| |
Before dawn the next morning, Dave waited in the bog near Al’s black swamp oak. Finally, when the newly risen sun was casting long shadows on the bog, Hanomer followed by Arlana poked their heads through the foliage. As Arlana climbed out of the oak in which she had travelled, she reached back into it for her pack and weapons. Dave stepped up and pulled her into an embrace before she had completely disentangled herself from the tree. Next, Dave gave Hanomer a hug as well.
Arlana crossed her arms, attempting a scowl in mock severity. “Well husband, that’s quite a reception. You’d think I’d been away for a month. What have you learned about Pam and Little Thomas?”
“Come to the house. It’s a bit of a story. I’ll fill you in on the details while you have something to eat.”
When Arlana had finished the omelet Dave had prepared, and Hanomer was on his third helping of home fries, Dave finished his story.
“So, husband, we’re going to follow them, I take it?”
“Yes, I think we have to. How much time do you need before you can endure another cramped trip in a black swamp oak?”
“I’m ready to go right now. I didn’t find the trip here too difficult. I’m sure it’s much harder for you than for me.”
“Let me just clean up these dishes, lock up the house, and we’ll be off to see Makalo.”
Just then he heard a car pull into the lane. Looking out the window, Dave saw a taxi. A man climbed out carrying a backpack and what looked like a rifle case. The stranger paid the driver and headed for the front door. Dave and Arlana opened the door and stepped onto the porch. Startled, the stranger stopped at the bottom of the porch stairs. “This is the Gleeson residence, isn’t it? I’m looking for my brother Al.”
Dave and Arlana looked at each other. Then Dave descended the steps and held out his hand. “My name is Dave Schuster and this is my wife Arlana. We’re friends of Al and Pam. This is their house but they’re not here right now. Nice to meet you. I didn’t catch your name.”
“My name is Thomas Gleeson. Nice to meet you too, Dave.” Thomas smiled at Arlana shyly, put down his rifle case, and shook Dave’s hand tentatively.
Dave knew about Al’s estranged brother but couldn’t remember if he was older or younger. He looked older, perhaps because he had a full beard. His eyes were dark brown, almost black. He was taller and more athletic looking than Al, but Dave could see the resemblance when he frowned in concentration as he was doing now.
Dave’s silence was growing awkward. “As I said, I’m afraid Al’s not here,” said Dave blocking Thomas’ path to the house.
“Oh,” said Thomas. “He’s already gone after Pam has he? You’re probably here to help. Whatever you’re going to do, I want to be part of it.”
Feeling sceptical, Dave said nothing. He didn’t invite Thomas into the house.
“Listen,” continued Thomas, “as I’m sure you know, Al and I had grown apart while at Halcyon. I had left the university before the Dislocation. Ever since Al came back, he’s been trying to patch things up with me. We finally met at his marriage recommitment here. He wouldn’t have emailed me if he didn’t want me to at least have the option to come along. He’s my brother—I have a duty to help. If I don’t go, I’ll have regrets for the rest of my life.”
“Thomas, I mean no disrespect,” said Dave slowly, “but you can’t know what you’re getting into. From what I know about where we’re going, you will likely regret this trip for the rest of your life. We may never get back.”
Thomas took a deep breath. “I’m a University of Halcyon alumnus. I read everything about the Dislocation that I could when it happened and I’ve kept reading after you came back. I know you’re going to a strange new world—a dangerous world. Please let me come along. I’m a good woodsman and an excellent shot. You won’t regret it.”
Dave ran his hands through his hair. He didn’t like this situation one bit, but he didn’t know what to say.
Arlana came down the steps and put her hand on Dave’s arm. “I think we should bring him along, husband. None of us know what we shall meet. But the call of honor on blood-kin is strong, and he has an obligation to help his brother and his relatives. It would be wrong for us to take that choice away from him.”
Dave was going to object but changed his mind. He didn’t like it, but he’d have to live with it. “Okay, we leave as soon as we can get our things together.”
As the implications of Thomas joining the party hit him, Dave came to another decision. “Okay, Thomas,” he said, “if you’re going to join us, I want you to meet someone. Hanomer, please come out here.”
Hanomer came out of the door. Dave heard Thomas gasp in surprise. “Hanomer, meet Al’s brother, Thomas.”
Hanomer walked up to Thomas boldly and extended his right hand. “Welcome friend Thomas, kin of my friend Al Gleeson.”
Thomas reached down to shake the small hand. “This must be one of the Hansa I’ve read about.”
“Yes, he is,” said Dave, “and now I’m going to tell you what I know about our situation. And you’re not going to believe me. In fact, you’re going to think I’m pulling your leg when I tell you how we’re going to follow Al. Come into the house, put your feet up, have a coffee and something to eat. It’s a long story.”
Dave told Thomas everything. A few times during the narrative, Thomas’ facial expression showed he was startled. During the conversation, Thomas couldn’t take his eyes off Hanomer, who sat nearby and listened.
When Dave was finished, Thomas said, “So you’re telling me we’re going to climb into these small trees called black swamp oaks and overnight they’re going to miraculously transport us to a new world?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“But that seems so unbelievable. I don’t believe in miracles anymore.”
“Why are you so surprised to find the ‘unbelievable’ in nature? If your brother Al were here, I’m sure he’d say that there are many things in nature that, at first glance, are miraculous and unbelievable. Think of birds navigating for thousands of miles from summer to winter habitats; salmon finding their home tributary, bats, at high speed, using high frequency sonar to locate and eat flying insects at night and butterflies undergoing enormous changes from egg to caterpillar to adult. All these things macroscopically seem astounding and miraculous. Your brother Al also would say that the chemistry behind these phenomena is even more astonishing. Yet science gives them a name and a mechanistic explanation and then we lose the wonder, the mystery, and the miracle behind all these events. Somehow, they become commonplace because we have named—and perhaps, in our minds at least—explained them.
“Al once said that science was like a basilisk (I think he was quoting someone) and that it takes the life out of whatever falls under its gaze. When science analyzes and explains a mystery, it destroys something profound and essential about the phenomenon by taking away our wonder and our profound sense of the miraculous. We are poorer for it.”
“I think you’ve been around my brother too long. You’re beginning to sound like him.”
Dave chuckled. “You got that right.”
They left in Linder’s SUV as soon as all their gear was loaded. About three hours later they were in Clappers Corners, a small hamlet near Astoria, looking for 821 Lee Avenue. The house proved to be a rambling bungalow on a large lot with a barn in the back.
Makalo was out of the house and welcoming them before they had even left their SUV. After Dave introduced Thomas, Makalo said, “Come inside and have some food. You must be hungry. I’ve put on a fresh pot of coffee. You are hungry, right?”
“Yes, we are!” “No, we’re not!” said Dave and Arlana simultaneously.
Makalo laughed as Arlana gave Dave a stern look. “My friend Dave is always hungry,” said Hanomer.
Makalo smiled at Hanomer. “I seem to recall hearing from Dave, Hanomer, that the Hansa also have a considerable appetite.” Makalo had pulled-pork sandwiches and wraps already prepared. The spices he used were delicious, and Dave was ravenous. Between bites, Dave described what he had found in the Okefenokee Swamp, the pond cypress island, and the three black swamp oaks.
“I know,” said Makalo. “Al came by and I helped him get to the island. I have his car in the barn now. So, you think Al was right about them travelling over to the other place?”
Then why didn’t you stop him? Thought Dave. Out loud he said, “I think so. Hopefully the others have found him safe and sound. For my part I had to pick up Arlana and Hanomer to follow them.”
“So, you want me to take you to the island and then bring Linder’s SUV back and store it?”
“We’d be grateful if you would, Makalo,” said Arlana. “We don’t know when we’ll be back, but it could be a matter of months.”
Or longer, thought Dave.
“I’m ready to go,” said Dave, finishing the last of his sandwich.
Dave drove them back to the boat rental facility. They had hidden Hanomer in Dave’s large pack. The clerk showed surprise at their repeat rental so soon after the last one but said nothing. Makalo remembered his way through the swamp. He brought them unerringly to the black swamp oak island.
Dave tied up the boat and they went directly to the cluster of three black swamp oaks.
The oaks were empty, and there was no sign of their friends. “Well, they’re no longer here, so that answers one question.”
Makalo helped them unload their supplies. Dave chose the largest of the three black swamp oaks while Arlana chose the second largest, the same one Al had used.
Dave noticed these oaks were slightly larger than their specimen in Gurundar, attesting to the excellent growing conditions in this swamp. Makalo hugged Arlana and then Dave, and then shook hands with Thomas and Hanomer. Wishing them God’s protection, he waited until they were settled in the cocoon-like interior of the bulbous trees. Dave’s tree was very similar to the black swamp oak in the water meadow in Feiramar. The thick stem ended abruptly, about two meters from the ground. It then divided into many branches, which bent upwards from the outer stem of the main trunk, leaving a hollow space shaped roughly like an onion.
Dave heard Makalo start the boat motor and the sound gradually diminish. His heart began to pound and his thoughts began to trouble him again. Everything that I read about Abaddon from the books in Gurundar made it seem like I’m going into hell—a land where the Bent Ones like Meglir rule. A land filled with slaves who are compelled to work for their masters. A land so far below sea level that the air will be like soup. What will I find in eight hours? Will I be able to protect Arlana? What if we die in the first hour? What if my friends are already dead?
He remembered a scene from the children’s book, The Silver Chair, where Pole, Eustace, and Puddleglum faced a difficult decision, wondering if they would die if they did what Aslan, the great lion, had commanded. He remembered what Puddleglum said in the book: “You see, Aslan didn’t tell Pole what would happen. He only told her what to do.”[2]
Yes, Dave thought, I have no guarantee of safety. I only know what we must do. So, if we live or die, we will have done our duty.
He felt an inexplicable lightening of his spirit, and was suddenly overcome with sleep as the tension of the last few days caught up with him.