A Cold and Heartless Lullaby -Chapter 17-

While Kia slept soundly in the cave, Leper kept watch over sweeping snow-covered plains. Minutes became hours, and the stagnant scenery remained unchanged, save for the snow that began to swirl softly again from the gloom. He kept expecting to see wheelers rolling over the hills, but they never came. Stepping out into the renewed wind, he activated the wind wheel on his charging pack. Judging by the liquid gauge on his wrist, he was still three-quarters full, but it was wise to top up whenever he could. For all it was worth, he could leave the battery plugged in. With a click, he slotted it into the back of his head.

Energy flowed through him, infusing him with that familiar sense of vitality. Leper clung to the feeling, following it like a high before it would inevitably dissipate. He let himself close his eyes and took it in, feeling the energy flow from his head to his feet in a sensation that could have made hair stand on end. As his charge topped off, the feeling slipped through his grasp, and he opened his shutters to the snowy landscape before him, lost in the silence. But as he blinked, he realized something was different. 

There were shadows moving across the plains. Leper’s soul jumped. From the distance, they looked like ants, but they were assuredly human, and for a moment, Leper thought the reverants had found him, but they were not riding wheelers. Leper watched as they gathered together, setting up tents and starting fires as the sun turned orange on the horizon. No, these aren’t reverants… Leper thought. This is a neutral camp!

The factionless nomads roamed the world looking for sources of food and shelter while providing a safe haven for those who needed it. If there was anywhere they could hide that was outside the reverants’ reach, this was it. Leper rushed over to the wheeler, grabbing the bag and waking Kia.

“What’s going on?” she asked groggily. 

“Night has fallen,” Leper replied, “we are going to head for a neutral camp. Hop on.”

Kia slowly pulled herself off the ground and waddled over to the wheeler where Leper was waiting. Leper helped Kia onto the wheeler before twisting the crank and igniting the engine. In moments, they were driving through the blowing snow again, heading for the cluster of lights in the distance. 

Despite the fact that the camp was neutral, Leper was not about to let his guard down. An encounter with anyone in the afterworld could be dangerous. He needed to present himself in a way that would not put them on the defensive. Leper flipped the lights of his wheeler on and off as he approached, hoping to catch their attention. He watched as several glowing lanterns converged on his location in the encroaching night.

“Halt!” someone commanded. Leper complied, squeezing the brakes. A young man with black hair approached, holding a gun in one hand and a lantern in the other. “What business does a reverant have with this neutral camp?” he yelled. Leper stepped off the wheeler and held up his hands. Rot, he thought. He had almost forgotten that he had stolen the wheeler.

“I am not of the reverants!” Leper called back, “I am a scavenger seeking refuge.”

“Then where did you get that Wheeler?” the man called out. He stepped back in surprise as Leper entered the light. “You’re an andron,” he said.

“Yes,” Leper replied, “with a sentient soul. The reverants think I am an abomination. They would not side with me.”

“Then I assume they did not give you that wheeler willingly,” the man said, gesturing to the bag over Leper’s shoulder, “or that food.”

“I am willing to share what I have if you give me sanctuary,” Leper said. 

“We don’t want your contraband! If you stole these things then you will turn their fury on us as well! You should turn back immediately!”

“Aaron!” an elderly woman’s voice called out. “Give him a chance. We’ve housed worse.”

“He’s a criminal, mother!” Aaron shouted over his shoulder. 

“If we didn’t take criminals, then I wouldn’t be here. And besides, your father would have never turned him away!” Aaron lowered his gun, grimacing.

“Fine, we will give you solace for now, but we are not taking your stolen goods!”

“Oh no! We will definitely require some compensation,” the woman retorted.

“Just not the wheeler,” Aaron said, “It would be a target on our back.”

“Have it your way.” the woman waved her hand dismissively and hobbled back into the camp. Aaron turned back to Leper.

“Search him for weapons,” he ordered. Several troops armed with makeshift spears approached, and Leper opened his arms, submitting to their search. They returned empty-handed.

“Park your wheeler in that tent over there,” Aaron commanded, “then bring your offering to me.”

Leper complied, stepping back onto his wheeler,

“Sit tight,” he said to Kia, swinging his leg over the seat.

 Leper coaxed the wheeler forward, driving into the camp. Countless scrappers, wanderers, and elderly survivors traversed the campgrounds, giving him a wary eye and a wide berth. It was strange to see survivors working together, and it was even stranger to see an andron with a little girl in tow. 

In a perimeter around the camp, signature blank gray flags flapped proudly in the wind. In the center, scattered tents surrounded a bonfire. On the edge, the largest storage tents had just finished being set up, and Leper drove his wheeler into one of them, switching off the engine as he parked. 

Kia wrapped her blanket tight around herself and trailed close behind Leper as he made his way to the central hub. Arms crossed, Aaron waited by the fire. He met Leper’s eyes and cocked his head, motioning towards a long gray tent nearby before turning and walking towards it. Leper turned to Kia.

“Stay here,” he said, “don’t talk to anyone, understand?” Kia nodded.

Squinting his scrutiny at the people around the fire, Leper decided they were harmless. He turned to follow Aaron, ducking into a dark tent where the man was waiting.

“What is your purpose here?” Aaron asked

“I’m looking for somewhere safe,” Leper answered.

“You want us to hide you from the reverants?”

“No, it’s not about that.” Leper tried to decide how much to disclose, “There’s this little girl, I need to protect her.” 

“A little girl? Is she your master?”

“No, I have no master.”

“You are a very strange andron…” Aaron rubbed his chin. “How do I know you are not a spy sent by the reverants?”

“The reverants would never work with me. To them, I am an abomination.”

“Yes, you said that, but I am not entirely convinced.”

Leper stared at the ground, “I was brought to life with a human soul. To them, it is a crime against Sol.”

“Well, is it?”

“I’m not the one to say. Just know I am an enemy of the Reverants.”

Aaron separated his arms. “The Revenance is not our enemy. We claim no allegiance to any faction.”

“Please,” Leper begged, “if not me, just let the girl stay here.”

“Who is this girl to you?” Aaron asked. Leper looked up and met his eyes,

“She is my responsibility.”

Aaron sighed, “I can allow you to stay here for a time, provided your offering is valuable.”

Leper swung the bag around to his front and opened it regretfully. He had fought so hard for it. Even giving a morsel away felt like a sacrifice.

“Is that a can opener?” Aaron asked. Leper pulled it out. It was of little use to him. He typically broke the can open with his metal hands. He hadn’t realized how valuable it could be.

“I would offer this,” Leper said, “And some of this rice.”

“That will do for this week,” Aaron said, taking the goods in his hands. “Just know that we will not harbor a fugitive. If reverants come looking for you, we will willingly give you up. We only owe you your shelter, not your protection.”

“Of course.”

“And I will be keeping an eye on you.”

Leper left the tent to find Kia waiting outside the entrance. She looked up at him expectantly as he found her.

“I thought I told you to wait by the fire,” Leper said. Kia shrugged her shoulders. “Whatever,” Leper said, “let’s just head back there, okay?” Kia nodded.

Flickering firelight fell upon a bustling and lively crowd. People of all kinds gathered, cooking and talking. A small group of them played music, banging on drums and singing their hearts out. It was a sense of fellowship that Leper hadn’t seen since before the collapse, and it twinkled like a star glimpsed between chunks of orbiting debris. 

Leper’s gyroscope sensed it before anyone else. A tremor shook the camp, and Kia grabbed his leg to steady herself, but the earthquake was over instantly, leaving only a single tent to collapse on the people inside. The crowd let out a cheer as it fell, and some of them exchanged goods. 

“They like to bet on whose tent will fall over in an earthquake.” Leper turned in surprise to see an old lady’s weathered, wrinkly face smiling up at him. It was the woman from before, the one Aaron called his mother. Leper could see that she once had the same jet black hair her son did, but now it only showed through grains of frizzy gray, most of it held back with a red headband. In many ways, she was a quintessential sweet old lady, except for the angular tattoo across half her face. 

“You’ll have to excuse Aaron,” she said, “he’s not normally so uptight.” She took a seat on a crate near the bonfire, “Come come, have a seat, although I’m sure your joints work better than mine.”

Leper sat on the ground near her, and Kia followed suit, staring blankly at the flames. 

“I assure you,” Leper said, “My joints are older than yours.” 

“You are a very curious andron, I’ve never seen one like it. Were you brought here by the Revenance?”

“Yes,” Leper stated. It was technically true, but he wasn’t brought as a servant. 

“I was around twenty when the dropship left us here. Most people here weren’t even born back then. I am one of the few to remember the riots.”

“They were gruesome times,” Leper said.

“I suppose that’s what happens when you gather all of Torus’s criminals in one place and expect them to behave.”

“Not everyone deserved to be left here.”

“I suppose it was easier to dump us all here rather than choose between the swindlers and the murderers.”

The old lady seemed very content to have someone to talk to, and Leper was more than comfortable to sit and listen. He had not had a proper conversation for decades and he wasn’t sure he still remembered how to do it. 

“My husband was a simple thief, a good man who fell on hard times. He was only days away from bail before the order went out. He started this neutral camp for people like him, people who needed a second chance. Sol, rest his soul.” 

“He’s passed?” 

“He was taken rather unexpectedly.” Her tone turned grave. “Aaron never wanted to take his place, but he had no choice. He’s really only doing the best he can.” She sighed, looking in Kia’s direction. “It’s not fair that our children should share our punishment, but that is the world we live in. We have to stay strong for their sake. Our fate has been decided, but only we can decide theirs.” 

Leper clenched his fist. “What can we promise them? We don’t control anything on this scrambled husk of a planet. What makes you think we can provide for them? The resources are slim as is. Why even have children?”

“I guess that is a part of human nature you don’t understand. We’re stubborn creatures. We’ll find hope in every place we can.”

Her words punctured something inside of him. Perhaps he hadn’t realized how little hope he held on to. Still, there was something that kept him going. Kia was starting to fall asleep, her head nodding over as she leaned into Leper. 

 “Then where have you found it?” Leper asked.

“There’s always rumors,” the old lady said, “of a safe haven.”

“What do you mean?”

“A place untouched by the collapse, where life still thrives. Travelers always come through here claiming that they are headed for it.”

“Have any seen it?” 

“No, none have. I imagine anyone who does make it there would want to keep it to themselves.”

“Well,” Leper was growing anxious, “Do you believe it is real?”

“I have half a mind to, but I could never make it, even if I did.”

“What do you mean?” 

“It’s through Snap-jaw Alley.” The old lady pointed at the horizon. Outlined in the pale blue waylight was the base of two mountains, stitched close together by the collapse. “That valley has taken many lives.”

“What makes it so treacherous?” The lady opened her mouth to answer but she was interrupted by shouting in the camp. A scout sprinted in, breathing heavily and screaming at the top of his lungs.

“Reverant wheelers spotted! They are headed right for us!”