‘em a book, you’re allowed through.”
“I only ever seen one book,” Willem
said in a quiet voice. “It was our Ma’s. There was pictures inside—awful
pictures of people with their skin torn off. Some pages showed ‘em with their
flesh torn clean off, and only their bones left.”
Lawson nodded. “I remember. It was
a doctorin’ book—the kind that fixes people when they’re sick or injured.”
“Didn’t like it none. I sometimes
thought Ma and Pa might have been bad folks, learning the ways of other bad
folks from a long time ago.”
Cobe poked his brother in the side.
“That’s what I told you when I found
you poking through their stuff. Pa would’ve beat you something awful if he’d
known you was snooping. Ma wouldn’t have been pleased either.”
Lawson chuckled. “I gave it to her
after she saved my life. I’d meant to take it to the island one day, but after
what she did for me…I figured her natural talents could make better use of it.”
Surprisingly, Trot asked the most
intelligent question next. “If you’ve already been to this island, why did you come
back to Burn? If the people there are so accepting, why come back to the likes
of Lode and all them other mean folks?”
“Them mean folks can be taught to
think different...eventually. When they stop fearing each other, maybe they’ll
start working together. That’s the way things used to be….Hopefully it can be
like that again someday.”
“Like it was when there were
cities?” Trot asked.
Lawson shrugged and they continued
toward the hills. Cobe wanted to ask why the lawman allowed people to be hung
and cut. He also wanted to know why his parents had to die. But deep down, Cobe
already knew the answer: Lawson kept the order. He saw justice—however cruel
and wrong—served. He worked under Lode. That confused Cobe more than anything.
Why had Lawson abandoned those misguided ideals and left? Why had he helped
them escape Burn, instead of taking them back to hang?
The closer they got, the more
unusual the hills became. They weren’t like any other hills Cobe had seen close
to Burn, or any of the others they’d travelled along and over in the last two
days. It seemed more like one low-sloping wall running north and south forever.
It wasn’t a difficult climb to the top. The ground was hard and nothing grew out
of it. Trot, still sitting on Dust, saw what lay beyond first. He made a
gasping sound. Willem ran ahead of his brother and whistled, as he had a habit
of doing when something impressed him.
Cobe caught up and stood next to
him, taking it all in. The hill was one big wall that stretched all around them
in uniform circle. It wasn’t until they reached the top that Cobe was able to
make out its massive size. A copper smudge sunset hung directly over the far
side, threatening to sink into the black shadows of a crater wall—five miles,
if not more, away. It was hard to judge the distance of such a massive thing
from so far away. The remaining day cast a weak crescent of light on the side
the four were standing on. The hill dropped before them, steeper on the inside,
into a confusion of twisted shadows. At the bottom, Cobe saw the beginning of
what looked like a giant sheet of black. If it were earlier in the day, and if
the sun were able to shine through the clouds, Cobe would be able to see it
more clearly for what it was: water. A still lake of liquid sitting three miles
across.
Trot wrinkled his nose. “Smells
like farts.”
Lawson spit onto the gray ground. “Water
will do that when it sits too long in one spot.”
“Why have we come here?” Willem
asked.
“This is the place where we’ll find
your payment onto Victory Island.”
Cobe shook his head. “Books? Down
in all that shit?”
“We’re not going into that
shit…we’re going beneath it. Welcome to Big Hole.”
Chapter 10
2269
1,742 meters beneath the surface of what once was Dauphin
253 kilometers northwest of
where Winnipeg,
“I only ever seen one book,” Willem
said in a quiet voice. “It was our Ma’s. There was pictures inside—awful
pictures of people with their skin torn off. Some pages showed ‘em with their
flesh torn clean off, and only their bones left.”
Lawson nodded. “I remember. It was
a doctorin’ book—the kind that fixes people when they’re sick or injured.”
“Didn’t like it none. I sometimes
thought Ma and Pa might have been bad folks, learning the ways of other bad
folks from a long time ago.”
Cobe poked his brother in the side.
“That’s what I told you when I found
you poking through their stuff. Pa would’ve beat you something awful if he’d
known you was snooping. Ma wouldn’t have been pleased either.”
Lawson chuckled. “I gave it to her
after she saved my life. I’d meant to take it to the island one day, but after
what she did for me…I figured her natural talents could make better use of it.”
Surprisingly, Trot asked the most
intelligent question next. “If you’ve already been to this island, why did you come
back to Burn? If the people there are so accepting, why come back to the likes
of Lode and all them other mean folks?”
“Them mean folks can be taught to
think different...eventually. When they stop fearing each other, maybe they’ll
start working together. That’s the way things used to be….Hopefully it can be
like that again someday.”
“Like it was when there were
cities?” Trot asked.
Lawson shrugged and they continued
toward the hills. Cobe wanted to ask why the lawman allowed people to be hung
and cut. He also wanted to know why his parents had to die. But deep down, Cobe
already knew the answer: Lawson kept the order. He saw justice—however cruel
and wrong—served. He worked under Lode. That confused Cobe more than anything.
Why had Lawson abandoned those misguided ideals and left? Why had he helped
them escape Burn, instead of taking them back to hang?
The closer they got, the more
unusual the hills became. They weren’t like any other hills Cobe had seen close
to Burn, or any of the others they’d travelled along and over in the last two
days. It seemed more like one low-sloping wall running north and south forever.
It wasn’t a difficult climb to the top. The ground was hard and nothing grew out
of it. Trot, still sitting on Dust, saw what lay beyond first. He made a
gasping sound. Willem ran ahead of his brother and whistled, as he had a habit
of doing when something impressed him.
Cobe caught up and stood next to
him, taking it all in. The hill was one big wall that stretched all around them
in uniform circle. It wasn’t until they reached the top that Cobe was able to
make out its massive size. A copper smudge sunset hung directly over the far
side, threatening to sink into the black shadows of a crater wall—five miles,
if not more, away. It was hard to judge the distance of such a massive thing
from so far away. The remaining day cast a weak crescent of light on the side
the four were standing on. The hill dropped before them, steeper on the inside,
into a confusion of twisted shadows. At the bottom, Cobe saw the beginning of
what looked like a giant sheet of black. If it were earlier in the day, and if
the sun were able to shine through the clouds, Cobe would be able to see it
more clearly for what it was: water. A still lake of liquid sitting three miles
across.
Trot wrinkled his nose. “Smells
like farts.”
Lawson spit onto the gray ground. “Water
will do that when it sits too long in one spot.”
“Why have we come here?” Willem
asked.
“This is the place where we’ll find
your payment onto Victory Island.”
Cobe shook his head. “Books? Down
in all that shit?”
“We’re not going into that
shit…we’re going beneath it. Welcome to Big Hole.”
Chapter 10
2269
1,742 meters beneath the surface of what once was Dauphin
253 kilometers northwest of
where Winnipeg,
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