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After a pause, Adam ran to catch up as the Great Ones departed.
There was a smooth grace to their gait, like animated trees gliding through the forest. Adam wasn’t sure why he would have expected such large bodies to be clumsy, but they moved with a calm majesty he couldn’t help but admire. Every few strides, Adam had to jog a little to keep up.
Soon the wind returned, but the Great Ones didn’t seem to notice. Adam felt it, but as long as he stayed close, the Great Ones served as a windbreak and, with some effort, he kept moving.
The man walking beside Doctor Jensen pointed to the right. Jensen nodded and left the path. The group followed, and within two minutes came to a lone apple tree in a grove of aspen. The giants helped themselves.
Alexander plucked a large apple and tossed it to Adam.
Adam made short work of the crisp, juicy treat. Oh, how he had missed the intense sweetness of the fruit! And it had only been a couple days. He reached for another.
Alexander stood against an aspen, arms and feet both crossed, watching Adam. “That will give you strength to walk. The wind shouldn’t be a problem.”
“I feel stronger already,” Adam said.
Alexander responded with a detailed explanation of the chemical properties of apples and the effect on the human metabolism. Adam couldn’t follow some of the more technical parts but was fascinated nonetheless.
“Can I ask you something?” Adam said. “Do you know of any plants that have a blue sap or residue?”
Alexander eyed him a long moment. “It sounds like you know more of the mountain legends than you are letting on.” He furrowed his brow. “Are you claiming to have seen the ... residue? Or did someone tell you about it? Have you been speaking with mountain people? Someone who looked like a child, perhaps?”
“Oh ... uh ... no, nothing like that. A ... friend of mine in the city once told me he explored out this way and got some kind of blue sap on his skin and asked me about it. I just thought you might ...” Adam cleared his throat. “You said before the mountain people are small but dangerous. If they are so small, what makes them such a threat?”
“They are devious. Their innocent, harmless appearance is a ploy to make you drop your guard. Then they prey on your psychological needs. Once they have you, you lose all freedom. Everything good is forbidden.”
Adam thought of Kailyn. She looked like a child but spoke with an adult’s intelligence. She had certainly seemed harmless to Adam. He had not only let his guard down but had been convinced to go blindly into the high country. It was just as Alexander described.
Adam opened his mouth to respond but thought better of it. He didn’t know if he wanted to put Kailyn in danger. At least not until he knew for sure who was telling the truth.
When Adam spoke with Kailyn, the cottage had seemed so appealing—a fact that now embarrassed him. But he still had some questions about the city.
“Why are the buildings in the city collapsing?”
“Time to go,” Doctor Jensen announced, and the group made their way back to the path.
Just out of earshot, Alexander and Doctor Jensen were embroiled in a conversation as they walked. Jensen looked back at Adam. Alexander put his hand on Jensen’s back, pleading for something. Finally, Jensen stopped and motioned for Adam to come.
“Alexander is convinced you are a truth seeker.”
“That’s right,” Adam said.
“You have a lot of questions. Would you like to see the answers for yourself?”
Anxiety and hope entwined themselves in Adam’s chest. What would they show him? And why did he ask first? Was he about to see something marvelous ... or dangerous ... or both?
“Of course,” he said in the most confident tone he could muster.
“Very well. I will do for you what I did for Alexander.”
Taking a bottle from his bag, he poured a clear gel into his hand.
“Keep your eyes open,” he said. Then he placed his hand over Adam’s face, pressing the gel into his eyes.
The cold goo gave Adam chills, then a headache. But it only lasted a moment.
Doctor Jensen pulled his hand away. “What do you see?”
Adam tried to blink, but the thick ointment blocked his eyelids. With effort, he forced a blink. Then another. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust.
Then a whole new world opened before him. He looked at his hands, then the grass at his feet, then a stone. Adam broke into laughter. Like a child with a new toy, he appraised everything around him.
“It’s all so clear. I can see every contour on every pebble. I can see ... everything!”
“It’s only the beginning,” said Alexander. “A universe of new knowledge will be within arm’s reach everywhere you go.”
A butterfly floated across Adam’s view. He could see each of the thousands of tiny scales on its wings—and veins that ran through the wings and connected to its ears.
And with the enhanced vision came understanding. It hears through its wings. The creature landed on a leaf and Adam knew it was drumming the leaf with its feet to taste for dissolved sugars. He knew the cool air was near the lower threshold in which it could fly, and that, judging from its spots, it was near the end of its lifespan.
Adam laughed again. “This is incredible!” He turned to Alexander. “Is this why you left the high country? You were given this gift and saw everything clearly?”
“I saw through the myths of the cottage long before I met Doctor Jensen. It doesn’t take special insight. It’s obvious to anyone who isn’t brainwashed—the cottage is nothing but a scam designed to control weak-minded fools.”
“You sound kind of ... angry,” Adam ventured. “Did something happen to you?”
The Great One looked down at Adam like a man deciding whether to squash a bug. Then he turned without a word and started back on the path. One by one, the Great Ones rose and followed. Adam trailed, berating himself for asking such a personal question and wondering if he was still welcome in the group.
After a half-hour of walking in complete silence, Alexander slowed to walk beside Adam. “My son. He was ... killed.”
“Your son was killed? How—”
“The so-called Ruler claims to have power over life and death, but he did nothing to save him. I begged him to at least give me a reason, but he wouldn’t say a word.”
The minutes passed slowly until Alexander spoke again. “I was desperate for answers, so I turned to the writings. That’s when I realized everything I had been raised to believe was an elaborate fairy tale.”
“How long ago did you leave?”
“About six months. But it seems like years. I’ve learned so much since then.”
“Six months? Is that normal—to go from being a mountain person to becoming one of the Great Ones in just six months?”
“I’m not a member of the council yet. I’m still studying.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, it suits you. I think you’ll make a good addition to this council. And from the way you’ve described the mountain people, it’s hard to imagine you were ever one of them.”
Alexander smiled. “I think I always knew the myths weren’t true. My belief in them was more like suspended disbelief. I told myself it was all true so I could enjoy the stories along with everyone else. But deep down I knew something wasn’t right. If the Ruler were as good as they said, why would he outlaw fruit?”
“So your desire for fruit was part of your reason for leaving?”
Alexander shrugged. “A man’s got to eat.”
The heads of the Great Ones all snapped to the north. Adam thought he might have heard some pebbles rolling downhill for a moment. But now he saw only—There, on the other side of the path—was that a flash of movement? The sudden wariness of the Great Ones assured Adam it wasn’t his imagination. Were they being surrounded by the mountain people? Was a battle about to erupt? And had Adam chosen the right side?