CHAPTER TEN.
Until Eternity, Brother.
By
the summer Sukoloff and Nutt had earned promotion to the brickworks and
Sukoloff discovered how Nutt gained his information about Rarl. When Rarl saw
Nutt, he whooped for joy. It turned out that frequently Nutt climbed the wall
during the night and made raids on the chickens and goats. He would bring the
ailing Rarl and his young slave wife stolen eggs and milk. At first Sukoloff
felt anger, but this was quickly replaced by pride. Do not interfere with
history, had been the warning, but how could he prevent this young man from
helping? Maybe this was not such a great sin against the Guardians of History.
He was not interfering that much, this was Nutt�s life and it was becoming his
land. These were his people and this was his place in history. All he was doing
was helping a friend.
��������� �I�m gonna try and get another gape at
that map tonight,� Nutt said with a glint of mischief in his eyes and Sukoloff
found himself half smiling as he remembered Alex Henn. �Take care.� Henn would
have said and he would have answered with, �Don�t I always?�
��������� �Nutty, watch you don�t trip over your
big feet and smash something that should be dug up in a few centuries,� he said
trying not to grin.
��������� �Ha!� said Nutt. �I knew you�d say
that. Tzavros would have said something like that to Steele, gee thanks. Don�t
worry, I�ll take care,� he added.
��������� Further talk was stopped by the
screams of the women. From time to time the monotony of slave life was livened
up. Invaders came from they knew not where and fierce battles took place. Their
blood would race as they watched chariots racing up and down. They would hear
the blood curdling yells of the soldiers as they threw their spears, the whoosh
of the arrows and the dull thud as they landed. Sukoloff would smile as he
watched young Nutt scamper to the darkest corner and the hyperactive blinking
would start, closely followed by the inevitable hiccups.
��������� �How did you manage to lead men into
battle?� he asked.
��������� �I�m alright when I�m in the thick of
it. It�s the watching or waiting for war that does it. Then I get sort of
twitchy,� Nutt said between hiccups.
��������� Once the battle had finished and the
armies had retreated, the dead were removed, injured helped the best they could
and more slaves joined those in the quarries. Normality returned almost
immediately, most were complacent about seeing the carnage of battle and no
attempt was made to remove blood stains, the elements would do that. Even Nutt
would quickly return to the more important job of stealing, he was becoming
more ancient Egyptian than modern English. For Sukoloff the battles opened more
wounds, reminding him of PIA and the young agents. The black skins of the
slaves would fade and the giant Gentleman Bayfield would stoop and as gently as
if handling fragile glass, pick up a baby. Tzavros and Steele would argue about
the best way to build a hut and Henn would supervise with his usual kindness
and care. Everywhere he looked he could see and hear them laughing at another
mishap usually caused by himself.
��������� �What�s over there? You always look
that way.�
��������� �Do you see what these people call the
great gate? That�s Alexandria, across the Mediterranean is Turkey, then across
the Black Sea and I�m home, there abouts.�
��������� �Russia? Do you want to go? If you
want we can, I�ll take you,� said Nutt grinning.
��������� �I wouldn�t make it and neither would
you. The Russians would eat us for breakfast or the cold would kill us. We will
be rescued, Nutty. Just wait and see,� he said trying to sound confident.
��������� �OK, no matter, tonight I�m gonna go raiding so I�m too busy to become an explorer.�
�Vass!�
shouted Rarl pronouncing his name the only way he knew how. �Nutter be
whipped!�
��������� They walked towards the crowd,
Sukoloff noting all the time the staggering gate which Rarl had begun to
develop and the reappearance of the sores on his slender body. He managed a
smile as he realized his pace was not much faster and his skin far from
perfect. Constant scratching from flea and louse bites had long ago taken
effect.
��������� They pushed their way to the front
where Nutt had been tied to a post. One slave whom Nutt frequently helped had
placed a stick between his teeth and received a lash from the overseer for
interfering. Silence fell among the watchers as the overseer lashed out time
and again. Sukoloff counted, hoping for six and sighing deeply at the twenty
lashes Nutt received. It had been a certainty that Nutt would eventually get
caught and the watching crowd were told that Nutt�s owner had been lenient.
Because Nutt had not actually stolen anything and had only been caught
trespassing, the punishment would not be severe, this time.
As
was the law of the slaves, Nutt was sent back to the compound behind the gate
so it came as a shock when, two weeks later, Nutt appeared out of the darkness
with a small sack containing eggs and dates.
��������� �Anyone hungry?� he asked with a grin.
�Vassy, old chappy, you look awful!�
��������� �Looked at yourself in the mirror
lately?� Sukoloff retorted trying to cover the shock he felt at seeing Nutt�s
white face and matted hair.
��������� �I feel good. Back looks a bit like a
zebra though. I came to tell you about the map. One more look and I�ll have it
sussed.�
��������� �No!� Sukoloff shouted as fear for
what might happen rushed through his mind. �That is an order, do you
understand?�
��������� �Eat an egg,� Nutt said changing the
subject. �Do you good that will.�
��������� �I forbid it. Just tell me what you
want to find out and I�ll do it.�
��������� �You would as well, wouldn�t you.
Spoil a bodies games. Anyway, I don�t think you can make the climb,� he said
pointing to the steps leading to the priests dwelling. �The writing tells of
pictures that contain links to Egypt. The paintings are placed on top of holes.
Inside the paintings, or drawings, is a delicate grid. As delicate as a spiders
web. The map I saw is flat, but when placed over a stone ball in his room it
forms a damn globe. The spider map sits on the north pole with Orion at the center
and each strand runs to a different city. I read that it is operated by
pushing Betelgeuse and running a finger along the strand to get to a city. If
we can find the hole that�s around here then we can get to America. One more
read and I will know how to operate the year and month. We�re going home,
Vassy!�
��������� After seeing the flush of fresh hope
come to Nutt�s ashen face Sukoloff gave in. Somehow this young man had to be
placed back in his own time.
��������� �Listen carefully,� Sukoloff warned.
�Nothing must be removed from its original place. That map must remain hidden.
If it falls into the wrong hands just think of the damage it could do.�
��������� �I think it already has. The hole I
fell down was already active. I thought I operated it, but I ran my finger down
a tree, not Orion. The second time, I touched Rigel, I think.�
��������� �Kijac and the Changers!� said Sukoloff sadly, one of them had to get back before the future was changed into KIJAC�s dominion.
Morning
brought another sand storm and Sukoloff�s legs felt leaden as he made his way
to the brickworks. Even though his chest hurt from frequent coughing fits he
felt happy. Rarl had been given promotion to feeding the chickens as reward for
his long and productive work. Now he stood a chance of surviving the winter.
��������� Blinded by sand, Sukoloff half saw the
crowd and knew by experience this meant another punishment or even a death
sentence for one of the slaves. He staggered sideways as the slave next to him
whispered, �Nutty was catched.�
��������� �Thirty lashes?� asked Sukoloff, then
reeled with the answer.
��������� �Hand off.�
��������� �No! No!� Sukoloff yelled pushing his
way through the crowd. He felt gentle hands on his arm and the sand cleared
long enough for him to see Rarl.
��������� �Shout we all punished. You punished.
Him die. You die. We help tonight,� he said in a cross between English and
Arabic.
��������� Darkness took forever to arrive. The
moon remained defiantly high and bright; illuminating every corner; seeking out
any crevice and casting shadows from each man. It was nearly dawn before a
young slave climbed the wall and ran towards Sukoloff and Rarl.
��������� �How is he?� Sukoloff asked shaking
the poor man. The slave spoke quickly in the language of the ancient Egyptian
and Rarl interpreted the best he could. For every twenty words the slave spoke,
Rarl used one.
��������� �He good.�
��������� �What did they do?� asked Sukoloff.
��������� �Chop off hand. Girl has sealed it.
Girl has put cloth on. Be all right, you see,� said Rarl whilst sobbing. �He is
brother captive. He all right. You see.�
��������� �I must see him.�
��������� �They bring him out... What to say?�
he bent to the dirt and marked seven lines in it.
��������� �Seven hours?�
��������� Rarl shrugged and wrote again, this
time using the moons phases.
��������� �One week? God, no!� said Sukoloff
knowing what could happen to wounds in one day of flies and heat.
��������� �I�m going to him.�
��������� The hurried, raised voice of the slave
stopped him as he began to climb the wall and Rarl interpreted, �You old. You
slow. If whipman catch he know we get over wall. He put more whipman near wall.
Not get out to get food. We die.�
��������� He felt every fiber of his body tremble. They were right, one piece of wall was left unguarded because it was higher and they thought the slaves too weak to climb it. For years slaves had gone over it scavenging for food. Some, like Nutt, used it to help others stay alive. He could not risk changing what might be a crucial part of history for a man who did not belong in this time. Sadly he climbed down and walked to his hut.
The
week seemed like eternity to Sukoloff and only Rarl�s toothless grin and
message of hope kept him from breaking his own rule and going to see Nutt.
Everyone knew why Nutt would be allowed out of the enclosure, after an injury
of that severity most slaves, already weak from overwork and hunger, died.
Their compassionate owner was permitting him to die among friends.
��������� He was placed in Sukoloff�s hut and
immediately the slave girls came to tend him. Sukoloff was hopeful when he saw
him still able to smile and plan for another raid on the priest�s property.
��������� �Hi, Vassy, my mate. Don�t say I told
you so. We�re going home,� he said excitedly.
��������� �Soon, my friend. They�ll come for you
soon,� he said lighting another bowl of sheep�s fat and trying to remember how
Nutt had looked the first time he had seen him. Nothing like he was now. His
face thin and white, his right arm wrapped in filthy rags and his body covered
in sores. Despite this and the stink that told of infection, the ember that was
Nutt, still burned brightly.
��������� By morning the white in his face was
replaced by fiery red as the gangrene spread. His green eyes burned bright and
he began to talk. Sometimes he was quite lucid while others he rambled, not
remembering which world was truth.
��������� �When we get back we gotta stop them
using the holes. The priest chappy caught me reading it. He ask me if I was the
one sent to hide the map. I said I was and he asked my name. I said Nutt and he
ask for my family name. I said Nutt again. That�s when the guard came in.�
��������� �You did good, my friend,� Sukoloff
said sadly as he tried to cool Nutt�s brow.
��������� �Not bad for a coward, right?�
��������� �You were never a coward, you were
human, that�s all. You are one of the bravest people I have known and I am
privileged to have known you.�
��������� �Thanks, Sir,� he said reverting back
to modern day for a few minutes. �Steele ain�t no Traitor, you know?�
��������� �I
know.�
��������� �He din�t plant that bomb in the
paper-weight. Or the one in the training room. Tanen did that.�
��������� �How did you know?� Sukoloff asked
surprised.
��������� �My dreams come true, don�t they?� he
said beginning to ramble again. �I dreamed of sand and heat. I dreamed of heat
inside of me. That�s what I got. Don�t pretend I�m gonna be okay, Vass. I can
still smell and I know I got the gangrene. I�m a gonna just like in me dream.�
��������� �You�re going home, my friend.�
��������� �I know. I ain�t afraid. I saw where
home is when the office blowed up. That light you was in, cor, Sir, it was
som�at weren�t it? Alment wanted to go, you know? His wife and child was killed
in a car wreck before he joined Pia. He would love to go home. Henn wanted to
stay and Tzavros, oh, God, Sir, he�s as sick as I am. Get him to a doctor. He
has an infection.�
��������� Sukoloff was stunned as Nutt talked.
Somehow the young man had witnessed everything he had done. All the time
changes, the deaths of his friends, no wonder he was having problems. He was
living in two dimensions. If he could survive to return to his correct time
then he could be cured. Sukoloff could just tell him to forget.
��������� �Try and remember about Tanen,� he
said softly.
��������� �Who?�
��������� �Think back to Peter Steele and
Tanen.�
��������� �Oh, yes. I was listening to the
arguments when the washout came.�
��������� �What�s a washout?� Sukoloff asked
smiling.
��������� �Everyone was still. Like statues?
Then it were like someone got hold of their edges and the edges of everything
in the room and pulled. Everyone changed shape. You know when you spill water
on top of a kiddie�s painting? You can still see a man but washed-out. Then I
saw everyone move again and I heard the same argument I�d already heard. Tanen
walked across the room, picked up Henn�s paper-weight, put it in his pocket and
put a different one in it�s place. He stood there and said, �You will forget.�
then the washout again. Make sense?�
��������� �Oh, it makes sense. Tanen must be a
Class One and altered time just like I did. God, Tanen is Peter. Not to worry,
we�ll write it in the scroll.�
��������� �The people are turning yellow. The
fish don�t die. It�s Alment�s destiny.� Nutt said gasping for breath.
��������� �Nutty! Fight it. You can live. This
is not your place to die,� Sukoloff said holding onto his hand. Feeling the
heat in his hand begin to leave he raised Nutt and said pleadingly, �Don�t go
leaving me now.�
��������� �Go forward to the village of dogs.
Tzavros will die. I�m frightened, Sir!�
��������� �Don�t be frightened, my friend. Watch
the light.�
��������� �To go forward touch Bellatrix. To go
backwards touch Rigel. One year for each one second of pressure, touch Salph.
The month and day is the same. Start with January, one second per day, touch
Mintaka. Finally, one second per minute for the hour, touch Alnitak. I�m cold,
Vass.�
��������� �Don�t talk.�
��������� �Did you get that? The instructions
for the map. We need them to save the world. I can�t see you, Vass.�
��������� �Go to the light, my friend. Go home.�
Then he whispered with Nutt�s last breath, �I wish it were me.�
Burying
Nutt was the hardest thing he had ever done. For the first time since he had
known Rarl the smile had vanished. His attempts at a joke vanished as quickly
as a sand storm. Sadly, Sukoloff carved a stone with the certain knowledge that
Rarl�s would be next and he would be alone with his bitter memories.
��������� Amen, Nutt, life. Brother captive. The spirits guide you to your home. Until eternity little brother.
