Dome

Chapter Seven

     Walking out onto the path that looped around either side of plants straight to the huts up the hill, but Ethan wasn't sure where he wanted to go. He waited for the moment when the Gods were going to take him up into the sky again, but it didn't happen. If they were reading his mind, then they should have known by now that he saw the kid and knew he was alive. At least the boy was alive in some form up there, which would make parents extremely happy, but he didn't think that was the right move.

     He opened his mouth to say something out loud, but held his tongue. The God's had repeated both his conversation with Charles and his facial expressions when his siblings died, so they were going to know everything he did in that way. However there was no comments on his thoughts, a touch on him knowing when people were going to die, but never anything solid on his thoughts.

     The mind is safe, he thought with a smile. "The Gods are good," he whispered, for their own benefit. He could see the man with grey hair, wearing all white, smiling so show how skinny his face was. Marching along the path, Ethan had a destination in mind, but he had no clue on what he was going to do next. If his siblings were alive up there, he had to figure out a way to get back up there without the Gods being in control.

     Ethan passed the beginning of huts and walked into his own. Isabel was helping their mother prepare food, though he had no idea what meal it was supposed to be. She squinted as he walked in, and when his mother looked up, she was wearing the same suspicious expression. "Where have you been?" She asked.

     He smiled. "Somewhere safe," Ethan answered. He wanted to tell his mother he was going to try and get Nicko and Sara back, but the Gods would surely be listening in. They'd hear and hide the two or kill him however it was that they killed everyone else. Ethan could see the arm stretching out, cold fingers grasping his body again to lift him to the sky, but that hadn't happened yet.

     "Where exactly is that?" Isabel questioned with her lips pursed.

     "Just somewhere safe and wonderful. Where's Father?" He tried to say the question with as much enthusiasm as possible, even though that was the last person he wanted to see.

     His mother watched him skeptically, before she set down the vegetables she was busy cleaning and cutting. "He's down by the river, trying to catch fish. I think you should head down there and talk to him; he won't talk to any of us." The way she spoke was normal, and it scared Ethan. Did she already forget about her two youngest children? There was a flicker of pain in her deep brown eyes, and he realized she just wasn't showing it. The pain was hidden inside.

    He nodded and started to turn when she yelled his name. Ethan spun back around and her light eyes stared directly into his. "Get them and bring them home," she whispered nonchalantly before she returned to her work.

     Ethan nodded again and answered, "I'll bring the fish home," before he walked out. He knew that wasn't what his mother was talking about, but it was the only thing he could come up with. His mother was always secretive and he never knew why, but judging by her comment, she knew what was going on with the Gods. She was well aware of their system of taking people for no good reason. Ethan let himself smile. He had always been afraid of his mother, but now he understood. She used her stern and mean nature to block the Gods from investigating her; it was always easy for her to be strict.

     Ethan ran down the hill and slid just before the familiar edge. Turning, he jumped instead over a rock that blocked a small slope that lead down to a better cliff for fishing. Men were lined up and trying to keep one another from falling into the rushing water as the fish fought for life. Ethan's father was at the very end with a long string attached to a wooden pole. Running down, he stopped next to him and watched his father toss out the line. All the family needed was two fish, now that two mouths were gone.

     He cleared his throat and his father looked up. "What?" The man started to rip the strong line back, with a clear hope in his eyes for a fish. Someone with a net would probably share if he'd ask, but his father was never one for asking.

     "I talked to Mother and she told me to help you bring the fish back. Thought you could use some help."

     The guy smiled, his dark skin covered with a clear layer of sweat. There were creases where he smiled and it proved his age. "There isn't much to bring in when I haven't caught anything."

     Ethan smiled. "Well, I'm here when you do catch something, how about that?"

     "That arm is better?" His father asked, looking up from the healed arm to his son's eyes. Ethan nodded, not feeling the need to say anything. The man smiled, nodded, and tossed the heavy end of the line back out. Ethan looked across the way of the river to see that plants poked out of dirt and seemed to continue on, but he had never heard of anyone going over there.

     "Do you know how many have died in this river? It happens a lot; turned over in the water repeatedly until there was no air, smashed against a rock and carried to shore when there is no way to help, or just plain disappearing."

     Ethan watched his father's face as the man stared out to the water. "Did you know anyone?"

     He shrugged. "A few, but a friend of mine once said the key was knowing how to move through the water. You can't fight it, you have to flow with it. That's the only way to survive, or at least make it to the shore so someone can pull you in."

     Ethan nodded, but he didn't know why the topic had been brought up. Maybe death was just on his father's mind? Four men pulled in a load of at least ten fish in a large net, and his father scowled. They're net was lost in the river a few years before, and they hadn't been able to make a new one since. Ethan watched the men until their prizes and smiles became a little annoying. Facing his father, he noticed the man was having more difficulties pulling in the line.

     "Did you catch something?" Ethan shouted with a smile.

     His father nodded, leaning back to pull it again. "I think I might have gotten more than one, but their still alive and fighting. Step in front and try to pull."

     Ethan did as he was told as his mind raced around everything else. The Gods, his lost siblings, his family, fishing, the glass, how the line was slick, and how much strength it was taking to pull in a simple fish. Tugging at the line, he was trying his best when his father slipped and pushed into him from behind. Falling on his back, Ethan had a slight hold of the thin line, but it wasn't enough to let him pull himself back up. Sliding off the muddy edge, his father screamed as he dropped into the rush of water.

     Twirling around and shoved in random directions, Ethan tried to move to the top without knowing which direction that was. The water pushed him down so that his leg smashed into a large rock. Resisting a scream to keep what air was left, he heard his father's voice in his head. You can't fight it, you have to flow with it.

     Letting his arms fall to his sides, the water moved him along again, but there were no rocks this time. He moved with the water around the obstacles that meant pain, and though he could barely see in the rush of bubbles, he let himself be forced along by the water. All of his years watching the river and wishing there was a chance to be in it without danger came down to this very moment when he was able to flow through the body of water. It was an accident, but he was alive.

     There was a sudden slowing of power and the water started to settle. It was calm enough that Ethan could move on his own accord and direction. Using his hands and to power through the water, fish passed under him as he made a turn to head toward the edge. Feeling something in front, Ethan rose out of the water and opened his eyes to a person in all white with his back to the water. Taking a small breath, Ethan went back under and tried to stay in the same place. The river flowed in to the Gods? This made things a little easier, and a little more difficult at the same time.