Chapter 3
Will felt his legs give way as he tumbled through undergrowth and twisted vines snaking at his boots. His body was not adapted to the woods like the Tree-Folk. Finally he could hear the battle no longer.
He fell down face-first in a puddle of muddy water, and knew he was near a river. He was thirsty. He kept walking till he found a small stream, where he drank. The water was salty and smelt of urine, but it was refreshing. Will sat down, removed his shirt, and then remembered that Cuthbert was dead. Cuthbert was gone. Will cried again, although "wept" would be a better description. He cried because he knew Cuthbert wasn't coming back. He knew Cuthbert would no longer wake him up in the morning and give him a cup of coffee with some cinnamon and whipped-cream on the top just the way he liked it. He knew Cuthbert wouldn't be singing an annoying song to him to cheer him up when he was down. He knew Cuthbert would never be there again to race with him across the fields, or play catch-the-beanpole near the army-camp when he just needed to escape from the cruelties of this exhausting life. He also knew Cuthbert wouldn't be here to fix his fresh wound, and he needed to fix it right now.
Will looked at his leg. Thankfully the bullet had missed the bone, but had grazed most of the tendons and muscle. A hole as big as his thumb was sticking out against his jeans, blood coloring his thighs red. Will pulled out his kerchief and wrapped it round his thigh, forming a turniquet. Whilst he was tying the knot he thought of "Inconvenience", one of Cuthbert's old soldier-songs:
Goes with their gut, never favors appearance.
Who has time for vanity with opponents to extinguish?
And don’t you think that silver hairline is distinguished!
In women? All these qualities, they make you a genius.
But if you’re a soldier, you’re an inconvenience.
Will tied one knot, then another.
So he storms through the halls and he tracks down his boss
Two years in this war he’s battled across.
Will tied a third knot, then a fourth.
A media major, he’s craving the glory
Bursts into a meeting, demands better stories.
The General is delighted, you know.
"That’s how you do it! Show me some gusto!"
Will tied a fifth knot, then a sixth.
And four feet away, in cast-iron heels
Is his colleague, a soldier. He fights back his tears.
Cause he chased him down every day in winter.
Three years in this war (plus two as an intern).
Will tied a seventh knot, then an eighth.
And when he requested some tasks with more substance,
He glanced at his phone and responded, disgusted,
"Please lower your voice, and how dare you approach me!
Really, your tact could afford you some coaching,
You’re acting so crazy!" His tone was defeating.
"And have some respect, I’ll be late for my meeting.
Soldier.....you’re being…inconvenient."
Will tied a ninth knot, and rested his head for a bit.
It’s late in the night and the General’s arriving
He fires the stove and just stares, though he’s trying.
It’s been a few days and he's slept on the couch,
Depression has stolen the smile from his mouth.
He walks in, he’s angry, he asks about dinner.
"But can’t you just be patient?," he considers.
He stares with a vacant and displeased expression,
"So why do we pay for these therapy sessions?
If you can’t be decent and take a damn shower.
You won’t ever serve me, you’re crying for hours.
When I first met you, I loved your composure.
You stayed up all night and you fought like a soldier.
You ran like a rabbit, you loved it back then,
But now you’re this lump of a mess in my den."
Will woke up, took another sip from the nearby stream and searched his hip-bag for some medicine.
He storms out the room, and he irons his tie.
He first bought it for him when his father had died.
He slept in for days and he missed weeks of work,
So he took up some supplement shifts as a nurse.
He never complained, though, he made it a promise.
He liked his manic self, too, to be honest.
Why can’t he just man up and work with a knife?
He vowed to the army, a soldier for life.
Will found some Panadole. He popped two pills and took another nap.
He's a depressed ex-soldier who’s lived out a miracle.
Made it through life being less than agreeable.
He’s trying to fight, but he's battling himself.
So to fix it, he gorges on drugs on the shelf.
Will woke up again. He searched his bag and found a small stale sandwich, ham and cheese. He ate it and went back to sleep.
But he will keep fighting, no option to stop.
He'll bite and he'll scratch till he reaches the top.
Fighting addictions and demons of mind,
Conquering, battling whatever he finds.
Fighting till he reaches the top of the Tower,
And the clock of death strikes his final hour.
Will couldn't get Cuthbert's song out of his head. He got up, went back to the stream and took yet another sip.
As he was wiping his lips, he saw something a few yards away. He went to investigate.
It looked like a massive mound of dirt, at least 10 feet in height. It had vines and grass growing over it, and a few flowers were spouting as well. On closer inspection, Will saw what was under these weeds; a robot.
But not just a robot. This one was huge. It had to be at least 2 meters in height. It was also rather bulky, with an exoskeleton similar in shape to an Asimov. The massive brute was a dull rusty-yellow, Will guessed it had been silver in color when it was still being used. A strange symbol of eight straight lines shaped like a turbine was painted on the machine's left shoulder. Will could see the bot was clasping something in its two large claws; it appeared to be a ball of some sort. Perhaps it was its power-core.
Will could use a power-core, it would help with cooking food and starting fires. It would also be a good light at night, and keep away large predators.
He reached out and grabbed the ball. He could see it was about the size of his head, and was made of some type of crystalline glass.
As soon as he pulled the ball from the machine's claw-hands, it glowed. It glowed a bright green glow, the deepest green Will had ever seen. It was almost blinding. And then a voice spoke up:
You really shouldn't have done that.
Will realized the voice was in his head, and also guessed that it had come from the ball.
The machine turned on, and Will realized that it already had a power-core, this one glowed a deep amber-yellow much dimmer than the glowing orb he was holding.
With a creaking of metal it burst from the earth, scattering vines and clumps of soil in all directions. It was much taller than Will had assumed, about 40 feet in height and 10 feet in width. Its massive humanoid solders and legs crushed the nearby trees, and sent Will flipping over to avoid the falling objects. With a groan the massive machine stretched its long arms, sending shards of shrapnel in all directions. Will avoided some bits of metal, but choked on the dust being released from the metal beast. The giant hulk of metal waddled around for a little bit, knocking down trees in the process. Then its camera-eyes fixed on the object Will was clasping in his shaking hands, the orb.
The massive brute lunged at the orb with its massive claw-arm, nearly knocking Will over. Will instinctively reached for his gun, but then remembered he was unarmed. He instead pulled out his flimsy hunting-knife and slashed at the arm. The knife barely made a scratch on the thing's shell, which seemed to glow despite the rusting. The machine swiped slowly at Will, knocking him to the ground. Will picked a rock up and chucked it at the thing's head. This seemed to trigger an alarm, as the machine proceeded to start screaming in a monotone robotic voice:
"Dieb!!! Du dieb!!! Gib dii Kugel zuruuck! Jetzt! Dieb!!! Dieb!!! Dieb!!!" It yelled in a language Will couldn't understand, although it sounded almost like Lowtalk.
Will avoided the machine's arm as it started waving its arms around like a manic on drugs. The thing was still yelling "Dieb" over and over again, which by now Will guessed was a term for "thief". Will assumed the thing wanted the orb back. But before he could give the ball to the machine, it knocking him down with a mechanical fist. The massive brute loomed over him, covering the sun and casting a massive shadow over Will and the stream behind him. It raised one of its massive legs, prepared to slam its foot down on Will and end his miserable life. But it didn't.
Will heard a rustling in the trees. Something was approaching them. He assumed it was a Vedda, but not even the Tree-Folk moved that quickly.
A flash of white darted from the nearby tree, striking the massive machine in the head. The machine spun around slowly as the flash leapt onto its back and proceeded to stab it with some fort of sword. The machine swatted helplessly at the person on its back. Eventually it lost balance and slammed into a grove of trees, uprooting them and sending Will running back. The thing stepped into the nearby stream, where it collapsed on one knee. The flash spun around the machine, wrapping it in what looked like rope. Then the flash, having tied the machine tight like a Krissmass present, drove a massive blade into the top of the machine's head. In a flash of sparks, the massive machine collapsed. The metal beast was defeated.
The flash of white stepped off the massive machine's shoulder, did a somersault in the air and landed right in front of Will, who was by now on both knees in a gesture of submission. Will hid the orb behind a nearby rock. He was scared this flash would do to him what it did to the machine, and then take the orb.
The flash stepped forward and revealed itself. It was a Yea'haa'weh. More than that, it was a Yea'haa'weh girl.
She appeared to be about Will's age, maybe fifteen or sixteen.
Will stood up, examining his unlikely savior. She was really pretty. More than that, she was really beautiful. Will had never seen a Cat-Person up close before, but he never assumed them to be this attractive. She was petite, a neat little waist, long legs, thick black hair hanging down in two braids of dreadlocks. She had pointed ears like a fox, these were colored a deep seashell-pink on the inside. She had a glowing gem in the center of her forehead, like all Yea'haa'weh. Her antlers appeared to be shaven half their original length. But her eyes were her most amazing feature. They were large and olive-green, deep and large like a doe's.
"Et txu pxmixti kxan???"
"What???" asked Will in Lowtalk.
"Oh. Sorry! I thought you spoke Ch'r'kee. You don't look much like a foreigner. I'm Faun. Faun Yvan."
She held out her hand. Will grabbed it. Faun, what a lovely name. Sweet and dainty, like her. As he was shaking her hand, which was soft like a monkey's paw, he had to resist the post-pubescent masculine urge to start at her chest, which he was doing right now.
"Um....Hello??? You're staring at my breasts."
"Uh...Oh!!! Sorry 'bout that!!! I forgot my manners. I'm Will," he said in Lowertalk sheepishly.
"Well, Will, it's nice to meet ye. What brings ya to my home???"
"Well....that's a bit of a long story."
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