Rook Winters - Weight of Ashes

The second night, the air was cold and they built a small fire.

“We’re no more than two hours from Chignecto in the morning,” Court said.

“What kind of place is Chignecto?”

“Like the village, I guess, but bigger and with less order. There’s no council of leaders. It’s just a whole bunch of people trying to make their way.”

“It sounds like anarchy.”

“What’s that?”

“When there’s no government, no authority.”

“It’s sort of like that.”

“Anarchy is dangerous.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because people will just do what’s best for themselves when there are no rules or consequences.”

“I don’t know about that. Don’t you believe in people being kind to each other?”

“Sure, people will be kind to each other until it’s inconvenient or bad for them.”

“That’s not a very positive opinion of humanity.”

“I haven’t had a lot of reason to keep a positive opinion of most people.”

“With that cheerful thought, I’m going to sleep.”

He lay back and pulled his blanket over his shoulder. Elle stared into the embers, hoping they wouldn’t have many more nights outdoors. She didn’t like the damp chill. She didn’t like the uncomfortable ground. She especially didn’t like the constant noise that made her jumpy. If not for the exhaustion of the long day’s walk, sleep would have been impossible.

She closed her eyes and listened to the breeze whispering through the trees. Tomorrow, she was walking into the unknown again. She smiled a little when she thought of how proud Dr. Donovan and Master Zheng would be of her. In a small way, that soothed the heartache. She remembered her last promotion ceremony with Master Zheng and how Dr. Donovan had beamed, his boyish smile stretching across his face. And when she had scored top of her cohort in the launch drills… And the first time she had interpreted one of the Others communicating…

Her thoughts morphed into fantastical dreams as sleep took her. She saw Dr. Donovan and Marsh picking apples outside the village, Court riding the motorcycle through a city, Vaidehi flying like a bird in a rainstorm. Then a grav flyer was chasing Vaidehi. It shot her down with arrows that exploded into puffs of gray powder. She crashed into the apple tree that Dr. Donovan was picking from and it burst into flames. The fire crackled and snapped.

Elle’s eyes shot open. Her heart was racing and her breathing was shallow. She heard snapping.

I thought that was in my dream…

A large brown animal was nudging a harvesting bag with its muzzle. Elle caught a gasp in her throat before it could escape. The animal had four long gangly legs and a spindly tail that whipped side to side. It wasn’t a deer, Court had shown her one of those, and it obviously wasn’t a bear. Her best guess was a moose.

When the big animal had given up on the bag, it looked at Elle. With its two symmetrical eyes staring at her, she felt inexplicably at peace. She had more in common with this forest creature than the Others. It belonged to her planet. The moose kept gazing and Elle held eye contact. She felt her heart rate slow.

She felt an urge to say something to it.

That’s stupid. It can’t speak. You’ll spook it.

Court rolled over, still asleep, and the moose’s head twitched. It snorted and walked away, tree branches snapping as it went.

Court jolted awake.

“What was that?” he whispered. “Why are you smiling?”

“We had a visitor.”

“What kind of visitor? Why didn’t you wake me?”

“I think it was a moose.”

“A moose can be nacking dangerous.”

“It seemed gentle enough to me. I think it was a good sign.”

“A sign?”

“It didn’t see us as a threat. I think it recognized that we’re a positive force.”

“A positive force? Are you feeling alright? Did you eat something I didn’t see?”

She laughed at that.

“It’s just something Master Zheng used to say.”

“Who’s Master Zheng?”

“No one. Never mind.”

She got up and rolled her blanket. Letting Master Zheng’s name slip out was foolish. She’d let her guard down. She was getting too comfortable around Court and had to be more careful. Going back into civilization wasn’t safe for her. She didn’t know how long their fates would be intertwined and she didn’t want him knowing any more about her than necessary—it was risky for both of them.

Court followed her lead and rolled up his own blanket. He didn’t press the Master Zheng issue and she appreciated that. He was a decent person, she’d decided that already.

Once I know where I’m going, I’ll send him back so he can rebuild his village. That’s where his heart is.

They ate dried apple slices as they walked the last hours to Chignecto. Court had rationed their food so they’d have at least a day’s worth when they arrived. The apple slices helped but her stomach wasn’t satiated. She was about to suggest they collect some plants to eat when Court told her they were coming to Chignecto.

“It’s just around this next turn.” He pointed at the rusted remains of two posts. “Marsh said that used to be a sign for it, from before.”

They walked through a cluster of stalls where scruffy-looking vendors competed for their attention. The smell of roasting meats and vegetables was intoxicating and Elle’s stomach rumbled in response.

“I’m so hungry,” she whispered.

“Yeah, me too. But Marsh always said the bazaar vendors were cheats, taking advantage of people traveling the old roads.”

“It smells so good.”

“Let’s find Moriya first, alright? She’ll help us make sure we don’t get cheated out of our money.”

They weaved through the settlement, drawing stares from a few locals. Court stopped outside a metal trailer.

“This is where she lived the last time I was here. Watch out for the dog.”

As if on cue, snarling came from the tall grass but the dog didn’t come out.

“Moriya,” Court hollered. “Are you home?”

There was no answer and Court’s shoulders slumped. A child came near and looked at them with curiosity. Between the long, matted hair and dirty face, Elle wasn’t sure if it was a boy or a girl.

“Are youse looking for the Fix-It Lady?” he or she asked.

“A lady named Moriya. Does she live here?” Elle asked. Elle didn’t have a lot of experience with children but assumed she would seem less threatening than Court.

“I dunno her name. We jus’ caller the Fix-It Lady.”

“That’s her,” Court said. “Moriya fixes up old things and barters them.”

“Fix-It Lady’s down at the cookhouse.”

“Can you take us?” Elle asked.

“What’s wrong with your hair?” the child asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Where’s all the color?”

“My hair is this color,” Elle said as she ran her fingers through her hair, which was down since she had no one to help her braid it again.

“Can I touch it?”

Elle looked to Court for an opinion and he shook his head side to side.

“Maybe some other time, alright? Can you take us to the Fix-It Lady?”

“No, I got to play with Jean while she’s gone.”

“Who’s Jean?”

“Fix-It Lady’s wolf dog. She doesn’t like me visiting Jean on account she’s a attack dog but I bring her treats.”

The little one pulled a bone from under their shirt that was stuffed into the waist of their pants. Bits of raw meat still clung to it.

Elle curled her nose at the sight and the child walked into the tall grass calling, “Jeannie doggie, where ares you?”

“Cookhouse is this way,” Court said as he started walking.