Awakening the Mare (Fall of Man Book 1) (7 page)

“What’s wrong now?” he asked.

“You have a vehicle of the Sybaris.”

“No, the Sybaris drive our vehicles. They
learned the new fuel source from us. Sometimes it smells bad, and
makes the cars loud. It’s not like they said it was in the old
days, but it gets us back and forth.”

“The old days, meaning, before the event?
Like 1988.”

“Yep.”

“Yep?”

“Yep.” He opened the door for me. “Get
in.”

“It is safe?”

“Very. And so am I.” He faced me and held out
his hand. “Tanner.”

“No. I am still in school.”

He smiled. “What?”

“You asked if I were a tanner.”

“No,” he laughed. “Tanner is my
name
.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. My name is Vala.” I slipped
inside onto the cloth seat, it was warm and comfortable.

“That’s a great name. Vala.”

“Thank you.”

“It means, the Chosen. But I’m sure you knew
that.” He closed the door.

Chosen.

Actually, I didn’t know that. And as Tanner
got into the vehicle, I realized he was right. Like he said
earlier, there was a lot I didn’t know, and I was certain I was
about to find out.

As odd as it was, riding in the motorized
vehicle frightened me. It scared me more than being chased by the
Sybaris, because when I rode Casey, I was in control, mostly. But
the vehicle seemed to move Tanner.

Yes, he turned the circular object in front
of him, but there was a pull to it that was hard to describe. I was
surprised that he wanted to ride in something that the Sybaris used
frequently.

“It’s called a car,” he said.

“A… car. Is that an abbreviated word, like
mom to mother?”

“I really don’t know.” He shrugged. “And
another thing, when the Sybaris walked this Earth thousands of
years ago, there were no cars. Man invented them.”

“That’s good to know.”

“How are you handling it? You’re holding on
to the door handle for dear life.”

“I don’t want it to stop and me eject
forward.”

Tanner laughed.

“What do you always laugh?”

“You’re funny. Maybe not on purpose and maybe
it’s rude of me—”

“It is.”

“Okay.” He lifted his hand from the round
turning thing. “I’ll stop.”

“Please keep your hand on that object.”

“Got it,” he said. “I’d play you some tunes,
but it drains the car.”

I only nodded. Play me some tunes? I assumed
that was some sort of game, and I was grateful he chose not to,
because I wanted his attention on the car contraption.

“Can I tell you something?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“You are going to laugh at this one day. Look
back, maybe even in a month, and laugh about how odd everything
seemed to you.”

“Would you not be scared if you came to
Akana?”

“Freaked out, maybe.”

“Explain what you mean when you say freaked
out.”

Tanner shrugged. “Um… I guess it means that
it makes you feel weird, sort of like you feel right now.”

“Why? You have not been there,”

“True,” he said. “I’ve heard stories though,
like you were told about this side of Esperanza. I hear you guys
all dress alike, look alike, act alike, and anything to do with man
before the Sybaris took over is purely forbidden. They teach you
nothing about your history?”

“Mildly.”

“See?”

“I know plenty about Man’s history, I have
read forbidden material.”

“Then why did you stay there?” he asked.

“For my mother and my sister. I always knew I
was destined to leave. What do you know about the Sybaris?”

“A lot more than you. Because you’re shielded
about them.”

“They hide the ugly truth,” I said. “Problem
is, I can only speculate.”

“Not anymore. I or anyone else that is older
can answer your questions.”

“Good. My mother took me from Angeles City
when I was five, so I don’t have much to go on.”

“Five? So you have memories?”

“I do.” I nodded.

“Things have changed, you know.”

Hearing this surprised me. “For the better or
worse?”

“I’d say the better, because we learned. For
example, there’s a whole slew of kids who don’t talk because their
vocal chords were cut so they didn’t cry or make noise as babies.
We don’t do that anymore because we learned better how to protect
ourselves."

“That is sad that they cannot speak.”

“They learned to communicate.”

“If you learned so much,” I asked, “why
haven’t you defeated the Sybaris yet?”

“We aren’t ready, we need more information, I
don’t know. I’m only a worker and a warrior. You’ll have to ask our
leaders, and believe me, they will want to talk to you.”

“Because I am from Akana?”

“That, and you have information.”

“I don’t think I have any information that
you don’t have.”

“Trust me, you lived there. You have more
information than you realize.”

Finally the car stopped and we pulled in
front of a rundown building. A single story building, built of
wood, much like our homes, only this one was old and weather
beaten, with weeds growing up to the windows. There was a porch
hidden beneath the foliage, and the faded sign on the top of it
said, “Fred's Bait Shop”.

Tanner turned off the vehicle and opened the
door. “We’re here. Our camp.”

“Somehow, this is not what I envisioned as a
camp.”

“It can’t be, not really. If it looked like a
camp then it wouldn’t be safe. Not all the way out here. Once I get
you in, I’ll hide the car.” He walked around to my side of the car
and opened the door.

I swung out my legs nervously, still holding
tight to my bags.

“Do you need help?” he asked.

“No. I am fine. I’ll walk.”

As soon as I stood, my head grew dizzy. The
building not fifty paces before me swam out of focus and my body
swayed.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I can do this.”

I moved slowly, because with each step I was
fearful I would fall. But I was determined to make it to the
building and do so on my own. I didn’t want Tanner to think I was
weak, or promiscuous, because I kept allowing him to touch me.

There was such a beautiful wisdom about
Marie’s face that I was in awe of her while she tended to me. I had
never been close to or encountered anyone who had aged to the point
where she was. She had soft embedded lines around her eyes, her
forehead was creased, and even the skin on her neck was slightly
loose. Silver and brown hair danced around her face. Her eyes
sparkled blue and every time she connected them to me, I felt
it.

She was full of life, which she had
accumulated for many years.

“You alright, little one?” she asked.

“Yes, Ma’am I am,” I replied, tilting my head
to look at her.

“Your pulse is a little rapid and you are
fevered. I need to suture your wound, but want to give you some
medicine to fight off the poison first.”

“It didn’t kill me, so I’m fine.”

She smiled gently, brushing my hair from my
eyes. “It’s in your system. You can get very sick. Let’s make sure
that doesn’t happen.” She grabbed hold of my sleeve and ripped it
off.

I gasped. “My bare skin!”

“It’s fine. You’ll need to change those
clothes and I want to wipe you down.”

“I can bathe myself.”

“Alright, but I’ll stay by you. I don’t want
you passing out.”

“Are you a medicine woman? Doctor?” I
asked.

“Medicine woman, sort of,” she said. “I’m a
nurse and have been since before the world went to pot. Hold on,
this will sting.”

She rinsed my arm with water and it did
sting, but not as much as when she placed a solution on my
wound.

“Give it a minute,” she said. “It will numb
it enough for me to repair it.”

“How old are you?” I asked.

“I’m sixty-four.”

My mouth opened in my shock.

“What’s wrong?”

“I have never been this close to someone your
age.”

“You don’t have older people in your
town?”

I shook my head. “The age of fifty is
considered ripened. We are not allowed near anyone of that age.
Then they take them, they say, to live good lives in the Ancient
city.
I
think they become feed for—” Realizing my words, I
stopped. “I’m sorry.”

A guard, an older man as well, sat across the
room. He was quiet at first, then spoke up when I talked about
Elders in our town. “They probably don’t want you talking to the
older ones because they know how this world used to be.”

“Oh, Snake. Stop,” Marie said.

I screamed and jumped up.

“What?” Marie asked. “What is it?”

“Snake! Where?”

She laughed warmly. “That’s his name. There’s
no snake. Sit down.”

Tanner laughed at me as well. “She’s a funny
one.”

“Boy,” Marie said, “go hide that car before
sundown. Also hit the well for more water and get things heated
before we have to buckle down. Make yourself useful. Go.”

“Yeah, go,” Snake repeated.

“Man,” Tanner said, shaking his head. “I get
no respect.”

After the door shut, I asked, “Why does he
demand respect from you? You are his Elders.”

Marie winked. “He’s joking. You’ll learn a
little something called sarcasm.”

“Sarcasm?"

She nodded. “We’ll will fix this, hook you up
with medication, and once you change and clean up, we’ll eat.”

I trusted Marie. There was something about
her I found comforting. “Are we staying here for the evening?”

“Yes. It’s not worth a chance of running into
the Savages. They come out at night.”

“Only at night?”

“Yes. We’ll be safe here. This place tightens
down.”

I didn’t know what she meant by that, but
again, I trusted her. Fred’s Bait Shop looked run down from the
outside, but obviously that was a cover. It looked like they used
the building often.

Inside, it was clean, and all the walls were
metal. There was even metal coverings that looked as if they went
over the windows. They probably did, to protect whoever was inside
from the Sybaris.

There was a cooking area, and sleeping
quarters that were sectioned off. I was in the corner, which was
set up for medical care.

Snake rocked back and forth in a chair, a
huge gun laying across his lap. I tried not to look over at him
much out of respect. His shirt didn’t have sleeves and he wore
short pants that exposed his hairy legs. It may have been something
Marie was used to, but not to me. I had never seen a man expose
that much of his skin before. It was unsettling.

My mind was still reeling over all that had
occurred. I was worried about my mother and my sister. I wanted to
help them, and I knew the best way to do that was to keep going to
Angeles City. To fight for a better life for them. That was what I
always dreamt of doing, and now as I sat in a camp hidden in Fred’s
Bait Shop, I was one step closer.

Before the sun set, right after Tanner had
hidden the car beneath trees and brush, they closed the shop.

Marie referred it to ‘buckling the hatch’,
and I understood what she meant when they did it. Every window was
covered in metal, even the doors. When they were finished, without
lanterns, we would have been a black metal box. The heat would get
unbearable without much ventilation. There were only two small
pipes in the ceiling.

I had fallen asleep once more, no dreams, and
woke to horrible hunger pains. I hadn’t eaten since before vomiting
on Nito, and even then, it wasn’t much.

Snake prepared the meal, which surprised me.
A man cooking? A thick, brownish substance was in a jar and it
‘popped’ when he turned the lid.

He placed a heap on my plate. “Made this
myself,” Snake said. “Best if you use some bread.”

The bread he gave me was crispy and flat. It
tasted good, but was not the bread I knew.

“What is this?” I asked.

“We call it cowboy chili.” I didn’t
understand what ‘cowboy’ was, and I guess it was apparent on my
face. “It’s something the cowboys used to eat,” Snake explained. “A
cowboy was a label placed on a, well, how do I put it? A horseman
who lived out west. At night, while camping out, they’d make a pot
of this and eat it around a fire.”

“It’s delicious,” Marie added. “And a big
barter item. Snake is one of our best canners.”

“Canner?”

“Canning,” Snake explained and lifted the
jar.

“I may be from Akana, but that is not what I
know a can to be.”

Snake smiled, having promised me he would not
be one to laugh. “It’s a crazy term, I know. That’s what they call
it when you put food in a jar and seal it with heat so it doesn’t
get air in it and spoil.”

“That’s a wonderful concept,” I said. “Much
better than drying and salting for preservation.”

“Pretty innovative,” Snake told me. “I
invented it.”

“Oh, horses,” scoffed Marie. “He’s telling
tales.”

“About?” I asked.

Marie shook her head. “He’s not being
truthful. He’s making things up and it’s all in fun.”

“Man,” Tanner sighed. “Do you guys take
everything
so literally?”

I turned to Tanner. “Why do you do that?”

“What?”

“Refer to everyone as ‘man’? Is that because
we all are part of man as a species?”

Coughing then laughing, Tanner shook his
head. “It’s just an expression. I don’t know why. There you go
again. Literally.”

I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about Tanner.
He found far too much amusement at my expense. Then again, I was
used to males who were mild and reserved because they were taught
to be that way.

Braving the substance on my plate, I lifted a
utensil full to my mouth. The texture was odd and thick, but the
second I took it into my mouth I was amazed at the tangy and
wonderful flavor that exploded in my mouth.