A Silence Heard Read online

  I slapped her probing mitts away. “Oy, not so friendly. I can and will change these clothes for the garment you have provided without your help.”

  “Fine. Do so and quickly,” she said and slid off her nun attire in one go.

  I lowered my eyes so as not to see her non-clothed self. She did not notice my embarrassment at her lack of it, and pulled her garment smoothly over her head. I turned away from her, peeled off my old clothes and attempted to wriggle into the dress she’d given me.

  There were three large silver buttons along the left hand side seam. I undid them all and stepped into the frock. I pulled it up and over my legs, but came to a ‘brupt halt when said gown became stuck around my hips. Not being as slender as Kendra in that particular area of the bod, the thing clung to my flesh and would not budge no matter how hard I tugged. Not wanting to tear the cloth, or remain half in the nude I was forced to gain help despite my insistence on dressing without disturbance.

  “Erm, Kendra, I think I’m stuck.”

  “That you are. These clothes are lenient in their measurement and you are built more for combat than leisure. I shall pull.”

  Kendra knelt before me and grabbed onto the rouched up material. She carefully wiggled it up and around my behind and I felt it give a little. “Draw in your tum and that should do the trick.”

  I did as instructed and pulled in my, not-that-big belly. Kendra shuckled and tugged at the material until it slid up to my basoomers. She stood and hoisted the fabric further and I put my arms through the holes in the side. The sleeves were short and came to just above my elbow. I twisted them until they felt comfortable and fastened the buttons. Kendra bent down and ruffled the hem until it hung right, then straightened, stepped back and grinned.

  “Not bad. But better with the addition of this,” she said and produced a green hair band with a gossamer cloth of gold that hung down the back like glossy hair. She turned me round, pulled back my tresses and jammed the comb-like thing into my scalp. “This colour and softness of cloth well suits you, Adara. But you cannot wear those clodhoppers you have on your feet.”

  On looking down at my functional shoes, I had to admit that she was right. They stuck out from the long hemline like two great knobbly spuds, and quite ruined the effect of glam.

  “Here, take these,” Kendra said and fumbled inside her Synthbag. She produced a pair of slender high-high heels and placed them before me. “They have an expanding instep. One size fits all.”

  I took off my old boots and pushed my broad feet into the open-toed shoes. I needed to wiggle a bit to get them on, but once in place, they did indeed accentuate the flow and swish of my dress.

  “Ah, much better, my dear. Now stand up straight and suck in a little when we are to pass strangers. Oh, and put your hands into this.”

  She handed me a black fluffy cylinder and I placed my give-away mitts into it. If anyone where to set eyes on my extra digit then all would be revealed. I stared at the transformation in Kendra. She stood before me dressed in a red figure-hugging robe that made her hair look as if it were on fire.

  “You are a great beauty Kendra and no mistake. No wonder Eadgard lingers upon your every word.”

  “He does not,” she said and lowered her gaze.

  “No shame in it. I see you return his favour. Or am I mistaken?”

  “Perhaps, perhaps not.”

  “All the same, you are more than easy on the eye, as the saying goes.”

  Kendra looked at me and took my hands in hers. “Let us say that I should turn some heads that need to be turned. Come, we are ready to land.” She gathered up our discarded clothes and stuffed them into her Synthbag. I quickly picked up mine and slid it onto my shoulder.

  Thus dandied up, we entered the cockpit and all eyes focused on us. I swear I heard jaws dislocate from their sockets. Wirt put his hands to his mouth and stood, whilst Eadgard whistled through his teeth. Marcellus shuffled his feet and bowed his head.

  “By Mother Nature, ye are as pretty as the first flower of spring. Adara, ye are well fit in this garb and no error. Marcellus, ye think so too?”

  Marcellus raised his head, stared at me with fiery eyes and nodded. I felt a warmth rise from toe to teeth. I made light of Wirt’s comment and said, “Nah, but ta anyway, Wirt. Kendra is the goddess here.”

  “I will not dispute that fact,” Eadgard said.

  He stood, took Kendra’s hand and led her to her seat. “If my Lady will sit and buckle in.”

  “How gallant of you my dear. Careful or you shall make me blush,” she said and gently sat down. Eadgard leant across, fastened her in and then sat next to her. All the while staring at her form as though she were a precious gift.

  Wirt followed Eadgard’s actions and held out his hand for me. He bowed when I took it and led me to my chair. I sat down next to Marcellus and Wirt thudded down next to me. My foot touched Marcellus’s and he shuffled it away. I thought he must think me frumpy and outclassed by Kendra and smarted a bit at his reticence, so I folded my arms and snorted. He turned to me and I noticed that he was unable to stop his gaze boinging straight down to my half exposed cleavage. I grinned.

  “We land now?” Marcellus clicked his buckle closed and stared straight ahead.

  “Yes, Marcellus. Wirt, Adara, strap in too.”

  We did.

  I held my breath as the craft began its descent and tried to ignore the flipping and flopping in my tum, by looking out of the cockpit window. Below I saw a grey landing area slashed between two fields of long-stemmed yellow flowers. At the end of the airstrip and on either side of a wide pathway, stood rows of huge square metal buildings. They looked cold and unnatural amidst the fertile meadows that surrounded them.

  A wave of unrest swished inside my belly. I swallowed, took my friend’s hands in mine and closed my eyes. I felt Marcellus’s grip tighten as we descended quick as quick onto the ready-made place for landings.

  My ears popped and crackled. All my wobbly bits jumped up and down when we hit the ground bumping and skidding on the rough surface below us. I opened my eyes when the craft halted and unpeeled Marcellus’s fingers from my own. His face was pale and he wiped moist from his forehead. Wirt snapped open his belt and stood.

  “What a fall. Did it not make yer innards dance?”

  My tum gurgled by way of response. Marcellus sighed and clawed at his seatbelt. I reached over and helped him undo it, then unattached my own. He put his head between his knees and waved me away. I rose slowly and leant against Wirt. He huggled me close and I squished my cheek against his, grateful for my pal’s gesture of support. Marcellus took in a deep breath and stood. He was somewhat wobbly of leg and held onto the arm of his chair for a sec before shaking his head and standing tall.

  Eadgard clicked off switches and the aircraft shuddered then went still. He put both hands on the dashboard thingy, leant close to the windscreen and peered out. He turned to us and said, “Security seems somewhat lacking. I would have thought it crawling with Agro bodyguards.”

  Kendra joined him in perusing the scene outside. She touched the side of his hand and they exchanged a worryfull look. Eadgard stood, turned and smiled. “I hope this lack of Agro is a good thing?”

  “We not trust. We cautious, very,” Marcellus said and walked to the cockpit exit.

  “Wise words my dear. Come. Let us put into action our excellent plan.” Kendra walked straight past Marcellus and into the corridor. Wirt and Eadgard followed. I tottered after, the shoes pinching as I trod. Marcellus caught up with me and stared at my feet.

  “Shoes nice, not practical.”

  “True enough. Let us hope there is not too much in the way of traipsing, for I fear I will succumb to pustule of the heel,” I said and took his arm for stability as we slow-stepped to the craft’s exit where our friends stood in wait for our arrival.

  “Good, you are here at last.”

  “Do not admonish, Eadgard, these sandals are tricky to walk in.”

  “So I
see,” he said and opened the door. He gestured for us to stay back, leant out, sniffed the air and squinted. Then he turned to us with half a smile.

  “Looks all clear. After you, Kendra.”

  She stepped out of the craft and Eadgard offered me his hand to help me through. I took it gratefully, for the dress I wore clung so that I found it difficult to make large movements with my legs. I hopped down next to Kendra and was soon followed by the others. Eadgard came to the front pointed ahead. “This way I suppose.”

  He led and Kendra and I stepped behind with Marcellus and Wirt keeping the rear. Although it was not so far to the end of the landing strip, my feet ached and I found it difficult to keep my balance. Kendra held onto me, and thusly propped, we managed to keep up.

  Eadgard stopped and we gathered around him. The grey metal buildings that I had seen from so far above loomed huge before us. Their massive sides were smooth and I could not see any joins along the edges, so that it appeared they were crafted in one great blob and not in segments. Truly these Agros had tech beyond any I had seen.

  “Impressive, if monstrous. Do you not think, my dear?”

  I involuntarily grabbed Kendra’s hand. She pulled hers away and placed mine back into the tube. “Sorry. I’ll endeavour to keep my tell-tale mitts hidden.”

  Eadgard scanned the scene before us and gave Marcellus a look as if to say, “Be prepared for a scuffle.” Marcellus nodded and stood beside him

  “If we are all able to, shall we continue ahead?”

  “I’m with ye. Let’s go,” Wirt said and stepped forward.

  But, we did not get very far. A swishing sound halted our progress. It came from one of the structures to our left and we turned to see two bullmales exit from an oblong hole in the centre. They moved towards us and the hole closed. I blinked and no matter how hard I tried, could not see where the doorway had been.

  Eadgard stepped forward and pushed Kendra and myself behind him. Wirt, stood to his right and Marcellus to his left. I nestled up against Eadgard’s back and took in long breaths to slow the pace of my heart.

  The Agro guards marched closer.

  I poked my head around Eadgard’s bod just enough to spy the males. I was eager to see an Agro up close and was full of apprehension. So far they did not look like the mutations I had conjured up inside my skull. Those Carnies, Ryce and Atyhtan, I believed to be Agro, were merely fake and did not represent their form at all.

  In my imagination, Agros were huge and bulky, with tiny eyes and big claw like hands. In short, I supposed them to be more beast than hominid. But as they approached, I saw, with some disappointment, that they were not so different from us in shape and size.

  They carried fierce weapons that looked as though they could both poke and bludgeon at the same time. I did not want to cause further palpitations by thinking of said weapons being used on me and mine, so took to gazing upon their person instead.

  No two hominids could be more similar in appearance. They were tall and thin with patchy black and grey stubble splattered over much of their long sunken-cheeked faces. They wore the same uniform, an all-in-one blood red trouser suit made from a strange sparkly material. They stopped in front of us and aimed the weapons at our heads.

  One of them stepped forward and lowered his weapon, “Follow,” he said. His voice was deep and boomy. His eyes were a dull brown and no light seemed to come from them. The other stared blankly at us and I felt Eadgard’s spine stiffen.

  “Let us do as we are bid,” he said.

  The guards swivelled round and walked away. We looked at one another then dutifully pid-padded after them along the straight gravelled path. I say gravelled, but the chunks of rock were so big that I felt them dig into the soles of my shoes. I was forced to stop from time to time and pluck out a stray pebble that found its way underneath my insole.

  To distract my mind from foot pain, I took to looking around at my new surroundings. Low shrubs that were brimful of white and orange flowers boarded the walkway we trudged along. On either side of it was a luscious green lawn as neat and cared for as a bub in its coming out dugs.

  I grimaced as bits of broken stone caused me to stumble from time to time, and became more than mindful of my new appearance and how uncomfortable I felt. I attempted to mirror the way in which Kendra moved, but my toes were not so used to shoes with high bits. I tottered so inelegantly that Wirt had to hold my arm to keep me from kissing the path with my noggin.

  As we carried on, I became aware of a most pleasant smell. I looked to the sky and squinted at the pale sun before lowering my head to peruse the vast, flat place. There were acres upon acres upon acres and so on, of fields growing all manner of foodstuffs. Wirt nudged my arm and whispered in my ear, “How can this be? These crops be nearly all grown, and it is but the earliest part of spring.”

  The sight was one of wonder, despite its curiousness. Colours ranging from the deepest green to the brightest yellow stretched out further than the any could focus on. I was dazzled by the enormity and scale of the vegetation, having never been near actual food plants before. They had a smell too. A sweet, cloyingness that tickled my nose and throat so much, that I could not help but sneeze.

  “God bless you. Or Mother Nature, depending on who or what you believe in,” Kendra said and handed me a cloth for wiping said snout. I blew and handed it back. She closed one eye and shook her head. “No, my dear, best keep it in case you require it again.”

  “Will do and ta.” I bumped into the back of Marcellus, who’d come to an abrupt halt. He turned and I gave him a coy smile. He returned it and then some. A sizzling sensation swept across my private bits, and I became far too aware that we were not alone. I clenched my thighs and tried not to think of intimate things. My guess was that Marcellus felt the same, for he bent his head and “Hem, hemmed” in a most embarrassed manner. Our uncomfortableness was ended when one of the guards spoke.

  “Wait here. Don’t move or touch anything. Or pick any flowers, or anything for that matter. Savvy?” He looked directly at me.

  “Yup,” I agreed for us all.

  To prevent my thoughts from wandering to all things carnal, I perused where we had stopped. Our feet rested upon a slightly raised, square piece of ground that was different from the rest of the greenly stuff. It was a perfectly shaped square patch, in itself not so oddly. However, the blades of grass were cut to an even level throughout, as if a Tech had been employed to manufacture its existence. I wondered if the Agros employed tiny folk to undertake the task of maintaining the neatness of said greenery.

  Then I noticed the talking guard take a small black oblong thing from his pocket. He pointed it at the afore mentioned rectangle and a red beam of light spurted forth. Holding the device at shoulder height, he moved it in a zigzag pattern across the green patch. The light appeared to slice into the ground and cause a trembling to occur. He switched it off, stepped to the side, and the earth parted in the middle with a smooth swooshing sound. As it opened a blast of warm air swept over and past us.

  “Right. Stay put until you are fetched.” Both he and his silent companion stepped into the hole in the ground, and disappeared from sight.

  Chapter Three

  When Lies Are Better Than Truth

  We turned from the ground opening and huddled close, not sure of what were to come next. Marcellus stood apart and kept a watchful eye, whilst Wirt and Kendra spoke in hushed tones. Both Eadgard and myself had to lean in close to hear their words. “Did you see the fields? My dears so much food in progress. Now, I have been around and seen many sights, but the abundance of veg growth out here is more than staggering.”

  “Ye are right Kendra. We Woodsfolk are not unfamiliar with land crops like these. Yet not in so much number and size. These folk have much to hide. I wonder they will allow us to go unharmed with the image of what we have seen inside our noodles.”

  Eadgard rubbed his bristly chin and narrowed his eyes. “My thoughts to the point of it, Wirt. I fear we may b
e expected.”

  “Wa? How so?”

  “Agros know much that we would rather they did not.”

  “Explain, please. I weary of all this hush-hushyness.”

  My friend had no chance to answer for Marcellus tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Adara, all, look.”

  We turned our heads to where he pointed and saw, rising from the hidden hole, the guards and two well-dressed males. They wore a shiny cloth that resembled the guard’s uniform. Except it was black and consisted of flared pants and long lapelled coats that had big buttons all the way down to the hem, which touched their knees.

  “This is not a goodly sight,” Wirt said. I gripped onto his hand.

  The four Agros walked towards us. Despite not resembling great scary beasts, they had a manner in the way they swaggered that oozed threat. The guards broke away, stood on either side of the path and pointed their guns at our heads.

  The other two ‘dults stared at us. They were flabby-built, with faces as round and chubby as a new-bub, and with more than their fair share of chins between them. I’d never seen hominids so full of flesh before and could not help but wonder how they could be so much heavier than the guards. Unless they gorged on provisions meant for others. Both had sparse crow-black hair cropped short all over that looked to me as though a glob of ants were sat on top of their noggins. Their eyes were small and round, and darker than the night sky. I saw no fleck of light bounce off their pupils and wondered if they saw at all. But see they did, for on glancing in my direction they turned to each other, blinked with thick eyelashes and nodded.

  One was slightly more rotund than the other and his nose and lips fleshier. Other than that, they could have been born from the same wombsac. I noticed that the sleeves of their coats were embroidered with a symbol in the shape of a green twist of barleycorn. The guards had no such stitching on their coarser uniforms. I surmised that they must be of high rank. The smaller of the two folded his arms and tilted his head to one side.