Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker

He said, “I dont know til I get there do I. Youre all ways worrying your self with littl myndy askings. Dont you know if you keap getting a head of your self youwl jus only fall over your self when you get to where youre going?”

I said, “I thot may be you being such a telling head you myt even know some thing befor they acturely put your head on a poal.”

He said, “I know you dont have too much balls but if you cud jus suck your thum qwyet for a wyl and stop giving me inner fearents I cud tune in better.”

I said, “I had balls a nuff to get you out of that hoal when you neadit me tho dint I.”

He said, “Yes you did after I pult the dog and the dog pull you. Hadnt he come for you youwd parbly stil be shovveling cow shit or what ever you done at that form.”

I said, “Cow shit with them or bul shit with you there aint much in it is there.” What hed said it realy hert me tho. Here I ben thinking how wel I done going over that fents and oansome amongst them dogs and he wer trying to make it be nothing. I said, “Any how whatve you done whats so ballsy?”

He put his han on my sholder I fealt like when he took it a way itwd leave a wite shadder behynt. He said, “I know I soun like Im trying to littl you down but that aint what Im doing Im trying to bring on that seed of the red in you Im trying to strong it on Im trying to rise your hump. Dyou lissen me? Im trying to get you to be your oan black dog and your oan Ardship.”

I said, “Why?”

He said, “Becaws you wont all ways have me wil you.”

I said, “Why not?”

He said, “Becaws thats how itwl be nor les not mouf it roun no mor jus keap that in you. Be your oan black dog and your oan Ardship.”

We gone a head on the qwyet slow and easy nor no lert from the dogs no soun only the hisper of the rain. We wer farther in nor ever I ben when I ben littl we kep on thru hevvy rubbl til we come in unner some thing and out of the rain. Cudnt see nothing at all in there. Gone a littl farther and come to big steps going down and warm air coming up. I said to Lissener, “You cern you aint ben here befor?” Becaws he wer moving like a dog on hot foller.

He said, “No but weare coming strong on some thing. Be ready to move qwick.”

He neadntve tol me that I wer ready for any thing and wivvering all over with it. That place wer a Power place you cud feal it all roun you. Smel the Power even with the dog pong. Breave it in to your arms and legs. I cud feal a terning and a rushing in it so strong and Lissener the same. Lissening to our foot steps eckoing in that ringing dark.

We seen a feabl shaky glimmer like from a far off candl it wer jus a nuff so we cud see the edges of the steps. Slow and easy slow and easy. From there on it wer only the black leader and his 2 nexters with us the others ternt roun I gest they wer poasting ther selfs back at the top of the steps I fealt sorry for any body coming that way on our foller. Wunnering at the same time why the dogs hadnt give us warning of no lookouts yet. Lissener said, “The out poasts dont keap sharp they dont think no is ever coming in on them.”

From there on it wer mosly cavit in rubbl we had to sqweaze thru then it opent up big you cudve lissent the diffrents even without looking. The lite wer coming from behynt some girt mouns of rubbl unner where the over head ben barmt out. It cudntve ben no moren a cuppl of candls or lanterns jus a feabl glimmer and the jynt shadders wivvering on the stanning walls and broakin stoans and rubbl and what ever over head wer lef. The jynt shadders wer from girt machines o they wer guvner big things and crouching all broakin but not dead they cudnt dy there wer too much Power in them. Where we wer stanning you cud hear the sea beyont us in the dark. Breaving and sying breaving and sying it wer like them machines wer breaving and sying in ther sleap.

Lissener hispert me, “What is it? Be they terning be they moving?”

I hispert back, “Its broakin machines they aint moving.” It wernt nothing like when you dig up old rottin machines out of the groun these wer in ther parper working place nor nothing rottin they wer some kynd of iron dint rot it wer all shyning all catching that shaky glimmer. Some of them ther shels ben broak open you cud see girt shyning weals like jynt mil stoans only smoov. Id all ways usit the word shyning same as any 1 else myt. The sun is shyning or the moon is shyning. Youwl see a shyning on the water or a womans hair. When you talk of the Littl Shyning Man its jus the middl word of what hes callt there aint no real meaning to it. Suddn when I seen the shyning of them broakin machines I begun to get some idear of the shyning of the Littl Man. Tears begun streaming down my face and my froat akit.

Lissener hispert, “Whats the matter?”

I hispert back, “O what we ben! And what we come to!” Boath of us wer sniffling and snuffling then. Me looking at them jynt machines and him lissening ther sylents. Right then I dint know where I wer with any thing becaws all on a suddn I wernt seeing any thing from where I seen it befor. Up to then I ben agenst Goodparley and I ben agenst what ever he wer for. I dint like him for his littl eyes and his big sqware teef nor I dint like all that Eusas head rubbish nor the res of it. The way he talkit of putting the Littl Shyning Man to gether and that. Now all on a suddn Eusa and Eusas head and the Littl Shyning Man be come some thing woaly diffrent in my mynd to what they ben befor. How cud any 1 not want to get that shyning Power back from time back way back? How cud any 1 not want to be like them what had boats in the air and picters on the wind? How cud any 1 not want to see them shyning weals terning?

All what Ive wrote jus now gone thru my head in a flash that nite and wylst thinking it I wer scanning sharp and lissening hard. Stil dint see no 1 nor nothing moving only them jynt shadders shaking and me shaking with them. Not from fear it wer as citement. Some peopl can feal ther mooning in them some cant. The moon of ther bearthing I mean. Parbly the moon of ther getting and all. Which I know I can. Some times Iwl feal the cross over in my sleap and it takes me strange. I ben got in the las thin sickel of the failing moon and I ben beartht in the Ful. When Im in my ful bearthing moon Im wide on and sharp strung. When Im coming off it to my getting moon Im reaching on and hungering for that nex Ful. That nite in that Power place in Fork Stoan I cud feal that hungry moon what I cudnt see. Feal it thin. Feal it craving. Feal the tide making for the hy I dint have to see it I knowit wer hy water coming on. Feal it neap and craving for its big hy in the nex Ful. I hispert to Lissener, “O yes we done right to foller the circel here its fulling on so strong.”

He dint say nothing I sust how it wer with him some times when we wer boath lissening hy 1 of us wud starve the other like when 1 boat puts a nother in its wind shadder. Becaws I begun to know by then I wer some kynd of lissener as wel. Being with Lissener brung it out and brung it on. I wunnert how I ever cudve fealt real up to then. How I ever cudve fealt a live befor I begun to take things in like I wer now. I wantit to move I wantit to do I wantit to happen with what ever wer happening roun me. Like it says in Eusa 5 : “Evere thing blippin & bleapin & movin in the shiftin uv thay Nos. Sum tyms bytin sum tyms bit.”

Thinking on from there. Eusa 6 : “Gum tu the wud in the hart uv the stoan.” I knowit I wer there in a way. Right then I wer in the wud in the hart of the stoan. Or the stoan in the hart of the wud it dont make no odds. Youre all ways there only you dont all ways know it.

We movit roun easy for a scan behynt the rubbl where the lite wer coming from. There wer a shelter it lookit to be about a 6 peopl 1 it wer the userel thing baskit and gunge with a thatch roof. Them as bilt it theyd movit rubbl so they cud put the shelter unner the hoal in the over head where it wer open to the sky. Big big that Power place wer you cudve stood 10 men 1 on top of the other nor they wuntve reacht the over head.