James Scotson - Planets Falling

Etch turns to me in the void. “Amy, please hold tight. We will see you soon.” He seems to be reaching for something in the pilot house and vanishes. I wish I had the ability to do the same.

Thresh floats before me in the timeless emptiness. “You can still join me and Eliza. Eliza’s looking more like you every day. She’s also showing abilities. I’ve been trying to hone them. Before long, she’ll be able to meet the others. I’m so very excited, aren’t you, Amy?”

I’m seething and then something unusual happens. A bluish glow expands and washes over Thresh. Thresh looks surprised and dims. I feel a pull and all goes blank. I open my eyes and find myself in our garden at home. I’ve managed to escape the void and settle back into a regular dream. I hope I sleep for weeks.

The sun’s perched high in the frigid sky when I awake. I look out the frosty window at the snow-laden mountain peaks, the stately spruces, and tiny tits darting through the brush. It’s hard to believe that somewhere out there, a battalion of corpses shuffles through the snow. Once they find us, Thresh and her monsters won’t be far behind.

I wander downstairs to the main room. Theo’s got the fire blazing and Bets is skinning a couple of pocket gophers — not my favorite meat but I’ve no grounds to complain. Bets looks up at me and then over to Theo. She goes back to her work with renewed vigor.

I pad over to the back door and fetch a cup of water. I steep a pinch of tea in it over the fire. Settling down next to Theo with fragrant steam curling around me, I decide I might as well tell them about my meeting with Etch and altercation with Thresh.

“How’d she find us?” Bets asks, exasperated.

“I don’t know,” I respond.

Gorian busily taps at her pad. “If they left from the coast two weeks ago, it should take them at least another two weeks to reach us. I’m assuming that they’re able to crawl quickly through the snow, which isn’t likely. Of course, it’s hard to estimate how fast dead people can move. The cold will reduce the decay, so it’s likely they’ll be pretty intact when they get here. And who knows if they’ll be picking up new recruits along the way.”

Iggy real voice rasps, although his mechanical voice sounds fine. “Gorian, do you realize how silly and macabre you sound right now? It’s a strange mix.”

“Silly maybe. But we need to know how much time we have. I can’t do anything about any poor villagers that might be in their path.”

Theo stretches. “I suppose we’ll need to sit continuous watches. I enjoyed getting sleep there for a while. Amy and Bets, it looks like it’ll be us.”

“I may be pregnant but I can still keep watch and yell.” Gorian stands, her hands propping up her back.

Bets wipes her knife. “What are we going to do if they attack? Iggy’s wasting away and Gorian can’t even walk straight. The three of us can’t hold back an army of bodies, let alone Thresh’s monsters. We need to retreat.”

“Where do you reckon we go, Bets?” Theo seems strangely calm. “We can’t move in the snow. It’ll kill Iggy for sure and Gorian’s in no shape to travel. We’ll need to make our stand here.”

“We may be alright,” Gorian muses. “The shuttle was loaded with munitions and additional supplies — far more than what we were able to bring uphill. We could rig the perimeter of the lodge with defensive weapons. It might not stop those grubs. But it’d put a dent in the dead people — live people too. I’d bet that Thresh would explode real good. If we could just get one good shot into her, the whole battle would end.”

“It’s settled. I’m heading down to the shuttle to get materials.” Theo starts pulling on his fur leggings.

“Not so fast,” Gorian responds. “I need to show you what to get. Also, some of the munitions are pretty touchy. If you hit the wrong button, whoosh.” She lifts her arms and shakes them.

Theo sits down next to her.

After several hours of tutoring, we all have a better idea of Gorian’s tactics. Given the snowpack, it’ll take Theo, Bets, and me three days of hard toil to bring the necessary materials to us. The trickiest maneuver will require Theo removing the shuttle’s fuel core, which is unstable but very necessary for us to have a chance against our assailants. It’ll have an added bonus of powering the lodge’s ancient circuits, if they still work. We may be able to light the old lamps and heaters in the building. Gorian suggests that the lodge’s machine interface may still be operational. The rest of us are not so sure we want to fire that thing back up.

The next morning Theo and Bets head downhill into the trees, a light snow falling. None of us want to consider what will happen if the flakes intensify into another storm. When the duo returns, I’ll relieve one of them. That way, one of us will always be fairly fresh. Theo’s the strongest and knows we all depend on him to carry the most heavy — and critical — materials up the grueling mountain face. Luckily, we’ve all adjusted to the thin air. Our regular sojourns into the wilderness, struggling through the ubiquitous snow, have prepared us for this effort.

It’s early afternoon and the sun’s returned. If all went well, Bets and Theo should arrive with the first load of supplies within the hour. Gorian’s standing watch, gazing out the front window for any sign of their return. I found some parchment in a desk and have been drawing pictures, a pastime I abandoned years ago when the gardens consumed me. I’m sketching a picture of Eliza — the way I imagine she’d look now — when Gorian whoops. “They’re back and loaded.”

Bets and Theo pull off their coverings and set them to dry by the fire. Theo carefully removes a small cylinder from his sack. “That’s it,” Gorian exclaims. “Iggy, do you feel up to helping me harness the power cell?”

“I’ll do what I can Gorian.” Iggy slogs over to the table.

“Marksman, you and I are next,” Bets mutters while eating a piece of bread.

I’m dreading this trip. The discomfort of the physical exhaustion will be no match to the cold chill coming from that woman. Our job will be to collect all of the charges in the shuttle. They’re similar to Troll’s concussion grenades but far more powerful. Gorian will be able to detonate them from her tablet computer. We’ll set them in strategic locations along the perimeter. If Thresh’s forces attack, the charges should corral them in open areas, allowing us to attack the creatures more efficiently.

Gorian’s finishes her meager lunch and suits up for another excursion. I’m wearing one of Gorian’s uniforms, with fur layered above. My favorite waxed, leather cloak from Flip’s mother is wrapped over all of my ensemble to keep back the wind and moisture. I follow Gorian out the door.

Late afternoon shadows appear. “We’ll have to move fast to beat the dark,” Bets mutters dejectedly, almost as if she’s speaking to herself. She clearly resents me for having to trudge back out into the cold air.

A twig deep within me snaps. My skin warms with rage, suppressed for too long. “Bets, enough of this. Your brooding has got to stop, for all of our sakes. Just leave us. We can fare on our own. If you travel lightly, you’ll be back to the coast in a week’s time.”

She stops, drops her sack, and turns to me, her eyes blazing. “You ungrateful wench. All that I’ve done for you and you tell me to leave. I have nothing to go back to because of you.”

“This is really about Theo, isn’t it? Bets, I’m married. I love Wenn and will never betray him, even if we never set eyes on each other again.”

“You may think you feel that way, but I see you two. Theo loves you Amy. And you love him too. It’s more upsetting to see you lying to each other than to have you get it over with.”