FORTY-TWO: Be Safe
The news that the System was down hit the Artonans hard. The man, in particular, kept asking Alden questions like he thought maybe Alden had misunderstood the first half dozen.
Alden plumbed the depths of his vocabulary to find new ways to express the Systems complete absence. Its not here, he said insistently. Goodbye, Contract. No Contract on the moon. I cant see words in my eyes.
His toddler talk would have been funny if the situation wasnt so dire. Thenn-ar finally said something snippy to the guy when he wouldnt leave Alden alone, and he made a surprisingly alien-sounding cry of rage. The only time Alden had ever heard an Artonan make such a noise was when Joe had introduced himself to Sophie in something approximating actual griveckcry.
The man stomped off into one of the offices and slammed the door behind him. A moment later, the crash and clatter of things smashing into the walls could be heard.
Thenn-ar sighed and walked over to look at the map. Alden followed her like a duckling.
He had so many questions. He hated to bother her, but he couldnt stand the lack of information. He sorted through his numerous urgent queries, trying to pick ones he could ask that would have simple enough answers.
Well, the map page was up. Hed start with questions that involved location.
Where are we?
Thenn-ar gave him a nod and zoomed in the map with a circular motion of her fingers. Alden watched closely. Probably it was pointless to memorize Artonan touchscreen gestures, but he would try to collect every scrap of information he could.
Elepta is here, she said, pointing at a dot on the center of the map, right where Alden had expected her to. It was in the middle of the glowing red circle of evil, as hed feared.
He really wished he knew the words for chaos or demon. It would make all the things hed guessed up until now easier to confirm.
Instead, he asked, Where is Worli Ro-dens house?
He was hoping to get a sense of the problems scale.
Here, Thenn-ar said, tapping on another dot in the direction Alden decided to think of as East. It was about a third the distance from the center to the edge of the red zone. This is the .
That last word must have been laboratory.
Is the laboratory safe? He did his best to get the new term right.
Thenn-ar answered at length, then paused when she saw the blank expression on his face. More safe, she said slowly. But it isnt safe.
Can we go there?
More words Alden didnt understand. Her tone sounded like a shrug, for whatever that was worth.
We are not safe here and we are not safe there? he suggested. Both same bad?
Yes, that was right. He could tell from her expression.
Where is safe?
Nowhere, she said.
Where? Alden insisted. He at least wanted something, just for his own sanity.
She zoomed the map out again by making the opposite circular motion and stared at it for a while. She went through the forecast screens that showed the problem growing. For too many days.
Finally, she pointed at a mark far, far to the west. Here, she said. Its safe for you . Maybe.
It was too far to walk. And those missing words were pretty important. For me?
Not now, she said. When - - -. Then it will be safe for Avowed. If .
Alden fully understood the urge to go hide in an office and break things.
Please, he said. How do we be safe? Again?
Please dont give up on me. Please keep repeating it until I get it. I know it must be annoying, but its important. And Im trying. I swear.
To his surprise and utter gratitude, she kept trying. Slowly, slowly he pieced together an answer and an understanding of what was happening.
Is it better to write the words? she asked at one point.
Alden shook his head. The written language was harder than the spoken. Talking is better.
She went on. He watched avidly as she swiped through the screen, using pictures when words wouldnt do. They moved out of the way of demon bugs a couple of times. Alden was almost willing to try his luck at soaking the damage from one of them with his preserved putty ball when it floated near the television.
He wasnt sure if it was worth the risk. It would be bad if he just collapsed into a placid heap from overusing his skill like he had that time he tried to carry the shrieky bowl. But he really wanted the screen to keep working. Because what Thenn-ar was trying to get across to him would have been hard for him to understand even if shed been explaining it in English.
The red zone would grow and grow for many days. The number was so uncertain, that Thenn-ar would not give it to him. But at some point beyond the scope of the forecast, it would begin to shrink again.
Big then small?
Thenn-ar nodded.
It would start getting smaller when ships came. Thenn-ar conveyed this with lots of pictures of spaceships.
Ships from the other side of the moon? Alden asked. The half that was supposedly less chaos-stricken would send aid, wouldnt they?
But she shook her head. From the Mother.
All the way from Artona I? Yes, they were in the same solar system. Or so hed been told. But why wait for help from another planet?Joe had said spaceships were in short supply out here, but surelyoh, maybe Im not thinking about it right.
The red place is too bad for the other side of the moon to help here? he guessed.
She nodded.
Wizards come to help?
A pause, as if she had to think about it for a while, then another nod. Maybe Alden didnt have the story exactly right, but he was in the right general ballpark.
Their reaction to the news that the System had vanished was so dramatic compared to their reaction when hed first told them it was malfunctioning. A buggy System must have been within the realm of their expectations, but a missing one was far, far outside it.
Andno System meant no teleporting. For almost everyone, as far as he understood it. The Artonans could do it, but it seemed to be something of a rarity. Even Joe had said non-System transport was hard to come by, so maybe it was only the truly elite who were capable of it. And if regular people couldnt even use Systemteleportation on Moon Thegund, then it must be a hard place to get to.
So. The people who were qualified to fix a problem of this magnitude were probably big badass wizards who did not live on a backwater like Moon Thegund. And if they couldnt teleport in, theyd have to come by ship.
The red place is big, then the wizards come help, then the red place is more small, then here is safe?
He was sort of right, judging by her expression. But not totally.
She kept explaining. Shed been snappy and all business nearly every time Alden had seen her. Always the leader, totally on top of things. But she was so patient with him now, he wanted to hug her for it.
For many days the chaos zone would grow because there was nobody on Moon Thegund capable of stopping it. Eventually, the ships would come, and it would start to shrink. Thenn-ar thought the ships would arrive at the location to the west she had pointed out on the map.
Then after many, many, many days the red zone would finally go away. There would be no true safety until then.
This was hard for Alden to comprehend. Not literally but in every other way.
He kept asking broken questions, and she never once refused to answer.
More and more of these? Alden asked, gesturing to the demon bugs in the break room. One of the fast ones had just punched through a wall. Frankly, Alden was surprised he, Thenn-ar and the television were all still unharmed.
Are they just going to keep coming, until the entire world is made of them?
At this point, Alden rather expected the answer to be yes. But slowly the scientist got across a different idea. There would be more and more of the demon bugs, until there were two or three times as many as there were now, and then eventually there wouldnt be many at all.
They go? Alden asked hopefully. Before the ships come?
Yes. They would go. Only that wasnt the end of the problem.
Thenn-ar showed Alden a spatter mark where one had hit the wall, and she mimed inhaling dramatically. Because hed had the fear himself, Alden understood what she was getting at. But it still horrified him so much he didnt know what to ask next.
The demons were going to eventually all disperse or alter from bumping into things, and then everyone would be walking through an atmosphere full of whatever they were made of, getting it on their skin and breathing it in?
Alden imagined his lungs turning into something that looked like the injured womans leg. And he almost puked at the thought. What an unfathomably gruesome way to go.
Wellnow there was only one question left to ask. And he couldnt hold it back anymore even though he wanted to.
We are dead before the ships come?
He hadnt moved for a while, so his preservation had faded. He was gripping the stupid putty ball so tight hed crushed it, and he could feel the tiny piece of Stuarts bone in the center.
Yes, Thenn-ar said, her voice cracking a little. We will die.
Me also? Alden was right on the edge of sobbing. His self-control was shot.
Maybe not. Maybe an Avowed can live, she said. Then, after a moments hesitation, she added, And -.
That sounded like a name.
Kibby?
Thenn-ar nodded. The girl you gave the to.
The word wasnt Ryeh-bt, so it must have been whistle or toys. The older girl.
The big girl is Kibby? It wasnt quite the right pronunciation. It was probably better pronounced K-bee or Ky-be or something, but hed take what shortcuts he could at the moment.
In the laboratory. Maybe. Al-den and Kibby can live. Its only a small -. If the ships come with many _____ and they are fast. - - but I think its possible.
She touched his shoulder softly with one of her injured hands. It had to hurt. Maybe she just didnt care any more.
Im sorry, she said. We - you and Kibby to the laboratory in the father. But we didnt understand the problem - until we saw this and you told us about the Contract.
Was she apologizing for not sending him to the lab with the girls and their father? Or maybe for not sending him instead of the father?
The only thing Alden could imagine that would make the situation even harder than it was now would be if he was placed in charge of two small children he couldnt speak to, without a single adult around to explain what was happening.
Will you go there? Thenn-ar asked.
Alden was surprised. To the lab?
Why was she asking? He was almost positive shed just told him his only chance of survival was there.
Yes? he said. If the lab is more safe, Ill go there.
Lets talk more, she replied, flicking through the screen. Before the - is gone.
Shouldnt we check on the others?
Alden realized it had been a long time since hed heard crashing sounds from the office the man had disappeared into, and the woman in coveralls hadnt spoken up in a while. He turned around, and the sight that greeted him made him shout and stumble back into the wall.
Thenn-ar followed his gaze. She looked sad but not surprised.
Its better to die fast, she said, staring at the body of the womanher friend. Alden didnt know if she had failed to dodge one of the demons, and it had killed her. Or if shed died from the original wound, and then others had struck her body.
Parts of her flesh were strangely morphedperson, plant, rot, emptiness.
The guy! Alden said, dropping into English again accidentally. We have to check on him. What if hes
We should talk more, Thenn-ar said. You have to go soon.
Aldens heart was loud in his ears. If the other scientist was still alive, wouldnt he have come at the sound of me shouting?
He tried to focus on everything Thenn-ar was telling him, but it was harder than it had been.
This is happening. This is really, really happening to me. And nobody is coming to save me for a long time, and I cant do much at all to save myself.
He just kept dodging the tiny demons. His skin crawled. He wondered if it was his imagination, or if it was the chaos residue growing thicker in the atmosphere.
Eventually, the television took a hit, and his lessons with Thenn-ar ended.
Shed been teaching him about day and night. Night would come, but not for a long time. A month or so. He was lucky.
So lucky.
With the television gone, Thenn-ar took him outside to show him the ground. They walked along the road for a while until they came to a place where the dirt looked strangely sandy. She prodded it with one of the white sprinkler sticks Elepta farm used for irrigation, and Alden watched as the ground caved in around a small depression.
There will be more of this, she said, pointing at it. She was still taking great pains to speak slowly, so that he could get it all. Lots of this will be everywhere soon.
Yes, Alden said robotically.
Hed been stuck on yes or no for a while now. One for when he understood, one for when he didnt. Everything was so awful that hed actually run out of questions, and hed just started inputting the things Thenn-ar seemed to think he would need.
The Artonan woman coughed, and a fine mist of blood spattered the dirt.
You should go to the lab now, she said, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. She gave him a smile. Be safe.
Oh, its funny, he realized, looking at her face. Shes being funny because I keep using the word safe for everything. I should smile back.
He managed it okay. He hoped.
Thank you for coming, Avowed Al-den, she said. Instead of standing up from her crouch, she sat down on the road.
Get up, he thought. Please get up. Dont leave me all alone here.
We thought nobody would come for months, but you came now. Many more of my friends would be dead - -. Im sorry - so soon. We thought we had more time.
Youre welcome, Alden croaked.
Tell Ro - . She shook her head. He always. -.
Alden couldnt decipher the words of the message for Joe. But it seemed unkind to tell her that.
I will tell him.
You should go now, she said again. Be safe.
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