The Gate

by Jennifer N Hibbert

  ‘Are you all right, man?’ Martin asked.

  ‘Yeah, of course,’ Koi answered. He wasn’t sure how long Martin had been watching him. He bent over as though he was exercising or stretching. The look on Martin’s face suggested that he wasn’t sure what Koi was doing but he didn’t insist on knowing. He returned to his bed and sat down. Koi rushed out of the toilet and lay down on his bed without offering any explanation. Martin got up and went to the toilet.

  Later that evening, Koi and the other boys arrived at the entertainment centre before Monica and Chris.

  ‘Look at this place. It’s crawling with middle-aged people. I wonder why,’ whispered Martin to Koi. ‘Look over there,’ he said, pointing at a bald man who looked like he was in his sixties.

  ‘Man, you can’t point at people,’ Monica snapped.

  ‘Yeah, I noticed that, too,’ Koi said to Martin, ignoring Monica’s comment. ‘Maybe they spend a lot of time here because they don’t have to wake up early to go to work. They feel like they are on holiday.’

  They were quiet for a while, even Martin, who Koi knew loved talking. Martin seemed to be searching for something or someone on the dance floor. He raked his eyes across the hall and Koi’s eyes followed him. Koi thought everyone around them was casually dressed for a disco. The women were not smartly dressed as they would have been in a nightclub in the city.

  Martin nodded before saying, ‘I guess that’s the clothes the organisers provided for them.’

  ‘Yeah, I agree, but the forms we filled in allowed people to choose the type of clothes they wanted,’ Koi protested.

  ‘Maybe they weren’t thinking of going to discos when they made their selections.’

  ‘That makes sense,’ Koi said.

  Many couples danced and some single people were also dancing valiantly, as though in competition with each other. They clapped, threw their hands in the air and sang loudly. The disco played all kinds of music to suit both old and young audiences. Monica loved one of the songs that was playing, so she and Chris headed to the dance floor.

  Koi noticed that Martin was not paying any attention to what he was saying, let alone what he was pointing out to him. I wonder what’s going on in that mind of his? Perhaps he’s searching for that girl, Carrol, Koi thought, remembering what Martin had told him about her.

  Koi had been surprised when Martin had told him that, after the sports day, he always searched through crowds to see if Carrol was there. When Koi asked why, Martin replied, ‘No reason, just looking to see what she’s doing.’

  ‘Man, let’s go sit down somewhere,’ Martin said. The three boys sat in a corner, drinking and chatting.

  ‘I like the disco atmosphere but I don’t like dancing,’ Koi said.

  ‘Yeah, that’s because you don’t know how to dance,’ Morgan said.

  ‘Well, I have been practising lately. I like the way dancing makes me feel. I’m pretty sure I’ll be a good dancer once I figure it out,’ Koi said.

  ‘I thought you just said you don’t like dancing,’ Morgan said.

  ‘I’m just scared that people will laugh at me if they see how bad I am. I suck,’ Koi said.

  ‘Come to think of it, I haven’t ever seen you dance,’ Morgan said. ‘Who is teaching you?’

  Koi opened his mouth to speak but stopped. He tried again, but no words came out.

  ‘Well?’ Morgan pushed.

  Koi leaned towards Morgan and whispered, ‘I’ve been learning in the toilet with an app.’

  ‘What?’ shouted Morgan and burst into laughter. ‘Man, you are crazy. Learning in the toilet with an app!’

  ‘Shh,’ Koi said, but it was too late. Martin had heard and was laughing.

  Monica and Chris returned from the dance floor. Martin told them what Koi had said. They started laughing, too.

  ‘Koi, please tell me that’s not what you were doing this afternoon in the toilet?’ Martin asked.

  ‘Yeah, what’s wrong with that?’ Koi asked.

  Martin laughed louder. ‘I wondered what he was doing. I saw him wiggling the upper part of his body but then he stopped abruptly and gradually he started moving the lower part of his body with his hands up in the air.’

  ‘For real? Man, you should have called me, I would have loved to see that,’ Morgan said.

  ‘I wasn’t sure what he was doing at the time. It’s only now that it clicked,’ Martin explained.

  ‘Man, all you needed to do was ask. I would happily teach you,’ Morgan said, nudging Koi’s shoulder.

  ‘Koi, please show us some of your best moves,’ Chris said, trying to drag him off his seat, but Koi refused.

  ‘Look, if you don’t show us, how will you know if you’ve perfected your moves?’ Morgan asked.

  They kept asking Koi and he finally agreed. He stood up and took a few wonky steps, bending his body slightly and stretching his neck like a snake. They laughed and Koi quickly returned to his seat.

  ‘Come on, we promise not to laugh. Show us some more moves,’ Monica said with a half-hidden smile. Koi flatly refused this time.

  The rest of the people in the disco were having a nice time after a long week of training in a new environment. Martin spotted Zebe and Joe passing and called out to them. They came over and said hello. They seem to be in a friendlier and happier mood than they’d been during the day when they were at work. Maybe, they’ve had a few drinks, Koi thought. Sure enough, soon Zebe and Joe were singing out loud with Martin to the music that was playing and throwing their hands up in the air.

  Chris and Monica went to dance again and Martin invited Zebe and Joe to join them at their table. They did, which made Koi raise an eyebrow.

  ‘You guys must be brave to have gone to work and live in space,’ Martin said.

  To Koi’s surprise, Zebe started telling them about their experiences on Mars. Suddenly he looked around. ‘Guys, you must never tell anyone; promise me you will never tell anyone what I am about to tell you.’

  Martin, Koi and Morgan looked at each other and said, ‘We promise.’

  Koi wasn’t sure why Zebe was looking around; perhaps it was to make sure Rogers wasn’t there. He thought that Zebe was a bit drunk because some of his words were slurred and his eyes were glazed. If Joe was drunk too, Koi couldn’t tell because he seemed more composed than Zebe.

  ‘I tell you, we’ve had some brushes with death, haven’t we?’ Zebe asked Joe, who nodded. ‘But we love this job. It’s the best job ever, although I was almost killed by Asariel. I still bear the marks of the beast’s fingers on my neck from when he seized me by the throat – not to mention the nightmares. Boy, the impact of his grip almost knocked every wisp of air from my lungs.’ He stopped, gasped and drew in a large puff of air, filling his lungs before letting it out.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Martin asked.

  ‘That’s how I feel, even after such a long time. I still have to remember to breathe normally. I guess no one could actually get so close to such a beast without tasting its breath.’ Zebe sighed wearily shifting his weight from one butt cheek to another before settling. He gasped and stared steadily in front of him. The panic in his voice was palpable.

  Koi turned and followed the direction of Zebe’s eyes; there was nothing, as far as he could see but Zebe was looking extremely anxious and distressed.

  ‘You know those nightmares with an endless fall that repeats itself over and over?’ Zebe said, trying to unbutton the top button of his shirt. He stopped abruptly when he heard Martin’s voice.

  ‘Who is Asariel?’ Martin asked, excited though he looked a bit cautious.

  ‘Shh, don’t mention his name; he could hear you,’ Zebe said. ‘He is a mystical creature or some sort or an alien, I am not sure. He could be anywhere right now. Last time, before he vanished, he promised to come back.’ Zebe looked over his shoulder fearfully. Koi and the rest of the boys also looked around, without knowing what they were looking for. ‘Shh, shh,’ Zebe continued, although nobody was talking except him.
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  ‘I am telling you, the Biddatals could be anywhere or look like anything. So, don’t be fooled when you are on Mars. Watch out! Ha-ha-ha, what am I saying? They are everywhere – here, the Channel of Exchange, the Middle Way, spaceships, in fact, everywhere!’ Zebe laughed in a drunken and sinister way.

  ‘Who is everywhere?’ Martin asked.

  ‘Aliens and creatures, of course. But don’t worry,’ Zebe whispered. ‘Those Gatekeepers will fix them good.’

  Koi’s eye darted from Zebe to Martin’s face.

  Martin was fixed on every word Zebe was saying. ‘Zebe, who are the Gatekeepers?’ he asked.

  ‘Shh, shh,’ Zebe said, cocking his head to one side, as if he was listening intently for something.

  ‘Zebe, we have to go,’ said Joe, trying to stop Zebe talking.

  ‘I’d be careful, if I were you,’ Zebe said before Joe pulled him up from his seat and they left.

  ‘What was that all about? What was he saying?’ asked Morgan.

  ‘I don’t know. If you ask me, he was just drunk and talking gibberish.’

  ‘Who is Asariel? Or the Biddatal? Who are the Gatekeepers?’ Martin asked. ‘Surely there must be some element of truth in what he was saying.’

  ‘Martin, I hope you don’t believe anything he said,’ Koi warned.

  ‘I told you guys there could be aliens around us in this camp. Some aliens could actually look like people. You heard what he said, that they can take any shape.’

  ‘Martin, you don’t honestly believe him, do you?’ asked Morgan. ‘Can’t you see, he clearly doesn’t know what he is talking about. The man was completely pissed. Besides, everyone at one stage or another has had those falling dreams, haven’t they? At least, I know I have.’

  ‘Well, perhaps you are right – but what if he was telling the truth?’ Martin asked.

  ‘There’s no way the government would endanger our lives if Mars was not safe. Do you know how much research they must have conducted before they put such a project out to the public?’ Once Koi said that, they were all quiet.

  It wasn’t long before Chris and Monica returned from dancing. They all enjoyed the rest of the night before returning to their rooms.

  *

  One day, Martin and the boys decided to go into the forest again without Monica. She’d bluntly refused to go with them since that incident when they nearly got lost. Every time they’d asked her to go with them, she’d made any excuse. She used the time to catch up on her reading, which she loved.

  The boys had followed the same route every time they went to the forest. They’d finally found a comfortable spot, not too far from the camp, where they spent most evenings. When they arrived, Koi spread a blanket on the ground and set down their picnic bag, which contained some sandwiches and beer.

  The area was laid out beautifully, like nature’s own picnic centre. It was an open space, but not carved out in a straight line, measuring about three meters six by one meter fifty-three or one meter eighty-three in the middle of the woodland with natural light flooding in. There were no grasses or shrubs apart from a few twigs and dry leaves that lay scattered around. The ground looked hard and thirsty; some patches looked scorched, perhaps from a wildfire. On one side, a dead tree stump was still half-buried in the ground; it had turned grey from exposure to the harsh weather and the sunlight that flooded in.

  Martin looked steadily at Chris, who took four cans of beer out of the bag and threw them to the others. They positioned themselves like athletes competing for a medal, each making sure not to drop the cans. This was a regular thing they did when they were out in the woods

  Chris sat on the stump, setting his open can on it. He picked up a stick and began breaking off parts of it, throwing them in front of him.

  ‘I feel very at home in the forest. I love it out here,’ Martin said. He drew a long breath and slowly exhaled, savouring every moment. ‘It’s brilliant, isn’t it?’ he asked, before taking a seat on a massive tree trunk. Morgan was already sitting at the other end.

  Koi sat beside Martin, sipping his beer. ‘I love nature and all, but I hate creepy-crawlies. Boy,’ he said, shuddering, ‘they give me the heebie-jeebies.’ He started looking fearfully at the ground and at the trunk they were sitting on.

  ‘Koi is scared of anything and everything. I bet you if he saw a dry brown leaf and nobody was here, he would scream and run away,’ Martin said.

  ‘That’s not true. And even if it is, my fear is justified. Some creepy things are dangerous if they bite you. Snakes and certain types of spiders can be fatal,’ Koi explained, nodding to himself.

  Martin used a blade of grass to sneakily stroke Koi’s ear. Koi sprang upwards and ran into the middle of the clearing, screaming and rubbing his hands frantically over his head. When the rest of the group saw how calm Martin was and the smirk on his face, they realised what had happened and burst out laughing. Koi, still scared, searched his body for bugs until he caught a glimpse of Martin’s expression and saw the blade of grass in his hand.

  ‘Man, that’s lame,’ said Koi seriously, before walking back and sitting at the farthest end of the trunk from Martin.

  Morgan stood and scanned the forest. He went back to Martin and set his can beside him. ‘I’m going over there to take a leak,’ he said.

  ‘Hold on! I’ll go with you. I want to take a leak, too,’ replied Martin.

  They headed off. When they were walking, Martin heard a crinkling noise, like something munching on a dry leaf. He turned his head towards the sound. ‘What kind of insects are those?’ he asked, pointing.

  ‘I’m guessing they are locusts or grasshoppers,’ Morgan said. ‘I’ve never seen a locust in real life, only in a book. Koi will know. He seems to know all the animals ever created.’

  ‘That’s if you can get him to look at them without screaming his head off,’ Martin said. ‘He knows so much about animals but is terrified of them.’

  ‘Let’s go get the guys to come and look,’ Martin suggested.

  ‘Yeah!’ Morgan agreed with a goofy laugh.

  Martin called out: ‘Guys, come and see! We found a cluster of insects. Morgan thinks they are locusts.’

  ‘I don’t think they are locusts; you wouldn’t find them around here, if you ask me,’ Koi said.

  ‘Why not?’ Martin asked.

  ‘Gosh, can’t you see that there is no farm around? Locusts love hanging around farms because they eat fruits and veggies. You probably saw a different kind of grasshopper,’ Koi said.

  ‘Well what is the difference between locusts and grasshoppers?’ Morgan asked.

  ‘A locust is a type of grasshopper with different behaviour; the locusts can exist alone or in communities, while grasshoppers only exist in a solitary state. If a locust can find food it remains alone, like a grasshopper, but when it must compete for food it is forced to congregate in a group and release serotonin.’

  ‘What’s serotonin?’ Morgan asked.

  ‘It’s what causes the locust to change colours, become stronger and breed fast,’ Koi explained.

  ‘Let’s go and see them,’ Martin said excitedly.

  Chris sprang to his feet and started towards the woods.

  ‘What did I tell you? Koi seems to know about all the animals,’ Morgan said, turning towards Martin.

  ‘I’ll wait here,’ Koi said.

  ‘You mean you’re going to stay here alone? Okay, suit yourself,’ Martin said, and the others walked into the undergrowth. Koi looked around fearfully and then quickly got up to follow them.

  When they reached the spot, there was nothing there. ‘That’s weird. They were right here a minute ago,’ Morgan said, squinting at the ground in search of them.

  ‘There were five or six of them clustered together, eating something. How did they get away so fast?’ Martin asked.

  ‘I guess they flew away when they heard people’s voices,’ Morgan suggested.

  ‘Yeah,’ Koi said.

  The boys returned to th
eir spot in the clearing and continued drinking. Martin suddenly stood up and walked towards the edge of the bush. He stopped and stared into the forest, listening and looking back occasionally, trying to engage the eyes of the other boys to ascertain if they were searching in the same direction that he was. Instead, they were staring at him, surprised, wondering what he was looking for.

  ‘What’s the matter, man?’ Chris asked.

  ‘I don’t know. I felt like someone was watching us,’ Martin said.

  ‘Martin, stop joking around. First you guys saw grasshoppers that were nowhere to be found, and now this. Are you trying to scare us?’ Chris said.

  ’The grasshopper incident was true,’ Martin said. ‘I swear they were there and left before we got back.’ Silence fell.

  ‘Yeah, we definitely saw them,’ Morgan said, breaking the silence.

  Martin edged forward a little, looking steadily at a particular spot in the trees. He heard the munching noise again. When he looked down, there they were, only two of the insects this time – but these were bigger. ‘Guys, look! I told you we saw them.’

  The boys rushed over. Koi stood behind them, peering through. ‘These are not grasshoppers. I have never seen these before. They look like locusts, but they’re not. See, they have those pairs of grasping pedipalps, like a scorpion,’ he said in amazement.

  ‘I don’t know what you just said,’ Martin responded.

  ‘It’s just claws, you know, like lobster claws,’ explained Koi.

  ‘Why didn’t you just say so?’ Martin asked, moving away slightly.

  ‘Does that surprise you? Koi likes using big words,’ Morgan added.

  ‘They seem like they’re getting bigger. A minute ago, they were like seven centimetres long and now they are at least twenty centimetres, if not more,’ Chris said.

  ‘Yes, their size is definitely changing. I think they are also changing shape. They look even more like scorpions now. Guys, let’s move away from them,’ Koi said.

  One of the insects flipped up in the air and landed near them. They all gasped in fright. Just then, the insects started hissing like snakes. The hissing became ultrasonic, a piercing sound that made the boys’ eardrums throb. They covered their ears and moved backward.