Fire and Ice

“Whoa! Whoa!” exclaimed Darby, “what do you mean it’s the end of the world?” she stood aghast at the revelation made by the old man who stood there before her by the row of computer banks blinking. “I mean it can’t be...can it?” she looked from the old man to his son incredulously searching for any signs of an elaborate joke.

“You must repeat” whispered Kiefah gently, “my father” he nodded toward the old man.

“Yes, yes, I know” said Darby frustratingly, “but the end of the world” he sighed and rested on the edge of a desk, disturbing a thin layer of dust from the surface.

“I do not understand, I do not understand” said the old man uncertainly looking at the cadet.

“I’m sorry” stammered Darby, “but this is to much to take” she sighed, “I mean this is massive, it could change everything”. Again the old man shook his head as he watched Darby as she lowered her head to the floor and looked to his son for guidance.

“She is in shock father, she is in shock father” apologised Kiefah.

“I understand, I understand” smiled the old man as he crossed to her and placed a hand on her sleeve, “The word is written” he said gently pointing at the screen, “the word is written. The litany cannot be reversed, it is so decreed that all will die. The word is written. The litany cannot be reversed it is so decreed that all will die”

Crane looked up through the canopy at the underside of the vast sprawled village above their heads. The last degrees of light poked through the branches that formed the walkways and layers of the construction and he marvelled briefly in the beauty brought from the dusk.

“We must move” said a voice by his ear. Crane turned and looked at the priest by his side sadly and nodded, pausing to blow on his raw hands. The slide down to the floor of the forest had seemed to take hours, but in reality a mere seconds and the only thing to show for their escape were a few discarded leaves scattered around their feet and red palms.

“I feel like I’ve abandoned them” commented Crane gazing back into the sky.

“The people?” queried James following his gaze.

“No, my crew” said Crane, still standing stock still and keeping his eyes locked on the bottom of the village. Aston James felt a pang of guilt, he had forgotten about the other two members of their party.

“Captain...” he began.

“No words Father” insisted Crane silently, “I’ve two of my people in that village, and I’ve abandoned them to god knows what...” his words trailed off as he looked at the priest, his heart heavy with the desertion, “my tenure as ship’s captain isn’t going particularly well is it?”

“This is not about them” said James quietly, “we all have sacrifices to make for the greater good captain” he lowered his head as he spoke as though remembering his own past, “life is about how we handle our decisions and how we act. If we become consumed with the decisions we make and the decisions of those around us, then we cannot move on as people. A good commander knows when to retreat...to regroup. There is far more than the lives of two to consider captain, we still have to find the colony and find out what is threatening this world. Your people are safe for now, and we will return for them”

“I hope so” Crane said silently, “I hope so” he cast his eyes in the direction of the jungle, “which way?” he asked. James shrugged his shoulders and turned around searching the tree line for signs of their position. “No divine intervention this time” laughed Crane, “this way” and with a final parting shot at the village he ploughed through the thick undergrowth.

“You sure?” asked James hovering back slightly

Crane paused on the threshold of the jungle, “Seems about as good as any other way...and besides, we’re already lost, so it’s hardly going to make much more of a difference if we get more lost does it” he smiled, flashing the priest a row of pure white teeth, “sometimes you just have to trust pure luck” and with that he disappeared into the jungle.

“It’s not what’s in the jungle which worries me” remarked James glancing up to the sky, “may Lord have mercy on our souls” he sighed and dived into the forest after the captain.

As the two figures disappeared into the trees, a lone figure moved into sight and stood watching as they crashed through the forest. His eyes squinted, then he moved into the trees after the pair, moving silently like a ghost...

“Please” said Kiefah softly as he knelt by Darby, “my father would like to show you something” Darby looked at his kind eyes and smiled, taking his hand and allowed herself to be led from the central control room and into the side office. It had felt like hours since the revelation that this planet was about to blow up and as she allowed herself to be led by hand into another part of the building realised how much light had passed. She glanced out of a low window and looked into the dark forest and for the briefest moment sighed, glad that she was no longer in amidst the trees. She shuddered as she thought about stumbling around the forest at night, branches clawing her clothes and body as she walked, eyes hidden in every hole. Her hand tightened around Kiefah’s and the young man smiled at the contact between them as he continued to lead her away from the computer banks. They walked through an open hatchway and into a low level room which housed various cabinets containing jars and containers. Posters and diagrams littered the room, covering the wall surfaces and she smiled to herself at the familiarity of her surroundings. Graphs and charts showed the progress of the colony as she unwrapped his fingers from Kiefah and walked carefully over the debris laden floor and inspected each in turn.

She leant close to each paper as the light dwindled in the room, her eyes struggling to chart the progression...or fall of the colony. She studied weather flow, growth charts, population expansion, her eyes flicking over the cornucopia of information within her reach. “What happened here?” she murmured to herself quietly.

“My father” urged Kiefah as he waved her toward the staggered door. She looked uncertainly at the precarious building as the floor leant and bowed under the weight of the invading forest above. She stepped through into the office and saw the old man sitting behind a simple wooden desk with a symphony of paper spread before him, laid out for her pleasure.

“Please, please” he said indicating toward the chair opposite. Darby duly took a seat and took a sly look at the images on the sheaves on the table top. “Our history, our history” he said simply, “from our arrival to now. From our arrival to now”

“I still can’t believe this...you are the colony” she said to herself as she moved the papers while her eyes struggled to make the words clear under the light.

“Please” said Kiefah placing a hand on her shoulder, “if you are to talk to my father, you must repeat yourself”

“Oh yes, I’m sorry” she apologised smiling at Kiefah, then looked at the old man, “I apologise, I apologise” she looked at the papers before her, “but this is so much to take in, I must find the captain and tell him. This is so much to take in, I must find the captain and tell him”

“No, no” cried the old man waving his hands, “no, no”

“What is it? What is it?” she asked

“The jungle lives, the jungle lives, it eats, it eats”

“I don’t understand. I don’t understand” she shook her head.

“The forest has dangers at night” explained Kiefah, “it is not safe, you must rest, then we shall move in the morning”

“No! You must...you must...you must...feed” came a low growl in the back of her mind. Darby frowned, “did you hear something” she said suddenly, gripping the back of her chair and gazing around the darkness.

Kiefah shook his head, “we are alone” he said simply.

“Are you sure?” Kiefah looked into the darkness and beyond, then turned back to his father, who was collecting the paperwork in his hands and pushing them back into a drawer in the desk. “Yes” he said definitely, we are alone”.

Darby looked beyond the open hatchway and into the darkness, “that voice” she mumbled.

“I did not hear anything” said Kiefah, “we are alone”

“If you say so” said agreed reluctantly.

“You must rest” urged Kiefah, “I will show you” he said smiling and took her hand, “follow” She blushed under his innocence as he took her hand and ushered from the room, with the worried look of his father following him.

“Evil, evil” he spat as they left the room.

Seeka sat half hidden in the undergrowth and arranged a small circle of stones, her attention solely on arranging the uneven rocks one after another to form a ring. In the centre she placed some soil and patted down before covering in moss and fern. She worked in silence, occasionally glancing up toward Beilal was was sitting on a small boulder, her hands wrapped around her knees and her head thrust down in her chest. She could hear slender sobs from the young girl and felt a pang of motherly care toward her. “You okay?” she asked tenderly, returning her attention to arranging the moss. Beilal didn’t answer, which forced Seeka to glance upward toward her. She smiled as she looked at her and patted the ground by her side, “come and help” she offered.

Beilal shook her head and remained firmly on the rock, “I don’t know how” she replied meekly.

“I will show you” said Seeka confidently. The younger child refused to move, but sat watching as Seeka continued to build the small fire. “You are young” commented Seeka, “when I was your age, I knew nothing of the world” she smiled and sat back, crossing her legs. She let her hands run through the grass at her fingers, “but we learn as we grow older...come I will show you and you will learn”

“I’m only eight” said Beilal, “my father...” she stopped and thrust her head back into her arms as the thought of her father loomed large in her mind. Seeka stood and crossed to the girl and placed an arm around her as sobs racked the air around them.

“It’s alright” cooed the older girl, “let it go”

“My family is dead” cried the younger girl as tears flowed over her face. Seeka shushed her and pulled her close to her body, pushing her head into her chest and placing a comforting hand on the back of her head. “I can see the father in my mind” continued Beilal through the tears, “he held me when I was scared, he told me to be brave”

“It will be alright” said Seeka softly.

“I am scared” admitted Beilal as she pulled away from Seeka’s grip.

“We all are...you, me, the boys”

“Even Thoryn?”

Seeka smiled, “yes, even Thoryn. It’s alright to be scared” Beilal smiled weakly at Seeka as she gazed across toward the small stone ring. Seeka looked the girl and remembered being her age and sighed, things had seemed so easier then she thought and took the girls hand. Now at almost double the small girl’s age she knew she had to care for her, to protect her. “You’ve hurt yourself” Seeka commented as she looked down at the small girl’s hand.

Beilal nodded and looked at the small cut on the back of her hand, “I hurt myself when I got away” she admitted, “I wanted to cry, but my father told me to run”

“He was right” said Seeka turning over her hand, “I can treat this...it is not to bad” Beilal smiled and wiped away the tears from her eyes and nodded at the older child. Seeka moved her fingers over the small cut, “a simple compound will heal quickly...mud and a collection of fern pressed over the wound and bound with leaves will heal the pain”

“You are wise” said Beilal. “Can you teach me”

“You will learn” sighed Seeka, “but I must complete the preparations for the fire first” She stood and left the girl on the boulder and returned to the fire and pulled a mound of fern leaves from an overhanging branch and placed them on top of the moss. “I am almost sixteen” she said proudly, “and have learned many things, but I am still scared of the unknown” she admitted as she worked, “we must hold our fear and stay together, that is good”

“Can I help?” asked Beilal as she jumped down from the rock.

“Not yet, but soon” promised Seeka, “we have no time for lessons, I must work” she looked up at the younger girl and smiled kindly. Beilal tried to smile back, but couldn’t find any solace in her words. “I will teach you, when it is better”

Beilal looked at the back of her hand and nodded, “I will get the herbs!” she exclaimed and dashed off into the undergrowth.

“No Beilal!” shouted Seeka, standing swiftly to her feet, “I didn’t mean your hand...” her words drifted through the trees as they trailed off as the young girl disappeared into the forest.

Tomas clambered over a mound of rocks, he felt good. He may have been smaller and younger than Thoryn, but there was no way he was going to let the older boy push him around he thought determinedly. He had proved that he had just as much maturity as the other boy and smiled to himself as he watched a small rodent clamber over the floor at the base of the rocks. He felt a swell of pride at the small cache of animal bodies which lay by his body on the peak of the rocks and tensed his body as the rodent stopped and smelt the air surrounding its tiny body. “We shall eat well tonight” he said quietly to himself as he watched the rodent continue with its movement along the floor. The animal stopped and sniffed at the floor, picking up a small seed from the dirty floor and nibbled on the small oval object. Its whiskers twitched in the night air and its deep black eyes scanned about its body nervously as though it sensed danger close to it. Tomas perched his body on the edge of the rock and launched his body into the air, dropping onto the floor and clubbing the rodent with a small rock. The creature twitched as the stone was brought down on its head and Tomas grinned satisfied as blood and skull combined in an inward motion and stained the floor around the boulders.

He pulled the creature from the floor by its tail and held it close to his face and grinned broadly at his kill. “You shall taste good” he said to the corpse in his hand and climbed the ridge of boulders and resumed his position at the peak of the boulders. He sat for a moment and clean the dirt from the small body, gently rubbing the fur of the animal, then twisted the head from the body with a quick snap and lay the carcass with the growing pile. He lay on his stomach again and ran his eyes across the forest floor, scanning for further signs of food...two more he thought and then he would return to the others. He imagined the warmth of the fire against his skin and the smell of the meat and it warmed his stomach and forced a smile to cross his face.

A shadow fell over him and he turned sharply looking at the figure rising up over him, “what do you want?” he demanded as he stared up. There was no answer, but the shadow crossed Tomas’ body as the boy returned to his vigil of the forest, “if you do not wish to talk, then you should return to the camp” he said simply, “I am busy” He lay for a moment, feeling annoyed as he could see the shadow from the moonlight broadcast across the rock. “You’re disturbing my prey” he complained, looking over his shoulder. “What are you doing?” he exclaimed as his eyes fixed on the large boulder as it came crashing down toward him. Tomas attempted to raise his hands to stop the blow, but the heavy object connected with his forehead with a sickening thud.

The forest floor became tinged with the crimson blood of the young boy as the noise of the boulder continued its relentless pounding against bone...