Zold turns again to me . . . "You though. . are neither old. . . or a coward Thinly. . . You can stop Garan . .You could put an end to his murdering and treachery . . . That is why he feared you Thinly . . that is why he set you out . . . he knew it would be you who would someday challenge him for the disk. . . he feared you would win. ."
"I dont feel like much of a leader right now Zold" . . . "I couldn't even keep Olon safe."
For a long time . . .neither of us speak . . finally I tell the old man . . .
"Zold. . . you have to help me find the clan. . . I need your help."
"This is your chance to get rid of your secret and find your peace . . . will you help me?"
With his knarled hand . .the old man squeezed my arm . . . he nodded his head and fell back against the reed I had piled against his head. . . he looked terrible, but somehow relieved, . . .I think that telling his secret to me . . gave him some small reason to want to live on.
As I looked around . . I could see that we were losing light, Zold having been somewhat comforted. .
slipped into a jerky sleep.
I looked at him with pity . . and then uncomfortably with contempt. . for the lives his secret
had cost . . . and finally again . . with just pity. . .
he had lived all those years. . .knowing. . .keeping his terrible secret. . . I'm sure that is what made him so strange to all the others. . .
Now he is just old.
I glance away from him to peer up through the canopy of reed. . . With night falling. . darkness and stars creep up from the edges of the reed.
My head is now throbbing . .from trying to sort out everything, and decide what to do next. . .
I shift down into the dirt . . and pull some of the loose reed over me . . . I cock my head to check again on the old man. . . he is sleeping deeply. .probably his first time in years. . . I look back to the sky. . and close my eyes after awhile.
I dont know how long I had slept. . . But I jerk awake to Zold violently shaking my arm. . . and hearing my own screams ringing through my body. . . I am sweating . . .soaked. . . my eyes darting . . dizzyingly back and forth . .Zold is in front of me . .a slow motion jerk and shove as he tries to get me to stop yelling . . . I grab his arms squeezing so tight I see him wince with pain as he hisses at me. . .
"THINLY. . .what is it ?. . .What Happened? . . ." He is near panic. . we both begin to get hold of ourselves. . I cant speak . .my breathing is so frantic. . .
"What was it?". . . the old mans voice is quieter now . .but still filled with fear.
"A dream. . . Nightmare. . .vision . . . I dont know. . . just let me sit. . .I cant talk yet. . .
I can barely breathe". . my words are barely understandable, mixed with my manic breaths. .
Finally I am able to catch my breath . .enough so I can speak again. .
"Zold. . . the dream I had . . .was so real. . . I know it is what will be. .
I know it is . . .what was! . ."
Zold backs away alittle. . . I can see he is doubting whether or not I have gone mad. . .
I try to look less frantic as I speak. . ." Zold. . . I saw the Millionlands. . .
as it WAS . . .BEFORE!. . . there was no reed. . just hot black, smooth plains. . .
with boxes taller than 500 men, that jumped from the flat of the black plains. . ."
There were people. . .EVERYWHERE. . . in fast motion. . . moving around everywhere
in boxes with disks spinning below them. . . no reed anywhere. . . and the edgelands
were nowhere as well. .
"The flat black plains were all there was . . . some hidden force moved the multitudes
about . . . a completely ordered confusion . . . great groups moved here, while other
large numbers waited, and then rushed off." I look up to see the puzzlement and concern
that had crept over Zold's face. . .he squints and tells me . . " You're sick Thinly. . .
coming through the water. . . something from the Yellowing has affected you. . . all these
things you are saying, are just a little madness. . . dont speak anymore. . . lay back. .
and let it pass!"
"I have to tell you now . . . while the vision is still vivid in my mind" . . Zold looks
worried as he settles back and waves to continue. . . "as the people were all rushing
about. . . I began to hear something above the din of the millions of their voices. . .
it was a sound unfamiliar to me . . . I can only describe it as sadness . . . it was low and
continuos . . . but slowly it began to get louder."
"The sound seemed to be changing those who hearing it. . . they started to move about more
chaotically. . .as the wail grew. . none of the millions moved together in groups. . . but
each spun off frantically rushing and pushing, trampling anyone who stepped in their way."
"I was shoved and trampled down again and again. . . the wail droned on and on,
a sorrow filled sound that drove the panicked motion of the crowds."
" I lost my footing and started to fall amongst the crush of many bodies trying to push
past me . . .sneering and pulled mean faces leering at me for being in the way . . .
all . . . everyone of them shoved past me with rage . . I couldn't move in this
flow of madness . . . all the faces hated me more for this . . .
"The wail increased to a level that completely filled your head . . . as I looked upward,
to escape the madness around me . . .it happened . . . the brightest white flash . . .
imaginable . . . in an instant cast a million shadows on the black, endless plain and
turned it in an instant to a sheet of white, glowing as bright as both suns . . .
and burned the sight from my eyes . . .
Millions of screams, compressed into a second,rock me to the ground . . . all about me . . .
these millions of souls disappear like dust blown before a storms gail . . .
A deafening silence grows to a hum, as the white plain falls back somewhere in between
black and flashes of white . . . in the few moments that pass after the crash and the
blinding flash . . . the world cracks and flies apart. . . into a million specs of
fractured plain . . . water . .an enormous amount of water rushes in and around. . .
I am swimming. . thrashing. . struggling to breathe. . .
They are as thick as the reed. . they disappear as my hand moves through them. . ."
At this point I dont notice Zold leaning forward to shake me out of the vision. . .
He shakes me hard and sweat flies from my face and hair. . .
"Thinly . . .are you going mad?" you are frightening me. . . put these things out of your mind."
The old man moves further from me . . . I wipe my eyes and my face. . . and then tell him. .
"Zold . . . there is more. . .stranger still. . . I dont understand it. . I dont want to understand it. .
But it must mean something. . ."
I open my eyes and see through clouded, dirty water rushing about. . . I see shapes. . .
boxes. . . the same shapes I saw in the crossing from the last edgeland. . . I also see
the near transparent dust shapes . . . floating in a slow motion dance to the flow of
the waters rushing. . .
