I had heard, Clay nodded and compassion showed in his rugged features So where is she now?
In my car.
You have a car! Clay gasped.
Wunep nodded miserably. I'm almost out of fuel and, with the bridge gone, trapped on this side of the river. There are military police everywhere and the road up to the forbidden zone is banned to all civilian traffic. His frown broke into a grin. Actually, we were one of those vehicles that pulled aside to let you through. I thought I saw a human through the back window of your combo and attempted to follow you. However, our car was turned back at the bridge. We saw your combo drive on and I tried to carry Snimel across after you. I pretended she needed urgent medical treatment at the hospital on the Vybber side. The police said if I was crazy enough to walk across, good luck to me. I was about twenty meters away when you dived into the river and I realized the conditions were too dangerous. Later, I found you here. He shrugged. That's basically my story.
And where's your car, now?
Wunep stared at Clay for a moment, sucked on his bottom lip as if he had come to a decision and nodded. Come with me, he replied and disappeared outside. Clay struggled into his damp stiff clothes and followed the clicker outside. As he had suspected, the rain had stopped but a cold breeze blew up off the river. Wunep stood half way up the bank waiting. Don't worry, he called back in a hash whisper. If someone was about to attack you, they would have done it by now.
I guess, Clay shrugged and made his way up a set of small steps to the road above. It was deserted and the street lighting had been turned off. Only a glow in the distance showed signs of the enemy occupation force.
Wunep walked to a small vehicle parked a few meters away and lifted the back door up. An interior light glowed and Clay glanced in over this companion's shoulder. A sleeping clicker was slumped unconscious under a blanket on the back seat.
Snimel's bodysuit had a malfunction and she's in hibernation. She'll wake up when it gets warmer. Wunep explained. Shall we get in the car?
Clay nodded and opened the passenger door. Once again a light came on to reveal the interior that, except for being smaller, looked identical to Charlie. Wunep slipped into the driver's seat and they were plunged back into darkness. It's better not to be seen, he muttered and turned to face Clay. That glow ahead is the new road block on the edge of town. That's the trouble, there's really nowhere we can go.
Clay frowned. How about Old Coach Road? he asked.
The clicker stared across the vehicle. I know of no road of that name, he said.
The original road to New Seattle, Clay explained. It's really just a trail and I doubt if this car will get through. That's the way I was going to walk.
Where is it?
You follow the river about three kilometers upstream past the bridge, then head straight in. It's pretty steep but was kept maintained until the invasion. He grinned. We purposely kept this end rough so your lot wouldn't realize it's an alternative route. The top ridges will probably still be snowbound, though.
You humans are resourceful, Wunep responded. I need to replenish the tanks and get supplies. He gave a whisk of a smile. A bit of bribery should do it. That's how we got this far. He stared at Clay If we lift Snimel over to the front you can conceal yourself under the blanket.
Clay still wasn't entirely happy about trusting this clicker but could see no alternative. Even if he managed to overwhelm him and steal the car how far would he get with no fuel? Also, Wunep's story fitted in with Jaddig's experience. He searched around the road but everything was deserted so he shrugged and climbed into the warm vehicle.
His trust was soon vindicated. By eight hundred and thirty hours, Wunep had completed a successful sojourn around various depots and proved to be very resourceful. Soon they had a full tank of diesel as well as food and supplies for several days.
Clay could not help comparing this young clicker with Jaddig. Both seemed to have an independent streak and grim determination that spoke well of their species. If more were like them perhaps there may have never been a war between humans and clickers. He shrugged and gave the driver directions out of town. Luckily, there weren't any roadblocks in their direction so it appeared the clicker military still regarded the northern exit from New London a dead end road.
After a torturous ride through what was really a walking trail, the three arrived in dense forest country and a well-maintained gravel road. The overhead foliage was a perfect camouflage and Clay doubted if even flying females could see the road from above. The foothills turned into a steep range that they wound up until they came to a ridge of tussock where snow still clung to shady corners. After several kilometers the road plunged down a steep zigzag into another valley filled with more forest.
Sorry, said Wunep when he noticed his companion's perspiring face. He reached over and turned the heater down I'm trying to get the temperature up so Snimel will wake up.
Clay grinned and removed his jacket. My clothes are filthy but at least They're dry now, he replied and glanced back at the sleeping clicker who had been placed back in the rear. Is it my imagination but is there eye movement?
Wunep smiled. She should be awake soon and what a surprise it'll be with a human travelling along with us. I doubt if she's ever been close to one before.
Yea, a dirty scruffy one, Clay grinned as he passed a hand over his stubble. I hope I don't frighten her.
At the top of the second ridge they again traveled through tussock that stretched across a broad plateau. The snow was thicker but at the slushy melting stage with the gravel of the road damp with moisture. Overhead it was a cloudless spring morning, mountains stretched across the horizon to the west while, in the opposite direction, the New Columbia could be seen like a silver snake winding through green farm land.
Look! grunted Clay and pointed out his window.
Way below the main highway could be seen. Vehicles, looking no bigger than matchboxes appeared to be bumper to bumper in a gigantic convoy several kilometers long. Beside the combos the moving black dots could only be foot soldiers. There were hundreds of them!
The invading army, Wunep sighed. I wouldn't want to run into that lot.
We should have blown the stop banks, Clay snorted and explained when his companion asked about the structures. That's why this road was built, he said The other route was once all swamp that flooded two or three times a year. Apparently it took years to build the stop banks and drain the swamps into two major canals that flow into the New Columbia He waved out at the rectangles of green with a straight line of water bisecting them. That's the Baby Panama Canal. If you look carefully you may even see the stop banks. After the lowland route was opened this road fell into disrepair. It was only reopened a few years back when we feared war was imminent.
Damn pity, the clicker replied. So what will happen to the human's now?
I don't know, Clay sighed.
The pair chatted for a while before lapsing into silence while Wunep concentrated on driving through a particularly windy section. After half an hour they were in the security of another forested area and Clay offered to drive. The clicker grinned, pulled over and watched in interest as the human managed the four steering levers quite successfully by expanding his hands to operate two at once.
Five fingers are almost as good as two right hands, the clicker commented, leaned back, shut his eyes and was fast asleep in an instant.
Clay smiled. He was pretty weary himself but, by concentrating on driving, managed to keep awake. Thoughts drifted to the events of the last few days and, without really thinking about it, he broke into a whistle of one of the old tunes remembered from High School. The road outside came into another valley on the opposite side of the hill so all views of the enemy army were out of sight. He could have been alone in the world, the motor purred, the sun shone and little clouds of evaporating water hung across the road. It was beautiful country with the deciduous trees just beginning to bud and even a few flowers blooming. Many of them had been b
rought to the planet by their ancestors, but what ones, he wasn't sure.
It seemed strange but Clay felt he was being watched. It was not that ominous feeling that sent shivers up one's back but more like the feel of a friend. He stopped whistling glanced sideways but Wunep was snoring peacefully. The bowman shrugged and began his tune again but he still felt as if eyes were on him.
He turned and realized they were! Two enormous blue eyes, as blue as he had ever seen were staring directly into him and they belonged to the female Crucnon in the back seat. She noticed him catch her eyes and glanced away.
Who are you and why is a human driving our car? she whispered in her own language. Her voice was curious rather than angry or nervous.
My name is Clay Farrell, one of the humans who helped Jaddig Qarte, he explained, and you're Snimel. Wunep has told me everything about you. We're heading for New Seattle and trying to contact my kind. You'll be safe with us.
The blue eyes bore back at him as the female sat up and blew her nose with a tiny handkerchief. We were at a road block heading for the forbidden territory when I fell asleep, she said in controlled precise English almost as clear as Jaddig's. I would like to know how you happen to be here.
Wunep found me, Clay replied. Those blue eyes were quite distracting with the slit pupils rather than round human ones, the tiny nose and very human looking lips. Of course, she had make up with light red lipstick and a touch of eye shadow.
Suddenly Snimel broke into a smile. Forgive me, she said, still in English. I've never spoken to a human male before, any human, actually. If Wunep has befriended you, that is good enough for me. She leaped up and squeezed through to the front, plunked herself, like an excited human girl in the little middle seat and did a strange thing. She smiled at Wunep and bent across and kissed him affectionately on the lips then turned her eyes back to Clay.
Do human's kiss their partners? she asked with a giggle.
Yes, all the time, Clay said.
I'm glad, she replied. We were told male humans ... She coughed and sort of flushed except her cheeks went white instead of red.... Well, you know!
We've been told half truths about your species, too, Clay smiled. Since I met Jaddig and today you two, I've realized that.
Snimel turned to Clay and her face turned serious. I never met Jaddig but everyone at the varsity heard about her family being executed. She's become well known.
The bowman smiled at his newest companion. She was the third clicker he'd met and, once again, this young female was so like a human to talk with it was uncanny. She was probably younger than Jaddig and akin to a human teenager. She slipped off her body suit helmet and Clay though that, with a head of hair, her face could easily be that of a human woman.
In fact, by being so ruthless, Snimel chatted away as she followed their progress out the windshield, the government has done the opposite to what they wanted. There are protest groups everywhere but they are unorganized and ruthlessly suppressed. She stared down at the forest in a valley below. Humans are blamed for everything from new diseases to the rising crime rate. We've been told you need to be hunted down and executed on sight; once humans are gone we will all have rich full lives again and the human lands will be balloted out to crucnon families. She frowned. It's all lies, of course. If you humans are beaten the lands will go to the government and military. Ordinary crucnon will get nothing. She glanced at Clay. I'm sorry, she said. I do go on a little, I know.
No, I'm interested, Clay replied. Jaddig has similar views to you. I can't help feeling that both humans and crucnon have been victims of propaganda aimed at making us enemies. We were told you were all ruthless insects with no sense of morality or emotions at all, just ruthless killers who can talk. He switched his eyes across at the sleeping Wunep. Yet you two, along with Jaddig, are the complete opposite.
And we were told humans would hunt us down and slaughter us for a food supply, Snimel added. We were told winged females would be caged and forced to lay hundreds of crucnon eggs that are a stable human diet.
We do eat eggs, Clay replied with a wee chuckle, but they are chicken or duck eggs. I doubt if a human has even seen a Crucnon egg, let alone eaten one.
We have chickens, too, Snimel added. They're birds and their eggs are in shells.
She added no more and Clay didn't like to press the subject. The conversation drifted onto other topics before they reached another ridge and Snimel offered to drive. Clay nodded and insisted on sitting in the back. However, once they started again he found his eyelids grow heavy and, within ten minutes, had dozed off.
Snimel grinned at the two sleeping males in the car but her thoughts turned serious. She noticed the fuel gauge was below the half full mark. She gave Wunep a nervous glance and wondered what would happen if the army was at the human village when they arrived. They both knew, like Jaddig they could never go back. If caught, they'd both be executed. Standing orders stated trials were not even necessary in a war zone. Anybody fraternizing with the enemy was to be executed on the spot and sadistic officers often made the public executions painful and slow as a warning to others.
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Chapter Nine
On the summit of the next ridge, enormous black clouds appeared, seemly from nowhere and a few large snowflakes fluttered down on the vehicle Clay and his two companions were in. Seconds later the skies opened and the snow tumbled down, thick and furious. The windshield wipers could not cope and all Snimel, who was still driving, could do was pull to the side and stop.
Both the clickers stared engrossed as the world turned to white. I've never seen snow, Snimel said excitedly. How cold will it be out there?
In spite of his worry about their progressed being hindered, Clay grinned. It's pretty cold on the hands but if you cover up I'm sure a short time out in it won't do any harm.
Oh we never come to any harm in cold weather, Snimel added with a shrug. We just slow down and fall asleep, That's all.
Remember, your body suit isn't working, Wunep warned. If you fall asleep we may not be able to wake you in these temperatures.
Look who's talking, the female laughed. Sleeping away until ten minutes ago and leaving me at the mercy of this ferocious human. She winked at Clay. Anything could have happened.
It did, Clay replied and continued when Wunep raised a hairless eyebrow. Snimel kissed you.
Clay! Snimel retorted. You didn't have to tell him that.
She grabbed her helmet, slid it on and opened the door. Seconds later she stood by the front of the car, waving the other two out.
Wunep grinned. Did she wear you out with her chatter? he asked.
Not at all, Clay replied. We just brought each other up to date on everything.
Wunep nodded but appeared serious. So what do we do now, Clay?
With the snow this thick, I'd say it will also be snowing on the low country. That should hold the army up. We have one more range to cross and a steep road down to New Seattle. It will be impossible to get through in these conditions so I guess we find a sheltered spot and wait until morning. He frowned. Does the engine run the heater?
Yes, Wunep replied.
We'll need to bundle up, then. It's going to be a cold night. Perhaps I could keep you both warm.
How? the clicker replied.
If we crowd together under the blankets, my warm blood should help you two. In cold conditions, humans often crowd together for warmth.
And if you begin to freeze? Wunep asked.
We don't hibernate, Clay replied. If the conditions are really bad and our body temperature drops too much it can kill us. We freeze to death.
The clicker looked shocked. I've got a lot to learn about your kind, he said. We can sleep for a month or more without any harm to our system.
Suddenly the door flung open, a scurry of snow blew in and Snimel dived back inside.
It's fun, she laughed, but so cold I felt myself slowing down. I've come back to warm up. She peeled off her four gl
oves and held cold hands in front of the heater. And you softies just sat here gossiping, she added and poked Wunep affectionately in the stomach.
Just stay inside for a while and I'll try to find shelter, Wunep retorted. He slipped into the driver's seat and moved the vehicle forward at a walking speed through bellowing snow until they came to a relatively sheltered cutting away from the prevailing winds. The heat disappeared within thirty minutes of the engine being turned off and Clay's attempt to keep his companions awake by using his body warmth and the blanket was only partly successful. Just as darkness fell over that lonely hillside both clickers fell asleep. The bowman followed Wunep's instructions and turned their body suits down. In their hibernated state they were safe, perhaps safer than he was but neither of them would awaken until the temperature rose. He covered them both in the only blanket available and went out in the storm to try to find wood for a fire.
A small grove of deciduous trees growing in a slight dip opposite proved to be a rich source of dry wood with one uprooted tree littered with branches and twigs. Clay gathered several armloads and soon had a blazing fire crackling a few meters from the car. As the heat built up the hiss of melting snow was accompanied by flickering firelight. White smoke punctured the air with hundreds of orange sparks that curled into the outer limits of the ring of light and disappeared. Clay hoped the falling snow would obliterate the light of the fire from unwelcome eyes in the valleys below but was not too concerned. As far as he remembered, they were in totally isolated territory.
He sat down with his back in a tiny alcove of the cliff, sipped a steaming mug of coffifake and munched on an energy bar from Wunep's supplies. The cracking of the fire was the only noise in this silent world of flickering light backed by inky blackness. By twenty hundred hours the snowstorm had moved on and stars came out, so bright and crisp Clay felt he could reach out and touch them.
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