Arcene: The Island (5 page)

Her friend, her best friend, she was alive and showing a strong lifeforce in The Noise where there was no place to hide and your true self was revealed to those with the power to look behind the thin veneer of what others took to be reality.

Arcene smiled and withdrew to the regular world. She used her Awoken state to force her pupils to dilate as much as was possible without risking permanent damage, and the signal her eyes sent to her brain slowly made sense.

It was like looking through night vision goggles, an ancient artifact she had once spent a week wearing constantly after she found them, never once taking them off, exploring the world in a way that had left her disoriented for days as she tried to adjust to the fact that the world wasn't tinged green and when it was dark it was dark.

Bending forward, Arcene peered down through the gaps in the branches to where she had seen Leel. There she was, spread-eagled across two branches, paws over her eyes like it would make it all go away and everything would be all right.

That dog is so stupid, but I suppose it's better than her trying to jump down and getting impaled on a branch.

A terrible thought came to Arcene, and she reached over her shoulder in panic — it was still there, her sword, her constant companion apart from Leel. An ancient sword, blade still as sharp and deadly as when it was made many lifetimes ago in Japan, a place Arcene wished she had been born in — the tales of Samurai held her in thrall whenever she read of them and their exploits, her love of anime and Lone Wolf & Cub boundless.

Arcene went through life often thinking of her adventures as movies like the ones she loved so much, and when she had been given her sword she felt an even deeper bond with a culture she had never known and knew was lost three hundred years ago along with everything, and everyone else.

Still, she would have loved to have been a Samurai, except they didn't let girls do it, which was stupid. She was invincible in a fight, and any man underestimated her at their peril. That's what she thought, anyway.

Woof?

Arcene stopped her daydreaming, just happy her sword was intact, and turned her attention back to the rather pressing matter at hand: how to get herself and Leel down from the tree.

She scratched at her chin while she tried to think about how best to get a dog larger than a human being, that wasn't adept at climbing trees, down. Something felt strange; she moved her hand from her chin. It was sticky, wet and gloppy. Did her head hurt? It did. In the confusion and stress of the situation there was no time to assess the damage to her body, but as she took a look inside herself she realized it wasn't just her bum that hurt.

Her arms were covered in little scratches, her head really hurt, and as she tentatively poked at her chin there was no doubt she had a rather nasty gash dripping blood all over her tight black vest.

It took only a few seconds to set the appropriate action in place. Arcene went down to a cellular level inside her body, sending additional white blood cells anywhere they were needed, thickening her blood with coagulants so the bleeding slowed, then stopped.

Her internal body chemistry may have been stuck in some ways, but she had a lot of control over many functions. Just as well, as in the seven years since she had stopped aging she had fixed quite a few broken bones, and endless cuts and bruises, as she got herself into one kind of trouble or another.

With her body already healing — all trace of her wounds would be gone within hours — Arcene numbed nociceptors, the nerve endings blunted, pain sent to the back of awareness, nothing but a fuzzy feeling around the wounds, almost a tickle really, and she traced a route in her mind that led down to Leel. Once mapped out, she did it for real, forcing her mind to stay in the now as it wandered back to her childhood when she'd often spent whole days up trees uncovering the hidden world they contained.

"Hello, Leel, you can look now. What are you hiding from?" Arcene smiled at the sight of Leel splayed on the branch, legs hanging over each side, floppy ears and now one paw over the white patch on her eye, both closed.

Leel tried to stand at the sound of Arcene, wanting nothing more than to give her a big lick, but all she managed was a tail wag and to nearly fall off.

"Stay still you silly girl. You don't want to fall again, do you?" Leel just moaned. "Well then. Now, let me figure this out." Arcene took each of Leel's back legs carefully and bent them so her paws were on the branch, then said, "Sit." Leel obeyed and rocked back on her hind legs, front legs moving from her eyes, scrabbling furiously until they both finally gained purchase on the dark wood.

They were face to face on the branch. Leel sat, huge hazel eyes staring with love into Arcene's.

What a sight this must make. A pale girl in a ripped vest, socks so torn the pink bunnies are almost gone, and a dog sat next to her high up in a tree, haha.
The thought of the impression they made often amused Arcene. When people saw her they were usually stunned by her silver hair and strange look: a black vest, kilt, hair in pigtails, and a sword, but when she was with Leel people often did a double-take. Leel was so big, yet so sweet looking, that nobody knew whether to try to cuddle her, ride her, or be terrified as she could take off their head with a single bite.

"Right. Now, Leel, I'm afraid you will have to learn how to climb trees."

Woof.

"Well, what else can we do?"

Leel stared at Arcene in the gloom, then at the branch, then at the ground lost in darkness far below. She jumped.

"You stupid dog!"

Arcene climbed down the tree — like a sensible person would.

Spooky Forest

Arcene landed in a pile of leaves and rolled over, careful of her sword. As she stood, she noticed Leel sat by the tree, head cocked to the side as if asking why she had taken so long.

"You are either one very brave dog or one very daft dog, Leel." Arcene shook her head in despair, but was pleased she seemed to be absolutely fine — her body was pretty much indestructible thanks to the breeding program, something Arcene forgot when Leel did things that by rights should result in broken limbs.

Woof!

"Yeah, well, you gotta be careful." Arcene picked leaves and twigs out of her hair and brushed at her clothes, but it was rather pointless — all they were good for was to be thrown away. At least the backpack was still strapped on Leel, although it hung off her after their fall from the sky. She redid the buckles and gave it a tug to ensure it was secure, then allowed her eyes to return to normal. They ached, and having better night vision wasn't worth the risk of damage. She was surprised to find they had adjusted anyway, and although the evening was settling in it was far from properly dark. Twilight would last some time.

"What now, Leel, any ideas?" Leel sniffed around the ground, looking for a scent, something that could lead them in an interesting direction. "Oh no, I know your game. This isn't the time for playing, we need to get out of here, we need to go home." But which way was home? Arcene was disorientated and the dense overhead canopy stopped her from getting her bearings.

She slumped to the ground and leaned against the trunk of the tree. She needed to think, get a sense of direction so she would know which way was home. It would be a long walk, no doubt about that, and the chances of finding Fasolt were slim.

Even if she did, what then? If he'd landed he wouldn't be taking off again. But he could be anywhere — heading home, thinking her dead, or more likely he would have sensed through The Noise they were okay and made his decision after that. Either way, he would be of no help at the moment, so she had to focus.

Thinking back to her fall, Arcene pictured the landscape and what she had seen. What stuck in her vision was the setting sun, bright orange behind the strange shape off to the west. That was the closest point to open ground, the forest had finished some way before that, where she'd seen water.

West, they would head west, get out into the open and take it from there. And besides, she was kind of intrigued by the strange shape. Now she pictured it in her mind it had an artificial feel to it — maybe it wasn't just a mountain, maybe it was something cool.

"Come on, Leel," said Arcene as she stood, "we're going west, out of the forest so we can try to get home. Maybe we can do some fishing at the river I saw. You like fish, right?"

Woof, woof!

"Haha. Sorry, silly question, of course you do." Arcene's belly rumbled at the mention of food. How long had it been since they ate? Not that it mattered.

Arcene and Leel were both obsessed with food: thinking about it, hunting it, cooking it, or cleaning up afterward occupied a large part of their day when they were off on their own. That would have to wait. She couldn't be blamed for storms, but she should try to hurry. Letje was looking after her son, but the offer didn't extend to permanent child rearing, it was to allow Arcene a little time on her own after seven years of raising a child without having much in the way of a break.

He'd be missing her now, wouldn't he? She hoped he was, and also felt mean for thinking such things. Arcene hated the thought of him feeling sad, but she hoped he missed his mommy a little.

The forest was silent as they made their way through the trees. The ground was soft, thick with rotten leaves and early windfall although it wasn't yet autumn and the weather was still warm, the days long. Deep in the forest, you would never know it was still only early evening, it felt like the middle of the night when everything was quiet and only the nocturnal creatures were out and about on the hunt for food.

Gurgle.

Arcene put a hand to her belly as her tummy told her it was hungry.
Maybe we'll find something on the way.

Tiny pairs of eyes appeared in the trees as they made their way west, owls and other creatures of the night watching their passage through a forest that had hardly seen a human being in hundreds of years. This was their home, untouched by man for so long most of its inhabitants had never seen a person, so had little to be afraid of. They observed with curious eyes and a swivel of the head as the pale creature and the four-legged animal moved through the soft loam, chattering quietly as they passed in a language they had never heard.

"I wonder if we could make a boat if we get to that river?" mused Arcene. "Maybe we could chop down a tree and float home, what do you think, Leel?" Arcene turned to Leel, walking close by her side, acting like a scared baby in the heavy atmosphere. Leel poked out her tongue and licked her own nose, offering little in the way of help. "Fine. I thought it was a good idea. Um, although we haven't got an axe... Hmm."

They walked, and walked, and walked.

Two hours later, Arcene wondered if the forest would ever end. She had seriously underestimated the size of it, thinking it would take less than an hour to see the edge, but the scale was different on the ground to when viewed from above, and seeing the tops of trees doesn't tell you how easy or difficult it will be to find a path pointing in the direction you want to go.

They went from easy walking, where the trees were large and well-spaced, to having to change direction where they grew so close together it was impossible to pass, or where deep gullies stopped them entirely and they had to follow the edge until they found a fallen tree to use as a bridge.

Leel got brave once she grew accustomed to the sounds and smells and ran back and forth like a crazy thing, following first this scent, then that, trying to pick up on something worth chasing down so they could have supper. Arcene forged ahead, determined not to rest until they got out of the dark and under the clear sky.

The clear sky, she hadn't thought about it, preoccupied by the landing and then getting down and out, but what happened to the storm? It was like it had never been. They were caught in the tail end of it, sure, but after such ferocious wind surely there should have been rain?

The smell of smoke hit.

Ugh, I forgot.

Leel crept close, brushed against her thigh and lifted her head to sniff the air. Arcene did the same, and turned to discover which way the smoke was coming from. The forest was so dense the trees hadn't allowed the smoke to filter through to them, so if it was now it meant...

"Run. Run fast, Leel." Arcene sprinted forward, turned quickly to glance back — smoke crept through the trees, and orange flames licked not far behind. The fire had spread, coming in their direction without them noticing, and now it raced to claim them. Arcene looked left, then right, but it was only behind them so they weren't cut off entirely, they just had to outrun it. Could you run faster than a fire? Did they have a choice? No, they had to try, and they had to move fast.

"Faster Leel, faster."

Leel sped off ahead, repeatedly turning and barking at Arcene to hurry, warning the fire to stay away, hackles raised like she'd been hit by the lighting.