Chapter 8

It was dusk before they reached the outskirts of Virkaith. The rain had stopped midday but not before everyone was wet and miserable. Her clothes had since dried but they felt dirty and stiff.

To Mia's surprise, Virkaith really was a city; a ruined shell of a city, but a city nonetheless. They traveled down the remains of a wide road. It wasn't asphalt, but a tan material that gave a little beneath their feet. To the sides, trees and plants tore through banks of gray stone, the remains of single story buildings supporting vines and roots alike. Scattered and broken shapes littered the road and walkways, impossible to decipher their purpose. She assumed some had to be vehicles. Why have such roadways without them? But they were unlike anything she had ever seen. Between them were posts with strange lettering, and small bits of trash piled against the old walls. Windows that mimicked those of Earth were mostly shattered, their sharp edges catching the intense afternoon light.

Nothing moved in the more artificial environment and, for once, Mia was glad to be out of nature. She could go a long time seeing only the gray walls of the buildings around her. The men relaxed slightly, too, relief evident in the way their swords melted back into the armor and they gave the women a little more space.

Mia looked at Kenahi. He shouldered one end of a makeshift stretcher, hauling the injured man. Several hours they had toiled with the burden, yet they never stopped unless the women asked for a short break. He looked worn and haggard, a certain stubborn set to his jaw that spoke of grim determination. Mia wasn't certain how she knew, she had only known the man for a little over three days, but he blamed himself for the losses on his team.

She didn't even have the energy to be angry with him or the others anymore. She walked the road beside them, supporting Becky by her arm. They were all tired and weak from the journey and entering the city outskirts, the last leg of their trials, seemed to wear on them harder.

There was something ethereal, almost haunting about the silent city. The silent stones and long empty roads gave the imagination pause. How many ghosts of the past lingered between these closed doors and broken windows?

A building ahead caught her attention. It was broader than those surrounding it, the front filled with intricately carved stone in lined pillars; geometric patterns and engravings that delighted the eye. The creator was clearly no small talent. What windows remained were vibrantly colored, red, yellow and even hints of green. Mia peered through to the interior where the walls had broken. Chaos marked the elaborate looking walls; remains of wooden furniture, broken and upturned stood like silent gravestones in the darkened shell.

“What happened here?” she whispered softly.

“War,” Morkuth answered. “Decades of it.”

Mia shuddered. On Earth, war wasn't something she had to deal with personally. Looking at the devastation around her, she couldn't help but be grateful for that.

“That's so sad,” Becky murmured.

“The entire city is like this?” Mia ventured.

“The entire world. We are all that is left.”

Mia blinked at him; his face was set in deep sorrow. She tried, but failed, to imagine what it would be like to be all that was left of an entire world. How did one survive an apocalypse? She wanted to ask, but he moved away from her, no longer willing to answer her questions. They climbed a steep hill, the buildings evolving from squat flat things into multistory stone creations. The damage in this area seemed to be a little less severe and Mia could get a feel for the beauty that once was.

The top of the rise offered a magnificent view; off in the distance, towers of blue and silver stood out starkly against the fading sky. Crippled warriors watching over the city.

Light had started to wane when they reached a barely perceptible division in the landscape. Between one set of buildings and an open green park with shrubs and a large field of grass, stood a barrier, nearly invisible save for the flicks of light that flickered along it sporadically like odd little fireflies.

Kenahi and Morkuth paused several steps away and set down their burden. Kenahi pulled out the light tool and Mia watched with vivid interest as he spoke into it.

As much as she wished to investigate, or steal one if she could, the journey had proven that the tool itself would do her little good.

No, as they had traveled, she’d come to understand her captors. Mia had decided the only way home was to reason with them. They weren’t violent with the women, and they weren’t the evil entity she had feared. She was certain that if she could present their plight in the right way, the men would take them home.

Three men appeared from out of nowhere, so suddenly Mia took several steps back before realizing that they wore the same apparel and had similar features as their captors. No need for immediate distress then.

“Commander, sir. The prime awaits in the main hall,” one of the men, a pale man with a faded brown mix of spots and stripes spoke. He pressed something on the light tool and the barrier flickered once before disappearing. The two others rushed forward, quickly gathering the stretcher and lifting it across the park. There were more buildings on the opposite side of the park. Buildings with light. Electricity? Excitement built within Mia. Civilization! The buildings, five or six of them that were visible, sat in a semi-circle around the far side of the park. It might be an alien city on a strange world, but it was the most welcoming sight Mia had ever seen.

As they neared the buildings, more men arrived speaking softly with the guards that had traveled with them. They began splitting off into different directions leaving only Morkuth and Gorth to lead the women. “Come, a meal has been prepared and then you will be given the information you will need before you rest.”

None of the women protested; they didn't say a single word. Maybe that was the trick to a willing victim. Drag them through hell and then offer them the grace of food in a well-lit environment and they will follow along like lost pups. Unable to do anything else, Mia trailed along with the rest into one of the center buildings. It was two stories and constructed of a stone like material. As they neared, she could make out the details in the carving, and while it was not extravagant in its beauty, it gave the place a smooth, flowing feeling. Gorth placed a hand on the wall. Beneath his fingers, light glowed green, and then blue, and a large doorway appeared, the wall separating seamlessly into the opening. The door led into a foyer, where heavy wooden tables had been arranged in long rows. A hundred, perhaps more might have sat in the room comfortably. The number of chairs and size of the space suggested that many people gathered there regularly. Morkuth led them to a single table to the far right. On it lay the most glorious feast Mia had ever laid eyes on. Three and a half days of dry breads, tea, fruit, and nuts had her belly grumbling at the sight of steaming creamy looking dishes, and trays of meats finely sliced. Fruits and some sort of bread that was far more appealing than the trail fair filled bowls to the side.

From the eagerness of the other women sitting down, Mia was not the only one who had felt half starved. She filled her plate eagerly, sticking with dishes that looked the most familiar. She avoided the meats entirely. Who knew what creature they might have come from?

The first bite she tried was some creamy looking vegetable. It had looked to her a little like potatoes, but she was shocked to find that they had a crispy, texture with a sweet undertone. The cream wasn't cream at all but a smooth, fruity puree. It was delicious and she closed her eyes and savored it. Truthfully, she had been a little worried that basic chopped fruits and old bread was the extent of what they ate here.

Becky moaned in delight as she bit into a dark brown creation. It looked a little like a brownie. Mia snagged one for her own plate.

“Mmmm, it's like cream and butterscotch, and something else. I don't think I've ever had anything this delicious,” she took another bite.

Good. The woman hadn't eaten nearly enough on the journey. Her cheeks were beginning to look a little hollow.

The meal was nothing short of incredible. Rich, savory sauces poured over grains, like rice but firmer. More fruits with tangy sweet juices. Tempting combinations of spice and sweet. By the time Mia was fuller than she had been in a long while, she had sampled perhaps half of what had been offered on the table before them.

The main doors opened and a new alien walked in pushing a trolly with a square machine that reminded her of the old overhead projectors from her years in school. He was shorter than the men who had guided them to Virkaith, but still fit and relatively young looking. A large scar bisected his face, across his left eye and down at a slant to his chin. The lobed spots that reminded Mia of the leopards of earth split awkwardly at the seam, torn apart and then reattached but not with flawless precision. It ruined whatever beauty the man might have had once, and yet he was fierce and wild looking.

“Good evening, ladies, I hope the food prepared is to your liking. If you look this way I will begin your orientation shortly.”

He spent some time messing with the cube projector-like apparatus, during which the women summarily stopped eating and stared at him.

He smiled at them and there was a sad kindness in his dark eyes.

“Let's begin”