Keep The Fire HotAct VI

Sitting on opposite sides of the fire, its dying red activity holds their eyes, while their minds drift.

WIN has tied up a shelter over their tent fashioned from blankets, ancient beach towels and sticks.

Rain drops from the trees randomly hit the fabric.

The tops of the trees gently wave.

Overcast skies have stolen color and life from everything.

The darkness of the woods is deeper.

I need you to eat something.

MARA replies only the slightest headshake.

She is filthy from the day's travel. They both are.

WIN lifts himself to circle the fire and wrap himself around MARA's back and holds her while she rests her head on his arm.

Coats on. The night is cool for early summer.

A blackfly zips and zags to avoid a dragonfly in pursuit across the fire.

When they lay down, their eyes stay open for hours in the blackness.

I think I understand why you burned it down.

The cabin.

The shed.

The woods.

(pause)

They saw too much.

Witnesses.

For a long time WIN considers this idea.

And MARA waits.

That's not why.

Why then?

Accidentally kicked over the lamp.

(small laugh)

Really, I don't know why.

I guess I just didn't want it to exist anymore.

Any of it.

MARA turns to face where the sound is coming from and reaches out her hand to find WIN in the dark.

Her hand on his chest and his on her arm, and the few mysterious sounds of the woods take them both to shallow slumber.

The light is thin and grey and without flavour.

Some days have passed but not enough. Sleeping outside has a look to it and these two have it.

WIN leads MARA through the flat terrain where a forest a dozen kilometers wide succumbed to fire.

Past thin bent tree trunks, like elbows and knees of the dead from an ancient dragon-scorched battlefield.

One of the knots in coloured rope that CASSIDY made, tied to a loop on MARA's bag, swings as MARA walks.

People ahead.

(without looking up)

Did they see us?

Yes.

From behind and beside them approach a half-dozen granola-looking hippies with M4s, M7s, and an assortment of military hardware including Canadian C8 carbines.

WIN and MARA hold their hands up and are stripped of their baggage and knives and GRIP's pistol goes too.

MARA's eyes follow it into the waistband of one of the dirtbags.

(to Win)

This doesn't look good.

At least we know they won't bathe us to death.

MARA laughs and one of the group steps forward.

A sense of humour.

I don't think we've seen that in anyone we've come across in some time.

Bags are clean, normal stuff.

What were you expecting?

First thing is first.

Where are you coming from?

South of here.

Why are you this far north?

Everything south is trying to kill us.

ORION and dirtbags to his left eye each other. DIRTBAG 1 brings their bags back and puts them at their feet.

We'll hold your pistol and sharp things until you move on, you understand.

I do but I don't like it.

We have plenty.

Doesn't make me feel better.

Come sit with us and have some stew.

The relief that they weren't just murdered gives MARA the energy to walk with her eyes off the ground in front of her for the first time in days.

WIN picks up his pace to stay in step and close to her.

The nearby fire has rabbit stew bubbling in a makeshift gallows pot.

What faith do you hold?

(not eating)

The pain won't end until we're dead.

Come on.

I meant religion but we don't have to talk about it. What is important to talk about is the push we've all been feeling to go north. Everyone we've come across says either demons or military drones have followed, chased, or killed their friends.

It's not just here, it's everywhere. People are being pushed or pulled through dense forests, marshlands, and wide paths of scorched Earth all the way north.

And a lot of people are dying along the way.

What do you think it is?

Pure evil. Near as we can figure. We have two former scholars in our group. Helped us understand. Made us read too much.

What do you think is north - what is it we're supposed to find?

For me it's my missing sister. For Jake over there it's just getting away from whatever killed everyone in his group.

He was on his own for a month when we found him.

Rough go.

We're looking for people, both of us.

And maybe some answers.

Maybe.

You're welcome to come with us but when the burned paths through the forests end we'll have to canoe up the river. It will be difficult and long in the getting there but if we use boats with engines we'll be inviting trouble.

Where exactly?

There is no exactly anything.

It's all just rumour, conversation.

But the center of gravity seems to be the lowest point of the arctic ocean, a place called James Bay. Before the war there wasn't much there but there have been rumours of a town being built. Nearby towns and reservations for hundreds of kilometers around are all burned out.

Lots of people missing.

A look at WIN and MARA is already calculating.

That's well far north, entirely different terrain and territory.

Ordinarily, you'd be right but ain't nothing normal right now. The sunlight, the darkness, bugs are gone, the blackflies used to make June and July a living hell in these woods.

You look like you have a question for me?

Did you come across anyone talking about a group of snowmobilers, maybe Dutch, maybe Nordic, maybe with kids?

ORION eyes WIN cautiously, his leg twitching, moving his whole body.

Nothing like that at all.

(beat)

But if anyone like that is this far north they'll find themselves pushed further.

You should come with us. Safety in numbers, thing.

One by one, the others in the group stood and turned to the southern sky to face the shadow forms with yellow-white eyes, falling, tumbling on top of each other, rising in a great crest to black out the stars.

A thousand kilometers away or a hundred, impossible to tell.

JAKE begins to float, arms held back, locked in a rigor.

Then another from the group joins him.

Everyone at the picnic table stands in a panic.

Run to the boats!

WIN grabs MARA by the shoulder and pulls her with him.

They run through the crowd while more and more people are pulled into the air including the guy who has her pistol in his belt.

I have to get my gun!

Run godammit!

On the river there is a speedboat surrounded by canoes.

ORION reaches it first, waving in MARA and then WIN.

As he puts his foot on the edge of the boat to follow them in he stops and his eyes go wide.

Come on!

ORION's face contorts into plastic shapes from a look of cartoonish happiness to horror and he begins to scream without his face moving.

His eyes burn to coals and pop out of his head. His skin bursts into flame.

WIN runs up and knocks him back away from the boat leaving a smearing smudge of black singe on the white hull.

Into the pilot seat WIN drops with his full weight and turns the key and the engine comes to life.

Untie the ties!

Use your fuckin knife!

The last rope cut, MARA looks up to the burning bodies floating in air.

Flaming pieces of them fall to the earth.

The Ojibwe gang walk among them towards the boat. They are changed.

VENDETTA from behind his black eyes stares directly at MARA, while tentacles feel the air from out of the middle of his guts.

Military drones now hover in the dozens and the yellow-eye'd shadows fill the dark space between everything.

The last of the group not burning or hovering or both are scattering to the distant treeline.

Skins are pulled from the chosen.

The boat tears away pushing out and spinning the modern plastic and birchbark canoes alike leaving the firelight and horror behind, rocketing north into the dark river and even darker sky.