26. Tien Alone

In the box, Andron lay on his stomach, frozen in a crawling position. Trembling and crying, Tien peeped over the edge to see the progress of the reptiles. They were still at least three body lengths away. She crouched down next to Flip who lay closest to her, and checked his pulse. Slow, but steady.

He was in a deep sleep, and no amount of shaking would stir him. The others were in the same state. Fen lay on her back, with her knees curled uncomfortably underneath her. Her headscarf had slipped of, revealing a crop of bright red curls, that reached just below her jaw line. Tien barely registered this as her mind raced.

Why am I the only one awake?, she wondered, walking around the lifeless bodies of the others. Think, think, think.

A new horrible idea crossed her mind. These creatures moved so slowly, they could never catch the kind of food that those beaks were created for tearing apart. The gas must send their prey to sleep, rendering them helpless, easy meals. Oh, help!

She tripped and fell heavily, but she felt no pain as she ran back to look over the ledge. Judging by the birds’ slow progress so far, she calculated that she had maybe ten minutes before they reached her. She raced over to the mars, but pools of saliva had formed under their slack lips and lolling tongues, and their heavy lids drooped. No help there. She fumbled frantically through her pack, but found nothing any use. Just then, the oranges for the mars caught her eye and she reacted impulsively. Grabbing up as many as she could hold in her shirt, Tien ran awkwardly back to the edge, dropping them in a heap on the ground.

She took aim with the first one, and hurled it as hard as she could, straight down at the beast’s heads. She scored a hit with the little one at the back. Hissing and shaking its head, it clung grimly to the rock face. The next one missed them all together. Blindly, she pelted them with the remaining oranges; shouting in what she hoped was a ferocious manner. The second last orange dislodged the littlest creeper, and croaking bitterly, it was carried away on the wind. The other three didn’t even stop to look back.

They crawled towards her, focussing their fierce stares on her. Tears coursed down Tien’s cheeks, as she went back for more oranges. There were only two left, if she didn’t include the chewed up skins that the mars had spat out. She stumbled back with them past her sleeping friends. A hand grabbed her leg and she shrieked.

“Tien, help me sit up.” The whisper came from Fen, whose arm had fallen limply from Tien’s ankle. Sobbing aloud with a mixture of relief and terror, Tien pulled Fen into sitting position using a pack to support her back. She looked like a rag doll, her head drooping and her arms hanging heavily. In a thick voice, Fen said, “Tien, stop crying. Come on, you need to stop crying and listen!”

Nodding and squeezing her eyes to wring out her tears, Tien tried to focus on Fen’s words. With a shuddering gasp, she said, “OK, it’s OK. I’m stopping.”
She wiped her face on her sleeve. “Now,” Fen said almost in a whisper. “My body feels really heavy and thick from that gas, but my mind is fine. I need you to fetch my pack, and Flip’s. Can you do that for me?” Tien nodded. “Do it quickly.“ Fen’s slack voice still held an authoritative note, and Tien gave another shuddering gulp, before she obediently scrambled to get the bags. She carried them over, and then opened them both up wide so Fen could see what was inside.

”I need the bottle labelled “fool’s parsnip” from Flip’s pack.” Fen told her. “Good. Now we need his peach vinegar. Don’t use the wrong vinegar.” She smiled weakly. “Ok, mix them together in the vial, by putting your thumb over the mouth of the vial. Yes like that, and now give it a shake. “ ‘You are doing a good job Tien. It’s ready, so pour it down my throat.”

Tien let a small bit dribbled down Fen’s throat. Fen tried to swallow, but choked the mixture back up. Spluttering, she gasped.” It won’t work. My throat is too swollen. Ok, we’ll try something else. Look in my pack, and fetch the green gel that is there. Hurry Tien! You can do it. Hold it up higher! I can’t move my neck. Yes, that’s it.”

“Put a big dab of it into another vial,” Fen croaked. “Add a teaspoon, no, make that a tablespoon of the vinegar. Stir it. Just use your finger, Tien. Is it still greasy? Good. Ok, put some on your finger, a good amount, and smear it under my nose.”

“I’ll breathe it in.“ She muttered under her breath. Tien bent in close, and rubbed a generous portion of the greenish slime under Fen’s nose. As she smeared it in, her finger flipped over a piece of loose, scarred skin under Fen’s left nostril. She nudged it gently. It was rubbery and flesh coloured, but not skin at all, and the scarring that twisted one side of Fen’s face, stopped at the fleshy flap.

It is not a real scar, Tien thought. Who is Fen really?

Fen sniffed and shuddered, her body racked with convulsions. “Check where those creaturess are” she croaked.
“They are about a body length away.” Tien called after looking over the edge. She glanced back at Fen, who was on her knees and struggling to stand up. Fen held her hand out to Tien. “

Pull me up, please,” she said. When she stood, Tien steadied her and Fen looked around. “Now I’ll empty two of the packs and you fetch some of those small rocks in your scarf.” she pointing to some rocks near where the mars lay. Tien ran and gathered as many as she could carry. Together, they filled the bags and tightened the straps. Under Fen’s instruction, Tien undid Fen’s belt and tied a pack to each end. Then Tien straightened and tied Fen’s scarf about her face, so she would not inhale in any more fumes.

“If you can lug these to the edge, I’ll get myself there. Then if we stand as far apart as the belt will allow us to, we can drop the packs in sync, and hopefully the belt will dislodge the nasty things,” she explained. Buoyed with hope, Tien nodded, grinning.

At the precipice, they knelt as far apart as the belt would allow, each grasping a pack, ready to roll. The three remaining creatures were grunting excitedly, in anticipation, waggling their narrow heads from side to side. Fen looked at Tien. “OK, on the count of three, we let go together?”

Tien nodded, and they counted softly in unison. “One, two, three,” and then they released their ammunition. The packs tumbled over the edge, catching the beasts off guard, and tripping them up. Dislodged and caught up in the belt, they plummeted into the grey depths, squawking and snorting.

Fen and Tien watched till they were gone, and then grabbed each other in a tight hug. “But why didn’t the fumes put me out like the others?” Tien asked when they finally separated. “ And how is it that you were only paralysed?”

“Well, your Aryk makeup is so different from theirs.” Fen answered, glancing at their sleeping companions. “And, as for me…”, she paused for a moment. “I truthfully don’t understand that. I may have to look into my ancestry.” Fen smiled and her eyes were truthful. They sat for a while, catching their breath and smiling at each other. Tien felt that there was something vaguely familiar about Fen. She looked the same, now that her pallor had gone, and her hair was yet again hidden under the knotted scarf.

But now I know her scars aren’t real, or at least some of them aren’t. So I’ll never look at her in the same way. But it is more than that. I can picture her with hair now, and there is something familiar about it. What is it?

After such an experience, Tien found that her brain wouldn’t work. She closed her eyes. The girl in the maze appeared in her mind, as if she’d been waiting for her. She almost gasped as she opened her eyes and looked at Fen. She stared hard. Could it be? Both were slender.

But the girl in the dream is so feminine and pretty. Fen is so quiet and … not girlish at all. But somehow there is a connection, and somehow it does make sense, like another piece of the puzzle fitting together. I’ll have to think about it when I have time on my own.

Fen had caught her look. “I need to explain about my scar,” she said. “You saw, didn’t you? ” Tien blushed and nodded. “Oh boy,” Fen took a breath and said. “I went undercover like this to test the Tiran people’s reaction to me and before long I was placed in the quarter. There isn’t time now, but one day I will tell you the whole story. Just please promise that you will tell no one else. Only Andron knows.” “Of course I won’t,“ Tien assured her. “Thankyou.” Fen looked relieved. “Well, come on, we really shouldn’t stand around wasting time, let’s revive the others with the gel, and tell them what they missed.”

She turned to go back to where their companions lay, but Tien grabbed her arm impulsively. “Fen can I just ask you a question?” She stopped, wondering why she was doing this, but the time felt right, so she kept going. “It’ll probably sound like I’m being really nosy, but I’m only concerned…” Fen’s eyes were confused. “Well, you see,” Tien continued, speaking quickly, after a glance to make sure Saka was still unconscious. She didn’t want him to hear her outright lies.

“Saka told me about his sister being injured. You know, her eyes,” she said, trying to meet Fen’s startled gaze. “And I didn’t mean to probe, but I just wanted to know if she is all right. Is she?”

“Wow.” Fen said softly. “Prusience. He told you about that.” “Only briefly.” Tien hoped she didn’t look too guilty. “He didn’t go into any detail.” That bit was true.

“Prusience was given a blinding poison, by someone who wanted to hurt her family.” Fen saw Tien’s mystified expression. “You know how the raseen put the defects in the quarter?” Tien nodded.

“Well, some Tirans learned how to manipulate that unspoken law. They found that they could coerce people to do things, under threat of having a loved one being ‘defected”, or made physically imperfect. It is a vile practise.” Her face twisted in revulsion. “Some people used ‘defecting’ as a form of revenge, though no one has ever been convicted of it. See, officially the Quarter does not even exist. And for some unknown reason, Prusience was ‘defected’, and soon after she disappeared. “

‘That’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard!’ Tien cried, her eyes filling with tears. “So was she taken to the Quarter?”

“Well, Saka and his father went there and paid some of the Quarter’s occupants to help them search for her. She had been seen there briefly, but soon after she arrived, she vanished without a trace. That was over a year ago, now.” There was a groan, and the two girls spun around, to see Flip moving slightly. “We can’t talk about this now,” Fen whispered. “We’d better revive the men.”

*** The glass door had to be smashed in order to get Andron out, as a special handle to open it was missing; probably in the hands of his captors. Beaming, Flip helped pull the shaky but ecstatic Andron out, and they hugged each other in joy, laughing and slapping one another on the back. Saka collected the spare provisions from the box, while Fen gave Andron a quick check to make sure he could travel.

“You can fly to the base, Andron and we will look after you there. But we have to leave now.” she urged. “ We are exposed and vulnerable up here, and our next attack may not come from slow pokes.”

“True.” agreed Saka. “We need to hide you Andron, before the raseen come looking. They mounted the rested mars and were soon soaring over the valley far below.

***

“Where are we?” Tien asked as they alighted near a grove of willow trees. She had become thoroughly disoriented on the trip, which had only seemed a couple of hours. The land around them was slightly hilly, and covered in lush green grass that tempted the ravenous mars. “We are at Silken Moss Falls, near our headquarters,” said Saka. He smiled as several men emerged from the trees, waving in welcome. After a brief greeting, the men led the mars away.

“Come on, we’ll leave our bags here for the time being.“ Saka was walking towards the willows, motioning for the others to follow.

Tien heard the rushing of water ahead and they walked a short distance through the trees, coming out onto the ridge of a hill. Tien looked down. A series of waterfalls cascaded over half of the steep embankment and flowed into a bubbling stream below. At the foot of the falls, ferns grew among mossy rocks, and butterflies hovered over the splashing water. Tien followed the others, scrambling down the dry side of the hill, and they were soon standing level with the stream. Back at the top of the falls, a young man had lugged all their packs to the crest of the hill. He dropped the bags down onto the ground, and to Tien’s surprise, they somehow vanished.

“Tien,” Saka shouted above the roar of the water. “Are you ready to get wet?”

“Wet?” she yelled back. “No thanks. I won’t go swimming, I’m not dressed for it.”

Saka grinned and pointed out an especially large waterfall. The others were already making their way towards it, wading through the stream. Tien gaped as Fen led Andron and Flip straight through the fall’s copious blasts of water. Then the three of them disappeared.

© 2006 by Shelly Taylor