Tomorrows Child (4 page)

“I thought you
were supposed to show me how to find my way and not get lost. I
don’t think you were very successful.” A minute ago, I was quietly
confident, but as I absorbed the view in front of me, I realised
there was no way I could have found my way home. I thought I knew
where we were. I was wrong. I looked at Phoenix, heaved a sigh and
stomped off towards the house, leaving Phoenix behind. In the
distance, I heard the rumble of thunder.

Dinner was
ready and the house was warm and inviting. It was autumn but
already the night air had begun to chill. It’s not unusual to get
frost this time of year, I’m told, and it already felt as if this
year would be especially cold.

“How’d you go?”
Libby asked and I waited for Phoenix to respond. My anger dissolved
as quickly as it had formed. I knew how my day had been, but I
wondered what he thought.

“She’s a fast
learner, Libby, so that makes the late start a bit easier for
everyone.” He looked at me then and shook his head. “But I wouldn’t
let her out alone just yet. I expect she’ll get quite lost.”
Phoenix was laughing and they spoke about me as if I weren’t there.
It was obvious that Phoenix spent a lot of time with Libby. They
were comfortable with each other and I relaxed in the warmth of
their company. Libby never tried to replace Mum by asserting
parental authority, except for the day she forced me out of my room
and made me promise to live. She had shown me respect and treated
me like a friend, the same way she treated Phoenix.

Phoenix was
watching me as Libby went about getting dinner. I watched her and
Phoenix watched me. Every now and again I would sneak a peek to see
if he had grown tired of waiting for whatever it was he seemed to
be waiting for. Each time my eyes met his, I found the same look,
seeking… searching… waiting… This time, Phoenix smiled, perhaps he
had finally found the answers he sought.

I left the pair
in the kitchen and hurried off to shower and change. I had muddy
feet and my jeans were stained from rotting bark and streaks of
moss. The shower was soothing once I warmed to the temperature of
the water, but water was precious and showers were a privilege, so
I hurried to finish.

I was thinking
about how easily the tiny ball of magick had formed in my hand. It
wasn’t really a world-changing achievement, but it was amazing. I
hadn’t seen the swirling colours that Phoenix assumed I had, but
the energy was real. Surely, there must be more to magick than
that? Whispers greeted me as I opened the bathroom door. I listened
harder and instantly felt like an intruder.

“Did you know?”
Phoenix questioned, I didn’t have a clue what they were talking
about and knew it was none of my business, but I was still
curious.

“I guessed, but
I couldn’t be sure, there was no real way to know.”

“You should
have told me, given me some warning. What do I do now? Do I tell
her? I thought I was here to help,” Phoenix said, sounding as if he
were afraid or annoyed. “I didn’t know she would be the one. How
can that be helpful?”

“You would give
your life for her, Phoenix. How much more helpful can you be?”

It sounded like
they were talking about me, but it wasn’t a subject I could grasp.
What on earth were they talking about? Why would anyone have to
give their life for her or anyone else for that matter?

When I walked
back into the kitchen, both Phoenix and Libby smiled as if the
previous conversation never happened and I couldn’t very well ask
what they were talking about.

“Wow, you look
different without the outer coating of mud,” Phoenix commented,
making me blush. I hated blushing, but it happened to me often, too
often. I always considered it the ultimate betrayal when your own
body revealed your secrets.

“Shall we eat?”
Libby served dinner and Phoenix stayed.

The
conversation over dinner was effortless and the relaxed atmosphere
surprised me. I ate slowly because I knew Phoenix would leave as
soon as we finished, yet he too seemed in no hurry. I saw him
looking at me with the same intent stare, but there was now a hint
of sadness in his eyes, I think.

I was tired by
the time Phoenix left. I didn’t cry myself to sleep for the first
time in months. Yesterday I was lost, floundering in the darkness
and seeking death. Today felt like the first day of my new life. I
had a new friend and discovered that somewhere deep inside me,
magick really did exist. Perhaps I had found a home after all.

~~~~

Thoughts of the
day scattered and dissolved into the surreal world of my dreams.
Rainbows danced across the sky and butterflies fluttered from
flowers made of glass. A girl stood in the sunlight, dressed in
white. Sometimes I was the girl, but today I watched her from a
distance. She turned and peered into the shadows. I thought it was
“the man” but the shadow moved and became a bird without eyes.
Black feathers fell to the ground, bleeding into the rainbow sky. I
became the girl in white.

Fear consumed
me as I ran across a sparsely covered land. Trees were scattered
and the open wasteland provided nowhere to hide. The bird grew
larger as it approached and landed in the tall grass. Beating wings
soon became thunder from the earth and a howling beast emerged from
the shadows.

I ran through
tall golden grass, which provided protection for the hunter, but
not for me, the hunted. Large boulders jutted up and a stream ran
beside me. In the distance, a light shone but I couldn’t reach it.
I ran. The beast closed in… I could hear my heart thumping, my
breaths turning raspy and a scream that cut the air. I would not
survive today…

And then from
the light, a figure emerged… I’d seen him before… he’s always here,
waiting to rescue me. I had run from the beast, hoping to find him…
my heart slowed, I knew I was safe… I would not die today.

We were living
as if the world had already ended and in many ways, it had; but
today we were driving to town in a four-wheel-drive wagon. It was
strange to hear the motor hum and watch the trees flash past as we
drove there. I could almost imagine that life was normal, but the
narrow winding road was deserted, littered with debris and led to a
ghost town.

The town of
Mount Misty was only ever a small country town with less than a
thousand residents and no industry other than a few dairy farms and
some logging in the early days. As a ghost town, it was destined to
become a boomtown because it was the perfect location for survivors
seeking refuge from a broken world.

Situated on the
top of the Great Dividing Range, Mount Misty sat safely at more
than a thousand metres above sea level. In a time of cataclysmic
natural disasters, it was probably one of the safest places on
earth. If sea levels continued to rise, we would be sitting high
and dry, but this was no secret and any survivor looking for a
haven would probably head this way.

Altitude was an
important fact, but the region was also safe from other disasters.
Earthquakes had not affected the area, though small aftershocks
were still a daily occurrence. Volcanic eruptions were a
possibility, but the local volcanos had been extinct for millions
of years, so the only real threats to the region were from cyclones
and violent storms.

Yes, Mount
Misty was safe.

Ruben drove the
wagon with Libby strapped into the passenger seat. Ruben was
Phoenix’s father, a tall sturdy man, ex-army and Vietnam vet.

“Do you think
there will be many people in town?” I asked.

“I hope there
are thousands,” said Raven, “That way I can ditch this crappy life
and do something fun.”

“The area won’t
cope with thousands, but I expect there to be some refugees, maybe
a few hundred.” Ruben thought the refugees from the city would be
heading to higher ground and eventually find Mount Misty.

“We came into
town a couple times in the first few weeks; but most of the
arrivals had family here or were heading further west,” said
Phoenix.

“You think
people will still be coming? It’s been so long.”

“It depends on
how many survived and what happened on the coast and in the cities.
It’s hard to know what we will find. Maybe there will be no
one.”

We still had no
reports of what was going on in the cities, but there was some hope
that the government had been able to scrape up the remnants of
civilisation and save society. It was unlikely, but there was still
hope.

“Maybe it will
be good news,” I said. I was hopeful, but Mum and I drove to Mount
Misty as civilisation was crumbling. We saw the devastation and
death. It would take a miracle to fix this and even that wouldn’t
be enough.

“Of course it
will be good news. We should have gone to town weeks ago instead of
hanging out, thinking that the world had ended.” Raven’s view
differed from everyone else in the valley; she thought it was a
massive overreaction to a power outage.

“Either way, we
need to be careful what we say,” said Libby. “These are desperate
times and we need to be cautious. I suggest we lie.”

“Yes, that’s
the only way to be sure. We have to protect what we’ve built,” said
Ruben. “If anyone asks, let them know that life is a real struggle,
lay it on a bit if you have to. It wouldn’t hurt to mention that
we’ve had sickness and death.”

“But don’t let
them think we’ve had the green plague; that would be a disaster. We
might even get shot for spreading the sickness,” said Libby.

“Raven, I want
you to be very careful what you say today,” said Ruben.

“Whatever! What
about Phoenix and Navarre? Why don’t you tell them to keep their
mouths shut?”

“Don’t worry
about me,” said Navarre, “I just want to check out what’s going on.
I don’t plan on tellin’ anyone anything.”

“But if you’re
asked, you must lie,” Ruben said.

For me, it
wasn’t really a lie. I wasn’t starving, but I was miserable most of
the time and I had lost a loved one to sickness. I knew it wasn’t
the green plague, but I wasn’t planning to talk to anyone, so it
didn’t matter.

“We should pull
into Nell’s place,” said Libby. “No one will hear the vehicles and
we can walk to town from there. Plus, I’d like to make sure that
Nell is okay.” Libby had never mentioned Nell, but then again,
she’d never mentioned any of her friends.

When we pulled
into Nell’s driveway, everything appeared deserted. The yard was
overgrown and the house was closed up. It appeared that Nell might
have left some time ago.

“Perhaps she’s
gone to town,” Libby said, trying to sound hopeful, but she had a
high-pitched twang of concern in her voice. “I’d know… you know
that… I would know!”

Nell lived in a
small cottage with an oversized yard. If she were still here, it
was likely that she had suffered greatly over the past few months.
I followed Libby to the back of the house, where the grass was
waist-high and dewy wet. The back door hung open and one of the
hinges was broken so the door hung slightly askew. The house was
cold and dark and mouldy, stale air greeted us as we entered
through the back door.

“Stay here,
Psyche.” Libby put her hand in the middle of my chest to stop me
taking another step. I knew she was afraid of what she might find.
I was going to protest, but Ruben came to the door.

“Psyche! Go
stand over there with Phoenix,” and when I hesitated, “Now!” he
said.

We waited in
silence. I knew they expected the worst and that’s what they would
find. Navarre held a number of spent bullet shells in his hand and
more lay on the ground at his feet. I felt the blood drain from my
face. Life had not been a struggle for Nell after all. Her life had
been taken along with her food and whatever else the thieves
thought they needed more than Nell did.

I really wasn’t
suited to this life.

“We must do the
right thing for Nell and lay her body to rest,” Libby said when she
returned.

“Phoenix? See
if Nell has a couple of shovels in the back shed.” Ruben’s face was
ashen. The shock and horror of the scene was difficult even for
him. “I expect we will see more of this. As long as people think
they can take whatever they need, no one is safe.” Ruben was angry
and the colour that returned to his face was tinged with rage.

We dug a small
shallow grave in the backyard. Phoenix and Ruben carried Nell’s
remains, wrapped in a quilt. Black marks covered the quilt like
inkblots, evidence of blood, old and dry, evidence of a life taken.
Libby spoke words of friendship over the mound of fresh dirt and
planted a rosebush she’d uprooted from the front garden.

My mind raced.
The implications of this single act of violence made me realise
life really had changed. Prior to this, I considered my life safe,
our lives to be safe. It hadn’t occurred to me that people would be
so desperate that they would resort to murder. It felt as if we had
slipped backwards through time into the dark ages.

Her grave, a
dark damp hole in the ground, was so final. Libby had taught me
that it was only her body in the ground and that the essence of
Nell had already moved on. Her spirit had returned home. But death
is never easy, no matter what you believe. My heart ached for the
life taken, for Libby’s pain and Nell’s fear in her final moments
and the ragged edges of my own grief returned with renewed
rawness.

We left Nell to
rest in peace in her overgrown garden and headed toward town.

Seth and
Lachlan had arrived in a small Jeep and were waiting beside the
gate. Both men were tall and badly needed a haircut and a shave,
although it was a look shared by all the men. Even Phoenix and
Navarre had a scruffy “wild man” thing going on, but they were
younger so it didn’t seem so frightening. They smiled as we
approached, but said nothing.