Chapter 5
The city is miles from the sea–a deeply unfriendly sea that humans tried to fish with very, very bad results, because the fish on New World will eat you–but it’s still a tidal river. When we reach it, it’s high to the banks.
We see some Land on the far shore, repairing one of their fishing kayaks. I wave to them, out of habit. At our farm, they’d always wave back. These just look at me suspiciously and get back to the kayak.
“Friendly,” Tara says.
And whose fault is that?
“I’m not here to start a fight about the Spackle.”
The Land.
“I’m not here to start that fight either.
” She turns to me. “Look, we’re different.
I get that. But I’m actually scared, Ben.
And no one seems to be taking that seriously.
They’re all working on their little theories and research projects and whatever, but they don’t know anything solid.
And they don’t seem to care how that makes the people who are under threat feel.
Because it’s us, isn’t it? That’s what the Spackle leader said with his story to your dad, right? ”
He’s called the Sky.
“I know what he’s called.”
Then call him that!
“We’re going to die, Ben! And no one’s doing anything about it!”
My father is!
“Well, everyone knows your dad is a weirdo–”
My eyes widen in fury. I’m the only one who gets to complain about my pop.
“I mean that in a good way!” she says. “He’s the opposite of Burly and my mom and everyone else in this stupid town who wants to pretend we’re just on some normal planet where we’re top of the food chain and masters of everything, and anyone with eyes can see that’s not true!”
I’ve never seen her like this.
“Something’s wrong, Ben. And nobody knows what it is. How can that not feel like doom?”
She’s right, though I don’t know how to say it, so I just type, He’s out in the woods, looking for the source of that story the Sky told.
She perks up a little at this. “Has he found anything yet?”
They found a rine that attacked my brother.
“Is he all right?”
Yeah, the Land treated him. He says it’s almost like nothing happened.
“Your father let the Spackle treat him?”
The Land, Tara, or I’m going to stop talking to you.
“Sorry,” she says, actually looking slightly sorry. “Habit. My mom won’t say it. I’m not even supposed to go near them.”
And how is that going to help a future where we’ve got to live with them?
“Oh, get off your high horse. She’s afraid.
And yeah, she’s handling it badly, but you can at least understand it.
This isn’t our world. As much as we try to pretend, it’s not.
If you and I live long enough to have great-great-grandchildren, then their great-great-grandchildren might feel at home here, but that’s not going to happen for us. ”
It happened for my dad.
“Kind of an extreme example.”
What do you want from me here, Tara?
She makes an Ugh face, like haven’t I been listening to her?
“Haven’t you been listening to me? Are we doomed, or aren’t we? Your opinion.”
I don’t answer immediately. Then I type out, I always feel like I’m doomed, but I’ve never been right. Yet.
She thinks about this for a second, then she smiles, actually smiles, like a real warm person might smile. “Good god, Ben, that’s kind of exactly it, isn’t it?” She turns and looks at the river. “That’s exactly the truth. Thank you.” And she sounds sincere.
She walks over the wooden boardwalk Burly had built along the riverside path.
She looks down at the water moving past. We’ve come down from the annex to the side of town that heads out to our farm, this river connecting both places.
It never seems to go too fast, the river, but that’s a lie, too. You fall in, it’ll take you.
“I saw a god,” Tara says.