Paul Hardy - The Last Man on Earth Club

She looked into the fire. Iokan didn’t press her. And then, to my very great joy, she looked up at him with naked pleading. “All night?”

“We’ll take it in shifts.”

Liss was aghast. “What?”

“Well, those of us with a military background. I don’t suppose you’ve ever done sentry duty, have you?”

“Er, no,” she said.

“Kwame? Katie? Is that all right with you?” I asked.

“I will stand guard if that is required,” said Katie.

Kwame looked reluctant, but Olivia’s state moved even him to compassion. “Very well. I would not have slept anyway.”

“Don’t we know it…” muttered Olivia. Kwame looked ready to make a retort, but held his tongue as he saw how pitiful Olivia was: huddled up in her blanket, darting eyes, fingers trembling as one hand massaged the stump of her long lost finger.

Liss was still perplexed. “I don’t get it. It’s lovely out here! What are you so afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid. I just—” She paused. “I’m not used to being outside.”

“But you spend all day in the garden!”

“It’s not the same.”

“But—”

“Liss,” I said. “If Olivia doesn’t want to talk about it, she doesn’t have to.”

“But why do we need sentries?”

Pew scratched in the dirt with a stick. “Because she’s ill, Liss.”

She pouted. “I don’t get it.”

I sat closer to Liss. “It’s because of what she went through on her world. Do you remember what she said?” She still looked confused. “The revenants used to lie down and rest when there was no one else around. Then if someone came by, they’d get up and attack. In the middle of the night, like this, you wouldn’t know you were surrounded until it was too late.”

“And then they’d eat you,” added Olivia. Liss’s eyes went wide and she looked out into the darkness.

“You didn’t… bring any back here… did you?” asked Liss.

Olivia enjoyed a grim smile, but did not answer.

Liss looked back at me. “They didn’t, did they?” I shook my head.

“Are those done?” asked Iokan, nodding towards the fire.

Liss noticed her marshmallows had turned black, and two had burst into flames. “Shit! Shit!” she said, and dropped the branch into the fire. The group couldn’t help chuckling, and even Olivia sniggered. Liss was hurt at first, but when she saw the smiles all around, she couldn’t quite stifle an embarrassed giggle.

“Here, I’ll do some,” said Veofol, loading up another toasting fork.

“So are we going back tomorrow?” asked Olivia.

“Not immediately,” I said.

“There are more activities?” asked Iokan.

“Not exactly.”

“Are you going to tell us anything?” asked Kwame.

“It’s a surprise.”

“Is it a nice surprise?” asked Liss.

“It’ll make you think,” I said.

I joined the group on their walk the next day, and it wasn’t long before we came upon a bus floating gently in another clearing.

“First of all,” I said, as they took off their packs with great relief, “I think everyone did brilliantly this week. And now, we have a choice. If you prefer, we can go back home right now.”

“Well that’s splendid,” said Olivia. “You’ve got my vote.” She hadn’t slept much overnight, but Iokan, Kwame and Katie had been true to their word, and that kind of trust building is priceless. It didn’t stop her being grumpy, of course.

“What’s the other option?” asked Iokan.

“We pay a visit to an archaeological site near here.”

“Archaeology?” asked Liss, clearly thinking the word ‘boring’ deserved to be added.

“Is this something to do with the people who used to live on this world?” asked Iokan, who was immediately interested.

“That’s exactly it,” I said. “When the IU first settled this planet, it was thought that either there were no humans, or they died out before they became sapient. But a few decades ago, we started finding cities. One of which is nearby.”

“They died in the asteroid strike?” asked Kwame.

“They did,” I affirmed.

“Why?” asked Pew.

“I’m sorry?” I asked.

“I mean… why do we need to see it?”

“Because I want you to start talking about all the things that happened on your worlds. And I want to show you that these things happen more often than you’d think. But I do realise that this could be distressing, so—”

“I suppose there’s bodies,” said Olivia, shaking her head. “You’re so bloody squeamish, you lot.”

“No. No bodies. But they’ve uncovered some of the streets and buildings, and… well, a lot of visitors find it very emotional. I don’t want to push you too far if you don’t think you’re ready.”

“I saw some archaeologists once,” said Liss. “They dug a hole and found a bit of old plastic from the dark ages and they all went squee. Is it like that? I can handle that…”

“Well, there’s a bit more to it than that. But it’s up to you. If you’re tired and you want to go back to the centre, that’s okay. We can always come back another day.”

“Sod it,” said Olivia. “Let’s get it over with.”

“Does everyone agree?” I asked.

They nodded or looked noncommittal. I took it as a yes. The only voice raised against the journey was Veofol’s, and that had happened before I addressed the group. Veofol was concerned it was too soon to throw them into anything potentially traumatic. I explained my reasoning: I wanted them to have a real talking point from this trip, as well as team building. He agreed, but was still concerned we were going too fast. I think he worried that the people who’d had the group set up in the first place were in some way pressuring me, but I reassured him I was acting on my own initiative. I just needed something to shake them into taking therapy seriously.

From far away, we saw a river flowing through the forest towards another river, joining so they became one. We were headed for the meeting-place of the two, around which the trees thinned out, revealing gentle hills and valleys between the confluence.

“Are we there yet?” asked Liss.

“We’re already over the outskirts of the city,” I said.

“I don’t see it…” said Pew.

“It’s just a couple of rivers,” said Olivia.

“You’ll see it when we leave,” I said. “Trust me.”

We landed by the archaeological outpost, a fenced compound on a patch of flat ground surrounded by hills and valleys. It was another set of prefabricated buildings dropped into the site, though of a different design than those we used in the Refugee Service. The archaeologists had brought a little piece of Hub Metro with them: a tapering tower of glass and whimsy that served as living space and offices, along with storage and preservation facilities for all the artefacts they’d pulled from the earth. Beside it, much lower but still shaped into fanciful contours, was the visitor centre. It was there we landed and met the chief archaeologist for the site, Ren Messalien, a massive bearded man seemingly carved out of one of the local trees but with the manner of an enthusiastic eight-year old. He waved a stained bush hat at us and grinned. “Welcome to Kintrex!”

“This is just going to be a hole in the ground, isn’t it?” asked Liss as she stepped off the bus.

“Thanks for having us,” I said to Ren. “Don’t mind Liss.”

“I guess you guys didn’t see it yet, huh?” said Ren. “You will. Come inside and let’s get the boring part out of the way.”

He took us inside to a briefing room, where we got the usual health and safety presentation, illustrated by cartoon figures in cartoon archaeological sites. Much of the ground in the area wasn’t safe, as some buried buildings had fragile ceilings. Everyone had to carry a panic phone while they were on site, and wear high-visibility vests at all times. If they entered any of the deeper excavations, they would be issued with helmets that doubled up as an air supply in the event of a collapse. They had to follow the instructions of any archaeologists they came across. They were forbidden to touch any artefacts. They were not allowed to remove even one blade of grass. And on, and on. Olivia fell asleep twice, and Veofol woke her with a gentle hand on the shoulder each time, getting a remark on his treacherous elfin ways for his trouble.