Don't Open That Door - GoM 1

7

When The Guardian was so kind as to show up again, I took the initiative.

"Why did you take these men?"

"I do not understand why you pretend to care about them. You only came here for your friend. You do not know the others. They are not your neighbors. They all come from other places."

Well, that was an interesting detail: the three missing workers were among the men you hired in Concrete and Burlington to complete your crew. I recalled Grandpa saying The Guardian never bothers people born here—he considers us 'part of the land' like the woods he watches over. But I wasn't about to engage in a sociological argument.

"I don't pretend to care—I do care about them. And you didn't answer."

"They were hurting the land. I am The Guardian. I cannot allow it."

"C'mon! They only chopped a couple of trees! How many acres of forest did the Palmers level back in their days? And you never took any of them!"

"They grew two shots for every tree they cut down. And they did it to earn an honest living."

"So do these men! They were ordered to chop those trees down. It was their job to do it!"

"You said it yourself: they were told to do it and they did it. They did not know why and they did not care. All they care about is their wages."

"Can you blame them? They didn't take the job for the kicks. They've got to provide for their families."

"And what if they were told to kill humans instead of trees? Would you still say 'it was their job'?"

"They'd never do it. They're good men." They better be or we're all doomed.

"Are you sure? You can see they do not love this land, so they hurt it without questions. That is bad enough. But it is worse because of who is giving them orders."

"George? He loves this place! He left everything behind to make our town his home!"

"Are you sure this was your friend's idea? Or is he following somebody else's lead?"

"Well, there's this Ian Blake guy, who's paying for it, but—"

"What if cutting down five trees is only the first wound they have in store for the land?"

His words took me aback again. He seemed to be so sure about what he was saying. He's been above humans for two centuries now, and Grandpa believed he's never wrong. Then what was he talking about? Who wanted to spoil our land, and therefore, us?

He didn't give me a chance to ask further. He stood up and signaled me to follow him into one of the tunnels.

Wait! What's this? Is it your arm?

I dig desperately, but all I find is a dead branch.

Dammit! I throw it away. Where are you, George? My strength is faltering, and so do my hopes of ever finding you.

But I can't give up. And I won't.

Just like you never gave up on me.

I'm not letting you die down here, alone in this horrible darkness.

No way.

Not you.

Because you belong out there under the sun.

Remember last spring, when we used to sneak away from our desks to have lunch together by the lake? As soon as the rains were over, and the weather allowed us to give a break to our thick jackets, we would take every chance we got to go outdoors together.

I'd never seen somebody enjoying so much something so simple as Jill's lunches to go—well, actually, Claire's—and a tiny pebble beach.

You used to fall silent out of the blue to look around with that bright smile of yours.

"Wish I were born here," you used to say. "All my life in the city... Never knew life could be like this."

And I would reply, "But now you know."

"And you sure help me to appreciate it. These are my best lunches ever!"

Once you lay back, hands beneath your head, and closed your eyes with a sigh. I remember that seeing you like that, I couldn't keep from blurting, "Y'know? The sun really suits you."

You opened only one eye to look up at me and chuckled. "Careful, Corban. I may think you're hitting on me."

And both things were true. Sun really suits you. And I was hitting on you.

Jesus! I thought I was so into you! Is this all my fault, for lying to myself?

I gotta hurry. Up there, Claire and Father Jason must be running outta excuses to stop Markus and his frigging bulldozer. That's your best friend for you! I was hardly in time to stop it when he tried to use it by nightfall.