A/N: Who knew the slow burn actually meant how slow I am to update this thing! But better late than never so here it is! I'm gonna be updating every three weeks at least until this arc is over.
This has been my favorite bit to write so I hope you like it.
Chapter 27 - Ghost Town
It was far from the first time that the trail had gone cold but this time it felt different. There had been so many false leads, setbacks, distractions in the last five years, and the enormity of the task Sinead had set herself felt too ... formidable. The entire galaxy seemed determined not to let her find peace, so why should she keep on fighting?
She had to. What other choice did she have? Her mother's voice echoed in her head: 'You are Corellian. You don't stop coming. You don't give up.' Never mind that her mother had left Corellia as soon as she could and never looked back, never seemed particularly concerned with teaching her daughter about the culture while she was alive. It was enough knowing you were Corellian. Everything else was just superfluous.
A movement out of the corner of her eye snapped her out of her thoughts. "What did you say this planet's name is again?"
"Oribuu II." Mando lifted the kid into a satchel slung over his shoulder.
The Crest had been nearly out of fuel, so Mando had set course for the closest occupied planet. They hadn't talked about what happened with Vekkass since agreeing to go back to Celvalara. She didn't know if she was grateful for that or not.
"Right, yeah." She stretched her arms above her head. "Let's hope they're as friendly as the last settlement."
The weather was mild and comfortable when they stepped out of the ship. The closest settlement was situated at one end of a long and steep valley. Beside it, late morning sun glinted on a lake so still and clear that Sinead thought she saw shadows of fish beneath the surface. A sturdy dock extended into the lake, where a handful of boats were moored. The rest of the valley was blanketed by a deep forest that rose up over the shoulders of the valley.
A wide road ran through the settlement, and every building lining the main street had a wide porch out in front. It all looked very idyllic. There was just one problem.
"Where is everyone?"
The village was empty. A bundle of firewood had been left in the middle of the road, and a hovercart piled high with molding fruit stood abandoned near the patch of grass that served as a landing pad.
"I don't know," Mando said, letting his hand rest on his blaster. "Be careful."
The gravel crunching underneath their feet was the only sound. It felt wrong looking at a place that should be bustling with life. Even at night, when small settlements quieted down, there should still be something, a sign of life. She reached the first house, where a game of sabacc had been underway. Most of the cards were gone, blown away in the wind. A tankard laid on its side, contents long since dried up into a faint stain on the wooden table. She swallowed hard and rested her hand on her blaster. The back of her neck prickled.
The door had been propped open in the next house with a heavy wooden lump of indeterminable utility, and Sinead stepped up on the porch, reaching out for the door handle when she gagged and slapped a hand across her nose; the unmistakable stench of rotting flesh filled the air. She steeled herself before pushing the door open, forcing one foot in front of the other into a large kitchen. Someone had been in the middle of making dinner. There was a black lump on the counter, and as Sinead got nearer, flies swarmed into the air, revealing a hunk of grey meat. A pot sat on the woodstove, and she lifted the lid; black crust had congealed on the bottom. "Looks like they've been gone for a while," she called out to Mando.
As she stepped down from the porch, a cloud passed in front of the sun and ate color from the surroundings until everything was a hue of grey. A gust of wind blew through the street, sending an empty wicker basket rolling across the ground. The sudden nauseating feeling of being watched ambushed her, eyes boring into the back of her head no matter which way she turned. With the sun gone, it felt like the temperature had dropped several degrees.
The kid made a low keening noise and ducked into his satchel.
"Maybe we should just leave," Sinead said.
"There isn't enough fuel. We'll never make it to another settlement."
She forced herself to breathe slowly. "You think it's pirates?"
"I don't know. Maybe." Mando turned in a circle, blaster drawn, ready to react in a split second. Sinead could feel the tension rolling off him, and he kept turning his head like someone was calling his name. The kid had entirely disappeared into the satchel.
A stained sheet ripped itself loose from a clothesline and dragged along the dirty ground.
They had reached the other side of the village when Sinead paused and strained her ears against the unnatural silence. There was a sound, barely audible as if someone was dragging something heavy across the floor. Turning in a circle to determine the source, she stopped facing the last house before the edge of the forest. "You hear that?"
"Hear what?"
The sound became louder, a hollow thump and drag. It definitely came from the house. Someone was dragging something heavy across the floor. "You really don't hear that?"
"I- no. Sinead, what are you-"
"Just ... just give me a second, okay?"
She made her way to the house, carefully stepping onto the porch. The wood creaked under her weight as she sidled up to the window and peeked inside.
It was empty. As soon as her eyes fell on the still room, the noise vanished. Swallowing hard, she pushed the door open and stuck her head inside. Silence echoed back to her. "I could've sworn I heard ..."
"I don't hear anything."
"It's gone now, but I'm sure ..." her chest tightened as she let go of the door. It swung close with a loud clatter.
"Look! Over there!" Mando pointed above the trees. A thin column of smoke rose into the air coming from somewhere on the other side of the valley.
"They might be able to tell us what happened," said Sinead. She couldn't shake the feeling that unseen eyes were watching them from every darkened window.
"Or they might be what happened."
"You'd rather stay here?" Another chilly gust of wind blew through the street, and Sinead felt a tremor shooting through her body.
"No."
"Then let's go."
A well-trodden path led more or less straight towards the mountain. Lanterns hung from trees that creaked in the wind when Mando and Sinead passed under them, and Sinead kept stopping to look back at the village still visible between the trees. The forest was open, creating dappled shadows on the ground, and it would be impossible for anyone to sneak up on them. Still, she kept a lookout, not able to let go of the feeling of being watched. A shadow passed overhead and a bird swooped down to look at them with its beady eyes, cawing disapprovingly.
"First sign of life since we got here."
"Wonder if he knows what happened to the villagers." Sinead watched the bird watching her. Then, with a final caw, it spread its wings and disappeared into the trees.
With every step bringing them farther from the village, Sinead's head became clearer, and she started to notice things in the underbrush; strange flower buds grew between the moss and dead leaves. The stems were dark green, and the bud a shock of purple that was impossible to ignore once she'd spotted them.
The ground began to rise, first slowly and then in a sudden, steep incline until the only way to move forward was to cling to the path. Rocky outcrops hung with lichen were visible between the trees, and there were more signs of life; an animal burrow was visible from the path and bird nests high up in the trees. A colorful insect crawled up a nearby tree trunk.
Mando's hand shot out and stopped her. "Wait. You hear that?"
She stilled and strained her ears; beneath the general noise of the forest, she heard faint voices coming from further up the path.
Mando thrust the satchel at Sinead while drawing his blaster in a smooth motion.
When she put a calming hand on the kid's head, he reached up and grabbed her ring finger in a surprisingly tight hold. The back of her neck prickled.
They moved towards the sound, Mando in front and Sinead trailing after, craning her neck to catch a glimpse of invisible eyes watching from between the trees. The voices grew louder, as did the sound of running water. The path disappeared around a boulder and Mando gestured to her to stay quiet. The voices were directly up ahead.
There was a splash, and then:
"Damn it, Lug! Now it's all wet!"
There was a bark of laughter. "Calm down! Just leave it out to dry, it'll be fine."
"Oh, you're an expert in blasters, are you? Kriff off!"
"Don't be such a wet rag!" More laughter.
"Konna's gonna kill you."
Sinead waited with bated breath as Mando peeked around the boulder, standing completely still for a couple of seconds, before looking back at her and shrugging. Then he took a step around the boulder, and she followed.
A clear stream sprung out from the mountainside and washed across the path before disappearing into a hollow, feeding into the lake below. Two human men— more like boys—stood on a small crossing built over the running water carrying full buckets of water. One of them was dripping wet.
The dry one spotted Mando and let out a yelp, dropping his bucket in a spray of water. His friend whirled around, flinging his bucket to the side and grabbed for his blaster. It made a pathetic noise when he pressed the trigger, and a single spark fizzed from the end. It was as soaked as its owner.
"You know, you're not supposed to get those things wet," Sinead said helpfully. Seeing actual real-life sentients, armed as they were, was less scary than the oppressive silence in the village. At least here she knew what dangers to keep an eye on.
"It wasn't me! Lug did it!" The boy yelled, stabbing a finger at the other. He hadn't noticed his bucket floating away in the stream.
"A-are you real? Like, alive?" Lug had snatched his own bucket from the ground and was holding it like a shield.
"Are we alive? What kind of question is that?" Sinead said.
"We landed in the village," Mando said. "It was deserted."
"You came from the village?" The still nameless boy's mouth dropped open. "And you didn't see them?"
"See what?" Mando's tone suggested that he was getting impatient.
Sinead fought against the urge to rub her fingers against her temple. "It was empty when we got there. What happened?"
The boys exchanged looks.
"Maybe we should take them to the others."
"Are you stupid? They might be one of them!"
"Are you stupid? You ever heard one of them talk?"
"I don't wanna get in trouble."
"Stop being such a wet rag!"
"Konna's really gonna kill us."
"Enough!" Mando barked, and the boys jumped.
Lug thrust out his chin and stood at his full height, but the effect he was going for was somewhat spoiled by the white-knuckled grip he had on the bucket. "If ... if we take you back to the others, then I want your weapons. You know, for-for safety."
"Yeah, that's not gonna happen," Sinead said.
"B-but-"
"Forget it, kid."
"Look-" Sinead felt the satchel shift as the kid peeked up over the rim- "we're not here to cause any trouble, but our ship's nearly out of fuel and we're not gonna make it to a different planet. If you take us to the rest of the villagers, we can work something out. You're not getting our weapons, though."
The boys exchanged another nervous look. "I guess ..." Lug said. "B-but I'm warning you! Don't try anything!"
Mando let out a sigh and shoved his blaster back in its holster.
"Wouldn't dream of it with such fearless guards," Sinead mumbled out of the corner of her mouth to Mando, who rolled his shoulders in irritation.
Lug and the other boy led them over the little bridge and further along the path. They kept glancing over their shoulders with varying degrees of apprehension; the other boy looked like he was about to give in to his instincts and run for the nearest burrow, and Lug still clutched the empty bucket to his chest.
As they walked, the trees became more and more sparse, and the uninterrupted sun felt like pins and needles on the top of her head. The dirt path turned to gravel, and every step threw up a cloud of dust that quickly spread until the air turned hazy. Wild berry bushes grew between the boulders, and there was a smell of wood smoke in the wind.
The path ended abruptly at the edge of a plateau overlooking the valley below. The village was a dark spot beside the glittering lake, eerily quiet in the sunlight that infused the surroundings with life. A hut sat back from the edge surrounded by a sea of tents and hastily constructed lean-tos that stood in groups around smaller fires. With the sudden lack of shelter, the wind blew fiercely. Washing lines laden with dripping clothes were strung between tent poles, and people were milling about between the tents. So this was where the villagers had gone.
"Lug! Tomil! What in the blazes took you so long?" An old woman appeared from a tent and hobbled across the uneven ground with the help of a walking stick. "Where's the water, you stupid boys?"
"Uh, Konna? We, uh-"
With a swing of the walking stick, Lug was shoved to the side, and Konna squinted up at Mando. "Who're you? How'd you get here?"
"We landed in the village down in the valley. Our ship's out of fuel," Sinead said, watching the walking stick warily out of the corner of her eye.
"And They didn't stop you? Gods almighty ..."
"Uh-" Sinead felt Mando tense up beside her- "the village was deserted when we got there."
The old woman pursed her lips, deepening her wrinkles. "You two truly don't know how lucky you are."
Lucky? Sinead hadn't had one lucky day in her life. "How so?"
"You escaped the Lost, didn't you."
A chill that had nothing to do with the cold wind ran down Sinead's spine. "Who are they?"
Konna cocked her head to the side like she was listening intently, then spun around. "Better follow me, I think." She started walking before either Sinead or Mando could answer, leading them through the city of tents towards the lone hut. Villagers stopped what they were doing to watch the strangers pass by. A group of children played on a patch of grass, but the adults seemed drawn and quiet, eyes flickering to the edge of the trees as if anticipating an ambush any second.
When Konna reached the hut she pushed open the door with her walking stick and walked right in. Sinead and Mando exchanged a look before following her into what turned out to be a single room consisting of a narrow bed, an ancient woodstove, and a round table that took up most of the space. A human man sat in a rickety chair, and a woman leaned against the stove, black hair streaked with grey. "Konna!" The woman burst out. "By the stars-"
"Strangers!" The man leaped to his feet. "How did you-"
"Said they landed in the village." Konna grabbed the back of the now empty chair and dragged it around the table, sitting down with a sigh. "Didn't see nobody."
"You're lucky," the man said.
"We heard. You mind telling us what's going on?" Mando crossed his arms over his chest.
"Told you, it's the Lost," Konna said.
"Gonna need a bit more than that," Sinead said.
The woman by the stove let out a deep sigh. "It's some sort of mass hallucinatory episode-"
"Don't be daft, girl! You saw them as well as I did, so don't go around trying to discount your own two eyes just because it's not what you want to see. You're better than that."
The woman pressed her lips into a thin line.
"As I was saying," Konna continued, "the Lost's always been here ever since the planet was settled, longer probably. I saw them once when I was a wee girl, close to the heart of the forest. Souls that linger long after the body has gone. You could hear them at night on the wind." A small smile tugged at her wrinkled face. "They didn't hurt anybody s'long as people kept out of the deepest part of the forest. Of course they didn't, mind you, seemed like every other year some young lad wanted to show off by wandering into their paths. The ones that came back came back wrong." While she talked, the woman's face grew even more sour. "Dunno what, but something drove them out of their home. Hunters spotted them wandering the forest in daylight until one day they swarmed the village. We escaped up here where they can't reach. S'pose it's only a matter of time."
The back of Sinead's neck prickled as she remembered the feeling of being watched in the village; it had been so quiet, no animals had moved in to take advantage of the sudden unguarded settlement. The only noise had been the wind blowing through the street—until she heard it, bumps that came from an empty house ...
"When was this?" Mando asked the man who had been silent ever since Konna started talking.
"'Bout 12 cycles ago. They've kept away from the mountains for now, so we've survived on game and forage."
"That's not gonna last forever," the woman at the stove interjected. "Once winter hits, we'll all starve if we don't freeze to death first."
"You can't fight the Lost, Yvinne," Konna said.
"Can't fight starvation neither."
"No one noticed an entire village gone quiet?" Sinead broke in.
"Planet's not on any hyperlane; we're mostly self-sufficient. So there isn't any reason for anyone to come all the way out here." The man eyed them, suddenly suspicious. "What brought you here?"
"Our ship's out of fuel," Mando said.
The man tapped a finger on the worn table. "I see. My name's Illenn, and that's Yvinne, our resident doctor. You've met Konna." The old woman had caught sight of the kid and was making faces at him from across the table.
"You're in charge?" Mando said impatiently.
Yvinne snorted, which Illenn pointedly ignored. "More or less. When the Lost first appeared in the village I got everyone out, convinced the old coot who lives here to let us stay."
"Come winter he ain't gonna have to share," Yvinne said.
"Look," Illenn said, "we got fuel in the village, but I'm not letting anyone down there, not now. It's too dangerous, and we can't spare anyone besides." His eyes flickered from Sinead to Mando and back again. Here we go. "If you go into the heart of the forest, find whatever displaced the Lost, you can leave with as much fuel as you want, free of charge."
"We're expendable, you mean?" Sinead said as Mando heaved an explosive sigh.
Illenn shrugged. "You look like you can handle yourselves, and you've made it through the village without crossing the spirits. Yvinne is right that we can't stay here forever. Supplies are already running low."
Sinead pursed her lips. Mando had said the chance of making it to another settlement was slim. "Where is this heart of the forest?"
"You can see it from the cliff," Illenn said, moving around the seated Konna. "It's about 4 hours, on the other side of the valley."
"How big's the valley?" Sinead and Mando followed Illenn outside into the sunlight that seemed much brighter after the poorly lit hut.
"It's not a question of how big it is. The forest gets progressively harder to walk the further you go, and there aren't no paths. As Konna said, most people know to keep out of that place. "He led them through the tents and to the edge of the plateau; the forest rolled out beneath them, a blanket of green that clung to the shoulders of the valley and only seemed to thin at the top where grey stone peeked out between the crowns. It was hard to imagine that anything could lurk in the forest.
"See that?" Illenn pointed at a dark patch of the forest at the far side of the valley. "That's the heart."
Konna had followed them through the city of tents and stood squinting in the sunlight. "You lot better be careful, you hear? There's no telling what you'll find."
"Whatever it is I'm sure we can handle it." Sinead hiked the kid further up her arm.
"You're ain't gonna bring him, surely?" Konna's voice changed; for the first time since they met her, the good-natured creak was gone. "It's too dangerous for a tiny thing like him!"
Mando was beside Sinead in an instant. "I'm not leaving him here."
Konna's face turned hard as stone, and she tapped her walking stick on the ground. "You think the Lost are gonna go easy on him because he's a kiddie? They've taken stronger men than you, believe me. If you have any sense at all behind all that metal, you'll leave him here in safety."
"No. He comes with us."
Konna made a face that made all her wrinkles deepen. "You're not thinking straight, my boy, you might think you can protect him, but the Lost are-"
"He goes where I go. Always."
A tiny noise made Sinead look down at the kid, who was watching Konna with mild eyes. One of his ears was creased where he'd leaned his head against her chest. "Mando, I think she's right."
"What?"
"C'mon." She gave him a look. "We don't know what's out there, and if any of us gets distracted, it could end bad. Look around-" she gestured to the shabby tents and shabbier people-"the worst that could happen here is that he trips over a rock. I don't think bringing him along would do him any favors."
Mando's hands clenched at his sides, and for a while, Sinead thought he might snatch the kid right out of her arms. "Fine," he said at last, voice tight like a wound spring. "But if anything happens to him-"
In an instance, the shadow fell from Konna's face, and she beamed at the kid, reaching her wrinkled and suntanned hands towards him, gently lifting him out of Sinead's arms. "Psh! You just worry about the Lost. You got a whole village counting on you."
Sinead glanced around the tired and gaunt faces watching from the tents or sitting in clusters on the bare ground, averting their eyes as soon as she looked their way. She swallowed a lump in her throat. "Guess we better get going, then."
While Illenn went out looking for a temporary guide-only to show them as far as the village- and Mando came to terms with leaving the child with Konna, Sinead leaned against a tree and waited. The villagers had gotten a little bit braver, and some had even crawled out of their tents to watch the strangers out of the corner of their eyes. Three kids hid behind a barrel and took turns peeking out, followed by a high-pitched whispering.
"Excuse me?" Yvinne was standing with her arms stiffly at her side like she had to concentrate on keeping from folding them across her chest.
"Yeah?"
"So you're really going? To uncover whatever happened with the ... things."
"That's the plan." She turned to face Yvinne, leaning her shoulder against the tree and feeling the bark pull at her jacket.
"Look," Yvinne said and stepped closer, keeping one eye on Konna. "I know Konna and Illenn are sure that this is some ancient legend come true, but I'm not so sure."
"Clearly."
"It's not only affecting sentients. You noticed that there aren't any animals in the valley? It started before the first sightings-" her lips folded into a frown-" the birds were the first to disappear. Sound like ancient spirits to you?"
"You're not from around here, are you?"
"Clearly." She turned her hard eyes on Sinead. "You believe in all of this Lost nonsense?"
Sinead pursed her lips, her eyes finding the child that was safely tucked away in Mando's arms. "Don't know. Lately I've seen enough unexplainable things to know that anything's possible."
Yvinne gave a huff. "Just keep your wits about you, eh? Sometimes the most logical explanation is the simplest one. And that isn't ancient ghosts."
Illenn returned with a tall woman trailing after him. As he came closer, Mando reluctantly relinquished the kid to Konna and came over to stand beneath the tree.
"Uh-huh," Sinead said. "I'll keep that in mind."
"You do that." Yvinne sent a dark look towards Illenn and made her way back to the small hut.
"What's she talking about?" Mando asked, watching the woman stomp away.
"Let's say she's not big on the whole ghost theory," Sinead mumbled and then raised her voice, "we're ready to go?"
"She'll take you down the mountain, point you in the right direction. Then you're on your own," Illenn said seriously. The woman didn't say a word.
"On our own. Got it."
…
A/N: There you have it folks! Three weeks and you may or may not find out what is actually going on. Looking forward to hearing what you think :)