BEYOND THE PALE: ( The Outlander ) Read online

  River was beginning to feel that Audrina was messing up his head. Thanks to her antics, he was feeling confused, nervous and distracted. Soon this culminated into a feeling of nausea which was growing stronger every minute. He was listening to Valerie asking Anton about his day, when he started to lose his ability to concentrate. Valerie noticed his unusual behaviour and interrupted Anton, to ask River if he was feeling okay. River nodded but excused himself to go to the bathroom. He quickly got up and trudged off to the bathroom in order to sit on the toilet in quiet solitude to clear his head. The peace and calm helped his clarity of mind, but his head was beginning to feel like it was spinning. His heart was starting to feel as if a heavy weight pressed down on it; this feeling was so increasingly uncomfortable. He decided his mission was to head back to the living room, and to ask his hosts to excuse him and let him recover outside in the fresh air. He dragged himself onto his feet and was walking back towards the dining table, when he began to feel that he was losing all conscious control over his body. He dropped firstly to his knees, as he watched the others staring at him in shock. Then he was soon staring at the floor which seemed to have risen up to reach his head. Then he closed his eyes.

  Chapter Seven

  The eastern approach of Avana was protected by a natural labyrinth of rock. Here the natural red bedrock was marbled with thin white seams, and had been polished by ancient streams and aquifers. The ancient water had carved out natural winding passageways which honeycombed the bedrock. You could easily get lost in these tall corridors which were open to the sky and when illuminated by bright sunlight would show the rich shades and hues of colour. No matter how many times you walked down these passageways, they were beautiful to see, but potentially deadly if guarded from above. They provided Avana with a natural defensive perimeter. Though Isa knew that Avana wasn’t defended by guards or any armed force. It was secluded and hidden, and was not evident from the sky. Hiding was what both Avana and Isa did best. Isa had the patience of a saint. He had the perfect mentality to watch and wait, and in his opinion hiding was not enough, but vigilance was required. As he negotiated a route which he knew by heart through the maze of passageways, he was annoyed by the obvious lack of lookouts posted above. Sometimes even a needle could be found in a haystack; and hence one day the Rangers would probably come here on a routine search mission and he would prefer to be pre-warned of this event.

  After a while the smooth marbled passageways became narrower until they were just tall thin clefts in the red rock. As they became too narrow to pass through, they became easier to climb. Isa clambered up the collapsed boulder clay and had soon reached the summit of this rocky outcrop. He really loved this view particularly at this time in the morning. The blue shadow of the Rockies in the distance was accentuated against the closer rolling green lowlands. However directly in the foreground of his view was more outcrops of red rock just like the one he stood on interspersed with green gorse and trees. It wasn’t really evident to the untrained eye, but he was looking at Avana.

  As he followed the gentle gradient down hill which followed a dusty red meandering path winding between the other lower rocky outcrops, he would pass small allotments where different vegetables were being grown. Avana had no large fields of crops as these would have given away its location. Instead the farming was less intensive but spread all about in allotments and small enclosures for goats and sheep, and coops and runs for chickens that were kept closer to the heart of the community. Isa made a point of stopping to talk to one of the older residents who up early this morning and presently collecting a rack of honey from one of the bee hives. The man’s name was Toby and he was one of the founders of the community and the first non-native and city dweller to come and join the Hopi. Toby was born on the very first day of this century, but despite his age, he was the Elder who best related to the youth of Avana. He had a soft spot for the two young brothers but was particularly fond of Isa. He was used to seeing them always in each others company, so when he enquired after River’s absence, he appeared concerned by Isa’s reply that River was simply delayed. His limited explanation coupled with his unsettled look told Toby not to pursue the enquiry; so instead he provided Isa with a sizeable portion of honey and some fresh eggs to pass on to his mother. Isa gratefully received them because he had not eaten anything since breakfast yesterday.

  Heading on down the circular path, he looked back at Toby with regret for not being frank with him. Isa was very fond of Toby and knew that he could talk to him in confidence, but right now he was in a rush to talk to his Uncle Geren who had a greater concern with security matters. Toby was more inclined to creative and social pursuits. Isa remembered how he had been taught to paint by him when he was a teenager. Even now he still liked to paint landscapes, but his own artwork could never compare. Toby’s paintings with their vivid colours adorned the communal areas. His early works had often depicted scenes of disaster. He had left Los Angeles and sought refuge amongst the Hopi. His move was prescient because that city was sealed off in a tight security cordon shortly after he left. Then the only evacuees allowed out, were taken to refugee holding camps near Phoenix. They would become citizens of the metropolis of Phoenix. The anarchy that prevailed among those that remained in Los Angeles sealed their fate, and the majority perished when the sea inundated all but the heights. Toby had depicted such scenes but they were imagined, because he was by then safely ensconced in Avana helping build the community. Indeed, they were probably cathartic for Toby who had lost family and friends; but they served as an ominous reminder for the other residents, of a time when human society collapsed in upon itself and was literally washed away by a series of natural disasters.

  Before it was a physical place, Avana was a community of people. Originally based in Utah near the Four Corners, it was a mutual support collective set up by a few Hopi Elders. The Hopi were prepared for the eventual breakdown and collapse of the old world civilisation which they lived in. It had been foretold for many generations, and so when they recognised the signs of the approaching demise of what they called the fourth world, they were willing to help others from outside their tribe who were not so well prepared.

  In the early tumultuous days during the abandonment of the cities, their community rose to over a thousand. However many of the non natives and ex city dwellers fell away when they found it hard to adjust to a harder rural subsistence lifestyle. Many left to seek an easier life through employment within the impressive new citadels that were being built close to the refugee points of Phoenix, Albuquerque, Dallas, New Denver, and Kansas City.

  In the past Avana had been situated in three different locations within the old state lines of Utah and Colorado. The two prior locations at Four Corners, and another near Gunnison had to be abandoned when the local populace were evacuated to refugee detention sites near Denver. Isa was proud that his parents had loyally remained with the community through both relocations. Eventually the community found a secluded home hidden in the Ute Pass where they had remained undetected to this day. That was thirty years ago when Toby was in his thirties and his parents were in their early twenties.

  Now this community of over three hundred people lived in a long terrace of two storey residences which looked like it had been hewn out of the rock face. In reality it was a mammoth elliptical cavern which had been sealed with a long red mud brick and stone contiguous building. One end of the terrace was now visible to Isa as he followed the downhill trail around the large last rocky outcrop as it opened out on to a narrow plateau. This flat sloping area which overlooked a canyon on its southern side served as the main plaza for the community. The constructions were a mix of old reconstructed cliff dwellings of the Anasasi Native-Americans plus some newer constructions built since Avana moved here. The terraced rows of red mud brick two story houses with their first floor wooden lintels protruding from each wall appeared unique.

  Very few people were up yet and Avana seemed both quiet and listless. Isa walked through the com
munal areas searching for his mother or his sister. As neither of them was in a relationship, they shared communal sleeping arrangements with other single women. Isa and River also shared a communal sleeping space set aside for men but in an area sectioned off from the women for mutual privacy. That is not to say that the sleeping arrangements were cramped. There was more than enough space and room dividers for personal privacy, however the residents of Avana had chosen communal living over the conventional nuclear family model. Newly committed couples, and couples with young children would tend to seek and warrant private accommodation. Although once children reached a certain age they would often choose to live communally with other youngsters. Likewise couples without an active sex life might often choose to live communally with others. There were no casual sexual relations in Avana; this was not by decree but more through cultural practice. Isa like many young people had no problem with this. It was an academic subject anyway because he had not actually courted anyone since he was thirteen, and as far as he knew neither had River. Although some of the others seemed to feel that he lived in the shadow of his brother, the truth as he saw it was that his interests were not compatible with having a steady girlfriend, and there was plenty of time for him to find a partner when he felt different in this respect. River seemed more romantically inclined than him and did inspire the interest of some of the girls. However he did not seem ready to commit to anyone as he too had a lust for life and new experiences. There were plenty of couples that courted each other and all they had to do was publicly commit to each other in order to be eligible for private rooms. The elders would see that this need was obliged whenever possible. Pregnancy was a different matter. Bringing children into the world and raising a family were seen by all as a very mutually responsible task. Some winters could be harsh, and it was difficult to produce enough food and necessities to provide for every single soul all year round. Most resources such as food were communally shared, thus starting a family required the blessing of your brethren. Communal needs and requirements had very much shaped and limited individualism and selfish needs in Avana.

  Isa could not find his mum or his sister in the mixed living areas, and soon stopped looking in order to start cooking. He was absolutely famished and wasted no time frying a couple of the fresh eggs on a hot griddle and helping himself to some fresh bread to spread some of the honey on. Someone had already brewed a pot of coffee and another of tea, and Isa poured himself one of each as was his normal preference. As Isa tried to pry loose one of the eggs which had decided to stick permanently to the hot plate, he felt someone touch his shoulder. He turned around to see, but there was no one in the kitchen with him. He assumed that he had imagined it but soon felt someone tap him on his other shoulder. Spinning around this time, again he found the room was empty. A third tap on his other shoulder was all that Isa needed to turn around and look down this time. His small and demure sister Ishtur was crouching low down behind his back and playing another practical joke on him as was her manner.

  “You are meant to be my older sister,” Isa challenged her whilst she replied, “You are meant to be the coyote that no one can catch.” That being said, Ishtur embraced her brother and handed him another egg for herself, whilst she poured herself a coffee. As the coffee pot was nearly finished, she started preparing its replacement. Isa shook his head as he watched Ishtur, wondering from whom she got her happy go lucky character, which was so different from River’s and his own. They both adored Ishtur who in some ways acted more maternally affectionate to them than their mother, who could often seem quite remote and cold. He blamed their father who had taken the ‘wind from her sails’, when he had walked away and left them all fifteen years ago. That was before Isa had even been given the name of Isa which did actually mean ‘coyote’. It wasn’t until a year or so after the departure of his father Eli, that Isa’s character traits of wily patience and stealth was recognised by some of the elder Hopis. When they offered him the Navajo name for coyote, he took it with pride. On the other hand Ishtur often amused herself by challenging his alleged vigilance by sneaking up on him just like today. She wasn’t really acting childish; she was only trying to introduce some levity to Isa who could often appear too dour and serious for his own good.

  After a breakfast of eggs on toast, fresh bread and honey, two teas and two coffees, Isa felt quite satisfied and left his sister and went searching for Geren. He found his uncle outside near the stables. He was with Isuzu who was one of the Ute tribal elders. The Ute were indigenous to this south western mountainous area of Colorado. They shared a strong cultural affinity to the Navajo and Hopi tribes who were their neighbours to the south and the west, and who along with the forebears of the Aztecs traced their ancient origins to the underground snake people deep inside Mount Hesperous, not too far from here.

  The Ute had deep respect for their horses, and Isa knew to find Isuzu either tending to them or close by. He expected to find Geren with Isuzu. The two men were good friends and intellectual equals who shared the same mind set. They had just let the horses out into a paddock and were now leaning against the fence deep in conversation together. Despite their affinity with each other, the two men were strikingly different. The Ute elder was heavy set stocky man with long white hair tied in a pony tail. His Uncle Geren had typical features of his pure Hopi blood. He was tall and lean and had close cropped jet black hair despite being in his mid fifties. He looked considerably younger than his close friend Isuzu who was only ten years older.

  Their conversation did not seem that important to Isa, so he interrupted, “Uncle, I am back.”

  “And earlier than expected,” Geren pointed out. “Is everything alright son; have you encountered any trouble running the bounds.”

  “We encountered a stranger who was unconscious and wounded; River tended to his injuries.” Isa wanted to quickly establish River’s involvement in the decision process.

  “Where do you think the stranger came from, and where is River now?” Concern was already creeping into his uncle’s voice.

  “He wanted to stay a while with the stranger. River thinks he is from the Blue Horse City. He told me to go on ahead. I told him to come with me, but he refused.”

  “I understand that you cannot command your older brother, but you should have remained behind as well. Now River may be in danger, and so may the privacy of this community!”

  Isa felt unfairly admonished. Since the departure of his birth father, Geren had become the proxy head of their family. Isa respected him as such, and also for being a Hopi elder. This was not a reflection up on his age. Instead he had been elected elder by other tribe members who believed him fit to hold a position of responsibility which entailed shepherding a number of other Hopi families. He was one of a few Hopi elders who shared a council with other tribal elders, as well as the non indigenous elected elders who lived within this community. The council held government over all the communally shared resources of Avana, and its mixed population of Hopi, Ute, Cheyenne, and non indigenous denizens.

  “It was you Uncle that warned us not to approach, or talk with strangers; and to stay invisible so that they could not detain us or track us home.”

  “I am not saying that River was correct, but I am saying that you should not have left your brother behind.”

  “But he told me to go,” Isa exclaimed in exasperation.

  “But if you refused him and remained, you would have made him responsible for your safety. This would have shaped his actions.” Geren had a manner of assertively pointing out a person’s mistake but in the non judgemental manner of a good teacher.

  Isa realised that his uncle was right, but he felt argumentative and challenged him further. -“Just now, I walked into this camp unchallenged. There was no look out, and no guard, and I could have been a stranger or a Blue Horse City Ranger.” Isa turned from his defensive position on abandoning his brother to an overtly offensive stand on security. “You tell us that these strangers and city dwellers are dang
erous, yet we have no contact with them, and I do not see any serious stance taken by you on our defence.”

  “Our defence is our invisibility,” spoke the Ute elder Isuzu. “It is imperative that they never learn the location of this community.” Because Isuzu had stood quietly minding his own business, his words now had gravitas. “I am sure that your uncle has made you aware of the stories of abductions afflicting other communities by these Rangers. Then there are rumours of worse atrocities enacted against other communities of whom we held no contact. Yet we have no experience of any of this.” It was in the nature of Isuzu’s speech, that it was never clear if he had finished speaking, or whether he was just pausing. Geren assumed the former and seized the initiative, “I am not criticising you Isa… I am counselling you, as I too will take your counsel over posting lookouts and guards. This is not the first time that you have raised such a concern over camp security, and you are probably more aware than others, about the threat posed by these Rangers as you have had many unseen encounters with them when you running the bounds. But right now my son, I want you to make provisions to head straight back and collect River.”