Asunder Chapter 46

Chapter 9.4 (46)

The Disruptor

The Message

Chronobiology- (biology) The study of the effects of time on biological systems, especially the effects of periodicity(1).

1. Advanced English Dictionary

- Present Day -

- The Year 2296 -

The night air chilled Ace to the bone and, combined with the airship's metal frame, made for uncomfortable sleeping arrangements. Ace made a bed out of what little supplies he had for the two women and, in so doing, had little to keep himself warm during the night watch. He tried to get his sleep during the day to watch the ship by night, but only ever shot himself in the foot, as he ended up just staying awake during this time as well. It took its toll as his dreams became more vivid and strange each time Ace fell asleep.

Looking back at the two women sleeping, he couldn’t believe he had found his sister Eliza. It was like an unseen hand had guided them all together, just as it had done years ago with Jane and Ishmael at the mining facility. Ace’s father would have told him it was the hand of God, and Ace found it hard to argue with more each day. Even just a week ago, he would have scoffed at the thought, but much of what had happened in the days prior could not be explained by much besides such a being capable of intervening, guiding, nudging, and inspiring.

He glanced over to Korin as she lightly snored, deep asleep. He was grateful for the trust she had placed in him. Even if much of what he had suggested seemed crazy, like dreaming about a sister they needed to change plans for to find, she believed him, believed in him. He recalled their conversation on the magnograv as they headed for the base. She had been through so much, just like Ace. They were more alike than he could have ever imagined. He felt feelings within him he had not felt in years. Korin was becoming more than just an acquaintance with whom he shared an experience.

The past three nights they had spent on the airship, she sat with him, talking about her childhood and early life for hours, her head resting on his shoulder. He now had so much more to live for, to protect—not only his two sisters but also Korin. She probably wondered where she fit into the whole puzzle. Whether she actually fit or not, he didn’t care. He was just glad she was there. Since the day he laid eyes on her, he felt a connection with her that he could not explain. He felt for her. He understood her pain and anger.

Not only betrayed by a man she thought she loved, Korin had also lost all those she had called her family—destroyed by the machines at the base. She voiced these frustrations with Ace. She spoke of Tkin and wondered whether his interaction with them had helped or hurt them. Thinking back to the older man, Ace wasn’t sure how to process all Tkin had done and said as well. Ace found it hard not to resent the man in some instances. Tkin had urged them to make their way to the base, only to find the charred remains and bodies of the rebels, but in so doing, they had also found his long-lost sister Eliza, and so it was challenging to carry a grudge toward Tkin.

Ace could not speak the same for Korin, but much solace came when Eliza informed them the machines had attacked the same night the rebels attacked the mining facility. Therefore, there was no way Ace and Korin would have made it to the base in time. Even if Tkin had not stopped them or even if they traveled through the day rather than resting at the dunes, there was no way they could have prevented the onslaught at the base. Even with this knowledge, it still hurt Korin to have seen all her friends destroyed, so Ace provided as much support to the woman as he could. For Ace, the consolation he received in finding his sister Eliza provided the needed trust in Tkin’s words that he would also find Jane, so Ace continued his search.

Turning his gaze from Korin’s sleeping face to the moonlit sky, he noted the shadows of the puffy clouds below slowly dancing to the wind, pushing them through the atmosphere. Suddenly, something within the clouds caught his eye. The silhouette of a bird in flight streamed below. The sight was beautiful yet abnormal. He had never seen a bird flying at night, and the image of the creature tugged at his subconscious. Then, as though an unseen hand lifted a veil from his mind, he suddenly remembered his most recent dream.

The image of a man floating beside them as they traveled through the clouds coalesced in his memory. Except he wasn’t exactly a man. His lengthy features and eerily blue skin glowed in the setting sun of the dream. The man never spoke in this dream but only pointed into the distance. The dream played out in his mind.

Trying to get Ace to understand, the flying man cradled his arms. With this action, Ace immediately knew the man referred to a baby and must have spoken of Jane and her child. Skeptical as Ace had always been, he wondered why Jane had not appeared to him in the dream as she had done before. Asking the question aloud, Ace noted the creature-man seemed not to understand or just not hear the words Ace spoke.

Startled, Ace jumped back as the man gently reached out, attempting to take Ace by the hand. The man kept calm and tried to show Ace what he wanted to perform. The man began spelling letters on his palm with his finger. Understanding but still apprehensive, Ace slowly reached out his palm, which the man took, and started slowly spelling letters with his long fingers onto Ace’s hand.

J A N E

Ace had nodded in understanding, which seemed to reassure the man. Ace took the man’s cold palm and spelled,

I / W I L L / F I N D / H E R

The man, or whatever he was, nodded in agreement and again pointed to a mountain in the distance. Turning back, he spelled:

W E / A R E / A T / T H E / D U N E S

We? Ace thought. Who was this man? This thing? Just as Ace went to spell the question onto the flying man’s palm, the dream abruptly ended.

Standing at the railing overlooking the sky, Ace pondered who the man was and how he was involved with his sister. He must have been one of the guides Tkin had spoken of in the cave. The dream felt like one of the dreams he had experienced with Jane—one of the vivid dreams where the sights, sounds, smells, and his senses all worked perfectly—a little too perfectly.

Being broken from his reverie by the midflight bird, who now soared at eye level with the aircraft, Ace smiled. The moon cast a bright glow on top of the cloud cover underneath, and the bird glimmered in the dark. The cloud cover remained their saving grace—a blanket concealing them from the watchful mechanical eyes below and the reflective technology of the blimp allowing for easy camouflage from the satellites above. They had been traveling for nearly three days now, primarily by way of the wind. Ace had little fuel, and he preserved what he could. They had been searching for Jane, but there was no sight of her. He had recalled what Jane had mentioned in the dream just days before and Tkin’s words about how they could find her in the sand dunes, but it was to no avail. By this point, they had scanned the dunes numerous times and had searched the valley below but still had no luck. They didn’t dare go further south, where the larger city remained, so they floated about the windswept valley, taking cover in the mountains as needed.

Two days into their search, they spotted a large hole in the ground resembling a cave. It was just north of the dunes, so they let down to the area and searched it in hopes Ace’s sister had taken cover there. With no sign of any human life other than old painted rocks and ice, they took back to the skies. With each passing day, Ace’s hope dwindled slightly. The cloud cover became scarce, and the winds became strong. Not sure they had much longer to find his sister, Ace’s anxiety rose within him. But now, with this dream of the flying man, maybe there was hope.

Not having many options left, Ace decided to follow the dream man’s guidance. Just as Ace turned to adjust the rutters and, therefore, change their course toward the mountains the dream man pointed to, an unusual sight met his eyes. The giant bird, who soared alongside the ship moments before, now sat on the handrail watching Ace. The beautiful hawk startled him, and Ace nearly fell backward as it perched there, preening its feathers. After staring at the bird for a long moment, contemplating how to proceed, the bird suddenly screeched. As it did so, it jumped onto the deck, fluttering its wings to soften its landing. Ace stepped backward, unsure what to do. Reaching for his rifle in case the animal felt the need to attack, the bird began hopping and screeching more incessantly. The sound started to wake the women, and he glanced over as they lifted their heads in astonishment.

“Psst, what are you doing?” Korin whispered loudly.

“I don’t know! This bird just landed here and started dancing at me!” Ace whispered back through his teeth.

“There is something on its leg,” Eliza spoke up, not whispering as she could see the absurdity of the action.

“What?” Ace responded.

“Look there in its right leg. It has something tied to it,” Eliza said, getting up from the comfort of her bed and crawling toward the bird.

“Shhhh, it’s okay, birdie,” she spoke softly to the animal.

This shushing from his sister calmed the creature and stopped it from jumping and screeching. The bird, now quiet, lifted its leg for Eliza to see.

“I see it, thank you. I’m just going to untie it if it’s okay with you?”

“You think that thing can understand you?” Korin laughed as Eliza carefully crawled toward the creature. Reaching for the bird’s leg, she carefully untied the parcel.

“It’s a note!” Eliza excitedly spoke as she unraveled the parchment.

She read it aloud to the other two:

My dearest brother, the Disruptor,

We made it, just as we spoke of in the world of slumber. We lie in wait at the border, where the giant waves of the dry sea meet the cool moisture of that which brings reprieve. Be a good one. 

Love,

Kittytalk

P.S. The bird's name is Wind-Winder, and she likes treats. Preferably snake.

Korin frowned, “I don’t get it.”

“Of course she would,” Ace spoke under his breath.

“What does it mean?” Korin remained stumped.

“Abe always called Jane, Kittytalk, as kids because we’d always find her chatting with our cat.” Eliza tried to explain.

Korin somewhat nodded, still unsure of the note, “But I don’t get what she’s saying.”

“It’s a riddle,” Ace explained. “For one thing, Jane loves riddles, but it’s more than that. I think she was worried about giving away their exact location in case, for some reason, this bird here got intercepted by someone or something.”

“Aaah,” Korin voiced in understanding. “But what does the riddle mean?”

Ace looked back out across the world below them. “It can only mean one thing: she has made it to the giant waves of the dry sea… the dunes.”

“That makes sense,” Korin nodded, “What was the moisture bit about?” Then, piecing it together, she answered her question, “The lake! The lake we slept at!”

Eliza raised her eyebrows at the last remark and grinned.

Ace gave his sister a reproving look and then turned back to Korin. “She’s waiting near the lake.”

“But she said ‘we,’ as in someone else is with her,” Eliza stroked the head of the bird as it sat there pruning its wings.

“Tkin had mentioned she was being watched over. I wonder if the…” Ace trailed off as he almost spoke of the man he saw in his dream.

“Wonder what?” Korin pressed.

“I saw a man in my dreams the other night. He was… a man… but he wasn’t…”

“Ummm, okay…” Eliza quipped questioningly.

“Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but I think he was showing me where Jane was. Maybe he is the one with her?” He asked more to himself than the others.

“Either way, we have an answer,” Korin reassured them. “Let’s go find your sister!”

“Thank you for your help, Wind-Winder,” Eliza said appreciatively, nuzzling the bird's cheek with her finger. The bird rolled its neck and closed its eyes in gratitude for the show of affection. “I’m sorry we don’t have any snake, but here’s a piece of Jerky,” Eliza reached into her pocket and handed it to the bird, who took it joyfully in her beak.

“You all never cease to amaze me?” Korin spoke up.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ace responded, now crouching down near the bird as well.

“This sister of yours really does speak to animals, doesn’t she?” Korin asked.

“What about this whole series of events has led you to hope for any sense of normalcy, Korin?” Ace asked, laughing.

“True. I’m realizing there is a lot more to life than just what my eyes have been able to see. But I feel that much of what is happening is not up to us. I guess I should be grateful I’m allowed to be a part of it.” She spoke introspectively.

“So, to the Dunes, it is?” Eliza spoke up.

“To the dunes!” Ace chimed in.

The hawk screeched and jumped back up onto the handrail. From there, the bird leaped into the air and took flight. Then, while flapping her wings frantically to gain speed, she made her way to the front of the ship.

“I think she wants us to follow her,” Eliza said.

“Well, then let’s do just that.” Ace steered the airship in the direction of the bird.