Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker

I begun to get as cited then thinking on them things. I wudve liket to gether with Goodparley right then and pul datter wylst my mynd wer running hy like that. Thinking like that I begun to wish I hadnt progammit nothing with Lissener agenst Goodparley. Wunnering then why I ben so qwick to go in with him jus becaws that black dog brung me to him in that hoal in Bernt Arse and I fealt sorry for him. Now Orfing and his hevvyswd parbly have him and what wer I going to do about it? Cambry coming up in front of me nor I dint have a idear in my head. I begun to wish that black dogd never brung me to that hoal I jus dint want to have to bother with Lissener right then.

Thinking on Lissener and wunnering how much him and the Eusa folk realy knowit when they gethert. Membering what he shoutit when he ben took with that fit: “WE PROGAMMIT THE GIRT DANTS OF THE EVERY THING. WE RUN THE BLUE THE RED THE YELLER WE RUN THE RED THE BLACK WE RUN THE SEED OF THE RED AND SEED OF THE BLACK. WE RUN THE MANY COOLS OF ADDOM AND THE PARTY COOLS OF STOAN. HART OF THE WUD AND STOMP YOUR FOOT. 1 AND 2 AND SHAKE OF THE HORNS AND 1 AND 2 AND SPLIT OF THE SHYNING…”

Then it come to me. Onlyes reason Goodparley ben giving Lissener bother wer becaws he wantit the knowing of how to do that 1 Big 1. Wel what if I put Goodparley to gether with Granser and give them the yellerboy stoan and they got the 1 Big 1. Then theywd tern Lissener luce they wunt help no qwirys on him then. Parbly that wer the bes thing I cud do for Lissener and the mor I thot on it the better it lookit. I ternt roun then heading back tords Goodparley but soons I done that there come a woal lot of grooling and smarling and ever so many sharp and toofy teef looking at me. It wernt jus only them 2 nexters then it wer all them dogs grooling low and deap it soundit like it wer coming out of the groun. I ternt roun agen tords Cambry and the grooling stoppit.

Coming in to Cambry outers and fealing the place rise up in me wylst I movit in to it. Jumbelt stoan and crummelt birk. Grean rot and number creaper. The old dry parcht smel and the wet grean smel to gether like in all the dead towns. No stilness like the other dead towns tho. Qwick it wer. All of it qwick and a qwickful hy moving coming up out of the groun and hyering hyering up thru the rain in to the dark what stans for ever on them broakin stoans with its hans over its face. Day time it wer then nor not raining but the rain wer in it and the dark is all ways there. The shape of the nite what beartht the day when Canterbury dyd. Hart of the Wud in the hart of the stoan. I cud feal that thing inside us how its afeart of being beartht. I cud feal how every thing is every thing. I fealt like if I stampt my foot therewd come horns on my head and the Littl Shyning Man nekkit be twean them.

Thinking on the Littl Shyning Man he be come mixt to gether in my mynd with Belnot Phist. Poor old Belnot he bint pult in 2 acturel peaces and yet in a way of saying he ben pult a part and it wer the Power of the 2 as done it. Now that 2 wantit to be 1 agen and moving me I cud feal it strong that Big Power what ever it wer. Spirit of God may be that same what woosht roun the Power Ring time back way back. I wantit to be the happener for that Big Power. I wantit to happen that 1 Big 1. I thot of the yellerboy stoan ½ of it with me and ½ of it with Lissener. Reaching out then with my mynd I tryd to lissen him. Cudnt lissen nothing only jynt sylents there wernt nothing of him in it I wer all a loan. Eusas littl son nor cudnt fynd the other 1.

“Be your oan black dog and be your oan Ardship. Becaws you wont all ways have me.” Thats what hed said. Now I knowit why hed said it. Becaws he knowit time to come wewd go 2 diffrent ways. I wantit that Hy Power back agen and wooshing roun the Power Ring not jus the goast of it. I wantit that Spirit of God moving Inland frontwards agen. I wantit the same as Goodparley I wernt agenst him no mor and that wer the hart of the matter. Lissenerd lissent that and pult his mynd a way so I cudnt lissen him nor where he wer. Boath of us looking for that 1 Big 1 but we wernt on the same side no mor. Suddn it flasht in to my mynd may be he wer the Good Luck brother not me.

So sad I fealt then. Sad and emty with a crying in me. I fealt like that Other Voyce Owl of the Worl musve lissent the woal worl a way and every thing gone. Every thing emtyd out of the worl and out of me.

Funny fealing come on me then I fealt like that Power wer a Big Old Father I wantit it to do me like Granser done Goodparley I wantit it to come in to me hard and strong long and strong. Let me be your boy, I thot.

Stanning on them old broakin stoans I fealt like it wer coming in to me then and taking me strong. Fealt like it wer the han of Power clampt on the back of my neck fealt the Big Old Father spread me and take me. Fealt the Power in me I fealt strong with it and weak with it boath.

And stil I fealt a nother way. Grean rot sweating on the old grey broakin stoans all roun me and number creaper growing on the rubbl. I knowit Cambry Senter ben flattent the werst of all the dead town senters it ben Zero Groun it ben where the wite shadderd stood up over every thing. Yet unner neath that Zero Groun I lissent up a swarming it wer a humming like a millying of bees it wer like 10s of millyings. I begun to feal all juicy with it. Juicy for a woman. Longing for it hard and hevvy stanning ready. Not jus my cock but all of me it wer like all of me wer cock and all the worl a cunt and open to me. The dogs begun running roun me all in a circel roun and roun with ther littl heads up hy and ther hy sholders up. They begun running on ther hynt legs. The sky wer black the stoans gone wite the dogs gone all diffrent shyning colours and the wite stoans shyning thru them. I tryd to hol it like that but I los it I wernt man a nuff right then. I cud boy for the other but I cudnt man for her what has her woom in Cambry.

The sky gone grey the stoans gone grey the dogs gone back to how they lookit befor and come down on to all 4s. It wernt a circel it wer a nother shape they wer running like a black rivver out and a roun out and a roun it wer a big shape they wer running in amongst the rubbl and a roun I begun to run it with them. It wer 2ce as wide acrost as the divvy roof at How Fents I run it 3 times roun befor I knowit jus what shape it wer. It wer a dolly shape it wer like the woman dollys they hang over where a womans bearthing. Which them dollys theyre the same shape as the woman cakes they bake. Not realy like a real woman shape its a bulgy body like a jug or a flask with a littl roun head.

The out line of that shape ben dug out of the broakin stoan and rubbl it wer the line of a old old wall in that woman dolly shape it wer that same and very 1 what has her woom in Cambry.

…Shes that same 1 shows her moon self or she jus shows her old old nite and no moon. Shes that same 1 every thing and all of us come out of. Shes what she is…

I cud feal all them millyings of bees humming in me but they wer humming the emtyness they wer humming what I cudnt hol when them dogs ben running shyning colours on ther hynt legs they wer humming what Id los. Yet Id knowit the shape of nite Id gone in to the nite in the day time. Not a nuff. Do your mos nor it aint a nuff. Miss your connexion nor you dont even know til its ben and gone.

The woom of her what has her woom in Cambry aint inside the out line what the dogs ben runnin its a littl to the Wes of that which its unner neath the groun. Thats where I gone sad and emty it wer the dogs took me to it. Old stoan steps going down to it. That wer the hoal where the Eusa folk ben I lissent that strait a way. It wernt dark there winders ben dug out of the rubbl it wer like that shaddery ½ lite youwl see amongst the trees on a grey day. When ever Id thot of a hoal with Eusa folk in it Id thot of some thing filfy with a terbel pong like the hoal in Bernt Arse where Id foun Lissener. This place wer clean tho nor it dint have no pong it smelt good it had jus the fayntes foller of a bernt smel like the goast of the blue smoak in amongst the aulders.