by T. C. Edge
Stop. Stay silent and still.
His words catch me offguard. For a moment I just stand there, before he slips to my side and draws me to the earth. We huddle once again into the mud, hidden within a grouping of charred bushes that were lucky enough to avoid the full force of the inferno.
“What is it? What’s going on?” I whisper.
His finger hunts down my lips and draws them shut. I don’t need to ask, and should know that even a whisper here can be heard by a pair of keen, Enhanced ears.
We wait a moment, and I hear movement once more. I peer through a thatch of leaves and see more shapes moving.
There’s a large force, much bigger than before. They’re moving eastwards by the looks of things, heading straight for the city. Reinforcements perhaps? Is this a sign that the Cure are worried? Are they sending in their final soldiers to try to shift the battle back into their favour?
The thought gives me promise.
Then from the mass, a figure breaks off, followed by a few others. They begin moving from the main force, heading in our direction. They stop a way off, their figures growing in clarity. I notice one sniffing the air in a fashion that might once have appeared peculiar. Now, I merely know he’s a Sniffer.
He’s caught our scent…
Zander’s words filter into my mind. He acts immediately and without hesitation. Staying hidden, he grabs a lump of soft mud from the earth and starts rubbing it on his neck. I hear him urging me to do the same. I follow his lead and start applying the earth, the toxicity within the soil stinging and burning; the brown dirt stinking.
We lather it onto us as quickly and quietly as we go, masking the odours that our bodies are giving off. All the while, I keep my eyes on the Sniffer, still turning his nose this way and that, his nostrils flaring to suggest he’s struggling to draw in sufficient evidence that there’s a foreign entity nearby.
He seems to consider venturing further as his allies move up beside him. I feel a burst of wind, its direction changing and swirling, pulling our lingering scents in all sorts of directions. The man was downwind of us, the breeze carrying our scent right for him. Now it’s changed, sweeping off elsewhere, confusing him along with the coating of mud added to our bare skin.
We hold firm for a time, waiting. I ask my brother telepathically whether we should retreat. He answers that it’s too late for that now. We have cover here, but there’s nothing else nearby. And should we move, we might be heard as well as smelled.
After a few long moments, the Sniffer gives up. One of the guards comes to his side.
“Nothing?” he asks in a strange, guttural accent.
The Sniffer shakes his head.
“I thought I smelled something…sweet. But it’s gone. Nothing to worry about.”
“Good. No delays then. We can’t afford them. We’re all needed in the fight.”
His voice is slightly strained, and a glimpse of his face through the leaves tells me his expression is too.
All needed in the fight.
The battle must be going ill for them.
I smile despite the situation, and Zander’s eyes gleam.
We wait for some time longer until the men rejoin the throng. The shadow behind them continues to pulse and ripple as it presses forward towards the city. It appears to be a force of hundreds, the last line of attack, the reserves kept behind and, quite probably, not thought to be needed.
They are now.
Soon, the battalion has moved off, leaving a fresh trail of airborne ash in its wake that further muddies the air. We stand from our prone perch and I set about scraping the mud from my body. Zander stops me with his hand.
“Leave it,” he whispers. “It may come in handy.”
I do as ordered despite the tingling, burning sensation upon my skin, choosing only to remove larger, more uncomfortable clumps and leave the rest. As we set off again, I imagine we must be pretty well camouflaged by now. Should Zander drop to the earth and stop moving, he’d all but disappear from view out here.
“They’re emptying their stores,” I say as my brother starts searching for the trail once more. “We’re winning. I know we are.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Brie,” he cautions, eyes searching the earth. “We won’t know for sure until we get back. Keep your mind on task.”
“Yeah, of course. But…”
He stands and looks at me.
“But?”
“Well, I’m doubting something,” I say, thinking of the force that’s just passed, the patrol that we saw earlier, and the fact that the trail seems to be leading more to the west than the direction that mass of men just came from.
“Go on,” he says.
I point my finger in the direction the battalion came from.
“They came from there. So, their camp’s there. Right?”
Zander nods.
“And, the trail,” I go on, now just about able to pick up a few signs for myself. “It leads elsewhere. Further west.”
“Seems that way.”
“Well then, maybe I’m wrong, but I’m thinking that…”
I shake my head.
“That maybe it wasn’t the Cure who took Cromwell,” says Zander.
I nod.
His eyes lift.
“Yep. I’ve been thinking that for some time.”
3
Bit by bit, it becomes clear that we’re not heading towards the Cure’s main camp. Though we don’t yet know precisely where that is, or whether they even have one, we can use our powers of deduction and reasoning to set a good guess to the matter. As far as I see it, they’ve got a temporary base set up somewhere beyond the western gate, far enough away to be out of reach of our guns, and yet close enough to be able to send additional forces into the fray without much trouble or delay.
Right now, it seems we’ve passed beyond that position. The tracks we’re following, which continue to grow more difficult to decipher, are leading us further west, many miles from the city. And the more we venture out, the more clear it becomes to me of precisely where we’re heading.
The REEF.
Stopping to discuss the matter, and to take a much needed break, we huddle in a small, untouched thicket, and consider our position. It seems we’ve both realised that the large and intimidating facility of Artemis Cromwell is where he has, in fact, been stowed away.
To my mind, that’s a good thing. Very relieving, in fact. Zander doesn’t appear to be of the same disposition.
“It means he’s been taken by his own soldiers,” I remind him, as if he needs to be told. “He’s safe. It’s fine. We can just go back to the city.”
“Hmmmm…”
That’s all Zander says initially. Fingers to chin, he considers things for a few moments longer. I give him the time, noting the skepticism in his eyes.
“What? What are you thinking?” I query when the wait becomes too unbearable.
He draws a breath.
“The REEF was cleared out,” he says. “We were there, Brie, when they emptied the place out. No one left behind. That was the idea. You even bargained for the prisoners to be brought to the city.”
“Yeah, so?”
“So, what are they doing going to the REEF? If it’s been cleared out, it’s vulnerable. We can assume the Cure haven’t stumbled upon it yet, or else found it abandoned and didn’t give it a second thought. I don’t see why Cromwell’s men would rush him to the REEF, rather than back to the city.”
“Um, because the city’s at war?” I say, stating the obvious. “Too dangerous to take him back through the southern gate, or western gate. So…they brought him here instead. Makes perfect sense to me.”
“It…does. And doesn’t. If Cromwell’s Stalkers could get out of the city to come fetch him - and, well, clearly they do have a tracker on him - then why not go back that way?”
“Because….war, Zander. They can fight through it, but returning with Cromwell in tow? Not so much, and too dangerous. I don’t see why you
’re so concerned about this?”
“I’m concerned because something feels off. I don’t think those soldiers came from the city to grab Cromwell at all. I think they came from the REEF.”
His words leave a short silence as I ponder them. Still, nothing about this seems too indicting.
“So…they came from the REEF. He clearly left a garrison there, then? Just a small one, maybe. They came, drawn to his tracker, picked him up, and took him to safety while everything blows over. Sound about right?”
“Sounds about right, yeah. Right in terms of accurate. But it doesn’t feel right to me. Something doesn’t add up. I think we should press on, see what’s happening.”
I wince at the thought.
“But it’s still miles from here.”
“Miles, but safe ones. You seem very eager to get back to risking your life in the city.”
“My friends,” is all I need to say.
He nods quickly, understanding.
“We’ll be quick, I promise. I just want to confirm that Cromwell’s there.”
“There’s nothing quick about getting to the REEF and back. It’ll take most of the day.”
“Probably.”
I exhale loudly.
“OK. Fine. You’re the boss, after all. Your call.”
He smiles, shaking his head.
“I’m not your boss, sis. I’m your brother. I’ll only go if you really agree.”
I laugh. Actually, it’s more like a huff.
“And how can I say no to that face?”
He displays a cheeky expression that I so rarely see. For a moment, the intensity is gone. The hero, warrior, leader is gone. I just see my twin, just a boy of 18.
And with another flash, that boy is gone too.
We press on, still following the tracks and yet moving with a greater haste now that we’re fairly sure where our grandfather has gone. Though it seems likely that his own men have come to escort him to safety, I remind my brother as we go that there remains another option.
“Maybe it wasn’t his men at all. Maybe the Cure did find the REEF and took up residence there. Maybe their leaders are there?”
“It’s another possibility,” says Zander. “If they found it, it wouldn’t be the worst place to take refuge. They might be using it as another base. But…I doubt it.”
“Why?”
“Because of where that battalion came from. And because the REEF is about ten miles from Haven. It’s much further than they seem to be.”
He’s right on that count.
“I guess we’ll find out soon,” I say.
Soon is, of course, a relative term. From the lake down beyond the southern gate, we’ve already traversed several miles, navigating in a northwesterly direction, and have plenty more to go. Yes, the REEF is about ten miles from the western gate. But from where we started the day? Probably a lot further.
My natural state, in these days of war, is that of exhaustion. I have grown used to it, and though I managed to get some sleep last night, back in Sophie’s school away from the front lines, I still feel like I need plenty more. I can’t imagine how Zander must feel, though again, tiredness is relative too.
For him, going days with little rest and plenty of action isn’t too uncommon. For me…well, until a few months ago my life was as ordinary as a hat on a rack. Nothing would happen to me, nor anyone else I knew. Beyond rumour, which was always rife but based on little, and my hours spent daydreaming and gazing upon the distant mountains and woods, my days were pretty much indistinguishable from one another.
Not so now. I can think back to each day since that attack at Culture Corner with vivid detail. Each day that’s passed has brought something new to light. Some new reveal. Some new adventure. Some new person or power to enter my life.
I can barely conceive of how my world was before all this started. It hardly seems real to me, possible, that I find myself here, now, within these woods, imbued with these powers, beside my twin brother at the heart of a battle for the fate of the city, the fate of all those who dwell in these lands.
One day, when I look back on this, maybe it will all merge together. The memories will converge and collect, melding together into a single recollection: that time when I found out who I truly was, where I truly came from. That time when I helped save this little corner of the world.
It will, perhaps, be as simple as that. If I grow old and wrinkled, with Adryan at my side, and my brother there too, and Sophie and Rycard and Drum and Tess and Abby, and perhaps even an ancient duo of my grandmother and Brenda, defending against losing their marbles with copious rounds of whiskey and regular doses of conversation and reminiscences…
If that happens, then maybe all of this will be a simple memory of the few months when the world turned on its axis. When evil was defeated and expelled from these lands. When good prevailed and, though many lost their lives, those who didn’t would go on to rebuild and remember. To surge forward, driven on by the ghosts of the past, to create a free and equitable world for us all.
Maybe.
So many maybes.
But really, those maybes are wishes and hopes. They’re what I crave. For my friends and family to survive the coming days. For this war to be the end of it. For my life going forward to be one of peace and freedom.
I pray I live to see those wishes come true.
So on we press, here to shape our own fates, to do all we can to ensure that such visions become reality. I wonder just what Zander’s desires are. He’s been crafted by war in a manner I can barely understand, fuelled by his position within the ranks of the Nameless. His identity is defined by that position, and should he survive this fight, what will his life become?
Will he be like me, happy for peace, happy to spend his days among friends and family? Will he settle down, find a wife, start a family as I wish to do. Tess, perhaps, could fill that station. The little time they’ve spent together has shown a clear chemistry. Could he care for her? Could he fall in love? Could she help him settle into a simple life beyond all of this?
I look at him now, marching along through the ash, unyielding in his determination to get the job done, to see it through. We’re close now, so close. Close to the REEF, close to the end. He won’t be bowed by exhaustion. He won’t stop until it’s over.
And watching him, I feel a strange stab at my heart. A feeling that shows me how frightened I am to lose him. It’s something I can’t explain. A profound lurch somewhere deep inside me.
I look at him, marching through the black ash, the grey mist still swirling around him and the yellow light of the sun filtering down through the fog. He’s marching through a dead world, yet above there’s light and life, a celestial glow. It’s as if he’s caught between heaven and hell, between life and death, striding forward towards one, and not the other.
And the stab in my heart grows fierce. A fear swells as the ash drifts up over his feet and ankles. It rises up his legs, his body, slowly consuming him. And the mist closes in, and the light fades, and Zander, my brother, my twin, walks off silently into the darkness. Into the black.
Into death.
I snap out of it, shaking my head and blinking firmly. Zander comes back into view, clear as day, tall and strong and proud. His handsome face looks upon me, eyes crinkled and peering close.
“Brie…are you OK?”
My hammering heart slows. The stabbing within it subsides. Yet the tear, building in the corner of my eye, still falls.
He steps towards me.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, concerned. He brushes the tear away. “You’re crying…”
I shake my head.
“No…no it’s silly,” I croak.
“What? What is it?”
I smile to hide my hurt.
“Nothing.”
“Brie.” He fixes me with a stare. “Tell me.”
His hazel eyes call my voice out.
“I just…I had a silly daydream. It’s nothing. Really.”
I look at him as I never have. Never have I felt so hurt by the idea of losing him. Never have I felt so heartbroken to look at someone, still living, still breathing, standing before me.
“I’m just worried about you,” I admit. “And…everyone else,” I add.
He hugs me. My breathing judders as I’m pressed to his chest.
“That’s understandable,” he whispers. “You’re exhausted. You’re scared. Maybe you should stay here. I’ll finish this alone and come…”
“NO!”
I pull away, and steady my voice. I steady my expression too, and my mind. I dismiss all fears and worries. He’s right. I’m just tired. That’s all this is.
“No,” I go on calmly. “I’m coming too.”
I fill my lungs and step past him. I firm up my feelings so they’re all he can sense. I grow resolute, focused, determined once more. He senses it all, and it’s enough.
He returns to my side. No further words are required. My moment of weakness is over.
Our eyes are set on the path ahead. Not far away, the walls of the REEF await.
And what else awaits us there, I don’t yet know.
But it’s time we found out.
4
The REEF lies ahead, cold and quiet.
Stopping away and out of sight within a small recess in the earth, we whisper together and form a plan. It seems my brother’s too wary to just walk forward and knock on the door. If the Cure have taken the place for their own, we need to remain unseen. Until we can confirm what’s happening, this is a stealth mission and nothing else.
Ahead, the sight of the tracks are finally clear to my eyes. Exiting the scorched woods, bootprints appear in the dirt leading towards the concrete boundary around the edge of the facility. They stop at the gate, where they disappear. The gate is closed, locked tight. From here, you’d think the place was deserted.
We know otherwise.
Scanning the upper ramparts of the walls, I see no sign of soldiers on watch. There are no patrolling guards around the perimeter. No Hawks set to the towers around the facility’s edge. No drones, or working cameras by the looks of things. The place seems to be as we last saw it a few days ago - emptied out and abandoned.
