Echoes from the Lost Ones (22 page)

“You must go to Brother Jude my dear,” Sister Gabriel said, opened her eyes wide and pushed her neck out.

“Erm? What about..?” I stopped my questioning and turned to see Brother Dominic. He stood at the entrance and nodded to all that passed him in a kindly manner. His presence gave meaning to Sister Gabriel’s oddly pose.

“That was the bell to end the prayer session,” she said loudly so that all could hear.

“Oh, right.”

“Until later, my dear,” Sister Gabriel said and brushed my hand with hers. I felt something being pushed under my fingers and realised it was a note. I scrunched it up into my palm so that it was hidden, and said, “Yeah, I wish all a goodly day.”

The others smiled and for a moment, I thought I saw a look of glaze come over their eyes. I yawned, strolled past Brother Dominic and out into the corridor that led to Brother Jude.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The Book Of Revelations

When out of sight, I opened the note that Sister Gabriel gave me. She had written instructions for me to go all quick to the library. I was intrigued and strode fast to the place of meeting.

She was waiting outside and gestured for me to follow where she was rapidly going, which was towards the front entrance. I kept up with her long strides until we stopped by the large door. She turned to me and said, “Ah, what a glorious day. I’m sure Brother Jude will not mind so much if you and I partake of a quick stroll outside. Come, take my arm and we shall meander for a few secs.”

I gave a grin most superficial, and together we stepped into the mid-morning sun.

“There is a lovely enclosed garden to the side of the property that you must see, my dear,” Sister Gabriel said. She put her hands inside her enormous pockets and veered to the left of the structure. I took the opportunity, whilst walking beside her, to take in the outside environment. I’d not seen it since we arrived and to tell the truth, did not take so much notice as I should.

I had not realised the vastness of the building until now. It seemed to loom as tall as the mountains that surrounded it. Looking to my right I near gasped at how near I was to the edge of the cliff. I took several steps away from the mist-drenched precipice and stared all squint-eyed at the Monastery.

The white walls seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. It was a cheery sight for sure and my feeling of wooziness began to disperse. I shielded my eyes from the dazzle of the building, tilted my head back and fairly wrenched my neck looking up so high to the turreted top; which boasted the strangest figures I had ever seen.

On each corner of said turret were stone effigies of giant hunched-up creatures. They had long, pointed ears and wide-open mouths, with tongues that protruded between oversized fangs. Their eyes were merely deep, empty hollows that saw nowt. They appeared neither hominid nor animal, but a bit of both combined.

“Why such embellishments?”

 
“Gargoyles, my dear. Relics from the past. They simply represent good and evil. Emblems to guard against daemons and the like.”

I thought them splendid, but not so much as the place Sister Gabriel took me to. At first, I thought it an extension of the outer wall, being it was just that, a wall. It had a door in the middle with carvings of all sorts of fauna and flora. I ran my fingers across the raised shapes and felt beaks, claws, petals and thorns.

“What grand designs. What expertise in craftsmanship.”

“Indeed, my dear. There are those who do have a gift for art and the like. Come, let us enter,” Sister Gabriel said and pulled on a large round metal handle that resembled an intertwined garland. The portal creaked open and we stepped through it into a wondrous place indeed.

Tears of awe brimmed full in my eyes and I had to blink more than once to clear them. Flowers, shrubs, trees and grasses covered the walls. More plants and twisty coloured ivy swarmed over and between the arched wooden structures that made a scented covered pathway that we walked along.

I breathed in the sweet-sweet smell and fondled leaves so smooth I too wished my skin possessed such silky softness. Sister Gabriel smiled at the sight of my beaming face and allowed a stop for me to revel in the gloriousness of the scene.

“Sister, what sumptuous plants abound here. All green and flowery despite the newness of the season.”

“Well, the shrubs and trees are evergreens and the flowers early bloomers. As the spring gives way to summer and so on, so the plants give forth their glory in tune with the changes in weather. It is a place of beauty and serenity to be sure.”

“The so-called ‘Park’ in Cityplace shrivels into insignificance. The paltry flora that survive in that venue is sickly and fragile in comparison. I could give up all thoughts of rescue to abide in such a place, it enchants me so.”

“Though I am gratified at your pleasure in this garden, my dear, I would not have you dismiss your purpose for the scent and sight of pretty things. Come, we are nearly at our destination,” she said and steered me towards a high green hedge all but obscured from the rest of the place. We hurried behind it and I saw Eadgard, Wirt and Marcellus sitting at a round wooden table. They turned their faces to me and I thought I saw a look of deep concern on each and every one.

“What can be so unpleasant that you scowl in a place of such beauty?”

“Sit my dear, there is something I must show you.”

I did as Sister Gabriel instructed and attempted a smile to ease the air of gloom that pervaded. Eadgard reached down and picked up the book that I had seen in the library but a few secs ago. He slapped it onto the table, opened it and shoved it across to where I sat. He pointed at an image. “That pic shows genetically designed hominids being mass produced.”

I stared at the thing and shrugged. “So? We know that occurred. Hardly a secret.”
 

“But not on the scale that is mentioned here. This pic was taken in 2092.”
 

“What? So far back? But…”

“There is more. The text goes on to reveal the reason for such a deed. A year after the great world famine in 2085, humanity suffered an even greater threat. A drought of such magnitude that nearly all died.”

“No, it wasn’t a drought, it was a plague.”

“No, Adara,” Sister Gabriel said. She sat next to me, turned the page and pressed her finger down on an image showing thousands of corpses strewn across roadways, city pavements and crop- withered fields.

She showed more.

A pic of a mighty wave engulfing an entire city. Then another showing bodies both hominid, animal and fish, floating lifeless on the surface of the water.

“You see, my dear, the place that once was Great Britain succumbed to rising seas that shrunk it to its present size. Land was scarce and many died in the battle to own it. Judging from the state of things now, it would appear that the Agros won.”

“How is it we do not know of this? This history was not taught at my learning place.”

“Such truth was hidden my dear, by those who wished to control and benefit from the despair that was left.”

“Agros.”

“And Scientists. They ruled what was left of humanity. I have read other more disturbing facts. There is a book that contains fragments of official documents from the time. It was hidden in the library. I found it only yesterday and I can tell you it is as well it was kept secret, for in it is evidence that Agros ordered the mass destruction of all who refused to surrender to their tyrannical rule.”

I looked to Wirt. He hung his head. I turned to Marcellus and Eadgard, but neither was able to meet my gaze. I shook my noggin and felt it would surely burst from all this dreadful news, when Sister Gabriel pulled out two small black books from her extensive pockets.

“These are said books,” she said and placed them onto the table before me. She opened one and I stared at the page with uneasy eyes. Amongst the plethora of words and mathematical symbols where pics of mutated creatures. Some resembled animals, but not any that I have seen in other mags or vids, and some were most definitely hominid in appearance. Although head and limbs were often not in the places I was used to seeing them. She flicked sheet after sheet, showing me more and more of the freakish images, until she came to one particular page. I sat back and looked to the others.

“What does this mean, these grotesque pics of things that should not exist?”

“These, my dear, are the early trials at cloning. As far back as 1996 scientists were able to successfully clone mammals. After that, well, they left caution to the wind and cloned all sorts of creatures. Goats with DNA of spiders that produced silk in their milk. Pigs cloned with human cells that could be used in organ transplants. And as you have observed in these photopics, humans and animals cloned to produce hybrid monsters. For what purposes? War. These,” she said and pointed to a thing that resembled a male only without much in the way of features to speak of, “these were called ‘Ultimate Warriors.’”

Their faces were alarming to behold. There were dark holes where eyes should have been; two slanted slashes in the middle of the face were I suppose, nostrils and the small round orifice in between them, a mouth. Their arms were so muscle-bound that they stuck out from their shoulders, making it look as though they were about to flap them and take flight. As for the legs, they were short, stumpy almost and just as brawny as the other limbs. The whole effect was that of brute and then some.

I pulled the book away from her and looked through it. Each page showed images of all manner of hybrid monsters. There was a series of pics that were truly dreadful. They showed an army of “Ultimate Warriors” destroying whole cities. Tearing out the throats of the inhabitants and laying waste to the buildings with explosive devices so powerful that all that remained was rubble. I closed the book and hung my head. I felt a hand touch mine, looked up and saw Wirt.

“The second book has more to tell. Although the pics are not so unpleasant, the content is shocking none the less.”

“You have seen this, Wirt?”

“Aye, we all have.”

“Show me then.”

Sister Gabriel handed me the other black book. With shaking fingers, I opened it. There on the front cover was a pic of a Clonie with the words “Reject:  banish with the rest. Rations for two months, then no more. If any survive after that time - kill them all.”

Marcellus wiped his eyes and I knew by that gesture that he recognised his own ancestors. “We did not die. We survived. We fought and still fight to remain alive. Agros still treat us like experiments, we used like lab rats for their research.”

“Turn the page, my dear.”

I did and saw to my horror pics of folk that I seemed to recognise. I stared at Wirt, Eadgard, Sister Gabriel and said, “They could be related to you and yours. See Wirt, the same hair, eye colour and stumpy thumb as you have. Here Eadgard are your long fingers and big-big ears, and here, here Sister I see the perfect features you show to us each day. Here, the softly skin and slender shape of all in Cityplace, except perhaps for me. I am confused beyond confusedness to be sure.”

“Adara, we are not only Clonies on land,” Marcellus said. “We, you-related.”

I let my mouth hang open for a moment then looked around at my companions. A sudden thought occurred to me and a smile inched its way across my face. I waggled a forefinger at them all.

“Did you fashion this flimflam tale to dupe me and create much mirth at my expense?”

Sister Gabriel lowered her gaze and clasped her hands before her. Then she spoke in a soft low tone, “We are not tricking you, my dear. These words and images distress and confuse but they are true. These books were hidden in a secret place. I watched Brother Augustus and saw him locate said tomes, then stole them before he could make sense of their contents. I kept all out of sight until now. It was more than I could bear to keep such important info from you.”

I caught my breath and felt my heartbeat quicken.

“What does this all mean?”

The others sat and Wirt took my hand. Eadgard coughed and Marcellus stared into my eyes. Sister Gabriel raised her head and sat upright in her seat.

“It means, my dear, that we could all be described as Clonies, since it would appear that we have the same identical ancestors. Granted over the years, the genetic coding has weakened. Your extra digits are proof of that, and your extraordinary vocal talent - a thing the Agros may be rather keen on.”

“Adara is in danger then?”

“Yes, Wirt, I would suggest that is a strong possibility.”

I pulled my hands away from Wirt and stared at my fingers, all twelve of them. I had not given much thought to their difference until now. I believed that I was not the only fem with such an extra appendage, but it seemed that I was. Now all was confusion and strangeness. Now, I was unsure of everything.

“You must go to Brother Jude, my dear. I have kept you too long. Think of what we have discovered but do not speak of it, not even to him.”

“No fear. I have no desire to repeat the things gleaned in this most precious place,” I said and rose. Although my belly jumped and turned and my skin prickled all over, I was determined not to blub. I sniffed a bit, nodded to the rest and walked heavy-footed through the tangled walkway, back to the Monastery. My head bent as low as the grumbling clouds that swept across the sky and hid the sun behind a mask of grey.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The Sound Of Eternal Rest

I plodded my way up the stone spiral staircase caring not for the lesson that awaited me, and pushed open the door. I took a deep breath, ready to commence my learning with Brother Jude, but the sight that presented itself to me was a cause of vast befuddlement. Said monk was sitting on a chair speaking into a communications pod.
 

Brother Jude raised his head and pressed the screen on his pod.

“Adara, you are late. The bell chimed some time ago. It is of no importance. Come, do not linger by the door. We can resume our lesson. Come, enter.”

I did not reply.

“Come, it is time. If you do not enter and commence then you will not learn. If you do not learn…”