Awakening the Mare (Fall of Man Book 1) (10 page)

“What do you know about the Sybaris?” Davis
asked me.

We had stopped at what looked like a garden.
In fact, many people were resting there, enjoying their meat on a
stick, talking to each other, laughing.

It was a comfortable place.

“In which way do you mean?” I asked.

“Do you know how many kinds there are?”

“Two. The Savage Sybaris and the Civilized,”
I answered. “The Savage kill for food and do not reason. The
Civilized ones use humans for food and workers.”

“Do you know where you are wrong in your
answer?”

I shook my head. I honestly did not know
because I did not think I answered incorrectly.

“There are three types,” Davis said. “The
Savage, the Civilized, and the Day Stalkers.”

“They are not Sybaris!”

“Ah, but they are.” Davis held up a finger.
“They are a combination of the Savage and human. For every human a
Savage kills, a Day Stalker is born. The numbers are growing, we
are constantly fighting them. We have three thousand people here,
and we are trying to get more. One day I hope to go into the
Wastelands of the east, as I really feel there are more people
there.”

“How do you know?” I questioned. “How do you
know that this isn’t it? That there are more people?’

“Because we get people every day. I send
soldiers out to look for them. A lot of times they find remnants of
villages and nothing but Day Stalkers. So people are out there,
they just aren’t safe. I want to make them safe. I need to bring
them here.”

“You control and kill the Savages?”

Davis shook his head. “Not always. We try. We
lose people as well. The hardest to fight are the Day Stalkers.
They don’t have the same weaknesses as the other Sybaris. They’re
stronger because they can eat other things aside from humans,
sunlight doesn’t hurt them the way it does the Savages, and they
are not afraid of water— they’ll dive in after you.”

I was speechless. This was new information.
“I… I did not know that.”

“It’s not water that kills the Sybaris, it’s
the pressure of a lot of water. It causes some sort of internal
combustion in them.”

“How do you know this?”

“Well,” he winked, “we experimented on a few
Savages. It doesn’t work on the Day Stalkers because they were
originally human. I’m glad that for some odd reason they migrate
toward the Civilized or we’d be overrun. Those sons of guns are
fast and tough.”

“The Civilized have the ability to control
them,” I told him. “They call them. They use the Day Stalkers for
entertainment and to fight Savages.”

“That’s because the Civilized go to great
lengths to preserve the humans they have. Heck, you’re a meal for
forty years. They take what they need, let you replenish, take some
more. They want to control the human population so they are never
overthrown again.”

“So it’s true, the Sybaris did rule the world
at one time?”

“In a sense. That was long ago and man has
ruled the world since.”

“This is what I do not understand,” I said.
“In Akana we hear tales of a growing revolt. That is you? If they
know of your revolt, and they fear losing control again, then why
do they let you grow?”

“Because with all of us centered here in
Angeles City, it keeps the Savages out here. If we fail and lose to
the Savages, then they’ll head toward the Ancients’ City. It will
be a battle of all three breeds. And that, my dear, is actually a
goal of the revolution.”

“A goal is to lose to the Savages?”

Davis shook his head with a smile. “No, we
alone can’t defeat the Civilized. If we can figure out how to lead
the Savages to the Civilized, then all we have to do is let them
battle it out, and they will. Then we pick off the remnants. The
world, at least here, is ours again.”

There was something disheartening about
hearing him say that. It wasn’t what I expected. I suppose it
showed on my face as well as my silence.

“What’s wrong?”

After a brief hesitation, I answered him.
“May I be honest?”

“Please.”

“This is disappointing. All we heard was
tales of warriors training to overthrow the Civilized. It sounds as
though what you really want to do is let others battle for you.
Allow your enemies to combat, so when they kill each other, you
take what is left.”

“That’s not a good plan to you?”

“No. It’s an easy way out.”

“Tell me why you say that, please,” Davis
said.

I gathered my thoughts and hoped that my
words would not offend him. “If a person wants to take full pride
in and credit for the vegetables of his garden, then he should
plant the seeds and nourish them. If you want this world to be
yours, then do not get it by default. Do as our ancestors did. Earn
your inheritance. Rise to the occasion, defeat them, and only then
take it back.”

I had heard of its existence, but never in my
life had I believed the ocean would be so empowering and
overwhelming.

Like a pilgrimage, people loaded into long
vehicles that Tanner called buses, packed inside, and they all rode
to the end of the country.

I saw Tanner briefly, he said he was really
busy and would catch up to me later. He was escorting people on the
bus. It was as if I were forgotten about. The only people I knew in
Angeles City seemed so engrossed in preparing for something. The
last thing Davis said was, “This is where we part. We have to get
ready for the full moon tonight. You know what that means, right?
I’ll catch you later.”

He too, would ‘catch’ me later as if I were
going to be flying through the air. What an odd phrasing. I didn’t
get it.

I toted my bag and climbed into the bus. A
woman gave me a blanket and told me when we get to the ‘beach’ to
stay with my assigned group.

I was lost, confused, and had no idea what
was happening. I didn’t even know what the full moon had to do with
anything. All I knew was that I was shuffled about. Somewhere,
somehow, it dawned on me that no one knew I was a new arrival.

My best option was to do what others were
doing, be like a sheep and follow the flock. Obviously, they
weren’t going to slaughter. Instinctively, I knew they were
avoiding one.

The buses stopped with a loud squeal and
everyone stepped off in an orderly fashion. I felt the coolness of
the crisp breeze and the air smelled differently. Only a few steps
into my walk I saw the ocean It blended into the sky and extended
out as far as the eye could see. The ocean was enormous. I had to
take a moment to look. People brushed by me but I was frozen in
awe.

What a beautiful sight, one I never thought I
would see in my lifetime.

I did not know exactly who my assigned group
was, but I followed those from my bus as they made their way to the
beach. My feet sunk in the sand and it was harder to walk.

A woman must have noticed how confused I
was.

“Honey, you can set up anywhere,” she said
with a smile. “Pick a fire pit and relax, it’s going to be a long
night.”

I thanked her and was still confused by what
she meant. I stood there watching others set up blankets and
plastic boxes next to rings of bricks, laughing and having fun,
being relaxed. I was far from relaxed. I found my own ring of
bricks, placed down my bag and blanket. There were charred sticks
in there along with two fresh logs and twigs.

Fire pit. That must have been what it
was.

I glanced around, noticing others creating a
fire in their ‘pit’ and I figured I would do the same. In my stable
bag, not only did I have my time capsule and some food items, I had
the means to create a fire.

Starting a fire was actually something I was
quite good at and I got mine going pretty quickly using the flint
cube. After spreading out my blanket, I pulled out my time capsule
box and a small sack of oats and nuts that my mother had mixed and
baked with honey.

It was peaceful sitting there and staring at
the ocean. I blocked out everyone. I couldn’t help but stare.

“Sweetheart, I am so sorry,” Davis said,
plopping down on the sand next to me.

“For what?” I asked.

“Leaving you alone.”

“You are the leader, Davis. I
understand.”

“You did a great job on your fire.”

“Thank you.”

“I brought you dinner and water.” He handed
me a bottle and an item wrapped in a cloth. “It’s a sandwich.”

I smiled and accepted it. “Davis, why are we
on the beach and what does the full moon have to do with
anything?”

“You don’t know?”

I shook my head.

“Then I apologize again. The first night of
the full moon, the Sybaris are at their worst. We try to bring as
many people as we can together near the water. See that wall behind
you?”

I turned and peered. I had been so busy I had
not noticed the large wall that extended all the way down the
beach.

“The Sybaris will come to that wall. It’s our
way to get the most of them when they are all out there. We’ll
shoot them. They’ll try to get people, and they may succeed. But
they’ll get a heck of a lot less people here than if people stayed
in their homes. Here, people retreat to the ocean and go into the
water.”

“I cannot do that. I’ll sink.”

“You don’t need to go out that deep. Just to
your knees. Don’t you swim?”

“Swim?”

“I guess not. Swimming is a term we use for
when you go into the water, don’t sink, and are able to move about
and float.”

“Thank you for explaining that.”

“Hey….” Davis smiled and reached down. “Is
this your time capsule?”

“Yes, it is. I always like to look through
it. It tells so much. The girl, Janie, who made this box, wrote
pages and pages of explanations. It has your leaders, your
warriors…”

“Our warriors?’

“One,” I replied. “He must have been a great
one. “ I searched the box for the picture of the strong man. His
arms were bare except for the large gloves that came nearly to his
elbows. He wore a leather warrior outfit and his chin and face were
chiseled and strong. “Here.” I handed it to him. “Ben Hur. You must
have been proud of him.”

Davis took the photo. “Ben Hur is actually
Charlton Heston, an actor.”

I stared at Davis, waiting for him to say
more.

“You don’t understand do you?” Davis asked.
“You will know after tomorrow. Let’s just say he was a hero to
many. And boy, I’ll tell you, that Janie person was an odd one.”
His hand moved about the box. “Oh, hey,
Best of Poison
.”

“Do not touch it!” I said quickly before he
could pick it up.

“Val, it’s a cassette. No worries, okay? It’s
old. They stopped making these a long time ago.”

“That’s a good thing.”

Davis smiled and stood. “Well, I have to be
going. I have to get my guards ready for this evening. I won’t
leave you be alone too long. I’ll send Tanner over.”

“He irritates you but you trust him,” I
noted.

“Yes, yes I do. You can say… in a sense, he
saved my life.”

“Oh, a hero like Ben Hur?”

Davis laughed. “Not quite.” He rubbed my head
and walked off. I didn’t understand why he patted my head, though
it seemed friendly enough.

After he was gone, I settled back into my box
and shifted between the contents of my time capsule and studying
all that was taking place around me.

For as many people as they were, it was the
first time I truly felt alone. I was in a new place, with new
people, far away from my family.

The moon had not peaked in the sky, yet
darkness had started to settle in. To my left and right, dots of
fires illuminated the beach in a straight line. Though there was a
beauty about the entire scene, I felt sad and out of place. I did
not know if people intentionally avoided me or if they were so
consumed with their friends and family that they did not
notice.

I nibbled on my sandwich. I wanted to make it
last all night as well as the fire. I poked the fire to keep the
flames going.

Finally, Tanner showed up. I was really happy
to see him. He dropped with a loud exhale.

“That is an impressive fire,” he said. “Who
built it?”

“I did.”

“Good job. So Davis said you have a Poison
cassette.”

“I do. I’ll let you see, but don’t touch
it.”

Tanner held up his hand. “I won’t. I promise.
I don’t want to die.”

“I don’t want you to die either.”

“Val, I’m kidding. Joking. Get it?”

“No. And you called me ‘Val’. Why?”

“A nickname. Something we do. Shorten names.
And I was joking about dying too.” Tanner smiled at me. “Do you
know what a joke is?”

“I do. We tell them all the time in
Akana.”

“We do too. We also joke with each other.
Kind of make up tales that are exaggerated.”

“Why?”

“It’s a…” Tanner shrugged. “It’s dumb. Don’t
worry about it. So tell me a joke you know. I’m curious as to what
you Akanians find funny.”

Tanner wanted to hear a joke. Finally
something I could do. I knew lots of jokes and we told them often.
“Here is one.” I paused to giggle. “Why did the pig cross the
road?”

“Um… I don’t know. Why?”

“To get to the other side!”

Tanner just stared at me.

“Do you not get the joke?”

“Oh, I get it. It is the same one as why did
the chicken cross the road.”

“There is a chicken version?” I laughed.
“That is even funnier.”

“Um… yeah. How about another one.”

“How many Sybaris does it take to ride a
horse?”

Tanner shrugged.

“None. Sybaris do not ride horses.” I
laughed, one of those uncontrollable laughs that escape through our
nose.

Tanner did not laugh.

“Did you hear that one before or do you not
think I’m funny?”