Dronikus, a novel set on a burning planet called Earth.
Along the route they stopped at small settlements and replaced their vehicle – by necessity, without the owners’ consent. At sunset, with the day’s heat still thick in the air, Abednigo – now a large people carrier – was parked outside the little station where Zola, Chesa, and Chun had arrived in the small train some months previously.
After a time Shadrack and Mishack emerged from the station carrying large bags, followed by a man who, although his face was completely hidden, was recognisable to Zola by the worn baggy clothing and his shuffling tentative gait. The door to Abednigo opened and he clambered in. As he removed his face coverings, Zola saw that Ballie’s hair and beard were even more unkempt than before and his eyes downcast as always.
As he took his seat he flicked a sideways glance at Nur.
‘Do you know Nur?’ asked Zola.
‘‘eard of ‘er,’ Ballie replied.
‘Pleased to meet you Ballie,’ said Nur. ‘I’m happy that you are joining us. I hope that we are here to pursue the same goals.’
Ballie said nothing, keeping his eyes fixed on Zola, who said, ‘Nur, leave it.’
‘No, it’s important that we’re clear from the start. As you may know, Ballie, I am part of Pandoke, on its board of directors and a shareholder. But I am Zola’s ally, as you are, I am told.’ Ballie still said nothing, his eyes remaining on Zola. ‘I know your story, I know of the history of your attacks on Pandoke. But I trust Zola. If he tells me that you are the person needed for the task we have ahead of us, I believe him.’
Ballie, still looking at Zola, said, ‘let’s get on with it.’
Nur turned away from the man, controlling her temper. ‘Shadrack is everything in? Ok, Abednigo, let’s move.’ As the vehicle followed her command, Nur folded herself into her seat, put her head onto a pillow and closed her eyes.
‘Have you had contact with Chun?’ asked Zola. Ballie shook his head, turned and looked out the window. They travelled in silence.
After a long while Ballie said to Zola, ‘what ‘appened?’
Zola described the events on the AutoTrain. Ballie listened without response, eyes fixed on the passing landscape.
Zola finished the tale and stopped talking. The car rumbled along on the rough roads.
In the murky dusk the car turned into a familiar road, up to the house. Immediately it was obvious that all was not right. Rocks and litter were strewn across the street. Further up, near the yard, many of the branches of the old trees had been torn down and lay about on the ground. As they approached they could see that sections of the house itself and many of the outbuildings had been destroyed. Bricks, glass, timber, and fragments of walls, windows, doors, and roofs lay in piles of rubble.
Abednigo moved very slowly into the yard, avoiding the debris. When it stopped and they stood in the fading light, it felt like they were wrapped in a deep and dark silence. The air was hot, hanging, unmoving – not a soul seemed left alive.
Shadrack and Mishack scanned the darkening spaces with their in-built torches. As the lights swept the front of what had been the house, Zola noticed that, in fact, there was a living soul. In the gloom, up against a wall where the large front room used to be, a figure sat in the gloom by a small fire, boiling a pan.
The figure did not move nor react in any way as Zola and Shadrack approached. His heart leapt when he saw that it was an old woman. He stopped at a short distance and greeted her. She did not respond. He went closer and saw that it was not her.
He spoke louder: ‘Hello. We are here to see Chuncahaya.’ She acted as if she did not hear him, not responding in any way. After a few more attempts to engage her he gave up, and they walked around the destroyed parts of the building to a point where Zola could see through the dusky dimness into the rear parts of the house. He called loudly for Chun and Gino, to no avail. They moved around the back buildings in the eerily quiet darkness but, again, found no signs of life.
They returned, past the old woman, and joined the others at the car.
‘We should wait. Everything is telling me that. But it could be a long wait. Settle in,’ said Zola.
The two rators and Abednigo extinguished their lights. Nur and Ballie slept in the vehicle. Zola sat waiting and watching as the thick black of night enveloped all. He noticed the old woman move occasionally, either to stir the pan or to add wood to the fire. Other than that she was still.
Finally, his patience was rewarded. A small child emerged from the darkness and whispered in her the old woman’s ear. Slowly, she stood and made her way round the side of the house. Zola called Shadrack and they followed her.
She went round the house towards the workshops and other outbuildings at the back. Significant damage had been done here too. In a narrow corridor between two buildings she stopped before a door, almost hidden behind pillars, and took a key from a string around her neck, opened the door and stood aside for Zola to enter. Shadrack stayed with the woman as Zola passed into a dark hallway. He waited, allowing his eyes to adjust. A body threw itself at him and enfolded him in a massive hug, accompanied by a loud whooping cry: ‘Zola! Oh Zola! Zola!’
‘Chun!’
For long minutes they held each other, their bodies shaking. Zola buried his face in Chun’s neck as they squeezed each other, almost to the point of being unable to breathe.
Abednigo was brought round the back of the property and concealed in a shed among farm implements, its core activation unit removed and stored in a concrete box under the ground. Chun and Gino showed Zola, Nur, and Ballie down into the bunker below the workshop building and fed them dinner. Afterwards they sat in a rather grubby lounge of worn couches, rickety tables, threadbare carpets, and a general mess of old machines and computer junk. Peeling posters, notice boards, and other random objects were affixed to the walls.
‘It was a big raid,’ said Chun. ‘I don’t know if they were especially after me or whether it was their intention to cause damage and death as a warning to others, or both probably. As you can see, they did cause damage.’
‘And?’ Zola asked.
‘Seven died.’
‘And?’
‘Bibik was one of them.’
Zola dropped his head into his hands.
‘She storm out from the house when she hear them coming and start shouting and swearing at them,’ said Gino. ‘She standing out there in the open, shaking her fists, swearing when dronikus fired darts into her.’
‘When did this happen?’ Nur asked.
‘Not long after RePO Day, some days after the incident on the AutoTrain. I had just come back,’ said Chun. ‘But on that day Gino and I had been away in another village. We were returning when we saw the dronikus in the sky above us. We stopped in a grove of trees, stayed in our vehicle, and witnessed the attack take place, from a distance.’
‘And the others?’ asked Zola.
‘Most everyone has left since then. Only Gino and me, the old lady, and the small kid and a few others have stayed,’ said Chun.
‘Oh.’ Zola closed his eyes and bowed his head. They sat in silence. Zola’s memories of the day spent here were as vivid as they were painful: the spirited house, Bibik, the children. He fought back tears as he recalled the moment’s silence that Bibik had called for in honour of the victims of the massacre on the boulevard.
Chun stood. ‘And since then, nothing. It feels a lot safer now, somehow. One good thing to come out of it, you could say. The village has emptied a lot – people have left. We still have to be very cautious, but it is better.’
Dronikus is a novel published in 2023, now being serialised here on Substack. You can read a chapter every week for free.
Liking what you’re reading? Don’t want to wait to see what happens next? You can read the full book now by purchasing a digital or print copy of Dronikus from:
AndAlso Books (print edition)
Amazon (epub), Smashwords (epub), Apple Books (epub), Barnes&Noble (epub)
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