NAAN (The Rabanians Book 1) (43 page)

“Did he take food? Water? Where did he go? Where will he sleep?” her eyes started to get glassy. “Stupid, selfish man.” She paused for a second then added, “Stupid!”

“Su-thor, calm down.  He lived in the mountains for two years, all alone. It looks dangerous but he came back stronger than all of us.”

“So is he gone now for two more years?”

“Of course not. He knows we are here. All of us. He'll come back."

“He knows," she mumbled with anger. "He knows you lived here for two years and left him out there in the mountains,”

“Su-thor you are not being reasonable. You know and he knows we looked for him. We thought he was dead.”

She nodded. A tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it away quickly.

“Do you know where he went?”

“No.”

“Maybe he went to his shack near the pool.”

“Maybe, but that pool nearly killed him so I am not sure he would return there.” He looked at her, “I don't think there is any point in searching for him. Just give him some time.”

“Don't you even care that he is out there all by himself?”

“Of course I care, but I know he'll be all right there and…”

“And?”

“Maybe he is safer there.”

“Safer?”

He shifted his gaze. “I don't know what to think of this whole story. The Doctor was different last night. I’ve never seen him that angry.”

“You think he would hurt Sosi?”

Daio shook his head. “I don't think so, but I also don't think it is a bad idea if he disappears for few days. Things will calm down and I am sure the next conversation with him will be different.”

“You don't know that it's only for few days, especially if he thinks someone here wants to hurt him.”

She walked away from him towards the entrance. “Can you get me a hovercraft?”

“Su-thor.”

“Even if it's only for few days there is no reason he needs to be out there alone,” she said and sniffed. “There is no sense in this whole crazy story, and he doesn't need to suffer because of the Doctor and his crazy people.”

“I'll get you a light hovercraft,” he said. He hesitated for a few seconds before going up the stairs and calling Musan.

  I felt something strange in my legs, although the trail looked quite flat. After kicking a small stone and watching it roll back a bit, I realized it was some sort of optical illusion. I was going up a slope.

I rested several times as I climbed. After another hour of intense walking the trees around me started to disappear, and the ground grew rocky. The horizon in front of me disappeared and it felt as if I was walking towards the edge of the planet. Dion was behind the mountains to my left when I finally came to the end of the road. Before me was a vast canyon, stretching away as far as I could see in either direction. The canyon floor was white and flat. In front of me, was the edge of a tall White Mountain that thrust itself up from the canyon floor and rose to match the height of the mountain I was standing on. The White Mountain dominated the vista in front of me and extended deep into the horizon in front of me, gradually expanding as if it were a huge rock in the form of an arrow.

The white glare made me think about how far I’d walked since I’d left the house. It gradually settled into my mind that I was standing in front of the other side of the White Planes. My journeys to the White Planes had been few but I’d flown over them once and remembered their long shape.

I scanned the mountain in front of me and noticed terraced ledges climbing it from the bottom of the canyon to its peak. Their shadows highlighted their shape. It made me shiver to think that the damn plague had found me even here. I sat on a rock and wondered what I should do. I could go back and look for a way around or I could search for a way down, then cross the canyon and return to Naan through the White Planes. Maybe it was time for me to go back.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since I’d left the house. I’d counted the days in the beginning but soon lost track. My best guess was that several months had passed. I hoped the Doctor had realized by now that I had no intention of doing anything, but it wasn't that important to me anymore. 

After a short rest I started to go down the mountain to the canyon’s surface. I found a trail that looked like it was leading down into the canyon. I started picking my way down and soon realized the road I’d chosen was harder than expected. Sometimes there were rocks blocking the trail and I had to climb over them. This was a precarious operation that brought me right to the edge of the abyss. I thought it would be sweet revenge for the gods of Naan if I were to fall. I didn't fall though. When Dion neared the horizon to the left, and its reflected glare faded, the terraces became clearer. I could now see small black dots arranged regularly along one of them.

When Dion had set, and the brief darkness fell that preceded the rise of Mampas, the trail completely disappeared. I decided to camp for the night. My backpack was filled with edible roots loaded with water and berries I’d found in the forest. When Mampas finally rose the canyon was visible again. Instead of the harsh white glare it was painted over in grays that made it easier for me to examine it more closely. I could see the terrace with the dark points more clearly now.

The idea that the town was just on the other side of these White Planes brought strange thoughts to my mind. I played with the thought that I should setup a tent there and wait until the processions to the graves arrived. According to the Naanites their sins would be redeemed then, and the plague would stop. No one could hate me then. It was a funny thought but clearly ridiculous. It would take hundreds or maybe even thousands of years to cover all these plains. And what would happen then? Would the plague really stop? Would awareness fall on their heads at Mampas rise and make it suddenly clear to them how stupid they had been for generations?

Other imaginative thoughts came to my mind as I looked at the terraces. I suddenly realized they were different than the ones on the side facing the town.

The next morning I packed my bag, ate several handfuls of berries, and continued down the steep trail. I reached to the bottom of the canyon at noon and after a short rest I started towards the white mountain. The black dots on the terrace gradually grew. As they did they got lighter and I soon realized they were openings carved into the mountain. Stairs too were chiseled into the face of the rock between the terraces. I wondered if maybe someone was living there. I smiled to myself at the thought. How crazy would it be if it turned out that there were cave people living on the other side of the White Planes?

I reached the base of the mountain near the end of the day and climbed the set of curved stairs that led to the first terrace. I immediately noticed that the stairs were built for someone of my height. This was so thought provoking that my weariness disappeared. The first terrace had a smooth, flat, white floor. In the wall, between the first and second terraces were several openings of approximately my size. I walked over to one of them. It was the entrance to a dark cave. I examined the stonework around the entrance. At its edge was a smooth, gray area roughly a third of the way down from the top. I ran my hand over it. It seemed to have been worn smooth by the touch of innumerable hands of people coming and going in and out of the cave.

The entrance was a bit taller than me and the smooth area was the height of my arms. No doubt people who had lived here were as tall as me. I stuck my head inside, but the cave was completely dark. After looking around the first terrace, and finding nothing else of interest, I started up the stairs to the second terrace. I stopped in the middle of the stairs and looked around. The sight of the terrace below me, and the ones above me, made me feel as if I was walking along the main street of a city carved from stone.

The third terrace was largest yet and had only one entrance, a bit to the right of the stairs. The stairs to the forth level were different as well. They bulged out from the wall as if the "city architect" was trying to avoid damaging the wall. I put on my headlamp and looked at the entrance to the cave. A few stairs led down to the floor of the cave. I went down them and scanned around with the light. Except for the ground around me the light wasn't reflected back. It was clear that the cavern was huge. I knew I should wait for morning, and the full light of Dion, to help with my explorations, but I was too curious.

After few moments of slow and seemingly pointless walking, I decided it was nothing but another empty cave. It was clear it wasn't a natural cave. Someone must have dug it out for a purpose, but I couldn’t guess what. I turned back only to discover that the entrance was gone.  I looked in every direction, but the light from my headlamp only dispersed in the surrounding blackness. I blinked. It had all happened so fast that I thought maybe something had happened to my eyes. But I could still see the smooth, featureless floor at my feet, so my eyes must be working. Then I remembered Dion. It had probably set after I’d entered. Now I was stuck in the dark window between its setting and the rising of Mampas. I blinked again and looked around in terror. Maybe it was my sight after all. The fear lasted for several moments until, suddenly countless entrances started to appear around me. I thought I was going crazy. I looked around me, and blinked fast. I was sure now something had happened to my sight. The entrances became clearer and I froze, helpless. It made no sense. The cave was cut into the mountain, where were all of these entrances coming from? After a few pointless moments of indecision I walked towards one of the entrances. The headlamp lit my steps and I walked slowly. Suddenly I noticed a light shining down on me from above. Slowly, with every step I took, I began to understand.

“The light from above illuminates the walls,” I said out loud, my voice echoing. “These are not entrances but the reflections of lights on the walls of the cave.”

I stepped forward and touched the lighter patch on the wall in front of me. I looked towards the bright light source. I thought I understood the physics of the phenomenon, but the mystery only grew. What was this light source? Where was the energy coming from? And it wasn’t just one light source, clearly there are many.

I started to walk along the wall, passing between the patterns of light on the wall until I found the stairs and walked outside. I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm myself. “Light sources in the middle of nowhere,” I said and looked at the entrance. “Who brought them over? Where is the energy coming from?” My sudden excitement reminded me of the crazy times on Mampas. I was tired and hungry though, and my thoughts began to wander. 

I pulled out a blanket and lay down on the hard floor in front of the cave. My empty belly kept bugging me. I tried to distract myself by thinking about these light sources. I thought it must be some photoelectric device. This didn’t seem realistic. This place had been deserted for centuries and photoelectric devices need some maintenance. But the stains on the walls were faint so maybe it was a photoelectric system that had lost its power. I wondered who could have built it? Where were they now? Had they been the first settlers on Naan? Had they vanished in the plague and been erased from the consciousness? These questions pushed away the hunger and I gradually faded into sleep.

The work in the hospital had reached its peak. At least that was what Su-thor’s colleagues told her. There was no way she could know this for herself. She’d worked in the hospital last year as well, but then the wonder medicine had confused everyone, and so no one knew if the worst was behind them or not.