by C. W Tickner
Harl heard Damen roar his battle cry and together with the general the hunter raced to split around the rat. It looked from one to the other, each turn of its long nose taking longer before its beady eyes locked onto the targets. When they reached either side they waited for more spearmen to surround it.
‘Strike when it turns,’ Silver called. Both he and Damen crossed the halfway point and the creature chose its mark and leapt for Damen. Twenty men raced in, screaming as they plunged swords and spears into the thick fur. Damen leapt aside burying a hatchet deep in the hair.
Dana climbed up its back, using the hair for handholds and thrust her daggers down, fixing herself in place as the creature shrieked in agony.
Harl joined Troy in rushing forwards as the beast screeched and thrashed around, knocking men back and throwing Dana off. Harl’s blade found flesh before a claw struck him hard, raking his armour and crushing the air from him.
A group of spearmen were beaten aside but enough blades had found their mark. The beast slowed until it had barely enough energy to chew on the soldier it clasped between its over hanging teeth. The man in its mouth dropped as it shuddered and slumped to one side.
The Aylens above roared a choking sound that Harl had come to recognise as laughter. Grakka was no longer watching and Harl smiled at the thought of disappointing the director.
One trudged over to them, the boy, Half, had lost his helmet and his armour was scratched and splattered with blood, clearly the boy hadn’t been idle. Harl wasn’t sure if the same could be said of One, he was still in his leather apron but it looked as clean as it had before the fight. Harl didn’t care but when the general stopped congratulating Damen and Dana he noticed the state of One and frowned.
‘You’re in front next time, One,’ he said.
One nodded and Half shuffled in beside him as if to say they were together in it.
The general looked at the rest of them. ‘You are special,’ he said, giving the four of them an appraising look. ‘What do you want as a reward?’
‘Reward?’ Troy said as if unable to believe his luck, ‘Ale, a bath and-’
Harl held up his hand and he stopped. ‘We would like to speak to a particular janitor,’ Harl said.
‘The one you came with?’
Harl nodded.
‘Why?’ Silver asked.
‘We don’t want to be trapped here. We want out.’
‘There is no out,’ Silver said.
‘We always find a way,’ Troy said with half a grin. ‘Now about that bath...’
‘How will a janitor help you?’ Silver cut him off.
A short alarm sounded and the Aylen above left as the lights on their collars turned yellow.
‘Inside,’ One said.
They all trudged back up the hill and the weight of Harl’s chainmail seemed to double with the steep incline and the weariness in his muscles.
‘Hurry,’ One said as orange dressed men poured out from entrances in the side of the battlefield. The doors were hinged flush with the metal walls and if they hadn’t opened them, they would have been invisible.
When they reached the rest room, men split up, ditching their armour for medical treatment or heading straight for the bathing rooms. Harl just wanted to lie down and sleep but he found himself once again being swept up in the routine of washing and following a train of men to the food hall.
‘The special four,’ One said, coming over to sit with them once the long tables had been nearly cleared of food and were now dotted with a hundred empty mugs. The cheers had faded as drunk men staggered from the room, some sorrowful at the loss of friends others glad to have survived.
‘General told me that tomorrow you’ll meet your janitor,’ One said. ‘Until then, relax, enjoy the food and get to know the place.’
Troy finished a long swig and hiccuped, ‘an fighting?’
One shook his head. ‘Never seen three battles in as many days. Be gold’s turn tomorrow.’ He looked at them slowly, put his elbows on the table and leant in. ‘Do you really think fighting the watchers is possible?’
‘We’ve done it before,’ Damen said. ‘Usually with better weaponry but I’ve seen a man cut through the eye socket with a sword and take one down.’
‘Never,’ One said.
Damen stood, pushing the bench out as he rose. One threw his hands up, and even for such a big man he paled under Damen’s glare.
‘It’s true,’ Harl said, remembering Oscar, the dark skinned hulking man who had become friends with Damen. The man had commanded enormous respect from his tribe and those he’d met after Harl had helped free him and his people. He’d died as they left the surface by killing the Aylen so the ship could escape its crushing grasp.
Dana stared wide-eyed, having never heard the story as Damen ran through the tale of the escape from the tanks and the ascent up to Orbital. He told of the world meeting and the laws they hoped to have passed to protect humans. In truth the Harl felt embarrassed by the end as Damen made him out to be the hero of the tale. By the time he’d finished the general had snuck up around them and was standing nearby listening intently.
‘Some tale,’ he said making them all jump. ‘I see why you believe you can change things. But how will this janitor help?’
Harl decided to come clean. ‘He will be looking for a way out where we cannot go.’
The general laughed, ‘and even if he finds a ladder that leads out of this building all the way to this island you talk about then we’ll be blown to brains before our feet touch the floor. He slipped a finger behind his silver collar and gave it a tug. ‘Unless you can convince a watcher to show us how to take these things off.’
‘If there’s a way,’ Harl said, ‘we’ll find it.’
‘How do you know what the watchers want?’ Harl asked, wondering how they knew about attacks.
‘Four sends me details.’
‘And you can contact them back?’ Harl asked. ‘Send information back?’
‘He expects reports, yes.’
‘Then we need to make a plan and use the chance to send false information.’
Chapter 36
I have dug a small stream through the core. It leads from water pooling points to a small pond that overflows into the drainage system and back to the irrigation tubes. An idea springs to mind, one that involves a rod and a trip to animal cryo storage.
Two days passed before they were able to meet Kane. No battles happened involving the silver army, but every now and again a faint scream of the dying would sink down through the table from gold’s battles above. Sometimes it was just screeching as if the Aylen had put creatures in to fight each other but there was no mistaking the cries of dying men.
They met Kane at night on the lowest deck in a storeroom for weapons and food. One ushered them through the sleeping quarters of captains and through the kitchen where they found Kane dressed in bright orange and stacking goods into piles.
‘Only got a short time,’ One said.
Kane turned to face them with bags under his eyes. He smiled, obviously pleased to see them. ‘Had to clean up what you left out there,’ he said.
‘Have you learnt anything?’ Harl asked.
‘Beyond dragging bodies in an efficient manner, lots,’ Kane said. ‘There is a tunnel that the janitors use. It runs on every floor around the outermost edge of the table.’
‘That ain’t news,’ One said. ‘It’s how they move around without being seen all the time. Tell me, seeing as you don’t fight, how well do you lot eat in your mess?’
Kane ignored the question. ‘What is not common knowledge is that the janitors have been trying to repair a hole that has opened up in the exterior metal.’
‘A hole?’ Troy asked, helping himself to an apple from a crate.
‘At the bottom of the table,’ Kane said. ‘If we can find something to string together we can climb down when the Aylen are off duty.’
‘And these?’ Dana asked flicking Troy’s collar and making
him drop the apple.
‘I need more time but I think it’s possible to get them off. I just need to bypass the-’
Damen shook his head. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I like a ruckus as much as the next man but if these fights get worse we’re not going to all be coming out of this. I refuse to die before Grakkas dead.’
‘Give me a couple of days,’ Kane said, ‘and I can figure something out.’
‘We won’t have a couple of days,’ Troy said, ‘We all saw Grakka today and he tried hard to kill us. Reckon he’ll do it again. Two days is a death sentence.’
‘There’s a battle tomorrow,’ One said.
‘Perfect,’ Harl said. ‘Kane, meet me on the left of the silver line.’
‘How am I supposed to do that?’ Kane said, ‘I’ll be dressed in bright orange.’
Harl took his top off and handed it over, ‘here. All you need now is something for your legs.’
Kane looked at Damen and the big man shook his head.
Troy sighed and stepped forward, almost tripping as he untangled his trousers from his ankles and handed them over. ‘Sorry about the sweat.’ he said.
‘One,’ Harl said, ‘Can you find me and Troy another set?’
‘Plenty where they came from,’ he said. ‘I’m surprised the janitor can’t get em.’
‘All counted,’ Kane said. ‘We can’t be seen to be sneaking about. The others are very...strict.’
‘Well, according to Four I got a fresh batch of recruits coming in the morning so snaffling one won’t be hard.’
The sound of footsteps echoed from the other side of the door.
‘More janitors,’ Kane said. He pointed to a cubby space behind a high stack of crates. ‘Get in there.’
They just managed to squeeze in as the door opened and Damen had to press hard against them to hide his bulk. Harl was sure Troy was unable to breath beside him and all he could smell was the foul breath of One on his neck.
‘Haven’t you finished yet?’ a voice said. ‘Thought they said you were intelligent and here you are taking hours just to move some boxes. There’s bodies to be disposed of before the watchers come to pick them up in the morning. And bring us some food when you’re done here.’
‘Of course,’ Kane said.
Harl spied the speaker through a crack in the boxes as he headed for the door. He couldn’t be that clever he thought, seeing Kane holding the silver bundle in one hand. He hoped Kane had enough sense to bring his orange robes tomorrow. The Janitors left and like a spring released from tension, they all tumbled out from the pressure, falling over each other and into crates.
‘Oi?’ a voice called from outside the door.
Kane scowled at them for the noise and raced to the door before the janitor could come back in. He poked his head around the door frame. ‘Yes?’
‘Find us some good meat before you touch the bodies.’
‘Of course.’
‘That was close,’ Troy said, taking another apple and sinking his teeth through the crunchy skin.
Chapter 37
It has been nearly two years since my last entry and I can proudly say I have finished my home. It is furnished with equipment from my original room, oven, refrigerator and even a heated plumbing system.
The horn blew mid morning the next day. Harl joined the army marching from breakfast to the armoury then up one of the corridors out on to the hilltop. It was easier this time and Harl wondered about his choice of taking no armour. He had grabbed up a sword so he didn’t look too out of place and he stayed between to Damen, Dana and Troy, using their tall shields to cover his lack of equipment.
He couldn’t risk seeming a threat to the golds. His stomach was bulging from the two brown cloaks he’d borrowed from the stores and stuffed under his bright silver jerkin. He caught a glimpse of the gold haze running the length of the other hill. His heart gave a double beat, knowing he would have to pass the thousands of men over there and find the general without being maimed, killed or captured.
Ahead of him Troy froze as an opening between the front rows of men gave them a view down into the centre of the valley.
‘Not a bloody chance,’ he said.
Harl stood just behind him and peered over his shoulder.
Four scrabblers were churning up the red slick mud, trying to attack each other or dart up the hillsides to the armies above, straining the chains that held them. The men along both hillsides must have looked like a seething mass of food. They strained at their bonds, jarring the huge nails that plugged the chains into the blood soaked ground.
‘Beasts as well?’ a young lad said as the four of them shuffled through the crowd heading for the far left of the silver battle line.
‘And they got specials,’ a man mumbled.
A giant ballista was being hauled into place by a train of bullocks. It was a huge crossbow, five metres across, trundling on four metal rimmed wooden wheels. A cart behind the train was loaded with a dozen man sized bolts. The wood of the cart was unstained as if it had just been built and it bounced as the team of men accompanying it swerved it to a halt. They swivelled the ballista to face front.
‘Maybe they’ll use them on the beasts-,’ another soldier said.
A stamping march of men and a cheer rose from the centre of the silver army. A large company of crossbowmen exited from a hidden door along the back wall to applause by the silver general and One, who as promised, was standing at the front of the army.
It seemed the watchers had a sense of humour, using one giant crossbow to fight dozens of smaller ones. The parallel was like a reflection of humans versus the Aylen, although judging by their dim expressions of amusement from above he doubted they had put as much thought into it.
‘Form up,’ Damen said as they reached the far left of the line along the hill. Damen nodded to a straight crack that had appeared in the smooth metal wall. Kane had opened a hidden door a fraction to let them know where he was. Damen marched them to the spot and using the shields they hid Kane as he slipped out, his orange robes covered by the silver uniform of the army.
‘Can’t get through this side,’ he said. Too many janitors, we have to get across to the other side of the hill. He peered over the heads of the crowd, his eyes scanning the army through his wire glasses.
‘Where’s One?’ he asked.
‘General wanted him at the front,’ Harl said. ‘Why?’
‘Lets go,’ Kane said, ‘before the brutality starts.’
‘As usual,’ Damen said, turning to face front and hefting his shield to a more comfortable position.
‘There’ll be more than enough bash-bash for you,’ Kane said with a grin.
Damen shrugged and stared down at the scrabblers. ‘Reckon you’re right, science boy.’
‘I’m older than you, you glorified-’
‘Time to go,’ Harl said giving Kane’s silver clothing a tug and cutting him short. Harl looked at Damen, Troy and Dana and seeing the determination on their faces gave him a feeling of pride. ‘Good luck,’ he said, ‘we’ll be back later, until then, just stay alive.’
Troy twanged the string on the bow he’d picked. ‘More ready this time,’ he said.
The roar of the line intensified as the general rode down it to give his customary speech.
Harl led Kane through the throng, stopping to pick up a bow from a weapon cart and handing it to him. He sheathed his sword and took one himself. It felt familiar in his grip.
‘Don’t you want arrows?’ a man said as he plucked at a snapped string, trying to replace it from a bundle on the side of the cart.
‘Of course,’ Kane said and stooped to snatch up a couple of bundles at the base of the cart. ‘Our first fight with bows.’ He tossed one to Harl and gave him a “that was close” look.
Most men were staring away from them, down at the deadly rats or across at the sea of gold painted men and didn’t notice the two men crossing behind them. More troops were coming up from the doors that lined the back wa
ll of the hill but most had already filed out and only limping men or weaker soldiers were still coming up.
They passed behind the general and his aides as he reigned in after the speech. They were detailing plans for supplies to be dispersed during combat.
‘It will protracted,’ Kane said.
‘Protracted?’ Harl asked.
‘Some battles last longer than one encounter. If it was a short one then we’d have no chance of seeing the general.’
‘You make it seem like a good thing.’
Kane shrugged. ‘This place is barbaric and I would be- Oh no.’
‘What?’ Harl turned to see One standing among the aides, he was facing away from the general and was staring at them. He was squinting as if trying to make them out.
‘We need to move,’ Kane said.
Harl cut into a regiment of reserves milling about, sharpening weapons and warming up, but the press was thick enough to hide them from One’s gaze.
‘What’s your positions?’A man asked. He wore a silver plumed helmet that marked him as a captain. Harl looked back to see One’s bald head bobbing along the outskirts of the regiment, seeking a way in.
The captain must have sensed something was wrong and he lunged, grabbing Kane’s shoulder. As the fabric shifted Harl realised the captain would see the clothing underneath so he shoved hard at the man, pushing him back into a group of soldiers who scattered at the stumbling captain.
‘Go!’ Harl cried to Kane.
As the captain stood they ran on, slipping in the mud and forcing their way through the ranks.
‘Through there,’ Harl heard the captain say as One reached him.
Harl and Kane fought the press of men until they slammed into the wall.
Kane pressed a section on the smooth wall that looked like an old blood stain. Harl glanced back as One stepped out from the mass of men and broke into a run.
