Riddley Walker (10 page)

He wer heading for Bernt Arse. I dint have no reason for going there I dint want no bother with Ram hevvys from the out poast crowdless like I wer nor I wernt even the qwipt man for roading let a loan fighting. I dint have no weapons nor no bundel I dint have nothing only the knife in my belt and the roady in my pockit plus that hump back figger and the dead han. I lookit back tho and there wer the woal Bernt Arse Pack strung out behynt me like Ive seen them strung out behynt a deer. It wer like magic how 1 minim they wernt there and the nex they wer it wer like they come out of no where. I tryd if I cud catch up with the black leader and may be get a littl a head of him I wer hoaping to draw him a way from Bernt Arse but how ever much speed I put on he put on mor and kep a head of me. With them others hot behynt me like they wer I wunt take no chance on forking off oansome I wer afeart Iwd be just so much running meat to them. I cudnt do nothing only keap going and hoap my fear pong wunt drive them mad. Even with the fear tho it wer a hy fealing it wer hyern any thing I ever fealt befor. Running oansome with them dogs. In that 1 look back I seen heads sticking up over the top of Widders Dump fents but no 1 overing and after me. No they wunt them careful cow shit barsets. Wel realy why shud they what diffrents wud it make to them what happent to me. In my mynd I heard them saying, "He jus over the fents and off with the dogs!" And I thot: Yes thats what I done you sorry sods I over the fents and off with the dogs and thats the las youwl see of Riddley Walker in your cow shit diggings.

You cud see the smoak coming up from the out poast in Bernt Arse only you cudnt see the out poast. They dint have no hy look out no tower nor nothing to give them a clear site over the low groun I wer on they wer jus in amongst the dead town stannings which there wernt nothing very hy.

Wunnering what wer coming when we got inside the dead town. I thot if them dogs ben going to eat me theywd parblyve done it all ready. Wunnering what that black leader had in mynd becaws he cernly had some progam he wernt jus randeming.

The black leader gone in to Bernt Arse mazy ways and parbly keaping down wind of the out poast them dogs pong hevvy even when theyre dry but when theyre wet it pernear knocks you over. That smel plus the dead town pong it aint like nothing else. Dead towns they smel wet and dry boath even in a rain. Grean rot and number creaper on the stumps and stannings. Crumbelt birks and broak stoans all a jumbl and a parcht smel unner neath a smel of old berning. I hadnt ben in Bernt Arse since 3 or 4 years back when I use to sly in with the other kids. Now it lep up in my eyes like it ben waiting for this day to be its self for me for the 1st time.

We come to a littl hump of groun with a wood vennylater sticking up it dint have no rain cover on it. The black leader sticking his nose down the hoal and ruffing then he lookit over to me and ruffing some mor. I gone over and looking down inside I cudnt see nothing plus it stunk some thing terbel. There come up from be low a kids voyce then wel you cudnt say for cern it wer a kids voyce he parbhy soundit as old as me only it wer some thing in how he soundit made me think it wer a kid he said, "You jus going to stan there and breave or be you going to say some thing?"

I said, "What dyou want me to say?"

He said, "You dont have to say nothing jus get me out of this."

I said, "How?"

He said, "Theres a trap doar then a nother doar with bars on it."

I said, "We mus be close to the out poast. Aint there hevvys all roun here?"

He said, "They dont never put foot outside the out poast all they ever do is smoak and play cards they wont give you no bother without you bus up the game."

I lookit roun til I foun a woodin trap doar I liffit up and gone down some conkreat steps. Come to a nother doar then with 2 bars. That part of the shelter wernt from time back way back it ben peast in where the old walls ben cavit in.

I all ready had boath bars slid out and the doar � open when I thot: How do I know whats coming out of there how do I know that kids oansome in there? For all I know it cud be open the doar and arga warga. Any how I opent the doar.

1st thing come out wer the stink. The kid said, "That aint my blame the stink they wunt give me no shovvel to burry my dirt with." I dint see him at 1st my eyes had to get use to it in there the onlyes lite come from the vennylater. The black leader pressing nex to me looking in thru the doar. The other dogs keaping back.

I seen some 1 move a way from the far wall then I seen like a wite shadder on that old conkreat wall. Like when you make a fire agenst a stoan and it gets black all roun where the flame ben only jus where the flames ben there its bernt clean. This wite shadder wer in the shape of a figger you cudnt tel if it ben man or woman it wer jus some 1 stanning with legs a part you cudnt make out no arms parbly the hans ben covering the face.

The kid come forit then in to the lite from the vennylater and looking strait at me. Only not realy looking he dint have no eyes to look with he dint have no parper face. It wer like it ben shapit qwick and rough out of clay. No eyes nor no hoals for eyes there wernt nothing where the eyes shudve ben. All he had for a face wer jus a bit pincht out for a nose and a cut for a mouf and that wer it. Dint have a woal pair of ears jus 2 littl blobs like they ben startit but not finisht. Nor he dint have no hair on his head. He wer as tall as me. Looking at him you cudnt tel if he wer a kid or ful growt only he soundit like a kid.

When he come tords me I dont know why I done it I helt up the dead han and the hump back figger in front of me.

He said, "You dont have to make no Bad Luck go a way syn I aint no Bad Luck Im whats lef after the Bad Luck ben. Im pas the tern and on the way to Good Luck."

I said, "Yes wel I dont feal all that Lucky if you want out of here les go I rather not hang a bout."

The kid had his doss bag all ready roalt like he ben waiting for the poynty time. Weare jus going up them steps when that black leaders up and pas us like a jaggit bolt of litening. Up of us we hear a littl scuffl and nex thing theres some 1s legs inside the trap doar kicking then they stoppit. Blood and pee running down. I pult him in he had his head near toar off and they gone for his pryvits sames they done with Durster Potter. Only this wernt no Durster Potter it wer a hevvy from the Ram. I thot: Wel thats it theres no way back now. We lissent a littl nor dint hear nothing so I up and out in a rush. All clear and 2 dogs with bloody moufs stanning by looking to the black leader and the black leader looking to me like it wer front stations every body and les get moving. The dead bloaks bow wer on the groun with a arrer near it and his spears a littl way off he musve had a arrer on the string when they jumpt him. He bint too big a man I cud use his bow wel a nuff. I took his knife as wel I emtit his pockits too I thot I myt as wel hang for a ram as a lam.

The kid said, "Its parbly Keaper. If hes got some stoans in his pockit thems my fealys he took from me."

I give the kid back his fealys and we vackt our wayt out of there. We fas leggit out of Bernt Arse senter in to the outers in amongst a jumbl of stannings and rubbl jus to be out of site then we stoppit a littl to talk summit. The black leader and his 2 nexters stoppit with us the other dogs kep going. What they wer doing wer shaking foller for us. When I come to know them better I seen they dint do nothing randem they had tack ticks.

There we wer then in amongst the broakin stoans the grean rot and the number creaper with the rain all drenching down and peltering on them dead stoans stumps and stannings. Spattering on crumbelt conkreat and bustit birk and durdling in the puddls gurgling down the runnels of the dead town. A kynd of greanish lite to that day from the rain the grean rot and the number creaper and the dead town pong wer going up all grean smelling in that greanish lite. Dog pong as wel a black smel in the grey rain. It wernt til then I even give a thot to why the kid mytve ben in the hoal. It wer like I jus ben progammit to go there and get him out. Now that wer done I wunnert what it wer all about. I said to him, "Whyd they have you in that hoal?"

He said, "Doing the askings bint we. We done Horny Boy and Widders Bel and Fathers Ham and nex come Bernt Arse dinnit. 1 day in 1 and 2 in 2 and 3 in 3 then it wudve ben 4 in the 4th. Come 9 it wudve ben the senter and helping the qwirys. Only Iwl get there without him Iwl channel the Senter Power my self where theres all the many and no end to me."

I said, "Who ben doing the askings? What ben they asking? I dont know what youre talking about."

He said, "Goodparley ben doing it bint he. Sharna pax and get the poal. _He_ never ben the Puter Leat he never ben the Power Leat him and his Mincery. Pontsery is what he come out of and shitful servis. O yes the Mincery myt have ther red cords all wrote out and let them we know what ben time back way back. Iwl do it too see if I dont. I pult the dog and the dog pult you Iwl do the res of it as wel."

It jus come tumbling all a jumbl out of him like that I sill dint have no idear what it wer all about but soons I heard the name of Goodparley I come the lert. I said, "Wheres Goodparley right now and whats he doing?"

He said, "I tol you dint I hes in Bernt Arse. We done the askings 1 time which it ben 3 to go."

I said, "Dyou know how many hevvys hes got with hm?"

He said, "Its 50 the same as he all ways roads with I heard Keaper say that. Plus the out poasts all ways have 6 on regler."

I tryd to plot the parbeltys of it and progam what to do nex. I knowit we bes put a farness behynt us qwicks we cud only we dint have no hoap of going sly by day. Not 2 peopl crowdless and cernly not 2 peopl with 40 dogs or so. Lookouts on every hy walk and a pigeon fly in every form and dead town with a Mincery man working it. We use to see them talking over our heads be twean ther selfs and to the Ram. It dint look like Belnot Phistd bothert to pigeon Goodparley about me becaws if he had there cernly wudve ben moren jus the 1 hevvy to rumpa with. Say Goodparley dint know I wer in Bernt Arse. Theywd fynd the dead hevvy and for all they knowit him and the kid boath ben jumpt by dogs when he unbart the doar and the kid ben draggit off the sames theywl do with a calf or a lam. I thot we myt have a chance of no foller at all and Goodparley myt just get his self some 1 else to do his askings with. I said to the kid, "How much does it matter to Goodparley if youre gone?"

He said, "Wel Im the Ardship of Cambry enn I."

I thot he wer making a joak. I said, "Thats about it and you bustit out befor the 1st chop too. So now its some 1 elses tern inside the circel innit."

He said, "Thats right. 12 mor years or so and Goodparley can have his self a nother Ardship."

I said, "Whatre you talking about?"

He said, "Im talking about how long Goodparleywl have to wait for a nother Ardship whatre you talking about?"

I said, "What dyou mean a nother Ardship?"

He said, "Wel its jus only a littl wyl since a son of myn ben beartht nor he cant be Ardship til he comes 12 and gets a boy his self can he."

I said, "How old be you then?"

He said, "I jus come 12 this las Ful of the Moon din I."

I said, "So did I that makes us moon brothers."

He said, "Dark of the Moon as wel."

I said, "Be you telling me theres realy such a thing as the Ardship of Cambry?"

He said, "Why dyou think I wantit out of that hoal?"

I said, "Why?"

He said, "Wel its sharna pax and get the poal innit. 1st the easy askings then its helping the qwirys then its Chops your Aunty and your head on a poal. Dont you know the rime?"

I said, "What rime dyou mean?"

What he done then he sung _Fools Circel 9wys_:

Horny Boy rung Widders Bel

Stoal his Fathers Ham as wel

Bernt his Arse and Forkt a Stoan

Done It Over broak a boan

Out of Good Shoar vackt his wayt

Scratcht Sams Itch for No. 8

Gone to senter nex to see

Cambry coming 3 times 3

Sharna pax and get the poal

When the Ardship of Cambry comes out of the hoal

The way he sung it made my blood run col. I cud see like in a dream a figger running running in a kynd of dream space. I said, "Thats _Fools Circel 9wys_ thats jus a game."

He said, "O yes its a game right a nuff if you like to call it that only it aint too much fun for the Ardship what gets his head took off at the end of it."

I said, "Whats it all about why do they do it?"

He said, "Its about what its all ways ben about and they do it for the knowing whats in us."

I said, "What knowing? In who?"

He said, "Dont you know about the Eusa folk?"

I said, "Who myt they be?"

He said, "O dear o dear o dear you dont know nothing do you." Then he begun to tel me. This what Im writing down here it wernt said all in 1 peace like its wrote. Wewd talk a littl and lissen. Talk and lissen. And all ways with 1 eye on the black leader and his nexters for any lerting any blips of foller which there wernt none. It stayd qwyet all day wylst we waitit there in Bernt Arse outers for it to get dark.

He said, "Time back way back who ben the Puter Leat who ben the Power Leat in Cambry? Eusa folk is who it ben. Us the same and us to blame. Who run the Power Ring who ben too close to Power who gone Badstock crookit and seed of the crookit? Us the same the Eusa folk. Who ben bernt out after Bad Time all the clevver is bernt out with all the clevverness? Us the same. Who ben the 1st Ardship of Cambry? Eusa. Which the hardship be come the Ardship you see. They kilt Eusa but they dint kil all the Eusa folk they dint bern them all out did they. No they savit out some to keap in memberment that clevverness what made us crookit. Savit a breeding stock in Cambry so therewd all ways be some of us o yes theres all ways ben Eusa folk and wil be. And the knowing whats in them the Ardship wil know. Roun the circel of the dead towns to the senter which is Cambry. Becaws weve kep the memberment you see. Kep the memberment of what we done time back way back the knowing of its in us. Dint you never hear of Eusa?"

I said, "Coarse Ive heard of Eusa every bodys heard of him."