Paradise Gate

  Lost in his dreams Wing flew on. Up through the thickening haze of cloud into the persistent rainstorm, seeking out the warm globes which floated high up in the sky above, although he knew not what they were.

  The youth awoke properly some two days later, arms and legs stiff, his body failing to recover well from its ordeal. He could not open his eyes properly and the cause of this confused him somewhat - he reached up to touch his face. Several vermicular deposits had been left across his skin, probably by a passing chook which had assumed he was dead and had attempted to consume his immobile body.

  He wiped the sticky worm trails from his eyes and raised himself onto his right elbow, removing the animal skin from his leg wound carefully. The rain had kept his skin soft and the moss bandage beneath was easily removed from his fur. The sudden stench of rotting flesh assailed his snout - chiaktih.... a malignant forest organism had penetrated his wound and as a consequence had begun to dissolve a portion of the muscle around it. Wing grimaced, washing himself in the pouring rain as best he could. He had no choice but to cover the wound and trust that it would begin to heal of its own accord.

  Slowly he raised himself up from the ground, stretching out to test his aching body. His leg muscles burned fiercely but he tried to ignore the pain - reaching up instead to bathe in the reviving rainwater and completely wash away the worm trails and mud which now soiled his body. Blood surged through his veins bringing renewed vitality to his damaged flesh. Finding himself hungry, Wing opened his pack and ate slowly, enjoying the inner warmth which the meagre food had now brought to his stomach.

  With some difficulty, he pushed on.

  Chapter 4 - The Big Drop

  Despite his pain Wing felt he was making good time, covering a great distance and taking few rests. The annoying throb in his leg however eventually became too much for him to bear and he slowed his pace - searching for cover where he could take a much-needed break.

  The path here was narrow and overhung with branches and vines. It curved down to cut through an area of tightly spaced bushes - yellow barbs sticking out from their branches to keep the predators away from the vulnerable spore organs situated on the plants central trunk. Wing picked his way through these obstructions carefully, struggling to keep a foothold on the slippery trail. The shrill call of a lamphet echoed down from the cover of the treetops above - its mate answering a few seconds later with a similar cry. Wing looked up to search for them - the creatures remaining cleverly hidden to his gaze.

  Relative silence fell again.

  He moved quickly, cutting across the path to his right, away from where he thought the gorge should be. Suddenly he froze... his body detecting a change in the forest... stillness, with even the fall of the endless rain appearing to be momentarily subdued. His nostrils flared and twitched upwards to catch the scents around him, and the soft blue mane which covered his upper back and shoulders began to stand up proud from his skin.

  Wing at last felt the tremors at first through his feet...minute movements of the ground which were followed by an audible rumble.

  He spun around, eyes wide as a giant tree behind him began to quiver as if it were a thin rod or branch. A large section of it began to crack and fall from high above, crashing down noisily toward the ground through the rest of the branches above him. Wing was confused, disorientated; and felt the rising bite of terror begin to overwhelm him. He didn't know which way to turn, not exactly sure what was happening around him. A thunderous roar assailed him from every direction and he folded his outer ears down quickly for protection.

  His first instinct was to run - but run to where?

  Wing staggered to the right, the ground shifting - a large crack suddenly opening across his path, ripping the soil apart away in the undergrowth. A blast of flame spat out, the sharp acrid taste of volcanic sulphur began to assail his mouth. And there was something else. Boulders were flung out of the fissure at enormous speed by the action of the superheated gases beneath - whistling like crazed banshees as they cut through the rain soaked air to leave a trail of crackling sparks to hiss and splutter against the damp forest floor. The roar came again, louder - more intense and closer to the surface. The giant tree rocked violently and began to lift up into the air, pushed up from beneath.

  Now the youth realised what was happening.

  He leapt quickly away from the swaying path, well away from where the arthropod was sure to appear. Wing jumped left ignoring his pain, and ran further up the mountain. The roots of the tree behind him ripped out into the rain-soaked air - the jaws of the huge worm firmly clamped upon them as the creature struggled to get away, its small undulating legs propelling it out into the air at incredible speed. Behind it came the flood of hot volcanic rock which had caused it to flee its underground world in terror. The creature screamed in pain - the sound burning deep into Wing's head, and he thrust his palms over his ears as he hit the ground hard behind a large granite outcrop. The youth took a deep breath and peered out to see the creature's segmented body burning fiercely - pushed from the newly created vent by the hot rocks and gases which rose up from beneath the ground. The worm disappeared down the mountainside and screamed in agony as it fell through the forest over a sheer precipice, flattening everything in its path with the mighty tree which was now firmly trapped in its jaws.

  An eerie silence descended.

  Wing picked himself up, standing uncertainly to his feet as the rumbling and tremors subsided. The narrow fissures soon began to seal themselves quickly as the outer surface of the lava stream started to cool in the falling rain. He moved forward from the shelter of the rock, eyes widening as he stared in disbelief through the gap created through the forest by the falling arthropod.

  For the first time in his life he looked down into the Big Drop.

  Chapter 5 - Serpent Trail

  Wing stood at the top of an immense escarpment which sloped almost vertically downward. Many species of yiil covered the ledges below him - tall blue/grey ranks of plants with slender leaves swaying gently along the cliff - their truncated purple tips standing proud of the more exotic species such as lenofen, morl and rancshier.

  The vegetation disappeared into the mists which swirled within eddying pools far below. The path taken by the unfortunate worm could clearly be seen - its fall slicing through the mighty tree-trunks below as if they had been cut with a blade. Wing tensed as he felt another rumble pass by deep within the ground - an aftershock of sorts, quickly fading - the only sound now left being the beating of his three hearts and the dripping of the warm rain upon the leaves of the forest.

  The youngster was able to put aside his pain for the moment and gaped in awe at the sight before him; the nictitating membranes in his eyes dilating, opening wider to absorb the sight which confronted him.

  Rain fell lightly now across the gorge, twisting and whirling in waves, pushed asunder by updrafts of warm air. Below him the two great arms of the mountain opened out and sank into the mist below - their undulating ridges painted with variegated shades of deep purple, green and blue. The fog rolled gently around its precinct, moving slowly across hidden hilltops and the smaller mounds of hidden ground beneath. However, it was the distant horizon which fascinated Wing most, for a mysterious light was shining brightly beyond the mountains - its coruscating glow flickering and sparkling as if alive in the far distance.

  Wing had never before seen such a thing. It had no definite shape but was obviously far away, his senses telling him that it might lay in the direction of the lowlands. The light formed around an area of central brightness - mostly white, but diffusing to yellow and orange, then to eventually fade to a sullen grey. His body shuddered with excitement and he struggled against his injuries to climb an outcrop of rock to get a better look. The valley opened out before him, seen through a deepening curtain of water - as pale as lace, yet shimmering with colour and texture as each water droplet created a blazing rainbow of coloured light.

>   Could this be it, he thought?

  Khnom lach faa... the Gate to Paradise?

  It was then that he noticed something between the trees upon the arms of the gorge - two immense tubes, silver in colour. Their smooth curves half-hidden and camouflaged from the reflections of the surrounding undergrowth. He had seen them a long time before - once as a child, while out hunting with his parent-prime, and since then in dreams. They were known by his people as falnaah poh - the shining serpents who acted as protectors of the Gate. Wing was excited beyond measure for this proved that he was on the right course. It did not pass his notice that their direction appeared to follow a definite path which ran straight toward the strange light upon the horizon in the distance.

  Wing stiffened, a sudden surge of pain gripping his leg.

  The limb buckled beneath him and he fell heavily... rolling to the forward edge of the wet boulder, only barely managing to keep himself from toppling over the side and falling down into the gorge itself.

  The malignancy was spreading, the poison slowly moving through his cells.

  Wing struggled to sit up on the slippery rock, closing the outer lids of his eyes and resting his fingertips gently upon either side of his forehead... lightly stroking, concentrating fully on the growing canker within his body. He began to chant a low dirge - its slow solemn tones helping to direct his thought, his body swaying gently while the rain beat down upon his unclad back. Slowly he drove the pain down, forcing it into more manageable levels. The youth willed his cells to respond as the elders had taught him, driving flesh and blood and life-giving forces to overwhelm the afflicted areas of his body.

  Wing finally opened his eyes, the pain now subsiding - and strode on quickly while his strength allowed.

  He began the long climb down into the abyss below.

  Chapter 6 - Into the Unknown

  After many days Wing eventually staggered down into the lowlands.

  A great distance had passed behind him and he was in a sorry state... the spore growth now slowly moving up inside his limb - an angry purple weal pushing through the dirt-covered fur near his naked crotch. He had now used the last of his food and was sorely tired. Large blisters had formed beneath the pads of his feet and fresh blood trickled from the wounds to his lower legs and claws. He turned his snout to the sky and roared aloud - his voice echoing away to be quickly lost within the splashing of the rain upon the ground.

  Wing walked wearily onward.

  Before him the orange glow was now stronger, rising higher from the ground into the sky. The rain drove in from his rear, pushing him forward and splashing against the smooth surfaces of the hexagonal stones on which he walked. There was fog here, dense and inhospitable... and many times he found his way blocked by sudden rifts within the surface of the ground before him... lifting up or splitting apart to form deep ravines. But he plodded on, always keeping the luminous glow in front of him as a guide.

  Wing was trying to walk great distances in relatively short bursts and his body soon became a burden to him. He began to drag his feet beneath him... the blisters on his feet now having burst to leave raw flesh rubbing against the harsh ground surface. His eyes were beginning to turn milky and his fur lay matted against his shivering skin. He paused more than once to vomit into the rain.

  Ever so slowly, the youth began to be aware of a low humming sound. The sound gradually changed as he moved forward through the swirling mists, becoming higher in frequency as he staggered forward - reminding him of the brush of the wind through the leaves or a rainstorm falling heavily upon the surface of a lake. The fog still clung over his path like a grey wall - filled with the fleeting shadows of raindrops and insects - but there were darker areas on either side....lacking great detail, yet large and imposing in the distance beyond his failing sight.

  The brilliant phosphorescence remained before him, brightening further with every shallow step. Wing began to count out loud, checking his progress - another two clicks behind him - closer to his eventual destination than he had ever hoped to wish for. There was no doubt left in his mind that he was nearer than ever to his goal and this gave him renewed strength - he found his footsteps slowing as the landscape began to change, but they were now more solid than they had been before - surer, becoming more confident as his spirits began to rise.

  The rain splashed heavily upon the ground and over his body. The hexagonal stones began to slip away into the ground, sinking down to form an immense concave hollow, down even lower into the vast plain. Wing stepped forward noticing that the fog was beginning to fade - only slowly at first, but then definitely thinning out as he began to move awkwardly down the stepped slope. The rain continued to pour down over him. The youth felt his blood begin to tingle with expectation as strange forms slowly revealed themselves through the mists of grey. His body quivered - shivering, straining his failing eyes to look deeply through the miasmic shroud which surrounded him - directing his vision as he had been taught... as keen as a hunter searching for his prey. The youth struggled to make sense of what he saw... speaking aloud, describing the vision which declared itself before him.

  'It cannot be! A sheer cliff - the colour of the glowing rivers which force themselves from beneath the ground - with brilliant shafts of cool incandescence falling from above to shine as the face of gemstones when first brought out from a deep cavern. The light sparks - no sound, no rumblings from within the clouds, just the abrupt hiss of burning air!'

  'But wait! Surely this is wrong - the sparks travel upward from the ground and not down! Another sound - again the loud hissing as before but more so - and now an insane crackling echoes across the land...like the sound of flaming sparks which shoot out from the centre of the earth, or the splintering of the forest tree trunks as the worm fell!'

  Wing was so engrossed in his thoughts, trying desperately to understand processes which he had never before seen or even comprehended, that he had totally failed to notice that he had walked out several steps beyond an unseen barrier and now stood for the first time on open dry ground.

  The realisation took hold of him suddenly and his body froze, stiffened with shock and fright. His lower jaw dropped open and his eyes opened wide. The sudden silence startled him and his body shook, held within the convulsions of a nervous panic attack. The youth struggled to come to terms with what his senses were telling him. He stared down at his feet in amazement, watching in terror and unexpected fascination as the rainwater began to drip down from his body to form into pools on the dry hexagonal slabs below him.

  It was a simple thing, but Wing had never before seen a puddle form on open dry ground.

  Chapter 7 - The Way In

  He turned around slowly, shaking in disbelief - gaping upwards at a wall of water, as clear as glass, curving up to be lost high above him in the whiteness of cloud.

  Wing fell backwards to the ground, his legs finally giving up beneath him...his brain confused and bewildered at the sight of the virtual waterfall which fell to the ground before his very eyes. Crawling forward to where the barrier touched the tiled ground, he raised his left arm cautiously to touch its shining surface - the limb passing easily through effortlessly and without resistance. Wing felt the touch of raindrops upon his arm. He withdrew his limb to find it sopping wet, dripping in front of his eyes onto the dry ground.

  He gathered himself together slowly, taking several deep breaths before turning to properly survey his situation.

  All trace of the external fog had now disappeared, presumably kept out by the same unknown force which now held back the rain. The barrier stretched far away to either side of where he lay. Wing saw two immense silver cylinders penetrating the wall, joining within the base of the walls of an immense structure which towered upwards in the distance ahead of him. The tubes shone brilliantly in the intense orange light which emanated from the top of the structure, and Wing found himself staring at the imposing edifice, for it seemed to possess a po
wer and majesty which left him breathless to behold.

  One thought only ran through his mind - surely this was now the end of his search.

  Excitement now began to well up within him, driving his pain down deep within his brain. The yellow fur on his shoulders now dried quickly - bristling upwards as his skin tingled in anticipation. He felt renewed strength come into his body, lifted himself to his aching feet and began to limp toward the building....half dragging his affected leg across the volcanic pavement beneath him. High above, the sides of the barrier curved upward toward a central point - joining seamlessly to create a vast translucent dome, protecting the immense structure beneath it from the elements beyond. Wing was not in the least bit interested in how this phenomenon had come into being, or even how it managed to operate. He was far too engrossed with his own thoughts - of how he would be able to exploit his discoveries to good effect when he returned home to his village once more.

  The tops of the receding columns drew smoothly down into the base of the hollow before him and his feet touched a layer of dry sand... the feel of its texture between his toes at the same time alarming and exciting him. Wing smiled, feeling privileged to experience the touch of dry rock, sand and air upon his skin... thinking himself as possibly the only adventurer in his tribe who had actually done so. He pushed on, the building growing more massive as he grew nearer - its brown flecked walls towering high above him.

  As he walked, powerful flashes of blue-white light cut through the air high above him - out of sight of the building's truncated top. Wing began to notice a subtle change - a dull rumble which he had heard some time before began to develop into a steady roar. The youth could not tell exactly what it was, although the sound seemed familiar - yet difficult to place. He put the thought to one side and began to look for an entrance into the huge structure.