Spanners - The Fountain of Youth (23 page)

Perhaps your destiny isn’t
to deliver this Fountain, nor to save Adam, nor to save the mayflies,
he thought.
Perhaps your only destiny is to die.

But Mayfly was snapped out of his thoughts by a high-pitched howl he had not yet heard, and soon he saw that all of the spider-wolves were retreating. Brogg even tried to hold one wolf back with his hands, but it squirmed out and ran into the darkness. There were a few moments of silence as the team realized that they were somehow safe, and then there was a deafening explosion of howls and shrieks from the spider-wolves outside. There were the sounds of snaps and pops and a dim light coming from outside, and it was warm.

Mayfly was the first to put his head out and saw fire burning through the droves of spider-wolves; each one was extremely flammable and as they ran about in agony, they would set fire to another.

“
I don’t know how, but we’re safe for the moment,” said Mayfly to the group. “But it’s getting too hot for the Fountain, and we’ve got to get out of here before she kills us all.”

The group went outside and couldn’t help but smile, even Trey, who was carrying his
own dying body. Brogg took the body from Trey and placed it over his shoulder as if it were a scarf, and the group scampered away from the fire until it was cold again. Trey walked cautiously, as if he had lost an eye, but he smiled and soon the group smiled with him because somehow, someway they had survived, and though the scene of burning animals was grotesque, they were alive.

They got to a safe distance and then watched the spider-wolves run into the forest in all directions, some on fire and some not. A few trees had been set ablaze because the spider-wolf silk was the most
flammable substance of all, but after the webs burnt out, the surrounding snow largely kept the flames under control.

After twenty minutes nothing remained except for piles of smoking spider-wolf corpses. Many were still moving, but it was clear that they wouldn’t be able to harm Mayfly’s group anymore. In the distance
, Mayfly saw two figures walking towards them and smiled when he saw the first one. It was Adam’s sister, Phoe, and her hands were smoldering. But Mayfly’s heart sank when he saw the other figure; it was Phage, and he looked angry.

“Stay away from the sickly looking one,” said Mayfly to the group. “He’s dangerous.”

“They saved us though,” said Cattaga.

“He’s dangerous,” said Mayfly.

“He saved us and—” said Cattaga.

“
He tried to kill me once,” said Mayfly, “and Phage has been known to save people’s lives just so he can kill them personally.”

Phage approached the group and started to laugh.

“If it isn’t the Mayfly himself!” yelled Phage from a distance.

Mayfly smiled; he didn’t fear Phage but was forever wary of him.
Phage somehow saved us, but he’s a sociopath above all else,
thought Mayfly.
Everything he does comes at a price.

Mayfly held the crew back, particularly the Fountain. Phage stopped walking and surprisingly held up his hands to show he was no threat.

“I understand why you want to stay away from me, kid,” said Phage. “But I’m a changed man; ask Phoe.”

Mayfly had a sharp sense of when someone was lying, and felt no evidence that Phage was being untruthful. Still, even if Phage was a
changed man
he was most likely carrying smallpox, so Mayfly held up his hand for Phage to keep his distance.

“I’ll approach slowly,” said Phage respectfully. “I only want to talk.”

Trey was still traumatized at two thirds of his body being injured or dead, but Brogg looked healthy enough to fight, and Cattaga seemed eager to accept Phage as their momentary savior. Brogg positioned himself in front of the Fountain and Mayfly knew that he would smash Phage to bits if it was necessary, so Mayfly nodded at Phage to approach. Both Phage and Phoe walked up slowly and then knelt ten meters from them.

“Destiny has commissioned me to bring Phoe to Adam,” said Phage. “I rescued her and took a bush plane north. The prodigious spanners that had sheltered us equipped it with technology to find you, so here we are.”

“How did you save us?” asked Mayfly.

Phage nodded at Phoe and she spoke.

“I’ve taken my emotions and weaponized them,” she said.

Mayfly had heard stories about Phoe from Adam, and
they didn’t quite describe the girl now before him. She had the thick golden hair, square jaw and soft skin that Adam had spoken of, but she didn’t look quite as innocent as he had claimed. Her eyes were narrow and angry, and she walked deliberately towards them, leaving a trail of charred ground and steaming footsteps behind her in the snow. This wasn’t the young girl who died with a broken heart; this was a killer.

“Thank you both for saving us,” said Mayfly.

“Phoe was the one who saved you,” said Phage. “She burned the spiders and their nests too, but since I brought her to the party, I guess that makes us even for all the stuff I’ve done to you, kid.”

Mayfly knew he had to take what fate had given them, and nodded without making eye contact. He looked past Phage and saw that a few spider-wolves had relit part of the forest,
in particular the trees that were covered with the spider-wolves’ silk. The unhatched eggs were quite flammable; they were like small pyres, popping and snapping as the pups inside burned unhatched.

/***/

An hour later, Brogg knocked down an unburnt tree and cut it to pieces with an axe he had found in the village. Phoe set it alight with her hands to make a bonfire, and Mayfly made sure the Fountain kept her distance so her powers wouldn’t kill them all from the warmth.

“Geryon’s out there, in the forest,” said Phage. “As you know, flames spook him. He’ll join us soon.”

Geryon once tried to strangle me with his chains
, thought Mayfly.
This rescue party just gets better and better.

“Where’s Adam?” asked Phoe.

“He’s south,” said Mayfly. “Juan’s crew got to him, and Adam sent us up north.”

“Got to him
how
?” asked Phoe, accusingly.

“I don’t know,” said Mayfly.

He didn’t want to tell her the whole truth, not now, but she was right to be angry.
Whatever danger we’re in, Adam is in a worse place,
thought Mayfly.
He’s in the worst place imaginable
.

“We don’t know what happened to Adam,” said Cattaga, “but Adam bound us to take the Fountain north, to Santos de León.”

“The Surgeon,” said Phage. “That guy scares me. But I hear you; you gotta do what you’re bound to do, and there’re a lot of words floating around concerning
destiny
, a
great battle
, and all that crap. We’re all headed somewhere, and most of us are headed north for some reason.”

Phage took a cigarette from his pocket, lit it in the bonfire with his bare hands and then took a few puffs. He looked over the group and then focused on Trey’s dying body, still sick from the spider-wolf
bite.

“
That kid there is in bad shape,” said Phage, looking at Trey. “You all won’t survive another week in these woods yourselves, let alone be able to fight a battle against Juan’s minions. He’s probably sending another wave of spider-wolves up to fight you as we speak, and I’m here to help.”

“Thank you,” said Mayfly, meaning it. “But how?”

“We got a bush plane you can use to bring the blond boy along with the Fountain up to the Surgeon,” said Phage. “Surgeon’s a creepy dude, but if there’s anyone on earth who can heal him, it’s Santos de León. We’ll fix the RV and take it down to rescue Adam.”

“You’re going to find Adam?” asked Mayfly.

“I’m bound by my atonement to bring Phoe to my brother,” said Phage.

They looked at Phoe and she thought for a moment.

“I should go down to rescue Adam,” said Phoe. “I don’t remember him, but from what I understand he’s been kind to me in the past, and above all else, he’s my brother too.”

“We’ll bury my dead body here, and then fly my sick one up north,” said the healthy Trey. “We’ll bring the Fountain and that will be that.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Phage. “Can any of you guys fly a plane?”

“I can,” said Cattaga.

“You can?” asked Mayfly.

“I’m from Alaska,” said Cattaga. “Everyone flies up there.”

Mayfly looked at the group and wondered if this was the right move. He’d have a talk with Brogg and tell him to protect the Fountain against anyone who would do her harm, be it the elements or even Geryon.
But still
, thought Mayfly,
Adam bound me to bring the Fountain north, and no one else.

Mayfly looked at the group that would ride in the plane
: Cattaga, Brogg, Trey’s invalid body, and Geryon, a tall mute who had once tried to kill him.

It’s going to be ok
ay,
thought Mayfly.
Cattaga and Brogg will see this through. They’ll bring the Fountain north and you’ll fulfill your duty through them. You must go south because no one but you will free the mayflies, and no one but you can find Adam and dig him up.

“All right,” said Mayfly. “The plane gets Brogg, the Treys, the Fountain, Cattaga and Geryon. The rest of us go south to rescue Adam.”

“I go where Phoe goes,” said Phage, “and Geryon doesn’t go anywhere without me, so he’s coming down with us in the RV. The rest can go up north.”

Mayfly thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

“Looks like you’re headed south, Mayfly,” said Phage, “and you’re bringing a brand new crew.”

“I guess I am,” said Mayfly with a smile. “I guess I am.”

/***/

They found the dead Trey an hour later
; his body had been torn into three parts by the spider-wolves and then burnt to cinders by the fire after. They couldn’t dig in the frozen ground, so Brogg found some more wood and they made a makeshift pyre for him. The healthy Trey couldn’t watch; he later explained it was like watching one’s own arm being cooked.

They said
their goodbyes, and Mayfly whispered instructions into Brogg’s ear: “
You must bring the Fountain to the Surgeon. I don’t care if your plane crashes; make sure she gets there
.”

Mayfly pulled Cattaga aside and gave her the map.

“I’ve translated it for you,” said Mayfly. “Do you understand it?”

“Yes,” said Cattaga. “We’ll get there.”

Cattaga pulled Mayfly in and gave him one more long kiss.

“Thanks,” he said. “You give me courage.”

“I didn’t add anything to that one,” she responded. “It was just me.”

Mayfly smiled and they kissed again, and then it was time to leave.

“Make sure the Fountain gets north,” said Mayfly. “She’s more important than you or I, or anyone else here.”

“I’ll get her north,” said Cattaga, “and I’ll see you there shortly after I do.”

/***/

The RV was easy to fix; it
had been knocked about a bit, but once they turned it back over they found that the spider-wolves hadn’t done any damage to the engine or any of the working parts. They patched up a tire, cleaned up the interior and then the vehicle was good to go. It looked beat to hell but was a tough old thing, and the engine sounded like it could run forever.

Mayfly drove south for an hour and began to miss his old crew; he felt unprotected without Brogg at his side, let alone Trey and Cattaga. Mayfly didn’t fear Phage but didn’t like driving with him in the back of
the RV, out of his sight. Mayfly drove in silence, but felt Phage might reach out from the back of the RV at any moment and strangle him, even if out of habit. Each time Mayfly looked back though, Phage and Phoe were sleeping peacefully on opposite sides of the RV; just another brother and sister. Geryon somehow hid in the shadows; the man was twice Mayfly’s height but still disappeared completely into the darkness, with the occasional round of clicks to let everyone know he was back there somewhere.

After an hour Phoe woke up and sat in the front seat soundlessly, lost in thought as they drove through the endless forest. Mayfly could sense that she didn’t want to talk; she had a steely, cold look in her eyes absolutely unlike any description Adam had given of her.
She’s emotionless,
thought Mayfly.
Perhaps that’s why she’s here with us and not burnt like she’s supposed to be.

They drove another hour in silence
, and unlike their journey north, there were few forks in the road to navigate.
Like Davelia said, going north has a thousand paths,
thought Mayfly.
But the other way is easy; to leave this place, all you have to do is drive south.

They passed some other settlements; most of them had been cleanly devastated by spider-wolves, as if an army of African ants had run through them. The structures remained intact, but nothing else lived. They even passed a dead berserker in the road, his throat ripped out by the wolves. When Mayfly tried
to drive around him, there was movement in the forest and a living berserker approached the RV, injured by the wolves but still alive and eager to avenge his comrade. Mayfly was about to pull off the road to drive around the berserker when Phage’s dirty hands appeared from the darkness and landed on Mayfly’s shirt.