Chapter 14
The ghost town
I look at his footprint to find where it is faded. Since I was walking about three steps behind him, I go there cautiously. I see a big hole under the moon light, which has engulfed a wide region in absolute darkness. It has a sharp incline, yet it is possible to go down. I search around to find the better way.
Then I realize that it is not just a hole and as I go on its mouth becomes wider. I back to my first place and call him several times but he doesn’t reply. It seems that the hole is created by the sands. Cannot call it the hole, but should call it the valley. I have no other recourse but to go down.
I plunge my feet into the sands slowly lest I fall down. Vorarin slipping track on sands is visible. I go down slowly plunging my feet into the sands. As I approach the depth of the valley, its slope reduces to the point that I can walk easily. After coming down a rather long steep path I walk on the level ground.
The ground under my feet is hardpan. Then I see the pavement which has more cracks than a dry desert and as far as I can see a part of the pavement is thoroughly damaged. I see Vorarin’s footprint on the sands. He has gone toward one of two buildings on the right hand.
The electricity posts are bent as if they genuflect to someone, and the remnants of their wires are wriggling on the ground by the wind. Many of them have no wire. There is a broad boulevard which has made a gap between the buildings. There are some small and high buildings on the both sides and they seem to me as the black giants from afar. The buildings with no door and window, with collapsed walls and without ceiling; the iron beams which emerged from the buildings like the broken bones. I can also see only the frames and skeleton of some buildings.
A fog of darkness has nested in the town and made it like a ghost town. I see the shadows from a distance which make me tremble with the howling wind. The signboards of the buildings are swinging and doors open and close continuously. I can hear scream and shout from inside of the buildings. Some cars have covered the road surface irregularly. The sign of burning can be seen on some of them, and some other have lost their color by lapse of time and nothing remained but some pieces of rusted metal.
I call Vorarin several times but I hear no reply. Then I hear a footstep which its direction is indistinguishable. I go toward the right side from the middle of the road unconsciously and then I bend down behind a burned car.
The ashes represent the darkness and fix unluckiness of the town in my mind. Something says me I cannot get out of here easily. It is like a fault is under my fate.
I look around to hold some aces in case of danger and to get the chance. I wait for a while but nothing appears. Darkness has made everything the same color. I decide to enter the first building but it sank into the sands and just a small part of it is apparent. I go toward the second building slowly and cautiously and enter it through a window. The sands have surrounded the town like the flood and make advance every day. The outskirts of the town also are surrounded by stone hills. Although the stone hills stand against the sands like a dam, the rush of the sands is madly and nearly overflow.
The sands could enter these buildings, the surface of this building is also full of sands, a big hole is apparent on a wall and half of the inner part of the building is thoroughly destroyed. There are just some broken tables, the rusted cabinets, broken glass on the floor, a sand dune in the middle of the hall, a burning sign in the corner of the hall and half burned woods. The doors of the cabinets dance with the wind and play a rough music.
I have never been in such situation. It is like a mathematics equation which I don’t know where I should begin, but I know I should consider all of the possible events before I search for Vorarin. I don’t know yet what happened to him but the only obvious matter is that his disappearing wasn’t without the reason.
I go to the first floor to have a view of outside. Suddenly I hear a voice makes me to hide myself in a dark corner of the room. Time passes in silence for a while. Again, I hear the same voice which says slowly and cautiously:
Why you don’t come up, Zairas?
This is Vorarin’s voice which comes from upstairs. He speaks calmly and shows that he is alone. The tone of his words makes me go up according to his voice calmly and cautiously. I stop in the part that I can see the second floor easily. He is sitting next to a window. He looks at the stairs I am ascending while he looks outside. Once he sees me, he says:
What’re you doing down there? Talk as quiet as you can and watch up. Be careful about the windows.
I pass by some remained stairs and reach him. His appearance shows that nothing happened to him. He suddenly pours a wisp of sands next to me. I look upward, the roof is half-ruined, yet the remnants of the upstairs can be seen. When Vorarin sees my interrogatory face, without waiting for my question, he says:
You’d better see outside yourself and you’ll find out everything.
I approach the window slowly and cautiously assuming outside is full of enemy. I look at outside with one eye. The headmost house is destroyed completely. I also can see the side boulevard, it looks like the entrance boulevard of the town. Four armed shadows are standing in the middle of the boulevard. They wore the blue regimentals and helmets.
I don’t know what they’re doing here, but still and all, they’re not here without reason. Our mission almost begins from here. As Karisan said, they’re many in number. There are a number of them in the entrance boulevard of the town, I had to come here, we should be very careful.
I move away from the window and I say:
Are we going to scuffle with them? What’s going on here at all?
He also moves away from the window and says:
What do you mean? Don’t you know anything of the mission?
Karisan said to me I’m going to be a savior.
Still the same and nothing else.
But now there are blue eye soldiers in the street.
Any event may happen to the saviors. You should be ready.
But I didn’t want this, I just want to find Mansidan.
I can’t realize what you’re saying. Who is Mansidan? We should just reach the group.
I wasn’t supposed to be here.
I sit in a corner and hold my head between my hands.
Raya is waiting for me, I should back.
Vorarin, wide eyed, says:
What’s the matter? I can’t get at all what are you saying about.
I flame with anger. I like to shout. I squeeze my head tightly. My breath comes in pants, I roar under my breath. Raya’s image flashes momentarily in front my eyes. She, lying on her bed, is waiting for her love, Mansidan, back to her. I pound on my brow:
God damn you Mansidan, bloody.
I do everything to back Mansidan. I take a deep breath and try to free my mind. I close my eyes and imagine an endless dark space. I put my hands on my eyes and push them:
Sorry, I confused for a second. What’s the mission?
He shrugs and says:
I don’t know likewise. Karisan said we must find the group.
Silence falls over, we both ponder to find a remedy.
I got it. We should stay here for the time being and check the situation. Those soldiers means danger, and danger could be everywhere.
He agrees and says:
We look around from here to find the enemy’s situation. I saw two of them in Main Boulevard. I had to come here but I’m not sure they are just those two.
How we should find the group?
I don’t know.
So what’re we doing here? To turn around ourselves?
He lapses into silence, then breathes a sigh and says:
Let’s find a safe place, then we’ll think about it. You keep your eyes on outside through the right window, me from this side.
I go toward the window through the darkness and hold on to the wall. I bring my head a little out of the window and look around. Nobody can be seen. Likewise, no one is behind the windows of the opposite buildings. They are not expected to show themselves. In this case we should go ahead under the shadow and darkness of the buildings.
I see no one here.
Vorarin says quietly:
Here still are those four guys, who seem are talking to each other. I think they’re not so many that they hold some guards in each street.
So here’s their base, or they’ve something important here which they keep guards in both boulevards.
Suddenly, the sound of hitting a metal thing on the pavement attracts my attention. I look at outside quickly, but I can’t see anyone. No rat came out of his hole. All of a sudden the view of the boulevard reminds something to me: the map.
I search for it all over my knapsack and finally I find it. Its edges are torn and some parts of it which is close to the edges are erased. Since it is a large-scale map so is folded as a notebook and it spreads out like a wallet and at the end forms a complete map.
I find the intended town. Although its edition date is thirty years ago I am sure it hasn’t suffered a sea change. When I find our way I figure out that it hasn’t changed at all. There are so many boulevards but if we get the name of the boulevard I fell on, we can find our way. I tear out that part of the map and put it in a specific place lest I forget.
Let me see, what’s the matter?
At least I got a map of here to find our way. As I see, we are almost in west side of the town.
This way…
All of a sudden Vorarin lies on the ground frightened. I also lie on the ground without knowing the reason. His eyes is wide open and he bites his lips. The exhalation from his nose displaces the sands on the ground. Then the light of a torch falls into the house, pauses a little and then checks another window. Next, it returns to the first place and examines more carefully inside the house and then turns off. The vague voices of those four guys can be heard while the light is moving about.
Vorarin signals me with his eyebrows and intimates me that I go toward to the commode creeping, which is turned over in the middle of the room. So we reach behind the commode. After that I see Vorarin lets out his breath. Maybe he thought that his breath may disclose where we are hiding. Like the possessed one, whose face is pale with fear, he says:
How they found out we are here? We should leave here soon. Hurry up, we should go.
I stop him by hand and I say:
We must be alert and consider everything. We can’t do anything without planning. They’re able to entrap us easily. Are you sure there was nobody else except these soldiers?
Yeah, I told you before. They were two, yet I’m not sure but when you did whatever I told,
I become sure.
Since I couldn’t realize what he means, think a little and he also helps me to get it:
I mean when I signaled you to reach here.
I look at him perplexedly and I say:
I found you fluky.
Vorarin, while anxiety engulfed him thoroughly, says:
So you didn’t see me through the window? You were doing whatever I told.
No, I entered here for no good reason.
So how you came here?
As I try to look around and notice the voices, I say:
I heard a footstep then I went behind a car and next I entered this house. I didn’t see anybody and just heard a voice.
Vorarin goes toward the window on the left side to the boulevard, which we both came in through it, and looks at the outside carefully.
I’m sure they’re not just this number. They may hid in the buildings and consider everywhere. But they’re not too many to consider everywhere.
We go downstairs. While we pass by, the sands fall down on the ground from under the stairs like a collapsing cave. This warn us to be aware of all the buildings, specially the stairs. Like an old bridge which seems secure but is hollow inwardly, we should not trust in this unstable and wobbly town which may level to the ground by a five magnitude earthquake. Yet I don’t think it becomes worse than this.
I check outside before I go out. Although the ghosts are wandering about everywhere, I go out. Vorarin comes out after a little delay to be able to react in emergency. I stay behind a burnt car a rather long time. I can’t see anyone. It is likely they watch us through the buildings.
We seek refuge near the buildings to be safe in the darker shadows. When my eyes meet the building where we were, I stop perplexedly. Just now I realize why it is so small. More than half of it has been destroyed and maybe just one fifth of it is remained intact.
We look at the opposite buildings with each step we take. Every shadow stops us when it appears behind a window but we go on soon after we find out it was an illusion. We go ahead aimlessly like the ghosts until a signpost in the middle of the boulevard finally attracts our attention with its cursing sound.
I move forward like a sheep among a wolf pack, then I stop behind a car which is near a signpost to be sure I am in right boulevard. Vorarin stays in his place and looks around. I hold the signpost and read its faded text:
Tariban
I back to Vorarin and tell him the written name on the signpost. Then I pull the map out of my pocket. I guessed right. We are exactly in the west side of the town and we can leave the town within one hour walking. We go on our way with the help of the map and suddenly Vorarin breaths a deep sigh. I realize his sigh without any question. Exactly the middle of the map is chafed and part of it is deleted.
Although we don’t know where we should go, yet we should keep distance as far as possible. We must not to lose our position. Some paths may be blocked. I draw an imaginary line according to the boulevard. I don’t need the map for the time being so I put it on my pocket to be completely focus on my situation.
We’d better move within a distance.
I confirm his words. We wend at a distance from each other. There is a silence which nobody wants to break it. We move forward fast and with short steps. We go straight to the end of the boulevard. At the same time my eyes meet the shops and stores. Some of their signboards are broken or rusted but many of them have no signboard. All of the doors and windows have no glass, yet there are no broken glass on the ground.
All of the inner spaces are covered with dust. Even a mass of dust can be seen on the floor of the shops. There are no goods on the shelves if there are any shelf. Everywhere is covered with ashes and all of the walls seem dark. There are also some residential buildings which seem they raised to the sky once upon a time, as if the lapse of the time have affected and bended their waists. There can be seen the collapsed walls, rusted metals and faded signboards. There is no difference between here and a war torn town.
Sometimes, when the environs is slightly open and we are likely to be seen, we have to pass through inside the house. There is more security inside the house but it reduces our speed.
Finally, after passing through the shadows and darkness for half an hour, we arrive at the end of the boulevard. An almost broad boulevard crosses this boulevard and makes an intersection. As far it can be seen, the new boulevard has subsided but the details is not visible because of the darkness. The boulevard has been divided into two halves by a big crack which the sewage canals can be seen through it. A number of cars and some parts of a building have fell down into the crack.
We stop inside one of the half dilapidated shops near the intersection. We get some rest and drink water while our eyes and ears are on alert. Vorarine pours some water on his face then, as he looks at the dropping water through his fingers, he says:
It is a normal weather tonight, otherwise we should have been frozen but…
He is right and just a soft breeze is blowing which reddens our faces a little. Maybe the reason is the cuppy form of the town and also the buildings which limit the wind speed. The reason is not a matter of fact for me but it is important to me that not to tremble because of the cold air. Yet I keep close to a commode and I say:
How you agreed to be a savior without knowing anything about the mission?
Vorarin shakes his hands to dry them faster. Then he reaches out his legs and says:
With the same reason that you know nothing, yet you become a savior.
I keep quiet. He is a stranger to know my reason and his reason is not important for me too. I try to think about finding the group. Finding a few people in this town is like looking for some needles in a haystack. There should be a connecting way between them and us. Maybe the group must find us but it is unlikely to me. Maybe…suddenly I remember the insignia of the group. We have forgotten to activate them.