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Authors: Brian Martinez
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goes right through the Glass and into the Sky.
With my Elbow I push away the rest of the Glass, and when I put my head Outside I see the Machine did better than I'd hoped. It landed on the Roof below us and broke two squares of Glass, one of them too far but one of them closer, maybe close enough. Through the holes are Plants. I hope they're nice to us.
A sound echoes in the Building. It comes from the Hallway that smelled of the Death and I know it's the Door to the Stairs. The Munie heard the Glass like I knew it would and it's coming for us.
Child squirms in my Hands when I pick her up and sit her on the edge of the Window. “No want,” she says, but I push her feet around and let them hang Outside. Under them the space between the Buildings goes down nine stories and ends with the Street.
“I don't want to, either. But I want to stay with the Munie less.”
She squints down at the Glass Roof. She can't see the Street but she knows it's a long fall down. With my Face next to hers, I speak.
“I know you're scared. I'm scared, too. But life is doing the thing that scares you.”
“Why?”
“Because not doing it is scarier.”
The Voice of the Outside shouts her hair alive. The entire City in front of her, I see her body relax and lean forward and tell me she's ready.
I put my Hands around her small waist as foot sounds come through the Hallway.
“Do you see where the Glass is gone?”
She nods.
“There are Plants there. They'll help you, but you have to move your legs toward your face when you hit. Like this.” I bend her arm at the crease and hope she understands. “I'll count to three and push you and you jump at the same time.”
“What three?”
“It's the number after one and two.” The Munie smashes into the Door behind us and Child twitches from the sound.
“Okay, this is the Time. One...”
The Door opens.
“...two...”
The Munie steps into the Room.
“...three.”
**
I've never spoken to the God, but at Times like this I think about it. I wonder if its really alive. If it looks after Real People with People who fly. It sounds strange to me, like a joke or a dream, but the Real Times were very different Times and I have to remember that.
Seconds change into hours as Child falls. Hours my Lungs don't work.
She passes the space between the Buildings and makes it to the Glass Roof. She falls through the missing square, into the Plants, and the Winged Beasts fly away startled, but that's all I see. If she survived I don't know. If she's hurt, I don't know.
The sound of an Apple hitting the Floor comes from behind, and I turn to face it.
Standing between the Tables, the Munie from the Stairs licks its lips. The gray tongue is dry, the way they get when they're very hungry, which means it hasn't eaten in hours. That's why it followed Child's blood scent so far and so high. The Munies do fear some things, but their hunger is stronger than everything else about them. I've seen them hunt Beasts the size of three or four of them when they were hungry enough.
With slow moves, I pick the Machine up from the Floor.
“You can't have me, you dirty Beast. I won't be your Supplies.”
It hunches low and starts to croak. Croak-croak. Croak-croak.
“I know how hungry you are, how bad you want it, but it won't happen.” I lift the Machine onto my Shoulder. Something happens before I can throw it, though, something I don't like. The Munie rubs it's filthy fingers on the Tables on both sides and starts to croak louder, and longer. Then it opens its dry, filthy mouth and the croak becomes something else:
“Wa-a-a-ant.”
It sounds so much like Child's voice. The way she would say it. I don't know the words for what it does to me, but whatever they are, they're dark words. I feel them flapping in my Chest.
I can't explain it, but my Face does something strange which the Munie doesn't like. It hisses and runs at me with it's filthy feet crunching the Glass, and the Machine
With my Elbow I push away the rest of the Glass, and when I put my head Outside I see the Machine did better than I'd hoped. It landed on the Roof below us and broke two squares of Glass, one of them too far but one of them closer, maybe close enough. Through the holes are Plants. I hope they're nice to us.
A sound echoes in the Building. It comes from the Hallway that smelled of the Death and I know it's the Door to the Stairs. The Munie heard the Glass like I knew it would and it's coming for us.
Child squirms in my Hands when I pick her up and sit her on the edge of the Window. “No want,” she says, but I push her feet around and let them hang Outside. Under them the space between the Buildings goes down nine stories and ends with the Street.
“I don't want to, either. But I want to stay with the Munie less.”
She squints down at the Glass Roof. She can't see the Street but she knows it's a long fall down. With my Face next to hers, I speak.
“I know you're scared. I'm scared, too. But life is doing the thing that scares you.”
“Why?”
“Because not doing it is scarier.”
The Voice of the Outside shouts her hair alive. The entire City in front of her, I see her body relax and lean forward and tell me she's ready.
I put my Hands around her small waist as foot sounds come through the Hallway.
“Do you see where the Glass is gone?”
She nods.
“There are Plants there. They'll help you, but you have to move your legs toward your face when you hit. Like this.” I bend her arm at the crease and hope she understands. “I'll count to three and push you and you jump at the same time.”
“What three?”
“It's the number after one and two.” The Munie smashes into the Door behind us and Child twitches from the sound.
“Okay, this is the Time. One...”
The Door opens.
“...two...”
The Munie steps into the Room.
“...three.”
**
I've never spoken to the God, but at Times like this I think about it. I wonder if its really alive. If it looks after Real People with People who fly. It sounds strange to me, like a joke or a dream, but the Real Times were very different Times and I have to remember that.
Seconds change into hours as Child falls. Hours my Lungs don't work.
She passes the space between the Buildings and makes it to the Glass Roof. She falls through the missing square, into the Plants, and the Winged Beasts fly away startled, but that's all I see. If she survived I don't know. If she's hurt, I don't know.
The sound of an Apple hitting the Floor comes from behind, and I turn to face it.
Standing between the Tables, the Munie from the Stairs licks its lips. The gray tongue is dry, the way they get when they're very hungry, which means it hasn't eaten in hours. That's why it followed Child's blood scent so far and so high. The Munies do fear some things, but their hunger is stronger than everything else about them. I've seen them hunt Beasts the size of three or four of them when they were hungry enough.
With slow moves, I pick the Machine up from the Floor.
“You can't have me, you dirty Beast. I won't be your Supplies.”
It hunches low and starts to croak. Croak-croak. Croak-croak.
“I know how hungry you are, how bad you want it, but it won't happen.” I lift the Machine onto my Shoulder. Something happens before I can throw it, though, something I don't like. The Munie rubs it's filthy fingers on the Tables on both sides and starts to croak louder, and longer. Then it opens its dry, filthy mouth and the croak becomes something else:
“Wa-a-a-ant.”
It sounds so much like Child's voice. The way she would say it. I don't know the words for what it does to me, but whatever they are, they're dark words. I feel them flapping in my Chest.
I can't explain it, but my Face does something strange which the Munie doesn't like. It hisses and runs at me with it's filthy feet crunching the Glass, and the Machine
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