongues lolled from out of their mouths and something glutinous dribbled from their fat snouts. I marched through them as they dropped before my feet, and sang hard and loud.

  The air swept up and round my lungs, continuous and raw. I stopped by the fork in the path that led to the medi-lab, gave out one last belting hit of fury, hate and horror, and saw a blanket of black drop like night time upon the gravel pathway.

  I stopped and fell to my knees.

  It felt as if a rock the size of a moocow were being pressed down upon my back. I slumped forward and panted until the pulsating throbs in my nonce and belly abated, then stood. I cleaned the spittle from my mouth with the back of my hand, and heard a whirling sound.

  Above my head was a noise like that of a humungous dragonfly. I looked to the sky and caught a flash of rotating blade. I turned and ran full pelt to Wirt. Leaping over downed Agro filth until I saw my friend kneeling beside Brennus. I approached softly and stood over him. Wirt wiped his sleeve across his nose and said in a loud voice, “No heartbeat. No rising of chest. Ah, Adara. What did he do?”

  “He never had another set of earplugs.”

  “Will ye not say? Do ye not know?”