"What did you find out?" Gwynn wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer.
"The reason you're not allowed to cross the Veil has nothing to do with the danger or defending your world, it's to prevent you from learning the truth. There's a war going on out in the multiverse. I've been so blind over the years. I kept so focused on finding my Gwynn, I never even bothered to see the bigger picture."
"A war? How could there be a war?"
"The Fallen are led by a man I've only heard whispers about. Most of the Fallen haven't laid eyes on him. He's known by different names on hundreds of worlds. You know their philosophy, that they must eliminate all the 'false' worlds to cleanse Yggdrasil and reattain contact with God. To be a Fallen, you must hunt down any versions of yourself in other worlds and kill them. From what I can tell, it all goes back to their leader, who is supposedly so old he witnessed the dawn of creation and has become convinced that this must be done."
"Could he really be that old?" Gwynn asked.
Pridament shrugged. "Who knows? I know of Anunnaki that have lived since at least the times of Babylon's dominance. Woten himself is several thousands of years old. The way they talk about this man, you'd think...he was the first of us." Pridament shook his head like it might shake the idea loose. "None of that is really shocking. What I found out about Woten was. I was wrong, Ark was never about the Fallen—it was a project the Norse gods, the Aesir, created."
"The Aesir. You mean Suture created the Fallen?"
"Not Suture," Pridament said, "the Aesir—Woten. That's why Suture in your world knew I'd been associated with Ark; it's been run by Woten the entire time. The Fallen are extremists who broke away. When I left Ark, they must have thought I'd joined the Fallen, so they flagged me the same as they probably flagged all the others."
"That still doesn't explain how Suture in my world knew about it," Gwynn said.
"It does if you believe that the upper management, the Aesir, Woten, did what the Fallen have done—eliminate all other versions of themselves and spread all their information to the various worlds where they hold power. This world, which the Aesir invaded and made into their mythic Asgard, is the centre of that information hub. That's why I've stayed here—to try to get more information and to stop whatever Woten has planned. My counterparts are keeping the Fallen busy."
Gwynn's head spun. He couldn't begin to process it all. Instead, he turned his attention out the small rectangular opening cut in the metal, and viewed the world outside.
"Where do people live?" He asked. He'd spent hours with the Valkyries, and now this time with Pridament, and still he'd seen no roads and no buildings.
Pridament looked at a small display built into the dash.
"You'll see in about two minutes."
The sound of rolling thunder came from ahead. But when Gwynn looked, he saw no clouds. Instead, the surface of the planet cracked and lifted, revealing a large metal plate that lifted on a set of massive hydraulics.
The truck in front of them dipped down and disappeared. Next, their own vehicle gave a bump as it passed from grass onto steel plating. Pridament clicked on the headlights, illuminating the tunnel they traveled through.
"What is this place?" Gwynn asked.
"Welcome to the truth beneath Asgard. When the Aesir came, they literally buried the existing residents. These entrances aren't even supposed to exist. The Valkyries have been doing their best to destroy them, but the people keep finding places to tunnel out. It doesn't matter how many times you try to bury a problem, it keeps digging its way to the surface."
The tunnel walls were jagged rock and their height uneven. It caused the light from the vehicles to bounce and reflect at disorienting angles.
"How did they even build this?" Gwynn asked.
"With whatever they could find. The Aesir have been here a long time. At first, the people of this world were in awe of the Aesir and saw them as the gods they pretended to be. This Odin turned out to be an angry and intolerant god. The people came to fear and resent him. Still, they did nothing. After all, how do you fight a god?"
"So what changed?" Gwynn asked.
"Simple, they saw one of them die—by all accounts an accident. But the moment they saw the same red blood that ran through their own veins, they realized these were just humans. In my experience, tyrants make people do one of two things—they bow down, or they rise up. These people had bowed for so long, it was inevitable that this time they chose to rise up. These tunnels and the access points have been built over the years using materials stolen, repurposed and donated. Homes, buildings, even vehicles, were all stripped down and their materials used. They're a resourceful people—there's much to admire about them."
The van's lights in front of them widened and ceased their bouncing off the walls. In another moment, their own car passed out of the narrow path and into an expansive cavern. The platform they drove on was elevated more than a hundred feet off the ground. Beneath, a series of lights dotted along the cavern floor, stretching out further than he could see.
"During the day hours, there's a number of lights in the ceiling that illuminate the place like daylight. It takes too much energy to have it dim like the rising and setting of the sun, so it just switches on or off," Pridament said.
"And the Aesir can't find them?"
"The Aesir don't bother. At least, not yet. Everyone is waiting for the moment when Woten is pushed too far by the attacks and begins punishing the civilians."
"Will the people turn against them if that happens?"
Pridament shook his head. "No. While there's an existing leadership structure, every person here is technically a member. Each one of them has organized shelter and have armed themselves in preparation. Soon they'll have enough weapons to rise up as one body against the Aesir."
"The Valkyries called them wolves," Gwynn said absent-mindedly, studying the chaotic pattern of lights.
Pridament chuckled. "Probably because they don't want to call them by their real name—Fenrir."
Gwynn's pulse quickened. "Fenrir? You mean..."
"Yes, as in the wolf who kills Odin during Ragnarok."
"Doesn't it bother you," Gwynn's mouth felt dry, "that it keeps coming up? I mean, Hodur killing Paltar, now Fenrir...me." He said the last so quiet he couldn't be sure Pridament heard.
"Then I shouldn't tell you the assassin who killed Hodur was one of Woten's sons, named Vali."
"You die during Ragnarok." Saying the words made Gwynn feel like he was being strangled.
"Thor dies during Ragnarok. As far as I'm concerned, Thor died years ago. I'm sure there's some other Thor who can fill that role."
"It just keeps coming up. The end of the world—maybe all worlds."
Pridament gave a weak smile. "But it also says the world will not die. It will be reborn. Try not to worry about it. Prophecy is hardly ever literal. Besides, we have more real issues to deal with."
Their car entered a descending series of loops. The headlights provided enough illumination for Gwynn to see a series of suspended roadways branching off in various directions from the central loops which descended to the floor below.
When they reached the cavern floor, they drove down a wide lane toward a low lying building. A series of concrete, steel, and wood shacks lined the lane. In some, lights cast dancing shadows against drawn curtains.
Pridament pulled the car to a stop and the two exited the vehicle. A group of people were exiting the van in front, including Jason. Gwynn ran up to him.
"Glad to see you in one piece," Gwynn said.
Jason shrugged. "I've gone through worse. Quite the operation here. Have you been told anything?"
Pridament approached.
"I've found out a few things. Jason, this is Pridament."
Jason shook Pridament's hand. "It's good to meet you properly, sir. Things were a little...hectic the last time. I understand we partly have you to thank for still having a home."
Pridament's laugh sounded awkward. "I wa
s just the cheering section." He motioned toward Gwynn. "He did all the real work."
Gwynn gave Jason some details about where they were. He did his best to leave out the parts concerning Woten. He himself was still unsure if this was their Woten, or another world's, so he didn't see any point in upsetting Jason. Besides, he felt like he needed Jason. He was afraid telling him everything would turn him against Pridament.
"So they're rebel freedom fighters?" Jason asked.
"I guess you could call them that."
"One thing I don't get," Jason said, "how'd they know we were there? I mean, no one seemed all that surprised to find me in that van."
"Well..." Pridament scratched the back of his head. "I really should've warned you Gwynn. I mean—"
"Is that him?" A voice said.
Gwynn's blood turned to ice. He turned toward the voice slowly, afraid that if he moved too fast, the source might dissipate like the ghost it had to be.
But she was still there—solid, breathing flesh. Even in the dim light her hair seemed to shine like gold.
He whispered her name like a prayer. "Sophia?"
12
Night Terrors
Angie and Fuyuko ate dinner in the Suture cafeteria and hopped the subway to the station located beneath the town hall in Monday's Bay.
While neither really wanted to see either of the movies playing on the theatre's two screens, they decided for the sake of maintaining their cover story, they'd better watch one.
"The best lies always contain at least some truth," Angie said with a wink.
The theatre could fit a hundred people at best. The seats were high end and comfortable, about fifty years ago. At lest a decade of soda, butter, crushed chocolate, and please-don't-tell-me-what-else, clung to their shoes, making the walk to their seats more like a workout.
The movie was about a guy, who loved a girl, who got sick, and… Hadn't she seen this one before? In no less than five other movies?
Afterward, they walked home. Monday's Bay was small enough that from the center of town, everything could be reached in a twenty to thirty minute walk. For that brief moment, they were two girls, laughing at the ridiculousness of love in movies, and at the same time wondering if they would ever find, or had already found, a love that could compare.
Fuyuko's parents lived in the "newer" part of Monday's Bay—houses built in the mid-eighties. A light brick first floor and an upper floor encased in white aluminum, though Fuyuko seemed to recall it being wood at some point. Nothing about the house indicated the importance of Shinji Takeda's position within Suture—it wasn't even the largest house on the block. She didn't even know who owned those houses now. She'd spent the first eight years of her life here, being prepped for the day she would leave and join the ranks of Suture's young trainees. When the day came, having been so prepared, she'd walked away and rarely looked back at this place as her "home" for the past ten years.
Angie caught her shoulder before she opened the front door.
"We don't have to ruin this," Angie said. "We could still just be two friends who watched some sappy movie and are gonna spend the rest of the night talking about boys and maybe watching even more cheesy movies on DVD."
The way she said it, the longing in her voice, almost cracked Fuyuko's resolve. Could she really be so selfish? How much trouble would Angie be in if they were discovered?
"Is that what you want?" Fuyuko's voice shook. "Should I give up on finding out the truth about Katsuro?"
Angie managed a weak attempt at a smile. "If I'm being really honest, yes, that's what I want. I'm tired of having the fate of the world hang over our heads every day. I'm tired of spending time with my friends and wondering how many of them will still be alive in the next year. But I'll never have what I want, so in the meantime, I'll still help you. I owe you and Katsuro that."
Fuyuko threw her arms around Angie's neck, almost knocking the girl off her feet.
"Thank you," Fuyuko whispered.
They took a moment to compose themselves before entering the house. Again, they were just two girls having a night out.
"How was the movie?" Fuyuko's mother asked. Both her parents sat in the family room, her mother knitting and her father reading a thick stack of papers held together with a clip.
"It was ok. A little predictable," Fuyuko answered.
"Do you girls want any snacks? I made sure to have extra drinks and things if you were hungry or thirsty."
They both thanked her mom, but declined, having filled up at the theatre—the one enjoyable part of the experience.
"I made up your room and put the inflatable mattress in there as well."
Her room. Ten years and she still had a room. It felt…comforting.
The girls made their excuses and headed upstairs.
"Your parents seem really nice," Angie said once the door was closed. "Kind of a different story from how you used to make it sound."
"My mom's usually like that. It's my dad that…" Her shoulders sagged under the weight of the admission. "Well, he's never seemed that interested in me. Katsuro was always his favourite and source of pride. I'm just the consolation prize." She shook a chill from her spine. "So how do we do this?"
"Well, right now we just relax and wait for them to go to sleep. Once that happens, you just need to hold my hand and relax. Remember, I told you, since I'm acting as a bridge, I won't be there. Which means I won't be able to control anything. You'll be at the mercy of your father's subconscious."
"How do I get out?"
Angie smiled. "Use the 'Exit' door."
Fuyuko gave her a blank expression.
"Think of it this way, by bridging you into the dream, I'm creating a door you enter from. You can also exit from there as well. Just try to keep track of the door you enter from. You should be able to use the same door to exit."
They filled the time with idle chatter. Angie opened up a bit about her assignment with Gwynn. She'd spent the eight months since he'd come to Suture acting as a gatekeeper, making sure his dream mind remained dark.
"Did anyone try to find him through his dreams?" Fuyuko asked.
"Once." Angie's eyes filled with a mixture of fear and anger. "The night I decided we'd have a picnic. I was there, so I figured I could handle it. But the distraction of creating the dream was too much and something tried to break through. It was very powerful and very dark. Thankfully, Gwynn woke up, so I didn't totally blow it."
"And the reason for the picnic?"
Angie shrugged. "It's not that big a thing. I just wanted to do something nice for him. He…saved my life in that cornfield. I thought maybe a pleasant dream would be a way of saying thanks."
In a sly, mocking tone, Fuyuko asked, "And how 'pleasant' was that dream going to get?"
"Shut up," Angie said, her voice breaking into laughter as she seized hold of a pillow and brought down on Fuyuko's head.
Their laughter fell away into comfortable bits of conversation and silence.
An hour after they'd heard Fuyuko's parents come upstairs, she crept down the hall and listened at their bedroom door.
"I'm pretty sure my dad's asleep. Unless he snores like that while he's reading. So what do we do now?"
Angie rummaged in her bag and pulled out a drinking bottle.
"Well, first, we're going to have us a little sleepy-time juice, cause it's kind of hard to enter someone's dreams if we're wide awake."
"What's in that?"
Angie shrugged. "It's a little potion Woten had the research department whip up so I could sleep right away to defend Gwynn. They said it's supposedly all natural ingredients. It's your dad's department. You don't trust it?"
Fuyuko snatched the bottle and made to take a big swig, then stopped. "Uh, how much should I drink?"
"Just a mouthful is fine. Unless you want to sleep for a couple of days."
Fuyuko eyed the bottle. My dad's department made this. It should be safe, right? She took a small mouthful. The liquid tasted bitter,
but felt silky and warm in her mouth. That warmth filled her throat and abdomen as she swallowed. She handed the bottle back to Angie who took her own sip of it.
"So how long do we wait?" Fuyuko asked.
"About fifteen minutes. So you're clear on the details?"
"I need to keep track of where I enter, cause that's my exit. You won't be able to help me, and I can't control the dream, just observe and interact."
"Yes," Angie said. "Now we should lie down and hold hands."
Fuyuko feigned a scandalized expression. "But it's only our first date."
Angie hadn't exaggerated, Fuyuko felt the effects of the sleep aid almost immediately when she lay down. Angie's hand squeezed a little tighter on her own.
"Just remember the exit. It's the most important part."
Angie's voice sounded so far away. Fuyuko was falling. She imagined it like falling through gossamer tree branches.
She had no idea how long she fell, but eventually her feet touched something that felt like solid ground. She'd been in complete darkness, but now a gradual sunrise gave shape and colour to the world.
She stood on a small hill where a single tree grew tall into the sky. A carpet of lush, green grass swayed in a cool breeze that blew in from a lake she could make out in the distance.
"This is where my mom used to bring me before my powers awakened," Angie said. She'd been leaning against the tree, hidden from Fuyuko's line of sight.
"It's beautiful."
A weak smile crossed Angie's lips. "Thanks."
"So is this your dream?"
"Yes." Angie nodded. "It's where I always start and where I always finish. Call it a perk of being able to control the dreamworld—I always get to have the dream I want."
Fuyuko did a slow three-sixty, taking in the entirety of the landscape. She hadn't lied, it was beautiful. But she couldn't help but feel a sense of loneliness in the complete isolation.
"So how do I get into my dad's dreams?"
Angie pointed toward the lake.
"Head toward the lake. When you reach it, dive in and swim down. You won't have to swim far. It'll be disorienting, but at the bottom, you'll surface in a pool on the other side. It'll be in a blank room with a single door. You'll find your dad's dream mind on the other side."
Suture (The Bleeding Worlds) Page 14
