Paradise Falls

by Jim Spencer

  ‘How long will it take to open these doors?’

  ’48 hours.’

  ’48 hours! Can’t it be done quicker?’

  ‘No sir.’

  ‘Well, make it quicker, you idiot.’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ he ran away as Atan continued to worry about bigger things.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Tali asked.

  ‘Not that it’s your business anymore, but we’re trying to open the blastdoors.’

  ‘You know this wouldn’t have been the case if you had just spoken to Arion.’

  ‘He should be listening to me.’

  ‘He’s not like that, Atan. Don’t you see that? He’s different.’

  ‘Different isn’t a good thing.’

  ‘Atan, I respect you, but look at what you’re doing here. I know what he did was wrong, but he’s on his way to tribe country, probably because you wouldn’t listen.’

  ‘What you trying to say?’

  ‘I’m saying that we have an opportunity here. An unexpected one. They are going there to help. He may be able to negotiate something with them.’

  ‘Are you saying just let him go and see how it all pans out?’

  Tali sighed,

  ‘Yes Atan. Give it a few days and try to contact him through our peace workers.’

  ‘And if I refuse?’

  ‘Then we may lose one of the slimmest chances of a permanent peace we have ever managed.’

  Atan didn’t speak at this, but simply nodded to the soldiers to carry on. Tali was unsure whether he had got through to him, but this was the best he could hope for right now.

  *

  ‘We’ll make camp out here for the night’ Cordell told Arion. The rest of the troops bought down their supplies. Arion and Cordell began instructing everyone on how to make the guns. As everyone busies themselves in manually adjusting the guns, Arion asked about the remaining weapons,

  ‘We weren’t able to get all of them.’

  ‘Roughly how many do we have?’

  ‘Half,’ Cordell answered.

  ‘Better than nothing, I suppose.’

  ‘I sabotaged their machines though.’

  ‘Why?’ Arion asked.

  ‘As I was taking the weapons out, I saw a remote connection had been established to your lab. They were trying to extract the information. I severed the connection and your lab shut down.’ Arion nodded his appreciation of this. ‘You knew they were doing this?’ Cordell asked him, somewhat surprised.

  ‘No, but I wouldn’t put it past Atan. Well, originally it was because I suspected Tali, but he turned out to be genuine.’

  ‘You hardly trust anyone.’

  ‘I suppose I have my version of experience as well.’

  ‘Right,’ he continued in silence for a few moments, finishing off the gun. Once all were completed, they made camp. As they were about to go in their beds for the night, Cordell suddenly asked, ‘Are we making the right decision here?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Arion asked.

  ‘I mean, will this lead to peace?’

  Arion sighed, before answering,

  ‘Probably not. But I would rather kill someone than let this formula get in the wrong hands.’

  ‘And yet you trust me?’

  ‘That’s different,’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because you understand the value of a life. That’s why you will help me protect this,’ after speaking, he went into his camp, awaiting the unknown of what he hoped would be, Tribe Country.

  Chapter 11

  The old man stood there, atop a hillside. It was the border edge of a country. A very warm, and slightly breezy wind was making its way across. As he stood there and looked upon the sunrise, he could feel that today would be an interesting day. All the animals were still asleep, the families all in their huts. He was not here to muse over family however. He was here to spot dangers. That was his job; he had now done this for the past 10 years. He had a batTalion of farmers at the ready. That is all they were really.

  As he gazed at the morning sunlight, he mused. His name was Ruto Kene. He was a man of tribe country. This was a region that had prospered without technology, without animals, only on pure instinct. It had abandoned the teachings of its older folk, who had stressed that technology was the way forward. Ruto never disagreed with that, he simply disagreed with the method. He wanted a purer form of technology, one for the betterment of life. If that meant that people forgot their own roots, then it was not worth it.

  That was why his people left Civil country all those years ago. Due to corruption of society, people becoming obsessed with technology and forgetting their own roots. That corruption was why civil country was so oblivious to the outside world and lived in their chambers (he had to laugh at that). They would say that the air outside was polluted and that inside they breathed pure oxygen, which enabled their brains to function more greatly. Although in all honesty, they simply had lost their ability to adapt.

  They didn’t know; but exhausting chemicals out of their wonderland homes was causing further harm to the environment. There were many things that were wrong with tribe country, least of all wars within clans. But if there was danger, they would come together. Over in civil country, he knew they would simply scatter, and yet, tribe country were the animals? It was an injustice that had plagued him since the beginning and slowly but surely, it was becoming impossible to ignore the simple fact. War was coming.

  He could feel it. The tensions were simply too high. Civil country was the best example of organised terrorism, at least in his mind. However, they were always his neighbouring nation and he knew that neighbours deserved respect, even if they didn’t give it back. He wondered vaguely how many people from Civil country knew their own roots, their history. The last he heard they were burning the old books. Of course, he still had the original copies, which no one knew as of yet.

  Just as he was musing, he saw an animal move. He had to call it an animal, for it was an abomination. Another one of civil country’s war weapons gone wrong. Either way, he had to act. He came down from the hilltop to where he drew camp. In there, there was a large trumpet. He blew into the trumpet. As the sound went across the spherical whirl, he knew that everyone was ready for one difficult afternoon.

  *

  ‘The creatures come. The creatures come. Defilers of God’s creation.’

  These were the screams that could be heard in the distance as Sana Kene, the daughter of Ruto awoke. She got out of her straw bed and ran out of the tent upon which she had rested for the night. There was a commotion. Everyone had huddled together. It was the only way they could defend against such vile creatures. Ruto came running back and gathered everyone in a circle.

  Although this had been done many times in her lifetime, it was still astounding how everyone was able to come together so effectively. An entire village of a thousand stood together and firm. They held each other’s hands, united against a common threat. The other villagers close by were not so lucky. Despite all their efforts, they felt that they were good enough to take on these beasts themselves.

  Even though, over the last ten years, faTalities had decreased to seventy percent, these numbers were simply figures for the other tribesmen.

  ‘These numbers do not take away from what will happen. If god is going to take us today, then today will be our day,’ those villagers would say.

  That was all fine, but you had to at least try and protect yourself. Otherwise, what was the point in living? Either way, they would be easy prey. The Wolves came, slowing down as they looked upon the meat in display. The ones in front always had the spears and they always faced in front of anything. All the others would have their own weapons that they had gathered. They were simple household items, like a cleaver, which everyone had.

  The Wolves came forward and stopped, turning their heads from side to side. They were roughly seven feet tall, with large snouts like an alligator and binocular vision. Amongst all this, they could not deciphe
r what to do. There was no clean way in. another came behind it, along with a third. Neither of them could hide since everyone had chosen to live in the open. There were no hedges here, no rocks, only plain ground and sand dunes as far as the eye could see.

  It was the only thing that kept them safe. One of the Wolves made a move for the nearest person and was greeted with a clover. The clover missed due to great reflexes of the creature and at that moment, it clung onto its first victim. As the man screamed in pain at being bitten, ten of the nearest people came charging with clovers and axed the creature down. The man’s arm in the end was severed, but not too badly if treated soon.

  In that exact moment, the other two Wolves came forward in succession. One jumped over the herd into the middle of the crowd, the remaining one went straight for the next crowd of people. Unfortunately, the third Wolf was able to take away its prey, an old man who was simply not quick enough anymore to react. The final on was hacked down in quick succession. The Wolf ran away with its prize, down by two.

  As everyone elated with the chants of victory, they mourned for the one who had been taken. Then again, at least for today, they had enough food to go around. Hunting would still commence at the normal time. This clan at least, did everything together. It was the only way to survive.

  *

  ‘Come here, my daughter. Take your share’

  ‘No that’s fine, father. I’ve had enough’

  ‘Now now. You don’t want to take the food?’

  Sana knew this was more an order than a question and she dare not disobey in front of everyone. In the confines of her tent maybe. There he may listen as well. But outside, she had to show humble behaviour. For there were other tribesmen who were starving. She took the food and asked if it could be distributed to other villagers. Her father agreed as she thought he would, so she set out to give the food to others, along with some volunteers.

  The ladies went out by themselves. They didn’t require any protection out here. They had each other and they were all warriors by nature. They had to be in an environment such as this. A dark terrain full of sand dunes, which used to be a fertile land full of entire civilisations. All that was left now was scattered tribesmen. That is what technology had done to them. It was the epitome of their existence.

  *

  They had been travelling for two days now, awaiting the end of the ocean. Although the ocean had dried out, they found areas where water was available. This was completely unchartered terrain. Arion sat there, sipping the drops as he watched the day sky. It was murky outside. But he didn’t care, the cold on his skin was refreshing. It was as if he had new life in him. Nothing he felt inside his complex could equal this.

  ‘We shouldn’t be too far from the edge of Tribe Country now,’ Cordell told him. It was at this moment that he finally remembered why he was here. Although he didn’t show it, a great grief came upon him. He simply stayed silent as Cordell explained what needs to be done. It took him a while to realise that Cordell was asking him a question. ‘Hello Arion?’

  ‘What?’ He finally said after a full ten seconds.

  ‘Er, are you ok Arion? I mean, we can always wait a few days before we get in.’

  ‘No, I’m fine.’

  ‘You don’t sound it, my lad’

  ‘I know. It’s the best I can do right now.’

  Cordell sighed before he spoke,

  ‘Look Arion. I know you’re hurting right now. The pain is probably too close. I’ve got some idea how you feel. I lost my father when I was young as well. Although he died in his sleep admittedly. But still. I just want you to know, I’m here if you need anything.’

  Again, silence before Arion said in a withered voice, ‘Thank you.’

  ‘Well, let’s try and take your mind off things then. I was saying before, what are you planning on doing once you get there?’

  ‘To offer a truce and my services, if nothing else.’

  ‘And how do you propose to do that? They don’t exactly like us and for good reason.’

  He thought about this for a moment, before answering,

  ‘I don’t know yet,’ he finally answered, honestly.

  ‘Well, an idea is better than nothing. Come on, let’s help the others make camp. It’ll take your mind off things.’

  Cordell implored more than asked as Arion was taken to the rest who tried to keep the atmosphere as cheery as possible. Patrick came up with some particularly good one-liners. If it wasn’t for Arion’s rather somber mood, he may have laughed at them, but here all he could do was kind of half smile, which seemed more like a grimace.

  *

  They hid in the corner, awaiting patiently. Sana led the charge today. She had merely returned from the other villages after giving food, which they took happily. Of course, they didn’t tell them it was Wolf meat, but they didn’t need to know either. Now was time for hunting. The animals found in these lands were beginning to ferment again. Water was scarcely seen, but underground there was plenty.

  In that respect, all crops were sterile, food could be grown in certain regions and where there was food, there would be cattle. Some goats began to come onto the scene. As they ran across, the tribe made their formation. Slowly and quietly they surrounded the goat and in a sudden rush of movement, pounced upon the goat, throwing all their spears at the beast. One would surely hit. Better than nothing.

  *

  ‘You’ve done well today, my dear,’ Ruto exclaimed to his daughter. She knew the goat would last a couple of days and some of the vegetation would certainly take them further.

  ‘It was the best I could do with what I had.’

  ‘I know. They’re not the best of fighters, are they?’

  ‘That’s an understatement father. They’re barely farmers.’

  ‘Nonetheless, it is by the grace of God that we have all this.’

  ‘And our own effort.’

  He chuckled as he said,

  ‘Yes, my dear. And our own effort as well. But remember my daughter, it all comes from that one place first.’

  ‘I will.’

  ‘Now my dear, let’s eat.’

  As they ate in silence for a few moments, someone entered the tent. He apologised immediately for his intrusion and went on to inform Ruto of something,

  ‘What kind of disturbance do you mean? Are the Wolves back again?’

  ‘No, Ruto. We seem to have some people from civil country who have stumbled upon us.’

  ‘Really? Where are they? And how do you know they are of civil country?’

  ‘Firstly, they are on the coast. And secondly, they are equipped with weapons.’

  Ruto did not move immediately, but sat down thinking for a moment, before he asked,

  ‘What kind of weapons, do you know?’

  ‘I’m not sure. It is nothing I have seen before.’

  ‘Hmm. Very well. Sana, what do you think?’

  ‘I think we should watch them first, see if they’re a danger. Then if needed, attack.’

  ‘Hmm. Sound advice, my dear. We will go together. Get our best fighters together, Angma Shera. We may need them.’

  *

  They arrived at the coast, or what was the coast a long time ago. Arion got out of the tank car, as he liked to call it. It was one of the few things they could steal. Mostly due to the fact that they were unable to bring it back inside. The crack across the side of the earth was too unsafe, so it had stayed there the whole time. It made the journey across the terrain a lot easier. They would never have got here in two days otherwise.

  ‘What shall we do with this?’ Arion asked, pointing to the vehicle.

  ‘Leave it here for now and analyse our possibilities.’

  ‘Don’t we need weapons for this?’

  ‘Not yet, Arion. Let’s make ourselves known at least.’

  ‘I know, but if they are hostile…’

  ‘You don’t know much about negotiation, do you?’

  ‘I’m afraid not.’

 
‘Well, put it this way. If you come forward as aggressive, the other will do the same. If you stand back when the other shows aggression, they will falter and stand back like you. It’s all to do with body language.’

  ‘I’ve never been too good at that.’

  ‘You haven’t seen the outside world, that’s why.’

  Knowing this to be true, he left the conversation at that. He felt that they were being watched as he went across the plains into the sand dune region. As they made their way across, a small creature came in the way. It seemed harmless enough, so Arion went closer to it.

  ‘Arion, don’t,’ Cordell urged him.

  ‘Why? It’s just a baby.’

  ‘A Wolf baby. Look at its snout.’

  He took a closer look and saw the alligator-like snout. He was so lost in thought, he didn’t even realise what he was walking into. Cordell told him to wait and signalled the others to grab a few guns.

  ‘Where’s the mother?’ Arion finally asked, as the baby became curious and made its way towards him. It was harmless, at least at the moment. Any bite would not be fatal, but would still hurt and probably be enough to get a whole horde of them over. Which would be game over for him. Just as these thoughts occurred to him, he saw someone in the background get up from within the sand. He knew someone was watching him, but that point was not what he expected. As the woman got up from under the ground in her slender tone, he kept wondering, desperately now,

  Where was the mother?

  Just as this thought occurred, the mother Wolf finally showed herself. Void of the other two, it had no choice but to go head on for the possible attacker. Saving its offspring was the only thing it could hope for. As the Wolf lunged from behind a tree to plain sight, the others behind him did not shoot. Had they been taken out by other Wolves? Or were just waiting for a clear shot? The Wolf came closer to him, eyeing him up. He was shaking on the spot. Completely vulnerable.

  Just then, a spear went through the Wolves body. It jerked violently as it turned around, almost hitting the edge of the spear on Arion’s face. He was still stood in fear, unable to move. The baby Wolf ran across, going for the slender woman who had attacked its mother. She simply lifted her right fist violently, but didn’t strike. That was enough for the baby to run away safe, for now. Just then, other men and women came up from within the perimeter and all threw their spears towards the Wolf.