by James Axler
“‘We’?” Krysty asked, looking from Mildred to Jak. who shrugged helplessly, knowing that Ryan wouldn’t like the situation any more than he did himself.
“Yeah, it’s not that complex, but it does need explaining,” Mildred offered.
And so, after they had eaten, the companions settled down to hear what Mildred and Sineta had to say. When they had outlined what had occurred and the conditions of their release, Ryan turned to Jak.
“What do you think of this?” the one-eyed man asked the albino.
Jak shrugged. “Good people here—some little crazy, but most fair. Good to me, mebbe not you. Mildred in for trouble, I think. But probably no real danger.”
“And do you reckon Markos’ll play this one down the line?” Ryan added.
“Good man,” Jak affirmed. “Listen albino brother too much. Weird shit ideas, there. Not about people at all, but some kind of self thing.”
Sineta interrupted. “Jak’s right. Markos listens too much to his brother, and for all his talk I have often felt that Chan uses ideas as a shield and mask for his real self. I would not trust him, but I would trust Markos.”
Ryan chewed his lip, then fixed his eye on Sineta. “Okay. Look, I don’t want you to think that we’re not grateful for what you’ve done for Mildred or for us, but we don’t belong here. I figure the best thing is we get the hell out as soon as possible.”
There was a general murmur of agreement from all except Mildred. She looked Ryan in the eye and spoke low and clear.
“No, Ryan. If you want to go, you go alone. I can’t. I made a promise.”
“But, Millie! We can’t leave without you!” J.B. exclaimed.
“Yes, you can, John, and you’ll have to if you want to go right now.”
“You know we can’t do that. You’ll be ripped to pieces if we disappear and leave you. It’ll confirm everything that worries Markos and the others like him,” Krysty said softly.
“I can’t help that. I’ve given my word, and I want to stay,” Mildred asserted.
“But why?” Dean asked, although he thought he already knew. He needed to hear this for his own reasons.
“Because I’ve never been in any place where I felt I belonged, and now perhaps I do,” Mildred began.
They sat and listened while she explained to them about her background and the lack of identity she had sometimes felt since awakening in the postdark world. All the thoughts that had whirled around her head over the past few days now came tumbling out, taking better shape for her as they were spoken. She told of things that they had spoken of when they were first imprisoned: of the prejudices they had seen in the oil wells and the division of people based on skin and race they had seen in other places during their travels.
All of it made sense to them, but there was one vital question that remained unspoken and unanswered. It was a question that J.B. put to her when she fell silent.
“So who’s more important, Millie—us or them?”
It was a question that Mildred couldn’t immediately answer.
The atmosphere was strained for the rest of the evening and Mildred was glad when a sec man arrived to show the companions to the quarters they would share in the ville. Jak was told he would be relocated with his compatriots.
As they started to leave, J.B. noticed that Mildred made no attempt to move. “You coming with us?” he asked her.
Mildred avoided his gaze for a second, then decided that she couldn’t opt out in this way. She met the Armorer’s eye with a level gaze.
“I’m staying here, John. That’s part of the deal.”
“Guess that mebbe answers my question,” he said, looking away as he joined the others.
“And maybe it’s just not that simple,” Mildred murmured as they left.
DAWN BROKE with a clear sky and a light breeze that was chill but refreshing. Certainly refreshing enough for Ryan and Krysty to be out before many of the ville’s inhabitants were awake. However, those who were up greeted the appearance of the couple as they walked through the streets with a mixture of curiosity and outright hostility.
“Remind me again why we’re doing this?” Krysty whispered to Ryan as they passed a sec man who made a point of sliding the catch on his blaster, either as a totem or a reminder not to step out of line.
“Because we need to take a look around ourselves before we get assigned our work tasks,” Ryan replied. “When Mildred and Sineta were talking about the ville and where it’s situated on the island, they mentioned an inlet.”
“Yeah and they also made a point of saying how it would be real hard to get down there unobserved,” Krysty pointed out.
“True enough, but I’d just as soon check it out for myself. If Mildred reckons it’s a no go, then normally I’d trust her—”
“Normally?” Krysty queried.
“Ninety-nine percent,” Ryan answered. “Trouble is, this is that one percent. This ain’t easy for her, but I sure as shit do not want to be trapped here at the mercy of a people that may turn against us.”
“That shouldn’t happen,” Krysty said.
“Yeah, operative word being shouldn’t,” Ryan replied. “But this isn’t a normal situation for Mildred, or for us. We’ve already talked about this, and last night did nothing to change my view on it. I don’t blame Mildred—figure I’d feel the same if I was her. But I’m not.”
By this time they had left the ville and were walking down a path, beaten smooth by constant use over the years. A path that led to a sandy strip of beach that marked the small bay formed by the inlet.
“Yeah, this would be fireblasted difficult to run an escape from right now, especially as we don’t have any blasters,” Ryan speculated as he turned and looked back up the hillside toward the ville. “Even more so as we’ve been followed.”
“I thought as much,” Krysty mused, turning to follow his gaze. Her hair coiled around her in warning, as she squinted up into the trees to see a sec man lurking among the undergrowth. His stance was nonaggressive, but he had obviously been deputed to keep watch on them. “Wait, there’s someone coming,” she added.
They could hear Mildred before they saw her. She appeared at a bend in the path, coming toward them. Even at a distance, they could tell from her body language that she felt uncomfortable.
“Ryan, Krysty, what are you doing?” she asked as she approached across the sand.
“Stupe question, Mildred. You know what we’re doing,” Ryan replied.
“I had hoped that asking you not to escape but to help me, and help Sineta, would be enough,” Mildred stated.
The one-eyed man shook his head sadly. “Come on, what did you really expect? Most of the people here are going to be suspicious, some hostile, and a few might just decide to deal with us. We’ve got no blasters and only the word of your new ally that we’d be okay. If you were me, what would you do?” He waited, but Mildred didn’t answer. Ryan continued. “You were right. If this is the only way to insure getting safely out to sea, then it’ll be too difficult for us to crack without a major firefight. And I don’t want it to come to that any more than you do. But I’ve got to check it out, have a backup plan if it all fucks up. After all, while you’re helping Sineta we’re going to be weaponless—”
“Only our blasters,” Mildred countered. “You, John and Jak still have knives.”
“Good you said ‘our’ blasters,” Ryan noted, “but the situation is still basically the same. We’re still going to be workers, at the mercy of others.’
“Join the club, Ryan—that’s what my ancestors were,” Mildred said heatedly.
“Fair point.” The one-eyed man shrugged. “I’m just worried that someone will get overexcited and try to get some retroactive vengeance using us as the pawns.”
Mildred sighed. “Ryan, there’s no real way of winning here, is there? Look, I don’t figure that’s going to happen. You know why I want to help Sineta. I haven’t felt like this since I was a kid. And you know I don’t want to let
you guys down. Yeah, I’m torn here, but I need your help to help me. Prove to the idiots here that not all whitelanders are against them. As for those that would try to chill you to prove their point…Shit, there’s fools like that trying to chill us every day.”
“That’s fair,” Krysty murmured. “We should help Mildred. That way we all get to the mainland and all get what we want.”
The one-eyed man pondered that. Finally he said, “Yeah, okay. I can’t pretend to understand how you feel, but I know you realize why I feel like I do. But I warn you—if the shit hits, then we’ll have to go in hard and for our lives.”
“Wouldn’t expect it any other way, Ryan,” Mildred told him.
Krysty looked up at the waiting sec man, who had stepped onto the path at Mildred’s entrance. She indicated his presence to both Mildred and Ryan before she spoke.
“Come on, let’s get back to the ville to see what we’re supposed to be doing, before Markos and that brother of his start getting reports that’ll give them ideas.”
Chapter Seven
“Father, now that we have the opportunity, we must act,” Sineta pleaded, holding the old man’s hand while his healer administered the injection of morphine, supervised by Mildred.
“You push me when I cannot think straight. My mind is traveling ever more like a maze, like the path of a half-crazy snake. Perhaps that is what I now am—” Barras halted as another spasm of pain racked his body, biting hard to try to prevent crying out in agony.
“Just hang in there,” Mildred said softly. “It’ll take a few moments to start working.”
She indicated to Sineta to follow her to the far side of the room. She didn’t want the baron to hear what she had to say, although, looking at the hard lump protruding from his stomach, the only sign of anything other than skin and bone on his wasted frame, she knew that in his heart he already knew what she had to say.
“Mildred, I know he is not long for this world and will soon join our ancestors, but that is why I must press him,” Sineta said quickly, preempting Mildred.
“Sineta, I can’t remember the last time I saw cancer like that. The tumor inside him must be huge, and it looks like it has spread over his whole body. He must be in immense pain. Any shots I can give him are not going to be strong enough. Pretty soon, he’ll be too resistant to the dope to get any relief. How can he make any decisions like that?”
“But he must. He is the baron, and we cannot move without his word.”
Mildred closed her eyes and sighed. “Okay, but don’t be hard on him. It must be all he can do to keep lucid right now.”
They returned to the baron’s bedside. From the expression on his face and the misting in his eyes, the morphine had kicked in enough to give him temporary relief.
“Father—” Sineta began, but was cut short.
“I know. I have a brief time of calm in which to gather my thoughts. Find Markos quickly and bring him here.”
Sineta rushed from the room, leaving Mildred and the healer alone. The baron dismissed the healer with a wave, then extended his arm, offering Mildred his hand. She took it and felt how weak his grip had become.
“Listen to me, Mildred Wyeth. I have two things that I must do before the long night draws in on me. I must authorize the evacuation of our now-barren home, and I must decide between Elias and Markos for a husband.” He smiled weakly, catching a look in Mildred’s eye. “You think I should let my daughter rule alone, as she wishes? Ah, if only it were that simple. I would trust her to be a good leader, but the people of this island believe that a baron should be male.”
“If you trust her that much, why not make the precedent?” Mildred asked gently, interrupting him.
Barras shook his head gently. “Another time, perhaps. But this is a crucial point in our history. We have to take to the whitelands to survive, and there would be too much fragility in a change of convention at such a time. Surely you can see that?”
“I can’t say I agree totally, but I do see where you’re coming from,” Mildred admitted.
“Markos is a good man, but distrusts the pale ones because of his brother’s teachings. Elias is more open, but does not have the people’s respect. This delicate balance I must use for my decision. And at a time when I cannot think. There is something else that colors my mind and makes the choosing hard. A secret that is passed down the baronial line and must rest with Sineta before I go into the darkness. Something that is made the more important by the fact of our leaving the island.”
“Then maybe you should tell her now, while you still have the lucidity,” Mildred counseled.
Barras clicked his teeth and shook his head. “Again, not that simple. It could be awkward for this to be known when we—they—are preparing to leave. I will stay here, for I will be gone. But the secret cannot. I must trust you with this, Mildred Wyeth, so that you may carry it with you and tell Sineta at the right moment.”
“And what will be the right moment?”
“You will know. You have enough wisdom for that.” The old man looked away from Mildred, toward the doorway, as he heard the approach of Sineta and Markos. He said hurriedly, “It would be impolitic to tell you now—another time, when you administer my painkiller. Now I must prepare for my final great decree.”
The door to the adobe hut opened and Sineta entered with Markos respectfully at her heel. The sec man shot Mildred a glance that was curious. Was it because he wondered what had been said while she was alone with the baron or was it because he still couldn’t figure her out?
The baron had sat himself upright on the pillows and looked from his daughter to the sec boss. He sucked in a breath that was constrained and painful, then began.
“I had my daughter bring you here because I have a decree. You will not like it, but it is a necessity. From today, we ready the islanders to leave our home and transport all our wealth, belongings and our spirits to the whitelands.”
Markos’s eyes widened and his mouth fell agape. It took him a moment to regain his composure before saying, “Is this wise?”
“You dare to question me?” Barras snapped. For the briefest of moments Mildred could see the strength of the man shine through, an insight into how he had to have been before the cancer ripped through him.
“No, I would not presume to contradict the word of a baron. I would, however, wish to understand why such a decision—one that will meet with much opposition within the community and inspire resentment that will be divisive in some quarters—has been made.”
Barras gave a wry grin. “Very politic. In truth, I would not wish to leave this island unless it was necessary. And in truth, you know that it is. Take your head from the sand and look around you, Markos. This island can no longer support us. Successive generations have drained it dry, and now we have to find a new home. It will not be easy to wrench ourselves away from here, but it must be done. I shall not see it, but it is important we set matters in train right now, lest it be too late.”
“You mean that the word would be better received from you than from me,” Sineta said bitterly.
“That is not a stain on you, but rather an acknowledgment of fact. We shall talk of this another time, when we are alone. For now, all that remains to be said is that it is up to you and Markos to inform the people of my decision and to implement the necessary measures for the people to move. Now leave me. I feel tired, and have to rest….”
Barras lay back on the pillows and closed his eyes.
“The morphine’s really taken effect now,” Mildred whispered. “It’ll put him out for a few hours.”
“Then we should leave,” Markos said in a clipped, strained voice. “I have matters to attend, but I shall be at your home in two hours, if that is acceptable, to discuss arrangements.”
Sineta acknowledged the sec boss. “In two hours, then.” When he had left, she said to Mildred, “Although it was the decisive action I wanted, I feel this is going to be fraught with problems.”
Mildred looked back
at Barras, thinking of the secret he would be imparting to her trust. “Oh, yeah,” she said slowly, “that’s for sure.”
THE MEETING at Sineta’s dwelling was short and far from sweet. Markos made it known that the move would bring nothing but trouble and that he, personally, was far from happy about living on the whitelands. However, he had a job to do and he would discharge his duty to the best of his ability. Having made his position clear, Mildred noticed that he seemed to relax and shift into a different gear, acting with a clearness of head and clarity of purpose that she wouldn’t have thought possible. Plans for the evacuation were drawn with speed, the sec boss pointing out areas of difficulty and overcoming them with ease. It was hard to believe that this was the same man who had started the meeting by voicing such objections.
He left in the still watches of the night, the plans complete. It was agreed that they would hold an island meeting the next morning to make matters clear and to begin the process. As he left, the sec boss ordered the night watches to prevent early rising hunters, miners, farmers and fishermen from beginning their tasks. Everyone had to be present in the main square when the meeting began.
For Sineta and Mildred, it meant a night of little sleep. The reaction of the people was an unknown that worried the baron’s daughter.
As for Mildred, she wondered how her companions would feel, hearing this from someone else while she stood beside the baron’s daughter. She knew that if it were her, she would feel in some way betrayed, and made wary. Yet she couldn’t go to tell them now, for there could be no risk of the news leaking before the next morning.
It was an untenable position.
“I WONDER WHAT THE HELL this is about,” Ryan said as the companions gathered in the main square with the rest of the Pilatans.
“Whatever it is, Millie’s got a hand in it,” J.B. mused, seeing her enter the square with Markos and Sineta. “Which kind of makes me wonder why she didn’t tell us about it.”
Doc laid a hand on the Armorer’s shoulder. “I fear that is something on which you dwell too deeply, John Barrymore. Dear Dr. Wyeth is walking a very fine line at the moment, and we have to allow for this.”
