Chapter 29 Ghosts’ Solitude
GHOSTS’ SOLITUDE
“Are you ready to go, Ren?” Einar’s large, warm hands covered my shoulders completely.
He planted a kiss on the top of my head, careful not to dislodge the quiver of arrows on my back.
“Almost.” I sighed, breathing in the warm, fragrant spring air. “This is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.”
We had been resting at a grassy plain, specked by drooping copper ferns, the narrow dirt path disappearing into a forest.
Trees that were perfectly white and completely leafless, serene and skeletal, stood motionless on the downward slope of the plain.
Forests of live foliage stretched beyond and over the sloping hills, topped further yet by an imposing mountain range.
The rocky tops of the peaks were bare of greenery, rather like balding pates or like pale grey yarmulkes.
The evening was fresh despite the day’s heat, its scent holding a promise of an imminent summer. The buzz of companionable chatter behind us carried on it lightly, echoing into insignificance in the majestic vastness of nature.
“Dead trees? Really?”
“There can be beauty in death.”
“There can be beauty in anything,” he replied pragmatically. “It depends only on who’s looking.”
We rejoined our expedition and trudged on, soon entering the deep forest where the path was lined by fallen pine needles and small round rocks.
There were fifty of us, our numbers down by ten since autumn.
Five we had lost in Corte, and five more had decided not to rejoin our clearing squad once the snow had thawed.
Others needed much convincing, too, and some only agreed to continue in our efforts under the condition that we would clear the rest of the mountain areas first before descending to any more towns and cities.
The logic behind their request was undeniably sound.
Furies had a short lifespan, most dying of their own injuries within months of being infected.
Even accounting for newly infected people, it was not unreasonable to hope that the longer we gave them, the fewer there would be.
I felt a treacherous itching for a dose of adrenaline from a good hunt after the prolonged inactivity during winter.
The mostly deserted mountain huts and refuges were hardly enough to even approach the limits of my skills.
Though I admitted this to no one, not even to Einar or Dave, I almost feared that the towns and cities would be virtually empty once we finally got to them.
And that I would have no more opportunities to do what I did best. In other words, I was bloodthirsty.
The settlement we reached that evening was among the prettiest we had seen thus far.
It consisted of a collection of wooden huts and tents scattered between broadly spreading pine trees that sheltered the dwellings.
The ground was very soft underfoot due to layers and layers of years of dry needles.
The settlement area was set on a gentle slope, with a ‘buffet’ housed in the largest hut at the top.
The trees were sparser there, and the hut had solar panels on its roof.
There were wooden tables lined by benches, and we were seated around companionably, residents and visitors, exchanging information and sharing experiences.
“We can use the appliances when it’s sunny,” Raphael said.
He was a small, energetic man with frizzy, fading yellow hair. He looked the way Lucas would have had he lived to forty. Perhaps that was why I liked him instantly. He gave me the impression of being like a lone, sunny dandelion in a field of greenery.
“How good for you!” I smiled at him. “And it’s so calm and beautiful here.”
“Hah, you think so now, mademoiselle.” He wiggled a finger at me.
“But when you’re here for months, it can get a little .
.. claustrophobique, living in the woods.
You don’t have a view, cannot see the sky .
.. But very few infected came our way, which made us decide to stay as long as we have. Until they started coming ...”
His smile vanished instantly, replaced by a worried frown.
“Who’s they?” I asked, catching Einar’s alert eye across the table from me.
“Some ... thugs on bikes. They ... came twice, taking our supplies. But that isn’t the worst.”
I was opening my mouth to commiserate, but he stopped me, shaking his head.
“The worst is ... about a month ago, they took Yvette and Elise. Those poor, poor girls, and none of us could do anything to stop it.” His eyes glistened sadly. “I can only hope they don’t treat them too badly. Maybe they have more food and they’re safer ...”
Russ, Albert, and the local men around us all went silent, craning their necks to hear our conversation better. Einar exhaled sharply through his nose before recounting our experiences with the bikers, a frown gathering on his face like thunderous clouds.
“You’re welcome to partner up with us,” he said, looking directly at Raphael, “and move further up north to one of the vacant settlements we’ve cleared.
From what they said, these men are from Bonifacio, so chances are the further away from them you get, the less likely it is that they’ll target you again. ”
He then explained the parameters of the standard deal we made with all partnered settlements.
“It goes without saying that we help each other when needed,” Einar continued, and then recounted how we had housed Helga and her people after they got robbed by the bikers.
“Oui, oui ... I must discuss with others, but it sounds like a good deal. You seem a fair leader. And, oh, I adore you, mademoiselle.” He smiled and kissed my hand.
There was nothing lewd in his manner whatsoever, but still, I froze in shock and cast a worried look in Einar’s direction.
“Who doesn’t?” he said light-heartedly enough, the brief flash of anger in his eyes likely imperceptible to anyone who didn’t know him well.
“I can think of a few people ...” I deadpanned, but with a relieved smile.
“I’m sure we would be lucky to join forces with you. But ... there may be un petit problem. Let me show you.”
I got up from the bench with an awkward manoeuvre to avoid kicking Russ next to me.
Raphael then led us to a cabin furthest from the buffet.
Tell-tale growls, heard over the pinecones crunching under our feet, told us in advance just what to expect inside.
Raphael unlocked the door. It was dark, and the one small, high window was not nearly sufficient to provide light.
It was a shed that was likely used as a storage of some kind.
Now there was a cannibal in chains. A young, blond boy of about twelve.
He was severely emaciated and filthy. There were not only dark blotches on his face, especially around his mouth, but also stains of a brown substance running down his legs.
The stench of urine and faeces nearly knocked me backwards, and I promptly covered my face with my hands.
“Er, right. What’s the story here?” Einar asked, loud enough to be heard over the boy’s snarls.
The relaxed, friendly expression had evaporated from his face completely. His jaw was hard-set, the corners of his mouth tight, his brow lined with a frown, and an agitated vein pulsated at his temple.
“Oh, it’s truly tragique ... Bastien is the son of Elodie. A couple of months ago, her husband Léon fought with a fury that got to our camp and smashed his head with an axe. He was a strong, brave man. But some blood must have gotten to his mouth or eyes ...”
“That’s the danger of close combat.” Einar nodded, not without compassion. “Sooner or later, it will happen.”
“Précisément. But he didn’t know and didn’t realise he was turning until days later, and in the meantime, he shared his water bottle and food with Bastien here ...”
“Are you telling me Bastien caught it from sharing food and water? No bite?” I raised my eyebrows at him.
“No bite. We checked.”
Einar’s frown deepened, and it was as if I could almost see the wheels of his mind turning furiously. Meanwhile, Raphael locked the cabin behind us as we set back in the direction of the buffet.
“For obvious reasons, Elodie insists on keeping the boy here, keeping him alive ... feeding him fresh, raw meat, the only thing he’ll touch ...”
“She didn’t turn?” Einar turned sharply to look at Raphael. “Is she immune then?”
“Ah, non. She and her husband had disagreements. When this happened, she no longer shared her cabin with him. They had no physical contact.”
“I see.” Einar nodded and sighed heavily.
The conflict that raged inside him was all too clear to me.
His unequivocal rule was to kill any fury on sight.
And any rule that Einar had may as well have been set in stone.
Not only was there no way he would let this settlement join us for as long as they kept a cannibal alive in their midst. But loath as he was to incite hostility, he would not want to tolerate Bastien staying alive. I tensed, chills running through me.
“I won’t let you join us for as long as that boy lives,” he said firmly.
“I expected as much, Monsieur.”
Einar stopped walking, and Raphael and I followed suit.
The buffet was barely visible uphill from us in between tree trunks, but laughter and snippets of conversation carried towards us on the wind.
Suddenly, I felt cold, and I wrapped my arms around myself, not taking my eyes off Einar’s face, which had become hard as ice.
My heart thrummed with panic, its beats resonating loudly in my ears.
“Would you let me talk to the mother? To try and convince her to do what’s best not only for your settlement but also for the child? It is cruel to keep him in this state.” Einar’s eyes and voice were pure steel, and Raphael recoiled from him.
He was a nimble man, and yet he held Einar’s challenging gaze unwaveringly.
“Non.” He shook his head. “Je suis désolé mais non. Elodie believes it is her duty as a mother to keep the boy alive until there is a cure. And that is her prerogative. One that I personally agree with. But even if I did not, I would never rob a mother of her choice as far as her child is concerned. It is a matter of principle, Monsieur. As I am sure you understand.”
Einar’s nostrils flared with grudging admiration.
His frown deepened yet, his brows forming a straight line above his eyes.
It was getting dark, the last rays of sunshine blocked by the voluptuous tree branches above our heads, casting long shadows on the ground.
Their eyes still locked, Raphael and Einar continued staring each other down.
No longer able to bear the tension, I asked Raphael, “Will any of your people have told ours about Bastien?”
Raphael turned to me, finally breaking eye contact with Einar.
“Non, ma chérie. Of that I am certain.”
“Nobody knows then ... and nobody has to know.”
It was then my turn to look into Einar’s eyes with an unspoken plea in my own, and I did so without mercy until emotion tugged at the corners of his lips. He exhaled heavily, giving me a dirty look before turning his sight back to Raphael. I sighed with relief. He wouldn’t kill Bastien.
“No deal then,” Einar told Raphael gravely. “Until you come to your senses.”
With a sad nod, Raphael walked us back uphill towards the rest of our group.