Author's Note: For a long time I've contemplated doing a 'biography'
on Seamus Harper, my favorite Andromeda character, although I love all of
them. Well, now it has come. I've done my best to stay true to all the
facts I do know about him. I haven't seen any of the first two seasons
however, except for the first four. Therefore if some fact was mentioned
that I don't include, please forgive me. I've also tried to make this one
different from all the other Harper life stories out there. Many were
good, I just wanted to try my own take. So here goes; please enjoy. Upon
learning that Seamus is 'Earth-Irish' I decided to make much of his family
Irish, hence the names, which are authentic, according to the name website
I got them off of. The meanings are also, as far as I know, correct, as
are the spellings and pronunciations.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, at least not Harper or his cousins. I have made up most of his family members from my imagination and if they bare any resemblance to other fanfiction characters, it is entirely chance. I am not making any profit off of this.
The song, "Annachie Gordon" was based on a poem and put to music by Loreena McKennit, who is one of my favorite artists. I'm pretty sure it's Irish, but even if it's not, I like and I want to put it in here. :P Pronunciation of names: Bronagh (Bro-na)
Eoin (Owe-in)
Kaleigh (Kaye-lee)
Siobhan (Shi-van)
Declan (Deck-lawn)
Life of a Kludge: Volume 1: Barely But A Man
Chapter 1: Before Birth-10 years old
Prologue
The sky is turning a lovely dark blue as the sun sets. I'm rocking on the old wooden chair outside our small cottage that Zelazny made for me six years ago, when I was pregnant with our first child. Our lovely little Briana! She was gorgeous, with curly blonde hair and eyes so blue they put the sky to shame. As I have red hair, as does my sister Kaleigh, and green eyes, she took after her father, who has the same look. She only lived for four years though. Caught the swamp fever, as they call it. Used to be known as the 'flu', but few people remember that.
Our second child, Conor, died after only a few months. He was sickly from birth, and could not survive the harsh winter months. This child shall be our third. My only wish is that he will live, and I know it is a he, how; I'm not sure, but I know. Zelazny doesn't believe me. I think he would like another daughter, one like Briana. Still, even if it kills me, I want a child.
The third child of a third child, surely that must mean something. I believe very much in fate and the powers of this earth, weakened though it now is. My elder sister, Kaleigh, scoffs at me when I talk like that. She thinks I'm weak and foolish, but then Kaleigh has had a harder time of it. Her husband, Brian, died a few months ago and she is left to raise their three year old son, Brendan, alone. Our eldest brother, Eoin, doesn't think I'm crazy. He just smiles softly and calls me sanguine. And I am. He and his wife Cassie, already have a child as well. A two year old girl named Siobhan, who looks just like her father. I am the only one of us who has yet to have a living child.
Zelazny calls to me from the fields and I wave. He is trying to farm the land near our house. Nothing has grown here for many years but a few small trees. Still, he and Eoin are doing their best. Kaleigh says I am too thin for a woman with child; she says if I don't eat more the child will surely die, like Conor. I can only laugh at her and say "What should I eat?" for this land is not the lush green land our grandparents spoke of when they told us about Ireland, where our family comes from. My brother, sister, and I were all born there, but my parents moved here just after I was born, and none of us remember it well. In any case, there is little food to eat. The food we do scrape together we distribute to the children first, for they are all much too thin. Little Siobhan's eyes look too big for her face, and Brendan, although tall for his age, looks like he couldn't stand against a strong wind.
Still, barren though this land may be, it is far better than living under the rule of the Nietzscheans. They hate us 'kludges', despite the fact that they were created by a kludge from Earth. Now, although we live in Dunwich, Massachusetts, there is little distinction between land. All human government has long since been overrun and we live at the mercy of the Nietzscheans. A few others live in this little village, but we tend to stick together as a family, Zelazny has no living blood relatives, and I only have my brother, sister-in-law, niece, sister, and nephew.
And soon, I shall have a son.
End of Prologue.
The little boy ran through the fields of dead plants, laughing as he ran away from a girl who chased him. His blonde hair caught the sun, and his baby blue eyes matched the girl's who ran after him.
"I'm gonna get you Seamus!" The brown haired girl, thin as a stick, called out gaily. The little boy only laughed and kept running.
"Seamus, Siobhan, come eat before the food gets cold." A red haired woman called out. She stood outside a small wooden hut, and on the ground several lumps of black bread, a pitcher of water, and a pot of stew lay on the ground. Several other people sat around it and appeared to be waiting for the two children. A small boy with dirty blonde hair reached towards a loaf of bread, and laughed when his hand was swatted playfully away.
"Coming Aunt Bronagh!" The young girl called out. She started to run towards them, then turned and smiled at Seamus. She walked back and picked up the four year old, then carried him back to the others.
"You shouldn't run around so much honey, it'll make you sick," A woman with black hair and dark features said as she hugged Siobhan to her, another little boy already on her lap.
"Don't be silly Cassie, exercise is good for them!" A blonde haired man said as he picked Seamus up and onto one shoulder.
"Careful Zel!" Bronagh called, the red haired, green eyed, woman who had called the children to dinner. Zelazny only smiled and sat down as they all began passing the food around. The children laughed and teased each other, until they were told to go finish their food before they played. They did, and then ran off chasing each other, the little toddler, Declan, just running and not understanding the game.
The adults continued to eat in silence for a few moments. There were two men and three women; they sat in a tight circle and watched the children or the ground while they ate.
"There have been more reports of alien attacks," A blonde haired woman said, her blue eyes matching Brendan's and Seamus'. Zelazny snorted at her words, biting off a piece of the hard bread.
"Like as not they're just lies made up by the Nietzscheans to convince more people to live under their 'protection'." Both he and Eoin spit at the end of his sentence, causing them all to laugh.
"Just the same, I've been thinking more about moving to the camp, just in case," The same woman said.
"Kaleigh don't be ridiculous! Once you go, they won't let you leave." Bronagh said, frowning slightly.
"Mommy! Mommy! Come quick! Declan fell in the pond!" Cassie grew pale and jumped to her feet, as did the other adults, and they ran after them. The one thing that kept them all together was their children; without them, they were all as hopeless as the world around them.
Two years later
"I'm not drinking it, you drink it!" Little Declan said with a look of disgust. The four cousins had been exploring the dead forest a few miles from their homes. They had discovered a small pond, almost a lake, and were observing their find.
"Come on, I dare you! You can have my dinner tonight!" Brendan cajoled, running a branch through the murky water.
"Don't be stupid Bren, who knows what chemicals and stuff's in it!" Siobhan scolded, pulling her little brother away from the edge. All the children were barefoot, and all wore tunics and pants put together by the hard work of their mothers. From woven grass, to homemade paper, to clay for paste, and hair for thread, all three parents had found ways to make their children semi warm clothing, and they were all constantly told to keep their clothes from getting mussed. Thus Siobhan's nervous glance at the mud and brown water.
"I'll drink it!" Seamus' bright voice offered. Brendan had started to look angry at Declan's refusal, and Seamus was always trying to get Brendan to like him. Brendan usually called him a baby and refused to play with him, and Seamus was almost desperate for his approval.
"All right!" Brendan said with a smile. Siobhan rolled her eyes, brushing her knotted brown hair out of her face.
"Don't do it Seamus! You'll get sick and then we'll all get in trouble," She planted one hand on her hip, the other clutched her brother's arm fiercely. Seamus wanted a brother, he'd always wanted a brother, but he didn't tell his Mom that, or his Dad. His Mom would get sad and his Dad would get angry, so he tried to pretend that Brendan was his brother.
Seamus knelt in the mud, careful not to put too much weight on his knees and get his pants stained, which was difficult. He leaned forward.and lost his balance, throwing himself into the water.
He heard laughter, and then Siobhan was pulling him out, yelling at Brendan and telling Declan to shut up.
"Are you all right?" Siobhan asked, eyeing his drenched self. Seamus nodded, too embarrassed to say anything.
They continued to play, although Seamus didn't feel like it too much. Declan and him played tag, and Brendan, apparently feeling sorry for him falling, did his best to be nice and cheer him up. Still, when two days later Seamus felt a sharp pain in his ear, only a sense of dread filled him. The others had given him extra food to keep him from telling their parents what had happened, and he'd been enjoying the extra attention, especially from Siobhan and Brendan.
"Come on boy, time to get up," His father shook him roughly, and Seamus opened his eyes and lifted his head slightly, only to lay back down again when the pain moved from his ear to his head. "Come on, or you're not going to eat," Dad said, pulling on a shirt, and then pulling the tattered blanket off of Seamus. With a frightened look, Seamus turned over on his side, but he couldn't stop shaking. His dad looked back over at him, and felt his forehead.
"Damnit boy, can't you stay well for a week?" Cursing, Zelazny stood up and called to Bronagh. She came in, opening the flap of cloth at the doorway with a look of concern on her face. Zelazny walked out passed her and she ignored him, running over to her boy's side and kneeling on the floor, feeling his forehead herself.
"Don't worry honey, you're gonna be fine love," She kept murmuring soft words to him, calling out to Siobhan to go get her mother. For the next week Seamus was kept in bed with some sort of ear infection. When Siobhan broke down and told how he must have gotten it, by falling into the lake, all three children were punished for being so reckless.
At night, when Seamus' fever got so that he couldn't sleep, his mother would cradle him and sing to him softly.
"Harking is bonny, and there lives my love.my love lies on him and cannot removed. It cannot removed for all that I have done, and I never will forget my love, Annachie.." Seamus felt his eyelids droop, his mother always sang this to him when he couldn't sleep, and he knew the words by heart.
"You must marry Lord Sultan and leave Annachie.for Annachie Gordon is barely but a man, although he may be pretty, but where are his lands? For the Sultan's lands are broad, and his towers, they run high, you must marry Lord Sultan and leave Annachie."
In his mind Seamus always pictured the Sultan as a big evil Nietzschean, although he hadn't ever seen one, and Annachie was him, or sometimes his father, while Jeannie, the girl, was his mother. It was an old song, Bronagh told him once, one that her grandmother had taught her.
"Why do we have to learn to read?" A few months later, all four children sat in the square of the village with a few others. Declan was pouting because he couldn't understand the strange symbols that their teacher had written in the dirt.
"There is much you can learn from books," The man began patiently. All the children were bored with the lessons, except for Seamus. It was his first day, he'd missed the other few lessons because his mother had fallen ill and his father had needed his help at home. Brendan and Siobhan had promised to help him catch up.
"'Sides Declan, it's easy! If Nietzscheans can do it, anyone can!" Seamus said laughing. His laugh was infectious and the others laughed or giggled as well, more at his enthusiasm than at his words. Declan smiled at Seamus, he had become the brother he'd always wanted, as he'd grown older. He and Brendan were closer, but Brendan was still patronizing sometimes. His mother told him it was because Brendan had to take care of his mother and himself, so he had to grow up faster than Seamus.
They were just learning the vowels when a shrill scream made them all turn. People were running through the village in horror.
"What's happening?" The teacher grabbed a woman by the arm and asked frantically.
"Monsters! They're attacking!" The woman pulled her arm away and continued to run. Some of the children started crying, Brendan took Seamus' hand and started running, calling back to Siobhan and Declan to follow. They didn't. Turning, they saw Siobhan push Declan towards Brendan and Seamus, and then turn to run towards their houses. Declan, crying, ran after her.
"Siobhan! Declan! Come on Brendan, we gotta go after them!" Seamus cried out, but Brendan watched them go before tightening his grip on Seamus' hand and running with the others. They didn't go far. Before long, animals that were indeed monsters to their eyes began running through the village. Brendan pulled Seamus into a ditch outside the town. No one else had run that way, and none of the monsters seemed to be going in that direction. With frightened, wide eyes they peered over the edge of the grass and rocks to watch as their neighbors were torn open and their homes destroyed.
A body was thrown towards them, and Seamus was covered in the blood of it before Brendan could pull him away. They stayed there for many nights, until things seemed to quiet down and voices were heard calling names instead of screaming. Cautiously Brendan and Seamus got out of the ditch and walked back towards the village. Flies buzzed everywhere, and the smell of fire and blood filled their nostrils. No one stopped to talk to them or ask if they were ok, so they continued until they reached their home.
"Oh thank god boys!" Their uncle Eoin ran out towards them and hugged them tightly before looking at the closely. "Are you two all right?" he asked, and the boys nodded. Their mothers ran out and soon Seamus was being held tightly in his mother's arms, his father stroking his head. Aunt Kaleigh also hugged Brendan tightly, but Seamus saw neither Siobhan nor Declan, only Uncle Eoin and Aunt Cassie holding each other; Aunt Cassie sobbing into Eoin's shoulder.
"Oh Seamus! We were so afraid you were gone!" His mother whispered to him, Seamus only hugged her tighter. "Where's Siobhan and Declan?" He asked after a few moments. Brendan looked at his mother questioningly, but she only shook her head and hugged him again.
"Come inside honey, they're inside," Was all his mother could get out. She handed him to Zelazny, who carried him into the house. On piles of blankets, Siobhan and Declan lay side by side, asleep.
"Are they ok?" Seamus asked, not understanding why his aunt and uncle were so upset when everyone seemed to be fine.
"We don't know what's wrong with them," His father answered him softly. "We think the aliens did something to them. It's happened to some other people; the monsters laid their eggs inside them, and when they hatched, they died." Normally his mother would have objected to telling it so bluntly to him, but his time she only held him closer to her.
They tried everything they could for Siobhan and Declan. Seamus gave them his water and tried to entice them to play. They would only shake their heads and say they didn't feel well enough. Aunt Cassie spent every waking moment with them, crying all the time. Uncle Eoin explained to Seamus how they had returned to try and look for their parents when they'd been caught by the monsters, Magog, they learned from neighbors. The monsters had been attacking various towns for years, but this was the first time they'd attacked anywhere near Dunwich. Many people were moving; most were going to try the refugee camp. Life under Nietzschean rule seemed a fair exchange for their protection from such monsters.
Aunt Kaleigh thought it was a good idea to go as well. Zelazny and Bronagh argued with her, Eoin and Cassie were too concerned about their children to care. They stayed up late, trying not to yell since everyone now slept in the Harpers' hut, the other being destroyed beyond repair.
Then one morning Kaleigh hugged Seamus, told Brendan to say goodbye, and left. Bronagh cried silently, Zelazny trying to comfort her.
"I'm never going to see her, my sister, again Zel!" she cried, trying to muffle the sound against his shoulder.
"Yes you will! Bronagh, we're family, we'll make it through this," He shushed her and held her until she slept. Seamus didn't like to watch his mother cry, so he lay between his cousins and held their hands to fall asleep, singing his mother's lullaby in his head.
As they worsened, Eoin suggested bitterly that maybe they should ease their suffering. Cassie went into a rage, telling him she would die before she killed her babies.
"They are dying! In a horrible, painful way!" Eoin shouted at her.
"I won't let you end their life! Are you their father or not? We can't give up hope, maybe they'll survive!" Cassie pleaded, tears streaming down her face. Zelazny stood up, Bronagh took Seamus' hand and they went for a walk outside, by the forest where they had found the lake of water in a time that seemed ages before now.
"Did I ever tell you what my name means Seamus?" Bronagh said softly. They were sitting on a rotted trunk of an ancient tree, Zelazny mindlessly peeling the bark off of it while Seamus sat on his mother's lap. Shaking his head, Seamus didn't say anything. All he could think of was his cousins' limp forms and cries of pain.
"It means 'lady of sorrow'. My mother once told me a story about a beautiful queen who had my name a long time ago and was locked up in a tower for many years." They spent the rest of the day outside, and when they returned, everyone was asleep.
The next day, Seamus awoke to his parents and uncle and aunt sitting in a circle outside. He got out of the bed, careful to keep the blankets from disturbing Siobhan and Declan's sleep as he walked outside.
The adults looked up, heavy, sad eyes watching him. Seamus was used to this look by now, he hardly remembered what Aunt Cassie looked like when her face wasn't stained with tears.
"We've decided to decide what to do to help your cousins, Seamus," His father said solemnly. His mother didn't meet his eyes. Uncle Eoin tightened his arm around his wife as Seamus sat down next to his mother.
"I don't understand," he said. Hadn't they been doing everything they could? Hadn't they asked everyone for help and advice on what to do to cure his cousins?
"What do you think Seamus? Should we end Siobhan and Declan's life before they Magog eggs hatch out and kill them?" His father continued, but Seamus' eyes grew wide with confusion.
"What?" he asked softly. Tears filling her eyes, Bronagh held out her arms to him, but Seamus didn't go to her.
"Honey, I know it's hard for you to understand, you're so young, but Siobhan and Declan are suffering. We need to know you understand why we're doing this," Doing what? Seamus shook his head in confusion.
"Seamus, the only difference will be whether they die in pain and agony or if they die swiftly and painlessly. Which would you want them to have?"
"I don't want them to be in pain," Seamus said quietly, not looking at his aunt and uncle.
"Come on, Seamus," His mother whispered. She stood up, took his hand, and led him to the woods they'd gone to yesterday.
"Wait, I have to say goodbye," He said, and tried to pull away, but Bronagh tightened her grip and quickened her pace. Seamus never saw Siobhan or Declan again. They were buried by the time they finally returned. His parents had also decided to try and join the refugee camp along with Kaleigh and Brendan. Cassie refused to leave the resting place of her children, and Eoin wouldn't leave his wife. To Seamus, it seemed as though his family, and life, were falling apart. And he wouldn't celebrate his seventh birthday for another year.
It took a few more months before they could move to the camp. With tearful greetings, they said goodbye to his Aunt and Uncle and began their walk, with a few hundred others, to the Boston Harbor Refugee Camp. It looked like some sort of bizarre pilgrimage, everyone wearing tattered clothing and belongings, with despair behind them and hope of salvation ahead of them.
To Seamus, the mood appeared to be lightened somewhat, and he looked forward to seeing his cousin Brendan again. He missed Siobhan and Declan so much, and he refused to talk about them to his parents, not even to his mother.
After days of walking, they at last reached the gates to the camp. The line of people became narrower and longer as they waited to be allowed in. It took nearly another day before they reached the office.
"Name," A tall, armed Nietzschean said. Seamus stared at them in awe. He was small for his age, and to him the many Nietzschean guards looked like giants. One of the guards beside the one that had asked their name held something in her hand. Seamus struggled to see what it was, but his father placed his hands on his shoulders, holding him in place.
"Zelazny Frederick Harper, my wife Bronagh Rhiannon Harper, and Seamus Zelazny Harper," As he spoke and spelled out the names, the guard with the object in his hand moved his fingers across the machine. They were asked their ages and a few other questions, but Seamus was too busy looking around to listen.
"Hold the kid," The armed one said as the other leaned towards him, holding out a needle.
"Hold still Seamus," His mother whispered. Obeying, Seamus didn't move, but he yelped in pain as the guard pressed the needle into the back of his neck and a sensation of burning ran down his spine. "It's ok honey, I know it feels strange but it's fine," His mother continued to whisper. The guards grinned maliciously as they were pushed to another stop point.
"You'll work in the mines, you'll be a maid in the house of one of the Elder Daughters, and the kid will be assigned work when's he's older," Eyeing the scrawny child, the guard laughed, "Unless he dies first,"
They were given further instructions on the laws of the camp and where their jobs were.
"Any disobedience and you're freedom is forfeit," The guard warned. "And don't try to escape, the chips put in you earlier let us know where you are at all times. They can be destroyed if you run away," Zelazny assured him they wouldn't try to run away and with that, they entered their new home.
The city was gray, and buildings everywhere looked worn and about to collapse. People were everywhere, and the smell was wretched. It made Seamus' eyes water and it made him feel sick. His father carried him since he didn't have shoes and the streets were lined with filth. Although they searched all night they didn't find an empty building, and they ended up sleeping in an abandoned one story building filled with other sleeping bodies. Seamus slept in his mother's arms, shivering as he tried to get warm. In the morning, Zelazny and Bronagh had to go to their assigned work areas. With a kiss and hug, Bronagh told Seamus to be careful and stay away from strangers.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," She said softly, brushing her hand through his hair and leaving with his father. Seamus tried to go back to sleep, but it eluded him without his mother's warmth. So he got up and went to explore his new world. He stepped over other bodies as he made his way outside. Stepping on something sharp, he cried out, only to be told to stay quiet. Wandering outside, he watched as people stared at him, or ignored him; all walked around quickly. Several groups of Nietzscheans wandered around, armed with guns and dressed for the cold much better than the humans who walked around.
Seamus spent his first day there wandering around the streets, keeping the building they had slept at in sight all the time. There wasn't much to see, although he found several interesting dumps that were practically a playground, filled with other kids. Seamus rummaged through, finding many strange items he asked the other kids what they were. Looking at him as though he were some kind of idiot, they explained the strange technologies there. Fascinated, Seamus watched the Nietzscheans on the streets to see what devices they used. Usually they only use slim silver bars to hit people with, and it sent some kind of electric currents through them.
The first day was the hardest, but soon Seamus began to settle into his new life. He wandered the streets while his parents were at work. They finally built a small hut, similar to the one in Dunwich, and they began to create a life for themselves.
They didn't find Brendan for many months, and when he did turn up on their doorstep, thinner and more haggard than when they had last seen them, he tearfully explained that his mother had caught sick and died. He'd fallen sick as well and had gone unconscious with the fever. When he had finally recovered and woken up, his mother was dead beside him.
That night, Zelazny and Bronagh watched the two boys sleeping on the floor together, looking like brothers.
"I always wanted a large family," Bronagh said softly. Zelazny slipped his arms around her waist.
"We could have more kids," He said doubtfully. "We have a Zelazny junior, we need a Bronagh as well," They smiled, but Bronagh shook her head.
"I'm afraid I'll never have any more children." She rested her head against his shoulder.
"It nearly killed you with him," Zelazny whispered into her ear. "You're right, no child is worth your death," Bronagh turned to look at him, surprise in her face.
"What are you talking about? Seamus is worth my life," She said, only just remembering to keep her voice low.
"I'm tired, let's go to sleep," Zelazny didn't answer her but when to lie down on their bed. After a few moments of watching the boys, Bronagh turned to follow him. Lying on his side away facing away from them, Seamus closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
Two long years passed by slowly. Brendan taught Seamus how to avoid the Nietzscheans. For his part, Seamus simply liked to go to the dumps and look for interesting things. Sometimes he'd try and repair the broken items, but since he didn't know that most of them were for, it didn't usually work. His work was also hampered by hiding every time the Nietzscheans came by, since it would have been considered stealing for him to take their trash. Brendan usually stayed with him, but found the dumps boring. He preferred to go watch the ships take off and land. They had to watch from a distance of course, but there was a hill that they could see from perfectly without being too close to be seen.
"Where do they go?" Seamus asked once as they watched a ship rise off the ground and slowly ascend into the air.
"Into space of course, you dummy, don't you know anything?"
"Where in space? Where is there to go?" Seamus insisted. So Brendan explained to him about the different worlds in the galaxies. Some of it he made up, but he had overheard people talking in the 'bars' and other areas. Planets where there was still green, or whatever color their vegetation was. Strange beings who weren't like the Nietzscheans or the Magog but were sometimes kind enough to give him food if they passed by in the streets. Humans who never got sick, but weren't Nietzscheans. Humans who never lacked for food, or living areas. This was the strangest of all to Seamus. Weren't all the humans left on earth? If not, why didn't they help those who were?
"Because that's life Seamus. It's shit, and there's nothing we can do about it," Brendan would say. He was worried about his naïve cousin who seemed to think everyone was friendly and nice if you were polite back. Still, Seamus was catching on. He had helped Brendan mug some flash addicts a few days back. They'd nearly gotten killed, but then they'd used the money to help buy food. It was the life Seamus was learning to live. He began to hate it quickly.
One night he woke up and lay listening to the rats, which would probably be their dinner the next day, fighting. Silently he stood up and looked around the darkness, feeling as though he were in a dream. Slipping outside the door, he was careful not to make any noise. His parents had forbidden him or Brendan from ever going outside at night. Dangerous as the camp always was, it was worse at night. Not only from the other human residents, but Nietzscheans who were looking for sport and fun when they were off duty. Still, Seamus oddly didn't feel afraid. He felt invigorated as he looked up and saw the faint stars. A crazy idea came to him; to sneak over to the space station, as he and Brendan had called it, and get as close to the ships as he could. He stole away in the night, ignoring the people coaxing him to buy some drugs, or to sell them something. Ignoring them, he jogged quickly through the alleys, trying not to be frightened of the sounds and strange shapes lurking in the shadows.
He reached the station and slipped through the metal bars that fenced it in. They were supposed to be too skinny for anyone to fit through, but Seamus was able to pass through them easily. There were fewer guards posted there at night, and fewer ships landed. He saw one loading up to take off and he ran towards it. He couldn't explain the feeling he got, he just knew that he wanted to jump in and be taken wherever it was going, and to never, ever, return. So he did. He ran to the ship, silently and kept out of sight. As soon as he had plunged through the doorway a sharp pain in the back of his neck made him scream. The pain increased and he struggled to his feet, lost his balance, and fell back to the ground. Forms surrounded him but the pain threw him into darkness before he could see them.
"What the hell's the matter with you?" His father shouted at him. Seamus was huddling in a blanket back at home. His mother was silent, dabbing the wounds on his face and chest with a cloth and some water. "What in all the hells possessed you to try and do something so stupid? You could have gotten us all killed! You could have been killed! Would you just leave us after all we've done for you?" Zelazny ran a hand through his hair. He had lost a lot of weight since working at the mines, and he'd started coughing regularly. Seamus was quiet, tears stinging in his eyes as she avoided the looks of Brendan or his mother.
His father stormed out of the small hut, and Brendan watched them silently. Seeing his tears, Bronagh hugged Seamus.
"Oh honey, don't listen to your father." She pulled him away gently and looked him in the eye. "The first chance you get, you get out of here. Get off this planet. Don't worry about me and your father."
"What about Brendan?" Seamus asked softly, rubbing his tears away quickly. Brendan let out a disgusted laugh.
"Don't worry about it Seamus, neither of us are ever leaving, so it doesn't matter." He stood up and followed Seamus' father out the door. Bronagh sighed, but smiled weakly at Seamus.
Weeks went by without further incident. Seamus recovered from the beating given to him by the Nietzscheans. He was only save from slavery or death by his age, and the pleas of his mother and father. Seamus spent more and more time tinkering with the objects in the dumps. He was sometimes able to make a few simple items. There was an old air cleaner that was pretty easy to fix, and his dad even hugged him when he brought it home and showed how it worked proudly. Brendan spent more time stealing, so Seamus stayed at the dumps by himself. Sometimes he met other humans there, doing what he was doing. Only they seemed to understand how the things worked better than he did. One man, who called himself Larry, came often and had taken a liking to Seamus.
"See this? It's a tool, it can weld things together," he once told him, holding up a rusted metal hand tool. Seamus nodded solemnly, the handkerchief his mother had tied around his mouth and nose to protect him from the fumes making him feel foolish. Larry had been teaching him how various tools worked and what technology could do. Seamus listened carefully, hanging on to every word. Larry explained how the Nietzscheans might let him work at a mechanic shop if he was lucky. That would be a good thing, "You've got a knack for this stuff, I can tell," he said with a wink. "Just don't let them experiment the stuff on you, or you'll be dead sooner than a baby dangled on a hook in front of a Magog," The Magog attacks had increased, and his parents had heard nothing from Aunt Carrie or Uncle Eoin. They assumed they were alive, but Brendan told Seamus it was stupid to think they could possibly still be alive. "Uh oh, gotta run kid," Larry slid down the pile of filth and darted away. Looking around, Seamus saw a group of Nietzschean soldiers coming towards them. His heart beating fast with fear he ran down the pile of trash, slipped, and rolled down to the ground. They yelled at him to stop, but he ignored them and kept running, as fast as he could. He'd become good at running, though small, he could outrun even Brendan.
Pushing through the crowds, Seamus ran towards the house. He could hide in the hole they'd dug under the floor boards, and since his parents were still at work there'd be no one else for the Nietzscheans to bother. Panting, Seamus dashed in the house, and froze when he saw his mother standing there.
"Where've you been Seamus? I got the day off because my lady is ill- " She saw the fear in his eyes and asked. "What's wrong?" She saw the metallic object in his hand, heard the feet and shouts of the Nietzscheans outside and she grew pale. "Seamus, hide," Bronagh pushed him to the floor, opened the loose board, and shoved him inside and managed to stand just as the Nietzscheans burst inside.
"Where's the brat?" One spat out, holding his gun up to her. Seamus watched in horror through a small crack in the floor.
"What are you talking about? My boy's out, I don't know what he's up to anymore," She said, crossing her arms. The man in front of the others backhanded her to the ground.
"Don't play with us kludge. We saw him come in here. Stealing is a crime punishable by death, although if you beg hard enough we might just take him as a slave." The others smiled menacingly.
"He's done nothing wrong, please," Bronagh cried our from the ground. They kicked her, and she rolled onto the board above Seamus, blocking his view. They tortured her for nearly three hours, until Seamus wondered if they'd forgotten why they had come in the first place. He lay flat on the ground, covering his ears as hard as he could to block out the sounds of pain that came from her. He didn't know what they did to her and he didn't want to know. Long after they left and there was silence the lay there, with his hands over his ears.
He heard a door open, and a gasp. His father had come home.
"Bronagh! Oh god, Bronagh!" Finally, crying uncontrollably, Seamus pushed the floor board open and climbed out. His father was kneeling on the floor, his back to Seamus, cradling Bronagh's dead body.
"I'm sorry," Seamus said through his tears. His dad didn't appear to hear him, but continued sobbing and holding onto his wife. Time passed, Seamus didn't know how much, he just stood there shaking and crying. Finally Zelazny turned, hugged Seamus tightly, then picked up Bronagh's body and walked out of the door.
Some hours later Brendan came in, exhausted. He could smell the blood immediately, and ran over to Seamus, who was huddling in the corner and crying, as soon as he came in. Brendan didn't ask what had happened, he slung an arm around Seamus and they sat there for the rest of the night, Seamus finally crying himself to sleep.
Early the next morning Zelazny came back in, he stunk of alcohol, and Brendan asked softly.
"What happened? Where's Aunt Bronagh?" He didn't move from his position so he wouldn't disturb Seamus. Zelazny raised a shaking hand and pointed to Seamus.
"He killed 'er, that's what 'appened," Was all he said before collapsing onto the bed and not moving again. Brendan woke Seamus up and carried him out of the house.
"Where are we going?" Seamus asked.
"Don't worry, we're just going to spend a few days with some friends of mine," Brendan replied. His 'friends' turned out to be a gang whom Brendan had joined some time ago. He asked if Seamus could stay with them for awhile, until his dad wasn't so upset about his wife's death, and they agreed, as long as he wasn't any trouble. They stayed there for nearly two weeks, Seamus staying away from the older boys and girls and only talking to Brendan. At last, judging that his Uncle's rage had calmed some, Brendan took Seamus back to his home.
"Aren't you coming?" Seamus asked as Brendan didn't move towards the door.
"I think I've been a burden on you guys long enough," Brendan said quietly. Seamus shook his head and ran to Brendan, trying to pull him inside.
"Please! You can't leave me alone!" Seamus begged as Brendan didn't move. Slowly he shook his head.
"I'm sorry Seamus. Don't worry, I'll check on you and make sure you're ok," With that he turned and walked down into the dirty gray streets and disappeared among the crowd. Trembling, Seamus slowly opened the door. His father was no where in sight, so Seamus assumed he was at work. Hungry, he searched for food and found none, only some strange bottles. They smelled bad, so Seamus searched for water. There was no clean water, obviously his dad hadn't had time to de-contaminate any, in other words, he hadn't boiled it at all. Seamus was too tired to try and start a fire. He hadn't slept well at the gang's home and he felt exhausted from grief and anger. So he opened one of the bottles again and forced himself to drink it. Before he knew it the whole bottle was gone and he felt sick. Crawling over to the blankets on the floor, still in the same place he had last left them, he fell asleep.
When he woke up, he saw his father sitting against the door, drinking from one of the bottles. He glanced over and smiled weakly at Seamus.
"Where ya been kid?" He asked in a raspy voice, coughs racking his throat.
"Brendan took me away," Was all Seamus said in reply. His dad nodded then motioned for him to come sit next to him, which he did. Handing him a bottle, Zelazny stood up.
"I gotta get to work. I'll see you later," His father turned and walked out the door, leaving Seamus wishing for some clean water since he hadn't been clean in a month, hole-ridden, dirty clothes, and a bottle of nearly raw alcohol cradled in his ten year old arms.
End of Chapter 1
I hope you liked it, sorry it was so long. Any thoughts/suggestions are welcome. Please review! It doesn't have to be long! I need to know if I should bother continuing it or not. If you can't write a review, email me at Runicprincess@aol.com Thanks!
-Luna Sealeaf
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, at least not Harper or his cousins. I have made up most of his family members from my imagination and if they bare any resemblance to other fanfiction characters, it is entirely chance. I am not making any profit off of this.
The song, "Annachie Gordon" was based on a poem and put to music by Loreena McKennit, who is one of my favorite artists. I'm pretty sure it's Irish, but even if it's not, I like and I want to put it in here. :P Pronunciation of names: Bronagh (Bro-na)
Eoin (Owe-in)
Kaleigh (Kaye-lee)
Siobhan (Shi-van)
Declan (Deck-lawn)
Life of a Kludge: Volume 1: Barely But A Man
Chapter 1: Before Birth-10 years old
Prologue
The sky is turning a lovely dark blue as the sun sets. I'm rocking on the old wooden chair outside our small cottage that Zelazny made for me six years ago, when I was pregnant with our first child. Our lovely little Briana! She was gorgeous, with curly blonde hair and eyes so blue they put the sky to shame. As I have red hair, as does my sister Kaleigh, and green eyes, she took after her father, who has the same look. She only lived for four years though. Caught the swamp fever, as they call it. Used to be known as the 'flu', but few people remember that.
Our second child, Conor, died after only a few months. He was sickly from birth, and could not survive the harsh winter months. This child shall be our third. My only wish is that he will live, and I know it is a he, how; I'm not sure, but I know. Zelazny doesn't believe me. I think he would like another daughter, one like Briana. Still, even if it kills me, I want a child.
The third child of a third child, surely that must mean something. I believe very much in fate and the powers of this earth, weakened though it now is. My elder sister, Kaleigh, scoffs at me when I talk like that. She thinks I'm weak and foolish, but then Kaleigh has had a harder time of it. Her husband, Brian, died a few months ago and she is left to raise their three year old son, Brendan, alone. Our eldest brother, Eoin, doesn't think I'm crazy. He just smiles softly and calls me sanguine. And I am. He and his wife Cassie, already have a child as well. A two year old girl named Siobhan, who looks just like her father. I am the only one of us who has yet to have a living child.
Zelazny calls to me from the fields and I wave. He is trying to farm the land near our house. Nothing has grown here for many years but a few small trees. Still, he and Eoin are doing their best. Kaleigh says I am too thin for a woman with child; she says if I don't eat more the child will surely die, like Conor. I can only laugh at her and say "What should I eat?" for this land is not the lush green land our grandparents spoke of when they told us about Ireland, where our family comes from. My brother, sister, and I were all born there, but my parents moved here just after I was born, and none of us remember it well. In any case, there is little food to eat. The food we do scrape together we distribute to the children first, for they are all much too thin. Little Siobhan's eyes look too big for her face, and Brendan, although tall for his age, looks like he couldn't stand against a strong wind.
Still, barren though this land may be, it is far better than living under the rule of the Nietzscheans. They hate us 'kludges', despite the fact that they were created by a kludge from Earth. Now, although we live in Dunwich, Massachusetts, there is little distinction between land. All human government has long since been overrun and we live at the mercy of the Nietzscheans. A few others live in this little village, but we tend to stick together as a family, Zelazny has no living blood relatives, and I only have my brother, sister-in-law, niece, sister, and nephew.
And soon, I shall have a son.
End of Prologue.
The little boy ran through the fields of dead plants, laughing as he ran away from a girl who chased him. His blonde hair caught the sun, and his baby blue eyes matched the girl's who ran after him.
"I'm gonna get you Seamus!" The brown haired girl, thin as a stick, called out gaily. The little boy only laughed and kept running.
"Seamus, Siobhan, come eat before the food gets cold." A red haired woman called out. She stood outside a small wooden hut, and on the ground several lumps of black bread, a pitcher of water, and a pot of stew lay on the ground. Several other people sat around it and appeared to be waiting for the two children. A small boy with dirty blonde hair reached towards a loaf of bread, and laughed when his hand was swatted playfully away.
"Coming Aunt Bronagh!" The young girl called out. She started to run towards them, then turned and smiled at Seamus. She walked back and picked up the four year old, then carried him back to the others.
"You shouldn't run around so much honey, it'll make you sick," A woman with black hair and dark features said as she hugged Siobhan to her, another little boy already on her lap.
"Don't be silly Cassie, exercise is good for them!" A blonde haired man said as he picked Seamus up and onto one shoulder.
"Careful Zel!" Bronagh called, the red haired, green eyed, woman who had called the children to dinner. Zelazny only smiled and sat down as they all began passing the food around. The children laughed and teased each other, until they were told to go finish their food before they played. They did, and then ran off chasing each other, the little toddler, Declan, just running and not understanding the game.
The adults continued to eat in silence for a few moments. There were two men and three women; they sat in a tight circle and watched the children or the ground while they ate.
"There have been more reports of alien attacks," A blonde haired woman said, her blue eyes matching Brendan's and Seamus'. Zelazny snorted at her words, biting off a piece of the hard bread.
"Like as not they're just lies made up by the Nietzscheans to convince more people to live under their 'protection'." Both he and Eoin spit at the end of his sentence, causing them all to laugh.
"Just the same, I've been thinking more about moving to the camp, just in case," The same woman said.
"Kaleigh don't be ridiculous! Once you go, they won't let you leave." Bronagh said, frowning slightly.
"Mommy! Mommy! Come quick! Declan fell in the pond!" Cassie grew pale and jumped to her feet, as did the other adults, and they ran after them. The one thing that kept them all together was their children; without them, they were all as hopeless as the world around them.
Two years later
"I'm not drinking it, you drink it!" Little Declan said with a look of disgust. The four cousins had been exploring the dead forest a few miles from their homes. They had discovered a small pond, almost a lake, and were observing their find.
"Come on, I dare you! You can have my dinner tonight!" Brendan cajoled, running a branch through the murky water.
"Don't be stupid Bren, who knows what chemicals and stuff's in it!" Siobhan scolded, pulling her little brother away from the edge. All the children were barefoot, and all wore tunics and pants put together by the hard work of their mothers. From woven grass, to homemade paper, to clay for paste, and hair for thread, all three parents had found ways to make their children semi warm clothing, and they were all constantly told to keep their clothes from getting mussed. Thus Siobhan's nervous glance at the mud and brown water.
"I'll drink it!" Seamus' bright voice offered. Brendan had started to look angry at Declan's refusal, and Seamus was always trying to get Brendan to like him. Brendan usually called him a baby and refused to play with him, and Seamus was almost desperate for his approval.
"All right!" Brendan said with a smile. Siobhan rolled her eyes, brushing her knotted brown hair out of her face.
"Don't do it Seamus! You'll get sick and then we'll all get in trouble," She planted one hand on her hip, the other clutched her brother's arm fiercely. Seamus wanted a brother, he'd always wanted a brother, but he didn't tell his Mom that, or his Dad. His Mom would get sad and his Dad would get angry, so he tried to pretend that Brendan was his brother.
Seamus knelt in the mud, careful not to put too much weight on his knees and get his pants stained, which was difficult. He leaned forward.and lost his balance, throwing himself into the water.
He heard laughter, and then Siobhan was pulling him out, yelling at Brendan and telling Declan to shut up.
"Are you all right?" Siobhan asked, eyeing his drenched self. Seamus nodded, too embarrassed to say anything.
They continued to play, although Seamus didn't feel like it too much. Declan and him played tag, and Brendan, apparently feeling sorry for him falling, did his best to be nice and cheer him up. Still, when two days later Seamus felt a sharp pain in his ear, only a sense of dread filled him. The others had given him extra food to keep him from telling their parents what had happened, and he'd been enjoying the extra attention, especially from Siobhan and Brendan.
"Come on boy, time to get up," His father shook him roughly, and Seamus opened his eyes and lifted his head slightly, only to lay back down again when the pain moved from his ear to his head. "Come on, or you're not going to eat," Dad said, pulling on a shirt, and then pulling the tattered blanket off of Seamus. With a frightened look, Seamus turned over on his side, but he couldn't stop shaking. His dad looked back over at him, and felt his forehead.
"Damnit boy, can't you stay well for a week?" Cursing, Zelazny stood up and called to Bronagh. She came in, opening the flap of cloth at the doorway with a look of concern on her face. Zelazny walked out passed her and she ignored him, running over to her boy's side and kneeling on the floor, feeling his forehead herself.
"Don't worry honey, you're gonna be fine love," She kept murmuring soft words to him, calling out to Siobhan to go get her mother. For the next week Seamus was kept in bed with some sort of ear infection. When Siobhan broke down and told how he must have gotten it, by falling into the lake, all three children were punished for being so reckless.
At night, when Seamus' fever got so that he couldn't sleep, his mother would cradle him and sing to him softly.
"Harking is bonny, and there lives my love.my love lies on him and cannot removed. It cannot removed for all that I have done, and I never will forget my love, Annachie.." Seamus felt his eyelids droop, his mother always sang this to him when he couldn't sleep, and he knew the words by heart.
"You must marry Lord Sultan and leave Annachie.for Annachie Gordon is barely but a man, although he may be pretty, but where are his lands? For the Sultan's lands are broad, and his towers, they run high, you must marry Lord Sultan and leave Annachie."
In his mind Seamus always pictured the Sultan as a big evil Nietzschean, although he hadn't ever seen one, and Annachie was him, or sometimes his father, while Jeannie, the girl, was his mother. It was an old song, Bronagh told him once, one that her grandmother had taught her.
"Why do we have to learn to read?" A few months later, all four children sat in the square of the village with a few others. Declan was pouting because he couldn't understand the strange symbols that their teacher had written in the dirt.
"There is much you can learn from books," The man began patiently. All the children were bored with the lessons, except for Seamus. It was his first day, he'd missed the other few lessons because his mother had fallen ill and his father had needed his help at home. Brendan and Siobhan had promised to help him catch up.
"'Sides Declan, it's easy! If Nietzscheans can do it, anyone can!" Seamus said laughing. His laugh was infectious and the others laughed or giggled as well, more at his enthusiasm than at his words. Declan smiled at Seamus, he had become the brother he'd always wanted, as he'd grown older. He and Brendan were closer, but Brendan was still patronizing sometimes. His mother told him it was because Brendan had to take care of his mother and himself, so he had to grow up faster than Seamus.
They were just learning the vowels when a shrill scream made them all turn. People were running through the village in horror.
"What's happening?" The teacher grabbed a woman by the arm and asked frantically.
"Monsters! They're attacking!" The woman pulled her arm away and continued to run. Some of the children started crying, Brendan took Seamus' hand and started running, calling back to Siobhan and Declan to follow. They didn't. Turning, they saw Siobhan push Declan towards Brendan and Seamus, and then turn to run towards their houses. Declan, crying, ran after her.
"Siobhan! Declan! Come on Brendan, we gotta go after them!" Seamus cried out, but Brendan watched them go before tightening his grip on Seamus' hand and running with the others. They didn't go far. Before long, animals that were indeed monsters to their eyes began running through the village. Brendan pulled Seamus into a ditch outside the town. No one else had run that way, and none of the monsters seemed to be going in that direction. With frightened, wide eyes they peered over the edge of the grass and rocks to watch as their neighbors were torn open and their homes destroyed.
A body was thrown towards them, and Seamus was covered in the blood of it before Brendan could pull him away. They stayed there for many nights, until things seemed to quiet down and voices were heard calling names instead of screaming. Cautiously Brendan and Seamus got out of the ditch and walked back towards the village. Flies buzzed everywhere, and the smell of fire and blood filled their nostrils. No one stopped to talk to them or ask if they were ok, so they continued until they reached their home.
"Oh thank god boys!" Their uncle Eoin ran out towards them and hugged them tightly before looking at the closely. "Are you two all right?" he asked, and the boys nodded. Their mothers ran out and soon Seamus was being held tightly in his mother's arms, his father stroking his head. Aunt Kaleigh also hugged Brendan tightly, but Seamus saw neither Siobhan nor Declan, only Uncle Eoin and Aunt Cassie holding each other; Aunt Cassie sobbing into Eoin's shoulder.
"Oh Seamus! We were so afraid you were gone!" His mother whispered to him, Seamus only hugged her tighter. "Where's Siobhan and Declan?" He asked after a few moments. Brendan looked at his mother questioningly, but she only shook her head and hugged him again.
"Come inside honey, they're inside," Was all his mother could get out. She handed him to Zelazny, who carried him into the house. On piles of blankets, Siobhan and Declan lay side by side, asleep.
"Are they ok?" Seamus asked, not understanding why his aunt and uncle were so upset when everyone seemed to be fine.
"We don't know what's wrong with them," His father answered him softly. "We think the aliens did something to them. It's happened to some other people; the monsters laid their eggs inside them, and when they hatched, they died." Normally his mother would have objected to telling it so bluntly to him, but his time she only held him closer to her.
They tried everything they could for Siobhan and Declan. Seamus gave them his water and tried to entice them to play. They would only shake their heads and say they didn't feel well enough. Aunt Cassie spent every waking moment with them, crying all the time. Uncle Eoin explained to Seamus how they had returned to try and look for their parents when they'd been caught by the monsters, Magog, they learned from neighbors. The monsters had been attacking various towns for years, but this was the first time they'd attacked anywhere near Dunwich. Many people were moving; most were going to try the refugee camp. Life under Nietzschean rule seemed a fair exchange for their protection from such monsters.
Aunt Kaleigh thought it was a good idea to go as well. Zelazny and Bronagh argued with her, Eoin and Cassie were too concerned about their children to care. They stayed up late, trying not to yell since everyone now slept in the Harpers' hut, the other being destroyed beyond repair.
Then one morning Kaleigh hugged Seamus, told Brendan to say goodbye, and left. Bronagh cried silently, Zelazny trying to comfort her.
"I'm never going to see her, my sister, again Zel!" she cried, trying to muffle the sound against his shoulder.
"Yes you will! Bronagh, we're family, we'll make it through this," He shushed her and held her until she slept. Seamus didn't like to watch his mother cry, so he lay between his cousins and held their hands to fall asleep, singing his mother's lullaby in his head.
As they worsened, Eoin suggested bitterly that maybe they should ease their suffering. Cassie went into a rage, telling him she would die before she killed her babies.
"They are dying! In a horrible, painful way!" Eoin shouted at her.
"I won't let you end their life! Are you their father or not? We can't give up hope, maybe they'll survive!" Cassie pleaded, tears streaming down her face. Zelazny stood up, Bronagh took Seamus' hand and they went for a walk outside, by the forest where they had found the lake of water in a time that seemed ages before now.
"Did I ever tell you what my name means Seamus?" Bronagh said softly. They were sitting on a rotted trunk of an ancient tree, Zelazny mindlessly peeling the bark off of it while Seamus sat on his mother's lap. Shaking his head, Seamus didn't say anything. All he could think of was his cousins' limp forms and cries of pain.
"It means 'lady of sorrow'. My mother once told me a story about a beautiful queen who had my name a long time ago and was locked up in a tower for many years." They spent the rest of the day outside, and when they returned, everyone was asleep.
The next day, Seamus awoke to his parents and uncle and aunt sitting in a circle outside. He got out of the bed, careful to keep the blankets from disturbing Siobhan and Declan's sleep as he walked outside.
The adults looked up, heavy, sad eyes watching him. Seamus was used to this look by now, he hardly remembered what Aunt Cassie looked like when her face wasn't stained with tears.
"We've decided to decide what to do to help your cousins, Seamus," His father said solemnly. His mother didn't meet his eyes. Uncle Eoin tightened his arm around his wife as Seamus sat down next to his mother.
"I don't understand," he said. Hadn't they been doing everything they could? Hadn't they asked everyone for help and advice on what to do to cure his cousins?
"What do you think Seamus? Should we end Siobhan and Declan's life before they Magog eggs hatch out and kill them?" His father continued, but Seamus' eyes grew wide with confusion.
"What?" he asked softly. Tears filling her eyes, Bronagh held out her arms to him, but Seamus didn't go to her.
"Honey, I know it's hard for you to understand, you're so young, but Siobhan and Declan are suffering. We need to know you understand why we're doing this," Doing what? Seamus shook his head in confusion.
"Seamus, the only difference will be whether they die in pain and agony or if they die swiftly and painlessly. Which would you want them to have?"
"I don't want them to be in pain," Seamus said quietly, not looking at his aunt and uncle.
"Come on, Seamus," His mother whispered. She stood up, took his hand, and led him to the woods they'd gone to yesterday.
"Wait, I have to say goodbye," He said, and tried to pull away, but Bronagh tightened her grip and quickened her pace. Seamus never saw Siobhan or Declan again. They were buried by the time they finally returned. His parents had also decided to try and join the refugee camp along with Kaleigh and Brendan. Cassie refused to leave the resting place of her children, and Eoin wouldn't leave his wife. To Seamus, it seemed as though his family, and life, were falling apart. And he wouldn't celebrate his seventh birthday for another year.
It took a few more months before they could move to the camp. With tearful greetings, they said goodbye to his Aunt and Uncle and began their walk, with a few hundred others, to the Boston Harbor Refugee Camp. It looked like some sort of bizarre pilgrimage, everyone wearing tattered clothing and belongings, with despair behind them and hope of salvation ahead of them.
To Seamus, the mood appeared to be lightened somewhat, and he looked forward to seeing his cousin Brendan again. He missed Siobhan and Declan so much, and he refused to talk about them to his parents, not even to his mother.
After days of walking, they at last reached the gates to the camp. The line of people became narrower and longer as they waited to be allowed in. It took nearly another day before they reached the office.
"Name," A tall, armed Nietzschean said. Seamus stared at them in awe. He was small for his age, and to him the many Nietzschean guards looked like giants. One of the guards beside the one that had asked their name held something in her hand. Seamus struggled to see what it was, but his father placed his hands on his shoulders, holding him in place.
"Zelazny Frederick Harper, my wife Bronagh Rhiannon Harper, and Seamus Zelazny Harper," As he spoke and spelled out the names, the guard with the object in his hand moved his fingers across the machine. They were asked their ages and a few other questions, but Seamus was too busy looking around to listen.
"Hold the kid," The armed one said as the other leaned towards him, holding out a needle.
"Hold still Seamus," His mother whispered. Obeying, Seamus didn't move, but he yelped in pain as the guard pressed the needle into the back of his neck and a sensation of burning ran down his spine. "It's ok honey, I know it feels strange but it's fine," His mother continued to whisper. The guards grinned maliciously as they were pushed to another stop point.
"You'll work in the mines, you'll be a maid in the house of one of the Elder Daughters, and the kid will be assigned work when's he's older," Eyeing the scrawny child, the guard laughed, "Unless he dies first,"
They were given further instructions on the laws of the camp and where their jobs were.
"Any disobedience and you're freedom is forfeit," The guard warned. "And don't try to escape, the chips put in you earlier let us know where you are at all times. They can be destroyed if you run away," Zelazny assured him they wouldn't try to run away and with that, they entered their new home.
The city was gray, and buildings everywhere looked worn and about to collapse. People were everywhere, and the smell was wretched. It made Seamus' eyes water and it made him feel sick. His father carried him since he didn't have shoes and the streets were lined with filth. Although they searched all night they didn't find an empty building, and they ended up sleeping in an abandoned one story building filled with other sleeping bodies. Seamus slept in his mother's arms, shivering as he tried to get warm. In the morning, Zelazny and Bronagh had to go to their assigned work areas. With a kiss and hug, Bronagh told Seamus to be careful and stay away from strangers.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," She said softly, brushing her hand through his hair and leaving with his father. Seamus tried to go back to sleep, but it eluded him without his mother's warmth. So he got up and went to explore his new world. He stepped over other bodies as he made his way outside. Stepping on something sharp, he cried out, only to be told to stay quiet. Wandering outside, he watched as people stared at him, or ignored him; all walked around quickly. Several groups of Nietzscheans wandered around, armed with guns and dressed for the cold much better than the humans who walked around.
Seamus spent his first day there wandering around the streets, keeping the building they had slept at in sight all the time. There wasn't much to see, although he found several interesting dumps that were practically a playground, filled with other kids. Seamus rummaged through, finding many strange items he asked the other kids what they were. Looking at him as though he were some kind of idiot, they explained the strange technologies there. Fascinated, Seamus watched the Nietzscheans on the streets to see what devices they used. Usually they only use slim silver bars to hit people with, and it sent some kind of electric currents through them.
The first day was the hardest, but soon Seamus began to settle into his new life. He wandered the streets while his parents were at work. They finally built a small hut, similar to the one in Dunwich, and they began to create a life for themselves.
They didn't find Brendan for many months, and when he did turn up on their doorstep, thinner and more haggard than when they had last seen them, he tearfully explained that his mother had caught sick and died. He'd fallen sick as well and had gone unconscious with the fever. When he had finally recovered and woken up, his mother was dead beside him.
That night, Zelazny and Bronagh watched the two boys sleeping on the floor together, looking like brothers.
"I always wanted a large family," Bronagh said softly. Zelazny slipped his arms around her waist.
"We could have more kids," He said doubtfully. "We have a Zelazny junior, we need a Bronagh as well," They smiled, but Bronagh shook her head.
"I'm afraid I'll never have any more children." She rested her head against his shoulder.
"It nearly killed you with him," Zelazny whispered into her ear. "You're right, no child is worth your death," Bronagh turned to look at him, surprise in her face.
"What are you talking about? Seamus is worth my life," She said, only just remembering to keep her voice low.
"I'm tired, let's go to sleep," Zelazny didn't answer her but when to lie down on their bed. After a few moments of watching the boys, Bronagh turned to follow him. Lying on his side away facing away from them, Seamus closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
Two long years passed by slowly. Brendan taught Seamus how to avoid the Nietzscheans. For his part, Seamus simply liked to go to the dumps and look for interesting things. Sometimes he'd try and repair the broken items, but since he didn't know that most of them were for, it didn't usually work. His work was also hampered by hiding every time the Nietzscheans came by, since it would have been considered stealing for him to take their trash. Brendan usually stayed with him, but found the dumps boring. He preferred to go watch the ships take off and land. They had to watch from a distance of course, but there was a hill that they could see from perfectly without being too close to be seen.
"Where do they go?" Seamus asked once as they watched a ship rise off the ground and slowly ascend into the air.
"Into space of course, you dummy, don't you know anything?"
"Where in space? Where is there to go?" Seamus insisted. So Brendan explained to him about the different worlds in the galaxies. Some of it he made up, but he had overheard people talking in the 'bars' and other areas. Planets where there was still green, or whatever color their vegetation was. Strange beings who weren't like the Nietzscheans or the Magog but were sometimes kind enough to give him food if they passed by in the streets. Humans who never got sick, but weren't Nietzscheans. Humans who never lacked for food, or living areas. This was the strangest of all to Seamus. Weren't all the humans left on earth? If not, why didn't they help those who were?
"Because that's life Seamus. It's shit, and there's nothing we can do about it," Brendan would say. He was worried about his naïve cousin who seemed to think everyone was friendly and nice if you were polite back. Still, Seamus was catching on. He had helped Brendan mug some flash addicts a few days back. They'd nearly gotten killed, but then they'd used the money to help buy food. It was the life Seamus was learning to live. He began to hate it quickly.
One night he woke up and lay listening to the rats, which would probably be their dinner the next day, fighting. Silently he stood up and looked around the darkness, feeling as though he were in a dream. Slipping outside the door, he was careful not to make any noise. His parents had forbidden him or Brendan from ever going outside at night. Dangerous as the camp always was, it was worse at night. Not only from the other human residents, but Nietzscheans who were looking for sport and fun when they were off duty. Still, Seamus oddly didn't feel afraid. He felt invigorated as he looked up and saw the faint stars. A crazy idea came to him; to sneak over to the space station, as he and Brendan had called it, and get as close to the ships as he could. He stole away in the night, ignoring the people coaxing him to buy some drugs, or to sell them something. Ignoring them, he jogged quickly through the alleys, trying not to be frightened of the sounds and strange shapes lurking in the shadows.
He reached the station and slipped through the metal bars that fenced it in. They were supposed to be too skinny for anyone to fit through, but Seamus was able to pass through them easily. There were fewer guards posted there at night, and fewer ships landed. He saw one loading up to take off and he ran towards it. He couldn't explain the feeling he got, he just knew that he wanted to jump in and be taken wherever it was going, and to never, ever, return. So he did. He ran to the ship, silently and kept out of sight. As soon as he had plunged through the doorway a sharp pain in the back of his neck made him scream. The pain increased and he struggled to his feet, lost his balance, and fell back to the ground. Forms surrounded him but the pain threw him into darkness before he could see them.
"What the hell's the matter with you?" His father shouted at him. Seamus was huddling in a blanket back at home. His mother was silent, dabbing the wounds on his face and chest with a cloth and some water. "What in all the hells possessed you to try and do something so stupid? You could have gotten us all killed! You could have been killed! Would you just leave us after all we've done for you?" Zelazny ran a hand through his hair. He had lost a lot of weight since working at the mines, and he'd started coughing regularly. Seamus was quiet, tears stinging in his eyes as she avoided the looks of Brendan or his mother.
His father stormed out of the small hut, and Brendan watched them silently. Seeing his tears, Bronagh hugged Seamus.
"Oh honey, don't listen to your father." She pulled him away gently and looked him in the eye. "The first chance you get, you get out of here. Get off this planet. Don't worry about me and your father."
"What about Brendan?" Seamus asked softly, rubbing his tears away quickly. Brendan let out a disgusted laugh.
"Don't worry about it Seamus, neither of us are ever leaving, so it doesn't matter." He stood up and followed Seamus' father out the door. Bronagh sighed, but smiled weakly at Seamus.
Weeks went by without further incident. Seamus recovered from the beating given to him by the Nietzscheans. He was only save from slavery or death by his age, and the pleas of his mother and father. Seamus spent more and more time tinkering with the objects in the dumps. He was sometimes able to make a few simple items. There was an old air cleaner that was pretty easy to fix, and his dad even hugged him when he brought it home and showed how it worked proudly. Brendan spent more time stealing, so Seamus stayed at the dumps by himself. Sometimes he met other humans there, doing what he was doing. Only they seemed to understand how the things worked better than he did. One man, who called himself Larry, came often and had taken a liking to Seamus.
"See this? It's a tool, it can weld things together," he once told him, holding up a rusted metal hand tool. Seamus nodded solemnly, the handkerchief his mother had tied around his mouth and nose to protect him from the fumes making him feel foolish. Larry had been teaching him how various tools worked and what technology could do. Seamus listened carefully, hanging on to every word. Larry explained how the Nietzscheans might let him work at a mechanic shop if he was lucky. That would be a good thing, "You've got a knack for this stuff, I can tell," he said with a wink. "Just don't let them experiment the stuff on you, or you'll be dead sooner than a baby dangled on a hook in front of a Magog," The Magog attacks had increased, and his parents had heard nothing from Aunt Carrie or Uncle Eoin. They assumed they were alive, but Brendan told Seamus it was stupid to think they could possibly still be alive. "Uh oh, gotta run kid," Larry slid down the pile of filth and darted away. Looking around, Seamus saw a group of Nietzschean soldiers coming towards them. His heart beating fast with fear he ran down the pile of trash, slipped, and rolled down to the ground. They yelled at him to stop, but he ignored them and kept running, as fast as he could. He'd become good at running, though small, he could outrun even Brendan.
Pushing through the crowds, Seamus ran towards the house. He could hide in the hole they'd dug under the floor boards, and since his parents were still at work there'd be no one else for the Nietzscheans to bother. Panting, Seamus dashed in the house, and froze when he saw his mother standing there.
"Where've you been Seamus? I got the day off because my lady is ill- " She saw the fear in his eyes and asked. "What's wrong?" She saw the metallic object in his hand, heard the feet and shouts of the Nietzscheans outside and she grew pale. "Seamus, hide," Bronagh pushed him to the floor, opened the loose board, and shoved him inside and managed to stand just as the Nietzscheans burst inside.
"Where's the brat?" One spat out, holding his gun up to her. Seamus watched in horror through a small crack in the floor.
"What are you talking about? My boy's out, I don't know what he's up to anymore," She said, crossing her arms. The man in front of the others backhanded her to the ground.
"Don't play with us kludge. We saw him come in here. Stealing is a crime punishable by death, although if you beg hard enough we might just take him as a slave." The others smiled menacingly.
"He's done nothing wrong, please," Bronagh cried our from the ground. They kicked her, and she rolled onto the board above Seamus, blocking his view. They tortured her for nearly three hours, until Seamus wondered if they'd forgotten why they had come in the first place. He lay flat on the ground, covering his ears as hard as he could to block out the sounds of pain that came from her. He didn't know what they did to her and he didn't want to know. Long after they left and there was silence the lay there, with his hands over his ears.
He heard a door open, and a gasp. His father had come home.
"Bronagh! Oh god, Bronagh!" Finally, crying uncontrollably, Seamus pushed the floor board open and climbed out. His father was kneeling on the floor, his back to Seamus, cradling Bronagh's dead body.
"I'm sorry," Seamus said through his tears. His dad didn't appear to hear him, but continued sobbing and holding onto his wife. Time passed, Seamus didn't know how much, he just stood there shaking and crying. Finally Zelazny turned, hugged Seamus tightly, then picked up Bronagh's body and walked out of the door.
Some hours later Brendan came in, exhausted. He could smell the blood immediately, and ran over to Seamus, who was huddling in the corner and crying, as soon as he came in. Brendan didn't ask what had happened, he slung an arm around Seamus and they sat there for the rest of the night, Seamus finally crying himself to sleep.
Early the next morning Zelazny came back in, he stunk of alcohol, and Brendan asked softly.
"What happened? Where's Aunt Bronagh?" He didn't move from his position so he wouldn't disturb Seamus. Zelazny raised a shaking hand and pointed to Seamus.
"He killed 'er, that's what 'appened," Was all he said before collapsing onto the bed and not moving again. Brendan woke Seamus up and carried him out of the house.
"Where are we going?" Seamus asked.
"Don't worry, we're just going to spend a few days with some friends of mine," Brendan replied. His 'friends' turned out to be a gang whom Brendan had joined some time ago. He asked if Seamus could stay with them for awhile, until his dad wasn't so upset about his wife's death, and they agreed, as long as he wasn't any trouble. They stayed there for nearly two weeks, Seamus staying away from the older boys and girls and only talking to Brendan. At last, judging that his Uncle's rage had calmed some, Brendan took Seamus back to his home.
"Aren't you coming?" Seamus asked as Brendan didn't move towards the door.
"I think I've been a burden on you guys long enough," Brendan said quietly. Seamus shook his head and ran to Brendan, trying to pull him inside.
"Please! You can't leave me alone!" Seamus begged as Brendan didn't move. Slowly he shook his head.
"I'm sorry Seamus. Don't worry, I'll check on you and make sure you're ok," With that he turned and walked down into the dirty gray streets and disappeared among the crowd. Trembling, Seamus slowly opened the door. His father was no where in sight, so Seamus assumed he was at work. Hungry, he searched for food and found none, only some strange bottles. They smelled bad, so Seamus searched for water. There was no clean water, obviously his dad hadn't had time to de-contaminate any, in other words, he hadn't boiled it at all. Seamus was too tired to try and start a fire. He hadn't slept well at the gang's home and he felt exhausted from grief and anger. So he opened one of the bottles again and forced himself to drink it. Before he knew it the whole bottle was gone and he felt sick. Crawling over to the blankets on the floor, still in the same place he had last left them, he fell asleep.
When he woke up, he saw his father sitting against the door, drinking from one of the bottles. He glanced over and smiled weakly at Seamus.
"Where ya been kid?" He asked in a raspy voice, coughs racking his throat.
"Brendan took me away," Was all Seamus said in reply. His dad nodded then motioned for him to come sit next to him, which he did. Handing him a bottle, Zelazny stood up.
"I gotta get to work. I'll see you later," His father turned and walked out the door, leaving Seamus wishing for some clean water since he hadn't been clean in a month, hole-ridden, dirty clothes, and a bottle of nearly raw alcohol cradled in his ten year old arms.
End of Chapter 1
I hope you liked it, sorry it was so long. Any thoughts/suggestions are welcome. Please review! It doesn't have to be long! I need to know if I should bother continuing it or not. If you can't write a review, email me at Runicprincess@aol.com Thanks!
-Luna Sealeaf
