“Tell my children I love them.”
“Oh, Iggy, be more optimistic.”
Iggy works in silence and then reappears through the crushed hatch. “The electronics are completely destroyed. There’s no way to transmit. Even a distress beacon’s not an option. We need to salvage what we can and move on. Temperatures will drop. We’re going to be stranded here until Etch sends the Fuerst to rescue us. And he only has a rudimentary fix on our location.”
“Winter in the mountains.” Bets kicks a hollow log. “Why does misfortune follow us everywhere we go?” She’s glaring at me.
Theo pulls out his tablet, a bright image of our surroundings emerges.
“Here, let me see that.” Gorian reaches for the gadget.
Theo pulls it away. “It’s mine, woman.”
“Sorry Theo. What you have there is a remote sensing device. It’ll help us find any structures or towns nearby.”
“We know that Gorian.”
We gather around Theo as he zooms the image across the landscape. We find a spacious, intact building about three miles away from the site.
Gorian sends her flying bug to explore the area. “It looks good. There are no people around, as far as I can tell. Might be a hunting lodge or simply an abandoned house.”
Bloated snowflakes drift down. Theo sniffs the air. “We’d best be going. A big snow’s coming.”
Iggy scratches some symbols on the side of the shuttle. I know they are coordinates, although I have no idea how I understand this. We shove packs of emergency food into our bags and trek further up into the mountains. The air’s thinner and we’re all winded. The snow falls faster.
“How are you doing?” Gorian asks Iggy.
“The temperature’s slowing me down, but I’ll make it. Thanks for asking.” He sneezes.
“What’s the matter with it?” Bets asks.
Iggy stops. “If you’re referring to me Bets, I’m not warm-blooded like you humans. My body processes slow down when it’s cold.”
We’re about a mile from the building when Iggy falls. Theo crouches and pokes our companion with a stick. “He’s out cold.” He lifts up the incapacitated creature. “Thank goodness that Iggy’s light.”
Theo’s bravado wanes as we struggle up a steep slope. He gasps, panting.
“How much longer?” I ask. “We don’t want to lose him too. There’s no way any of us are carrying Theo up that damned hill.”
“We should be there, now.” Gorian replies. As if in response to her proclamation, the trees part and we’re facing a large grey, stone building. A faded sign is perched in front of us. The symbols are similar to those of the great hall at home. Strangely, I can read them now: Park Lodge.
“Thank gods,” Theo huffs.
The building is very old, but well maintained. There are some provisions in one of the front rooms and plenty of firewood next to a large stone hearth. Hunters likely use this place during warmer months. The snow accumulates in small drifts. Bets and Theo get a fire going and Iggy revives.
“Well, we ought to make ourselves at home. Etch probably won’t come looking for us until the weather improves.” Gorian sits in a large chair lined with fur.
I find a large cotton blanket lined with something that looks like soft wool. It feels delightful on my frozen skin.
“Look what I found.” Bets clutches two bottles of honey wine to her chest. “English would’ve been pleased.”
We all look down. The thought of our companion’s fate is too hard to process.
The snow doesn’t stop falling. It’s been two weeks and we’ve drifted into a placid routine. When the snow permits, Bets spends her days in the woods searching for small game. The rabbits and deer are plentiful and no match with the Fuerst’s weapons in her hands. I’ve managed to find some winter herbs and mushrooms in the woods and spend a fair amount of time preparing the meat that Bets brings in. Theo finds an axe and provides us with plenty of wood.
Our two non-earth companions are faring less well with winter. Gorian’s sick, particularly in the morning. I suspect that she has a child on the way, but I’m unsure how to approach her about this. Her appetite’s good at dinnertime, so she’ll be fine. I’m less sure about Iggy. His skin’s pale and his wheezing has grown worse. He doesn’t eat the same food as us. While we humans are enjoying the stores left to us by the hunters and the bounty of the frozen — but not at all dead — forest around us, the nauron is starving. The green goop he slurps from the pouches we gathered from the shuttle is running low. I’ve no idea where I can find the same material in the woods.
My dreams have been mercifully dull and rare, as if the snow’s forced my mind into hibernation along with the squirrels in the trees. Or perhaps, the departure of the Raven quieted my travels. I can only hope that Thresh’s power has waned. Maybe Magarat was able to overcome that horrible woman and free my Eliza.
More than a month has passed and the snow’s nearly at the depth of my waist in places. Blue, crisp skies have replaced the grey, woeful fluff. The sunshine is blinding at high noon, although this is welcome given the brevity of the days. This morning, Gorian approaches me. “Amy, I’m pregnant.”
“I know, Gorian.”
“How long?” Gorian seems surprised.
“At least a month. It’s been pretty obvious.”
“I thought I had a virus. Perhaps something I caught from Iggy. I’m starting to show and haven’t had a cycle in quite some time. I thought it was the stress, but I can’t ignore this.” She touches her belly.
“You people. You’ve lost touch with everything. Even your own nature.” I shake my head.
“I’m not supposed to get pregnant.”
“Gorian, it’s pretty obvious how you end up with a child.”
“No, Amy, not that.” Gorian laughs. “I was controlling my reproductive cycle to avoid pregnancy. Apparently, my meds wore out. Or there’s something about this planet…”
“Who’s the father?” I ask, knowing the answer but trying to be polite.
“Etch.”
I’m aghast and apparently Gorian notices. She smiles. “Good mars, you’re gullible. Grey’s the dad. He’ll be overjoyed.”
Our companions find the news about the coming baby refreshing and exciting. Iggy stirs more than usual. Even Bets smiles broadly. Theo takes the role of doting caretaker seriously, much like he did when I was carrying Eliza. It makes me feel happy and sad — such conflicting emotions. I almost wish I could retake Thresh’s mind to see my daughter again.
It’s a particularly cold and unforgiving night outside and I’m having trouble sleeping. I finally drift off and there’s a large, lumbering creature in my dreams. At first, I expect that it’s Fromer, but the being’s much too big. Once my vision focuses, I’m delighted to see Etch before me.
“There you are,” he says, his deep bass voice reverberating in the dream void. “I have been trying to perfect this technique in the pilot house for months.”
“Etch. I’d like to say that I’m happy to see you. But this means that the Raven wasn’t responsible for my ability to travel outside my body.”
“You are right Amy. It is the portal that is fueling this. I do not know how much time I have. There is much for you to know.”
“Are you coming to rescue us?”
“We cannot do so right now. We have our own troubles. I trust you are well?”
“All except Iggy. I’m not sure he’s going to make it.”
“That is horrible. But take heart my dearest friend. Iggy is stronger than you can imagine. He has the power of both sexes to draw on.” Etch chortles.
I consider telling Etch that Gorian’s with child. However, I’m unsure how Grey might respond, particularly if they are having trouble. “Etch, I’m guessing that Thresh found you?”