Chapter 1 "Cold Water"
The wind began to pick up in earnest now and across the once clear blue sky ominous clouds of grey and black began to roll in, the weather was worsening by the moment but Marius didn’t mind it, he had braved far worse than a little rain. He was busily setting up a water pump so that his new home and workshop would have plenty to meet whatever need he had for it, carrying buckets to the river was out of the question. Though he did not know it at the time, a chance meeting would seriously change the scope of his endeavors. From the time of his arrival he had been quiet, he knew there was a city, or several large cities of creatures living quite near to the forest where he chose to setup shop. He saw the remnants of their industry and consumption. Although unlike human pollution this one seemed to be far more biologically degradable, perhaps this species was more caring of its impact on their environment. Marius scoffed at the idea, all the same he needed to be careful, he didn’t even send drones to spy on his new neighbors, he wished to be ready so he planed and prepared in silence.
After a large crane robot placed the last section of pipe in place Walter helped Marius hoist the large generator in place on its mount and the intake tube was extended in the deeper part of the river. The robot didn’t dare get himself wet but Marius didn’t mind braving the cold water to drag the tube further down. The icy, almost glacial water reminded him of his youth and playing in cold mountain rivers in his homeland, it made him feel homesick, but ever more determined to conquer this new world for humanity, or in the very least for himself. He firmly planted the anchor of the tube deep into the sandy riverbed and prepared to leave the water, when a small splash caught his attention. It came from a nearby water fall and even from a long distance he saw something was floating down the river, he didn’t know what it was and would have cared even less if a small piece of debris had harmlessly passed him by. But for one reason or another he felt compelled to pull it out, if nothing else it might offer him some vital information on this new world he was to inhabit.
"Walter!" he shouted to his servant, "Break that tree branch and pass it over!"
With Small effort the robot broke the large stick and threw it to his master waiting in the knee deep water, holding it firmly in hand Marius stopped the strange floating thing from being carried away further downstream and pulled it slowly forward. He picked it up gingerly out of the water and found to his astonishment that he was holding a large grey rabbit. It was cold and practically drowned; taking his prize Marius walked ashore and asked his servant to hand him his warm jacket, after that he proceeded to wrap the rabbit in it. "You found a dead animal sir?" Walter asked his master.
"Not dead yet “came his reply. He believed it might very well be dead, but he made an effort to try and save it, despite his servant protesting otherwise "Sir, we have barely managed to treat air and water based pathogens, getting infected with germs from an animal would be the least safe thing to do." He warned him cautiously.
"I am aware of the risk Walter, but I will not allow this bunny to die, at least not yet." He told his servant.
Marius had already gone through all the options in his mind, this was the first mammal he has ever seen in this world, and he understood that for a practical study it made more sense to have a living animal rather than a dead one. He tried a while to Resuscitate the rabbit breathing through its mouth measured breaths of air and pushing on its chest lightly, he was about to give up when finally his efforts were rewarded and the mammal spat out a large amount of water and heaved for breath. He felt its pulse and could tell he had succeeded; it was alive...but barely.
"We are done for now Walter, we can turn the pump on later, and I want to save my new pet." Marius walked out of the frigid water carrying his find as he held it closely.
It looked rather strange to him, it had a fairly large head and eyes that faced forward, examining it closely he saw a small piece of material hung loosely around its body. He pulled it off and threw it to the stony shore.
"What was that sir?" asked the robot as it briefly looked at the material.
"Don’t know, perhaps some loose fabric that got stuck to the bunny as it floated down stream. Come gather the equipment we will finish this later. Our new guest may need some medicine." Marius said as walked back to the house. Walter picked up the tools and sent the lifting mech back to the workshop with a few crates of water.
...
Nick could not believe his eyes! With tortured breath and exhausted paws he pulled himself out of the water. He swam as best he could fighting the current to catch up to Judy, only to watch her drop off a waterfall. He walked slowly, then picking up pace made his way to the edge of the cliff where the river dropped off. He scanned the nearby river valley hoping beyond hope to catch sight of her, but could not see her anywhere. He fell to his knees panting, as icy water dripped from his fur. He held his face in his paws fighting back the tears, how could this happen? How would he explain to his peers at work, or to her parents? The weight of the world crashing on his shoulders would feel less painful then the thought of losing her. On top of this no one even knew where they were, if the worst should happen he would be blamed for her death.
But he refused to believe it, breathing heavily he wiped his face picked himself up and quickly surveyed the scene again. He saw something; something shiny caught his eye, a large metal pipe with what appeared to be a blue motor attached to one end, and a rubber tube sunk in the river. His heart was racing as he tried to make sense of everything, but then something else, a large tree limb floated by the tube as the river was trying to push it out of the way. Black clouds rolled in with the sharp wind and it began to rain lightly.
"Whatever happens, I will find you Judy!" he shouted to the wind.
Nick would not allow anything to stop him, no fear would grip him. He climbed down the smooth slippery rocks of the cliff, holding on for dear life, only one thing mattered more than anything, but it may have well been everything that would ever have mattered.
Finally he made it down the cliff, stopping only to take a lung full of air he ran as fast as his legs would carry him to the steel pipe, half way down he fell badly grazing his left knee, it didn’t stop him however. He covered the distance in no time at all and began looking for any sign of Judy, he used all his senses and saw strange marks in the ground, prints he did not recognize, and the scents too were strange. He thought he had been around and knew what every animal smelled like, but that didn’t matter the smell he was looking for Was there. It was faint but he could tell it was Judy, he looked a bit further and he was filled with new hope. He picked up a small discarded fabric and could tell it was part of Judies bathing suit, he held if tightly lunging forward like a mad fox as the rain came down heavily on him. He followed the pipe down a path in the forest, it felt like an eternity fighting against cold monsters as the storm tried in vain to destroy his bravery, at last he arrived in a large clearing where trees had recently been cut down, and there he saw it.
A large house stood there, it seemed to be made of large interlocking iron plates, it was big enough to house a bear, maybe even a rhino he thought. He sniffed the air between strained breaths and made sure he did not lose track of his query. She was here, he was sure of it, and who or whatever had taken her would pay dearly if they harmed her in any way. He growled with measured anger and stoically approached the iron door, then knocked as loudly as he could manage in his weakened state.
...
Inside the house, Marius entered his living room where a small fire still burned in the hearth. He placed his bundle with the rabbit by the fire and rubbed it off a little before wrapping it in a warm blanket. Here he was a wolf of a man practically starved for real meat saving a dying bunny, what was so special about her that he wanted to make sure she lived. He looked down at the grey ball of fur and said aloud "My my, but how much you have suffered. Well... at least your safe for the moment." he picked up a small remote and turned on his music player, it began playing a hauntingly sad violin song that seemed to match the weather. Walter walked in soon after carrying a bottle of clear water, “I brought you some clean water sir. I made sure it has no contaminants in it. Although I am not certain about the rabbit, you ought not to have touched it."
"Oh please! I got poisoned by worse things than bunny germs and survived." he said before taking a big gulp of water. Walter looked down at the rabbit also puzzled by its curious features, "How is she?" he asked.
"I thought you didn’t care so much Walter, changed your mind then. Why would you care if a small animal lives or dies?" Marius asked after taking another drink of water before setting the bottle down on the table.
"You designed me to care about life sir." he mentioned as he placed more wood on the fire.
"Only to match my reckless disposition, still I am in a generous mood today, besides there’s something rather strange about this bunny. Did you notice it? Her large head, forward set eyes, her paws practically resemble hands, how curious." he commented as he slowly walked forward and stood but a few steps from the bunny.
He looked down on it with his hands behind his back as the music played and the rain slowly tapped the windows. As he pondered the situation he frowned and felt honest pity for the tiny creature, he bent down and touched her head feeling she was growing feverish. Just then Brutus strode into the room licking his lips at the scent of prey, Marius didn’t notice him initially and he got just close enough to almost bite her, but was stopped by his master’s quick hand striking him over the face.
"Don’t you dare touch my bunny Brutus!" he shouted at him, and as the dog yelped he commanded him to stay in his corner.
Walter came to his masters side, "Don’t mind him sir, I will get him meal later he must be hungry." Marius scoffed stroking his beard. "Hmpff, I don’t blame him, he would eat her given half the chance. She’s most unwell however, Walter go fetch some antibiotics and medicine for fever. She might still die if we do not treat her properly." he mentioned as he waved off his butler.
"Certainly sir." came the robots reply, he made to leave the room but stopped mid way to speak once more "But if she does die?" he asked.
"Well then that would be a tragedy! And I would honestly hate to have to throw her in the pot after I bothered to save her!" came Marius's reply as he sighed reaching down to pet the rabbit.
Judy stirred in her half conscious state; she could hear voices all around her and realized she was still alive, she tried desperately to rouse herself from her dream that resembled more a nightmare. Desperately she tried to make sense of the haze of jumbled words in her mind, as her heart quickened its pace, her breathing became erratic, and she could feel pain all about her body. All she could see was darkness, until she saw a hand reach down for her and as the last words uttered became frightfully clear she awoke with a scream. "AHHHH!"
She opened her eyes, her vision still a haze. She tried to push herself back but only managed to fall on her back which sent a wave of pain into her spine, she screamed again and blinked trying to regain her vision, and then she saw him! A tall muscular figure, hairless but for a patch on his scalp and about his face, he stared back at her almost dumbfounded.
He looked at her through his dark brown eyes for another moment before speaking "Well it looks like our little guest is awake Walter. I’d rather she be sleeping in her state, but then again maybe it’s for the better, I can study her a bit more closely this way." spoke the tall stranger as he smiled at her.
Judy was in shock at her predicament, here was a predator she had never seen before, his appearance alone was an imposing one, but his aura frightened her more than anything she had ever encountered.
"Who? WHAT are you?" she shouted in a demanding tone trying to make herself appear as brave as possible, knowing only too well she had never been more out of her depth than now.
The stranger blinked and rubbed his ears he raised an eye brow at her before turning his head to address the one he referred to as Walter. "Walter am I going mad, the rabbit just spoke to me!"
An equally odd creature came from the doorway its frame resembled its master, but was dwarfed by him. His skin appeared to be made of polished plastic of a perfect white and he held her in his gaze with neutral face, but seemingly far less threatening then the black haired stranger.
"I heard it too sir, clear as day." The robot replied in a calm friendly tone.
She tried to stand, her legs shaking below her. She made a few strained back steps before falling back on her side. Tears welled up in her eyes as she tried to control her pain, it was in vain and she began to sob. The stranger came closer scolding her like a parent would a foolish child.
"STOP THAT! You will only hurt yourself further. Walter, don’t just stand there, get the medicine." He told the robot as he bent down and reached out to her.
She tried to protest but could not muster the strength to move, cursing under her breath she could only manage to breathe a warning between her tears. "Don’t touch me!"
He didn’t pay it any mind, instead he carefully picked her up in his bulky hands and placed her on a nearby couch; he sat her uprights against a pillow and made sure she was wrapped well in her blanket. He then proceeded to pull up a chair and sat directly opposite her, he looked down at her a bewildered look on his face as twirled the whiskers on his face. She held her breath a moment clearing her mind, and closing her eyes hoping she was indeed in a nightmare and it would suddenly vanish when she reopen them. But suddenly the nightmare became worse, as a large black wolf came up to smell her, "Ahhh, Get off!" she mouthed with tortured breath.
The stranger violently slapped the wolf and he whimpered off "Back off Brutus, get back to your corner or there will be hell to pay!" he shouted to the wolf before looking back to her with a deep frown on his face.
Judy was hopelessly tired, her thoughts raced as a song began playing, it was calm, soothing, beautiful, with loud drum beats accompanied by flutes and violins and to its tune the stranger spoke in a calm, equally soothing tone. "I am so sorry. I would have wished for far nicer circumstances for a meeting. But sadly life plays such cruel games on us all doesn’t it?" he said clearing his voice and then continued "I am very happy your alive, but judging by your expression I can see your in grave pain..." She cut him off as her pain began to subside a little "HAPPY! HAPPY! Your probably would have been happier to have me on your plate. Pity I had to ruin that plan for you!" she shouted at him, but instantly regretted it as his demeanor changed.
"Do not mock me bunny! I could twist your little neck right now and it would be the easiest thing in the world for me!" he sighed and calmed himself resuming his more charming tone "I did not do that however, I did the hardest thing, I choose to keep you alive. And you should be grateful for it." He softened his voice noticeably as he finished "Next to that, every other detail is trivial and pointless."
Footsteps came down the corridor as the odd plastic statue came back into the room carrying a tray with a syringe and few containers. "I have brought the medicine sir." he said as he held the tray close to his master. Marius regarded the needle on the syringe and sighed noticeably "Was that the smallest needle you could find Walter?" he asked. "Afraid so sir, were lucky enough to even have this one, all the other ones are far too big." he responded.
"Hmmm, well I guess we shall have to make due. Assuming our patient will cooperate." he held her in his gaze and gave her a stern look. "Why should I trust you?" she shouted back at him as another wave of pain washed over her. He pointed a finger directly at her and spoke in calm but gravely serious tone "Because, you have no choice! Besides life is none too generous in giving you second chances, and death is all too eager to welcome you back in its cold embrace." his words bit hard, much harder than any predator she had ever had to fight off.
But she could see she had no way out and silently prayed she wasn’t making a terrible mistake. So she yielded and held out her arm, the stranger held it softly, his larger finger stroking her wrist as he tried to feel her veins.
"Oh this will not due I can’t find a proper vein, I will need to deliver this near your shoulder, Walter help me out. Shine a small x-ray beam on her arm I don’t wish to miss." He sat next to her and held on to her arm, while Walter shone a ray of light on her.
She looked away and bit her lip as the needle punctured her flesh, the pain was thankfully brief and the stranger wiped a bit of alcohol on her arm. He then stood up and regarded her with a smile, "See that was not soo bad. If I were an official doctor I might even have some candy for you." he sighed again staring at her empathically "Walter she seams in worse pain than I thought, please scan her and tell me if there are any broken bones or fractures."
"Certainly sir. Please close your eyes." said Walter as he proceeded to project a strong ray of light on her.
It was fairly brief and after a pause he spoke again "There is a small fracture in one of her ribs in her lower back close to her spine." The stranger regarded his servants words briefly "Well that's not good news..." he said before Walter interrupted to reply "Not necessarily sir, it’s not a deep fracture, it should heal without further medical intervention. It’s possible some nerves may have been damaged, that could be the reason for her distress. Also she’s got a large bruise on her head behind her left ear."
Judy sighed and breathed slowly "I must have hit my head as I feel in the river, I slipped on some wet rocks like a idiot." she said as she tried to rest her back softly but pulled away, she had pressed to hard and felt another spear of pain through her spine. She winced but managed to stand upright, the drum beats of the music began a new pattern of melody, voices of singers chanting in wordless prayers spoke of peace and tranquility and all that was of her pain vanished as she indulged in the sounds. Then a single piano cried the ending of the song, and the stranger calmly commented "A New Earth!"
Judy looked up at him, the dark aura she felt around the stranger when she woke seemingly vanished, in its place was one of mystery and secrets waiting to be discovered. She was puzzled and simply asked "What?"
His reply was simple "The song was called A New Earth, the previous song was called Eternal Flame, I sense there is a measure of that flame inside of you my little bunny. The Flame, it refused to die no matter how much cold water tried to extinguish it." He removed a small pill from a plastic tube and cut it into a smaller piece, he dropped it into a glass of water and handed it out for her to drink.
"And, what are you suppose to be?" Judy asked as she made to drink the medicine, the stranger smiled broadly and laughed “I shall be the fuel that rekindles the flame to its original glory, you are more special than I originally gave you credit for bunny. You will live because I worked for it, and I shall allow no one to destroy my work." She let her tears wash away as she drank the cup, his words more soothing then a cool shower on a hot day, “Thank you." she said softly.
"Ah gratitude, how refreshing!" he put the cup down and sat opposite her on the couch lightly stroking her shoulder, to this she did protest and slapped his hand. "Please leave me be."
He Stoop up a little annoyed and grumbled "Well you know what they say about fire, stand too close and you burn, too far and you freeze." he took the tray and handed it back to his servant and commanded him to take it away and they both walked off.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Judy asked, Walter continued of and exited the room, while the stranger stood to face her “I will be right here, reading. I would hope you’re curious to learn the name of the man who saved you bunny, for it is Marius."
She looked back into his eyes and was unsure what to think, she only replied as she thought it would make sense "And my name, is Judy."
"Well Judy" he started "I am honored. I would ask only that you ponder carefully what happened today. Now, while I am curious to ask you a great many questions, I will not for the time being. I have the sweet gift of patience and will allow you to rest, do take full advantage of that." he said as he walked away.
"Wait! How I going to sleep with a broken back!" she asked him a pertinent tone.
"Your back isn’t broken, one of your ribs is just slightly cracked, I expect it’s on your right side." he replied without turning to face her.
"How do you know?" she asked, he tilted his head to look at her before replying "Because when you feel down on the floor you feel on your right side, just sleep on your left side and you should feel nothing." Marius said to her before walking to sit down on a chair next to the fire place.
He picked up a grey book and sat there staring at its pages; she looked at him full of curiosity. Who was he, what did he want from her, where was she? She had so many questions to ask him, another song come on. Crows and insects began calling as a piano and flute played an enchantingly magical sound, Marius picked a remote control and lowered the volume slightly.
"Good old Adrian, thank you for your contribution, but I think my guest needs rest" he spoke before resuming reading his book. Judy began to fall under the music’s hypnotic influence all she could do was silently listen; she lowered herself on her left side slowly and closed her eyes. She thought back a moment to what had happened, surely Nick had jumped in to try and rescue her, maybe he was on his way, she could not help feeling worried for him as she knew he would worry for her. She thought that maybe she should ask Marius about him, but thought that perhaps he knew nothing, and she was so terribly tired. So she let the nagging feeling pass from her mind and tried not to worry as she allowed herself to rest. The pain was absent largely absent now; all she could feel was the warmth of the fire, the sound of the music soothing her mind with as she fell asleep.
ns 15.158.61.51da2
