Spanners - The Fountain of Youth (30 page)

/***/

The next morning, Leif bid his daughter Dagmena to escort them back to their RV, with the instructions that she would guide them to the Surgeon’s compound.

“
My wife and I must stay here to send out more doves
,” he said. “
Wrangling a distant Viking army takes patience, but we will be there.”

An
d with that, Leif’s daughter left the ring fortress, fearlessly venturing back into the woods with her two panthers.

/***/

They found the RV and Geryon was nearby, hiding in the forest. Phage yelled for Geryon to come out, and the big man emerged from the woods, his tall frame blending in with the trees that had concealed him.

Phage told
Geryon what had happened, and Geryon clicked in apparent understanding.

They all got in
the RV and drove north. Three days later they reached the compound, and from the outside it looked bleak. It had dull-grey towering walls that stretched endlessly to the horizon and leaned slightly outwards, making the walls impossible to climb. The fortress was covered with mist, and much of the fog rested in the open center of the structure. Adam looked closer, and it looked like the vapor was being produced from the middle of the compound and pushed outward through the open air. It was large, but the fog concealed its true size; from the outside the walls stretched on until they couldn’t be seen.

“This land is a series of fortresses,” said Phoe.

A gate at the front of the fortress opened up to reveal two strangely clean and good-looking men, who smiled and bid the group in with their RV.

“It’s a
nother fortress all right,” said Phage, “but something tells me it’s gonna be the last one we visit for a while.”

A SURGEON’S WELCOME

They pulled the RV into the gate and it shut behind them with a thud. The two iridescently beautiful guards immediately went to the door of the RV and opened it for the crew. Mayfly got out and had to take off his
grey hooded jacket; it was quite comfortable inside despite the fact that it was open air. Dagmena snuck past while giggling, running over the terrain as if she had been there before, and soon she disappeared behind a building in the far distance.

The architecture inside was clean, but held no charm beyond that. It was painted in solid gr
eys and whites, made for protection and little else.
It’s like a prison from the inside,
thought Mayfly.
So far it fits in with the dark legends surrounding the Surgeon.

Mayfly noticed that the sky was beautiful from within the compound though; the mist that covered the fortress was thick enough to act as an atmosphere and formed a barrier against the elements above. It was not only warm inside
but also
bright
; Mayfly looked up and saw that the mist diffused the sunlight perfectly and even held the blue tinge of a real sky.

Underneath the mist, the fortress
was laid out more like a campus than a prison; though the buildings inside the walls were dull and imposing, there was land in between them and the land held strange trees and grasses.
I’ve never seen plants like this,
thought Mayfly,
not even in books, and definitely not this far north.

Soon, everybody had gotten out of the RV and the others seemed as surprised and as cautious of the place as Mayfly, except for Phage who
was smoking a cigarette and blowing the smoke upwards to join the mist above.

“My name is Skarr,” announced the first guard. “We welcome you to our home at the end of the world.
”

“Thank you,” said Adam. “We’d like to
see our friends, and also speak with Santos de León.”

“
Your comrades are all safe, I assure you, and Santos is currently working. You will see them all in the morning,” said Skarr. “We’ve prepared five rooms for you, and you must go to them.”

“Five rooms?” asked Adam.

“Yes,” said Skarr, “one for each of you.”

“I’m sorry,” said Adam, “but we’
d like to make sure our friends are safe, and we’d like to speak with Santos now.”

“I
assure you, you’ll see your comrades and Santos tomorrow morning,” said Skarr. “Now you must retire to your rooms.”

Mayfly was still hesitant, but Phage broke the silence with a smile and pointed
in the direction of the buildings.

“This fortress is a little weird, Skarr,” said Phage, “but I’ve slept in worse places, particularly in the last few days. I’m not gonna turn down my own room,
’specially if it’s safe from berserkers, trolls and all the other shit up here.”

“We’re quite safe here in Santos’s kingdom,” said Skarr.

“Good enough for me,” said Phage. “Now, take me to my private room.”

Phage walked towards the buildings and the impetus prodded the group forward, with the guards walking along with them. Adam gave a quick shake of his head to Mayfly, signaling him to hang back.

“
What do you think of this place?
” whispered Adam in their private dialect.

“
I have no idea what to think,”
said Mayfly.

“Nor do I,”
said Adam.

“What should we do?”

Adam and Mayfly stood at the base of the walls that now protected them. The slabs reached high into the mist and looked impenetrable, even to an invading army.

“We have no choice but to stay here and trust them, no matter how bizarre they might act,” said Adam. “Juan’s forces will be here soon, and we picked our side a long time ago.”

Skarr was leading the group towards a building in the distance, and Adam headed to join them. Mayfly soon followed, and as he walked he heard the faint sound of a man screaming.

/***/

Skarr’s fellow guard was an equally iridescently beautiful man, and he brought Mayfly to his quarters. Mayfly looked the guard over; there was something unsettling about his features. He was
too perfect
, as if he were airbrushed. The guard’s crisp gait and unchanging smile disturbed Mayfly a bit as well.
Spanners are always a little odd,
thought Mayfly,
but they’re odd because of their imperfections; this guard is like a machine with skin.

“Here are your quarters,” said the guard, holding a door open. “I apologize; what is your name?”

“I was born without a name,” said Mayfly, “but they call me Mayfly.”

The guard stared at Mayfly blankly, as if he didn’t understand the answer.

“Here, we all have names that we give ourselves,” said the guard. “We’re not defined by our former classes, nor are we called by our former class names.”

“Former classes?”

“Santos takes away our weaknesses,” said the guard. “He makes us unique.”

“I am unique,” said Mayfly.

“Then he will make you more so,” said the guard.

The guard gestured
for Mayfly to enter his room; it was a comfortable cell, if sparse. Mayfly entered and turned around to face his guard.

“When will I get to see Santos?” asked Mayfly
. “I want him to extend my—”

“You’ll see him soon,” said the guard as he shut the door. “He will make you unique.”

/***/

In the evening Mayfly heard the faint sound of yelling, followed by a girl’s cries.
I can barely hear it, but the yells are deeper than anything I’ve heard before,
thought Mayfly.
And the girl’s cries are fainter still.

Mayfly had left his room to explore the compound but found that the hallways always led to a locked door; the place was built for security and not comfort.
Juan and Santos are indeed cut from the same cloth,
thought Mayfly.
This place is every bit the prison that Juan’s compound is.

While he was planning his escape, there was a knock at Mayfly’s door.

“Come in,” said Mayfly, for lack of other options.

An old man and old woman, both elfin in appearance and small in stature
, came in through the door. They both had strong, good-looking features and had aged gracefully. They were a lot easier to look at than the plastic guards that had escorted the group in.

The woman was carrying a tray of food and the man was carrying a pile of books.

“Good evening,” said the woman, setting the tray of delicacies on the table. “Would you like something to eat?”

“If you take a bite out of it first,” said Mayfly with a smile.

The man and the woman smiled at each other and then gave a quick nod. The man took a knife and fork from the tray and deftly cut a morsel from every bit of food, and the woman elegantly poured all the liquid into a separate cup. They both took a bite out of every piece of food and then drank some of the liquid, smiling gently the whole time. Mayfly sensed he could trust them, so he smiled and then took a bite out of the food; it was exquisite.

“Thank you,” he said.

“We know your kind only sleeps an hour a night,” said the woman. “So we brought you some books in case you get bored.”

“I don’t get bored,” said Mayfly.

“I told you he’s unique,” said the man. “Left alone, the mayfly’s mind is an active playground, an infinite library of thought. Placed in an empty room, a mayfly will write volumes of poetry in his head, solve impossible equations and invent a language. Is this correct?”

“Something like that,” said Mayfly.

“Tell me,” said the man, beaming at him. “How many languages have you made during your lifespan?”

“Six,” said Mayfly, “and ten dialects.”

The man and the woman looked at each other and smiled.

“I used to be like that,” said the man
. “Her too. I guess we aren’t as sharp as we once were, but we can still marvel at you.”

“You’re m
ayflies,” said Mayfly.

“We were,” said the man.

“We still are,” said the woman.

“We were and still are,” said the man. “My name is Aedan and this is my wife Iona. We used to be like you until we found Santos, and
we’re still here, sixty years later.”

“So it’s true,” said Mayfly. “He takes away our weakness.”

“Yes, it’s completely true,” said Iona, smiling at him as if he were her child.

“How does he extend our lifespans?” asked Mayfly. “How can he extend mine?”

Aedan looked at his wife and she nodded at him to speak.

“Mayflies have a straightforward, if limited
, biology,” he said. “We don’t get sick, and we tend not to die before our time. Our heart limits us; it beats strongly for our lifespan and then just stops one day.”

“Can I get a new heart?”

“Our biology is so unique that the average human heart would last you a week at best,” said Aedan.

He then opened his shirt to reveal a scar across his chest.

“But trust in the Surgeon and he’ll give you a heart that lasts,” said Aedan. “And though his methods are painful, if you accept his gifts you’ll live to our age, perhaps twice as long if you take care of yourself.”

Mayfly breathed a sigh of relief before realizing it wouldn’t be that simple.

“In order for me to get a heart, someone has to give me one, perhaps a spanner,” said Mayfly.

“Indeed,” said Iona, smiling
. “Both of ours are from others who are no longer with us.”

“Who’s going to give me a heart out here?” asked Mayfly.

“There is one of your party called Trey,” said Aedan. “His second body is dying; you’ve heard his screams no doubt. His heart is still strong and he’s agreed to donate it to you. You’ll get the procedure in the morning.”

“But—
”

“This is all we’re allowed to say at this hour,” said Iona with a smile. “But come the morning
, your friend Trey’s second body will be dead, and his heart will beat within your chest. Our kind only needs an hour of sleep a night, so get that full hour; you’ll need your rest for the procedure tomorrow.”

And with a smile, they left and closed the door behind them, leaving Mayfly with the books and enough food to last him the night, possibly two.

/***/

Adam was awoken in the middle of the night by a soft knocking. He woke up feeling relaxed; Yahíma’s treatment had work
ed, and he had been sleeping dreamlessly. He had no visions of being buried alive and woke with his heart calm and his breath normal.

He heard the knocking again and got up to open the door.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ll be right there.”

“Your door is unlocked,” said a soft voice from the outside. “I’m just asking your permission to enter.”

“Sure,” said Adam. “Come on in.”

The door opened to reveal a beautiful woman with dark features and a gentle face. She had clear green eyes and a shock of straight blonde hair
that fell perfectly over her dark shoulders.
She’s beautiful but I should be careful,
thought Adam.
Women that arrive in the small hours of the night never come without an agenda.

“My name is Giselle,” said the woman.

“Pleased to meet you, I’m—”

“I know who you are
, Adam,” said the woman. “May I enter?”

Adam almost said
no
out of habit but decided to let her in. He’d been feeling different ever since Yahíma had cleared his head, and he wanted to stop hiding and experience more.

He also sensed something genuine about this girl; she was a stranger
, and the faint orange flickers in her eyes showed that she was a spanner, but she projected a feeling of trust and softness.

Giselle sat down at the small table in Adam’s room and beckoned him to sit with her. He sat across from her and watched as she took out three candles and lit them. She brought out a jar of golden
-brown liquid and two small snifters and then poured two glasses. Adam smelled the glass and smiled.

“Louis
the Thirteenth Cognac,” said Adam. “My favorite.”

“Pardon the forwardn
ess, and rest assured this isn’t a trap,” said Giselle, as if reading his thoughts. “They sent me here to welcome you, and to tell you of your importance.”

“Everyone’s been telling me of my importance,” said Adam. “I assure you, when the fight comes, I’ll be in the center of it all.”

“I wasn’t speaking of
your
importance, per se,” said Giselle. “I’m speaking of your group’s importance in the upcoming battle, in particular your family. And of your family I speak mostly of your sister, Phoe.”