Meredith Saldana watched him manoeuvre through the open oval without touching the rim. Commander Solanki seemed to be a very tense man. But then Id probably be the same in his place, the admiral thought. He held up the flek with a sense of foreboding, then slotted it into his couch player to find out exactly what he was up against.
Horst was always glad to get back to the homestead and greet his scampish charges; after all, when all was said and done, they were only children. And profoundly shocked children at that. They should never be left on their own, and if he had his way they never would. Practicality dictated otherwise, of course, and there had never yet been any major disaster while he was roaming the savannah for meat and foraging the other homesteads. To some extent he had grown blas about his trips. But this time, after encountering the possessed out at the Soeberg homestead, he had forced the return pace, stopping only to kill a danderil, his mind host to a whole coven of thoughts along the theme of what if.
When he topped a small rise six hundred metres away and saw the familiar wood cabin with the children sporting around outside he felt an eddy of relief. Thank you, Lord, he said silently.
He slowed down for the last length, giving Jay a respite. Sweat made her blue blouse cling to her skinny frame. The heat was becoming a serious problem. It seemed to have banished the hardy chikrows back into the jungle. Even the danderil hed shot had been sheltering in the shade of one of the savannahs scarce trees.
Horst blinked up at the unforgiving sky. Surely they dont mean to burn this world to cinders? They have form now, stolen bodies; and all the physical needs, urges, and failings which go with them.
He squinted at the northern horizon. There seemed to be an effete pink haze above the jungle, dusting the sharp seam between sky and land, like the flush of dawn refracted over a deep ocean. The harder he tried to focus upon it, the more insubstantial it became.
He couldnt believe it was a natural meteorological rara avis. More an omen. His humour, already tainted by the Soeberg homestead, sank further.
Too much is happening at once. Whatever polluted destiny they are manufacturing, it is reaching its zenith.
They were a hundred metres from the cabin when the children spotted them. A scrum of small bodies came running over the grass, Danny in the lead. Both of the homesteads dogs chased around them, barking loudly.
Freyas here, the boy yelled out at the top of his voice. Freyas here, Father. Isnt it wonderful?
Then they were all clinging to him, shouting jubilantly and smiling up with enthusiasm as he laughed and patted them and hugged them. For a moment he revelled in the contact, the hero returning. A knight protector and Santa Claus rolled into one. They expected so much of him.
What did you find in the cabins, Father?
You were quick today.
Please, Father, tell Barnaby to give my reading tutor block back.
Was there any more chocolate?
Did you find any shoes for me?
You promised to look for some story fleks.
With his escort swirling round and chattering happily, Horst led the horse over to the cabin. Russ and Mills had slithered off its back to talk with their friends.
When did Freya arrive? Horst asked Danny. He remembered the dark-haired girl from Aberdale, Freya Chester, about eight or nine, whose parents had brought a large variety of fruit trees with them. Kerry Chesters grove had always been one of the better maintained plots around the village.
About ten minutes ago, the boy said. Its great, isnt it?
Yes. It certainly is. Remarkable, in fact. He was surprised she had survived this long. Most of the children had turned up during the first fortnight while they were still camping in a glade a kilometre away from Aberdale. Five of them walking from Schuster. They had said a woman was with them for most of the journeyHorst suspected it was Ingrid Veenkamp. Several others, the youngest ones, he had found himself as they wandered aimlessly through the jungle. He and Jay made a regular circuit of the area round the village in the hope of finding still more. And for every one they did save he suffered the images of ten more lost in the ferocious undergrowth, stalked by sayce and slowly starving to death.
At the end of a fortnight it was obvious that the messy, hot, damp glade was totally impractical as a permanent site. By that time he had over twenty children to look after. It was Jay who suggested they try a homestead cabin, and four days later they were safely installed. Only five more children had turned up since then, all of them in a dreadful state as they tramped down the overgrown track between Aberdale and the savannah. Dispossessed urchins, totally unable to fend for themselves, sleeping in the jungle and stealing food from the village when they could, which wasnt anything like often enough. The last had been Eustice, two weeks ago when Horst skirted the jungle on a hunting trip; a skeleton with skin, her clothes reduced to tattered grey rags. She couldnt walk, if the Alsatian hadnt scented her and raised the alarm she would have been dead inside of a day. As it was, he had nearly lost her.
Where is Freya? Horst asked Danny.
Inside, Father, having a rest. I said she could use your bed.
Good lad. You did the right thing.
Horst let Jay and some of the girls lead the horse over to the water trough, and detailed a group of boys to remove the danderil carcass hed secured to its back. Inside the cabin it was degrees cooler than the air outside, the thick double layer of mayope planks which made up the walls and ceiling proving an efficient insulator. He said a cheery hello to a bunch of children sitting around the table who were using a reading tutor block, and went into his own room.
The curtains were drawn, casting a rich yellow light throughout the room. There was a small figure lying on the bed wearing a long navy-blue dress, legs tucked up. She didnt appear starved, or even hungry. Her dress was as clean as though it had just been washed.
Hello, Freya, Horst said softly. Then he looked at her fully, and even more of the savannahs warmth was drained from his skin.
Freya raised her head lazily, brushing her shoulder-length hair from her face. Father Horst, thank you so much for taking me in. Its so kind of you.
Horsts muscles froze the welcoming smile on his face. She was one of them! A possessed. Below the healthy deeply tanned skin lay a wizened sickly child, the dark dress hid a stained adults T-shirt. The two images overlapped each other, jumping in and out of focus. They were enormously difficult to distinguish, obscured by a covering veil which she drew over his mind as well as his eyes. Reality was repugnant, he didnt want to see, didnt want truth. A headache ignited three centimetres behind his temple.
All are welcome here, Freya, he said with immense effort. You must have had a terrible time these last weeks.
I did, it was horrible. Mummy and Daddy wouldnt speak to me. I hid in the jungle for ages and ages. There were berries and things to eat. But they were always cold. And I sometimes heard a sayce. It was really scary.
Well, there are no sayce around here, and we have plenty of hot food. He walked along the side of the bed towards the dresser below the window, every footfall magnified to a strident thump in the still room. The noise of the children outside had perished. There was just the two of them now.
Father? she called.
What do you want here? he whispered tightly, his back towards her. He was afraid to pull the curtains open, afraid there might be nothing outside.
It is a kindness. Her voice was deepening, becoming a morbid atonality. There is no place for you on this world any more. Not as you are. You must change, become as us. The children will come to you one at a time when you call. They trust you.