He spat blood into the fire again. “I’ll never see them again…” He turned away. “I think Frederick – the one you shot? He’s the same as me. He has the Marius gene. That’s how he survived when everyone else – He thinks it was a miracle, I think it’s the opposite. I think we’re abominations.”
He slowly closed his eyes, then woke up again. Loma was still in the same position, her facial expression slightly softened.
“Are you going to kill me?” he said, resigned, eyeing her rifle. “Maybe that would be for the best… Maybe that would be for the best…”
“Kirwyn,” said Alana gently. “I didn’t say this in front of the others, because I know… on the mainland, it’s not accepted—” she paused. “I’m genetically modified too. All of us are on Avalon. For example: I’m 112…”
Kirwyn didn’t react.
“…years old.”
Kirwyn stared at her with yellow eyes. His jaw slowly opened as he realised she was speaking the truth, though his eyes remained lazy and unfocused. She didn’t look a day over 35.
“I don’t know anything about genetics,” she continued. “But maybe if you came to Avalon we could get rid of your Marius gene, or at least… mitigate the side effects.”
“I don’t know…” said Kirwyn. “Your people would let me in?”
“I’d make them, whether they wanted to or not. You saved my life. You stuck with me when everyone else left. I’ll never forget that. I don’t think you’re an abomination.”
Kirwyn looked down sadly, he coughed up a web of black gunk. “Thank you,” he said wearily, then closed his eyes and fell back beside the fire.
“Saburo and Alana came back.”
Kirwyn sat up, so quickly that he injured himself, moaning in pain.
“Calm down!” whispered Loma
“Where are they?” he cried.
“They’re holed up in a building nearby. I didn’t want to move you.”
Kirwyn eased back down. “Please don’t tell them,” he whispered.
“I won’t if you won’t.”
He nodded and closed his eyes. He fell into a deep sleep.
34
Alana came to camp, she held a dead sheep on the back of her neck, dropped it by the river. Kirwyn sat up, wrapped in his blanket, bleary eyed. Alana took out her knife and gutted the sheep, throwing the organs into the river. She looked up at Kirwyn and smiled weakly.
“Didn’t expect to see you again,” she said.
Kirwyn stared at her a moment, getting his bearings. “Likewise,” he said. He watched her skin the animal for a while. “I’m sorry for what I said to you,” he muttered, looking down. “I didn’t mean it.”
One of the corners of her smile faded. “So you don’t think my tits are small?”
Kirwyn cringed, he laughed quietly, but had to stop due to the pain.
Alana grinned, cleaned her knife in the river. “I’m sorry I threatened to kill you.”
“No worries.”
“Loma tells me we have a mutual friend,” she said, her smile fading. “The man in the mask.”
“Oh,” said Kirwyn sadly.
“I didn’t know who he was. I’m sorry I lead him to you.”
“That’s ok. Not your fault,” said Kirwyn sleepily.
“He fucked you up pretty bad huh?”
Kirwyn stretched out. “You should see him,” he said. Alana laughed politely.
“I did,” she said. “Before. Did you give him those scars?”
Kirwyn hesitated. “No,” he said weakly, then he stood up. Alana watched him with concern. Saburo hopped down to the river bank.
“The munk lives!” he cried. He grasped Kirwyn’s forearm.
“Saburo,” said Kirwyn holding Saburo’s forearm. “It’s good to see you. What happened yest – Where did you go?”
“I got ambushed. I had to run.”
“Thank God you made it,” said Kirwyn, releasing him.
Loma joined them.
“How’s the head?” said Saburo.
“Much better,” said Loma, running her fingers through her hair. She turned to Alana, her nose wrinkled with disgust. “We have food in the saddlebags you know?”
Alana was tearing strips of meat and laying them on a flat rock. “Relax you hippy,” she said. “It was dead when I found it.” Alana popped a bit of raw mutton in her mouth. “Shame to let it go to waste,” she said, chewing and smiling. Loma gagged.
They ate roast mutton by the fire. Loma outlined their new plans.
“There’s a large town a few miles from here called Sevenokes. We have plenty of tech in the saddlebags to trade for some more bodyguards. Depending on the number and quality of these, we’ll possibly go back to Lundun and pick up the spare generator. If they don’t have any transport we’ll just go around Lundun, back to Moortown, meet up with your guys—” she gestured to Saburo. “Then head back to my ship. Everyone will be paid in full, everything square. We’ll say our goodbyes. We’ll fly to Avalon.”
Saburo nodded and tore into his mutton leg. Alana picked at her food and glanced around. Kirwyn sat cross legged, bare chested apart from his blanket-cloak that hung on him like a toga, he hadn’t touched his food. Loma looked at them one at a time, then cautiously took a small bite of her mutton skewer. “That sound good?” she said at last.
“I’m not going to Avalon,” said Alana. “I’m going back to Retragrad.”
“May I ask why?” said Loma.
“I’ve just… reconsidered. I’ll still help you back to your ship”
“Ok” she said, a little unsatisfied. “What do you want in return?”
“Give me one of those helmets or something. Something I can take back home to impress my bosses.”
Loma considered this, chewing on a sliver of meat. “I can get you something.”
Alana nodded.
“What about you Kirwyn?” said Loma, pointing her skewer at him.
He flinched. “Huh?”
“You still on for Avalon?”
“Yes,” he said, nodding and smiling at her. He took a bite of his mutton. Alana raised her eyebrows and looked at him, but he did not return the look.
Saburo cleared his throat and looked to Loma. “Will we be getting compensation for our losses? … A few extras thrown in for our troubles?”
“That wasn’t part of the deal,” she said, narrowing her eyes.
“No. But it’s our custom. It would be a nice gesture. Especially if you plan on doing business with Cavaliers in the future.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever come back here,” said Loma shrugging her shoulders.
“Oh,” said Saburo.
They all helped push Kirwyn up the riverbank, and made their way to Alana and Saburo’s sleeping quarters. They packed their bike, reinforced the rope the held the generator in place. Kirwyn was given a seat on the bike, Loma steered. They drove at walking speed, the stabilising gears in full effect. Alana and Saburo walked either side of them.
They had been travelling a while when Kirwyn suddenly dismounted and walked off the road into the woods. They called out to him, but he merely raised his hand, his back turned to them. “1 minute” he cried in a hoarse voice, when he was far away. He disappeared. They waited a few minutes.
“Someone should go after him,” said Loma.
“He’s probably just pissing,” said Saburo.
“What if he’s in trouble, he could have collapsed.”
Saburo rubbed his chin and considered this. “Maybe.”
“You should go after him,” said Loma to Saburo.
“Why me?”