Under the Canopy (7 page)

'I can give you an answer,' Edlon said, his voice dropping lower. 'They are animals. They pretend to be civilized, to have culture, but deep inside they are the same beasts we all were once.' He sipped his beer. 'Dumb and vicious. You know, they remind me of tigers in a circus.' Heap accelerated the tempo. 'The beasts wear fancy dresses in public, hop through burning hoops and even let you put your head in their maws.' Heap was now jumping on the spot. 'They pretend to be your friends. The ringmaster gets his guard down. That's what they want. If he shows weakness or just turns his back at the wrong moment, they’d go at him.' Heap was drumming his feet, standing on tiptoes. 'And then the beasts would start to feed.' Edlon paused, watching the dancing alien from some dark place inside his head. 'Morkan gets that.'

The workers laughed and clapped, encouraging him. The alien finally finished his dance. They threw him the can. Heap snatched it out of the air, his joints clicking. After that, he retreated behind the vending machine, dropped on the floor the floor and got to it.

I remembered R'lok. How he smashed the skull of his rival with a rock. How yellow blood sprayed over his body.

(They are just some savages.)

Clomt's natives were pussies compared to the Safunians. I didn't have the heart to argue with Edlon right now. But I could ask him.

'You know, I've seen this strange alien in the woods.'

Before I could finish, Edlon said, 'With one eye?' I nodded. 'That's R'lok. He is an outcast. He used to be a guide for us. Always liked human company. He can even speak our language.'

'Used to?'

'Yep,' Edlon leaned back. 'We no longer need or want his services. He is a weirdo, just ignore him.'

Too late. 'I think I'll catch some air,' I said, getting up. 'The smell of food and plastic is getting to me.'

'Alrighty,' Edlon said, smiling again. 'Don't wander too far.' He shot me with a finger gun.

I took my soda and walked out. I saw the poll and looked the other way. This place was starting to creep me out. Edlon's musings didn't help the matter. I went to the docks. The sight of streaming water always had the soothing effect on me.

The docs were dark and eerie. Black cubic shapes surrounded me and reminded me of the city. High walls of concrete and metal, some litter on the ground, the hum of electricity everywhere. I passed a guard in a worn-off uniform at the entrance. His automatic rifle was leaning on the wall, and its master was standing crouched over some device, texting by the look of it. When I approached, he looked up from the screen, his stubbled face underlit by faint fluorescence, and gave me a cursory glance. He didn't pay any attention to me after that. Yes, security here was of the highest quality.

The passage I moved through was lit by a clinical white lamp that harshly grabbed objects out of darkness, leaving black shadows on the floor. What an unfriendly place this was, it encompassed everything bad about the human settlements. The sawmill was a strange monument to urbanization in the middle of nowhere. I smelled the river ahead and felt relief. You can never mistake this mix — wet rock, moss, weed, silt and whatever else. It was fresh and rotten at the same time.

I walked onto the pier and approached the big water. I saw the forest river for the first time so close. The water was dark and appeared to be still, but the faint sound of gurgling betrayed its movement. The sky was dimming, and the other bank was just a faint shape of dark treetops. Ahead and to the left, I saw zigzagging light paths going from the pier into the gloom on the other side.

'Impressive, right?' I heard a voice from behind.

I was startled by the sound and almost jumped. I turned to the source of it. It was Morkan. When I came, she must have been in the shadow behind the cone of light. Even before she stepped forward, I saw that she was smoking. The red dot flickered in her hand, and blue smoke was her herald.

'Y-yeah.' I said and nodded automatically. For some reason, I felt like a school student who was caught smoking. There was something in her that pulled that out of me. Though I'd never smoked in my life.

Morkan walked closer to me and puffed smoke. The cloud hit me and passed my face, I winced at the smell. Though she was lit from behind, and I couldn't distinctly see her face, I knew her eyes were examining me. I was an insect under a microscope.

When it went for longer than I desired, I nervously smiled. 'What?'

Morkan shook the ash on the ground. 'You are a tree hugger, aren't you.' This was supposed to be a question, but I didn't catch a trace of the question mark.

'I don't like that word.'

She inhaled and puffed more blue smoke. 'Yes, you are. The ranger position often attracts weirdos like you.'

'I'm not like that. I'm not even a vegetarian.'

She put one arm over her stomach, propping the cigarette arm. 'The tree hugger is a tricky beast these days. You may not consider yourself one, but you are. It's obvious from how you look at me and the sawmill.'

'Yeah, how?'

She put one hand over her face and looked up. 'They are killing the nature, capitalist motherfuckers. The trees are alive too! They can feel pain! You've taken the land from the true owners. The bitch has no heart.' She dropped the hand. 'And then you come here to watch the river.' She chuckled and shook her head.

I was indignant and gasped for words. My mouth opened and closed, and I must have resembled a fish. 'Then why did
you
come here?'

She showed me the cigarette that was smoked all the way to the butt. 'No smoking on the premises. It's my own rule, and I want to follow it.'

I looked at the burning dot. 'But I'm not a fanatic. I know why you do what you do and respect the work.'

Morkan nodded. 'But you keep wearing that self-righteous expression on your face. Don't think that you have some special knowledge or understanding. Grow up, ranger.' Her nails clicked, and the butt flew out of her hand, landing in the river with a faint hiss. 'That pole in the yard, it's there for a good reason and don't even try reporting it. They know.' She turned and walked away.

I watched the bitch go and berated myself for not standing up to her. But I couldn't. I just stood there and took her smug alienist bullshit. The worst part was that she spelled out what I recognized in myself, but didn't want to admit. Not then, at least.

I looked at the river again and couldn't wait to get out of this place. The cigarette butt was bobbing on the surface.

Nightfall came. We got moving to our positions. The plan was as follows: I would hang over the broken treeroller, monitoring the activity beneath me. Edlon would lie slightly behind in ambush, in case they ran toward the sawmill. Heap, the key player, would be hidden on the ground. When he spotted the thieves, he would hoot two times, and the action would start.

So, I hopped on my scooter and rose into the air, stopping at the lower branches. From above, I watched Heap disappear in the brush, like submerging himself under water. He may have been an old drunk, but a tribesman is always a tribesman. As for me, I just floated up there, trying not to create any noise, and listened. I prayed the thieves would come tonight — I couldn't stand this place for another day.

A rustle from the left. I turned to look down. Nothing there, but the noise persisted, this time from up above me.
I grabbed my rifle and swung it back and forth, searching for a target. Too dark. I pulled on the goggles with the free hand and turned on the night vision. A beltysh monkey gazed back at me through the leaves. It was far more scared than me. I spat and looked away.

A bird hooted. Another one. I tensed up and slowly turned the machine in the sound's direction. It hooted again. I stopped. Heap couldn't have forgotten the instructions. Or could he? There was a double hoot from the opposite direction. That was definitely the old alien. I rolled out.

Cubes of wood were piled on the ground below. The broken treeroller stood beside them. I scanned the area and saw Heap at my five o'clock. I leaned on the handles and stared into the darkness. Nothing disturbed the night's serenity, but the shadows that crept along the bushes. I adjusted my goggles. The picture cleared up. Three figures were moving toward the machine. Their bodies blended with the background, but their eyes and weapons glowed. They walked up to the treeroller and looked around. Then, satisfied they were alone, they got to business. One on guard while two others plucked something out of the tracks. The time was ripe.

I grabbed the rifle and stood up in the saddle, then put the machine in free-fall. When I was close to the ground, I stopped, flared the headlights and honked. The thieves jumped and froze, awash in the electric light. Their alabaster skin shone. I shouted 'Forestry!' and fired into the air. The aliens dropped what they were holding and dashed in different directions.

Heap jumped out of the bush, waving a piece of metal like a club. He confronted the two who were working the tracks. One of them received a blow to the face and fell, but the other dodged and kicked Heap in the stomach. The old-timer staggered and fell back. The thief picked up Heap's weapon.

Meanwhile, the lookout was running away through the brush. I looked at him go toward the sawmill and left him for Edlon. I swayed to help the old drunk and shot at the feet of Heap's attacker. He dropped the weapon and jumped to the side. The one Heap had struck down got up and started to shriek. I shot the ground all around them, and they dashed to and fro, running into each other and stepping on Heap.

I took one last shot. The ground between them exploded, spraying dirt, and the aliens ran in opposite directions. One headed toward the sawmill. I saw their ruse; they were running in the opposite direction to trick me. I followed the one that ran for the woods.

He ran, constantly looking back. I flew up to him in low-level flight and honked. He jumped even higher and kept running, covering his head with the hands. He'd clearly had enough of this craziness. I pulled up and turned the scooter… then fired a few more shots after him for good measure.

When I returned back to Edlon's position, I saw that we weren't alone. Fomas had come, after all, with some guards. They were standing in a circle, talking. Heap was sitting on the ground nearby, clutching his stomach. He looked sick.

I landed the scooter and approached the group. Fomas came out, looking pleased, and shook my hand.

'Well done, ranger,' he said. 'Now they will know how we deal with thieves.'

I stepped forward and saw two bodies. The wounds were on the heads. They weren't warning shots, obviously. Edlon stood over the dead aliens, and a calm satisfaction radiated from him.

'New additions to our pole,' a guard said cheerfully and patted him on the shoulder. Edlon only smiled.

Bile rose in my throat. I'd had enough of this crazy place. I turned away and strode to my scooter. Fomas saw that and caught up to me.

'Wealder, where are you going?' he said. 'Stay here. It's dangerous to travel at night.'

I stopped and glared at him. 'Just Fuck OFF.'

He looked at me without comprehension, furrowing his eyebrows. I mounted the scooter and rose into the air. I saw him wave dismissively at me and walk back to the crowd.
Damn alienists. All of them. If I stayed, I would have shot someone. I hoped a flight through the night air would cool my temper.

Meeting those fuckers at the mill blew me out of my groove. Returning home, I threw the rifle on the couch and went to bed, but I was too agitated and sleep wouldn't come. At one point, I realized I was muttering to myself. Nipping this sudden schizophrenia in the bud, I got up and went to the medicine cabinet. Sleeping pills were stocked in excess. I took one, thought about it a bit, then added another one. One gulp, and I dropped dead.

Some buzzing pulled me out of the dreamless slumber. I tore my face off the pillow and looked at my left hand. The wrist communicator was still on, I forgot to take it off the previous night, and it was trying to attract my attention. I stared at the screen, expecting it to be some lousy report notification or something. One glance at it jolted me up. Somebody was calling at my door. You know, the one dozens of feet above ground. I jumped out of bed and immediately regretted it. My head swam from the sleeping pills. Some sitting down was required to steady the splashing brain. When it was over, I pulled on some clothes and went to the elevator.

When the doors opened, I saw who I expected to see, but didn't really want to — Edlon. He stood on the concrete of my roof, smirking and squinting as was his wont, fresh as a cucumber. As if nothing happened. The day before he exposed himself as an alienist, and I didn't want to see him right now. Alas, no one asked me.

'Good mo-orning, roomie!' he said and cackled. 'Did I wake you up?'

We shook on the meeting, and I pulled my palm through the hair, slicking the sleep tufts down. 'Well, not really.' I smiled.

He didn't believe my brilliant lie. 'Say, do you have anything planned for today?' he asked.

'Ah, no.' Strange question. We both knew that nothing really happened here, so no need for planning ahead.

Edlon shifted from foot to foot. 'You know, the stuff on the sawmill was rough. Those guys, they ran at me, all crazy… I just reacted to the danger. And I had a bit too much before that. And I got startled. And you freaked out…' He stopped and looked somewhere to the side. I turned in the same direction, and then he continued, 'Well, what I'm driving at — do you want to go fishing?'

That was unexpected. 'I… I guess.' I shrugged. 'I've never been much of a fisherman.' Though I didn't approve of hunting, fishing had always been alright to me. After all, fish is just food for more sophisticated animals.

Edlon grinned. 'Me too. It doesn't matter. You just sit in the boat and wait for the fish to hook itself. Piece of cake. So are you a go?'

His concept of fishing seemed delusional, but I was tantalized nevertheless. The man was extending to me the olive branch, and I would have been a total douchebag to slap it away. In addition to that, my head felt heavy, and some hours on the river wouldn't have been out of place.

'Yep.' I nodded. 'You mentioned the boat.'

'We'll borrow one from the sawmill. They have a full hangar of them, you must have seen it.'

Sawmill again. But I already said yes. 'You do the talking.'

'Sure,' Edlon said half-closing his eyes and cocking the head. 'Get dressed and come out. I'll wait for you here.'

I got a closer look at his clothes. Rubber boots with pants tucked in them, sealed raincoat, a cap. He was ready to go. As if he knew that I would say yes.

'I'll be right back.' I turned away from him, but then swayed back on the heels. 'Do you have the rods with you?'

'Nah.' He shook his head like I asked something stupid. 'I'll take some from Fomas. He won't refuse me.'

I only nodded in return, went back into the elevator and descended to the living floor. An outing with Edlon.
A goose tap-danced over my grave.

I was in the sawmill's hangar, leaning on the boat we were going to rent. The vehicle was the same model as the one that those poachers crashed in the woods. It was a bit weird seeing it. For a moment, I thought they worked for Morkan or something. But then Reason said, ‘Yes, and Ort hunted for humans in spare time.
Don't be stupid.’

The rods were lying inside, one red-and-black and one yellow with white stripes. They looked good, though, as I said, I wasn't an expert.

Edlon was standing at the gates, talking about something with Fomas. When we arrived, he threw me a passing glance and then just ignored me altogether. What could I say? Much obliged!

There was a third man with them. I didn't know his name, but I knew that he seemed to be the vehicle park manager. Not just boats, but also floaters, and scooters, and whatever else they had here. He seemed like a good guy, though his nose ran from the cold weather. He constantly wiped it with his the back of his hand.

At last, they reached some conclusion. Or maybe they were just twisting my balls and discussing the weather, who knows. Fomas went away, and Edlon with the manager set off towards me. Edlon showed me a thumb.

When they approached, Edlon slapped the boat's hull. It replied with a dull thump. 'We have this baby for the next couple of hours. Yep.' He gave me a reassuring nod.

The manager sniffed and wiped his nose. 'Just be careful, guys. We don't have a limitless supply of them.' He wiped his nose. 'I know you rangers. Always get into some fucked-up shit.'

'What about the scooters?' I asked.

'Well,' the manager said and wiped his nose. 'Don't worry. They will be safe here. If you want to, I can run engine checks.' He wiped his nose.

'Okay, do it, old hoss.' Edlon slapped him on the shoulder and jumped into the boat. 'I drive!'

'Thanks for doing this,' I said and automatically offered my hand. The manager shook it. With the same hand we wiped his nose with. When he turned and went to the side to clear the way, I wiped my hand on the raincoat and joined Edlon inside.

'Buckle up, roomie.' He was already in the driver's seat.

There were no buckles, so I just grabbed the side. Edlon didn't wait for my response and started the boat. The machine shook and lifted off the floor. The boat slid out of the row of its siblings and turned for the exit. I looked at the manager.

'Have fun!' he said and wiped his nose.

I waved him back, and the boat rushed to the exit. I hoped we would.

The boat flew out of the hangar and turned for the river. The machine soared over the bald courtyard (I got a look at the pole with alien heads) and jumped over the docs. Edlon was actually a decent driver, there was no rocking, and it felt like we were moving on a rail.

When the roof of the docs went past below us, the boat plunged down into the black mirror of the river. I saw our dark impression move over the sky's bright reflection and tensed inside, readying for the impact. Edlon pulled the wheel, and the boat's nose rose up, obeying its command. The machine glided parallel to the water, the waves giving it furtive licks, and then it landed. I heard a soft splash of parting liquid masses below us, felt it rushing beneath my feet and let go of the side.

'Hey, roomie,' Edlon said, half turning to me in his seat. 'We will go upstream to the wild part of the river. Fish there is calmer, and we can get it easier.'

I waved my hand like a general sending his troops into the attack. 'You're the boss.'

Edlon chuckled and turned back to the wheel. He pushed some lever, probably shifting gears between flight and float, and pushed the pedal. We started to move into the wild.

I turned back and got a better look at the docs. I've visited them yesterday when I left Edlon in the recreation area with his beer. I didn't see much then, only the usual dock stuff — containers, piles of cut timber, heavy machinery with hooks and pincers. Now I saw the facility from the riverside, and it gave me a strange feeling. It looked like a giant insect head. The upper part of the building hung over the bank with its glass window-eyes glaring at the surrounding area. The lower level was a dark hollow with spiky machinery serving as its mandibles. I imagined the sawmill as a bug with a reversed digestive system — the timber was brought inside from the rear, processed inside and then spit out of the mouth to float down the river.

As I lingered on these strange musings, the dock area made distance between us as the boat drove upstream. Soon it turned the bend and was completely consumed by the greenery. Now we were traveling a road guarded by green walls. A fine layer of ice formed at the banks, so the boat moved closer to the center. I leaned back and enjoyed the ride.

We stopped sooner than I expected. I looked around, the scenery looked the same.

As if reading my mind, Edlon rotated on his seat and jumped to his feet. 'We are three miles north of my sector. I see no point in going further.' He clicked something on the dashboard, and the boat engine changed its voice into a barely audible hum. Edlon slapped his hands together. 'Let's get fishing!'

I got up and took the red rod. 'Alright. Give me the bait.'

I expected him to say that he hadn't got one, but Edlon sat down instead and took a pack of chips from a compartment. 'This will do.' He opened it with a pop. I smelled cheese with bacon.

'You can't feed the fish that. They need bugs, or worms,' I paused, thinking. I was a crappy fisherman, after all. 'Or something. Flies!'

Edlon waved his hand. 'Nah, these fellas are wild, and they will eat anything just for the sake of novelty. Don't fuss about it.'

That was the magic word. Fuss
.
Ort had accused me of this, and now Edlon. I felt a faint prick inside and shut it off. I put my hand in the bag and fished out a few sticks. They were corn, or what passed for corn these days. I squeezed the rod between my knees, took the hook in one hand and pushed it through one cornstick. It didn't break. I reasoned that more bait would increase my chances of catching something and stuck the rest too. My hook had more corn on it than metal, so I pushed it further to expose the tip. Now it looked right.

I turned to Edlon and saw that he had one cornstick on his hook and was eating the rest out of the bag. When he noticed me looking at him, he stopped and put the bag down. 'What?' he said. 'The fish doesn't need much.'

I shrugged and picked up my rod. The cheese-and-bacon flavored bait dangled in the air before my eyes. Where should I throw it? The river looked the same wherever I gazed.

Edlon came up and pointed at some nondescript patch of water. 'There.' He slung his rod back and then jerked it forward. The bait flew through the air and plunged underwater, only the bobbing float remained. I did the same. My overloaded bait landed with a splash. Edlon looked at two floats and then sat down. He leaned on the board, holding the rod with one hand. I remained standing, expecting an instant catch.

'Come on, sit the fuck down,' Edlon said, chopping his hand in the air. 'The fish here is slow, you won't get anything just like that.' He snapped his fingers. 'Relax.'

I looked at my half-submerged float. It didn't semaphore a catch. I sighed and sat down. After some time I asked, 'Have you fished here before?'

'Yep,' Edlon proudly nodded. 'With Tolek. He was your predecessor. He was the man. Showed me everything here.' Edlon stopped, his eyes grew distant.

'Why did he leave?'

Edlon snapped out of his daydream. 'He was old, you know. This job isn't for everyone. Too much stress.'

Stress in the forest, that was strange to me. However, I remembered everything that happened to me since I came to Safun. Yeah, I could see an old man feeling a bit overwhelmed.

'I think I can handle it,' I said. 'Who knows, maybe I'll be like Ort one day. A forest man, wise and strong.'

'And talking to the trees.'

I snapped my head at Edlon. 'Does he do that?'

Edlon puffed his lips and raised the eyebrows. 'Yeah, sometimes. Looks weird. I saw him stroke a bush saying something like,' Edlon lowered his voice. 'So what we'll do now, pretty head? The time, the time.' Edlon shook his head. 'Some people are just weird. But he is a cool guy. A true pro if I know one.'

'I knew one weirdo on Clomt. Ned. He was a big chap like Ort and pestered me with pine boards.'

'Boards?'

'Yeah. He had this dream of building a postcard house out of pine boards and logs and stuff.’ I rotated my hand in the air. ‘And a kennel with a pug in it.'

Edlon shrugged. 'Sounds legit. People must have dreams. What's wrong about that? They are sometimes eccentric, but who cares. They are their own.'

'But he lived in the city. On the upper level. Such a house would stick out like a sore thumb.'

'So what.' Edlon shrugged again, the laid-back man. 'It's his place. He carved out a piece of reality just for himself. He found his goal in life and got to it.'

I've never seen it at such an angle.
'You know, I don't have that. First, I was with Dad. Then he passed away and the world just moved on. I’ve been a tumbleweed since then.' I paused, shocked and excited by my opening up to Edlon like that. I felt relief and joy. Turned out, I needed it. 'You know, I joined the army to travel. I had this idea of empty places where there are no people, only nature. Now I have it here, but I'm not fulfilled. Maybe, I just don't like people…'

'It happens.' Edlon didn't sound shocked by my confession. 'This shit will pass. It always does.'

More advice from Edlon. It sounded strange coming out of a man like him. I remembered his undertow of sadness. He clearly had more than meets the eye. 'And what's your deal?'