Asunder Chapter 22

Chapter 5.2 (22)

Earlier Life

Light In The Dark

“She will slay the wicked. Those who embrace eagerness to rid her of her kind. She will rescue the tarnished and humble.” - Bluebirds 7:2, Book of Coris.

- 8 years earlier-

- The year 2288 -

Jane walked along the water’s edge. Her reflection shimmered back the image of a woman now. She was no longer the young girl scouring the countryside, scared and helpless. She had grown much in the past four years. The wholesome living the Amaruqs and the Judge had managed to provide for her and Ishmael aided in her strength and wisdom. As she serenely scavenged for herbs and mushrooms along the grass, she recalled the last four years of her life. It had all changed so dramatically from when the Judge first stumbled upon them.

The month following the arrival of the Judge had seemed too good to be true. Judge Jenkins had decided to remain with their small band and, with this change, brought the comforts of home, laughter, food, and a further sense of protection. It was not like Tulu had never provided those things. It was merely the Judge who had previously been a leader in Jane’s community and generally went above and beyond to serve his fellow humans. So this resumed in their small group and actually felt like a very natural transition. Tulu did not seem perturbed by the idea of another man stepping in and helping guide and track. In fact, he appeared to take pleasure in passing the torch of leadership to another. However, in reality, Nivi was the overall end-all-be-all leader and last word in any discussion.

After the Judge’s arrival, the spring rains and wind made traveling more difficult and warmth more difficult as well, as it was nearly impossible to keep a fire going. They decided to find someplace more permanent and stop their travels for at least the season. Over weeks, in their search for a permanent option, they came across more deserted settlements. Still, none could provide the long-term shelter and safety they needed, as the settlements had either been ravaged or remained out in the open air, visible to the Watchers and Takers roaming the land.

With every ghost town they passed, the Judge expressed concerns about the machines becoming desperate. He spoke about how the machines’ mining efforts were suffering and how the Takers were frantically scouring the land in search of more Seers. With this in mind, they kept up their guard even more and became more desperate while searching for a permanent living option.

One day, while Nivi and Jane were away from the group looking for a specific moss that only grew along the riverbeds, they stumbled upon a set of elk tracks leading directly up to a waterfall. Jane would’ve thought nothing of it, but Nivi appeared to suspect something more than the elk just drinking from the falling water. Nivi beckoned Jane to climb the rocks to investigate. To Jane’s dismay, when she reached the waterfall’s edge, the tracks continued directly into the falling water. After more coaxing on Nivi’s part, Jane bore her coat over her head and followed the tracks, entering the waterfall.

The rush of water sent chills all through her body, but it was nothing compared to the the chills she received from what met her eyes. Behind the waterfall stretched a massive cave deep within the hillside. Realizing the cave may have been the answer to their prayers, she ran back down the hillside, nearly knocking Nivi over. Grabbing Nivi’s hand, she sprinted to camp to inform the group of their findings. After some convincing, Jane persuaded the Judge to investigate himself. Who, after entering and exiting the freezing water, made the executive decision to set up camp within the cave. The hidden cave would be their new place of hiding—a perfect barrier from the elements and the machines.

Among its many saving graces, the waterfall provided a noise barrier, which allowed them to speak as loudly as they liked. The rushing water worked so well at masking their noises that they could even practice shooting rifles in the back of the cave with the Judge without being heard. The millions of gallons of rushing water absorbed any smoke created by their fire and remained a constant water source for drinking, cooking, and washing. It had become their life source, a gift from God.

They decided, at first, to only remain in the cave through the spring, but this eventually bled into four springs. In so much, four years smoothly passed by. It had become their new home.

Nivi provided routines and chores and stayed busy making and perfecting her collection of herbs and spices. They used areas of the cave to store the meat Judge Jenkins so readily provided, as well as the roots Nivi collected. Tulu spent his time woodworking. He made stools, a makeshift table, and even elevated bed frames for each person.

Jane quickly became fluent in handspeak, or as Nivi called it, Uukturausingit (1), and even Ishmael and the Judge learned much of the basics to communicate more readily with Tulu. In their four years there, life had taken a new course, and Jane could sense the feelings of apprehension, timidity, and fear slowly subsiding as they settled into their new life. She desperately missed her father but had finally found solace in the acquisition of two new fathers. She dearly missed her mother but was constantly comforted by Nivi’s innate motherly instincts.

Through the ensuing months, she learned more of the Amaruq’s history. They came from a place in the extreme north called Nunavummiut, otherwise known as Tsar. The Amaruq’s people had remained isolated, and many could evade the machines by keeping distant from each other and not gathering in larger groups or settlements. Nivi’s primary language was her native Inuinnaqtun. Even though she grew up speaking her native language, she eventually learned “Southern Speak,” as they called it, because of the many freeborns traveling through Tsar, trading with her people.

Each morning, Nivi would greet Jane by whispering in her ear in her native tongue, “Ublaami Paniqaq, Havagiarniaqpunga Ikayullannga.” Nivi said the words meant, “Good morning, daughter. I am going to work and need your help.”

Jane relished in Nivi calling her daughter and appreciated the feeling of being needed again—helpful to a family unit. Jane and Nivi always woke early, started the fire, and prepared breakfast while the Judge was already awake—out hunting or scouting. The smell of frying meat and roots filled the cave by mid-morning, and Ishmael and Tulu would finally relent to the light and the aromas and wake up.

Jane learned Nivi and Tulu’s real names. Tulu’s birth name was Tehoronianhen, which meant “covered in clouds.” His parents named him this as they described his ears as “being filled with the clouds,” and therefore the reason he could not hear. Nivi came into the world as Atanarjuat Malina, which meant the strong sun goddess. They gained their nicknames, Nivi and Tulu, from the traders they interacted with as children. Nivi and Tulu were married for many years before they could bear their own children. That was until Nivi unexpectedly became pregnant with twins at an older age—a boy and a girl. The Amaruqs named their son Tukkaqtaa, which meant kicked another with his foot, because it seemed like he kicked his sister out from the womb as he was born breach—feet first. Just as the traders gave Nivi and Tulu nicknames, they decided to call him Tuck, for short. Their daughter received the name Aajjigijaa, which meant resembles him, as they were twins, and they called her Ajji.

The machines eventually captured their daughter at seventeen years old. An unexpected raid came across their country, and the machines kidnapped their daughter in a fury. The Amuruqs and their son went into hiding. Jane had only heard the story in bits and pieces, as Nivi had difficulty speaking of the event.

Though eventually, Nivi told her how, inspired by the traders’ stories of freeborns and escapees banning together to fight the machines, their son Tuck unexpectedly left home with a group of men claiming to be a militia of insurgents. Tuck apparently hoped he could free his sister. His parents begged him not to go, but to no avail—he succumbed to the group’s entreaties. Nivi and Tulu eventually set out to find their son and spent decades searching for him. They had made their way south until, eventually, in their search, they ran into Jane and Ishmael.

In the first month under the care of the older couple, Jane could sense the urgency in their demeanors. There was a constant need to move and find more clues to their son's whereabouts, but with each passing day in the cave, she could feel the urgency dissipating as though the efforts were turning toward raising Jane and Ishmael instead. Jane never asked about the Amaruqs’ son and daughter. It appeared only to bring them pain, but Nivi would open up at times, and much of what Jane knew was delivered in short increments and commentary by Nivi while they did their chores.

The way of life in the cave had become very comfortable. Sirens in the distance or the thundering and rumbles of a Watcher tracking the mountains disrupted this comfort intermittently, but generally, they could live in peace. This peace lasted for four years.

Jane had grown dramatically in those four years and was now considered a woman in the Nunavummiut culture. She had learned fluent Inuinnaqtun as well as “handspeak.” She could easily locate medicinal plants and herbs and had learned to make them into salves and teas. Having already been the best rifle shooter in her community, she perfected her archery instead, which the Judge preferred as their method of hunting.

Ishmael had grown much taller and spent much time hunting with the Judge or carving with Tulu. The living arrangements were mutual, and there never seemed to be complaints, arguments, or discontentment. The Judge had kept a strict rule of not communicating with outsiders. Not that there ever was any, but he felt the home they had created was too sacred, and he hadn’t wanted there to be any evidence of their whereabouts. The Judge followed tracks closely and set up traps and indicators that he or Jane checked daily, which was where Jane stood now, looking at her reflection next to one of the traps—pondering on the last four years.

She always stopped at the pool to look for stinging nettle for Nivi before checking the traps. She liked to get there first if she could, in case it trapped an animal. Then, she could comfort it while helping it escape. As much as the others loved rabbit stew, she couldn’t bring herself to let the fluffy creatures be captured and skinned. So there she was, assessing the smaller traps.

There were buds of stinging nettle growing along the water's edge, but nothing was ripe enough to make a good tea with yet. Jane stayed along the rocky shore to prevent herself from leaving tracks in the dirt. Making her way to the first set of traps, she examined them closely. Luckily, they were all empty, sending a sense of relief whelming within her. As she journeyed further along the rocky beach of the stream, she suddenly heard a peculiar sound in the distance. It appeared to come from their second set of traps. Her stomach sank. She braced herself for the image of a sweet woodland creature painfully entangled within the Judge’s trap.

As she climbed over the thick roots surrounding the trap, she instead stumbled upon not an animal but a young man whimpering and struggling to remove his foot from one of the Judge’s wooden thorn traps. He bore tattered clothes, which exposed his bare back. Thorns and thistle scratches smattered his dark, ebony skin. Jane slowly approached the boy. The rustling of leaves caused a sudden panic, and the boy turned around fiercely, holding a sharpened stick, and pointed it at Jane. When the crazed look in his eyes focused on his intruder, they softened, and he fell backward, succumbing to the pain and the knowledge of his relative safety.

“Are you okay?” Jane asked consolingly.

“I don’t know,” he strained. “My foot is stuck, and I’m sure the machines are gonna find me soon.”

“Why would you say that?”

He looked at her with an embarrassed expression.

“Where is your jacket? It’s freezing out here.” She continued, sensing he would not give up answers so easily.

“I got caught in a thorn bush when I…” he trailed off.

He rubbed his blood-soaked ankle.

“Here, let me help you,” Jane said as she climbed into the alcove of tree roots where he sat. She stuck two sticks within the frame and scissored them apart, freeing his swollen, bloodied ankle from the trap.

He rubbed his foot vigorously. “Thanks… really, thank you. Where’d you learn how to do that?”

“It’s my uncle’s trap,” she said hesitantly. “Where are you from?” Jane asked as she reset the trap before the Judge found out this boy had set it off.

“I’m from…” he looked around nervously, “a nearby mine,” He responded

“There’s a mining facility nearby?” Jane asked, surprised she had not known.

“Uh yeah…” he looked at her, apparently puzzled by her lack of knowledge of such a place.

Jane cut him off, “Wait, that means you escaped!”

“Shhhh…” he put his fingers to his lips, silencing her.

“Yeah, I escaped. Now, I gotta get as far away from this place as possible. Do you know any militia? I heard there were fighters out here in the free world.” He asked expectantly.

Jane scrunched her nose at the boy, surprised by his question, “Ummmm, not around here. I haven’t heard of many free fighters. How many people are at that facility?” She grabbed her canteen, poured water on his wound, and then grabbed a couple of herbs from a satchel she kept at her side. Then, ripping a piece of her shirt, she made a bandage and salve for the injury. He stared at her in disbelief as though he had seen a saving angel. A relief of the pain appeared to wash over him, and he stopped shaking.

“Ummm… uh…” he struggled to find his words, his cheeks burned red. “There’s about ummm… a lot. I don’t know, maybe a thousand of us.” He managed to sputter out.

“Is that a lot?” She continued applying her salve to the wound and wiping away stingers.

He stared at her, “Ummm… not a lot, depends on what you mean by a lot. You’ve never been to one before, have you? You’re a freeborn, aren’t you?” His eyes lit up.

Now, her cheeks turned red with embarrassment. She scrubbed harder at the accusation, and the boy yelped, “Ouch, ooooh, that stuff burns.”

Suddenly, a rustling sound appeared behind them, and a long shadow slowly ascended over them. The boy quickly grabbed his stick to defend himself. The broad rim of the shadow’s hat engulfed them in the nook.

“What in tarnation are you doing, Jane?” The older man’s voice emitted from the silhouette. Judge Jenkins stepped forward and hopped down into the nook with them.

“His foot was caught in your trap. I had to help him.” She responded with a quiver in her voice.

“Well, dag-nabit, Jane,” he sighed. She was worried he would reprimand her for clearly disobeying his rule of avoiding outsiders.

“I suppose you did, didn’t you?”

A sense of relief replaced her fear. The boy threw down the stick but still stood shielding himself, worried about what would happen next.

“You alright there, son?” The Judge nodded toward his wound.

“Yes,” his voice appeared weaker now.

“Can you stand?” The Judge continued.

“I… I think so,” the young man gingerly stood up while grabbing the surrounding roots. Jane reached forward to give him a hand.

“Well, that’s good, I suppose,” the Judge sniffed and spat onto the ground a wad of weed Nivi had prepared.

“What’s yer name?”

“Elijah, sir,” he could stand on his own now.

A big grin grew across the Judge’s face. “Well, that there is a mighty fine name, son.”

Jane grinned as well. The boy looked at them both and smiled a weak smile.

“Thanks… who are you guys?”

“Well, it’s complicated, ain’t it, Janey?” He rested his elbow on his rifle and picked his long mustache.

She smiled and didn’t respond.

“Well, I’d suppose you’d say we’re a family of sorts. Not that we have a common family name or nothin’, my name is Jeremiah Colroy Jenkins, and this here little lady is Miss Janey Wilder.” He nodded to Jane, who slightly curtsied and bowed her head.

“I suppose you escaped from some mining colony nearby?” The Judge peered at the boy.

“Yes, sir,”

“Well, I’ll be! At your age? That takes guts. You must be crazy enough to eat the devil with his horns still on him.” He eyed the boy, who stood a little taller at the comment.

“Well, we can’t just leave you out here in the cold waitin’ to be snatched up by no Takers, now can we?” The Judge continued.

The boy smiled broadly, “That would be much appreciated, Mr. Jenkins.”

Jane smiled as well at the deference of the Judge. At this, the boy took a step forward, but looking back up toward the Judge, his smile suddenly evolved into a look of horror.

Jane could now hear what Elijah saw. A mechanical whirring and electronic digitizing of sounds echoed between the trees. They all quickly looked back and witnessed the floating robotic ball with glowing lights and antennas speed off away from them. At that very moment, as the floating machine sped away, the most dreadful sound erupted from afar—the booming sirens of the Watcher.

Jane immediately plugged her ears, and a flood of memories rushed into her head. Her father as he ran back to the cabin. Her mother as she fell from the sky. Suddenly, she felt a jerk as the Judge grabbed her arm. He was yelling at her, but she could not hear anything over the siren bellowing. The Judge grabbed her chin to force her to look at him. Then, in hand speak, he signed to her.

“We have to get to the cave. It’s our only hope.”

She nodded in understanding. Elijah was now curled up in a ball on the ground, covering his ears and rocking back and forth. Jane reached down and grabbed Elijah’s wrist. He opened his eyes and looked up. She signaled for him to follow. He stood weakly, and she slid her shoulder under his to support him. The Judge went to his other side, and they quickly made their way toward the cave.

Stumbling on the rocks along the stream, they quickly returned to the cave, where the waterfall helped dull the deafening effect of the siren. They had not seen any signs of the Takers or the Scouts along the way, so Jane prayed the machines had not followed them.

Nivi met them at the entrance with a severe but worried look. “What happened? Who is this?” She probed.

“This boy is an escapee. His name is Elijah. We were helping him out when a Scout discovered us.” The Judge breathlessly responded.

A look of terror fell over her face. Tulu stood behind her with a concerned glance as well. Jane settled Elijah into a chair at the table. She turned to Tulu and signed to him.

“He was hurt. I had to help him, but now the machines saw us. They knew we were in this area. It’s all my fault.” Tears filled her eyes.

Tulu nodded understandingly and hugged Jane. He hummed his usual hum, in a way, trying to console Jane. Nivi quickly examined Elijah’s foot and nodded in approval.

“Good girl,” she muttered as she unwrapped the foot. “Just as I teached you.”

Tulu let go and motioned to Elijah. Trying to calm the situation, he signed back to her.

“Did you fix his foot?”

Jane nodded, still with tears filling her eyes. Tulu nodded approvingly and signed.

“It looks excellent. You are a natural.”

This compliment forced a smile out of Jane, but she could not shake the Scout and the sirens from her mind. She signed back to him.

“You don’t think they will find us here, do you?”

He scrunched his face and shook his head.

“No way, we are so safe here.” He signed back to her.

She nodded and wiped her nose with her sleeve. Nivi was now back in the kitchen area, heating a pot, throwing in a medley of herbs, and stirring rapidly. The Judge had made his way to the storage area and loaded his rifle and pistol. He motioned to Ishmael to ready the bows and arrows.

Jane walked over to Elijah. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better, thanks for helping me. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you all.”

Jane smiled. Nivi rushed over and, with a spoonful of paste she had just concocted, began to scrub the wounds on his foot.

“You go help the men,” Nivi motioned for Jane to join the Judge and Ishmael.

“Yes, ma’am,” Jane responded, sneaking one last glance at Elijah, who responded with a smile. She quickly rushed to the storage area and began loading cartridges for the Judge.

The sirens grew stronger with each passing minute. The ground shook below their feet with each step of the Watcher. Tulu quickly snuffed out all the fires and candles within the cave, and they all stood motionless in anticipation. The cave darkened dramatically, except for the daylight streaming through the prism of water falling with the waterfall. Ethereal light danced along all of their faces as they tried hard to hide their expressions of terror from one another.

They all breathed rapidly and clutched their weapons, which the judge had divided amongst them. The Judge carried his rifle, Tulu held the pistol at ready, and the rest carried bows and arrows, except Elijah, who held a knife and a metal pot.

The sound of the Watcher slowly approached until it suddenly stopped. They could barely hear each other’s breaths over the waterfall's roar. They stared silently, trying to make out any movement beyond the falling water.

Suddenly, a glowing red light appeared on the other side of the waterfall. It floated eerily and emitted its red glow through the prism of falling water, casting a frightening array of red along each person’s face. The Judge looked around and brought his finger to his lips to remind them to be silent. Jane grabbed Ishmael’s hand, and she could feel him trembling and hear him quietly whimpering. She grabbed his head and pulled it into hers, kissing his forehead.

“It’s okay,” she whispered into his ear. “We’ll be okay.”

The following events happened so suddenly and methodically, it left nearly no time to think.

The waterfall stopped flowing. That was it. As though something somehow dammed it from above—it just stopped, and with this, an army of Takers rushed into the cave.

The Judge fired his rifle over and over again, downing two Takers in the process. Tulu fired aimlessly and only managed to make a dent in the face of one of the Takers, who proceeded to rush at him and Nivi. The others fired hopelessly at the metal monsters with wooden arrows. The arrows did nothing to stop the onslaught of Takers.

The Judge scrambled to protect Ishmael from being taken by one of the Takers and thrust a knife into its Torso. This feeble attempt at an attack only infuriated the Taker, who swung around, slamming the Judge against a wall—a sickening crunch emitted from the Judge’s body, slumping him to the ground. Jane screamed and ran toward the Judge. She was stopped in the process by the same Taker, who grabbed her by the waist, reached over, and snatched Ishmael by the leg as he attempted to run toward the back of the cave.

She could see Tulu struggling with a Taker, firing an empty pistol at one of the machines as it grabbed Nivi by the arm. Annoyed by his folly, the machine ignited a red energy from its left arm and fired directly through Tulu’s chest. The life immediately drained from his worn and weary eyes, and a single tear rolled down his cheek as he slumped to his knees. Nivi screamed in horror in her native tongue, and even while being hoisted onto her captor's shoulder, Jane could understand the heartbreak emitting from her throat.

“No, my love, my love, don’t leave me!”

In the blink of an eye, their world of peace and tranquility came crashing down. Like birds of prey finding a nest of mice, each member of her new family was either destroyed or plucked up and rushed into the sky, never to see their beautiful home again.

1. Inuit Sign Language (IUR) ᐃᓄᐃᑦ ᐆᒃᑐᕋᐅᓯᖏᑦ