The World I Know |
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Chapter 2 |
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| ‘Over here!’ Kin’s call forced me out of my musings. I looked up from the burnt photo frame I had discovered, all wonderings about who the family was in the picture fleeing my mind. I moved from my crouched position near a crumbled wood stove to where Kin was examining a book, left mysteriously uncharred by the fire that had burned everything else. ‘What is it?’ I looked over her shoulder at the title, illuminated by the flame dancing in Kin’s palm. It read Powers of the Mind. Something in that name triggered a memory in the back of my mind. I fought to hold onto it, and was suddenly enveloped in it. I was sitting in a courtyard. The sun glowed vibrantly overhead, and the blue sky was a gorgeous blanket over the world. Grass moved in sync with the wind, and the fresh smell of the outdoors penetrated my nostrils. The sound of a waterfall in the distance gave the impression of the countryside. A man in a tailored navy suit stood across the pebbled courtyard, pacing dreamily. ‘Try it again,’ a disembodied voice asked lightly. It seemed to come from the very air itself, floating around me silently and swiftly. I closed my eyes to the command. ‘How’s that?’ I asked in reply, but my lips never moved. Opening my eyes, I saw the suited man smile. ‘Perfect.’ I jumped as I returned to the present. I realised my hands were trembling. Kin was looking at me in confusion. ‘Alright?’ she asked, her quiet voice barely audible through the haze I was in. With a deep breath, I nodded. Kin opened the book to its inside cover; a thinly scripted signature was the central attraction. ‘Ober… I can’t read it,’ Kin shook her head in frustration. We looked at each other briefly, penitence clear on both our faces. A sudden jolt from behind made us jump and catch our breath. The same dread from first waking in the city crept into my mind. I felt my heartbeat accelerate as I heard movement from behind the wall that shielded us from the streets. Kin was already on her feet, the flame that radiated the room winking out. Darkness swallowed us. We didn’t move, only waited for the continuing sounds of approach. A loud crash from the other side of the wall echoed amidst the silence. Someone cursed quietly. The voice was male, and judging from the closeness, aware of our presence. I wasn’t worried; the single door leading to our refuge was bolted tight. The sound of hands feeling for the door’s handle reached us shortly after – then the sound of the bolt unlocking. I saw Kin’s eyes, two pinpricks of light beside me, widen in fear. I felt at the ground for something – anything – to use. I discovered a long plank of wood wedged behind a fallen bookcase. It would have to do. Not worrying about making noise, I hurried to dislodge it. The door suddenly flew open. The wood abruptly came loose and I swung it with all my might. A cry came from my target, and hands scrambled in the air to grab the flailing plank. ‘Stop!’ Contact. A hoarse grunt came from the silhouette dominating the doorway, and I felt hands grip the wood fervently to keep it away from their face. The struggle resulted in my release of the wood, as suddenly the figure’s face came into light. It was a man, barely past teenage years, but looking bedraggled and clearly disoriented by the burning flame Kin held up against his face. Crooked glasses were suspended on his sharp noise, and brown hair fell across his forehead in frazzled disarray. I wasted no time, pinning down his right arm against the wall. Kin took the left. ‘Wait! Hold on!’ he protested as we held him down. ‘I’m here to help!’ I looked to Kin, her expression made of stone. She seemed as hesitant as I was, an instinct I still could not fathom the reason for. I looked back at the man; his expression startled but his eyes a blank grey. ‘Who are you?’ I demanded. ‘I’m – I’m – here to h-help.’ Stuttering and trying to push up his slipping glasses, I let him go. Kin did the same, but continued to glare at him mistrustingly. ‘My name is Blank. I’ve been sent to l-look for survi-vi-vors.’ I exchanged another swift look with Kin. ‘Really?’ I asked, astonished. There were others? Blank nodded adamantly. He pointed towards the doorway. ‘The dam is about to collapse. We need to get out of here.’ I saw Kin’s doubtful expression turn to one of alarm. I did not understand; it had never occurred to me to ask Kin where we were. ‘What dam?’ ‘The one that’s keeping the river from washing us all out of the mountain!’ Blank looked frantic now, as if explaining the situation was taking more effort than necessary. Even more, he looked like he wanted to get out of here – now. Then something clicked. ‘We’re where?’ ‘Under the mountain,’ Blank’s brow furrowed in confusion, ‘You do know where you are, don’t you?’ He and Kin looked at me, clearly taken aback. I sighed and shook my head. It seemed there was no time for my unexplainable amnesia. ‘We need to leave. Now.’ Kin spoke clearly and with a determination that I trusted enough to follow the two out of the half crumbled building and into the street. Blank led the way, his long strides purposeful and hard to keep up with. Soon I fell behind. Kin looked back at me and urged me forwards. I ran to catch up, until we reached an intersection. Blank stopped, adjusted his glasses, and looked around worriedly. I caught my breath and asked what the matter was. ‘I can’t remember…’ Blank muttered vacantly. ‘What? Where are we meant to be going?’ I demanded. ‘There’s a camp set up further inside the mountain, apart from the course of the river. That’s where the others are.’ Suddenly, Kin started forwards. Blank yelled a cry of protest after her, and pursued her further down the cracked street. I followed quickly, deeper and deeper into darkness. Then my feet hit water. I was ankle deep in cold water that smelled faintly of ash. Kin and Blank were a few metres ahead, wading further away. A sick feeling began forming in the pit of my stomach, and I called after them anxiously. Black swirls were forming in the water, pushing me onwards deeper and deeper. The water was coming. Fast. Blank caught Kin’s arm as she was pushed forwards by the small current. I could barely see them now, only faint outlines against an impenetrable wall of darkness. I hesitated, and then carefully waded towards them. 'Wait!’ Blank’s cries were audible now over the rush caused by the water. I couldn’t see; I could barely hear. A bright flare of light pierced the void. Kin held both hands above her head, illuminating the street and the waist deep pool we were submerged in. Blank’s gasp was the only sound I heard. ‘You’re… you’re…’ it seemed he couldn’t form the words. Kin’s expression was hard and determined. ‘You’re one of them!’ ‘No!’ I yelled, rushing to Kin’s side. The cold was forcing my teeth to chatter, now, and I couldn’t hope to afford another yell like that. ‘You can’t – no.’ Blank’s shocked expression was frozen in place. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a cry from Kin. She pointed a flaming hand behind us. I looked up - there it was. The dam: a massive wall of wood covering the central face of the mountain behind us. Groaning with the massive weight of the river behind, there were already holes the size of buildings amongst the structure. The sight broke our shock – there was no time now. I looked around frantically. What could help us? Blank swallowed and pushed his glasses up, something I was beginning to discover was a nervous habit. Kin’s flaming hands were floundering and dim, and she shook intensely in the waves that now covered our torsos. My search was in vain, it seemed, as I could only come up with fragment remains of buildings – and then I saw something that forced a whoop of joy from between my lips. From the small light of Kin’s fire, I could make out where we were: a square in the midst of the roofs of buildings. A protruding fountain stuck out from above the water, an idol holding a blazing torch above his head. I pointed and swam towards it. The others followed, scrambling up the arm of the statue and gripping the torch with all their might. I fished out a large wooden segment of a roof from the waters, using it as a platform for us to climb upon; a raft. The head of the statue smiled at us in all his glory, the torch our anchor. The water rose menacingly fast as the dam continued its splintered downfall. ‘Hold on!’ I screamed over the roaring water. Blank and Kin gripped the raft with their legs whilst keeping a firm hold on the marble torch. When the dam broke, we were ready. It came in a giant explosion, a sound like a thousand guns firing at us. At first there was nothing, then the impact. The water rose in a gigantic rush; no death hold on the torch would have held us down. The sound of screaming – from both humans and water – reverberated through the mountain, threatening to shatter my sense of sound. All I could do now was hold on and hope. We were submerged many times; so many we lost count. It became a struggle for air as we were dunked under the icy water, up and down, up and down. I could feel the raft being thrown forwards with the current, and we were away. Blank’s yell was silent, but I followed his terrified gaze in a panic. Ahead was the wall of the mountain. The current was headed right for it, and the raft was in its irreversible path. For a moment, I feared it was the end. I squeezed my eyes shut. |
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