Descent into Mayhem

CHAPTER ONE - DEPARTING MUSHIMA

20 kilometers east of Leiben, 03H00, 7th of January, 2771

Toni peered into the fog and thanked the family gods for the concealment it afforded. He winced as he heard a cry in the distance and reminded himself again of how much of an idiot he was.

He could have left without warning, of course. In fact, every rational bone in his body had urged him to do just that. He had decided instead to leave a goodbye note upon his bed before leaving. The desperate voice in the distance belonged to his mother, his sweet mother who, possessed by her uncanny maternal sonar, must have gone into his bedroom to check on him. He had been hearing her voice for the better part of the last half-hour, calling for him.

Toni refused to run, however. Running was something a child would do, and he firmly believed himself to no longer be one. Even so, he hastened his pace.

The fog had Toni wondering whether he would soon be in need of shelter. Peering up was pointless, the unrelenting mist shielding the sky beyond, hiding any clues as to his immediate future. The fact that it was presently the seventh day of the month offered the only clue as to the weather he could expect.

At that time of the month, the sky could be counted upon to be overcast, with a persisting presence of fog, drizzle, or even light showers from the second to the eighth before the crimson sun finally made its appearance. It was only day three since the Great Rains had come to an end.

As he journeyed over the winding dirt road, he finally set his eyes on something that gave him a firm idea as to his location. Under his feet the road began to rise until, several paces ahead and at its highest point, a familiar ochre-red wall appeared to his left. He ran his hand along the rough wall, feeling the rock-like bark grating against his skin, feeling the looser fibers in the intermittent gaps giving way as his fingers scraped along. The road curved around the wall for quite a few more steps before finally breaking off at a downward slope. Toni followed the road, sparing only the briefest glance at the tree behind him, its massive trunk disappearing up into the fog. Today was no day to peer at the silent sentinel.

Toni's heart sank as he spied a more humble redwood at the roadside.

Leaning nonchalantly against it with arms crossed and a furrowed brow, Kaya Miura awaited her brother's silent approach. As he halted hesitantly before her, she uncrossed her arms and shoved her slim fingers into her coat pockets. She was wearing the brown leather jacket. He had worn it once, and knew that its pockets' interiors were lined with genet fur. It was an extravagant coat, quite appropriate for the tall woman who stood before him, appraising him with that critical expression he hated so much. He couldn't help but see his father there.

"So ..." she finally said, "did you hear your mother? Did you hear her calling for you?"

Silently he nodded.

"And?" she asked, the furrow on her brow deepening. "Don't you have anything to say?"

"There's nothing to say," he replied, despairing at the softness of his voice.

"Nothing to say? Nothing? You ungrateful little prick," she remarked quietly.

He grimaced at her tone, recognizing it for what it was: the light breeze before the storm. If he allowed her to get up to full steam, Kaya would soon be yelling loudly enough to trip mother's sonar and draw her in like stellar gravity. He hurried to cut her off.

"It's not a matter of being grateful, I can't be what you want me –"

"You hid your final marks from us," she continued. "More skillfully than I would have expected, I must admit. But using my password was a bit much, don't you think? Was there some hidden message there? Were you sticking your tongue out at me?"