Zero's Return (16 page)

Thank you,
he said as he closed his eyes.

When she turned,
the People were watching her.  Nynjee came up and gently lifted the unconscious
Twelvay into his arms and carried him over to lie beside Tenef. 

There were other
Dreamers who needed help getting out of their rooms, but none were as weak as
Twelvay.  Nynjee opened every cell, waking all those he could and carrying those
who couldn’t walk.  After eating, they huddled together on the other side of
the hall, staring at the man with the Keeper-food hand.  He wasn’t moving any
more.

Exhausted,
Eelevansee dropped to the floor beside Twelvay and laid her head across his
thigh, closing her eyes as the exhaustion overtook her.

When Eelevansee
woke, Twelvay was holding her head in his lap.  He looked healthier and smiled
down at her when she woke.

Suddenly,
Tenef’s voice was loud in her head, startling her.

Get up,
girl.  Make food!  I want to leave this place. 

Eelevansee felt
a sudden compulsion to stand, but not before she saw Twelvay frowning at
Tenef.  Tenef didn’t seem to notice.  Once Eelevansee was on her feet, Tenef
took control of Eelevansee’s mind and roughly forced her to create pits of food
in a painful daze.  When the pits were finished, Tenef released her violently
and began to eat.  Groaning, Eelevansee fell to the floor, both hands clutching
her head.

Twelvay crawled
over to her and touched her shoulder. 
Did she hurt you?

Eelevansee
opened her eyes and saw that Twelvay was frowning at Tenef. 

Before
Eelevansee could reply, Tenef finished and stood up.  She roughly dragged
Eelevansee to her feet and said,
We’re leaving.
  She pointed to the
double doors at the end of the hall. 
Follow Nynjee. 

Instinctively,
Eelevansee shied away. 
I don’t want to go.
 

Tenef’s anger
came with a flood of violent images that left Eelevansee gasping. 
You will
go,
Tenef said,
or I will
make
you go.

Twelvay’s blond
brow knotted slightly as he watched Tenef.

Now follow
Nynjee,
Tenef snapped, pointing at the huge green doors.  Eelevansee
balked, taking a step backwards, back toward her room.  Tenef’s scarred face
sharpened.

Twelvay’s grip
on her arm stopped Eelevansee from bolting. 
I will go with you,
he
said. 
Do as she says. 
But Eelevansee could tell he was scared.

We can stay,
Eelevansee thought desperately. 
Tell her we don’t need to leave.
  She
put all of her emotion into it, but Twelvay merely shook his head and looked up
at the row of lights suspended above them. 

Soon the dark
will come,
he told her, a view of total, penetrating darkness overpowering
all other images. 
We must go and find the light.
  The calming image of
the beautiful, colorful circle flashed into her mind.

Eelevansee
glanced at Tenef, who was watching her mercilessly.  Unlike Twelvay, she didn’t
seem to be able to hear what Twelvay said to Eelevansee.  And, unlike him, she
had no problems filling Eelevansee’s mind with fear.  She bombarded her with
images of darkness closing in on them, swallowing them alive.  Eelevansee took
three terrified, running steps toward the green doors before she knew what she
was doing.

Following at a
jog, Twelvay’s fingers tightened on her arm as they approached the door. 
Don’t
panic.  You’ll scare the others.

She made me
run,
Eelevansee whimpered, cringing away from the exit now that it was
looming over her.

I know.  Hold
on.  I’ll keep you safe.

Nynjee came up
behind them and gently pushed them aside so he could put both hands to the
doors.  He closed his eyes and strained against them, pushing them forward,
away from them.  Eelevansee jumped back and screamed at the sounds of snapping
metal, then steadied herself when both Twelvay and Tenef warned her that she
was scaring the People; Twelvay’s thoughts laced with soothing images, Tenef’s
laced with anger.

The doors
finally fell with a puff of air and a crash.  They were thicker than the length
of her forearms, but Nynjee’s pressure had bent and warped both inward. 

Lead us out,
girl,
Tenef demanded.

A surge of panic
swept through her, but again Twelvay calmed her with his touch.  Together, they
gingerly stepped over the huge slabs of twisted metal and led the People out of
the hall.  Despite the sudden gust of fresh air, her stomach grew queasy.  She
could see the green door where the Keepers gave her headaches.

The Keepers
are gone,
Twelvay told her gently. 
No more headaches.  Ever.
  His
vehemence was strong enough to give Eelevansee the courage she needed to
continue.  Despite his assurances, however, he grew pale as they passed the
green door.  Others of the People cried out and huddled in the hall, refusing
to come near the green door.  Nynjee dragged a few, but when they bit and
kicked, he left them. 

Now that they
were past the green door, the Keeper place held no more terror for Eelevansee
than the halls outside her cell.  She knew the Keepers would make them all
Dream if they caught them, but Twelvay had assured her the Keepers were gone.

Still, the
People stayed absolutely silent as they crept deeper into the hall, knowing
they were being Bad.  Nynjee paused at every door to open it, then let
Eelevansee lead them out into another hallway.

The lighting
here was dimmer, the hallways darker.  Small black windows lined the sides and
Eelevansee walked quickly, feeling exposed.  She was beginning to get
lightheaded and hungry again when they finally reached another door, this one
heavier than the first.  As Nynjee dealt with the door, both she and Twelvay
slumped to the ground, exhausted. 

When Nynjee
returned, he was sweaty and shaking.  He knelt and fell onto both hands, his
arms wobbling against the pressure of his weight, his head hanging.

He needs
food,
Twelvay told her in a wave of images. 
Please help him.
 

Exhausted,
Eelevansee placed both palms against the floor in front of Nynjee and made two
large divots of water and Keeper food in the cold stone.  Then she passed out.

She woke to
Tenef’s mental shout. 
Get up!  We’re going.  No more sleeping.

Eelevansee was
sandwiched under a mass of sleeping People, all of whom were jerking awake and
trying to stand at Tenef’s command.

It was in that
instant that the lights went out.

A panicked cry
rippled through the darkness and Eelevansee’s fingers locked around Nynjee’s
thick forearm.  For a moment, no one moved.

Do something,
Twelvay thought at her frantically. 
The People are afraid.  Do something. 
Hurry! 
She could feel his own fear leaking into his thoughts, fear of the
Dark Room, of Dreaming.

At the same
moment, Tenef’s panic ripped through her, leaving Eelevansee and the others
incoherent with fear.  Primal terror coursed through them, leaving them all
thrashing mindlessly in the dark, screaming. 

Just as suddenly
as it had started, Tenef’s burst of panic cut off. 

Then Twelvay was
back in her mind, urging her to hurry, hurry, hurry,
hurry…

Stop it!
Eelevansee cried.  Twelvay’s thoughts choked off as suddenly as they had begun,
like the dying sounds of a strangled thing.  Of Tenef, there was nothing. 

What
happened?
Eelevansee whimpered.
  What is wrong with Tenef?

I’m holding
her back. 
Twelvay’s words came with a spasm of fear. 
She’s scared.  When
the Keepers took People like me and Tenef behind the green door, they left us
in the dark.  To fight.

To fight
what?

Please make
light,
Twelvay whimpered. 
I’m scared, too.

Make light? 
Eelevansee frowned, wishing she could see Twelvay’s face.  She could make food
easily, but light was not the same as food.  You couldn’t
hold
light. 

Yet Twelvay was
beginning to project cold terror just as Tenef had, and it was permeating
everything around them.  The People were whimpering and crying.  Eelevansee
wanted to run, but Twelvay was holding her hand much too tightly.  Tentatively,
Eelevansee touched the floor and thought of the round, globular lights that had
kept their rooms bright.  The floor grew hot to the touch, but she could make
no light.

Try harder
,
Twelvay insisted. 
You must.  Please, I can’t hold Tenef much longer.
 
He touched her arm, his fingers cold and clammy.

Eelevansee crinkled
her forehead and concentrated.  The floor under her hand began to soften, ready
to take shape, but what she wanted it to become didn’t
have
a shape. 
The more she concentrated, the hotter the floor grew, until, all at once, it
began to smoke and glow.

The smell was
horrible.  Eelevansee relinquished her hold on the floor and the dim light went
out.  Instantly, Tenef was in her head, so strongly that for a moment
Eelevansee lost all sense of her own self, so caught up in Tenef’s demands that
she couldn’t think.

Make it
again.  MAKE IT AGAIN!  AGAIN!  MAKE IT AGAIN!

Then she
did
lose control.  Tenef gripped her mind and wrenched her hand back to the floor. 
She forced her to put her hand back, heating the tiles again.  Dimly,
Eelevansee felt Tenef pour her energy into the rock, making it glow once more. 
Upon seeing the light, Tenef viciously began to drain everything Eelevansee had
into the floor, into sustaining the tiny glow.  Eelevansee felt herself losing
consciousness.

Then, all of a
sudden, Tenef’s presence disappeared.  Behind her, Eelevansee heard a body
slump to the ground.

Please,
Twelvay whispered in the darkness. 
Please bring it back.

I can’t,
Eelevansee cried.

She felt Twelvay
stiffen beside her with a whimper.  Then, softly, he said,
There’s a door
ahead.  The Keepers would walk through it to go home.  Nynjee can get it open
for us.
  She felt him stand beside her in the inky blackness.  With him,
stood the People.

Stumbling,
feeling their way in the darkness, the People moved forward.  Twelvay was
trembling, his tight grip on Eelevansee’s hand making her fingers numb by the
time they finally reached the door.  Beside her, Nynjee touched the door and
pushed it open.  Light flooded into the darkened hall, to the relieved gasps of
the People.

Suddenly,
Eelevansee forgot how tired she was.  The floating circle of color that Twelvay
had showed them was
there
, hanging in the wide-open space beyond the
door.  She stepped outside and fell to her knees, too tired to stand. 

Behind them,
more People filed out through the door to stare in awe and wonder at the great
floating ball.   

There are
Others nearby,
Twelvay told her, tugging her arm. 
We have to move.
 
He projected a deep, horrible fear of the Others, mingled with an overwhelming
hatred that made Tenef’s tantrums look weak.  Eelevansee cried out and tried to
run back to the tunnels, but Twelvay yanked her back.   

In an instant,
Nynjee was between them.  He shoved Eelevansee out of the way and slammed
Twelvay down into the hard, uneven ground.  He put one palm over Twelvay’s face
and held it there.  The threat made Eelevansee swallow and back away.

Suddenly Nynjee
fell onto his back, his palm pressed over his
own
face.  Twelvay got up,
pale and shaken, then let the giant regain control of his hand.  Nynjee lunged
to his feet, his fingers fisted at his sides.  He was angry, an emotion that
Eelevansee had only seen before in Keepers, and it had always meant horrible
things for the People.  A frightened sound escaped her throat and she went to
huddle with the rest of their companions.

After they
glared at each other a moment, Twelvay calmly turned away from Nynjee and
extracted Eelevansee from the mass of frightened People.

We need to go
that way,
he told her, pointing out into the encroaching darkness. 
Now. 
The Others will find us here.  You have to lead.  The People won’t follow me
unless I make them.

What about
Tenef?
Eelevansee asked.

She sensed
Twelvay hesitate. 
Tenef is dead.

Eelevansee
glanced at the huddled People, more frightened now than she had ever been in
her life.  The landscape was utterly foreign.  Jagged pieces of the floor
pricked her tender feet…and Twelvay had killed one of the People.  She wanted
nothing more than to rush back and huddle in her cell until the Keepers came
back.  Even the Keepers didn’t scare her as much as this.

Despite her
fear, however, Twelvay refused to let go of her arm.  She felt the desperation
in his thoughts and tentatively stepped into the growing darkness with him. 
Nynjee followed close at her side. 

In silence, the
rest of the People followed.  They climbed up a large hill for most of the
night, picking their way through the sharp needles covering the ground.   

A massive flash
of shadow landed on one of the stragglers.  The predatory roar triggered some
primitive instinct in their cores and the People began to run, breaking into
great, terrified strides as the man’s screaming abruptly cut off on the
hillside below.  The darkness closed on them and Twelvay began to project his
terror, keeping them running long into the night.

When they
finally stopped, the circle of light was once more coloring the world, and they
were missing three more People.

Nynjee lowered
himself to the ground and slapped his palm against the rough dirt.  He was
panting, his great head hanging from the exertion.  Even his palm-slap was weak
and tired.