D. MacHale - The Pilgrims of Rayne

“So where does the lying come in?” I asked.

“There’s more to this world than that. To life. The tribunal is keeping it from us.”

“How?” I asked.

“They control information. There are plenty of books, but none talk about our history, or about anything that happens beyond our little world. Don’t even try to ask. You won’t get answers. Worse, if you ask too many questions, they put you away. It’s a crime to be curious.”

“I don’t get that.”

“People disappear. One day a guy might be heard openly wondering about why we aren’t allowed to move to other villages; the next day he’s gone. His whole family is gone. Nobody knows where or why. They’re just… gone, and never seen again.”

“So why don’t people just leave?” I asked.

“Because nobody is allowed off the island!” Siry shouted.

“This is an island?” I asked, surprised.

“Yes,” Siry answered. “Rayne is the largest village, but there are others. I’ve been to a few with my father, but traveling is discouraged. We’re conditioned from birth to live our lives in the little village where we were born and to be happy about it. I’m not. None of the Jakills are. We know there’s something more out there. The Jakills are going to find it.”

“Wait, go back. This is an island that nobody has ever left?”

“Yes.”

“So who are the Flighters? People trying to leave?” “No, they come from somewhere else. That’s why the tribunal is afraid of them. They’re worried the Flighters will poison our way of life. The security force usually keeps them away, but sometimes a few make land, like today.” “Where do they come from?”

“That’s just it. Nobody knows! If the tribunal knows, they’re not saying. The tough thing is, the Flighters are savages. If they were friendly, there might be a way to learn from them, but they aren’t. They’re scavengers who raid farms and steal whatever they can carry. They’ve attacked villagers and destroyed huts. They’re all about random violence. Now they’re going after the tribunal.”

“So it looks like the tribunal has more to worry about than whether they’ll poison Rayne’s way of life.”

Siry nodded.

“If you hate the place so much, why did you protect the tribunal from the Flighters?”

Siry chuckled and shook his head, as if I were an idiot. “We don’t want to destroy Rayne, Pendragon. If people are happy with their lives, that’s their choice. We just want everyone to know the truth and live their lives the way they want. We aren’t heartless. The Jakills have families. We want change, not destruction. We want to help the people of Rayne, not hurt them. That’s why we fight the Flighters.”

Good answer.

“So that’s what brought the Jakills together? You want to change your lives?”

“Most of us are the sons and daughters of village leaders,” Siry answered. “We all heard things, growing up. Little things our parents let slip. It got each of us thinking on our own. Once we started pooling our information, the questions kept coming. Who are we? Why are we stuck here? Why can’t we learn about the rest of our world?”

“What did your father tell you?” I asked.

Siry laughed. “He was the worst of all. He wanted nothing to do with the outside world.

I have a hard time believing he was some kind of ‘Traveler.’ That wasn’t him. I’m sorry he’s dead. I really am. He was a good guy when I was little. But once I started having opinions of my own, we stopped getting along.”

“What about your mother?” I asked. “I didn’t know her. Remudi adopted me when I was a baby.”

No surprise there. That’s how it worked with Travelers. I was getting a better picture of Ibara. Remudi was a Traveler. I couldn’t help but think that if he had a hand in the kind of disinformation policy that Siry was talking about, it might have something to do with the future of Ibara. The turning point. I felt I was on the right track. Not close, but at least on the right track.

“We just want the truth,” Siry said. “You saw the Jakill clearing in the jungle. You saw the things we have. None of that came from any village on the island. Over the years things have washed up on shore. What wasn’t confiscated and destroyed by the security force has been secretly passed around and hidden. It may all be junk, but it means a lot more to us. Each piece is a clue to what exists beyond the shores of this island. We want to know what it is.”

“You might not like it,” I cautioned.

“Maybe. We want the chance to find out for ourselves.”

I nodded in understanding.

“I’ve been honest with you. It’s your turn. What do you really want here?”

It was a critical moment. Siry didn’t trust me, but he’d opened up. It made me think there was hope for an alliance.

“I think you’re right,” I began. “The tribunal is keeping secrets. Your father was keeping secrets. I want to know what they are.”

“Why?” he pressed. “Why do you care?”

“I know you didn’t agree with your father or anything he stood for. I do. He was a Traveler, which means there’s more going on here than even the tribunal realizes.”

That made Siry perk up. He liked the idea that there might be secrets being kept from the tribunal.

I continued, “I know you don’t care about being a Traveler, but I think that what you want, what the Jakills want, is exactly what I want. We may have different reasons, but we’re on the same side. We both want the truth. Let me help you find it.”

Siry stared deep into my eyes, as if he were trying to read my mind and gauge whether or not I could be trusted. He was a passionate guy. That was good. He was also a thief and a brawler who hated authority. Not so good. But I agreed with his philosophy. People should be in charge of their own destinies. And he was loyal. He cared about his friends and wanted what was right for them. Maybe he had the makings of a Traveler after all.

“All right,” he finally said. “But I meant what I said. If you betray us, I’ll kill you.”

I had been cautious with Siry till then, but I was tired of playing games. I got right into his face and said, “Whether you believe it or not, you are way over your head. I’ve asked for your help, but pretty soon you’re going to need me as much as I need you. Don’t threaten me, Siry.”

Siry blinked. I called his bluff. He was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a killer.

“You want to help us?” he asked. “You really want to help us?”

“Yes,” I said.

“Then come with me.”

He took off running down the beach. I hoped this wasn’t going to be a long trip. The adrenaline from the fight had worn off and I was feeling kind of worked. I wanted a nap, not a tour. But this was Siry’s show. If he was going to show me something important, I had to go along. He led me along the shore of the cove, ducking into the dense jungle near the outer limits of Rayne. He seemed to pick a random spot to enter the jungle, but I soon realized we were on a small path. Back in Stony Brook I knew every twist, turn, rock, path, tree, and ditch in the woods behind my house. It was the same for Siry. He knew exactly where he was going. We shot along the narrow, twisting path for several minutes. The foliage was thick, making the jungle seem darker than it was. The path rose gradually and soon became so steep I thought about using my hands to scramble up. We were climbing, high. It was tough going. I knew we were coming to the end of our trip when the path became lighter again. Siry climbed on to a rock outcropping at the edge of the jungle and turned back to me. I could see the excitement in his eyes.

“We’re not just a bunch of angry kids,” he declared. “We mean what we say, and we’re going to do something about it.”