Rise of the Mare (Fall of Man Book 2) (17 page)

I woke refreshed and loving how I
felt. I stretched and then washed up, placing on the checkered
shirt and denim pants. The flip flops grew on me, they were fun and
I liked the noise they made when I scurried at a fast pace.

The clear, water looking beverage
smelled toxic, but everyone was drinking it and I figured it was a
good source of fuel for the human body since everyone was consuming
so much.

It tasted bitter at first and burned
my chest, but after a few, they went down smoothly. They were
magic. All my inhibitions were gone.

While I found the game of Old Maid
taxing, I did enjoy the laughter and antics of the game Skip Bo. I
grasped the game pretty quickly. In fact, I grasped the way humans
were pretty quickly. The mannerisms, the way they shortened words,
hand movements, and jokes.

They talked and told stories while
consuming the toxic water. I shared stories as well, although I
didn’t give dates or years to any stories. No one questioned
anything I said. I suppose because they assumed I was from
Esperanza Straits.

I did not want the evening to end.
These humans were not like any of the ones I had encountered. They
weren’t feeble, weak, or subservient. They weren’t like the angry
rebels I had heard about or the God driven people of my far
past.

Yes, these people believed in their
God, but they didn’t live by His every whim or obey His every
word.

Unfortunately, I knew that if I
stayed any longer, I would lose focus of what my true mission
was—to get back in good standing with my father and Kingdom, bring
the downfall to the rebels, and destroy the Mare. The more I stayed
with Burt, the more I would lose sight of it.

After dressing, I left my room. I was
greeted by every person I walked by.

“Hey, Madge.”

“Morning, Madge.”

“Good game last night, Madge.”

It was overwhelming and it filled me
with a sense of guilt that these genuine beings were being
deceived. Not that I was all that good of a person, but they
brought out the ‘human’ in me.

I made my way to the eating station
because Burt told me that was where everyone gathered. Claudette
was seated at a table, and I joined her.

“How do you feel?” she asked. “You
drank quite a bit.”

“I feel fine, thank you.”

A cup of brown substance was set
before me and then Burt sat down. “Good morning, sunshine.”

Immediately I felt his warmth and
wanted to giggle. How silly was that? I titled my head and looked
at Claudette. “He called me sunshine.”

“He’s quite a charmer,” she said.

“That he is.” I patted his hand.

Within moments, Joshua joined us.

“Morning, Madge.” He sat down. “Ready
to start your job?”

It was the moment of truth. “Joshua,
Claudette, Burt, please don’t take what I am to say as ungrateful
for the hospitality you have given me. For making me well and
finding me when I had been lost. I have a focus and a goal and I
feel if I abandon it even slightly I will never do it.”

Burt looked at Joshua. “I think she’s
talking about the rebellion.”

“Is that why you left your home?”

“Yes,” I said. “I don’t know if
Angeles City holds for me what I need, but I must find out.”

Claudette asked. “How you gonna get
there?”

“Walk.”

Joshua laughed. “You can’t walk
there. Though we hate to lose you, I can get you most of the way
there with the solar car. Get you close enough to hit one of their
outer villages.”

“I would appreciate that very much.
So you know where it is?”

Joshua nodded. “We do. They don’t
know where we are. We’re not part of the rebellion because we got
it together here. No one bothers us, we bother no one. I’ll get you
close. Can you wait until tomorrow? Maybe we can get you to do some
garment repairs today as your barter for transport?”

I nodded. “I would do so, yes.”

Burt grabbed my hand. “Hate to lose
you, Madge.”

“
And really, I did not expect
all this,” I said. “However, I
can
make a promise to you.”

“What’s that?” Burt asked.

“After I find Angeles City, you’ll
see me again. I promise you this,” I told them, looking at each of
their faces. “I will be back.”

We left Fred’s Bait shop pretty early, making our journey south
around the Salton Sea. I told my dream story to Snake and he
scoffed.

I didn’t understand it. He didn’t
have to agree to go with me. After a few hours I realized his
annoyance was over my obsession with Vala.

“I have a feeling things aren’t gonna
turn out like you think.”

“See, I don’t get that,” I said. “I
was the one who thought bad of Vala for leaving.’

“Oh, I don’t think badly of Vala. I
just think things have changed.”

We continued on, stopping only twice.
I knew we’d get in the vicinity of the Straits before sundown.

We didn’t know much about the Straits
at all, just that the beginning was marked with gatekeepers and
guards and the Straits were made up of a bunch of little villages.
Farms, so to speak, for the Sybaris.

I knew we had arrived when just
beyond a barn, I saw four Sybaris soldiers holding a post. They
weren’t the demonic looking gatekeepers I expected to see.

We asked for passage and were told
that only the gatekeepers could grant it, so obviously these
weren’t the gatekeepers. Apparently they didn’t emerge until
nightfall.

We retreated to the barn to wait.

“I told you we should just walk up to
the front door,” Snake said and pulled out a map. He made a
marking. “This is where we are. I say, come morning, we head out,
go south and come into the Strait that way.”

“Why do you have a problem with us
going to the gatekeepers?”

“They aren’t gonna let us in. They
want blood. Hell, Tanner, they may kill us. Ever think of
that?”

“I did. And I…” I paused when I heard
the familiar squawk. “Did you hear that?”

It happened again. A squeal.

“I hear it. Our Savage buddies.”
Snake looked to the roof of the barn. “This isn’t gonna hold
them.”

“They’re flying over us.”

Snake grunted. “There you go again,
thinking you know them.”

“No, Snake, they aren’t even honing
in on us. We aren’t what they want.”

“Then what do they want?”

I walked over to the barn door and
peeked out the crevice. My eyes widened. “Holy cow.”

“What?”

I rushed over to my stuff and grabbed
my crossbow, placed it behind my back, then grabbed my weapon,
checking to make sure it was fully loaded. “There’s about
thirty.”

“And you’re doing what?”

“Grab your weapons.”

“What the hell for?”

“We can take out thirty.”

“Why are we doing this?”

I grinned. “Our rite of passage.
They’re attacking the gatekeepers.”

With Snake right behind me, I slowly
opened the barn door. A hundred feet away, the circle of torches
lit the area of the gatekeepers and gave enough light for us to see
the Savage attack.

They’d swoop down, miss, and try
again.

The Savages circled the gatekeepers
like vultures over a dead carcass.

The gatekeepers were at a
disadvantage and didn’t have the skills to fight. They were
supposed to be these almighty beings that kept everyone safe, but
they looked pathetic with no weapons and only their hands to swat
them off.

It wouldn’t take long, I figured,
before the Savages got the best of them. I worried less about the
gatekeepers than I did the people of the Straits. If the Savages
made it this far, they were headed toward the villagers.

Snake and I moved closer and took
aim. We had to be fast and accurate.

Once we started shooting, we were
able to take half of them out before they turned and came for us,
flying fast, screaming at us with their war cries.

“This is not how I wanted to die!”
Snake screamed while shooting as best and as fast as he could.

Staying focused, we were able to hit
them. I ran out of ammunition with only a couple of them remaining
and I drew my bow.

The loud cries and screams of the
Savages faded to silence, their dead remains scattered about.

I went back to the barn to retrieve
our things, figuring it was a good time to ask for entrance into
the Straits.

When I came from the barn, one of the
gatekeepers stood before Snake.

He was a large being, carrying a
torch, and wore a hood that masked his face. His voice was deep and
resonating.

“No human has ever come to our aid.
For that we are grateful. What is it that you seek at our
gates?”

“In,” I said simply.

*

It was easier than I thought. Well,
with the exception of having to take out the Savages.

I told the gatekeeper where I needed
to go, and he instructed, “Follow the road.”

Easy enough.

Then he said. “You won’t like what
you find there.”

“Maybe you should have told him why
we are coming here,” Snake said as we walked. “I mean, we saved
them. I’m thinking we could have gotten more out of them than just
in.”

“We didn’t need to tell them any
more.”

“He said we won’t like what we
see.”

“Probably because it’s only a
village, nothing fancy.”

“I don’t think that’s what he
meant.”

Snake was right.

We came in from the back and the moon
lit the way. We passed empty barns and animal pens. The field
looked picked through and when we arrived at the village, it not
only was empty, it was destroyed.

There were rows of houses with some
that centered a town court. That court contained a mound of burned
remains.

It was evident by the destruction of
the houses and dried blood what had occurred.

“Savages,” Snake said. “They hit
here.”

“Yeah, but when?” I asked. “It had to
be recent. Right? Vala didn’t say anything.”

“You said she didn’t have time.”
Snake moved to the mound of burnt bodies. “This is cold. It’s
old.”

“Where is she?” Just as I asked that
question, feeling the slam of defeat, I saw the gatekeeper again.
“Aren’t you supposed to be keeping watch?”

“Human male,” he said, moving toward
me, almost floating, “you have found good favor with us for your
heroics. As stated, no human has ever helped us. For that you are
owed. Not just by me, but by the Ancients. You did not seek only
the village of Akana, you sought a person. Who is it you wish to
find?”

I peered at Snake to see what he
thought. “Might as well tell him,” he said.

I faced the gatekeeper. “I’m looking
for my friend. I don’t mean harm to anyone, I want her to come back
with us.”

“Who?” he asked.

“Vala.”

“The Mare,” he stated.

I nodded, fearful of what he’d
say.

“She is not here. She is in La Sveg
As. City of the Ancients.”

“Is there a way there?”

“She has been chosen, she cannot
leave.”

“Fine. Fine. I need to speak to her,”
I pleaded.

“Because of what you have done, I
will assure you passage there tomorrow and provide transportation
for you and your companion. I will grant you access and notify the
king of your arrival. Bear in mind we cannot guarantee your return
home or what will become of you there.”

“Fine,” I said. “Just get me to Vala.
Please.”

The gatekeeper nodded, turned, and
then moved from the village square.

“You heard what he said, right?”
Snake asked. “He said he’s notifying the king, and he can’t
guarantee our safety. That means we walking into a trap.”

“We’re fine. We’re heroes. We’ll be
fine,” I said nonchalantly. “We go there, see Vala, and leave.
She’ll come with us.”

“Glad you’re so optimistic.”

“
Dude, seriously, how long have
you guys been looking for the City of the Ancients? Huh? Years. And
all we had to do was take out a few Savages and we’re in. We’re in.
We’ll have Vala
and
we find out where the City of the Ancients is.” I
held up my hand to him.

Snake looked at it. “Why are you
holding that up?”

“Give me a high five.”

“No.”

“Come on, man, high five.” I slapped
his hand and he hit back halfheartedly. “We’re going to the City of
the Ancients.”

Snake grumbled.

Although it sounded like a good
thing, I wasn’t sure it actually was. That remained to be seen.

They all said good bye to me as if I
had lived among them for a long time. They wished me well, pleading
with me to return. Claudette made me a ‘care package’ with goodies
for the trip. Josh gave me a walking stick for the on foot part of
my journey into Angeles City.

While I felt good about it, I also
felt guilty. I wanted to tell them, “The Ancients will be wiping
out the rebels into extinction, but have no fear, you will be
spared.”

If I told them I was an Ancient,
Princess High Nito, they’d laugh at me. Surely a princess would not
be quite so frumpy, plain, or eat cooked flesh from a squawking
feathered beast.

I knew the mechanics of the sun
powered vehicles. We used them to transport from village to village
and around La Sveg As. Yet another thing I could not tell Burt.

He talked about the ‘cars’ and how he
had only four hours of travel time, that was why he couldn’t take
me all the way to Angeles City. It had to be placed back on the
charger panel.

“I hate to see you leave,” Burt told
me. “I mean, yeah, we just met, but I kinda thought you’d stay. I
just don’t understand why someone would choose a life of hardship
and fighting over peace and good.”

“Is that the way you see it?”