Reconception: The Fall (10 page)

Foothills: 2128

Before Garret could take another breath, it was
already too late. Two dark forms jumped at him, the sun directly at
their backs, hitting him like a hammer and knocking him over.
Others jumped on the sleeping bodies of his companions and fought
with them in a battle all the more fearsome for its suddenness.

Garret was not a fighter, but he was strong and in
good condition, and Nightstalker had given him a knife the night
before. He threw off his attackers and pulled it from his belt,
weaving it back and forth in front of him. One of the creatures
lunged forward and Garret moved to intercept with the knife, but
was jumped from behind by the other. They laughed as he struggled
to break free, shaking the knife from his grasp and pinning his
arms behind his back.

Off to the side, Garret could see that Nightstalker
was down, a terrible red stain spreading on the ground around him.
Cries at the Moon was in single combat with another of the
attackers, and Red Deer had killed two and was turning toward him.
Red Deer's gun came out, blasting the one who held Garret's knife
and drawing a bead on the one who held Garret. Before he could aim
and shoot, Garret's head was pulled back and a knife was held to
his throat.

The creature spoke. His words were garbled, sounding
almost but not quite comprehensible. "Ssmine," he said.
"B'off!"

Garret, a knife at his throat, and his face turned
toward the sky, could not see Red Deer, but he did see the quick
hint of movement and knew that in the next moments he would either
die or be set free. Suddenly, the hand holding his hair jerked
backward, and he almost fell, but the hand holding the knife to his
throat dropped away, leaving a long scratch on his neck. He broke
away; he was free.

He crouched, retrieving his knife from the ground
where it had fallen when the other man died, and twisted up to face
his attacker. He and Cries at the Moon slipped knives into the
creature at the same time. Garret stepped back, both horrified and
exhilarated, and looked into Cries at the Moon's eyes in time to
watch them flutter. As if in slow motion, the Mountain man slipped
to the ground.

In the next moment, Garret became a medical doctor,
feeling for a pulse and checking respiration. The wound was deep in
Moon's gut and would require careful tending as well as antibiotics
to heal.

"We must take him back," Red Deer said, his voice
breaking the silence.

Garret nodded, then got to his feet and walked over
to Nightstalker. This knife had done far deadlier work, penetrating
Nightstalker's lungs. As Garret knelt beside him, he could see
bright red blood bubbling in and out of the wound. "Give me
something to wrap this with!" he cried, and Red Deer knelt opposite
him, holding out the sash which had been wrapped around his
waist.

Garret gently lifted Nightstalker, and Red Deer
pushed the sash under him. If they could close the wound ....
Garret applied pressure to it, holding in the life of this man who
might one day have been his friend. Blood bubbled between
Nightstalker's lips. Garret looked up in anguish at Red Deer, only
to see that his own pain was multiplied a thousand-fold behind
those dark eyes. Red Deer and Nightstalker had been friends for all
of their lives.

The two of them watched in silent horror as
Nightstalker struggled with death and lost. Then Red Deer got up
and walked off to be alone. Garret was left alone with his guilt.
He had been on watch. He had waited too long. He was to blame for
Nightstalker's death and Cries at the Moon's injuries. He vainly
wished that it had been him instead. Only his own death would ever
bring him relief from the pain of his own incompetence. He wished
that Evie were here.

After a while, Red Deer returned, and they silently
buried Nightstalker. They spoke little as they planned their next
moves. Their choices were few. They could both go back and bring
Moon to safety, or they could split up. Garret chose to go on
alone, and after they had split up the supplies, Red Deer turned to
go.

"Wait," Garret said, reaching out and grabbing Red
Deer's arm. "I'm sorry, Red Deer. I should have woken you earlier.
I should have cried out before they got so close! I ... "

"Be at peace, my friend. The fault is as much mine
as yours. I was the leader. I knew you were inexperienced. I ...
but these are foolish words. Nightstalker was my friend. And now
the Goddess holds him in her arms. Life goes on."

Garret didn't know what to say to this, so he said
nothing, just watched in silence as Red Deer walked across the
dusty remains of the highway and mounted his camel. Cries at the
Moon lay in a hastily made travois pulled by his mount.
Nightstalker's empty saddle atop the third camel twisted like a
knife in Garret's heart. He moaned softly as Red Deer guided the
three animals into the rocky hills.

Garret looked around at the emptiness, and held back
a shudder. Except for the six camels carrying the producers,
Cashmere, and several dead bodies, he was alone.

Mountain People: 2128

Evie was not dreaming about Garret. Drifting slowly
toward the shore of wakefulness, she held tightly to someone else's
hand and washed up upon the beach of reality. The potent magic of
her dream shredded like fog in the morning light, and left her
feeling strangely worried. She sat up.

The room in the lodge was larger than hers in the
Habitat. It was also brighter and sunnier; the air was fresher. She
preferred it in every way. Except, of course, that Garret was not
there. That, she realized, was the source of her anxiety.

He'd been gone almost two weeks and would be gone for
at least two more, so there wasn't much point in worrying. She
examined that small ache at her center and wondered if this was
what the words "missing someone" meant. She supposed they did.

It was hard to know for sure, especially when Eagle
spent so much time with her. She found him interesting ... no,
exciting, and woke each day anticipating the time they'd spend
together. Yesterday, he'd taken her down to the river where they'd
skipped rocks over the water and talked until the sun went
down.

Today, he was going to take her hiking. They would
explore the Garden of the Goddess, and he'd promised to show her
some waterfalls downstream, which he'd said were spectacular.

Enjoying time with Eagle was a new experience for
Evie. Until they'd found the Mountain People, she had had no idea
that another man for whom she might feel an attraction could even
exist. Garret was her life. This was all so new and confusing!

The knock on the door broke up her reverie and she
jumped quickly out of the bed. "Just a minute!" she called.
Wrapping the nubby blue blanket around her nakedness, she opened
the door. Eagle leaned nonchalantly against the frame.

Evie was thirty, far too old for blushing, so when
she felt the heat in her face she was acutely embarrassed by her
body's betrayal of her emotions. Flustered, she motioned for him to
come in.

Eagle smiled warmly and did so. "I'm a little early,"
he said.

"No. No, I overslept. Just wait one minute. I'll get
dressed." Grabbing her clothes, she stepped into the bathroom and
shut the door, then leaned her forehead against it, trying to cool
her blood. This is ridiculous, she thought. This is crazy. "I want
him," a small voice muttered. "You can't," another replied.

Ignoring them both, she quickly stepped into the
cotton clothes Teller had given her, brushed her hair back from her
face, and opened the door. Eagle looked very comfortable relaxing
on her bed. Evie hesitated in the doorway.

He sat up and smiled. Quickly, she skirted the bed,
and went over to the dresser to get a sweater. Draping it over her
shoulders, she took a deep breath and turned. Eagle had moved
silently from the bed, and now stood inches from her.

"Oh!" she said, "don't do that! You startled me!"

Biting his lower lip between his teeth, he sighed,
then reached out and lifted her hair gently off her face. His touch
was gentle, and it moved slowly along the side of her face to
beneath her jaw. Evie moaned softly as he lifted her chin. His eyes
were very blue. His lips were very soft.

"Please," she whispered as she pushed him away,
"Let's go see the waterfalls."

"Waterfalls?"

"Please."

"Are you and Garrett married?"

Evie laughed, and the spell was broken.

"What's funny?" Eagle wanted to know, but she didn't
tell him until much later.

After breakfast, as they strolled through the Garden
of the Goddess, Evie explained that where she came from Garret was
the only man available. They'd never needed to marry because in a
sense they'd been married from birth.

"You've never been with another?" Eagle asked.

"I've never even thought of being with another."

"Until today."

She looked at him. "Yes, until today."

CHAPTER 9

Mountain People: 2128

Evie nodded off, her head resting against the camel's
neck. Fighting sleep, she pulled herself back from the edge and sat
up straighter. Although Eagle had suggested they stop, she would
not have it.

What a day it had been. She and Eagle had climbed
down to the river and followed its rocky course for at least a mile
before they got to the waterfalls, and she was stunned at how
beautiful they were. She watched the water fall down several
hundred feet of rocky chasms, and was breathless with the utter
beauty of the world. When Eagle had kissed her then, she had had no
defense.

He led her to a ledge that overlooked the spectacular
cataract, and laid a blanket on the cold rock. She knew what was to
happen next, and could not deny the sweet ache at the center of her
body. She wanted him, here in the place, now at this time, and
there was no way around that.

She lay down on the blanket and welcomed him into her
arms, pulling him on top of her. He was so big and smelled so male.
It was all too much, too primeval, too real. But Evie had never
been one to deny her feelings. She would go wherever they carried
her.

His hands were callused and rough, not like Garret's,
and she brought one up to her lips to kiss each fingertip. His eyes
bored into her, watching her, feeling her out, knowing her,
understanding her. She felt faint with desire.

The voice from above was wholly unexpected, and both
she and Eagle wanted more than anything in the world for it to go
away, but it didn't. Insistent, it continued to call out to them
until there was no choice but to answer.

When Red Deer told them what had happened on the
trail, Evie had been terrified. Garret was alone out there! Without
help, he was trying to make it to Southeast to bring them the
producers, and now she, Eagle and Teller were on his trail, trying
to catch up with him before something or someone did to him what
had been done to Nightstalker.

They had been riding all day and Evie knew she had
developed a rash from the constant rubbing of the saddle against
the insides of her thighs, but she wouldn't let them stop. Eagle
had wanted her to remain at the house, but she had refused. Her
unexpected guilt at what had happened with him made her more
adamant than usual. When he tried to force her to stay behind, she
said, "If you won't give me a camel and take me with you, then I'll
take the van and go myself."

"The van won't make it," he said.

"Then I'll walk."

"You'll die!"

"Then I'll die."

After that, it had been easy. Both Eagle and Teller
understood very well the kind of compulsion that would drive a
person to death rather than retreat.

So, here she was twelve hours later, saddle sore and
exhausted, trying to atone for a sin she had almost, but not quite,
committed. She wanted Garret to be all right. Beyond that nothing
else mattered.

Foothills: 2128

Garrett was not all right. He hid behind a rocky hill
for the rest of that first day, waiting impatiently for it to get
dark. The Mountain People had said that it was safer to travel at
night, and the attack in broad daylight was proof enough for him.
Still, it was nearly impossible to wait. He was too keyed up and
worried to sleep, and the barren landscape had rapidly exhausted
even his scientific curiosity.

The bodies of the five creatures who had attacked
them kept him busy for a while. They were human after all, though
he hadn't been sure while they were fighting because of the paint
on their faces and the strange head and body coverings made of long
grasses and reptile skins. When he examined them more closely, he
guessed that the youngest couldn't be more than fifteen and the
oldest any more than nineteen.

Nor were they particularly healthy. All of them were
missing teeth, and those remaining were full of cavities. They were
all undernourished. One had a melanoma on his shoulder. Another was
beginning to develop cataracts. They were remarkably ugly, and he'd
been grateful to finally leave them behind.

He'd been traveling for five nights now, and thought
he was within a day or two of Southeast. The sun was low in the sky
when he decided that it was ridiculous to wait any longer. It would
be dark in an hour or less, and the odds were that no one would
bother him during that time. The urgency of getting to Southeast
before everyone died pushed him onward.

Although marred by potholes and broken slabs of
concrete, the road was easy to travel, and he made good time. The
camels loped down the seemingly endless ribbon of cement, heading
toward a point that kept disappearing into the distance.

Alongside the road, at periodic intervals, were the
ruins of buildings; he supposed they used to be
businesses—restaurants, hotels, houses, gas stations. He even saw
the remains of the famous golden arches broken across the road. In
between the ruins was barren land, which at one time had
contributed some of the food that supported hundreds of millions of
people. It had been a rich country once. Now it was a desert.