Quintessence Journal One: The Muse

An excerpt of my newly published book available in paperbook and eBook. Eddy, telepathic Rover, mighty horse Quixote, and Aphrodite must save themselves and the Earth.

Chapter Eight

Purgatory, undoubtedly is a Hostile Place

 

            “Despite their deep-seated desire to change humankind’s relation with the Earth’s Gaia, the question arose whether humankind had the right to live beyond the current survivors’ generation. Some thought it a human right to procreate, yet others adamantly proclaimed humans should die off for the Earth to flourish, but both sides agreed to pronounce it heartless to bring children into such harsh, hostile conditions. It wasn’t long after the debate began over the question of human procreation that they experienced the shock of reality�"they were unable to procreate. As these survivors struggled by for several years, they determined that they were sterile due to the latent radiation, dire living conditions, or simply malnutrition. This pleased the group favoring the human die off just fine, satisfied with a fitting conclusion for their generation and humankind’s fate to die, fade, and disappear from the face of the Earth�"theirs, the final human generation to walk the planet.”

            October 22, 3619�"Eddy Afford’s notes of Dr. Gabriel’s lecture

 

            The motley band did the first thing they could think of�"they panicked. Eddy rapidly maneuvered them down the incline amongst the boulders, slipping on the pebbles and regolith that littered the precarious crater slope of the Nuclear Wastelands. They heard the far-off rumble of running horses grow closer by the second

            “Hold on!” Eddy said, as loud as he dared looking over his shoulder while trying to find firm footing as he dared to descend faster yet on the loose, slippery slope. It didn’t help finding the safest footing with twilight cutting his sight distance, and the quantity of adrenaline coursing through his veins clouding his concentration and judgment.

            “Eddy! What can we do out there exposed on the Wastelands? We will be sitting ducks.” Aphrodite’s rapt whispering voice cracked with distress. Hanging on tight, she pointed behind them back up the slope. “We need to go up and hide back in the woods.”

            “I know, I know that would be better, but they’ll see us; there’s no time for that now!” Eddy whispered over the noise of their crunching steps. Quixote snorted as his rear hooves slipped on the sliding pebbles, and as he slid, he almost sat down sliding at least a meter and creating a racket of cascading stones and regolith.

            “Ohhh!” Aphrodite shouted a whisper, scrunched down, and wrapped Quixote’s mane tighter in her grip. “Eddy! Get on with me�"we’ll ride down and out of this mess.”

            “Can’t do that on this rocky slope�"just hang on!” He whispered loudly.

            Master, master ugly, nasty man from past. Rover relayed from out ahead of them staying clear of his master and the huge horse charging, slipping, and sliding down the slope.

            You sure?

            Yes, yes

            How many men, Rover?

            Unsure. Man, man, man, ugly man Rover thinks

            “Eddy! Speak to me,” Aphrodite said, audibly irritated. “What are we going to do? We should go up!

            “NO! Our best bet is down there on flat, solid ground! We can’t run for cover anywhere now, they’re too close.”

            Master, master blast them, called a horse protect us  

            Quixote nickered and shook his head. What can Quixote do? Eddy thought as Quixote turned to him, nudged his arm with his nose, and blinked intently. We are untested in any extraordinary interactions and especially so in downright dangerous situations.  Quixote nosed his arm again.

            “Not now, Quixote.” Eddy whispered sharply. “Rover! How close? How many?”

            Not far. Man, man, man, man, nasty, evil man.

            How many was that? Five, six, seven?  Eddy risked another glance over his shoulder, but he could no longer see the forest beyond the crater’s rim crest. He was slightly relieved that they were out of a clear line of sight for those pursuing them�"were they pursuing them?

            In the half-light, Eddy couldn’t make out the distance to the crater floor. His eyes strained, seemingly playing tricks with a surreal vision of their surroundings clouded by his own nervous energy. Quixote speeded up and effectively began leading Eddy down the remaining grade. With one hand gripping the lead line across his body, Eddy grasped the girth just forward of Aphrodite’s leg to balance himself with Quixote’s huge anchoring form. He saw that Rover had stopped ahead now, apparently at the base of the slope.

            Rover! We need cover. Even if Quixote has to lie down, Eddy thought, suddenly recalling what John had said about Quixote.

            Master, master this way.

            Eddy saw the small silhouette of Rover scamper off to the right, and then he flicked another glance over his shoulder. He tried to discern the horses’ hooves over their own attempt at subdued racket, but despite hearing something beyond the rim, he couldn’t make out a direction, distance, or pattern.

            “Aphrodite.” Eddy whispered as loud as he thought he could. “Can you see them? Any lights? Can you hear them?”

            Aphrodite turned back around as he turned his attention forward again.

            “No, on both counts. Do you think they missed us?”

            “Don’t know how they could ever miss our tracks,” he whispered.

            Master, master come, come.  

            To his relief, Eddy felt the slope decrease and with a couple more steps, he knew they were on flat ground. He immediately felt the lead line tauten when Quixote turned to the right in the direction Rover ran off. Eddy saw Rover’s form up ahead dodging behind a cluster of jumbled boulders. At least that was what Eddy thought he perceived. He broke into a jog; Quixote followed alongside in a trot. In a matter of seconds, they came to the spot where Rover stood�"an alcove of littered, jumbled boulders.

            Rover! Tell Quixote to lie down.

            Rover ran up to Quixote’s head and looked up. Eddy gripped the horse’s forelock and pressed down, while he pulled down on the lead line.

            “Down boy, lay down,” he said, to reinforce Rover’s perceived instruction.

            Quixote shook his head slowly, dipped his nose close to the ground, and folded his front legs beneath him�"

            “What’s happening?” Aphrodite panicky whispered.

            “Lying down. Lift your legs.”  

            She did so as Quixote folded his rear legs, went to his knees, and slowly rolled down to his side. Aphrodite swiveled and wriggled up to sit on his side, and then she slid off along his belly. Eddy optimistically thought that from above, Quixote could indeed be mistaken in the low light for a couple of smooth boulders amongst the others. Why would have John said such a thing? His feverish thoughts deliberated despite the danger.  

            “Everyone down behind Quixote�"and quiet!” Eddy whispered. Rover came in closer, and Aphrodite slid down to the ground next to Eddy.

            “Listen! It sounds like they are circling,” Eddy whispered, with a finger to his lips. Just then, they heard the stones crunch up above the rim and a couple pebbles tick, ticked down the slope. Notwithstanding desperately wanting to look, Eddy resisted remaining crouched down behind Quixote. He slipped an arm over Aphrodite drawing her down to bend over and in close to him. With the other hand, he grasped Rover by the neck and pulled him near.

            Suddenly, a single stone struck and bounced a meter from where they hid. Aphrodite drew a hard breath, but Eddy clamped his hand over her mouth before she exhaled the fearful sound that he knew was imminent. He removed his hand and shook his head. After a few more tense moments, they heard the horse’s hooves grind on the stones above, apparently as the horse turned away. They heard the rider speak to another farther away.

             “Nothin’ out here. Would see ‘em if they come this way,” the rider shouted. “Damn. Have ta wait to daylight to track ‘em. A day earlier, we would ‘ave got ‘em at Novalis�"maybe they go to other village that way.”

            Aphrodite turned to Eddy, grasped his forearm, and squeezed it hard. She leaned her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her back, then slipped his hand to  the nape of her head, pulled her in, and held her tight. He put his lips to her head.

            Master, man, mans going away.

            Rover, can you tell which direction?

            Rover rose to his feet and turned one way then the other. He stopped with his nose pointing to the right�"south.

            Mans move this way.

            Eddy strained his ears for the sound of horse hooves, but he did not discern a sound other than his own heart in his ears and the heavy breathing of Quixote next to him.

            Safe? Have they moved away?

            Unsure.

            “We have to sit tight for a while yet,” Eddy whispered.

            “They’ve gone away from above?” Eddy thought she seemed disappointed in a strange inkling. “Well, that’s fine.” Aphrodite said lower, sounding compensatory. “It’s kind of cozy here cushioned and warmed by the mighty horse Quixote.”

            Eddy also found himself relaxing with his heart rate slowing and adrenaline subsiding. He did in fact feel comfortable and relatively safe holding Aphrodite there crouched behind Quixote. He gazed up to the salt-sprinkled heavens. Gamma Moonshard had already passed overhead and had begun its descent to the eastern horizon. He thought it unusual that neither Alpha nor Beta Moonshards were orbiting overhead, a fortuitous thing for this secreting business, but he knew from experience that the moonshards had highly irregular anomalistic orbits that were difficult to nearly impossible to predict. Just a chance circumstance to have the weakest shard in the sky, for at times the three major moonshards could be spotted orbiting in a cluster together, other times spaced uniformly in orbit around the Earth, or none at all in sight. A moon debris field also moved in the same orbital plane appearing as an ever shape-changing reflective cloud, but he couldn’t locate it in the clear-sky night.

            “You seem to be in deep thoughts�"what so intently?” Aphrodite whispered. “How you are going to miss me or debating if you should come back with me?”

            Eddy didn’t want to break the news to her that he simply moonshard watched and stargazed. “Definitely. Going to miss you�"a lot.” He sighed. “And�"I’m going to be lonely despite these two friends.” Quixote wickered deep and low. “Shhhhh, boy.” Eddy patted the horse’s huge flank. “There is no way I could go back now because I’m excited over the possibilities of search, discovery, and documentation of the Five’s rise to their full capabilities.”

            “Hmmm, them again,” Aphrodite said low with an edge. “Not withstanding the potential of excitement, adventure, and danger like we just experienced?”

            “Well, there’s that too. Kind of weird for me I suppose, thinking back to where I came from and my life back there.”

            “Pretty safe back there, huh, especially compared to this place with these rogues running about?” Aphrodite said. “But aren’t you concerned of encounters with those types that may end up more than close calls? Such as you being captured,” she swallowed. “Or just outright killed out here with no one to care?”

            “As you saw, I’m not an overly brave adventurer, but I’m learning to accept the risks, think of the dangers before I enter into those encounters, and perhaps avoid or mitigate them to acceptable levels�"expect the unexpected.” Eddy paused with a nod. “Considering the possibilities of the truth I wish to discover�"I accept the danger.”

            “Sounds to me, you made your final decision,” Aphrodite said.

            “I did. Escaping another close call fed my conviction.”

            Aphrodite squeezed his arm. “I suppose at the same time I am worried and happy for you then, but sad for me because I can tell there is no arguing with you now.”

            “Indeed, so it would seem.”
            Eddy reached over and gave Rover an ear rub.

            “Equal attention time around here, huh?”

            He grinned, but he was sure she couldn’t see his face. “Rover, are the men close by?”

            Rover stood stiff and cocked his head from side to side as if he were listening for any possible sound.

            I think, no mans, no ugly, nasty mans. Gone, gone.    

            “Rover doesn’t sense anyone close by, but we can’t take the chance. Stay down all of you,” Eddy said, holding his hands out flat.

            He slowly stood up while scanning back and forth along the crater’s crest. Twilight had passed, and with near-total darkness around them, he knew that someone could be standing below the crater’s rim in the shadow, and he wouldn’t see them. On the other hand, he could discern the line of the crater rim and would see a person silhouetted against the star field if someone were there. He proceeded to stand upright in full view on the semi-confident assumption their pursuers would carry lights, and they would be easy to perceive. He saw neither a flicker nor heard a sound.

            “Appears safe,” he said. “Get up slowly, and don’t make any noise.”

            “Try telling the big guy here,” Aphrodite said. “Oh, I imagine Rover is doing that right now as I attempt to be sarcastic.”

            She pointed at Rover facing Quixote as the horse rolled upright with his legs under him. He slowly pushed up with the front legs and rocked forward to put his back legs under. Eddy and Aphrodite backed off and gave him plenty of space. Amazingly, the only sound the horse made was a slight crunching noise under his hooves. Eddy grasped the reins, and they moved off slowly and carefully with each of them taking chary glances behind them. Eddy knew that if for some reason their pursuers decided to track them during the night out on the Wastelands, there would no hiding nor retreating�"he’d have to fight. A thrill went up his back with the consideration.

            After a few minutes, they maneuvered around the north end of the steam vent to avoid the hot-steaming mud, but the sulfur odor reached them assailing their sensitive olfactory senses. Quixote snorted. They eyed the singularity without a word as they trudged on. After almost an hour of walking the Wastelands, Aphrodite broke the silence.

            “Are you sure we’re going in the right direction?”

            “I think so,” Eddy said, appending the phrase with a little chuckle. He held up a hand. “Hold on.”

            He pulled out the palm comp, and when he opened it, the dull light lit his face.

            “Relative to our exodus plot here, we are within several meters of our direct route over that way.” He pointed off to the north side. “So we are spot on still this distant from our goal, which remains hours away�"not to worry.” 

            His soon to be famous last words still hung in his ears and mind when he saw flickering dots on the horizon. No one said a word, and Eddy, at first, thought they were a swarm of fireflies, but he instantly realized that fireflies could not exist out there in the dry desolation, especially this time of year. He didn’t stare at them or mention them to Aphrodite. Their worse possible plight, after just escaping one, became the probable detection out in the open. As he caught glances of the lights surreptitiously, he thought perhaps whoever they were moved far along the Wastelands’ edge, but as a few more minutes passed while he covertly observed them, he discerned they did not move perpendicular to their path. They had turned toward them, which meant, unfortunately, he comprehended their destination and apparently his group became their destination. At that following moment, Rover either sensed them or Eddy’s realization of the band’s motive.