Lines of War
Can love between a Seeker and a Human survive in time of war?
Escalating conflict is drawing a line between humans and Souls. Flame and Alex are forced to choose on what side of the line they stand.
(Sorry about all the quotes. I figure if you've got this far, you'll indulge me a little. Feel free to scroll past if you get bored. Or look for hints about the plot, whatever ; ) )
War:
A state of armed often prolonged conflict carried on between organized parties
A concerted effort to combat or put an end to something considered injurious
The organization of individuals to pursue hostile or defensive acts against each other for the good of a group or advancement of a purpose.
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them
Hamlet:
I did love you once.
Ophelia:
Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so.
Hamlet:
You should not have believ'd me, for virtue cannot so
inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it. I lov'd you not.
Ophelia:
I was the more deceiv'd.
Hamlet:
Get thee to a nunn'ry, why woulds't thou be a breeder of sinners?
- Hamlet
"Oft expectation fails, and most oft there
Where most it promises; and oft it hits
Where hope is coldest, and despair most fits."
- All's well that ends well
Dukh and Dusha are noted separately only for convenience
- Dal's Russian Dictionary 1880
Moving
***
I settled the pack straps more comfortably on my shoulders and waited for Dorsey to finish saying goodbye. Alex and Henry were already halfway down the valley.
"Hurry up!" I called to Bhask, who was walking slowly over to us. "Where's your pack?" He would decide to break a strap now. I took off my pack to look for my sewing kit.
"Mum," Bhask said hesitantly, "I'm not coming." Straightening up, I looked at him; stunned.
"What do you mean you're not coming?"
"I'm not coming," he repeated, glancing at Dorsey. But for once, she didn't help him out.
"Men's ceremony. It's important," he said shyly.
I had no idea what that meant, but I knew better than to ask.
"You're telling me this now?"
"I just decided."
"Time to cut the apron strings, Mum," George said, patting my arm.
"We'll look after him," Edie smiled. Was it me or was her smile a little faint. Why would he need looking after? What were they going to do? I looked from one to the other carefully.
"Maybe I better stay here," I said, putting the sewing kit back on my pack.
"Oh no," Dorsey said, grabbing the kit in one hand and hefting the pack up with the other. "Come on, we've been planning this for ages." My arms slid into their straps grudgingly, but my feet stayed put.
"He'll be fine, Flame," Dorsey insisted, grabbing my hand and pulling me along. I snuck glances behind me until I saw Bhask give me a small wave. "Oh man, you're not going to cry are you?"
"No," I said determinedly. Surrounded by the empty plain, the boys had stopped to wait for us.
"What's up with her?" Henry asked. Dorsey nodded towards the camp silently, and Henry nodded and kept walking. Alex looked back towards the camp, thinking. I got the idea they knew more about what was going on than I did. So what was new?
"Come on, Alex! I'm not going to have to drag you too, am I?" Dorsey called back, still pulling me along. Finally he started walking again.
"Bhask'll catch up with us later," Dorsey was saying, "Come on, would you? It's starting to rain!"
It spat for hours before making up its mind and letting loose volleys of rainwater. We sprinted for the nearest tree and dumped our packs. Massive trees studded the plain here, their canopies shattering the raindrops overhead into a fine spray. Alex came up behind me and put his arms around me, leaning his head on mine. We waited in silence, watching the plain become engulfed by rain, the silhouettes of trees dissolving into the misty distance, a shade lighter at a time.
Alex had been quieter since Falling Smoke had left. Not that he had ever been a huge talker. But he had been quiet after I was taken out of him too, and it always made me worry about what he was thinking. Especially now with memories of torture to cope with. But other than the quietness he seemed the same old Alex. Strong, careful, gentle. I tried not to leave him alone, but Dorsey insisted I worried too much. He was fine. Same old Alex.
"We may as well keep going. We're getting soaked anyway," Henry said finally. The canopy was saturated and had started to collect huge drops to aim down our necks. We pulled out our rain jackets and moved on.
***
We were delivering emergency food supplies to Justin's and Margie's groups, which were located at the same spot: Margie's camp had been attacked. Another human group had invaded, and they'd refused to join them. They had been forced to leave. Now they were effectively homeless, and were sheltering uncomfortably with Justin's group til they could find a new camp.
"I never thought I'd be so happy to see Seekers," Raj said, retelling the story as we walked up to their camp with the supplies.
"We would have been decimated without them," Stan agreed.
"Didn't they take you into the city?" I asked. They looked at each other.
"We didn't want to go. If a lion chases off the hyenas, it doesn't mean you should get cosy with the lion."
"It's safer with people. People you know."
This was an unfortunate consequence of the moratorium. Without the threat of Seekers, the humans weren't confined to hiding anymore. And they were taking advantage of that to start expanding. Some of the alliances had even been formed at the congress.
"Take away the top predator and all hell breaks loose," Alex said softly.
Dorsey and I left the boys to set up our camp while we went to wash off the rain and mud and get into dry clothes.
"The Seekers have got to stop this sort of thing," Dorsey was saying, stripping off her soaking top and dumping it in a soapey basin.
"The Seekers can't stop the humans fighting each other: the humans are too good at keeping out of their way. It'd be a guerilla war." I scrubbed the mud off my legs.
"Well someone's got to stop them. It's ridiculous. We shouldn't be fighting each other."
I wondered grimly if the humans would ever stop fighting. It seemed nothing could stop them.
We came back to find Etty curled up in Alex's lap, gazing at us like a lion from her rock. I waited for her to run, but she didn't even tense up. I eased myself down to the ground, and she glanced up at Dorsey, as if I were no more interesting than a pebble.
"How long has this been going on for?" I asked softly, watching in amazement as Etty turned her back on me to better watch a bird fly off in the trees.
"Oh, we've been friends for ages, haven't we?" Alex said. She nodded absently, and he poked her belly, regaining her attention.
"You used to visit me when I was sick, when we first came, didn't you?" he asked her. She nodded, gazing at him seriously, relaxing into the crook of his knee.
"Never when Flame was around, of course," he added, "We didn't like her." She shook her head.
"No, but she's not so bad now." She thought about this for a while then nodded.
The others laughed.
"Oh Flame, I think you've got some competition there." Henry said.
"That's amazing. No one else can get her to communicate so much," Margie said softly, gazing at the child as if seeing her anew.
"Yeah, well, our Alex certainly has a way with the girls," said Dorsey, leaning on me, "Good thing he spent half his adult life alone in a national park or he'd have half the country after him."
"And what makes you immune?" Henry said.
"Who says I'm immune? It's the thought of kissing my brother that turns me off."
I shifted quickly so she overbalanced and fell onto her elbow as Henry threw a shoe at her. Etty laughed delightedly.
"He's not your brother!" I protested.
"He may as well be," she muttered.