G. Fields - Under Vanishing Skies

“Well don’t worry,” I said. “A few more sips of this and you won’t feel the cold anymore.”

“I can think of better ways to stay warm,” she said with a wink. “But it’s a good thing that you brought it along,” she said. “You’re going to need it after I tell you the news.”

“What news?”

She shook her head and motioned towards the bottle. “First you drink and then we’ll talk.”

I took a sip and savored the warmth that it spread down through my chest. I handed the bottle back to Shannon who gulped it like it was water. She wiped her mouth and said, “You drink like a girl.”

“Just give me the bottle and tell me what you know,” I said.

I drank while she spoke. “This morning, before the celebration kicked off, I saw Ahmed in the square. He called me over and told me that Michio had resigned.”

I coughed. Booze filled my sinuses. I squeezed them shut, but managed to ask. “Resigned?”

“I know,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it either. I made him show me the letter of resignation. It was definitely from Michio.”

I blinked a few times and could finally see again. “Goddammit! It was Viyaja.”

“Viyaja?”

“Yeah. He came to my room yesterday and tried to scare me.”

“He threatened you?”

I polished off the last of the bottle and said, “Yup. For a little guy, he has some big balls. He said they were going to take action if I didn’t do what they wanted. I’ll bet he threatened Michio too.” I put the bottle down and looked over at her. “Did they threaten you?”

She shook her head and smiled. “No. Viyaja knows better. I’d kick his ass if he threatened me. And Ahmed… well, you know him. He’s too smart to get his hands dirty.” Then she frowned. “Whatever they told Michio must have scared the shit of the poor guy. I sent him a dozen messages, but he hasn’t replied to any of them. I don’t know, Aron…” She looked away.

“You don’t know what?”

“I think we should quit while we’re ahead. You said it yourself… what’s the point?”

“Hold on,” I said as I got to my feet. “You’re the one who talked me into joining that goddammed Council and now you want me to just give up?”

“I never said we have to give up,” she looked up at me. “I’m just saying that they’ve finally given in a little. Did you see the latest list?”

I shook my head. I’d been completely obsessed with trying to figure out Jin’s decryption plan. I never even glanced at the list.

She stood up and took my hands in hers. “Ahmed dropped over a hundred candidates from the list. My group of islands picked up sixty two seats and you gained over twenty.”

“Really?”

“Really,” she said. “And I have every reason to believe that we’ll get more than that before the next vote.”

“But why would they suddenly give in?”

Smiling, she said, “I may have suggested to Ahmed that some people might view Michio’s resignation as suspicious. And I may have told him that if we don’t get our fair share of people on the list then I might raise the suspicion myself… at the party tonight.”

“You threatened Ahmed?”

“I wouldn’t call it a threat. It was more of a promise.”

“But you said that you hadn’t heard from Michio. How do you know they actually threatened him?”

“I don’t know.” She laughed. “But Ahmed doesn’t know that.”

“Then let’s really stick it to them. Let’s–”

“Take it easy, Aron. One thing I learned back on the streets of Dublin is that you should never back your opponent into a corner. We got almost everything we asked for. Who cares if they still have a few people on the list who aren’t qualified? As far as I’m concerned we won.”

She leaned in and kissed me. The sweet scent of coconut and jasmine filled my nose and I felt the sting moonshine on her lips.

She pulled away.

“Wow,” she said. “You really haven’t been with anyone in twelve years, have you?”

“Where’d you hear that?”

“Rick may have mentioned it.”

I smiled. “That bastard promised to keep that a secret.”

“Don’t blame him. Rick and I tied one on after the first Council meeting. The moonshine made him chatty.”

I wasn’t sure if it was the kiss or the thought that we got more people on the list, but suddenly I felt like a giant weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Shannon was right.

Why the hell should we fight to the death? So what if Ahmed had a few unqualified people on it?

Shannon stroked my arm, stopping when she came to the scar on my wrist. Without looking at it, she traced the outline with her thumb and kissed my neck.

“Is William on the list?” I asked.

She nodded.

“Okay.” I said. “I give up… I mean… I agree. Tomorrow we throw in the towel.”

She grabbed the bottom of her shirt, and pulled it up over her head. “And tonight?”

I smiled, “And tonight I throw in the towel.”

I breathed in her aroma and was ready to go again. But I didn’t move. I wanted to lay there next to her for a little while longer, soaking up the warmth of her naked body. Her head rested on my chest and I listened to her shallow breaths, grinning at the occasional soft snorts.

Why the hell did I wait so long to get back on the horse?

With my free hand, I stroked her short, soft hair. I let it wander down past her neckline and trace the wonderful contour of her back. I was about to explore further when a series of high-pitched beeps made us both sit up.

“What the hell is that?” she asked.

“It’s my data mat. It beeps like that when I receive an urgent message. Probably just another communications server going down.” I smiled. “Good thing we’re here. It’ll be a short commute.”

I stood up and looked down at her. The blue evening light streaming through the ventilation slots and lit up her body in a silky light. She rolled over and reached for her clothes.

The beeping was driving me nuts. I reached down, grabbed the data mat, and acknowledged the alert. I read the message twice before throwing the data mat across the room.

“What’s wrong?” Shannon asked. “I thought you said it was a bad server?”

“She’s dead.”

“Who’s dead?”

“Sarah. Rick’s wife.”

She came over to me. “I’m so sorry, Aron.”

She tried to hug me, but I stepped away and began to gather my stuff. We both finished dressing in silence.

When I was done, I lifted the hatch and said, “I’ve gotta go. I’ll send Ahmed a message to let him know that I may not make the meeting.”

“Don’t worry about the Council. It’ll take a couple days to find a replacement for Michio anyway. Go take care of William.”

I climbed down through the hatch without another word.

Helen was waiting for me on the dock when I arrived. Her usual bright, cheerful face was a red, blotchy mess. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks when I stepped off the boat.

“Aron, thank God you’re back. Sarah went so quickly that there just wasn’t time to call you.” She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tightly.

I hugged her back and looked up at the sky. After clearing the lump from my throat, I asked, “Where’s William?”

She released me and took a step back. “Up in his tree. You know the one. He won’t come down and he won’t talk to anyone… Not even me.” She started to cry again.

I nodded and said, “When’s the funeral?”

Sniffling back the sobs, she said, “Sundown. Some of the men are building the pyre now.” More tears fell and then she said, “What are we going to do about William?”