Planets Falling (22 page)

“Hi Sprouter.  I sent your aunt Felicia home.  Mom will be here soon, but I’d thought Liza and me’d play catch up.”

“Theo, have you noticed the moon?”

“Whatcha mean?  It was there last I checked.”

“The houses, I mean lights, on the surface.  They’ve gone out.”

Theo runs outside and returns dazed.  “I’ll be scorched in pitch.  They’re gone.  How’s this possible?”  We can hear other townsfolk shouting their concerns in the streets.

“This can’t be good, Theo.  You don’t think this is the start of the return of the ancient ones?  Teacher says – “

“Amy, relax.  This isn’t the return that Teacher’s foretold.  I’m sure it’s just some clouds or bad weather.”  His face shows me that he’s not confident about his conclusion.

I know Theo’s completely wrong.  He’s never seen a giant black bug-like god step out of the forest.  I have.

We both jump at a bang on the door.  Eliza throws her ball across the floor.  “Theo, Marksman, are you in there?”  It’s Bets.  She’s the only one that calls me by my father’s family name.

Bets comes crashing in, adorned in her leather and hemp hunting clothes with a bow strung over her back.  She’s clearly not here for a social visit.  Bets ignores me, thrusting the hilt of a hunting knife at Theo.  Theo responds.  “Bets, this ain't your knife.  Where’d you get this?”

“I just removed it from the body of a stranger on the outskirts of the village.  It seems that outsiders are on the move with the moon going out.  I’ve heard of raids on other towns, but never thought it’d happened to us.”

I clarify.  “Bets, I presume that the body was a person before he met you?”

“Yes, Marksman.  This person was going to kill our people.  And there're more out there.  Theo, we need to get the militia moving.”  Without looking at me and the baby, she heads out the door.  “Theo, come on.”

Theo looks at me.  “Amy, stay in the house.  No matter what you hear outside, don't you go outside until I come to get you.  He hands me a small blade.  “I'm assuming you know what to do with this.  Of course, there’s more in the armory out back.”  I put Eliza into her bed, turn down the oil lamps, and hope that no one suspects we're here.  The voices of the townspeople fade as the town militiamen tell them to go indoors.  Eliza’s auburn curls sprawl on her pillow, wrapping her tiny head in a warm cocoon.  I wish I could feel her peace.

A single, muffled scream slices through the baby’s room.  I grasp the knife and draw closer to the baby’s bed.  More screams and shouts drift toward us, getting closer.  A smoky, acrid funk fills the room.  The front door rattles; it clearly is time for us to retreat.  I grab Eliza and head to the corridor that attaches to the armory.  The weapons storage building is fortified with stone walls and a sheet metal roof.  The building predates our village and my father often called it the bunker, whatever that means.  Eliza's bawling and I feel like puking. 
If the entire village burns to the ground, the armory should hold.  Of course, it also may pique the curiosity of the attackers.  We have no food or water to sustain us during a siege.  I light a single candle and hope that Theo, Bets, and the remainder of our protectors are winning the fight outside.  I can only imagine what's happening to my fellow villagers in their unfortified dwellings.

We call the building an armory but it holds more than weapons.  Father and Wenn use it to store spare tools as well as common items that they fashion such as stirrups, hammers, crowbars, spoons, and nails.  The walls are adorned with father’s favorite items, including some that he didn't make but collected over the years.  Some of these items are strange sticks with hollow barrels and a thickened end.  He called these guns and told me never to touch them.  A few times a year, father, Wenn, Theo, and some other men take a bottle of shine out into the woods with the guns.  They come back all riled up, usually carrying some unusual game - strange birds, impossibly large elk, and once a huge brown bear.  These guns are powerful weapons, opening up new opportunities for hunting and accelerating the mens' joy in killing.  They scare me.

Eliza is fussing.  I offer her my breast and that seems to calm her and I feel better too.  The walls of the armory mute the terrible sounds outside.  It does seem that the cries and shouts are abating, which heartens me.  The smoke smell is filtered by some material in the vents near the ceiling, so I have no idea whether the burning continues.  It’s impossible for me to measure time in this space but I’d guess we’ve been in here for several hours.  I'm half conscious when a distant pounding on the external door stirs me.  My heart skips.  I wrap Eliza in blankets and tuck her behind some barrels.  If something happens to me, perhaps a friend will find her and provide protection. I especially hope Felicia is alright.  She'd make a great foster mother.

I cautiously approach the door and peek through a tiny glass hole.  Relief flows through my veins.  It's Theo.  I crack open the door – a terrible smell of smoke and something else, burnt flesh, perhaps, assaults me.  My mouth opens but no words come.  I’m terrified for the very first time.

Theo looks horrible - his face a montage of ash, sweat, and blood.  His left eye socket is swollen.   “Amy, get Liza.  We’ve got to go.”  His voice is raspy and shrill but very controlled.  His bravado is gone, replaced by the true, brave Theo I’ve always known lurking below the surface.

  I rush back into the armory to fetch Eliza.  I kneel down by the barrel and search her blankets.  She’s gone.  My terror is now heightened by panic.  My vision blurs and I swear I’m going pass out.  Instead, motherly instinct takes charge and I begin calling her name while frantically searching the space.  Certainly, she crawled away and must be hiding says the strong mother inside me.  I look down the room to see light that shouldn’t be there and my very core freezes.  The instinctual mother vanishes and I'm nothing more than a frightened little girl.

The door to the corridor leading to the house is ajar.  An eerie, flickering, snot-green glow mocks me from behind it.  I run forward, barely noticing Theo beside me.  Theo throws the door open and my world completely dissolves.  The corridor no longer leads to the house, because my family’s home is completely gone, replaced by a pile of sticks and smoldering ashes.  I scream Eliza’s name and then the scene vanishes into a void that seems endless and hopeless.  I don’t want to leave.

“Wake up Marksman, I mean, Amy.”  Bets hovers over me looking ragged.  Her hair hangs in greasy strands in her face.  Her hunting cloak is covered in blood stains, mostly not her own I suppose.  I jump up and begin searching frantically.  “You found Eliza, right?  Tell me that you found her.”

  Bets looks genuinely concerned.  In a gentle voice, she says, “Amy, no we didn’t find her.  If we’d stayed to search much longer, we’d all be dead.  I’m pretty sure they took her.”  She spits into the grass.

My panic returns.  “We’ve got to go back.  She’s in the rubble – I know it.”

“No, Amy, she’s not.  Theo, Samuel, and I searched the armory and the immediate area.  No sign of her.  If you ask me, I think those people and things were after you and your kid.  Once they got what they wanted, they began to clear out.”

“Where are we?  If you won’t go with me, I’ll go alone.”

Bets’ hard-ass persona returns.  “First, we’re safe Marksman.  And second, you’re not going anywhere.  You’re not gonna do your kid any favors getting killed or kidnapped.  Theo told me to watch you and that’s what I’m doing.  Sit down.”

I try to stand. Bets pushes me down, fairly gently.  Given that I have no bearings, I’d have no idea how to get back to town.  Bets hands me a jar of some shine, which I sip with shaky hands.  I feel as if I’m going to burst.  “Bets, what’s happening?”

“The moon went dark.  The town was sacked by some very organized marauders.  The raiders were real assholes and burnt the west-side to the ground.  They only killed a few folks – people that were in their way.  They did steal a few young women - the Killin girls, the Bences, and the Mitchells.   If we don’t get the girls back, they’ll likely get sold into the slave trade.  Samuel has sent some trackers to find your baby and the girls and rescue them if possible.  I’d say there were fifty attackers, most on horses with torches and some nice weapons.  The attack was clearly directed on your compound and the armory.  We thought they wanted the weapons.  Instead they took your girl.  Puzzling.”

“This has to be related to the disappearance of my father and Wenn.  I just don’t understand. What about the rest of the townspeople?”

“Most opted to return to their homes if the houses were still there.  A few folks, including those that lost their houses, have gone over to Millsboro.  Millsboro sent a small squad of militia to aid us.  Too little, too late, I’m afraid.  Marksman, you have to know something about why they’re after you.  Do you think it has something to do with what your father and Wenn did when they left town?  Maybe an unpaid debt or a grudge?”

I'm too exhausted to be angry.  “I’ve told you all a thousand times.  My men were taken by force.  They did not leave me and the baby intentionally.”

Bets rolls her eyes and takes a long draught from her water flask.  “It’d be easier if you accepted the fact that they left you for profit and paid the price.  Now we’re paying the price.”  She throws her knife at a tree.  It sticks in knot.

“Where’s Theo?”

“Theo, Samuel, and English are at the perimeter of the town searching for any activity.  We’re still sworn to protect our citizens.  They’re still there.  And you’re here.  Reality is, we can’t let you go back if you’re the danger.”

“So, I’m an outcast?”

“Maybe.  Try to get some rest.  Theo’ll be back soon and we’ll decide what our next steps should be.”

Hours pass.  Bets gives me some jerky and unlevened bread, which I nibble and then promptly throw up.  I sip a little water, curl into a ball, and recede into hell.  I never thought of myself as a weak person.  However, I can't seem to find any strength inside.  My mind is jumbling with violent, incoherent images - bodies, blood, brown stains, wild eyes, and, most strangely, the wicked grin of an unknown woman.

The thrum of Theo’s voice lifts me from my trough of despair.  “Amy, honey, please wake up.  We got to get moving.”  My vision is blurred but it’s still clear enough to see that Theo’s completely spent.  One thick hand is on my wrist and the other is bracing the small of my back. And I’m on the back of a horse, holding on with desperation.  Consciousness fades again.

Chapter 48 - Extinguished

Oh damn. I’m having one of those dreams where I know I’m dreaming but unable to wake up.

I look down at my youthful, sixteen-year-old hands and realize that this is the terrible day all over again.  I’m in the gardens working on a compost pile.  As I turn the mass of leaves, steam rises into the sky.  I always enjoyed this work, taking something so potentially vile - meats scraps, manure, straw, rotten fruit- and making it into rich, sweet-smelling, functional soil.  The green creatures stir in the small wood plot beyond the meadow. They gesture to me.  I put down my pitchfork and walk toward them.  The little ones have never acted this way before.  They’re agitated by something.

I follow them into a small clearing that we use to grow cold-weather crops – deep green lettuces, sweet onions, and strong garlic, mostly.  Tiny shoots of green peek out of the dirt in orderly rows.  Something’s amiss in one section of the field.  The sprouts have vanished and the soil is mounded.  A deep growl from the chaotic dirt pile stops me.  I back off and gather three of my fellow students – muscular boys with shovels and pitchforks.

We run back to the area, where a pack of fifteen mangy wild dogs, fur matted with blood and moist, mud-like slime, are fighting over the rumpled body of some poor creature.  We rush the mongrels, swinging our tools and shouting.  All but one of the dogs scatters into the woods.  The remaining scruffy animal hunches down, teeth bared, staring straight at me with angry, cataract-ridden eyes.  I discover viscerally that I can see its mind; this is similar to my ability with the green beings. Whereas my green friends send benevolent images, this dog mind is blank but very hungry.  It wants me next.

One of the boys yells and swings at the animal, his shovel hitting it squarely in the head.  The dog yelps- its pain and unbridled fear searing through my skull.  It falls on its side and the other boys pummel it to a messy, furry pulp.  While gulping air and bending with their hands on their knees, the boys examine the pack’s victim.  They freeze. Will, the largest, boldest of the boys looks at me with a mixture of horror and pity – an image that is all too clear in this relentless replay in my mind.

I run forward although Will tries to hold me back.  I’ve spent the last ten years trying to forget the sight before me and yet it still plagues these damn dreams.  I wish I could find an herb that erases the memory and lets me sleep peacefully.  Shine doesn't help.  On the precious earth is the most woeful thing imaginable burned permanently in my mind.  My mother's splayed on the ground, dirt wetted to mud by her blood.  Her face is flawless - her expression serene, happy.  The remainder of her body is unrecognizable and indescribable.  Her favorite blue dress is shredded and mucky with dog spit, blood, and fur.  It seems the dogs were playing with it before we arrived.

I can’t scream, cry, or move.  I drop to my knees and stare although I see nothing.  Father arrives with Samuel and several other men.  The sound of my father sobbing pulls me from my paralysis.  I walk over to her, close her eyes, and stroke her blonde curls.  This is where the dream deviates from the ones I have had at least weekly for my adult life.  I turn from my poor mother to see another dog in the woods.  This animal does not appear like the others.  My little green friends are standing next to it, stroking its thick grey fur.  Its eyes are wise, not wild.  I realize it is not a dog but a wolf.  I see an image of sorrow and security in my mind.  The wolf is standing over a dog with its paw firmly on its back.  The green ones are telling me that this will not happen again and that they are sorry.  I’m the garden tender now.  No time for grief.  Your mother is proud of you and carry on ... for all of us.

The dream continues to surprise me.  Usually, I find myself standing with my father and aunts at the base of the peach tree where my mother is being buried.  This time, I am at the tree, alone.  The wolf stands next to me, nudging me forward.  Someone lanky and black is sitting in the shade of the tree – Fromer the god.

“Hello Amy.  Sit with me.”

“What are you doing here?  Is this still a dream?”

“Yes, it is.  I'm sorry to say I was there the day your mother died.”

I’d like to feel angry, but this is some strange manifestation of mindfulness that apparently prohibits my ability to murder a god.  I try to speak but only a weak squeak spills out.

“Your mother loved you very much and didn’t want to leave.  However, she was killed by the very same beings that want to do harm to you father, husband, and daughter.”

“Dogs want to kill us?  I suppose you mean something controlling the dogs?  If you were there, why didn’t you stop the animals or their masters? Are you communicating with me in my sleep?  Like the little ones in the forest?  If so, why’d you choose such a horrific place to visit?  This is not real.”

Fromer picked a peach and took a bite, juice running down his glossy chin.  “The dogs weren’t what they seemed.  They were indeed possessed by something you will encounter again in the future.  As for saving your mother, I can’t interfere in events.  I’d have saved her if I could.  This dream's real for you.  Yes, I am sending you a message.  This is not a horrific place.  This tree is where the body of your mother is resting and it underscores the importance of the events that are unfurling.  Your mother is part of this, although I can’t explain how.”  He savors another bite.

“Mister Fromer. I couldn’t think life could get worse.  Then you appeared.  You have brought nothing but wickedness to my life.  Look at what is happening to my home.  Wenn and father are gone. And now Eliza.  Why?”

Fromer finishes his peach and throws the pit into a patch of daisies.  “Whether I had appeared to you and your father or not, the same events would have happened.  I’m here to reinforce rather than coerce.  Listen to and trust Theo.  He knows what to do, even though the answer is unclear to him right now.  Eliza, Wenn, and your father are still alive and well.  Follow Theo and be strong.” The wolf appears next to Fromer’s greyish arm.  Fromer scratches it behind its right ear and the scene fades.

I awake wrapped in a scratchy blanket next to a small campfire.  The smell of horses permeates everything.  I’m wiping crud from my eyes when I hear Theo.  “How’re you feeling Amy? You passed out on the horse and were out while we’ve been riding all day.  I’m glad to see you.”

“Where are we?” I groan.  My throat is constricted and searing with pain.

“We are about 50 miles east, up in the mountains.  I have some horrible news.  The town’s gone.”

“I know.  Bets told me that part of the town was destroyed.  But it sounded like most folks survived the onslaught.”

“No Amy.  This happened after you talked with her.  These things – animals I’d never seen before, with thick brown skin, horns and huge mouths – came in.  They were relentless.  They used their humongous jaws to rip everything apart.  They-they ate anyone they found.  The outsiders came back after that and burned the entire village to the ground."  His eyes are hollow.

I’m still dreaming.  There’s no such thing as giant monsters that eat towns.  Of course, I’ve accepted the little ones in the forest my entire life without question. I realize that Fromer indeed visited me in my sleep and that there’s still hope for my family.  Unfortunately, for the remainder of the town, my extended family and friends, and any semblance of my life, there’s no hope. I imagine poor Felicia searching the rubble for Eliza and me and then being consumed by a demon.  “Theo, who’s with us?  What are we going to do?”

“Samuel, English, and Bets made it back.  We rode to Millsboro to warn the townsfolk there of the second attack.  Word had spread that you were to blame, so they turned us away.”

“Do you believe them?”

Theo pauses to think about his response.  “Sort of.  Amy, the bastards were definitely looking for something in the armory.  They weren’t happy to just get Liza.  They came back for something, and that something, I think, was you.  Not that you’re bad, mind you.  They want you because you’re special and we’re here to protect you.”

  I’m dubious about my companions.  Samuel is my father’s cousin.  He’s kin and also the best hunter I know.  I guess he might stay with me through concern.  However, we’ve never been close.  I wonder why he didn’t stay with his remaining family in Millsboro.  Bets barely tolerates my existence.  English is a gifted tracker and outdoorsman but a stranger to me.  He’s a few years older and enigmatic.  I’ve never seen him smile.

“Theo, what makes me so special?”

His bruised and filthy face blushes.  “Are you kidding?  You’re the garden tender, the chosen one in the community.  Your family fed and sheltered our families during the dark times after the ancient people left.  You’ve a special gift.  And your father.  He’s got a gift as well... he forges amazing things from ancient trash for gods’ sake.  You’ve got both inside of you.  The future’s inside of you.  I know it.”  The look on his face is one of adoration, which unsettles me.

“Ok, Theo.  I sort of get it from you.  But what about the – others?”  I whisper, “What about Bets?  She hates me.”

“They owe me Amy.  That’s all you need to know.  They’ll follow me to the ends of the earth.”  He seems pretty confident.  “Can I get you some food or drink?”

“I’ll take what you can give me.”

The morning light peeks tepidly through the pines.  The fire smolders.  English saunters up with a few branches and a couple of logs. The fire jumps and its heat penetrates my bones.  English mutters, “Hmm.  Anyone in the mood for coffee?  We ain’t got much left but we all deserve it after yesterday.”

Bets groans.  “I’ll take a double.”

Theo scratches his butt and sneezes.  “Where’s Samuel?”

“Catching us some breakfast,” Samuel replies, appearing from the brush with two rabbits dangling in his thick hands, already skinned and gutted.

We eat silently.  The rabbits are delicious and the coffee is dreadful.  English has spiked the brew with a dollop of shine.  We’re waiting for guidance about our next steps.  If Theo has a plan, the details don’t seem to be in any hurry to jump out.

Bets blows the steam from her cup.  She’s read our collective thoughts.  “Theo.  What are our plans now?  We’ve all lost people we care about.  Instead of protecting the survivors, we’re here in the eastern mountains with shitty provisions and no plan. I realize that Marksman here's supposedly the chosen one.  But what’s that supposed to mean?”

Theo rises.  “Bets, you need to respect what we’re doing here.  I was told by the elders that Amy and her child were to be protected at any cost.  You’ll heed my words on this.  Once we’re finished eating, we saddle the horses and continue moving up the pass.  There’s a road left by the ancient ones that’s still manageable.  We’ll take that to a safe haven.”

Samuel clears his throat and lights his pipe.  “What exactly do you mean by safe, Theo my boy?  These people seem pretty set on finding my young cousin-niece here.  We’ve not done a good job covering our tracks.  They’ll be following us.”

“Trust me.  The place we’re headed toward is very old and fortified.  The elders told me that the answer lies within.”

“Excuse me.” I’m not going to be ordered around by Theo and I’m sure the others have their doubts as well.  “Theo, what did the elders tell you?  I appreciate what you’ve all done for me.  But I need to be finding my family.  And I’m sure these folks want to get back to their families.  Why should we trust what the town leaders told you?”

Theo throws down his cup and his face becomes rigid.  His stubbled jaw is chiseled with concern.  “Amy Marksman and all of you, realize that this is far larger than all of us.  A war's coming.  The elders brought me into their meeting several months ago.  They foretold many of the events that just happened.  At the time, I thought they were completely wanked.  Turns out, they weren’t.  When I returned after the first attack, I was able to get this.”  He pulls out a small, leather-bound book and opens the pages.  It is worn and old, with a combination of ancient writing and our language scrawled in it.  There are several maps with strange shapes and numbers.  “This book contains prophecies and a history. Many of Teacher’s stories come from this book.  The elders showed me a particular passage that convinced me that the truth lies in these pages.”  He hands the book to me, showing the page that changed his perception.

I read aloud.  “From the gardens comes the light, and her name will be Elisa.  Forests will be razed and mountains leveled, for war will fall upon us.  The gods will return to earth and welcome the ancient ones once again.  After that, there’s ancient writing that I can’t read.”

Samuel chuckles.  “We’re running away because the book almost predicted the name of Amy’s girl?  That’s pretty weak, mate.”

Theo throws a stick at Samuel.  “Dammit Sam.  This is more than that.  The elders predicted that the moonlights would go out and that all hell would spill out.  Look at us.”

Samuel’s face pales.  English finally speaks.  “Look all.  Theo’s our leader.  We’ve pledged our loyalty to him.  If you want to break that trust, then get the hell out of here.  Otherwise, quit doubting him.  That goes for you too Amy garden-tender.”  His voice remains calm, matter-of-fact.  “Amy, of all people, I'm surprised that you’d treat Theo with disrespect.  He’s saved your life twice now, while you were slumped over his horse.  I realize that you’ve lost your whole family.  We’ve all lost family now.  We’ve got to stick together.  Or we’ll surely die.”