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whispersafterdusk · 4 years ago

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Lost in Time - ch 11

With Stewart's list of names and locations they were able to carefully separate out who they could confidently identify and those thirteen persons were given a plot in Portia's graveyard separate from the mass grave that was being dug outside of the city gates.

Sophie had loaned them a wagon and McDonald loaned a large draft horse Eli had nicknamed Bruiser; when the big grave was dug and the headstone had been carved and placed (a joint effort between Gust, Selene, and Higgins) it then took eight trips to get all the skeletal remains out of the facility and into the ground.

Giving a eulogy wasn't something Eli had ever seen herself doing...honestly (and she had even discussed this exact topic with Darren) she'd assumed that the rest of her family would outlive her. Being a ranger carried a lot of risk and that risk had only grown as things had started breaking down across the nations. There were a lot of things she'd mentally filed in the "probably going to kill me" category and because of that she'd tried to approach everything with the same level of caution; it was a thought she carried with her everywhere - that her family and friends may eventually be planning her funeral, no matter how careful she was. And now, three hundred years in the future...here she was, planning THEIRS. ((Continued below cut)))

When it came to death, sudden or otherwise, the Three decreed that the deceased's story be shared where possible; funerals were long affairs with dozens of family members and friends chosen to speak on the dead's behalf. All of existence would remember that person whether there were people gathered to remember or not but it was a comforting measure to have everyone together "sharing the pages," as it was called: sharing their memories of that person's life story. She could do that for Darren, and for her squad mates...but everyone else were all people she didn't know, and she was the only one left alive who could speak for them. And even if she'd known each and every one of them it would take her months to do their stories justice.

There was also the (depressing) fact that it hadn't just been those in the facility that had died here.

There was no way to tell how many had perished in the orbital attacks, and Portia was built upon the ruins of Dubei in general. If she was going to properly put the dead to rest she should speak not only of Darren and her squad and those in the facility but of all of Dubei's residents who had died too. And what of all the people outside of Dubei?

It was one thing to write about and remember someone you'd known and loved dearly but how could you remember a city and everyone in it? How did you properly eulogize an entire world? What details should be included to give even a glimpse of all those lives that had existed and now lay buried somewhere beneath their feet? Wasn't she sort of doing that already just by answering random questions? Every answer was a part of a story of the past even if she was just giving a quick response to something as simple as a question about breakfast foods. With everything gone wouldn't even the smallest detail be important to the whole picture?

It was confusing and painful and tiring. And she only had two days to figure it out and get it written.

One small silver lining at the moment was Stewart had taken over answering most of the scholars's questions; with power restored his central intercom system was back online and, so long as the audio equipment (usually in the ceilings of every room) was still functional, he was able to listen in and attend to them without needing to physically be in the room. That meant Eli, Selene, Merlin, and Petra were free to roam about and do minor repairs as well as hunt down the closets and rooms that Stewart's logs showed should still have things in it. Depending on what they found Eli was determined to try and cobble together a couple of things (even a self-contained Hi-Def would be welcome) but also they needed to know what they had to work with if they were going to have any chance of moving Stewart out of here. If she could find a multi-screen, or even a teleportation module, and a couple of solar detectors and a battery mount...

It was a lot easier to get distracted by what she could potentially do compared to what she needed to do.

Whatever. She needed a break.

She had a little notebook (a gift from Selene) that she'd been carrying around for most of the day; her hope had been inspiration of some sort would strike and she'd know exactly which words to use and what order everything should go in...so far though there'd been nothing, and the notebook was still in the breast pocket of her jacket when she walked into the Round Table.

"Evening there, Eli." Django was at the front counter stacking up some dirty plates - whoever had eaten there was already gone, and the restaurant was mosty empty as well.

"Evening. Without meaning to sound weird, what do you have for alcohol these days?"

The man chuckled and moved the plates into a small bin that he then sat behind the counter. "Been that kind of day, huh?"

Eli nodded and settled on one of the bar stools. "Been that kind of...however long I've been awake, if I'm being honest."

"I don't think anyone will blame you for that. Let's see... We have some Duvos Winter Punch. It's fairly weak in both alcohol and taste - I'm not the biggest fan of it but there's a fair few here in town that love it. I've got some plain vodka I can add to some juice or the bitter melon mix, and a couple bottles left of the Barnarock Black beer - stuff's so thick you could chew it. Doesn't help you now but come spring I'll make a couple batches of snakeberry wine if you wanted me to save you a bottle. Portia's folks don't really drink much so it's not something I keep on hand in large quantities...usually goes bad before the entire bottle or jug gets finished."

Eli nodded - technically she wasn't much of a drinker either so she could understand the sentiment. "Fair enough. I'll give the Barnarock stuff a try. What kind of meaty dish would you suggest I get with it?"

Django rubbed his chin and didn't immediately answer. "...specifically meaty? I'd go with my braised meat bowl - all the flavors should pair up nicely, haha."

She smiled at that. "I shall trust the master. -- oh, and could I also get the bamboo and egg thing too? I think that's becoming a favorite."

"Can do," was his reply. He took the bin of dishes and disappeared into the back of the restaurant.

She watched him go; he'd mentioned before that there was a game room in the back, and she assumed behind that was the kitchen area. Maybe a couple games of...whatever was there, would help lift her mood. Or provide another distraction, or maybe it'd be mindless enough she could play while also thinking on the other things - any of those options seemed acceptable.

She couldn't see Sonia anywhere but the pink-haired young man she usually saw her talking to was here; he was sitting with Albert and a bespectacled man she recognized from the Commerce Guild but hadn't actually met yet so she wasn't certain on his name. As she turned back around to the counter the doors opened and Arlo and Asher came in; both of them had spent the day down in the facility helping Merlin and Petra carry around tools as well as carrying out the rest of the medical texts and manuals while Eli had been helping Selene replace a faulty speaker.

There was a clear questioning look on Asher's face and in response she jerked her head toward the stools to her right; the man immediately accepted the invitation and sat down, and after a moment to consider Arlo followed suit but sat on the stool to her left, sandwiching her between them.

"Evening, you two." Django had returned already and sat an amber-colored single serve bottle on the counter in front of her. "Your order'll be up in a few moments. What are you two having?"

"My usual," came Arlo's reply.

"No idea yet," was Asher's. The stool creaked under him as he reached to tug a battered menu toward himself.

Eli gingerly grabbed the bottle and looked it over; it was chill to the touch and already forming condensation, and the cap was thankfully a screw-top. It didn't take much to twist it open and she idly shuffled the bottle cap around between the fingers of her free hand as she took her first sip; it was a smooth taste - chocolatey, along with a faint nutty undertone. Beer wasn't her usual go-to alcoholic drink but this one wasn't all that bad.

Django waited until she'd swallowed. "So I hear you've made a deal with Martha and Toby."

She sat the bottle back on the counter, chuckling a bit. "Yeah, you could say that. The plan is to dissuade him from the adventuring life."

"I don't think that's the result you're going to get," Django laughed. "I'm told all he's done these last few days is talk about it."

Arlo glanced over to her curiously. "What deal?"

"I told him if he got top grades for two quarters - or however long half a school year is nowadays - that I'd teach him a few things. His mom is wanting to put an end to the adventuring fixation so I'll be making it as boring and difficult as possible."

Beside her Asher snorted; he didn't look up from the menu but was clearly listening in. "Think you could teach the rest of us a thing or two in the meantime?"

"...such as?"

Asher flipped the menu closed and put it back on the pile on the counter. "I'll have an order of the creamy noodles with bacon and a half order of the mapo tofu please." He then turned his attention to Eli. "Anything, really. I know I'm not the only one curious about what it was like back then, being a soldier."

"I think I'd be interested in that too," Arlo said into the pause that followed. "I'm always looking for better ways to train and become stronger."

Eli looked between the two of them; how was it going to look to Toby if she was teaching actual adventurers? Maybe she could shuffle his attention to the Civil Corps instead... "Uh. Well. Sure? I guess? Assuming you boys get top marks on your homework too."

She grinned at them, and all three men started laughing; after catching his breath Django then excused himself and headed off to take care of the orders. Eli took another sip of the beer before continuing. "-but in all seriousness, I can, yes. But you're not going to like it. I'm not sure I'm ready to torpedo any friendships yet."

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Asher asked.

"The basic training for rank and file wasn't too terrible. The training for a ranger though...that'll probably have you cursing my name up, down, and sideways."

"I'm willing to risk it," Arlo replied. "And I doubt there's anything you can make me do that would ruin a friendship."

"Uh huh," Asher said, chuckling faintly. "His pride can take a stomping unlike anything you've seen."

Arlo's face flushed bright red and he let out a small huff; it was clear Asher hadn't meant anything malicious by it but whatever history he was alluding to had definitely stung.

"Right, well," Eli hurried on, trying to dispel the sudden awkward silence. "Before I can train anyone else I need to get myself back to normal. I'm getting there but it'll probably be a few months yet before I'm satisfied." She glanced over to Asher again. "How long are you out here?"

"At least another two months. Mali was wanting to rotate us out when the scholars were ready to head back to Atara for a break -- it's looking like you won't need all five of us for too much longer anyway so I'm not sure what she might be planning now. I know if I tell her I want to stay for the long haul she won't mind though."

"Is Mali your leader, then?"

"Not officially but she's well known in the guild and has a knack for picking the right people for the right job. And usually she's the one who runs the yearly entrance exams for prospective members."

Asher ever-so-slightly leaned forward to glance toward Arlo and Eli now had an inkling as to what the 'history' was. "So what you're saying is she can't make you stay or go, more or less."

"Pretty much. I'll only be paid out to the estimated end of the contract I agreed to, which ends in two months, but I could easily stay out here another four months beyond that if I wanted before I'd need to go back home to stock back up on pocket money." He paused as Django came back with Eli's order, giving the food an appraising eye. "...I probably should've ordered that. Anyway - I do kind of like it out here. And it'd be well worth the stay if I get to learn something new."

"I guarantee I will run you off in a week," Eli said, laughing a bit as she picked up her fork. "You have no idea what you're asking for."

She picked at her food and only really tucked in once the other two had theirs brought over; for one brief moment she could imagine she was in the mess hall elbow to elbow with her squad. It was a bittersweet thought and reminded her of what she still had to write; suddenly the beer and the food didn't taste so great.

Before her mood dipped too far though the door opened again and Adam came in; he was a short, wiry man with bushy, bright red eyebrows and a shaved head. She could track his gaze as he scanned the room briefly before marching up to them at the counter. "Oi, Arlo - question. Do you Corps folks patrol at night?"

"Not always. Why?"

"A'right, lemme rephrase: did you have any patrols scheduled for tonight?"

"What's up?" Asher asked, pushing himself back from the counter.

"Greg's certain he saw someone at the far edge of the marsh looking 'is way. We need to know if it's one of your folks or not."

Arlo shook his head and then stood. "No, it's not one of ours. Where did he see this person?"

"Said out to the east. Cliffs."

Out to the east...from what she remembered of maps of the area there wasn't much out to the east and not really a way to get over to the far side of the lake unless you crossed the western bridge near the tree farm. "That's not a place someone could get to easily from this side. Has there been any sign of tracks passing through the sink hole area?"

Adam shook his head. "Neither hair nor hide. Only ones we've seen out there have come from us."

Arlo sighed, crossing his arms as his brow furrowed in thought. "If this person was seen on the cliffs they probably came from the north somewhere. Would explain why there's no new tracks."

"Whoever it was wasn't paying attention and got himself silhouetted against the moon. Greg wouldn't have spotted 'im otherwise."

Asher shoved a forkful of tofu into his mouth and then stood, digging for gols. "Hate to eat and run but this is something I ought to be helping with," he mumbled through the mouthful.

Django held up a hand. "No worries - I'll bag it up and have it waiting for you. Assuming you mean to come back."

"Yeah, that works," Asher replied. He strode toward the door and Adam spun to follow at his heels.

Arlo also dropped money on the counter. "Same for me - I'll be back soon."

Eli was already over halfway done with her food; the beer would go flat, but oh well. "I may as well head out with them. Tracking is one of my talents."

Django chuckled as she too paid and then headed out the door after the men; the moon wasn't completely full but it was bright enough in the cloudless sky that they didn't need any extra light to make it back to the sinkhole and camp. Greg was crouched near the edge of the tent, partially hidden in the shadows near one of its corner poles, and was looking out toward the east with a pair of binoculars.

"Seen 'em again?" Adam asked.

Greg lowered the binoculars but didn't turn toward them - from Eli's point of view he was hardly more than a puffy coat and fluffy woolen cap. "Not since I spotted them the first time. Whoever it was backed up and disappeared over the bluff's edge."

Asher looked around. "Where's Mali and Maddie?"

"Already headed out to have a look," was Greg's answer. He finally turned his face toward them; he had a big, brown, bushy beard that almost blended in with fur trimming around the collar of his jacket. "I've been keeping watch to make sure nothing jumps out at them."

With that he raised the binoculars again and trained them out toward the east. Eli paced away from the campfire to put it at her back, squinting out into the moonlit night; she could just barely make out moving figures ahead of her and assumed that had to be Mali and Maddie. Biting her lower lip she turned to the north to eye the cliffs; further east it became less rocky and more steep and sheer though the height of the bluffs remained about the same stretching from here to there.

"You guys got rope and pitons?" she asked, turning back around and shielding her eyes from the campfire's glow. "A couple of us can go up on this side and cross east on the top."

"We do, and even if we didn't Adam here is part squirrel," came Greg's response (though again he didn't turn to face them). "Second pair of eyes in the leather case in there - decide who's going up and leave one person here to keep look out for you."

"Arlo stays," Asher said immediately. "You were pretty good at spotting trouble coming, last I saw."

Arlo simply nodded - there wasn't an indication of embarrassment this time. "All right."

He followed Adam into the Pigs's tent; while Asher waited Eli started heading toward the cliffs. There were sheets of ice and icicles dotting overhangs and rock faces; it looked like melted run off from above had re-frozen when the sun had gone down. With the thaw-melt-refreeze cycle of winter she imagined there'd be some unstable spots on their climb up the cliff.

Adam came out of the tent a few minutes later with a bag that rattled. Out of that bag came a hammer and pitons followed by two coils of rope, one of which he handed to Eli when he caught up to her; the three of them headed for the cliffs and began a slow climb up with Adam insisting he should go up first. Asher was correct in that the man seemed to be half squirrel as he climbed quickly and with far more confidence (or recklessness) than Eli would have had for a climb in a new area and mostly in the dark.

"You guys smell that down there?"

Eli glanced above her at Adam's shout; he was almost three fourths of the way up the cliff, with Eli on the ropes behind him and Asher keeping the ropes pulled almost taut on the ground below them. "Smell what?"

"Smoke. And it ain't wood smoke."

Her hands were going numb but she managed to pick up the pace and get up the cliff moments after Adam had crested the top; they both drove in pitons to tie the rope off to, and then helped rapidly haul Asher up behind them before they set off together across the top of the bluffs. There wasn't much up here; this strip of land looked like a desert and a forest had mingled together but the trees were short with barrel-like thick trunks and spindly limbs, and frozen scrub grass crunched under their feet as they walked.

Now that they were up here they could all smell smoke on the wind; it had an acrid undertone to it -- Adam was right in that it wasn't wood smoke but what it could be none of them could guess at.

"Going to be impossible to sneak up on anyone like this, unless we want to move at a glacier's pace," Asher grumbled quietly. "And even then we're just as likely to be spotted because it's not pitch dark."

"Hush up, I hear something popping," Adam interrupted him.

They all stopped and strained their ears; Eli thought she too heard the sounds of a crackling fire but she couldn't see any firelight from where they stood. After several moments of listening Asher gestured for them to stay put and began to creep ahead; despite how carefully he tried putting his feet he couldn't move silently on the frozen grass and his footsteps drowned out the sound of distant pops.

Eli gave their surroundings a closer look; they were on top of the cliffs and there were rocky hills and the squat trees all around. She couldn't pinpoint the crackling noises except for knowing they were coming from ahead of them somewhere; she caught Adam's eye and pointed to herself, then jerked her head toward the north: she was going to move up and try to find a higher perch to see from. He nodded at her and crouched with his attention moving between Asher and her.

Very carefully she made her way to the north, cautiously moving around the trees and the biggest patches of scrub grass. Still she didn't see any sign of a fire but the sound was starting to clue her in a bit -- it was still to the northeast somewhere but it sounded like it was more north than east. She went up another small hill and around a tall rocky outcrop; Adam was out of sight now, as was Asher. The further north she went the more the land sloped upward and then, finally, she caught the barest flicker of orange against...something. Rock, or maybe an especially wide tree trunk. Whatever it was reflecting off of didn't matter too much -- all that mattered was there was a fire ahead, further up another steep hill. And where there was fire would probably be a person.

She backtracked enough to signal to Adam, as Asher was too far away and had his back to her; when the man had joined her she wordlessly put a finger in front of his nose and then slowly moved it to point his gaze directly at where the fire was. From here it was much, much less noticeable but after a moment he gave her a sharp nod and began to pick his way over toward it.

Those popping noises they'd heard before were picking up in volume; as they crept closer Eli could make out a stone overhang, or maybe it was the entrance to a cave. Next to it was another rocky outcrop that had a sheen of ice over it (which was what she'd seen the orange flickers on - that ice was reflecting the fire's light) and scattered all around was shattered rock and disturbed (but frozen) dirt as though there'd been a recent landslide here. Adam gestured to indicate he was going to circle up to the right side - the side with the reflective ice - and pointed in a way she assumed meant he wanted her to go left.

There wasn't any reason to say no to the "plan" so she did; on the top left of the overhang was a crater made by a mostly uprooted tree whose crown was now partially buried in what definitely had to have been a landslide. The overhang itself was a wide stone slab that had broken off from somewhere further north and tumbled down to come to a rest against another stone and this tree, and had formed a sheltered pocket that was rock, dirt, and dead wood on three sides -- inside this cozy little spot was the fire and possibly its creator.

But, she could see that Adam had already poked his head into the claustrophobic opening of the little nook. Since he wasn't yelling in alarm she assumed no one was home, and came around to join him.

Inside the recently made "cavern" was the remains of a campsite, and all of it was ablaze; she could sort of make out a firepit in front of it all, with a narrow path that wound around the pit and led to the back of the hole where an A-frame tent was pegged to the ground and also to the tree -- it was engulfed in flames and the fire was starting to spread to the tree. At the firepit's edge she could see melting tin cans - both empty as well as several full ones - along with shiny spots that looked like melted plastic, and blowing up into the roof of the sheltered hole were flaky fragments that suggested there'd been paper tossed in here too.

There wasn't, thankfully, any sign of a person IN the fire.

Eli straightened and looked around their immediate area. The ground was too hard for there to be actual footprints but she could see a trail of scuff marks and trampled grass that led off into the night.

"Someone beat it out of here in a hurry," Adam grunted.

"Which means they, without doubt, weren't supposed to be here. Innocent people don't run - and they definitely don't run FROM people if they were looking for help for a sudden fire, but I doubt this was accidental," she said after a moment. "And since we didn't hear anyone running off from here they must have set the fire and run off while we were climbing the cliff."

"They're not going to get far in the cold."

Eli nodded and pointed to the trail of trampled grass. "No, they're not. And I bet we can catch up if we start moving now."

At that Adam looked a little unsure. "Well...yeah, true. But what about the others? Don't know how many were actually up here, right?"

"In a bolt hole this small it was either one person or they liked each other a lot," Eli answered. "You can go back for Asher but I'm going to follow this trail and see where it goes."

"All right, fine - we'll catch up quick. Be careful."

He disappeared back down the hill and Eli turned her attention to the trail on the ground. It went almost straight to the east; following it was fairly simple - enough so that she was able to jog along and only need to periodically glance down to make sure she was still on track. There wasn't any way to be stealthy so she was more focused on being highly aware of her surroundings and found herself looking at each rock, shrub, and tree with suspicion. So long as the trail kept winding among them and didn't...stop...

There. The trail went around a tree - specifically around to its far side, whereas the others had zigzagged only enough to get around them and hadn't hugged them so closely.

Eli slowed to a lumbering jog; whoever was up ahead likely knew they were being followed - she needed to decide what to do about that. Either this was an ambush waiting to happen or whoever this was had thought they'd gotten far enough away that hiding was an option.

She decided on a direct approach. "Come on out," she called ahead. "I know you're there and we both know you're not going to have an easy night out in the elements without shelter."

All she got was a resounding silence as an answer; she came to a stop about ten feet from the tree. From where she stood she could tell that the trail didn't continue beyond this point -- SOMEONE was on the other side. She wasn't overly worried about trying to apprehend one person on her own, especially since she knew exactly where this person was (and besides, Adam and Asher were coming to back her up).

"Come on. Let's not make this harder than it needs to be."

There was a shuffling noise and then a flash of movement as the man came around the tree; she caught the briefest glimpse of something glinting in the moonlight and instinct took over -- she was moving before she'd fully registered what was in the man's leading hand and as he fully stepped around the trunk she was dashing forward to slam the palm of her hand into his chin. Something flew out of his hand and skittered across the rocky ground; her initial blow hadn't stunned him much and Eli ducked under a clumsily swung fist that came a lot quicker than she'd anticipated. The next fist she caught and deflected with an open palm and used the momentum to pirouette and bring her left leg around in a roundhouse kick that the man tried to dodge by twisting aside but without enough backward movement so the toe of her boot caught him in the elbow and it was accompanied with a popping noise and a shout of pain.

As he staggered back and held his arm close to his chest she set her feet and dropped into a combat stance. "For what it's worth, I didn't mean to do that," she said.

Something whistled passed her and a split second later she saw a rock ricocheting off the man's collarbone and dropping to the earth; he stumbled backward and tripped over a tree root then fell to the ground on his back. From either side of her came Asher and Adam hurrying forward to fall on the man before he got a chance to get his feet back under him.

"For what it's worth, I DID" she heard Asher grunt as the three men wrestled on the ground.

With only one good arm it didn't take long the subdue the man, and Asher hauled him up to his feet without much resistance; Adam was already grabbing for his wrists to tie his hands behind his back.

Eli held up a hand. "Wait, hang on - don't do that."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because if his hands are behind him it's going to be a massive pain in the ass to get him down the cliff."

Both men paused a moment, then Asher nodded in agreement and shook the man roughly. "Hear that? Any trouble and down the cliff you go - we can get to the bottom gently or we can see how high you bounce."

Still the man didn't respond aside from a pained and annoyed noise.

It the moonlight he seemed to be a thin man with a leather cap on that hid his hair. He wore a dark leather jacket and cargo pants tucked into heavy boots, and when he locked gazes with Eli she could make out the line of a strong jaw and a few missing teeth when he actually hissed at her like an animal.

"Right. Let's get this jerk back to town - you've got a jail cell, right?"

"I...assume so?" Eli answered, looking to Asher. "I'd hope so. No idea where it is though. Should also let Dr. Xu know we've got an injury."

"Eh, let him stew with it," Adam growled. Since the injured arm was on his side he grabbed the man by the waistband instead and moved in unison with Asher as they began to roughly march the man back the way they'd come; he resisted for the first ten feet or so then gave up and walked with them, his head down.

Eli went to follow them and then remembered that there had been a weapon or something that she'd knocked out of the man's hands. It took several minutes to find as it had slid under a nearby bush but soon she was looking over a revolver.

It only had a three-shot barrel, the caliber wasn't all that big, and the barrel had a plug of sand and rock wedged in its end from the fall - it was ugly and fairly inefficient compared to what she was used to but assuming she could get that rock loose (and that it wasn't a cheap gun that'd explode after only a few shots) she could probably make personal use of it. Did Selene know what a reloading bench was? If this revolver existed (it wasn't a design she knew had come from her time period) clearly guns were still around in some form or fashion. Maybe she could engineer a rifle with Selene's help... She went to put it in her breast pocket and the muzzle of the gun scraped along the notebook's outer cover.

Oh, right -- she'd forgotten that was in there. Since both gun and notebook wouldn't fit together in the pocket and the other pockets of her jacket weren't deep enough to securely hold the gun Eli unloaded it and stuck it in her right pocket with the three bullets going in her left and hoped neither of them would fall out on the climb back down.

-------------------------------------------------------

The morning of the funerals came; it was bright and sunny but still bitterly cold. Arlo was more than ready for spring to come back but was thankful that the weather hadn't taken a nasty turn since today was pretty important.

Eli and Gale had worked out two ceremonies - one at the mass grave and one for the thirteen that had been buried in Portia's cemetery. He could only imagine how rough this day was going to be for Eli; Arlo had never had to bury anyone he personally knew -- both sets of grandparents had already passed on by the time he was born and both his parents were still alive but had relocated from Portia's countryside south to Tallsky for the milder weather. He didn't have a spouse to worry about either since he wasn't married -- he wasn't even sure what to call whatever it was he had with Nora. Were they dating? Were they still deciding that? He had a heart knot hidden in his room but hadn't felt especially driven to deliver it to her yet...he wasn't confident at all that she'd accept it.

Especially now, since the amount of time they'd been spending together had been decreasing since Eli had been found. At first it was out of necessity - he HAD to stand guard at the facility - but once Mali and the Pigs had arrived he hadn't needed to spend as much time out there like before, and had mostly moved back to his usual routine... Nora had been a bit unhappy at the disruption to his schedule in the beginning but even now with it back to normal she hadn't-

No. He didn't need to be worrying over this. Not today.

And besides, he'd be just as upset at Nora's funeral as he would at Sam's, or Remington's, or anyone else in Portia. He didn't need to be married or related to someone to mourn them.

He left his room and, since the cell was right there, checked on their prisoner; the man had still refused to speak beyond hissing and grunting at everyone but had accepted medical attention, food, and water. Currently the man was sitting on a stool facing the back corner of the holding cell and didn't react when Arlo asked how he was feeling today.

Mali had recognized him; he was a wanted criminal in Meidi -- for espionage and three murders. They all were pretty certain they knew who had hired and sent him out here but with his camp in ashes they couldn't pin down just how long he'd been camped out there, and he definitely wasn't offering any answers of his own and hadn't been carrying anything useful or especially incriminating on himself either. Gale had contacted Meidi's representatives in Atara and then had passed making transport arrangements on to Mali since she, Maddie, and Adam would be escorting the man back there to face punishment.

To all appearances it seemed Duvos was wasting no time in investigating the discovery of the facility.

Adam had volunteered to tend to their unexpected guest today so Arlo continued on and headed down to Portia's gates; benches, stools, and spare chairs had all been arranged on the road in a loose semi circle facing the large grave. Most of Portia's residents were already there but few were seated; they were standing in small clusters chatting away, and he didn't see Eli or Gale among them.

Selene and Paulie were standing at the edge of the crowd, both studying something in a notebook Selene held in hand; he walked up and nodded to Paulie who in return clapped a friendly hand to his shoulder but didn't speak as Selene seemed to be on a roll explaining whatever she had sketched out.

"-and after that all we'd need is you to move it all in. Easy enough, right?"

"What're you two planning now?" Arlo asked when Selene paused to take a breath.

"Our builder here is trying to plan out the carpentry and furniture needs for an expansion to the clinic," Paulie answered. "She'll be handling the metalwork, and I'll be handling any woodwork."

"So Xu decided to expand after all?"

Selene nodded as she shut the notebook and tucked it under an arm. "Just this morning. At first he was worried about cost but Gale said Atara had pledged some funds to assist and of course Portia has a general fund for new construction and also a repair budget that Gale can shift money from. Now that he knows it's not coming entirely out of his pocket he's jumping at the chance to work alongside an All Source."

"And what about security measures?" Arlo asked, raising an eyebrow. They'd been worried about that even before they'd found their little Duvos visitor on the cliffs...

The builder huffed at him. "You really think I'd draw up potential building plans and not think about protecting what was inside? I need to double check space requirements with Eli and Stewart before I finalize anything but I've got more than a few ideas on how to keep people out of that building if they're not supposed to be there."

Before he could respond movement drew his attention and he watched as Eli and Gale walked up from the gates and to the edge of the grave, in front of all the chairs and benches. The chatter died down quickly and people moved to find a seat, or else moved out of the way and to the edges of the crowd so they could see without obstructing anyone else's view. Arlo opted to remain standing himself, as did Paulie and Selene; Gale cleared his throat and scanned the crowd. Arlo looked over the group again as well, and it occurred to him that he didn't see Nora or Lee.

He frowned and double checked and yes, neither of them were here. Were they running late? He wanted to give them the benefit of doubt but knowing Lee... The man wasn't typically vindictive or disrespectful, and he hadn't gone out of his way to harass or badmouth Eli that Arlo had noticed (and if Lee had then Eli hadn't mentioned it), but to avoid a funeral felt cruel and spiteful.

With a long sigh Arlo shook his head and returned his attention to Gale.

----------------------------------------------------

Gale had offered a small explanation to the crowd - that she would be conducting the funeral according to her personal religious beliefs. That got her more than a couple curious looks and by the time Gale surrendered the metaphorical floor to her and seated himself with the others she finally settled on what to say here, and how to say it.

She took a deep breath and clasped her hands behind her back; it was old habit to stand at parade rest and it probably wasn't entirely appropriate for a funeral but it was comfortable and familiar and she needed that at the moment.

"Good morning, everyone," she began. "I know that, between my time period and this one, a lot of things were lost. People, history, technology...religion. My religion is called the Foundational Three - named such due to the three guiding forces of Fate, Balance, and Judgement. Fate ensures every person born has a story to tell and that when they pass the cosmos itself remembers them, Balance makes certain that that story isn't too simple or too difficult to bear, and Judgement renders assistance or punishment as needed because sometimes others decide to intervene in stories they haven't been invited to. I tell you this, before I say anything else, because I'd like you all to understand first why I choose to remember these people as I do, and also so there's no sadness when you contemplate lives lost, whether it's those that came before, those that you may have lost in recent memory, or those you know you'll lose naturally in the distant future."

She paused and glanced around to gauge the general feel of the crowd; everyone's attention was on her and she saw mostly intent faces and a few neutral ones that were hard to read.

"Portia, as you know, is built upon Dubei's ruins. And Dubei was my home. It was full of people - full of stories. Millions of them, in fact. I could try to tell those stories but I'd be talking until the heat death of the universe happened, but even then, that really wouldn't matter - it's not my voice that will persist to tell them. That's Fate's duty, and Fate carries out that duty by speaking through the simplest of things: a howling wind, a bubbling river, the rasp of grass fields in a breeze, the drip of water, a sudden spout of laughter, a few quiet tears, the pattern clouds trace across the sky, the endless march of the passing seasons, the light of the stars. In every aspect of existence there is a story and we hear it with conscious and unconscious ears. These stories are in the items left behind, the whispers of legend and folklore, the written word, the spoken traditions, the family gatherings, and of course...when your life is shared with another - your pages entwine with the story of someone else. There are countless ways Fate shares the lives of those before us with those that still remain, and in this way these people are never truly gone from us."

Again she paused, turning to regard the gigantic headstone. It was finely polished marble with a trapezoidal base that joined into a tear drop-esque shape on top. The names were evenly arranged in two columns that then became three that then ended in four, from top to bottom of the tear drop to the trapezoid, and had mirrored images of a flowering tree in bloom curving up either side; Gust had designed it and Eli appreciated its simple elegance.

"None of us knew these people," she went on. "I lived during the same time period and I never met any of them. But I know that, should I choose to listen to the world around me, I will hear their stories echoing. And not just theirs but those of the people that came before them, and then those people that came before that, and then those before that. Fate is the Great Curator, and none of our stories will be lost to time whether we gather to share them or not. Today, I lack the pages to share the specifics with you for these people...but, give it time, and Fate will take care of that for me. Ours are stories that go on forever even if the people can't."

With that she went silent and stood there for a moment; finally she dipped her head and walked away from the front of the crowd and once she'd reached the road those gathered there erupted into dozens of murmured conversations.

"This concludes this remembrance ceremony" she heard Gale announce behind her. "If you all would like to take a moment to warm up some there's coffee and hot chocolate available, for free, at the Round Table. The second ceremony will be in one hour's time in Portia's cemetery."

It took several minutes but at last the crowd began to disperse; Eli stayed where she was at the edge of the sitting area and was surprised when the group seemed to be...queuing up to talk to her. There were a lot of faces she knew, some she only knew by name but hadn't really talked to before today (and she also met the rest of the septuplets finally with them joking about how they'd purposely lined up from oldest to youngest for her convenience). There were also a lot of compliments on her speech and there was a young woman who introduced herself as Alice who was curious about the Three specifically.

And so concluded the easy part. The next one was going to be a lot harder.

Most of the townsfolk moved off to share their coffees and chocolates; Selene, Paulie, Arlo, Remington, and five of the Hulu brothers (the only one she was confident she had the right name for was Dawa, because he was taller than his brothers) stayed behind to cart the benches and chairs up to the graveyard and carefully arrange them around and near the thirteen fresh graves.

"We still have some time," Selene said once they'd gotten everything in place. "Do we want to head down to the Round Table and get a drink?"

"You guys go ahead. I think I'll stay here," Eli replied after a moment.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

The builder woman didn't look convinced but headed off anyway; Paulie and Arlo followed along with her and shortly thereafter the Hulu brothers and Remington went together down the hill as well.

That left her alone with Darren, and her squad.

She edged around the chairs and benches and walked up to Darren's tombstone; Gust had designed all of these too and they all bore various designs of flowering trees, plants, and vines. She'd been shown the designs before the tombstones were made and he'd explained that, having heard that Dubei had had so much plantlife incorporated into its structures, he wanted to embrace that detail and combine it with sweeping shapes and gentle curves and create something memorable as well as beautiful. And looking over their shapes she could see a bit of Dubei in them - everything back then might have been sleek forms, polished metal, and shining glass but you couldn't go five feet without seeing an ornamental tree or flower bed or vines cascading down every building, and he'd perfectly captured that feeling of 'wild and free' combined with modern.

She trailed her fingers over the scalloped top of Darren's stone; it wasn't supposed to have been like this, and immediately following that thought came a pang of guilt -- how selfish of her, to be wishing the roles were reversed and that HE was the one dealing with the emotional turmoil while she rested peacefully under the soil.

That particular train of thought was disrupted by the sounds of footsteps coming up the hill behind her. As she turned her hand fell away from the tombstone and after a breath she stuck both hands into her pockets; Arlo, Selene, and Asher were walking up the hill with steaming mugs in hand, and she noted Arlo was carrying two of them.

As she was expecting that second mug was for her; from the smell it was a hot chocolate and there was a rapidly melting dollop of cream on top. "Thanks."

"Thought you could use it," was Arlo's reply. His mug looked untouched but he did take a sip after she'd accepted the other one from him. "We still have about a half hour."

Eli nodded and took a tentative sip of the hot chocolate; true to its name it was VERY hot but in that brief moment between her tongue registering flavor and then being torched by the scalding liquid it was a very rich taste and the cream was only semi-sweet - not like the stuff she was used to. She couldn't tell if it was Asher or Selene who had the coffee but it was very fragrant.

"Any confirmations from Mali yet?" Eli asked.

Asher shook his head. "Not yet. She's coordinating with Meidi still -- they've been having more, and worse, winter storms than usual lately and all the places she could land the plane are buried under almost a foot of ice and snow. When the word comes that they've cleared a spot for her to land she's going to have to drop everything and leave."

She took another careful sip from her mug (it didn't burn as badly this time but that also might be because the first one had killed all sensation in her tongue). Over their shoulders she could see a few people heading toward them; at their head and moving considerably faster than everyone else, was Toby.

Seeing the kid reminded her of the agreement she'd made, and then of Asher's request. Considering they'd caught one spy...

"Have you mentioned to anyone else yet that you want to learn some ranger techniques?" she asked, looking between Arlo and Asher.

"Not yet but I bet Sam and Remington would like to join in," Arlo answered.

"I did but the others aren't sure they could rearrange their schedules yet," Asher said. He gestured in the general direction of the Civil Corps building. "I know Adam mentioned he'd like to make it happen. Both Greg and Maddie are married with kids -- uh, not to each other, but still, they can't just drop everything and stay here longer than planned."

"Understood. The reason I ask is, with the discovery of our friend up on the bluffs, I don't think it'd be wise to wait a couple months until I'm in top shape."

Asher looked to her curiously. "So you want to start early?"

She nodded. "VERY early. I was thinking tomorrow morning -- I can get back in shape while also dragging the rest of you up to my level."

Asher's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "Oh, uh. All right. Guess I should've opted for less sugar in this then..." He peered into his mug, nose wrinkling.

"Hi Eli!" came Toby's yell then; he rushed up beside them and bounced on the balls of his feet near her elbow.

"Hey kid. How'd the math test go?"

Toby scrunched up his face. "It - it was fine. I did ok. I don't like math."

"Not many do but it's pretty important to learn. Just do your best and ask for help where you need it. Nothing wrong with asking for help," Eli said, nodding down at him.

The scrunched up look relaxed into a happier one and Eli moved her mug to her opposite hand so the excitable boy wouldn't accidentally jostle it. Moving up the hill behind the kid was a larger group than Eli had initially thought - from where she stood her view was partially blocked - and she steeled herself for the next part. It would be a longer ceremony, and more difficult to get through.

It was easy to say there shouldn't be any sadness in remembering the lost. It was an entirely different thing to try and cling to.

#Lost in Time #lit #Lost in Time - ch 11 #Arlo #Builder #Flying Pigs #Toby #Paulie #Duvos #My Time at Portia

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dividedwerisetogetherwefall · 7 years ago

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Chapter 10: Waiting Room

To Thae’s surprise, the training room which hid behind the firm metal door was no more, and instead was replaced by a small waiting room. Pandu and Thae hurried to get inside, and he practically threw Thae into the room before getting in the room himself. Thae crashed into a row of uncomfortable, small plastic chairs with no cushioning, sending them flying in multiple directions as Pandu sprinted into the room and nearly ran Thae over. The second he made it into the room, the metal door behind them slammed shut, and the sounds of multiple locks engaging echoed in the small room. The rest of the members were seated in the uncomfortable plastic chairs on the other side of the room, and stared at Thae and Pandu with concern. Thae stared back at them, and groaned as he got back onto his feet. Pandu panted heavily and wiped the sweat off his forehead. They both found a seat, and sat down. Pandu looked around the room excitedly, never keeping his focus on one thing for too long, while Thae examined the room closely. It was just like a doctor’s office waiting room. The walls were lined with tiny uncomfortable plastic chairs without cushioning, an empty fish tank occupied the top right corner of the room, and the floor was made of cold, hard porcelain tiling. The walls were painted a relaxing shade of turquoise, and light purple fluorescent lights hung from the ceiling, which radiated soft, colored light. After analyzing the room, Thae began eyeing the other members of Team NP one by one, reading their facial expressions, body posture, and involuntary mannerisms like a library book. Ponyhidden was lying down across three chairs, with his hood on, snoring softly. Noodles and Carson sat upright, staring at a spot in the wall with so much concentration they could burns holes through the wall by sheer willpower alone. Onett was staring at the ground, hunched over with his elbows on his knees, holding prayer hands by his mouth, with a blank expression on his face. Freddy was playing with his collar with his back against the chair, and his feet- Thae’s train of thought halted to a screeching stop when the metal door in front of him suddenly opened and Chsn came out, wearing her usual police officer uniform, sunglasses, and cap. She stared at everyone in the room, with flinty eyes hidden behind her dark shades. She cracked a small smile and began to speak, with her somewhat baritone voice. “Hello members of Team NP. As you probably already know, my name is Chsn, and I’m the head of the defense department around here. It's a pleasure to meet you all again.” She paused and gave Pandu a cold stare for a few seconds, which Pandu responded to with a stare of his own. Chsn cleared her throat, fixed her cap and sunglasses, then continued her speech. “I’m sure you’re all expecting today is the beginning of your group training, correct me if I'm wrong.” Chsn paused for a second to give everyone the death stare, as if she was challenging them to try and oppose her. “Today will not be your first group training day, but rather a weapon distribution day. So with that said, please be good little boys and girls while you wait for your turn, okay? Thank you.” She pulled out a notepad and pen, which were attached to her belt and began vigorously flipping through the pages, until she reached her desired destination. She stopped flipping, looked up, then looked back down on her paper. She pointed at Pandu and said, “You’re up first kid, follow me.” Pandu slowly got up from his seat and strolled across the floor to the door, as he mumbled, “Okay.” Chsn held the metal door located on the other side of the room open for Pandu, waited for him to enter, then delicately closed the door and locked it shut. The instant the door closed, chatter filled the room, until it enveloped the room like a thick smoke. “Man I wonder what weapon I’m gonna get!” Yolk told Thae excitedly. “Maybe a mace, or a claymore or a…. a gun sword!” Stars filled yolk’s eyes as he thought of wielding a gun sword and doing stupidly awesome lunges and feints like an anime character. Ultra, who was sitting two seats away from him, rolled his eyes and mumbled, “Wow what a weeb.” Yolk gave Ultra the evil eye then disengaged. Thae tuned into another conversation which was taking place several seats away from him. “I simply cannot contain my excitement for an event such as this.” Said Carson with monotone excitement. He was talking to nobody except himself. “Hooray. Hooray. Yay.” His face was completely neutral as he did laps around the waiting room with his arms held high, like he just finished a marathon. Thae smiled in his seat as he thought of which weapon he would receive. He began to daydream as he subconsciously tuned into the side conversations the others were having. “I wonder which weapon I'll get. Maybe I'll get something that's a crossover of medieval and modern.” Thae thought. “That would be cool.” “Man I wonder what weapon I’ll get. Not a lot of weapons are built to be used to creatures without opposable thumbs, ya know what I'm sayin?” Ponyhidden told Noodles. Noodles wore his usual stoic face, and nodded solemnly as if Pony just explained to him the meaning of life, the universe and everything. “Hmmmm, Pony does bring up a good point. I don't have opposable thumbs. That could pose a threat to my pool of possible weapon choices.” “A’ight sorry Yolk, that was uncalled for.” Ultra said sheepishly. “Nah it's cool man.” Yolk said. “Okay cool.” “Man I wonder what Pandu’s weapon is. Probably something really cool. Maybe it's a gun sword or something.” “Ya know, gun swords are really awesome.” Ultra said with his thick New York accent. “Weeb.” Yolk said jokingly. “Shut it, my friend.” Ultra said as he hit Yolk playfully. Thae resumed his thinking session. “Man I really regret not keeping up to date on the news and stuff. I know absolutely nothing about all the new military technology that's being developed.” “I want explosives and go boom!” Lex screamed excitedly at Freddy. “I go boom! Big boom!” He extended his arms out and high to represent an explosion. He proceeded to repeated yell out,”boom” as he crescendoed louder and louder until he couldn't get any louder Freddy gave Lex a judging look as he gave him a slow nod. After Lex finished screaming, he asked Freddy, “So what weapon do you want?” “I dunno man. I haven't the slightest clue of what I want to get, you feel meh?” Freddy replied. “I see.” Lex replied. The chatter in the room quickly died down as people ran out of things to talk to, and they began to grow sick of each other. Slowly one by one, they were chosen by Chsn, and taken to whatever paradise lies behind the large metal door. “Carson, follow me.” “Yes. Okay.” Carson replies. Thae lied down on the ground, bored out of his mind, and stared at the ceiling lights, which flickered spontaneously. He listened to the others get called as he continued to lay on the ground, waiting to get picked. The room is dead silent. “Lex, you’re up next.” “Okay.” Lex replies. Thae gets up from the ground to see who was still left to be picked. He spotted Pony curled up into a ball, sleeping on top of the chairs with his dirty green hoodie on. Yolk was lying face down into the plastic chairs. The passing seconds felt like passing hours, as the ticking and tocking of the wall clock almost drove Thae to insanity. After few minutes, which felt like an hours, Chsn opened the door once more and said, “Yolk you’re next.” He groaned as he got up slowly from his slumber, got onto his feet and followed Chsn. Another eternity later, she comes back. “Pony you’re next.” Thae was all alone now. Nothing to keep him entertained, no one to keep him company. The clock continued to tick obnoxiously, as if it were taunting Thae. His eyes lock onto the clock and watch the second hand slowly move round and round. To entertain himself, Thae began to think of random philosophical thoughts to dwell on. “That clock is just a merry go round of life. Ever so majestic as it constantly moves, never stopping for anything. Although it may seem as if time is faster or slower, time stops for no one, but rather we stop for time. Man maybe this waiting room is what the afterlife is like. Maybe this is what being in limbo feels like. Going nowhere, doing nothing, just waiting. No way it’s like that. This must be hell. Eternal boredom, eternal dissatisfaction. Motivation to do nothing, except get out. Sure I’ll get out of here one of these days, but maybe hell is just like this but you never get out. I wonder if robot horses dream of robotic sheep. That’s a fun thou-” The slamming of the door against the wall snapped Thae out of his session of deep, pointless thought. Chsn knew Thae knew what was up, so she simply waved him over, and he followed obediently. Thae reached the doorway and peeked through it as he made his way towards Chsn, who was opening the door open for him. It was just a regular old hallway. Linoleum floor tiles, fluorescent lights, and beige walls. Thae stepped onto the Linoleum and Chsn closed the door behind them. They silently walked down the hallway to the steel door ahead of them, which Chsn hurried to reach first to open for Thae. With a quick swipe of a keycard, the door slowly opened, and Thae exited the waiting room.

#redwarfare #short story

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