Seeds - Four

Part 4

Consciousness came like a slow heartbeat to a tiny pocket in his chest, encompassing all of him, it thumped and expanded. With a groan he tore open his eyes. His body was draped across a wide neck. A hand gripped his ankles, another his left wrist, and his right hand dangled down a bony back. The world shook with each shuddering step. Reince struggled and was let go immediately. He fell limply on his shoulder, eliciting a grunt. He turned to find a huge and lopsided silhouette reaching down and lifting him by the shirt. He was callously dragged along until he found his feet. When he was capably shuffling one foot before the other, he was released to walk on his own.

The sun rose above the tree line before them, its rays burning off the remnants of the mist. He blinked leerily and found north in the blackening light, the mountains dominated the skyline there. East. We're going east. Then he saw them, all about, silent and marching; a great big hoard of shabby and shuffling people, stretched out across the downslope as far as he could see. Thousands, spaced out regularly, swarming the land in complete silence.

Many were freakish in their dimensions. Reince turned to his towering minder; the elongated skull seemed to swivel on an overlong neck atop a stretched body. The underbite was so severe that the thing could never close its mouth. Dull black pin eyes regarded him curiously as they walked. 'Uwak.', it croaked at him. Reince frowned. 'Ooh, wahk.', it tried again.

'I walk?', Reince asked, uncertain.

The human thing dipped its lower jaw in affirmation, pointing forward.

Reince glanced about him, the eerie calm of it made him shiver. 'Ok.', he said touching the swollen lump behind his head gingerly. His shirt was blood glued to his skin and he was too battered to trust his senses, he tugged at it until it slurped off coldly then his fingers methodically searched for hidden wounds, there were none but the bruises complained when he found them. His harness was gone. Surreptitiously he searched his pants but his minder didn't seem to care. He had been searched already, and stripped of anything useful. Pretending to stumble he slid a thumb into his boot, the hidden blade had gone also. For now, walking seemed the prudent course.

The lump throbbed and pulsed sharp pains into his head. His eyes felt like they hung from a single strained nerve strand, stretching and threatening to break with each step. The trees darkened, seeming like jet black doorways to a void, those around him radiated like so many candles through glass. His ears rang with a high buzzing chorus that worked itself to a crescendo. Reince clamped his eyes shut. His whole body spasmed and he stumbled to his knee, his leg wobbled as he tried to stand. The minder's fingers reached gently around his neck and pulled him up.

'Think my skull's cracked.', he told it when it released him. Its forehead crawled into its hairline, the head dipped sideways regarding him askance, the black eyes were attentive. Rows of haphazard teeth sprouted in clusters from the drooping jaw, a vague thought rattled around in Reince's skull that he should have a feeling about it. 'I'm dying.', he said simply. The minder turned its torso, 'Guhhhh.', the overlong forearm extended towards Reince. He had the inclination to respond but everything went black and he disappeared for a moment. Its fingers were like sticks in his lower back. It propelled him forward.

He walked, looking back at the thing. Its right shoulder rolled up past its ear, the arm turned sideways, the nails, like talons, pointed forward, it grunted, 'Guh!'

'Go?'

The head rocked forward.

Reince stumbled into the crowd. With each passing mile his pain intensified and he felt disconnected from his limbs. He found the nearest tree and vomited, he had a mighty urge to lay down and close his eyes. One in the crowd broke formation and pushed him, urging him on with clicking syllables.

For a while he kept his distance from the others, watching them, and many watched him. Others... the world popped out of existence and when he came back, he found himself supported on an arm. Hot breathe rolled across his neck. Reince looked up. The woman seemed surprisingly human despite her filthy hair and dirt-stained skin. A curved sickle hung from her waistband; unthinking, Reince reached for it. She grabbed his wrist, shaking her head and clicking questions at him. He had no answers, nor means to give them. She placed his hand on her arm, seeming content to lead him.

He fell into a dazed fugue, shadows crept up from behind. Had they changed course? The mountains were where he'd last seen them, the sun had moved. It was a strange sensation seeing the ground rise up, as if it wasn't he falling, but the world twisting itself out from under him and smacking him in the face. He had a vague awareness of the woman dragging his dead weight up but his body would not respond. She stood over him, annoyed. Syllables clicked out and were answered, another face appeared above him. 'I'm dying.', he told them to no effect. They took his wrists and lifted him under the arms. His head lolled on his chest; sleep was coming.