The Boys of Fire and Ash

by Meaghan McIsaac

  But this sound was different—quick and sharp.

  Silence.

  I got to my feet and headed to the door of the A-Frame.

  Outside, everything was still. I looked to the Fire Mountains. The peaks smoldered, spewing smoke and ash just as they always did. No fire, no lava—just the soft rumble they always made.

  The familiar call of the deformed creatures from yesterday rang out. They still hadn’t left. I could see them at the top of the East Wall, still pacing, watching, waiting. But the noise hadn’t come from them.

  All the Brothers were frozen in groups—wrestling matches had stopped mid-tackle, races mid-sprint—everyone was staring in the same direction. My eyes followed theirs to Blaze; he was standing beside Digger and holding what looked like a piece of junk from the Landfill.

  “Sorry!” Blaze laughed. “It’s all right, boys! Go about your business.”

  There was a quiet murmuring as the Brothers tried to continue with the “celebration.”

  “Urgle?” Cubby was behind me. “What was that?”

  I saw Av in the crowd just in front of Blaze. His Little Brother, Goobs, was bouncing around beside him.

  “Av!” I called, running out to meet him. “What happened?”

  “Ah, uh—I don’t really…” He was struggling to keep from looking at me, refusing to meet my eyes, rubbing his chin on his shoulder like he had an itch he was too lazy to use his hand on. I felt my cheeks getting hot. He was embarrassed by me. “Hi, Cub,” he said, smiling. Cubby appeared beside me, panting and wheezing from his struggle to keep up.

  “Hey, Cubby!” said Goobs, throwing his arms around him in a hug. Goobs had always been overly affectionate, but he was a fast runner and a good friend to my Little Brother. “Did you see what Blaze did?”

  “What did he do?” I asked.

  “He had this thing!” said Goobs, explaining with dramatic gestures. “And he showed it to Digger. And Digger, Digger was all, ‘How does it work?’ And, and Blaze, he goes, ‘Oh here, I’ll show you.’ So then, he took it, the thing, that thing he has in his hand, and pointed it towards the East Wall, at those ugly creature things. Then there was this loud BAM! KABLOW! And everyone turned around and was all, ‘Whooooaaa! What was that?’ And Blaze called it a pissle.”

  “Pistol,” corrected Av.

  “Pistol,” Cubby giggled, trying out the word.

  I looked to the East Wall and was surprised to realize there were only two creatures pacing now, not three. “Pistol,” I repeated.

  “Come on, Cubby, they’re starting up another round of Screamers!” Goobs wrapped his arm around Cubby’s shoulders, ready to run off. Cubby looked to me, then Av, and I could see he didn’t want to leave me alone.

  I shrugged. “You love Screamers.”

  That was enough for Goobs, who dragged Cubby away by the arm, leaving me alone with Av.

  Av looked at me a second, then cleared his throat awkwardly.

  “What?” I said.

  “Huh? Nothing.” He shook his head and then walked away from me.

  “Hey! Av!” I followed him. “You’re not talking to me now?”

  “Urgle!” I heard someone bark. All of a sudden a fist slammed into my left cheek and I went down, pain ringing through my head. Fiver was standing over me. “That’s for being a waste of space.”

  With my nose in the dirt, I could still see Av. He was watching me with that same face Cubby had, his eyes pleading with me to do something.

  Fiver kicked me in the side. “Quit looking at Av. He’s not helping this time.”

  Another kick pelted my side, the wind completely knocked out of me. “That’s for Crow.”

  Beyond Av, I saw Cubby and Goobs, stopped mid-game, watching the beating with terror on their faces.

  “Fiver!” Digger’s voice yelled from somewhere.

  Another kick. I curled up, trying to block the blows.

  Cubby let out a scream.

  “This is for your scroungee, you coward,” he said, pummeling me with his heavy fists. I didn’t fight back. I’d earned this.

  The pounding stopped as Fiver was thrown to the ground beside me.

  “Knock it off, big guy,” said a deep, raspy voice.

  I looked up to see the broad form of Blaze, his jaw locked, brow furrowed. “Come on, get up.”

  I refused his outstretched hand, opting instead to push myself up and stand on my own. Cubby rushed to my side, doing his best to help me to my feet. I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and stretched my aching shoulders.

  “All right there, kid?” Blaze asked.

  I ignored him, shrugged Cubby off me, and looked around at the crowd of onlookers.

  “Beat it!” shouted Blaze. The little ones jumped and ran, some started to cry, as the older Brothers calmly scattered to find a game or wrestling match to take part in.

  I spun to face him. He had a demented grin on his face, deep red scabs crisscrossing his fleshy lips, his thin nose. This guy and his nightmare was the reason Fiver hit me in the first place, and his sudden attempt at being helpful felt like nothing but a slap in the face. “You know what?” I told him. “I don’t need your help, all right?”

  He shrugged. “All right.”

  “Sorry, Blaze,” said Digger, pushing Fiver down as he tried to get up. “These two are always causing problems. You sure know how to ruin a good day, Urgle.”

  “Go jump in a Hotpot, you Mother seeker!” I yelled.

  “Whoa! Whoa!” laughed Blaze. “Let’s just keep the tempers in check here. Urgle, I apologize for interfering with your business,” he said, bowing with a smirk. Then he turned to leave.

  “You make a formal apology like that to Crow?” I said.

  Blaze stopped and turned back to me, unfazed. He brushed his hair out of his eyes. “I did, actually. Look, Urgle…” He looked to Fiver, still on the ground.

  “Fiver,” offered Digger.

  “Fiver,” said Blaze, nodding. “And, uh…” He pointed to Av, who was looking the most uncomfortable I’d ever seen him. “Av, right? Look, I know I gave you guys a scare last night. I didn’t know what I was doing, and I’m sorry for that.”

  Fiver and Av nodded, while I glared at him, the metallic taste of my own blood irritating my tongue.

  “What’s that?” Cubby was pointing at the man’s belt, the green stone trinket dangling from it.

  Blaze laughed. “That? Nothing. Just my old flint box.”

  He scratched his neck and turned back to the races beginning behind him, but Cubby had his arm still outstretched, his eyes fixated on the box the same way they fixed on my daggers.

  “I like it,” he said. “Can I touch it?”

  Blaze whipped round, his confident smirk gone, replaced by something else. Surprise, maybe. As quickly as I noticed it, the look was gone and the smirk was back.

  “Why not,” he said, untying it and gently placing it in Cubby’s hand.

  Cubby turned it over in his palm, his fingers tracing every edge as though he’d never felt anything so smooth. You’d think he’d been given a flint box that had belonged to Rawley himself, the way he gawked.

  “How does it open?” he breathed.

  The surprise was back on Blaze’s face, and this time it stayed there, mixing with a furrowed brow that said Blaze had lost his patience.

  “It’s broken,” he said quickly. “Here, I’ll take it back.”

  He snatched the box from Cubby and began to fasten it onto his belt again, a tremor suddenly overtaking his fingers. He fumbled clumsily, dropping the green box into the ash. He bent down to retrieve it with a frantic flourish and composed himself long enough to secure it at his waist.

  A cry rang out and I looked to the waiting creatures.

  Old flint box, my foot.

  “What do you plan to do about your friends?” I spat, pointing to the East Wall.

  “Just stop it, Urgle,” Digger warned.

  “Ah, the Tunrar,” said Blaze as the creatures releas
ed another hideous cry. He fiddled with the pistol thing at his hip and gave his neck a scratch. “Didn’t realize how low I was on ammo. Must’ve wasted all my shots when they were chasing me. Managed to nail one at least.”

  I had no idea what he was talking about. “Ammo?”

  “Anyway, don’t worry,” he said, ignoring my question. “Tunrar Goblins get bored easily. They’ll leave today, maybe tomorrow.”

  “With you?” I hissed.

  “Cryin’ out loud, Urgle!”

  Blaze smiled. “Nah, not with me.” He moved his shirt to reveal his gnarled shoulder, forcing a gasp from Cubby. My nose wrinkled at the sight. “I like to travel without getting chewed on, know what I mean?”

  The angry wound bruised blue and black with crusted blood forced me to look away.

  Blaze nodded and left us, Digger following him like a scroungee idiot.

  SIX

  By evening the Larmy was ready. No one had eaten a thing, knowing full well they’d be stuffed on roast Larmy and fenig root after the feast. I had been looking forward to Digger’s Leaving Day Ceremony for weeks, not just because I’d finally be rid of the bossy lank, but because Larmy meat was my favorite. I should have been happy to eat it earlier than expected even if I was stuck with Digger a while longer, but my body was still aching where Fiver had kicked me and my stomach was barely keeping down my own spit, so I figured dead animal was out.

  Word of my worthlessness had got round to all the Brothers, and they made no secret of talking about me behind my back. Av still wasn’t saying much. I spent most of the day on my cot, sleeping. I hadn’t even seen Cubby, who was playing somewhere with Goobs.

  Digger jumped up onto the Platform as Brothers grabbed their bowls, ready to devour the sizzling Larmy.

  “I’m talking!” he called out. “Everyone! Over here! I hope you’re all hungry! Mud, Gazer, and Carver have prepared a feast!”

  I pulled my blankets over my head. Digger had gone into his “leader” act and I wanted to block out the sound of his arrogant voice.

  “As you all know, this Larmy pig was being saved for my Leaving Day Ceremony.”

  Here it comes.

  “But I feel that today is too special to go unrecognized. A Brother has returned. This is truly an important day, and so, Blaze, I offer my Leaving Day feast up, in celebration of your return.”

  I groaned at the sound of cheers and applause.

  “Also!” continued Digger.

  Oh, Mothers, there’s more.

  “Even though this isn’t a traditional ceremony, I thought it would be a treat for Blaze, and all of us, to hear our favorite stories of Rawley, the First Brother.”

  Another round of applause followed this grand announcement, and I was too annoyed to sleep. I sighed and sat up. Figuring I might as well eat, I reached above me for my bowl and Cubby’s.

  I watched Digger come down off the Platform, shaking Blaze’s hand and grinning stupidly. The Big Brothers patted Blaze on the back. They’d been following him in a pack all day, asking him questions about his pistol, those creatures he called Tunrar Goblins, and the world outside the Pit in general. Me, I didn’t care. I wasn’t ready for the world out there and I knew it was none of my business. My business was the Pit, and it would be till I left. Blaze had left already. Why was he back here at all? Had anybody asked him that?

  The Little Brothers were pushing and shoving, crowding around the spit as Crow and Mud filled their bowls with chunks of Larmy meat and fenig root. I didn’t see Cubby in the group, or Goobs. Still off playing somewhere—camped out in Cubby’s special hiding place, no doubt. I didn’t like him climbing up to his little cave alone, and he knew it. It was dangerous, but he never listened. I picked a crusty out of the corner of my eye and hung Cub’s bowl up without looking.

  Fiver was now on the Platform, cheeks stuffed with Larmy meat as he waited to begin the story. Fiver was the bane of my existence, but I had to admit he was a great storyteller.

  “Right!” he yelled out, stretching his legs. He was ready to perform. “ ‘Rawley and the Brothers’? Or ‘Rawley Battles His Mother’?”

  Boys hollered their preference from all corners of the A-Frame, and I held back a groan when I saw Digger stand up and raise his hands, apparently needing silence.

  “We should let Blaze decide!”

  He was commanding, not suggesting.

  The A-Frame was silent as everyone looked around for Blaze. He was with Digger last I’d seen him, but he’d managed to escape and was now helping Crow and Mud hand out food.

  “Uh…,” he laughed awkwardly, apparently uncomfortable with the attention. “I like the ‘Rawley and the Brothers’ story myself.”

  Everyone cheered and Blaze hurried to fill the last of the bowls in front of him before he ducked into the crowd. I shook my head. Blaze had been here all of one day and already he was doing his best to escape Digger. Fiver clapped his hands together, ready to start the story. “Thousands of years ago…when the Landfill was empty and the Slag Cavies ruled the Ikkuma Pit, a boy named Rawley was born to an evil Mother.”

  Right on cue, a slew of growls and boos rose from the Brothers.

  Where was Cubby? He still hadn’t come to get his bowl. I scanned the A-Frame for him and was surprised to notice Blaze heading straight for me. His clothing seemed looser, and I noticed he wasn’t wearing his belt, the flint box no longer at his waist.

  “His Mother and her sisters were the greatest hunters in all the world, but she never fed him…or clothed him…or taught him to hunt so he could feed himself. She never fed his brothers, either, and her sisters never fed their sons. So Rawley taught himself to hunt—”

  “Still sting?” said Blaze, sitting down beside me…on my cot…my cot. My eyes narrowed on him. I hadn’t invited him over, yet here he was, sitting on my cot, my space, the only thing that was mine!

  “What?” I said.

  “Your chin. Still sting?”

  I rubbed the spot where Fiver had slugged me earlier and winced. It must’ve looked pretty blue. Even so, what did Blaze care?

  Blaze smiled. “Thought it might. I’m no stranger to a fight myself, though I can’t say I ever took one quite so well as you.”

  I inhaled as deep as I could. Well. I couldn’t help but think he meant something different. Fiver had landed blow after blow, and I had done nothing to protect myself. I hadn’t taken it well. I’d just taken it.

  All because Blaze had to have a bad dream.

  Blaze picked a red piece of Larmy meat out of his full bowl with his giant, greasy fingers and offered it to me.

  Mouth watering, I shook my head.

  “Not hungry, eh?”

  I shook my head again and turned away from him, trying to keep my temper in check. Here he was, pretending to be nice to me and it didn’t make any sense. It was his fault my body was bruised, his fault Av wasn’t talking to me. He could keep his Larmy. I didn’t want anything from him.

  “What do you care, anyway?” I snapped.

  He grinned, a sideways smirk that made me want to hit him. “I dunno. You just remind me of someone, I guess.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

  “Me. A long time ago.”

  My back stiffened. I don’t know what I expected him to say, but it wasn’t that. From where I was sitting, Blaze and I had less in common than a Cavy and the Fire Mountains.

  He leaned back on his elbow, making himself more comfortable.

  I rested my chin in my hands and tried to focus on Fiver.

  “I’d almost forgotten, you know, the way it feels here. I haven’t felt this…” He let his words trail off as he savored the food in his mouth, Fiver’s words in his ears.

  I waited.

  He saw me looking at him and he cleared his throat. “Anyway, it’s nice to feel it again.”

  “Feel what?” I asked.

  He smiled, but there was something sad weighing on it, something cloudy behind his eyes as he watched Fiver. “Home.”<
br />
  “And when his evil Mother and her evil sisters decided they wanted no sons, no fathers, no husbands, they led Rawley and all his brothers and cousins far, far away from their home, leading them to die in the fires of the Ikkuma Pit. But brave and clever Rawley would not let his brothers and cousins die—”

  Blaze began to chuckle. “Word for word. That’s unbelievable.”

  I turned back to him. “What?”

  “The story. It’s word for word the same as I remember it.” He stuffed another fat piece of Larmy into his mouth and I felt my stomach grumble.

  “It’s incredible how nothing changes here, how untouched you boys are.”

  I was insulted and I guess my scowl let him know because he shook his head.

  “No, it’s a good thing, Urgle.”

  “When his evil Mother and her evil sisters had abandoned the boys in the Ikkuma Pit, Rawley taught his Brothers all he’d taught himself,” continued Fiver. “Then Rawley took a hot ember and burned the inside of his ankle, a symbol of his promise to take care of, and to share with, all his Brothers. And his Brothers made this same promise, and burned their ankles for Rawley. Every day they ate like kings, hunting the creatures of Nikpartok Forest.”

  Untouched. The word hammered into my brain with Blaze’s every smacking chew of Larmy.

  “Years later, the evil Mother returned. She had with her another son, a son she did not want—”

  “Untouched by what?” I almost didn’t realize I’d said it out loud.

  Blaze watched Fiver, chewing and smacking. Finally he shrugged. “Things aren’t as simple out there, kid. Beyond that forest…”

  “When Rawley found the baby”—Fiver’s voice drifted into Blaze’s silence—“he brought him to his Brothers. ‘There is not enough room in the Ikkuma Pit for everyone,’ he told them, ‘and this place has given me all it can.’ ”

  “Beyond that forest what?” I demanded.

  “It’s madness,” he said.