James Scotson - Planets Falling

“They brought her to the jail. I thought you understood that.”

“I need you to take me, us, there now.”

We run into the street and find our passage blocked by a bloated, animated body missing part of its head. I barely recognize it as Wenn. It croaks, “Daughter.”

“Wenn, my brother, what has that witch done to you?” Theo’s face is fish-belly white.

The body advances. “Need daughter. So sorry.” His clothes are tattered and soaked.

I fall to my knees sobbing. “Theo, kill him. Release him from this hell.”

I cover Eliza’s eyes while Theo takes a staff and beats the remainder of Wenn’s head into a mash. Wenn drops with a wet thud.

More bodies appear in the streets. Some are recently dead from the battle, others are nothing more than slick strands of sinew and bones. Theo knocks them out of our way as we rush to the jail compound. We arrive to find no guards and a dead soldier trying to grab keys and release Thresh from her cell.

Thresh is so frail. She looks as if she hasn’t eaten in weeks. “So, Amy Marksman. We meet again and flesh to flesh. You look hearty.” She peers over my shoulder. “Eliza sweetheart, are you well?”

The girl beams and runs to the bars. “Mommy? Why you in a cage?”

“Those mean people locked me up, honey. Run and hide, now.”

Before we can react, Eliza bolts down the dark hallway, littered with dozens of cells and passages. Theo yells, “Liza, come back here. We’re good. Please?”

“Let her hide, Theo. I don’t want her to see what is about to happen.”

Thresh chuckles. “Amy, face it. You’re going to lose. I’m drawing them to me. I can feel them killing men, women, and children right now, in the gilded city. Delicious. And they’re doing it for me and for you.”

“Thresh, you’ve no idea how much I’ve grown while you’ve stagnated in your hatred and petulance. You don’t deserve the abilities you have. I pity you. It’s time for you to go.” I feel myself entering the tunnel and I’m on the other side of the bars looking at me. I make sure that Thresh is still conscious and surprised while I force her hands over her nose and mouth. She struggles weakly for air as her vision blurs and turns grey. The last image she sees is of me staring at her with disgust

A veil has lifted from Yellow Stone. People are happier and colors seem brighter. The wicked smell of the lake has abated.

This happiness and relief did not emerge immediately after the emancipation. We spent the first few days after the battle disposing of the revered dead, who unfortunately were littered by Thresh across all the streets and walls of the town. Most of the bodies were returned to the lake. I burned Thresh’s body and sent her ashes into cold, empty space via the Raven. Her lover Jonah will rot in jail for the remainder of his days. He’s quite insane, preaching continuously about the fall of the unrighteous and the rise of the damned.

In these peaceful days, the brown ooze no longer appears, although I know the danger is still there. Without a magnet like Thresh, nothing draws it out of the portal. But the others still watch without eyes hungrily from beyond. I see them when I fly the Raven over the lake when continuing my daily lessons from Fromer. I’ll learn to stop them soon, I hope. Fromer keeps telling me to be patient.

Once we’re certain the immediate danger is gone, Etch and I travel south and west to the mountain lodge at Yosemite to retrieve our friends. We land both ships in a grassy meadow downhill of the building. I marvel at how quickly the scars of the spring battle with Thresh have healed. Samuel greets us with a bottle of ripe cider. “Where’ve you been?” He’s beaming and a little drunk.

“Oh Samuel, if you only knew.” I hug him, noticing that his beard’s much longer and that he’s much lighter.

We walk to the lodge where Grey and Gorian hold Ferris, who’s grown into a curious and mobile toddler. She’s an interesting mix of her parents and would be a great companion to Eliza, if Eliza ever bursts through her shell. There are four copies of Iggy roaming the grounds rather than one now. The only difference is that Iggy’s slightly greyer and moves slowly. Sam greets us with his artificial voice. I swear he’s become more personable — likely a result of much tweaking by Gorian. The last person to greet us is father. He’s aged precipitously while we’ve been away. He seems vacant, lost in his thoughts.

We sit by a roaring fire, the heat still welcome in the cool summer night in the mountains, discussing the events that occurred and those that might follow. “So, you all will join us at Yellow Stone?” I ask.

“Sam, what do you think of that?” Gorian asks the lodge.

“I would miss you terribly. Would you visit me?”

“Of course Sam. This is as close to a home as I’ve ever had. This will be a cherished holiday spot.”

“To more serious issues.” Grey sits forward. “You mentioned that the Fuerst chased off an Institute vessel. I’m surprised that you haven’t been bothered further.”

“Oh, they are coming.” Etch shifts in his chair. “The Institute is being cautious, particularly given our response and the presence of the FRT outpost on the moon. Their resources are spread thin and they do not want to raise suspicion by sending an armada to harmless earth.” He chuckles. “I am unsure whether the FRT knows about the portal. The Yellow Stone villagers think so, but I suspect they were misled by the Institute. The FRT forces probably still avoid earth because of the quarantine and have no knowledge of the richness in their territory. Fear of that doomsday substance is a powerful ally for us.”

“So, we need to reach Yellow Stone and protect it from encroachment by the two warring factions? Sounds easy.” Gorian’s fidgeting with some mechanical toy she’s built for Ferris.

“Fromer’s convinced that Amy holds the key to the portal in the lake.” Iggy suggests.

I clarify. “Actually, Iggy, to be more correct, the lake contains a froth of portals winking in and out of our reality.” I look around nervously considering all I’ve learned from Fromer.

“She’s starting to talk like us.” Gorian chortles.

Samuel walks in with a bundle of logs. “Sounds to me that you intend to use Amy as a gambling chip. They’ll need her to use the holes or whatever you call them in the lake. With no Amy, there be no travel. Amy darling, how’s that make you feel?”

“Self-important and cheap at the same time,” I laugh. “I guess I’ll be whoring myself to the highest bidder.”

Grey isn’t smiling. “This is deadly serious folks. Thresh had some scary monsters, dead walkers, and stone-age weapons to do her bidding. The Institute and the FRT have nuclear weapons and lots of well-armed soldiers — not to mention ships. They can take Amy by force if they want to.”

Etch turns to me. “What do you want my fellow pilot? This is your life we are discussing. You could simply walk into these woods and vanish from our sight. You would have no more worries about threats from beyond.”

“Etch, I have responsibilities whether I want them or not. My first goes to Eliza. She’s confused and lost. I always had my mother and the xyn to accompany me.” I look at my vacant father. “You too, father.” He mumbles something. “So, I need to help her come back to me and find a way for her to harness her abilities. After that, I’ve only begun to explore the possibilities of the lake for all of us, including those brutes in space.”

“We will defend you. But I cannot guarantee your safety. I propose that we deal with the Institute and FRT directly. In fact, we should pre-empt them. This will give us bargaining power. And the ability to set the terms to our liking.”