Prophet's Journey, page 36
part #1 of Prophet of the Badlands Series
Hoping for a dream about home, she closed her eyes.
Althea woke to a strong urgency in her bladder.
It remained dark outside, Kye still asleep, Teal not.
She sat up.
“Shh. Go to sleep,” whispered Teal.
“Gotta make water.”
Teal pointed at a door. “That’s a bathroom.”
“I don’t want a bath.” Althea waited for her friend to make that face before she giggled. “I am doing the joking.”
Shaking her head, Teal leaned back against the cushions.
Althea hurried to the bathroom and ducked inside. Strange toilets like giant gaping mouths on the wall didn’t look very comfortable—or even possible for her to sit on, so she went to the first stall, and sat. As soon as she started to relieve herself, she bit her left forearm to hold in the scream.
Involuntary tears leaked from her eyes at the burning. It didn’t hurt anywhere near as bad as before, but the long toxin purge from yesterday left things quite sensitive. She gritted her teeth and turned off her sense of pain. When the fire stopped, she slouched in relief. Staring down at her toes upon the grimy tile floor, she frowned at the thought of the horrible robot man, Sigma Six, trying to kill her, knowing he would do the same to all the people at the Transit village. She had never heard of that ‘sarin’ stuff before, but considered it as evil as wifeing. She sighed in sadness at the thought people had to have created such an awful substance.
Kye seemed willing to make the decision to leave and follow her to Querq, but Councilor Noema might protest. Sumiko claimed to have had a dream of desert sands, which made her wonder if that woman might also have some manner of psionic ability. Perhaps the clairvoy ants spoke to her when she slept. Bill, she had no idea. He’d probably agree with anything to keep the peace, whichever way the majority leaned. If the deciding vote came down to him, no one would go anywhere… except to the pitcher for another drink.
Althea wanted to be home more than anything, but she could not leave these people here. Teal would probably bring them back to the settlement, then leave. The woman had agreed to ‘owe her a favor’ and she’d chosen to have her help open the cage to let Kye out instead of guiding her home.
For the good of the people of Transit, Althea decided that she would make sure they agreed to go with her. Even if they refused to follow Kye, she would make them trust. It might be wrong of her to force them to leave, but they had to or they’d all die. She recalled a faint memory of being really small, at the village where the Wagon Man had found her. A figure too blurry to remember, the woman who had been like a mother to her, wouldn’t let her go near the pond. Althea had wanted to go swimming, but the woman wouldn’t let her go alone, worried she would drown.
She felt like that once-mother she barely remembered. The Transit people didn’t know they would drown, so to speak, if they stayed here. They thought the robots worked for gods, not some crazy, evil big-faced monster.
Once finished making water, she bit her lip and gingerly stood. A quick peek in at her life shapes didn’t show any damage she could heal, so the pain had to come from simple tenderness. When she helped someone re-grow a hand or leg, that skin remained over-sensitive to pain for hours or days. The same thing must hold true for everywhere that horrible toxin burned stuff away and she’d regrown. Hopefully, making water wouldn’t hurt for too long. With a grunt, she shifted her weight forward and limped out of the stall into the bathroom.
A dark form stood to her left; the beyond-old face of an ancient, withered gunslinger stared at her from beneath a broad, black hat. His long, tattered, brown duster coat fluttered in a breeze that didn’t exist, the scent of carrion wafting in the air.
Althea sighed. “Hello. What do you want?”
“You should not try to lead those people away from this place. If you do, they will all die.”
“They will all die if they stay here. You want people to know pain and suffering, but dead people don’t suffer.”
“You are naïve. Dead people suffer most exquisitely.”
She shook her head. “You make yourself suffer. The Ancestors don’t have to suffer. They can go somewhere else. The people of Transit don’t deserve to die.”
“It is balance. You are life, I am not.”
“You broke the balance already when you killed the sky machine and saved me. Thank you.”
He sneered.
“I know you were really trying to kill me. You told me already. I don’t blame you. You’re full of anger and pain. You can’t help what you are. I’m not trying to save everyone, only the people I see who are in trouble. I’m not trying to destroy you. People will always be mean to each other. People will always suffer. You won’t run out of misery.” She let out a heavy sigh, looking down at the floor. “I don’t like that you make people hurt, but I don’t want to destroy you. I understand.”
“You couldn’t possibly understand.”
She crept toward him, the air of dead things growing more pungent. “I like helping people, but I can’t help everyone. There’s only one of me. But even knowing I can’t help everyone, I won’t stop helping the people I can. There isn’t a way for me to stop all pain in the world. Or even in the whole Badlands. We don’t have to kill each other. You don’t believe me, but I don’t want anyone to die, not even you.”
He growled.
“I know you are angry that you can’t touch me. Even a tiny light makes the dark go away. I’m stronger than you but you’re also stronger than me. You’re everywhere at once. I’m only here. And you should stop those machines from going everywhere.”
“And why would I do such a thing? They spread death and suffering.”
Althea shook her head. “No. They cause death, not suffering. Cobb died so fast he didn’t even know what happened. And there are many of these machines. When they kill all the people, you won’t have anyone left to suffer. Is that what you want? An empty place full of robots?”
“They serve a purpose.”
“Father puts spicy stuff on his food, but he doesn’t drink just the spicy stuff. If these machines kill everyone, there won’t be any people left who know you exist. You like it when they talk to you and make offerings.”
He pulled the coin out of his pocket, flipping it from finger to finger down his hand and back again, giving her dark looks while pacing around. “They will not swell outward beyond their borders. There will be no extermination. But I will not permit the touch of ‘civilization’ to interfere.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, chewing on his words, trying to understand. That kinda sounded like he wanted the machines to stay, but wouldn’t let them wipe out everything. He’d limit them to the area they already occupied. As if in response to her thoughts, he nodded once.
“I’m going to take the Transit people to Querq when I leave.”
“They are mine. Leave them.”
“They’re going to all die here.” She shook her head. “The machines will find them. If they’re dead, they can’t be afraid of you. If they’re dead, they won’t suffer.”
“Don’t think I’m so foolish, child. It is… difficult for my influence to work near you. If they remain in that hovel you call a village, near you, my influence upon them is limited.”
At hearing confirmation that she could protect people from him, she smiled. “Some influence is better than the none you’ll have on dead people.”
“The great, innocent Prophet wants them to suffer?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Of course not. But, I know you’re going to hurt people no matter what I want. And I’m going to heal them, and you’re going to hurt them again.” She sighed. “All I can do is keep helping.”
“Where were the Seraphs when we were massacred?” asked The Many, his voice rising in anger, ghosted by a thousand other whispers, men, women, even some that sounded childlike. Screams erupted behind him, the image of a distant burning horizon fading in over the bathroom’s back wall. High-rise buildings collapsed in heaps. War machines flew by overhead, dropping great plumes of fire in their wake.
“I don’t know. I’m only eleven. That happened a long time ago. And I’m only a little bit Seraph.” She peered up at him, all innocence. “I don’t understand that either.”
“Fine. Take them. They serve me no purpose dead.” He turned away from her, making a face of disgust. “This is not quite a truce. We agree to disagree.”
“If we agree, how can we disagree at the same time?” She scrunched up her nose.
He shook his head. “People will always suffer. No matter what you do, there will be pain, misery, and death.”
She stared downcast, heart heavy. Though she hated his words, she couldn’t dispute their truth. As much as she wanted to eliminate all pain, even she had to accept that desire as the idealistic fantasy of a child.
“Aww, don’t cry. Suffering can be beautiful. It reshapes people, makes them stronger. Gives them new purpose… except for you.”
She looked up, narrowing her eyes. “I’m not going to cry. And what do you mean, except for me?”
“All the suffering you endure, yet you don’t change. Here you are yet again, changing hands as you always have. And you still worry so much about these people you have never seen before, more than that family of yours.”
“You won’t understand. It makes me happy to help people.” She took a step toward him. “And I am not anyone’s slave.”
The Many gave off a low, gravely laugh that filled the room with the smell of death. “That is where you are wrong, child. You remain a slave.”
She folded her arms. “No I don’t.”
“You will always remain a slave.”
“No. I won’t.”
“You are a slave of your own conscience.” He burst into a cloud of black smoke, sank to the floor, and dissipated. The stink of rot soon faded away.
She huffed. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
Too tired to waste another thought on it, she plodded out of the bathroom and back over to Teal, curled up, and went to sleep.
39
For Their Own Good
Two hours after leaving the police station the next morning, Althea’s heart burst with joy at the sight of the Connect Transit building emerging from the ruins up ahead. Kye radiated happiness, but her face didn’t show it. She took the lead, walking with a triumphant stride past the crumbling wall, down the stairs to the underground passage. She, too, did the counting steps thing to get around the jaw traps, then jogged through the dark in the tunnel as rapidly as if she could see. When they reached the platform, Shara, Ulon, and two other men Althea hadn’t seen before let off a jubilant shout.
Kye climbed up out of the track tunnel. The four sentries blinked at her blanket dress.
“The queen has returned,” shouted Shara.
The spear-bearers gathered around Kye and whisked her into the corridor leading to the village. Althea and Teal followed a few steps behind. The smell of food cooking in the main chamber triggered an immediate growl from Althea’s stomach. It had a similar effect on Kye as well. She rushed over to sit on the floor by one of the cooking pots and asked the man tending it for a portion. He looked up at her in shock for a second before hastily preparing a bowl.
Kye waved Althea and Teal over to sit beside her, instructing the cook to feed them, then sending a younger girl to fetch water. As whispers and shouts of the queen’s return spread among the people of Transit, a crowd soon gathered around them. Before they all had a full portion of stew, Noema, Sumiko, and Bill rushed out from the council chambers, pushing past the crowd to stand behind them.
“Kye!” said Noema. “You have returned. Speak the name of the goddess emblazoned within the Cursed Place.”
“An-co-ra,” said Kye.
Teal clamped a hand over her mouth to hold in a laugh.
Ooru and Paama scampered between the adults, both rushing up to Althea and jumping on her with hugs. When they noticed Teal, they froze in terror.
“It’s okay. She made a mistake.” Althea squeezed her new friends together. “Don’t have the fear of her. She’s nice.”
“Ehh, sorry for scaring the crap out of you two.” Teal smiled. “I’m in a better place now.”
Paama and Ooru sat on either side of her, smushed close due to the large number of people trying to cram together around the cooking station.
Noema beamed, eyes sparkling. “She has left us an heir and returned as Queen Kye.”
The crowd erupted in cheers.
Sumiko sent a pair of women off with rapid, whispered instructions.
“Allow me a few minutes,” said Kye. “We have been without food for two days.”
“The journey is not that long.” Noema tilted her head. “What happened, my queen?”
Kye gestured at the floor nearby. “Sit and listen.”
The three councilors—and most of the hundred or so Transit tribe, except for small children—gathered closer. While she ate, Kye explained how they had emerged from the Cursed Place, been chased underground by Silver Men, nearly suffered death from poison air, and took the long way around via an underground tunnel. Midway through the story, the two women Sumiko sent off returned with a shirt and skirt of animal hide, as well as boots for Kye. She traded the blanket for her proper attire, still relaying the story as she changed, sat, and resumed eating. By the time her tale ended, she had finished two full bowls of stew.
Althea polished off an entire large bowl herself, which, after days on the tiny nutrition bars, left her feeling happily overfull.
“That is a most distressing tale,” said Sumiko.
“This child has been sent by the gods to bear warning.” Kye gestured at Althea. “Our home has become too dangerous for us. The Silver Men grow in power. I have seen their sanctum where machines make more machines without the gods’ direction. The Silver Men have no masters but for a demon calling itself Sigma Six. If he was ever one of the gods, he has betrayed the others and seeks to destroy all life.”
A stunned gasp swept over the room.
Althea stared off into space, grinding her toes innocently into the floor while radiating a mild telempathic sense of trust.
“The Silver Men grow in power,” said Kye. “I have seen this truth. We will soon be wiped out. The gods have sent this child to bring us to a new home, a place of promise well out of reach of the Silver Men. We will no longer need to hide beneath the ground like the rats we harvest for food.”
The crowd murmured.
“Jann and I will not survive a trip,” said an older man with whitish hair.
“You have no need to worry.” Yaz climbed up out of the crowd, standing on something so she could hike up her skirt and show off the still-noticeable line where the lighter skin of her leg met the more tan skin above it. “The Prophet is here. Her magic gave me a new leg. No one will die.”
Guilty, Althea stood. “I can’t promise that no one will die. If something bad happens, umm, too fast, I might not be able to make the hurt go away, but I can help the elders make the trip.”
“What she means is,” said Teal in a raised voice. “If an assault bot stuffs a missile up someone’s nose and vaporizes their head in an instant, that’s too much for her to fix.”
“If we go to the surface, the Silver Men will overrun us and kill everyone,” said a male spear-bearer. He gestured at Althea, giving off mostly anger with some fear. “This child is—”
She glanced at him, forcing his emotion from suspicion and distrust to happiness.
“This child is… right.” He nodded. “Maybe it is too dangerous here.”
Teal smirked at her. “Naughty little angel.”
Althea stuck out her tongue.
“Toma has a point.” A thirtysomething woman with several battle scars on her face raised a fist. “If the Silver Men spot us all above the ground at once, it will be a massacre. We cannot outrun the small ones.”
“The transit system has tunnels that form a network across this entire area. It used to be a large city. You can take the tunnels as far southwest as they extend before going to the surface. The farther away you go from the Great Forge, the less likely the CRP will find you.” Teal swiped at her empty holster. “Dammit. Bastards took my E-90.”
“I say we trust in the gods and follow their messenger to a new home.” Kye looked at the council. “Do you agree?”
Bill gave off a ‘yeah, whatever’ mood. Noema and Sumiko both feared such a drastic change, but they also feared the idea that the Silver Men might someday soon locate this settlement and cause a massacre.
“This is as I have seen,” said Sumiko. “I am afraid, but the gods want us to do this.”
Noema frowned, tapping her foot. Her thoughts swam with memories of growing up in this place, being a spear-bearer, then a keeper of knowledge, then a councilor, finally elder councilor. She didn’t want to leave the only place she’d ever known. The outside world frightened her.
Althea watched them like a raider about to get into a knife fight, waiting for the other warrior to twitch. The instant she sensed one beginning to object, she would ‘strike.’ As expected, Bill didn’t have a strong opinion either way. Between Kye and Sumiko however, Noema eventually relented and agreed to the idea without the need for further psionic prompting.
“How long will it take to gather our necessary items that we may carry with us?” asked Kye.
The councilors got into a discussion with several other people about their small farm, extra clothes, what food could be packed, and the cooks who would prepare enough breads and dried rat jerky to feed the entire village for several days in case of bad fortune. Isha, the teacher, explained the distance she expected, calculating about fifteen to twenty days’ travel time.
They eventually decided to spend two days preparing for the trip.
That settled, the people held a short celebration of their new queen’s successful return from her trial. While that went on, Ooru and Paama sat with Althea in a quieter corner of the room and wanted to hear all about what happened after she went into the Cursed Place. They listened with rapt attention, gasping in fear and disbelief at her story of meeting Lieutenant Raines’ ghost, going all the way to the Great Forge, and riding on a flying robot.
