Still on my knees, I quickly regained my composure. Calish attempted to explain, but I pushed him away. “I have nothing to say to you, and frankly, I don’t want to listen to anything you would tell me either.”
“Graken, will you give us a moment?” he requested.
“No. I don’t have another moment to offer.” I tried to stand up, but something prevented it. The land under my feet shifted, throwing me forward. The two men lost their footing, ending up in the mud next to me. Even our horses struggled to keep upright.
Thunder crashed from all directions, and the rumbling of the hills intensified. The world shook so violently the trees flicked back and forth like whips, and those unable to withstand the motion split and cracked, falling in whatever direction the hill had launched it. Some landed so close to us we felt the gust of their branches as they plummeted to firmer ground.
This is it.
Throwing the hood of my cloak back, I watched the valley, knowing what would happen next. Enough of the trees obstructing our view had snapped at the base, giving us a panoramic opportunity to see what would come next. The land rumbled for a few moments longer then stopped.
Calish, soaked and covered in mud, crawled toward me. “Are you hurt?”
My eyes focused on the new road, the little houses, and all the tiny specks I knew were people. “Did you tell Merci to get out of the valley?”
“Why would I?”
“Oh my gods, you weren’t listening to anything I said?”
“What are you talking about?” he yelled.
Grabbing the collar of my cloak, I pulled it tight under my chin. My breath became shallow as a fire-bolt with a white-hot tail cut across the sky. It disappeared over the hill and made the ground under us roll like a whip yet to crack. “It doesn’t matter. It’s too late.”
A deafening explosion forced our hands over our ears, and we watched the ridge give way to its unmanageable weight. The hillside and everything on it slid down into the valley like water off a spoon. The fall rattled the hills again, although not as viciously. Still, everything as far as we could see splintered, letting their contents drop like offerings at the feet of the gods. The lands roared into their new position, obliterating everything in sight as if it were disrobing an unwanted garment from its shoulders. The valley, once full of residences, buildings, and shops, now stood silent, an eerie moratorium of newly turned land.
The only suitable enemy of the hungry ridge was the already confident river below. Unwilling to sacrifice more territory than it had to, the landslide forced the waters up and into the Temple and Authority Building, tackling them as if they were nothing more than cards on a table. The hillside proved its dominion over the river, and the river showed itself more powerful than the gods themselves.
The facades of the two most revered buildings in our land didn’t crumble; they simply surrendered as if they knew they didn’t stand a chance against the power of the river. Like a stack of children’s blocks, the walls fell as a single piece, not letting go of the stones until they slapped against the hard water and shattered into pieces like glass. The stoic iconic structures volunteered to return to their original state. They accepted their fate as simple river stones thrown back to the soil-enriched water of the rapids. The trusses, roofing, and windows were swallowed whole. Everything else washed away with the current.
Within a few seconds, the landscape of the valley was changed, but the gods were not finished remodeling. Massive chunks of hills fell one after the other, burying everything below well after the shaking ended. Nothing survived. Every piece of infrastructure, every building or monument, was erased. Any trace of life for as far as we could see vanished. The screams and cries of survivors along the road reached the heavens. The hundreds of temporary homes in the ditches and roads that I’d passed earlier in the day were leveled, but its people survived better than those elsewhere.
Fallen trees surrounded us, but luckily, Calish, Graken, and I suffered minor injury.
“Where’s Rebel?” I pushed myself up. “Rebel! Rebel!”
Where did he go? My gods, is he hurt, did he run to safety?
Calish stood up, a blank and disbelieving expression laying claim to his face. “Did you see this?” He grabbed my arms and shook me. “Did you know this would happen?”
Squirming out of his grip, I screamed, “I am the crazy lady! I went door-to-door trying to get those people to leave, but instead of listening, they had me arrested!”
Graken didn’t pay us any mind. He sat in the mud, staring into the valley with his hands pressed against his temples. Rocking like a child, he mumbled phrases of disbelief. The world changed right before his very eyes, and it threw him into shock.
Our horses had fled, and with all the wailing, I couldn’t focus through the sounds of the rain to hear them. Climbing up between the branches of a fallen tree for a better vantage point, I stood on top of the trunk of an enormous evergreen. Several trees lay scattered across the road. Anything could have happened to them. They could have been swept away in a landslide, pinned by timber, or worse. For now, I’d believe Rebel made it, although I couldn’t see how. The others never entered my mind.
There was no use staying here, but navigating a path would not be easy. Fearing the edge of the hill might still be loose and give way, climbing over the downed trees seemed the best choice. I sat, intending to slide down to the other side.
“Where are you going?” Calish asked, grabbing the back of my cloak.
“I’m going home to make sure Mother and Father are safe.” I yanked the garment free of his hand.
“Wait!”
“Why?” I jumped off to the other side of the tree. “Go find Merci or whatever you need to do.”
“Now is not the time for this conversation, Una!” He stomped in the mud.
“You’re right.” I straddled my next obstacle. “It’s not.”
The evergreen trees lay like walls stacked between us. Even if they weren’t there, the layers of lies and emotion would push us further apart than the east stars were from the west. He made his choice to become a Citizen, and there in his muddy Authority uniform, he stood as a different man than the one I once knew. He looked like the man I loved dressed in a lie. The man who vowed to protect me abandoned me, and now I knew why. He’d moved into his role, his new life full of dreams that no longer included me.
As much as I hoped he’d climb to my side of the obstacles, the glances he made into the valley told more than any vision I could conjure. I’m sure he apologized as he took a step away from me. I bet he even had a believable excuse when he pulled Graken up from his knees. Words lost their meaning, and I couldn’t hear his voice over my heart shredding itself beneath my weighted chest.
He’s going back to find her.
I turned to hide my anguish. There was no point in staying just to watch him go. Yelling or confessing my pain would do nothing. No matter what I said, he would ultimately leave again, and I would go back to…well, whatever remained. He promised me freedom, and now I had it. I had wondered if he was alive. That question had been answered, albeit painfully.
I fought my way through, around, and over several fallen trees along the road. With every step I made, I forced my eyes to stay facing forward. One step turned into two, and soon I stopped counting the trunks I pulled myself over. Working out the sorrow of my situation with sweat and tears motivated me to continue on despite the blood and sap crusting in the palms of my hands. Eventually the clouds had parted, and the moonlight lit the path with reflections of the stars dancing on the standing water. It provided me with just enough light to navigate the new landscape of the hillside.
As a representation of my heart, the crooked tree that marked the turnoff to our road had split in two, each half lying in opposite directions. Another casualty of the event that failed to survive. I stopped, letting my fingers test the splintered spires reaching for what ripped away. Broken and exposed, my old friend would become vulnerable to opportunisti
c insects. With their gnawing jaws and bead-like eggs, they’d burrow deep inside its living parts to feed from what life it had left. When it no longer served their purpose, they’d move on, letting it rot away from within.
For the first time, I looked behind me at the dark and abandoned road. I waited and waited for Calish to appear in a desperate attempt to prove myself wrong, but he never came. Resting on the smooth bark of the fallen trunk, I studied the sky. The few visible stars pierced through as feather-thin clouds brushed by to obscure the god’s view of their handiwork. Stargazing always connected Calish and me, even when we were worlds apart, but the bond we had fractured deeper than the ridge. Watching illuminated star tails burning out in the distant sky, I prayed for one to land where I stood.
The end of my existence would be glorious if one found me. It would also be merciful. Screaming at the gods did nothing; their wrath never came. Mocking the immortals, I held nothing back. I ridiculed them and tempted them, and when I said all I’d ever kept secret, they remained silent. Rebuking them passionately felt cathartic, and when they didn’t strike me dead with thunder or open the land to swallow me whole, I laughed at their absurdity.
Bidding the crooked tree goodbye, I hurried down the road that led to our home. Perhaps the last leash of death had not been released, and what I saw was the beast tearing at the heavens, eager to be let in. Could it be we hadn’t suffered enough? Did the vengeful patriarchs of the eternal realm wait for a grand finale? If so, I’d die with my family, or what was left of them.
Chapter 25
I stood in front of the property, surveying the area. It was hard to believe I was here just before sunrise this morning. When the mission team left, the gate was open, and the bridge spanned the gulch; other than that, there had been little changes over the seasons. As a result of the quake, the bridge was pushed backward, leaving one end deep in the protective ditch, rendering it impassable. The berm held well, with the exception of the few trees that fell across it and into the road. These things were of little concern compared to the condition of our house.
There was no proof a home had ever been there, other than the pile of broken logs and torn wood crushed under the boulders of the hillside. Ironically, we’d always considered ourselves lucky to live under the bluff made of stone. Its slight curve over the house protected us from the strongest of rains in Hytalia and the direct sun during Toridia. I realized that there was no perfect location that would protect a home from all potential disasters. To my knowledge, our lands had never shaken like they did today. If they had, my father would not have built the house where it stood.
Lost in disbelief, I didn’t notice when my father and Marsh stopped working the mud oxen by moonlight.
“Una!” My brother dropped the rope and ran toward me.
“Where’s Mother?”
“She’s fine! Everyone’s fine!” He picked up a plank and tossed it across the gulch. Once in place, he held out his hand and helped me across.
“I’m so happy you’re here.” I felt myself tear up as we hugged each other tightly.
“Una!” I turned to see Trisk running toward me. “You made it!” She wrapped herself around us.
“Where is everyone else?” I asked.
“Lark and Hainen headed back to camp, but Trisk, Ino, and I decided to stay here and help out,” Marsh answered as he pulled away.
“Thank the Great One.” Father scooped me up. “We heard you went into the valley. We’ve been worried sick.”
“I made it up the hill just before the quake.”
“Marsh, go find your mother and let her know Una’s here.” He wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand.
My mother ran as fast as her legs allowed with her skirt gathered in her arms. My father released me just in time for her to take his place. I don’t think I’d ever been kissed as many times as I was in the first few moments she held me.
They’d been working against the fading light until only the moon provided enough to frustrate themselves. Wanting to help, I asked how I might lend a hand. My mother and Ino had gathered the animals and temporarily repaired their cages to keep them from escaping. Most of them had survived. One of the goats had met an untimely death by a boulder, but no one had tended to it. Not wanting to waste the meat, I decided to make better use of the animal than let it rot.
Exhausted and cold, I offered to build a pit. Finding suitable stones to make a fire circle wasn’t difficult with all that had fallen from the cliff. Still, some needed to be dug out from the surrounding debris.
“What are you doing?” Trisk asked.
“These rocks keep the wood and flames contained. It’ll help maintain the fire’s heat,” I explained as I started to place the stones. Just as I ran out, she returned with a few more to finish the project. “Thank you.” I smiled.
“Now what?”
“We need to find four strong branches to cross in pairs and vines to bind them with.”
“There are a lot of trees down. I’m sure we can find a couple that we could cut off,” Trisk suggested. “Where should I start my search for a saw?”
I surveyed the damaged buildings and structures that once housed our belongings. The shed next to the house leaned off-kilter; the door no doubt being the only reason it stayed upright at all. A few tugs to open it would either further the collapse or pull the entire thing on top of the person standing next to it.
As I considered our options, Trisk came up with a better plan. “We used saws to gather the Nobu. I bet there’s one still in a pack.”
After rounding up the proper tools, she identified the branches and worked to strip them. Fumbling with the first one, she refined her technique and soon set off to find a straight one to prop across. She returned, pleased with her accomplishment. The branch, thick and lacking offshoots, was the perfect piece necessary to complete the project. Trisk would have made a fine Scavenger.
“Thanks for your help,” I said, studying her selection.
We worked together to bind the branches with vines before anchoring them on either side of the fire pit. It took rows of stacked stones to secure them, and after Trisk chose the perfect spit to lay across, the apparatus was ready to use.
Even with one end of the branch sharpened to a point, impaling a carcass to cook whole would have taken hours. For efficiency, my family rarely prepared meals that way. We found cutting the animal into chunks made manageable pieces. Mother taught me to cook them for stew or the like. Occasionally, we’d cook a hindquarter, but either way, we’d use a kettle to make it. Ours lay lost somewhere under the pile we once called home.
Considering our options, I heard Trisk’s stomach rumble.
“When did you last eat?” I asked.
“When we were with you this morning, I guess.”
She would not be the only person hungry. Everyone had been working to the brink of exhaustion and could benefit from a decent meal. “Then we’ll hang the meat on the spit. You start a fire. I’ll prepare the goat.”
“Umm,” she followed after me, “I don’t know how to do that,” she apologized.
Sometimes I forgot that Citizens had luxuries that prevented them from learning useful skills. Stoves and fabricated grills did little when buried under rubble. “Marsh can get one going. I’ll bet he’ll be willing to help you.”
Not wasting another moment, she skipped over to him, who proved all too eager to assist her. It might have been because he was sweet on her, or because it had to do with food, but he didn’t waste any time finding the wood or starting the fire for her.
From the corner of my eye, I watched him impress her with his fire building skills. It was more entertaining than skinning a half-crushed goat. I must admit, Marsh made an impression. To me, he’d always been my brother, but to Trisk, he was a man—a strong man who carried armfuls of roughly cut wood and started fires with sticks and flint. Taken by his ability, she gazed at him with big round eyes as he leaned down to blow gently on the struggling flame.
I’ll cut you up first and skin you in pieces!
Even with the hacksaw I used, the job tired me out. Wiping the sweat from my brow with the back of my arm, I stole a moment to check on my brother’s progress across the yard.
The hungry flicker Marsh nurtured spread to the kindling he nested beneath the firewood in a place safe from the rain. Pleased with the fire’s beginning, he sat up and watched it grow, all while considering his next move. Trisk hugged his arm and bounced on her knees next to him. He forgot about the flame and took joy watching her excitement instead. The two of them could have been in the middle of an empty field. Neither of them noticed the glances and grins of the others as he tended the flame for her. The night had set in, leaving their infatuation with each other next to the light the only thing in the world worth seeing.
I’d never seen Marsh quite like this before. He’d always been the tactless giant, speaking his mind with a sort of clear-cut understanding of right and wrong. He was rude, crass, and offensive, yet when he was with Trisk, he was strong, confident, and dependable. The way he treated her with kindness and behaved like a gentleman reminded me of Calish and how he used to be.
With a squeezing in my chest, I sawed through the spine at the base of the skull to clear my mind of such painful thoughts. Setting the head aside, I quickly realized I could not distract my grief by pulling apart a half-squashed animal.
Damn rigor.
I cut the lower neck free from the shoulders and started on the section under the shoulder. Still, the pain in my heart would not allow me to ignore that my time with Calish was over. So many things had been thrown in the way of our love. It was naïve to think that we’d live happily ever after. Determined not to cry about it again, I focused on my task. There were bigger problems to address than my relationship…like scooping all these guts out of the goat now that I’d freed the ribs and back meat.
Season of Hytalia Page 29
