And All the Stars Shall Fall

by Hugh MacDonald

  “You mean Blanchfleur,” said Adam.

  “I mean the others…all of them,” said Ueland. He sounded tired and somewhat annoyed.

  “Why do we have to help them?” asked Adam, his voice angry and bitter. “They tried to kill us.”

  “Not now,” said Ueland, holding up his hand to stop the conversation. “It’s too long a story and it won’t help anyone to bring all that up now. Perhaps there’ll be time for such discussions later.”

  “Perhaps,” said Adam, his face showing his contempt for their fellow travellers.

  “Perhaps. I’m sorry, Adam, but I have to get some rest. Go and get some sleep. We’ll need to be fresh.”

  “Can’t I stay here with you?”

  “There’s no room.”

  “I want to stay out here,” insisted the boy.

  “Okay,” said Ueland. “I give up. I’ll sleep in the room, you take the couch. Don’t touch anything. See you in a few hours.”

  Adam nodded. He didn’t want to stay here alone in this big room, but he certainly didn’t want to be in there with them. He watched as Ueland entered the room where the others slept, and then he dragged his weary feet to the couch and burrowed beneath the thick covers.

  Adam awoke later to the sound of large aircraft flying overhead. He stood on the couch and shuffled across to the window on the left. The sky was clear and full of stars, there was moonlight, and he could see jet trails streaking across the sky. He wondered what was going on.

  He looked out across the grounds that surrounded this small building where they had all been sleeping. Outside, he thought he saw something move, off to his right — some kind of animal creeping toward the building. His heart leapt. It was a dog, a big old dog. Was it possible? The dog came closer and disappeared from view below him, and then reappeared off to his left. The dog looked up toward the window. The boy could see that the dog was barking. But he couldn’t hear.

  He felt his heart pounding as if it might burst, and his cheeks were getting damp. It was Lucky. It was his dog. And if Lucky was out there, perhaps Nora and Mabon were close by. He had to figure out how to get outside. He had to wake Ueland.

  Chapter 10:

  Lucky Calls Them

  Nora and Mabon rose, still half asleep in the darkness, and meticulously searched the area around their little camp. They found no sign of their missing dog. They could still hear the deadly rumblings of warfare to the southwest and knew that the planes were far enough away that they were safe from attack for a little while. As long as there were explosions in the distance they felt they could have a look around. The attackers to the south of the Manuhome would have dropped seeker drones below them to search for human targets. And when the planes left they might leave the drones behind to continue their search. Of course, there were no guarantees.

  “We should get under cover again as soon as possible. The attackers will be returning to their bases soon and we could be seeing some drones up this way sometime after that,” said Mabon.

  “Okay,” said Nora. But her eyes continued to search all around them.

  “Listen,” said Mabon. “Shush!”

  They stood in silence for more than a minute before Nora heard it faintly in the distance to the west: the unmistakeable sound of their dog barking at something. Not a threatening bark but a bark of recognition, an excited barking.

  “Come on,” she said, running in the direction of the sound.

  Mabon gazed skyward as he followed her, making sure that there was nothing obvious watching their movements from overhead, knowing that if they were spotted, the forces of the World Federation would soon be on them with the full force of its killing anger.

  Chapter 11:

  Dangerous Encounter

  Adam threw open the door marked “PRIVATE” and dashed inside into the deep darkness. He didn’t want to wake everyone by turning on the overhead light, but once inside he had to navigate with the meagre illumination seeping past the door behind him from whatever lighting the starry sky projected through the small windows of the control room. It just wasn’t enough. As a result he correctly guessed the approximate location of the bunk bed on the right that he had recently deserted and where Ueland would likely be sleeping above Mayor Blanchfleur, but in his haste and anxiety, he tripped on the lower bunk and fell across the sleeping form of Alice’s mother.

  Blanchfleur had just fallen into a restless sleep and was dreaming about the horrors that had so recently overtaken her city and her homelands. Adam’s landing on her had been incorporated into her nightmare as an attacking, vengeful Ranger and the mayor reacted violently, throwing the boy onto the floor and screaming a chill-inducing warning to all around her.

  Adam gathered himself gradually from the floor and made his way to the dimly lit doorway, heart bursting with an odd blend of terror and his rekindled excitement after the sighting of his dog, Lucky, who could still be somewhere just outside the window, waiting to be rescued. As he reached the doorway, he flicked on the brilliant overhead light.

  Ueland had dropped to the floor and Blanchfleur had returned to the present from her dream-befuddled mind. She pushed aside her covers and stood up beside the bed. Alice and Tish sat up on their bunks, their covers pulled up close to their chins.

  “Lucky is outside,” Adam said, his impatient voice filled with new hope and excitement. “We have to go get him now.”

  “Lucky,” said Alice, just waking up. “Who is Lucky?”

  “Adam, I’m sorry. I was dreaming. I hope you are all right?” said Blanchfleur.

  “I’m fine,” he said. “I’m great! It’s okay.” He said to her and ran to Ueland. “We have to get outside. Mabon and Nora could be alive. They could be outside, too.”

  “Who are all these people he’s talking about?” asked Tish.

  “His parents,” said Ueland, “and their dog.”

  “How do you know they’re really there?” asked Alice. “Maybe you were dreaming?”

  “No, I was wide awake. The planes woke me up when they passed overhead.”

  “What planes?” asked Blanchfleur, her face alert and suddenly concerned.

  “Big, loud planes,” said Adam. “Going that way.” He pointed to the southwest. “Come on, Doctor Ueland. Let’s go out before Lucky leaves. Please.”

  “What about the planes?” Alice asked. “Aren’t you worried about the planes seeing you?”

  “We’ll go now before the planes come back,” said Ueland. “Come on!” He headed out the door, Adam close behind. Blanchfleur followed on his heels.

  “Which way were those planes headed?” Ueland asked.

  Adam looked toward the window above the couch, and then he pointed.

  “Oh dear,” muttered Ueland.

  “What is it?” asked Blanchfleur. Adam turned to look at her. Her eyes were fixed on Ueland, who stopped for a moment.

  “Some of my workers got out through escape tunnels I had dug in case of such an emergency,” he said to the mayor. “The eyes must have found some of them.”

  “You think of everything, don’t you?” Blanchfleur said, appearing somewhat amused.

  “Not exactly,” he said. “I wish it were so.” He turned back to Adam. “We’ll have to watch for aircraft and anything that moves. Come on!” He strode quickly to the door marked “STORES,” took out his keys, and unlocked it. He turned to Blanchfleur. “Get the others to keep the inside door closed or turn out the light. Anyone could be out here, and if they see any sign of light coming from this station, we could have very serious problems.”

  Blanchfleur ran back to where the bedroom door stood ajar and flicked off the light. “Leave this off until we get back or make sure the door stays shut when the light is on,” she said, and slammed the door. She followed Ueland and Adam into the storeroom. They closed the door. They were in a small corridor. Ueland pulled a small
flashlight from his pocket and shone it on the lock of a heavy, windowless door. “Stay back,” he said. He unlocked the door and turned off the flashlight. The door opened easily, the hinges creaking softly. Dim, creamy moonlight seeped inside. The boy and the two adults stepped outside, staying close against the side of the grey metal building. They heard the sound of an animal, breathing heavily, rushing toward them.

  Blanchfleur pulled a small weapon from her pocket and aimed it out into the surrounding darkness. She moved the pistol from side to side.

  “No,” said Ueland. “Put that thing away.” He stood directly in front of her. Adam briefly wondered why he wasn’t afraid of her or her gun.

  Then Adam turned and ran away from the building into the darkness of the night, and suddenly it was dog and boy welded in an ecstasy of chaotic noise and activity. “Lucky, Lucky, Lucky,” the boy said over and over like a song of joy, and then they were silent and still, and then he cried.

  And suddenly there were other, heavier sounds of running as footsteps approached. Blanchfleur’s weapon reappeared. The others shrank close against the wall. Then Nora appeared and Ueland jerked Blanchfleur’s weapon from her hand and roughly yanked her back beside him. Next Mabon appeared, followed by Adam and the dog, the whole family united once again, dissolved into a sea of tender tears, and muffled sounds of unbridled joy.

  Ueland interrupted them, pointing to the southwest, where sounds of approaching aircraft were growing louder by the moment. “Let’s get ourselves inside. With luck we will have lots of time to reacquaint ourselves and tell our many stories. And we can try to turn all this into something positive for all of us — not an easy thing to imagine, but who knows.”

  The doctor held the door for Mabon, Adam, Nora, and then the dog, who hesitated a moment before Adam said, “Come, Lucky. It’s safe in here.” The dog entered, tail wagging wildly, and ran to the deliriously happy boy. Then Blanchfleur entered. They stood in the doorway a moment, aware of the ominous roar of the World Council’s approaching attack planes.

  “Find a place to sit for a while. Stay close to a wall and don’t move. We don’t want those planes or their drones picking up any movement or reflected light in here. I’m going to kill the generator for a bit. If anyone wants to talk, keep it really quiet.” He walked to the console and flicked a switch. The room dropped to a much more profound silence and seemed darker somehow, dark enough that the windows over the couch seemed to glow with almost magical light.

  Nora and Mabon sat on either side of Adam, squeezing him and ruffling his scraggly brown hair. They restrained their excitement enough that Lucky’s tail brushing against everything and everyone was the loudest sound in the room.

  From where Blanchfleur and Ueland sat they watched the flashing lights as a string of passing aircraft returned across the lake to some distant base. They waited a while after the last few passed before Ueland stood and restarted the generator, whose starter battery, now fully charged, turned the big engine over rapidly. It started quickly and loudly and instantly settled into a comforting roar.

  “We’ll leave the lights for now,” he said. “Alice and Tish are trying to sleep in the adjoining room. Blanchfleur can join them if she wishes. Adam can return to the couch. There’s an empty bunk for someone in there. I’ll get blankets from the storeroom for anyone who wants them.”

  “I’m happy with a blanket,” said Blanchfleur. “Let the others get some sleep. I can’t sleep anyway, thinking of all those lost workers and my poor citizens.”

  “I’m staying out here with Adam,” said Nora, her voice almost purring with happiness. “I never want to leave him again.”

  “Me, too,” said Mabon. “Your citizens are probably safe enough. More than I can say about the old ones and those workers.”

  “Suit yourselves; I’ll get a pile of blankets. But the floor isn’t too warm,” Ueland said. “I’m going back to bed in the other room. The lower bunk will be empty.”

  “I’m sorry about the old ones and about everything else. And the workers.” She paused. “What do you mean about my citizens being safe?”

  “Nora and I watched many dozens of massive transport copters loaded with evacuated insiders fly out of the city for hours, crossing and re-crossing the lake, before planes blew up Aahimsa,” Mabon said.

  Adam spoke directly to the mayor. “If you really are sorry about what happened to the old ones and nearly happened to us, why did you do it?”

  “I’ll never make you understand. The answers never really make sense. I was trying to save the city. I was trying to save the Manuhome and all the workers. I was even trying to save Ueland. But I failed,” said Blanchfleur.

  “Are you trying to blame all this on us?” asked Nora,

  “No, not blame,” said Blanchfleur. “When you left Aahimsa and Alice, when you took baby Adam outside the city, you may have sparked all of this violence. But the Federation of City Councils and the World Council were looking for an excuse to destroy all of us, the city and the Manuhome. Because of their recent improvements in the cloning process they no longer needed our reproductive fluids and they wanted to destroy our cheap labour. We were keeping outsiders alive and we were seen as a constant threat to the Federation and its policies. Besides, how can I blame you for wanting to survive? I expect you hate me and I understand. I think my own daughter hates me. In many ways I hate myself. I tried to do what I thought was for the best. I did it for love. So you were the spark, Nora; you and Adam. But you are not to blame. The blame must be shared by all of us for failing to find a real solution to our violence.”

  “I want to ask a favour,” said Nora, her voice pleading to be understood.

  “Yes, what is it? If I can do you a favour, I will gladly do it,” said Blanchfleur.

  “Okay. Can you leave us alone as a family for a little while?” asked Nora.

  Blanchfleur got up from the floor and folded her blanket. She walked toward the door marked “PRIVATE” and opened it. She paused and turned to them. “Goodnight,” she said. “I’ll see you folks in a few hours.”

  Chapter 12:

  Decision Time

  Mabon rose from the couch. “I want to get our things,” he said.

  “Wait,” said Nora. “We have a decision to make before the others return. Do we stay with the others or get away from them now?”

  “Adam, would you be happy if our whole family left right now, and headed out by ourselves?” asked Mabon.

  Adam shrugged. He thought it was a great idea, now that they were back together as a family. Strangely, though, he felt funny about leaving Ueland and the insiders. Doctor Ueland knew a lot of things that might help them get away and help them start up new lives somewhere. And now that Mabon and Nora were here with Lucky, he was feeling like they all could get along together.

  “I thought Alice was your friend. Aren’t you even going to say hello to her?” he asked, looking at his mother. “And didn’t you say she saved your life?”

  “But her mother was the one who tried to kill all of us in the first place,” said Nora. She glanced at Mabon. He hadn’t said a word. “What do you think?”

  “Ueland helped us,” he said, “and Alice helped, too. I don’t think they’ll force us to stay if we decide to leave. But I think we owe them a chance to talk over the future with us. Together we might be stronger. Either way, we’ll have to figure out how to survive until we can find someplace safe to settle. I think we should stay. But it might be better to leave our weapons and supplies hidden for now. Let’s wait till morning to think about it. Perhaps we will travel separately but stay connected somehow. Let’s talk tomorrow and see what everyone has to say.”

  “I agree with Mabon, Mom,” said Adam, his face adult and determined.

  “So you don’t mind me seeing Alice?” Nora asked Mabon, taking the big man’s hand in hers.

  “No. I want you to see her,” said
Mabon. “You owe her at least that. It must have been hard for her when you left without explanation all those years ago.”

  “What about Blanchfleur?” asked Nora, her eyes intent on his face.

  “What about her?” he said. He turned his eyes to her. She always found it difficult to look directly into those depths without becoming hypnotized by them. But she was determined to ask her question.

  “She tried to kill us all. How can we treat her like an equal travelling companion?”

  “She was the mayor,” he said. “She was just doing her job, trying to save the city and her people.”

  “And all the workers and Ueland,” said Adam. “It’s weird. It’s like she and Ueland are friends. The doctor and I saved her and her family from getting captured or killed. Ueland and Blanchfleur must have planned it, because he knew where they’d be waiting. And Ueland was fooling her all the time. He protected the old ones. I’ve been trying to figure it out and it doesn’t make sense. None of it makes any sense.”

  “Okay,” said Nora after a long pause and a breathy sigh. “We stay long enough to talk to the others about plans. Then we decide. Let’s try to get some sleep so we can at least think straight.”

  “Okay,” said Adam. “I can do that.”

  Mabon nodded and put an arm around each of them. “I’m happy,” he said. “I’m so very happy that we’re all together again. For now that’s enough. I don’t have to understand everything. Sometimes understanding doesn’t help much.”