Fractured Earth Saga 1: Apocalypse Orphan (11 page)

The men returned to Haakon’s dwelling, and as Wolf stepped inside, he saw a large room with a fireplace, several beds, and chairs placed around a rustic kitchen table where Haakon’s wife and four children sat waiting. Haakon smiled and introduced Wolf to his children, saying, “This man’s name is Wolf. He helped us today by slaying a dintar and giving it to us. He will be staying here for a day or two, so mind your manners. Wolf, you have already met my youngest son, Reon. This older, strapping lad is Trulane,” he said, placing his arm around a young man. “He is my oldest at eighteen winters. This bright young lady is Leesa, at seventeen,” he said, gesturing. “And this is Brithee…she is thirteen.”

The older boy gazed at Wolf with a mix of awe and fear, while the younger girl gazed in wonder at his massive size. The older girl stared openly at Wolf, making him uncomfortable. She was breathing hard, eyeing him up and down with a lustful sigh. She was about five foot tall and had long blonde hair and gray eyes. Unlike her mother, she was a bit overweight but still quite pretty. Wolf recalled a movie star from his time and thought to himself that this girl could have been Lindsey Lohan’s twin sister. The younger girl, Brithee, was lanky and tomboyish.

As Wolf sat down at the table between the two girls, both scooted their chairs closer to him. He felt awkward, as if playing tea party with children. The chair he sat in supported only half of his buttocks, and the other half hung over the edge. Questions began flying from all directions.
Where are you from? What is the name of your land across the sea? Did you really kill a dintar with one hand? Are all your people as large as you? Do you think I am pretty? Do you have a mate?

A hand touched Wolf’s thigh under the table and he abruptly stood up, banging his head against a solid roofing timber overhead. Haakon coughed and smiled, admonishing, “Children, enough! Let the man eat. He said he has not had a home-cooked meal in days. Wolf, please sit down. Eat. Leesa will serve you. Are you injured?”

“No, but I think I cracked your roof beam.”

They all looked up in amazement at a crack in the solid roofing timber overhead. Leesa rose and went to the hearth, scooping out a bowl of stewed dintar and placing a large steak on a plate. She returned to the table, moving gracefully, and smiled as she served the meal to Wolf. Nala served her husband and the rest of the family.

Wolf’s first bite of dintar was so hot that he had to spit it out. He glanced around at the smiling faces, embarrassed, and then blew the meat cool. It was delicious. It tasted like pork rib meat, and he had a whole steak to enjoy. The stew consisted of what looked like carrots, onions, tomatoes, and potatoes, yet its flavor was unlike anything Wolf had tasted before. He could have made a fortune in his time with this simple fare.

“This meal is delicious, ma’am. Thank you,” Wolf said to Nala as he scraped the last morsel of food from his plate. “I have never tasted food this good. You are truly gifted.”

“Why, thank you, sir! You have made me smile. Usually, I make too much and we must eat it the next day. You have finished it all! Tomorrow I will make you more,” Nala gushed.

“I must leave tomorrow to check on my shuttle—I mean, boat,” Wolf said with regret. “I will return soon.”

“Oh, stay, sir. We want to show you our hospitality,” Leesa pleaded, biting her lower lip seductively.

Haakon’s oldest son Trulane laughed raucously and said, “That isn’t all she wants to show you.”

“Trulane, do not be disrespectful. It will not be tolerated in this house,” Haakon said with no real anger in his voice.

“Yes, sir,” Trulane answered, suppressing a grin.

“Come, my friend, we will go out to the porch for a drink of barley beer and a smoke. Do you have a pipe?”

Wolf shook his head and replied, “No, I don’t.” Haakon went to a crude desk and took out an old pipe. He handed it to Wolf, and the two men went to the porch as the women cleared the table. Reon came out carrying two mugs of a brown liquid. He handed one to his father and the other to Wolf, who sniffed the beer and peered into the cup. The liquid was amber-colored and cloudy. He sipped the beer and was surprised by how robust and tasty it was.

Haakon took out some type of tobacco and filled his pipe. He offered the pouch to Wolf and then lit both of their pipes. Wolf recognized the substance; in his world, it had been called marijuana. He chuckled to himself, amused that of all the things to survive on this planet over thousands of years, marijuana was one of them.

“So, you are ruled by a king?” Wolf asked, breaking the silence.

“Yes. He was a renowned warrior once, but old age and many injuries have crept up on him. It is rumored that he sired twins, but he has no legitimate children to continue his line,” Haakon explained. “His land stretches for miles in all directions, but we can’t hold it for him. We are a community of twenty-five thousand, but we can only muster nine thousand fighting men. The king’s castle is protected by an Old Guard of about six thousand warriors—all old and past their prime but ready to die for our king.”

With a frown, Haakon added, “You are fortunate you came to our land. The kingdom to the south is ruled by Jonar, an evil man who covets everything. He wants our king’s land and has attacked our villages, slaying the men and kidnapping our women and children to be sold to his nobles. It is a terrible time for us. You should travel to the castle at Springdale to meet our king. Also, a wise man lives there—a man of much learning,” Haakon said hopefully, thinking Wolf could be of considerable help to his aging monarch.

“A wise man?” At a nod from Haakon, Wolf asked, “How far is Springdale, and in which direction would I travel?”

“It is many days’ walk to the east,” Haakon replied. He pointed to a range of mountains in the distance. “It is over those hills and down into the valley. The mountains are impassable, except for a small cleft. A massive iron gate protects the castle and keeps Jonar out.”

Haakon glanced at the assortment of unfamiliar articles hanging from Wolf’s belt. “You are a hulking man, and your many odd devices and speech make you even stranger to us.”

“These are my tools I use to plot my course. I carry them with me always, and I learn languages quickly. Soon I will master yours,” Wolf said with confidence.

“They are different from anything I have seen or heard. Unfortunately, I cannot leave my farm unprotected to make the journey with you, and my taxes are due. I could send Trulane with you, but being just a boy, it wouldn’t guarantee an audience with our king.”

“What is your king’s name?”

“King Waylan.” Haakon’s eyes lit up with an idea. “I know! We will send introduce you to Onel, his tax collector, when he arrives here in a day or two. When Onel returns to the castle, he can inform the king. When he returns to collect next month’s taxes, he can inform you of the king’s decision to meet you.”

“I will enjoy your hospitality, but I must return to my boat after the tax collector leaves,” Wolf said. “While I am here, I would like to help you on the farmstead. I did farm work when I was a boy.”

Haakon shook his head. “No, my friend, I can’t ask you to do this labor, but if you would like to hunt, I wouldn’t object.”

“Then I will hunt. But I do not know all the animals here that are edible.”

“I will send Trulane with you. He is a skilled hunter and knows the game trails in our area,” Haakon volunteered.

The two men went into the house and Haakon settled into a chair, leaving a rough-hewn couch for Wolf to sit on by the hearth. Nala refilled their cups with barley beer as Haakon said, “I will have Nala fetch you a blanket and pillow. You can share Trulane’s bedroom.”

“There is no need for that. I will sleep in the barn tonight,” Wolf responded, not wanting to overcrowd the small home. The family had been inconvenienced on his account already, and he didn’t want to muddy up the waters by driving the young man from his bed.

“If that is your wish, my friend,” Haakon laughed.

Wolf accepted the blankets and pillow from Nala, and after bidding everyone good night, he went to the barn. He glanced at the bedding he had been given and grinned. His immense size made them seem like a throw pillow and a beach towel. Inside the barn, he found a space to lie down atop a layer of soft hay. He noticed two animals that resembled cows and one that looked like a pig penned on the other side of the barn.

Wolf removed the equipment from his belt and hung the belt on a peg. With a yawn, he stretched out on the soft hay and fell asleep. Minutes later, he was awakened by a soft, pleasant sensation on his neck. It felt like gentle kisses, and he reached out, expecting to feel a feminine body. What he felt was no woman—it had was long, rubbery, and it exuded a hideous odor. His eyes opened wide, and he saw that one cow had gotten out of its pen and was eating the hay from under him.

“Damn,” Wolf muttered with a grin, wishing it had been a mysterious, beautiful woman planting kisses on his neck. He got to his feet, corralled the cow back in its pen, and checked the other pens to make sure the gates were secured.

The moon was rising over the hills as Wolf stretched out on his straw bed. A feeling of loneliness crept over him as the night's shadows played through the trees outside the barn. This unfamiliar world that was once his home now felt so alien. Only one thing remained on the planet that anchored him to his past, and he needed to hear a familiar voice, so he tapped a button on his watch and whispered, “Syn, how is the shuttle?

“The shuttle is fine, Commander. I have everything under control.”

“That's good to know. What’s the status on the older, orbiting satellites?”

“I have been running diagnostics on several, Commander. We may be able to salvage one or two of the solar-powered satellites if we strip parts from the others."

“Any intel from the C29 or the Dawn yet? Anything at all?”

“Commander, are you all right? You seem uncharacteristically talkative.”

“Just feeling lonely, Syn. How about that intel…”

“Yes, Commander. The recently deployed C29 and Dawn confirm that MBR has limited power in the lower science lab levels. I am still detecting an unexplained signal that we may need to investigate. Long-range scans detect no signs of wreckage from any of the Savior spacecraft.”

“I forgot about the Saviors. Weren’t they headed to a moon orbiting Jupiter?”

“No, Commander, they were headed to Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons. I detect no evidence of life on Enceladus and no technologically advanced civilizations anywhere in this solar system. I cannot locate anything that resembles the energy signatures from spacecraft of our time.”

“So MBR has power and a signal you can’t explain? I want to know what’s going on there, but we’ll save that for later. There’s a castle east of here—use our deployed satellites to scout it for me. And let me know if you detect large movements of people anywhere on the planet. I don’t want to be caught in the middle of a local war.”

“As you wish, Commander. Is there anything else you require?”

“No, Syn. Wake me at first light.”

“I will. Good night, Commander.”

“Good night, Syn.” Wolf smiled at how real the computer sounded. Its AI component had been programmed to simulate a realistic human voice, and he found himself talking to Syn as he would a human companion. He dropped off to sleep, thinking about what lay ahead of him.

Chapter 7

“C
ommander, it is time to awaken.” Syn’s voice sounded from the computer strapped to Wolf’s wrist.

Wolf opened his eyes and yawned. He looked out at the blue sky, amazed at how clear it was. “Syn, is there any pollution at all on this planet?”

“No, Commander, I detect none whatsoever.”

“What’s the weather outlook for the next week?”

“My scans indicate Earth’s rotation has changed, and its axis is tilted nearly parallel to its orbital plane. The planet is rotating on its side, in other words, and this unusual orientation causes extreme, seasonal weather variations. Earth’s orbital path also has changed, and it is now just eighty-three million miles from the sun, placing it closer to Venus. Every three hundred and ninety days, Venus approaches within fifteen million miles of the planet. Analyzing the movement of geologic fault lines, I detect vast undersea disturbances that coincide with the orbit of Venus.”

“Let me guess…Venus will pass by soon and we’re in for really bad weather?”

“Travel will be difficult, Commander. I advise you to return to the ship and go to orbit until the storms have passed.”

“Is there any evidence of destruction on this part of the planet?” Wolf asked.

“Yes. Doppler radar shows supercell thunderstorms forming, and tectonic instability in the oceans will trigger earthquakes and tsunamis. The area where you are should be relatively safe, but it will experience severe weather, hurricane-force wind storms, and major flooding.”

“Who are you talking to?” a child’s voice inquired. Wolf glanced up and saw Reon standing in the doorway, his curious eyes searching for another person.

“Blackout silence, Syn,” Wolf whispered. Looking at the boy, he asked, “What?”

“I heard a lady in here with you. Where is she hiding?” Reon asked.

“You’re mistaken. I was singing,” Wolf answered.