The Humanarium

by CW Tickner

  Harl stepped forward and Felmar raised the sword to his chest. The point punctured his jerkin, forcing Harl to stillness. He cursed himself for rushing from the house without bringing his bow or even a dagger.

  His attention was drawn by the faint patter of running men coming from behind him. He risked a glance. A large group of guards were running across the stone bridge in the valley far below them.

  ‘Looks like the town is mine now,’ Felmar said as Harl turned back to face him. ‘That will be more of my lads coming to lend a hand.’

  Felmar smiled at the men surrounding him. Lust was reflected in their eyes.

  ‘Take the girl,’ he said. ‘And you,’ – He looked at Harl – ‘kneel.’

  Harl dropped to the ground and his knees sunk into the damp grass.

  The men stepped forward as Felmar held Harl in place, keeping pressure on the sword tip.

  Rage seethed through Harl and he tensed, ready to rush Felmar. He knew he’d die soon after, but it was better than being made impotent by the sword. The first of the men grabbed Sonora’s hands and held them down over her head as she tried to shake him off. A second knelt in front of her and fumbled to unbutton his britches, a smile on his lips.

  Harl took a deep breath, ready to spring.

  ‘You don’t want to do that,’ a voice said from the shadows at the edge of the tree line, making them all turn.

  Gorman stepped into view. He had Harl’s bow held in one hand while the other gripped four arrows, one between each finger. His stick lay by his feet and the sword was strapped to his back.

  ‘All this trouble for the potion?’ he said. ‘It won’t work, Felmar. It isn’t a cure for the blacking disease.’

  ‘You!’ Felmar sneered. He kicked Harl aside and strode forward towards Gorman, his sword held up ready to strike the blind man down.

  Gorman didn’t hesitate, flicking the hand with the arrows up to the bow in one swift movement. An arrow bolted from the string with a twang, striking Felmar through the face and forcing his head to snap backwards as he toppled over.

  The man pinning Sonora sprang up towards Gorman at the same time as the one kneeling between her legs. They rushed towards the old man, but Gorman was too fast. He cocked his head to one side and, with barely a twitch, loosed two arrows in rapid succession. Both men were struck simultaneously, arrows jutting from their chests. The next arrow was already resting on the bow and pointed at the last man before his friends had hit the floor. He stood frozen with fear as his comrades moaned in pain beside him.

  ‘I didn’t want no trouble mister, honest,’ the man said looking around at his dying companions.

  ‘I don’t believe a word of your lies,’ Gorman said, his voice firm but calm. ‘Now run and join your companions on the bridge before I cut your manhood off. If you are a man at all.’

  The man took flight into the woods, racing towards the path that wound down into the valley. When he was out of bow range he began calling out to his comrades for help.

  Sweat coated Harl’s palms. He cursed himself for being a fool. The man would return with the guards and the three of them would be picked off as murderers.

  They had failed already.

  Chapter 21

  Fascinating. Only once I have separated them can I see how much they vary as a species. I do not want to have them interbreed. I think twenty or so containers will suffice.

  ‘Grandpa,’ Sonora said, running towards Gorman and flinging her arms around him. Tears streaked down her face. ‘I’m so glad you came.’

  ‘Just in the nick of time I would say, my dear,’ he said as he took her arm and started to walk away from the men. ‘Will you bring my stick. Harl? Quick now, we must hurry. They’re almost on us. We don’t have much time left to cut through the barrier.’

  ‘Is it true, Grandpa?’ Sonora asked.

  Gorman sighed as she gripped his arm and forced him to stop.

  He cocked his head to listen.

  ‘We’ve only a little time, Sonora,’ he said, ‘but yes, my dear, it is true. I’m sorry for not telling either of you. It shames me in more ways than one.’ He tugged at her gently to get her moving.

  Harl was speechless as he followed them. Had he really just witnessed Gorman kill those men? The old man had been so fast, almost inhuman. He remembered the confrontation on the bridge with Felmar which had left him feeling the same way.

  After walking in silence for a short time along the moss-covered forest floor, Gorman spoke.

  ‘When I was a boy I lived a life beyond these barriers, a life far from the realm of the gods that you can see through the vision.’ He pointed through the forest towards the Sight and the vast space beyond it. ‘I remember little of that life, for fear blocked much of my memory from those times. Children can adapt quickly where an adult would let their mind linger on the past. When I came here it was in the same way as you Harl, except I did not know of barriers or cages.’

  He stopped as they brushed against a tree and ran one of his hands across the bark before moving on.

  ‘My family lived in Delta, an underground city full of thousands of people, until death came for us and we were forced to leave. Winged creatures we called hivers attacked the city, killing hundreds. Of the people who fled Delta only a few survived. I left with my parents in a small convoy, but we were attacked en route by hivers. We had taken shelter in a small cave, when the hivers flew in and killed everyone I was with. My father, mother, my two sisters, I watched them all torn to shreds by the creatures. But by a horrible miracle I survived by hiding under the bodies of my family until the hivers had left.

  ‘Eventually I stumbled out into the wild, not knowing where I was going. I walked for many turns, completely lost and utterly alone. I had my eyesight then, but my footsteps through that world might as well have belonged to a blind man. I had no idea what path to take nor any clue to the way back home. In the end exhaustion took me and I collapsed. I don’t know how much time had passed, but, when I awoke, one of the gods was towering over me.

  ‘It scooped me up in its hand and I must have fainted from fear, as when I woke, I was lying on a bed and surrounded by councilmen arguing over my fate. I know now that your grandmother had brought me to the council tower in secrecy and when I started struggling for breath, it was she who managed to find a cure.’

  ‘The same breathing problem as I had when I was in the god’s realm?’ Harl asked as Gorman stopped at another tree.

  This time, as Gorman ran a wrinkled hand across it, Harl spotted a series of small carvings in the bark. They were old and healed over, but they must have been deep enough for Gorman to understand their meaning.

  ‘The same,’ Gorman said, changing direction, ‘except reversed, if you will.’ He gestured around them. ‘Your lungs are used to air within this land, but mine were accustomed to the air in the realm of the gods. I was incredibly lucky to have her around to find a potion to correct my breathing. She must have mixed and poured dozens down me before one finally worked. She made me a large amount of the mixture and eventually taught me what ingredients to use to make my own before she passed.’

  ‘And the things in the chest?’ Sonora asked.

  ‘I had them on me when the god picked me up. Your grandmother hid them in the forest before taking me to the council and mixing the potion.’

  As they walked Harl noticed that not a single tree branch was below head height. All had been pruned over countless cycles. Had Gorman been slowly training the forest environment to his needs? Even where rocks lay there were always smaller ones scattered nearby as if to warn Gorman’s feet before the larger hazards.

  ‘Over time,’ Gorman continued, ‘my dependence on the liquid lessened. Now I only need a small amount and I think I could manage without it if I tried.’ He rummaged a hand inside his jerkin and retrieved the small flask that Harl had seen him drink from.

  ‘That is one of the reasons I took you in after your mother was lifted,’ he said to Sonora. ‘Your grandmoth
er couldn’t handle you all by herself and I owed her much. As for not telling you about all this, there are a few reasons. One is that I wanted to forget. I knew that I would never leave this place and to dwell on a better life would be my undoing. All of the councilmen who knew of my origin have died, except for the one Felmar spoke to. I guess they didn’t know how to handle the situation without an uprising or change of religious ideals, so they kept silent. I also know...’ He paused as if struggling to get the words out. ‘I know that I am also the reason for the blacking illness.’

  Sonora halted.

  ‘Grandpa,’ Sonora said, shaking her head. ‘Why would you say such a thing?’

  ‘Because it is true,’ he said. ‘I’ve seen the disease before, in Delta. Although it was not such a problem there. Our medical knowledge meant that it was easily cured.’

  ‘That does not mean-’ Sonora said, but Gorman cut her off.

  ‘It must have lain dormant inside me. I’d been made immune as a child. All Deltan’s were given injections to stop it. Although I don’t know why it has taken such a long time to spread to the people here. There is no other way it could have come to be here and not exist in Harl’s land.’

  Shouts, muffled by the forest, drifted towards them from the far off cottage.

  ‘It should be in sight,’ Gorman said.

  Harl looked around at the forest and spotted a pile of equipment tucked into one end of a fallen hollow tree. Sonora steered the old man towards it and grabbed a small backpack and shoulder pouch. She strapped them in place and then tied a belt around her waist. A long dagger hung in a sheath on the belt.

  Gorman held the sword out to Harl and he took it with reverence, sure he could feel the power inside. He threw a bag over his own shoulder and looked at the old man. Gorman gave off such an air of protection that he wished the old man was coming with them.

  ‘Come on,’ Gorman said as if sensing the gaze. He cocked his head to listen. Harl strained his own ears but could hear nothing other than the sounds of the forest.

  ‘There’s no more time,’ Gorman said, striding off through the trees. ‘We must hurry.’

  When they reached the corner of the world, the black barrier towered to their left and the Sight lay in front of them.

  ‘Use the sword,’ Gorman said. ‘Let’s test the theory.’

  Harl pressed the button on the hilt and the weapon hummed. He placed the sword tip against the glass and leant forward, watching in amazement as it melted into the impenetrable material. He placed more weight against the blade and it slid deeper, melting through the glass until the pressure lessened and the hilt thumped against the wall. He was through.

  ‘It works,’ Sonora said, moving beside him to view the blade poking through to the other side.

  Harl forced the blade around, slowly cutting a circle one stride in diameter until he finished at the corner where the ground met both barriers.

  ‘And now for the tricky bit,’ Harl said, taking one hand off the hilt to wipe the sweaty palm on his jerkin.

  ‘If this cut section falls out,’ Gorman said, ‘it will be like a bell ringing the alarm for all to hear. You’ll have to switch the blade off and drag it back inwards.’

  Harl took a firmer grip on the sword. He cut a line into the centre of the block and depressed the button to switch the blade off.

  ‘Has it worked?’ Gorman asked.

  Harl pulled the hilt and felt heavy resistance.

  ‘Yes. It’s stuck.’

  ‘Good,’ Gorman said. ‘We’ll all pull it inwards, but stand back after so it doesn’t roll on top of you.’

  Harl tugged, his feet tearing grass and slipping in the mud as Sonora joined him. The circle of glass moved inwards ever so slightly and when Gorman heard them heaving, he put a foot on the wall and yanked on the remainder of the hilt until the block slid backwards. It hit the ground with a wet thud as Harl and Sonora fell on the ground panting for breath. Gorman stood to one side smiling.

  Instantly, Harl could smell the difference in the air coming from outside. It was like a sour, tainted dust. He wanted to cough.

  ‘Put the mouth pieces in,’ Gorman said, slipping one behind his front teeth.

  Harl pulled two out from his satchel on the ground and passed one to Sonora. The sensation was strange, but not uncomfortable, as he practised breathing with it in. The sour taste and tickling cough disappeared.

  ‘Now remember,’ Gorman said, ‘when you get to the ground, stick close to the worlds to avoid being seen. Then you have two choices: straight ahead through the archway or follow the worlds to your right. If you make it outside, then be prepared because it is full of dangerous animals. Remember to keep an eye above you at all times; not all creatures live on the ground.’

  ‘Glad you mentioned it eventually,’ Harl said trying to make light of the situation, but Gorman just frowned.

  ‘You have no choice, my lad,’ he said. ‘Keep your eyes open and weapons ready.’

  Harl picked up his bow and arrows and slung them over one shoulder before snatching up the large satchel and looping it over the other.

  Gorman stepped close to him so that they were face to face while Sonora double-checked her own bag.

  ‘I cannot thank you enough for all you have done for me,’ Harl said before Gorman could speak. ‘You have taken my fears of the world and turned them into hope.’ He held out his hand, then realising what he had done, he touched the old man’s shoulder.

  Gorman placed his own hand on Harl’s.

  ‘Look after her,’ he said. ‘She is most precious to me.’

  ‘You have my word,’ Harl reassured him.

  They stepped back from each other and Gorman turned to where Sonora stood, tears streaming from her sapphire eyes.

  ‘Will you not come with us, Grandpa?’ she asked, attempting to hide her tears from the blind man.

  ‘My time is almost over, my child, and I cannot make the journey you have ahead of you,’ Gorman said.

  She sobbed harder as she embraced him.

  ‘I love you so much,’ she said, struggling to speak through her tears. ‘I’ll never forget all you have done for me and all you have taught me.’

  ‘And I you, my child,’ he said.

  Harl looked away as a tear streaked down the old man’s face. It ran along the wrinkle lines until it dropped down Sonora’s back.

  Voices cried in the distance, presumably the other men had seen Felmar’s body and were hunting the killers. The cries grew louder as the men closed in.

  ‘Now you must go,’ Gorman said, moving out of Sonora’s arms and straightening. ‘Good luck to both of you. Be cautious and be swift.’

  ‘Will you be alright?’ Harl asked.

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ Gorman said. ‘I will seal the opening when you’ve left, but now I must go and teach those fools a thing or two about manners.’ A grin stretched his lips.

  They stared at his back as he drew his knife and strolled off towards the sounds of pursuit, his stick in front. The last they heard was a faint hum emitting from the knife as he stalked away through the trees.

  Sonora moved to the barrier and pressed herself against it.

  ‘The god is pacing around as usual,’ she said as Harl leant out the hole, ‘not even looking this way. I never realised how out of proportion their legs are.’

  Was she was trying to make herself forget Gorman’s absence? Harl gripped the side and began to swing out.

  ‘Wait,’ Sonora hissed and Harl froze, hanging half out of the hole.

  The god turned in their direction and walked straight past on the other side of the giant archway.

  ‘It’s safe,’ she said and then tied a rope around his midriff to secure them together.

  Holding the sword, he stuck his right arm out of the hole while gripping the edge with his left hand. He thrust the blade into the black barrier and felt it sink deep into the material. It went in easier than he’d imagined. Pressing the button on the hilt to fix the sword in pl
ace, he swung out and felt a nauseous sense of vertigo as the ground dropped away beneath them. He clung to the hilt as he dangled there clenching his eyes tight shut.

  As he opened his eyes, Sonora slipped behind him and clasped her arms around his neck.

  Harl squinted and peered down. He could just about see the grey floor thousands of strides below, but the glare from the wall of worlds spreading out to either side of them made it almost impossible. Light from the tanks poured out into the huge space, illuminating the archway opposite, but almost blinding in its intensity when you tried to look down. It was surprising how much lighter it seemed out here than when he’d been looking from inside the tank. The Sight had always seemed dark and vague with only the hint of features in the distance, like shadows haunting his nightmares. But it was different outside. The light threw everything into focus.

  Through the archway he could see the giant table where he’d climbed out from the pile of bodies. The memory clawed at him and he turned back to the wall and faced the black line that separated the worlds. He looked right and thought he was dreaming. His bench sat there in the small grove of trees in his old world. He could see the carvings of his parents in the wood and the small flowers he’d planted around it. It sent a jolt of longing through him that was almost painful.

  He drew a sharp breath. It was like looking into the world as a god. This was the exact spot where he had first seen Sonora’s reflection. If only Troy had been standing there. He could have called out to him. He could have let Troy know that he was still alive. He imagined the shock on Troy’s face at seeing him hanging from a sword hilt on the outside of the tank, his feet pressed against the wall and the blonde-haired beauty wrapped around him. He almost laughed, but suddenly flashes of his parents came to his mind. Had they looked back on the tank when they had been lifted? Had they seen him crying out to them as they were torn away?

  It was all the god’s fault, these prisons, the liftings, all of it just torture meted out by its callous hand. He wouldn’t let the god take him. He would escape and live free. He would make his parents proud.