“Whoa, what is all this stuff”, I was impressed.
“There are just a few things we need to help us on our journey. Stay here, don’t move, don’t touch anything, I won’t be long”.
Of course I wanted to touch everything. This stuff looked awesome. I couldn’t imagine what half of it did, some of the things I could see from where I was sitting didn’t even look like they had controls, buttons, handles or anything. Just smooth ball shaped objects that looked like they could fit into the palm of my hand. I was engrossed watching Axel methodically deposit stuff into the two backpacks he was carrying. He definitely knew what he wanted and were to find it.
I noticed Axel looking at his watch for want of a better word and purposely looked my way. “Let’s go” is all he said and then we were leaving the library. Part of me wanted to stay here and explore, this is the part of me that began to collapse under the enormity of what was happening, what was about to happen.
“Am I ever going to see this place again”? Axel looked at me sadly. His expressive face was beginning to unnerve me.
“I hope so Lily, this is your home and your legacy but right now, I just don’t know what the future holds”. Great, now he decides honesty is best.
Axel practically ran out of the lift. “I’ve already hidden most of our belongings outside, I’m going to add this to the pile, no one can see us leaving with bags. Check the cottage once more, make sure we haven’t left anything behind and then meet me out front. It’s time to go”.
There wasn’t anything I was really attached to in the house. Just a photo I’d had since I was ten of me and Axel sitting on our cottage steps, his blue eyes twinkling, a big gleaming smile. It was the last time I had ever seen him look at me like that. I started for the front of the library by way of the kitchen. I couldn’t help myself, I had to see Maisy one last time.
I stopped at the door “Any treats for me Maisy”, this was our daily ritual. She came over with a towel holding two pies filled with something very yummy smelling.
“Here you go sweetie, just out of the oven”.
I hadn’t realised I’d done it until it was too late, I was hugging her, tight. “Oh my, what’s got into you Lily, they’re the same pies you’ve had a million times” she giggled.
“I know” I said, “I really love your pies, it’s exactly what I wanted”.
“Be back here at six” Maisy said as I started for the door “you’re helping me with dinner tonight”.
“Will do” I said. I had my back to her, if she saw my face she would know something was wrong because I had no capacity for holding my tears back any more. “See you then Maisy, thanks for the pies.”
And that was that. In only a few moments I was going to the leave the Library forever.
Chapter 10
The Beast
Only three Esperanzi and two palace guards made it out of Magic Man’s house. After Wolf took his life, after the initial shock it was a free for all. All hands on deck made for retreat and any man or beast in the way was cut down. The pack leader and Gordon were the only ones that remained calm in the melee. The pack leader was distracted for only a moment while he was taking blood and tissue samples from Wolf. It took him a second to register the muzzle of a gun at his head. He looked up the barrel of the gun to find the man named Gordon smiling back at him.
“He’s one of ours, the body belongs to us. Run along now back to your masters, tell them how you failed, and tell them that we in this story have the upper hand”. With this he cocked the gun, ready for the next move.
The pack leader wasn’t stupid. He understood the choice he had to make and joined his remaining pack in retreat. He was pissed but he also had the samples. He didn’t question whether this would console his superiors or not, he just knew he had to return with something. The pack regrouped outside the house and ran through the quiet, night time suburban streets. They needed to find refuge for the night, lick their wounds, contact head office. The pack leader needed to make his report.
An hour of running led them into dense woodland, a narrow running creek and a now empty cave would serve as their cover for this night. All the Esperanzi were equipped with medical kits and a working knowledge of first aid. None were seriously injured, cuts and bruises and a ripped ear for one member. The pack leader was unharmed, he had avoided battle by going after Wolf. He sat and gathered his thoughts. Angry was the emotion he was feeling, something he was beginning to feel all the time. He hadn’t anticipated any adversity, he hadn’t been told the Palace were tracking them. Was this deliberate or were Gentech unaware.
The pack leader knew his best defence with Gentech was the appearance of blind stupidity. It’s something he cultivated amongst his pack. The humans thought they were stupid, even though exercises such as retrievals were difficult and dangerous requiring smarts that the humans still didn’t quite understand these creatures possessed. They believed the Esperanzi were no more than blood hounds with special skills. They believed the Esperanzi were only as good as they were because of the technology they were trained to use. Wrong. The Esperanzi had grown intelligent enough to assess, plan and assault a target. They were smart, instinctive, vicious and egotistical. The pack leader’s feelings were hurt. He did not complete his assignment and he was ready to make someone pay. He prayed his next target would be the one the humans called Gordon. An instinctive growl rose out of the leader’s throat whenever he pictured this human. Specifically the picture of Gordon smiling down at him as if he’d just discovered a fascinating relic at the museum. The leader was already creating new and wonderful ways of making this human suffer. Another growl as his thoughts were interrupted by the incessant beeping of his watch. The secure communication satellite was above them now. It was time to make his report. The pack leader put on his stupid face and dialled in.
The Esperanzi’s brain- the part that connected images and memories- had been fitted with a communications microchip. Their vocal anatomical structures were such that they could only make short syllable guttural sounding words. One could not simply chat with an Esperanzi over coffee. Instead the chip allowed the beast to access certain memories and relay the pictures back through the satellite system to its recipient. Something like the multimedia messaging service smart phones use, just a little more detailed and fancier. This is how the leader gave his report. He replayed the whole event all the way to Gordon taking ownership of Wolf’s body.
There was a great deal of shouting on the other end of the communicator. The Esperanzi may not be able to use their words properly, they did however have no problem understanding what was being said to them. Gordon’s appearance came as a great shock, shouts of ‘why is he there’, ‘how did he know’, ‘we were told the Palace didn’t know about Wolf’. So they didn’t know the Palace was tracking his pack. This amused the pack leader, it wasn’t often the board where taken by surprise.
The board wasn’t happy. They wanted Wolf’s body and there was a lot of arguing due to the fact that they would not receive it, alive or dead. The pack leader felt like slapping his forehead to show his frustration at the not so awe inspiring humans. He once again showed them the samples he had taken, interrupting their screaming matches. Only one of the board members had quietened down, only she began to understand what she was seeing.
“Stop, everyone, stop talking. Look. It’s got a sample of blood and tissue. We haven’t lost everything. So he can’t tell us where his daughter is but we may be able to track her through their common DNA”.
The rest of the board quietened down, some by now where feeling a little simple for not recognising this. Really that’s all they needed. Some common DNA and the Esperanzi could track her down using their Gene Trackers.
“Return to this facility immediately, no rest, no delay. We must have that sample before it becomes compromised”.
The sample of course would not be compromised
. It was stored in a small chamber of the collector, temperature at four degrees Celsius and all air sucked out creating a vacuum environment. The leader knew this, the leader knew he and his remaining pack could rest for the night, he also knew the board didn’t care. All they cared about was the sample. Douche bags, is what he didn’t think in case a picture of his feelings for them came up on the screen. He continued the simpleton act until they were offline.
The rest of the pack had heard the orders. Enough of their guttural sounds could be understood to know they were not happy and they all shared images doing pretty much the same things to the board members. The Esperanzi didn’t like humans. That’s what made them good hunters, they enjoyed the ruthlessness they were allowed to display during their hunts.
Each Esperanzi had nutrient pills in their bracelets, one quick swallow and they were on their way back. They would run cloaked all the way back to Gentech where they would be given the once over by the medical team before being sent out again. And once again, the pack leader would find himself with new pack members. This meant re-initiating and training new members and he hated doing that. He was not having a great day.
Chapter 11
Lily
We had been driving silently for about an hour. I didn’t even know Axel had a car, more lies. At this point I believed that whatever happened from now on I couldn’t possibly be any more surprised. I didn’t even ask where we were going, I was just all questioned out. Axel said that we would be on the road for about four hours before we reached our destination. Great, thank goodness for my iPod, a very thoughtful gift from Maisy on my fifteenth birthday. I could just pretend that everything was just peachy while I tuned out of the distressing conversation taking place in my head.
I had noticed Axel looking at me several times. I guess he was looking for some sign as to what I was feeling and thinking. I was wrong. Eventually he removed my earphone and said “are those things just for looks or do we get to eat them”. He was referring to the pies I had sitting on my lap. I couldn’t bear to part with them let alone eat them. “Sure” I said “if you want” eventually giving in to Axels white flag.
He looked more exhausted than I’d expected. Since we left the Library I had avoided any form of eye or verbal contact with him. I was overwhelmed, yet the lines on his face, the weariness managed to surprise me, just when I thought nothing more could. We stopped at a truck stop on the side of the road. Two hours to go and we were losing light. The pies were delicious, as always. I felt guilty eating them as if I was betraying Maisy. She would be looking for me now it was already 6.30pm. Soon someone would raise the alarm, first Maisy would notice I was gone and then they would realise that no-one had seen Axel all day. I guess we were officially on the run.
“Believe it or not Lily, I understand why you don’t want to talk but it’s unsettling me a little, this quietness from you. I usually have to scold you into silence”.
He startled me as he spoke and I dropped my water bottle. I just stood there watching the water spill out of the bottle, forming a small river on the dirt ground heading away from the car. Startled again as I felt Axel’s arms wrapping around me. They were so warm, so strong, so comforting and it was my undoing. I sobbed like a baby. I don’t know for how long, Axel picked me up after a while “we have to get going” he whispered, softly, sadly, and placed me back into the front seat of the car.
He placed a kiss on my forehead. I remember touching that spot with my fingertips. I don’t remember Axel ever doing something like that. I could feel his amusement, he knew I wasn’t coping well with his change in overt affection. This was a whole new world.
“A little longer Lily and we’ll be safe. We both need to sleep and tomorrow we can start making our plans”. That was the last thing I remembered before I felt Axel’s hand on my shoulder, shaking it to wake me up.
“We’re here. Help me with this gear, we’re going to have to camouflage the car”, which he did, with a piece of fabric that when placed over the car looked exactly like the forest around us.
“It’s a blend of synthetic materials that bends the surrounding light, something like a hologram, it camouflages anything to look like its surroundings”, a cloak of invisibility, awesome. I would have been so much more impressed if I wasn’t so scared and tired.
We had to trek up the side of the mountain and through this incredibly narrow passage way. I couldn’t see it, I just followed Axel’s exact steps. It’s a path that couldn’t be seen from our point of origin. I had to file it away for future questions. We eventually walked into what looked like a sanctuary, old definitely, musty, not really, well lit, yes. There were clear quartz crystal formations in certain places that allowed the light to penetrate into this oversized cavern. No bats, just a little dust, some spider webs and us.
“I found this place by accident when I was looking through some of the ancestor’s books. It’s an observatory of some kind. I’ve only been here once before, to check it out, use it as a safe haven if we needed it. So here we are”. I was too tired to really appreciate what Axel was saying, he led me to what looked like a bench, set up the sleeping bag and I lay down. Simply, quickly and I think I was asleep before my head hit the makeshift pillow.
Chapter 12
Jason
They had met in the library soon after Wolf came to the Palace. Jason had heard rumours about this man of course and after several weeks in his presence he began to feel how unfair the ‘unhinged’ rumours had been. Jason was always in the library, nose in book reading everything he could possibly get his hands on. Wolf escaped to the library, whenever he could.
It was later that Jason discovered the library helped Wolf feel closer to his daughter, metaphysically speaking that is. Occasionally they would nod in acknowledgment of each other’s presence, occasionally a pleasantry would be exchanged. Jason came to find Wolfs presence in the library comforting, the consistency of it made Jason believe that all was ok with the world. First contact came when Wolf had collapsed one day, grief stricken.
He had tried to comfort Wolf on that day. Wolf forever distant tried to persuade him that all was ok. He couldn’t though, his grief was all too real. It was the day of his daughter’s birthday Jason had come to learn two years later. That’s how long it had taken Wolf to come to trust Jason. To confess the truth or release a burden, Jason was never sure which. It was a huge secret, one that Wolf had considered carefully before trusting it to Jason.
Wolf wasn’t entirely sure why he had entrusted this secret to one boy when he had lied to the entire Palace, maybe he understood that with his death his daughter would be vulnerable and he needed to know there was a way out for her. Maybe it was the earnest way Jason sat and devoured any printed word. Maybe it was Jason’s disregard for Palace authority always questioning, always being reprimanded, occasionally being punished for not towing the party line.
Maybe Jason saw in Wolf the exact same thing and came to trust this man in an institute where he had learned at too young an age that trust is a gift carefully given and received, Wolfs trust in Jason was just as precious as giving Wolf his own. Whatever it was, Wolfs trust was well placed. Jason knew about Wolf’s daughter, he promised Wolf he would look for her, care for her, protect her if anything had ever happened to Wolf.
He wasn’t sure why he was receiving these dreams. He knew his extra base pair enhanced all of his senses, he knew many of the Travellers could do some really scary stuff with their minds but he had never been one to apply himself to that type of training, relying instead on his instincts, his very finely tuned instincts that were now screaming at him to get himself ready to leave the Palace. He had a bonnafied mission on his hands.
He knew Wolf was dead. He knew Wolf had sacrificed himself, he had seen the whole thing in his dream. Maybe it was a telepathic projection, maybe Wolf meant it, maybe it was their emotional connection. It probably didn’t matter now
. All that mattered was making sure Wolf’s daughter was safe.
There is something Jason never told Wolf. Last year Jason did something that would have severed all connection with Wolf had he found out. The Palace students were encouraged to take a field trip every year and live among the humans for a month at a time. Learn to blend, become one with them and understand the differences between the humans and the Travellers.
It was Jason’s second month out, he had a set assignment and coincidence or not it was living in a city a short distance from the Library. So of course, the logical thing to do was to find his way there and take a look. It would help, he argued that if he ever needed to lend his aid, that he should know what she looked like. Nothing of course to do with the fact that he was 18 years old and thought a lot about girls.
He didn’t immediately see the Library, it was his magic watch as he fondly thought of it that alerted him to alien tech in the vicinity. So he definitely had the right place, although going to visit undetected was going to be difficult. If he was to do anything to the cloaked Library he would alert its inhabitants to his presence.
His solution wasn’t long in forming. In fact there wasn’t much he had to do at all. There was someone coming out of the warehouse building and without giving it too much thought, Jason pressed his magic invisible cloak button and ran through the open door. If he had been detected then no-one was responding. Of course, Jason always had his magic watch on high and immediate alert when he was in human land- paranoid to every degree, he fleetingly wondered if maybe whoever walked out, cloaked themselves and therefore didn’t worry about high alerts.
It took him several attempts to find the door that revealed what was behind the cloak. This did not look like his library. This was something different, something older and overwhelmingly awesome in such a way that he just wanted to sit in it and read for the rest of his life. Everywhere he looked books, parchments, scrolls, old things, new things and right there in the middle of this room sitting at an old wooden desk, feet tucked under her legs, absorbed in a book was one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen. She was actually smiling, reading and smiling. Wait, was that butterflies he felt in his stomach.