Scars of the Earth

by C. S. Moore

Seeing her stunned face, just before she was swept away, took him back to a cold night two years ago…when she had come back to the Hovel.

  He wasn’t as high ranking then and still objectified to boring perimeter guard around the outside of the Hovel. He hated it. Not just because it was boring, but also because Chicago was bitter cold in the winter. It wasn’t snowing; it felt too cold to snow. The air was still, and suspended in it were small bits of frost catching the street lights and shining like glitter. He exhaled and watched as his cloud of breath stirred the frost in the air into a frenzy. Just as he was readying to turn, something-or more accurately someone, caught his eye.

  A small dark figure was walking towards the Hovel with weak but determined steps. He could sense that whoever approached was a Healer not the regular human drifter he usually spotted on duty. The Hovel was located in a mostly industrial part of town and looked like nothing more than a fairly well kept factory from the outside. It was way past lock down, so whoever this was had broken the rules. Which allowed him to have some enjoyment at this tardy person expense, after all it was his job to enforce the rules. As the shivering person continued their approach he realized that it was a female Healer and a young one too.

  This is going to be fun. He thought. When the person was twenty feet away he called out to them in his most authoritative voice.

  “Halt!” He shouted and she turned her head up towards the noise. He gasped when he recognized her face. It was Amanda Cates, the girl that had caused so much trouble for the Ancients, the deserter that many Healers were secretly obsessed with. She made a very public choice to leave. And her choosing something other than what she was told to choose, stuck in their minds. Even though most were good at hiding it from everyone he still saw through their mask.

  She stood as still as she could manage through the involuntary shivers that rocked her body. Her ragged breaths hung in clouds above her before disappearing into nothing, as she had two years ago. She was much skinnier than he had remembered, but she was still remarkably beautiful. She wasn’t dressed for the weather at all making him think her return was either a spur of the moment decision, or one made out of desperation.

  “It’s you.” He growled.

  Maybe I can show her how much she was missed. He mused. Her eyes looked tired which was good, he didn’t want her to put up too much of a fight when he did what he wanted to do to her. And just getting here looked like it had taken all of the fight out of her.

  Maybe she won’t even scream. He thought. Other Guards were on duty and nine out of ten would just join him in his games, but there were a few…

  “What’s going on here?” A voice behind him asked. Frey turned and saw Joseph, a Sergeant.

  Damn it! He thought, knowing that he had just pulled the one out of ten that wouldn’t let him have fun.

  Joseph took off his grey coat, fastened it around her and escorted her inside never taking his eyes off of Frey. He hated how he looked at him like he could read his mind. She had gotten away then, though she may not have known it.

  And she had gotten away, again. A hand patted him comfortingly.

  “It is okay son, the Ancients will find her. They will find her and set her free.” Frey turned to the kindly Healer that had followed the swarm of grey to help, not understanding that running away from these men was a wiser choice, and put a sharp finger in his face.

  “This is your fault Danimir!” Frey spat. His wide eyes crazed.

  “I-I-I’m sorry I didn’t mean…” He stuttered. Frey’s perfect head of golden hair tilted to one side.

  “Not as sorry as you will be.”

  Amanda landed awkwardly on a rolling hill covered with tall grass and large rocks. She attempted to realign her senses, it was cool and she could taste cool moist air on her tongue. She opened her eyes to see rolling hills and valleys surrounded by jagged misty mountains. In the far distance she could see steps of rice beds cut into the landscape. The uneven earth was blanketed in twisting cypress trees and walls of bamboo. Beautiful sheets of pink against the green hillsides told her that the plum blossoms were in bloom.

  Where am I? Wait, where is Cole? And Madgie she was hurt… She thought. She tried to stand up but was too dizzy and fell back to the earth.

  “Cole! Madgie!” She whispered looking around desperately. She tried to stand once again and this time she succeeded.

  “Cole!” She called out more loudly. She heard rustling behind her and turned around swiftly. Cole was shaking his head, dark curls full of grass. He smiled up at her and her heart skipped a beat.

  “WOW. We’re not dead, what are the chances?” He said. She smiled at him and then remembered Madgie.

  “Cole, is Madgie near you?” She asked. He looked around and shook his head.

  “No, but we need to find her. I think she was stunned by one of their orbs. I don’t think it was one that Frey or Carter threw, which is lucky. Those crazy bastards meant to kill us.” He said as he stood up and moved to her side. He reached over and picked up her hand. She looked down at the gesture wondering how something so simple could make her feel so whole.

  It’s just a hand. His hand. She thought.

  Looking at their hands brought to mind another hand and a shiver ran up her spine. Cole saw Amanda gazing at their intertwined fingers and, misinterpreting her shiver, smiled.

  “Come on, let’s find Madgie before she gets angry.” He said laughing. She turned and studied the patch of ground she had found herself in.

  I landed here, and Cole… She looked up and guessed that he had landed about fifteen yards to her right. She thought back to the room. Cole was on my right and Madgie was below me to the left.

  She looked to her left, into the setting sun, and saw a deep valley that had already fallen into shadow.

  “If we’re going to start a search party, I think that dark scary valley is a good place to check out.” She said. Cole laughed and pulled her next to him.

  She tried to enjoy the act but her mind still circled the image of the strange hand grasping Madgie’s ankle. She and Cole began their decent side by side into the ever-darkening valley.

  Cole led the way moving with quick precise motions that she found hard to replicate on such uneven terrain. They didn’t have a path to follow, so they climbed over slick moss covered rocks and had to avoid thick bushes spiked with uninviting thorns. Although she wasn’t very good at it, she attempted to tread lightly wanting to stay as quiet as possible. Something told her that she needed to do this, though she didn’t understand why.

  Shouldn’t I be making as much noise as possible to find Madgie? She wondered to herself.

  Whatever the reasoning behind her hushed footfall, she knew that she needed to shrug it off. They had to start calling out for Madgie, it would be hard to spot her through the dense vegetation. Amanda took a breath to call out and Cole grabbed her arm and shook his head slowly. She was surprised and studied his face. His heavy brow was furrowed in confusion.

  “What?” She mouthed to him. He took a knee and gently pulled her down with him. She didn’t hesitate and knelt beside him, rough earth digging at her flesh. He pulled her in closely and whispered in his deep melodic voice.

  “I don’t feel like we should make our presence know here, not yet. Ever since we stepped into this valley, I have had a terrible feeling that I just can’t shake. I might just be paranoid. I mean I can’t track anything down. I can’t pin point why, but I feel like we are being hunted.” He finished. She, having felt the same thing, just looked into the nearby brush and nodded her assent.

  “Well I don’t know how quickly the Ancients work, but I think that we need to get used to the feeling of being hunted.” She said quietly.

  She didn’t know if they were feeling spooked by someone thousands of miles away, or if something sinister lurked in the brush just beyond her sight. She hadn’t wanted to worry Cole by something she was so unsure of, but she vocalized her thoughts before she could stop herself.

  “I
thought I saw someone grab Madgie before we made the leap.” She said quickly.

  She waited a few moments and turned to Cole, surprised that he hadn’t responded. Seeing the look of shock on his face, she chastised herself.

  God why didn’t I tell him sooner? She looked up into his pure brown eyes and saw a bouquet of emotions rattling inside of him; fear, worry, and love. Amanda stuttered.

  “I’m sorry Cole I should have said something to you, I just wasn’t sure if I…” He interrupted her.

  “It’s Okay, don’t apologize. So much has happened to you in such a short amount of time. I’m sure that it is hard to keep everything lined up. I’m not sure how you are doing this good. If I looked like you I would still be in my cell crying.” He smiled as he took a deep breath in.

  If I looked like you? Do I look that bad? She worried bringing her hand to her face. He reached out to her taking her hand from her face.

  “I didn’t mean it like that, I just meant that you are strong, stronger than most.” He drew her hand slowly to his lips, but she pulled it away before he could kiss it. He continued talking unabashed. “I will always like the way that you look.” He said kindly, but she couldn’t imagine that he really meant it.

  “Do you have any idea who was holding on to Madgie?” He asked. She paused and brought herself back to that moment.

  Who was around me? She concentrated hard on the few seconds that the fight had lasted. She felt the presence of her friends, Cole and Madgie were near her. Next she felt the presence of her unknown pursuers; three were blocking the door, another two against the far wall, and the older man was part way between her and Frey attempting to stop his unrelenting stream of attacks. That leaves one unaccounted for. She spoke his name and felt the acidic contents of her stomach rise to the back of her throat.

  “Carter.” She said. Cole bit into his lower lip muffling a curse.

  “Did Frey come out with him?” He asked.

  “No, he was on the other side of the room.” She said with confidence.

  “Well then it could have been worse. Still, out of all of those Healers it had to be him.” He tilted his head back allowing the last of the days light to wrap around his dark curls.

  Chapter 7

  A lone man stood tall in the arena. Determination was plain on his weathered face under the bright lights that hung high above him. The sound of murmuring dissent rang out all around the arena, but he gathered his strength and continued his plea.

  “Listen, I have known Madgie for nearly seventy years now. She would never involve herself in something wicked. She has always, always built up the Hovel. If she has fled it is for a good reason. Perhaps she truly believes Amanda can be made whole.” Finn said. A deep voice rang out from the Ancients, though none of them had opened their mouths.

  “She can not!” The voice said. The willowy Healer drove on.

  “You can’t just put a death warrant on Madgie’s head, she hasn’t broken any law. She did what she thought was right. And this young Cole, he loved her, still does.” He said his moist eyes looking up at the crowd of his peers.

  “I felt it and so did you. Will you kill him on sight for saving the one that he loves?” He asked. An old woman stood up in the crowd.

  “That’s right Finn. Tell them, that they might see.” She shouted. A young man next to her jerked her down as the arena erupted in equal shouts of agreement and shouts of anger. Finn lifted his chin slightly at the new found support.

  “And Amanda, why couldn’t we have just waited to see if she would recover. I don’t want someone to put me down every time I get a cold.” He joked. Cries went out all over the teeming arena.

  “It’s not a cold.”

  “She is evil!”

  “No one knows.”

  “The Ancients do!”

  “What are the Ancients, your Kings and Queens, your rulers? No, no one rules over us. Every single one of them was once no more than a Healer, the same as you and me.” Finn couldn’t stop himself from shouting. He quickly turned to the five Ancients towering above him.

  “We are Healers, we govern ourselves. You haven’t the right to put death on us.” He cried out. A bright flash of light burst into life at these words, which would be Finn’s last.

  He had no time to react to the bolt of energy that ripped through his chest, burning a hole in his heart. His lifeless body staggered, muscles twitching involuntarily making him look like a haunting marionette before finally hitting the ground. The crowd of Healers burst into horrified screams as they gazed at the dead body of Finn, a man that had been a friend to all of them.

  The tallest Ancient closed his eyes and waved his disjointed hand across the room. The room fell silent as men and women fell back into chairs and those who were standing in protest crumpled to the floor. The tallest, and male leader of the Ancients-Baal, rubbed his eyes with sharp fingers and spoke to the others mentally.

  “Clam down they are asleep, it was the easiest spell to cast.” Baal said as he looked at the four other beings that had shared such a long life with him. A perfect life.

  He knew that none were as powerful as they were together. And he worried about what would happen next. This was uncharted territory; the Healers had always been so obedient. They had catered to his every whim for centuries. Shiphra started all of this upheaval. It has been boiling just under the surface for seven decades. He thought.

  He glided slowly over to Finn’s crumpled form. He turned the thin body over and caressed his still-warm cheek gently. Baal took the sweet old face in his palms and began pressing his hands together, crunching bones and twisting skin until the distorted face was no longer recognizable.

  I should have killed Shiphra when I had the chance. He thought.

  A blast of energy rippled through him, turning the man in his hands into a pile of ashes. Delia’s own voice echoed in his head.

  “Stop whining about Shiphra we have more pressing matters to take care of. And was it really necessary to kill him in front of everyone?” She asked boldly. She was the only one that would address him so casually.

  “What do you think Delia? Should I have let him continue to warp the minds of our sheep…No, it had to be done. Now we just have to clean up the mess.” He said. Delia’s mind wheeled with options for the other four to see.

  “So which shall it be? He attacked us, Finn never showed up to this meeting, or the usual ‘he never existed’ route?” She asked. Baal began to think of Shiphra again but Delia stopped him.

  “You know we don’t have the power to erase the memory of a fellow Ancient so why tire yourself with these thoughts? Now decide which it is.” She said her inner voice full of boredom.

  Baal was tired of the trivial matter of covering up one life so he waved the responsibility off to Heisle. Heisle was never entrusted with decisions, so he was quite excited for the opportunity that had been presented-despite the circumstances. His inner voice was high and unsure, very unlike the others.

  “Well, not all of the Healers who knew Finn were at this meeting. So it is a waste of energy to wipe his memory from these few.” He gestured around the room of hundreds of sleeping Healers. He continued with his reasoning.

  “And all who knew Finn would never believe him to attack. So it would take far too much energy to alter so many minds so greatly, maybe even drain us completely until we are little dried up…” Baal shouted internally at the strange Ancient. Not one person in two and a half centuries had ever understood why Heisle was chosen to become an Ancient, not even himself.

  “I don’t want you to explain your little theories! I’m not interested. Just deal with it so that I DON’T have to.” Heisle’s sunken face hollowed further as he heard Delia’s inner thoughts.

  “I can’t remember the last time Heisle spoke; I think it’s been decades. I forgot how ridiculously small his voice is.” She laughed.

  Heisle moved away as the other Ancients went back into the company of their own minds. He walked around the arena t
wice to make sure he felt every soul. When he was certain he had all of them at his finger tips, he went to the center of the arena. He stood tall and stretched his arms out wide; feeling the healers’ life, feeling their energy, and dreams. He let each of them flow into his consciousness.

  This exercise was necessary to build energy before a large spell, but it did the opposite for Heisle. Each Healer’s dream was a goal he could never obtain. Each Healer’s life was fuller than his own. He glanced back at the four Ancients towering in the massive arena, completely aloof to the corps lying still at their feet.

  He felt his energy draining from him and he allowed it to flow out of his feet. He was happy that he at least had the privacy of his mind when he wanted to have it. An Ancient could pick the mind of even the strongest Healer with some effort, but not another Ancient.

  Probably the only reason that Shiphra got away, and she has nothing to worry about now. No one is strong enough to harm her out there, she is free. He thought longingly.

  He thought of the years he had spent with her and he couldn’t put a word on them. The simple word he was searching for escaped him, because he hadn’t been ‘happy’ in such a very long time. He had wished that she had taken him with her; they could have escaped the tyranny of the others together.

  I am so tired of being scared. I am so tired of this life. Poor Finn, poor…all of them really. He thought looking out at the crowd. At least his woes have ended, I fear that their’s are just beginning. Maybe I could…

  A thought occurred to him as he was attempting to figure out the best way to erase what had just happened. He could be free from them. No longer having to be silent, no longer having to serve a tyrant.

  He collected his thoughts and tied a tether to each unique mind, connecting all to him. He thought of the instant that the blast of energy collided into Finn. Heisle memorized the expression on the poor Healer’s face, the burning of his flesh, the fierce expression on Baal’s face. He hadn’t smiled in so long that it felt strange to him when his dry lips stretched up at the corners.