The Weird Part 49

Once more, I lost consciousness.

When I awoke again, I was astonished to be alive and still tied to the mast. The dawn was turning into day, the sea becalmed. I raised my head as much as my restraints allowed it and saw Toine lying at the other end of the mast. He seemed unconscious. I called to him feebly. He did not answer. If only I could draw closer to him. Seawater had swollen my ropes and I could not untie the knots. Now that the dangers of the tempest had receded, I was trapped and did not know how to escape. Cramps and a terrible pain in my back made me suffer. My ribcage had been weighing down on the mast for hours and I could only breathe in gasps.

All around us was a liquid void. The day was growing brighter and, on the horizon, a strange red hue preceded the sun like blood. It advanced slowly in the sky. I had never seen anything similar and I believed I was hallucinating. But when the sun rose, the same colour speckled its sphere, as though it had sustained an injury. I could not believe my eyes.

An exclamation made me start Toine was also staring at the strange phenomenon. I called to him. He smiled.

'I've lost my mind, son, or are you seeing the same thing?'

'I see the same.' A morbid thought occurred to me. 'Looks like it's bleeding'

'Oh, shut up!' he said, cutting me off.

The bloodstained disk continued to rise. The light was taking on a shade of baked brick. The heat had increased. After a struggle, I was able to loosen my ties and went to sit beside Toine, dipping my feet in the water. We did not speak, torn between relief at being alive and superst.i.tious fear inspired by that awkward sight so contrary to the normal order of things. Heat already gripped us and poked us with hot irons. It became so unbearable we had to dip in the water to cool off. Weakened as we were, this exertion soon fatigued us. The same hopeless void besieged us.

Toward the middle of the day mysterious beasts appeared. Ten metres at least wide, they resembled giant jellyfish or octopuses. Tentacles as thick as tree trunks. Umbrella sh.e.l.ls strangely speckled with red a detail that made them even more repulsive. They swam all over the swelling waves, so numerous the water had become a bloodied sheet spread out to cover the ocean. As soon as we spotted these monsters, we stretched our limbs along the mast, avoiding any contact, ropes retied around our waists. The sun was sinking now. We prepared to face a fearful night.

As the day dwindled, the sea lost its transparency, becoming the colour of rust. We could see only the monsters that broke the surface of the water. They became iridescent in the crimson light in which the gathering dusk wrapped us.

'It must be a reflection of that d.a.m.ned sun,' Toine said.

Nevertheless, when the bleeding sun had sunken into the depths, the beasts continued to glow with a phosph.o.r.escent red under those unfamiliar stars.

Toine made a brave attempt to speak of the tiny noctiluca and protozoa that abound in the sea. 'When the sea is rough, they seem phosph.o.r.escent.' But this explanation could not account for the red hue that had enveloped us since dawn.

'Son, I've never seen anything like this before. It's like another world.'

We didn't dare to fall asleep. The sea had become oil. The sky bore unseen depths, and a fearsome silence hung over us. Our mast remained still.

Something malefic hovered in the air, without a name but palpable. A dimensionless cavern was swallowing me alive, its vaults riddled with s.h.i.+ning worms vitrified in death by their own lights.

The aquatic monsters continued breaking the surface of the water without the faintest sound.

'Are we deaf?' I asked.

'No, son,' he said in perplexed tones, 'given that we can hear each other.'

Asking no more questions, I gave in to the torpor that possessed me.

'Look, son. It's starting all over again.'

Toine had crawled closer and was gently shaking me. I opened my eyes to his ravaged face, which looked like an old apple long forgotten in a barn. Only his eyes shone with extraordinary brightness.

I resented him for rousing me from a sleep that had banished thirst, hunger and fear. Now my belly felt painfully constricted. It was my sole preoccupation. I shot a distracted glance at the phenomenon that reddened everything. In my weakened state, thousands of golden dots danced before my eyes. The sight of all that undrinkable water only worsened my thirst.

Toine said, 'Listen, son. Try moistening your lips with some seawater, but be careful not to swallow any.'

I followed his advice but could not help but swallow a mouthful. I was expecting a terrible burning sensation but the water was as sweet and fresh as any spring water. I dipped my face in it. Yesterday's monsters had disappeared.

Toine gazed at me with a sad face. Of course, he thought I had gone mad. After watching me cup my hands and drink repeatedly, he succ.u.mbed and did likewise. To his astonishment, he quelled his thirst.

'How is it possible?' I cried.

He shrugged. 'Oh, this at least can be explained. Sometimes, a big river enters the sea and pushes its waters far into it. But I don't know about all the other odd things. No, son. I've travelled all the seas in my G.o.dd.a.m.ned life and I've never seen anything like this.'

During the day, we managed to capture an octopus. The beast was a metre in diameter. Several times we were forced to follow it into the water. Cutting his sack open turned out to be very hard, and when we finally succeeded, a black ink splattered us. When at last it lay still, we shared its rubbery flesh. To our famished stomachs, that filthy meal was a banquet. We recovered some of our strength, to say nothing of our shaken spirits.

The heat, as unbearable as before, produced mirages. Mountains appeared before us, then beaches. Boats approached. The first mirage did not disappear as quickly as the others. It persisted on the horizon a disquieting sight. It was a formidable mountainous chain of volcanic origin, red and rising against the sky like the Tower of Babel. We expected to see it disappear, but at the end of the day it was still there. Hope formed in our hearts. Then our joy burst forth. Land. We were going to set foot on land. We wept like children.

A gentle current pushed us toward these mountains. As we drew closer, they looked like an infinite rocky wall. The effect was overpowering. Oppressive.

'If only we could find something to eat there,' said Toine. 'I haven't seen one bird flying around.'

'We can always fish.'

'Right,' Toine said with a touch of reluctance.

As we arrived near the sh.o.r.e, evening came. For me the night promised to be euphoric. I hadn't felt so light-hearted in a long time. Toine, on the other hand, kept muttering, 'A world upside down. Yes. It's a world upside down.'

I even had the impression that for the first time since I had met him, the old sea wolf was praying.

Part Two VII.

For the third time, scarlet light announced the rising sun. Our mast chose this moment to bring us ash.o.r.e along a coast of small coves. A beach of rusty sand hemmed a tiny bay hacked into crumbly rocks. I was the first to set foot on land. I have no words to describe the joy I felt in finding myself on solid ground. I jumped, sang, laughed. As for Toine, he did not share my enthusiasm. He even wore a funereal face.

'You're not happy?' I said. 'I think we're safe now.'

'Of course I'm happy, son,' he answered in cheerful tones that sounded strained.

Realising he wished to conceal his real thoughts, I let it pa.s.s. My joy was too vast to be spoiled.

The rocks around us bore the same crimson colour that prevailed in this unknown land. The sand under our feet was incredibly fine, like dusting powder. I picked up a handful. It was so impalpable it slipped through my fingers. I got rid of the sand by throwing it into the sea. The water took on the colour of blood. Amazed, I turned to Toine. He had noticed as well. The expression on his face chilled me. We stood for a moment, staring at the red spot that discoloured the water.

Then Toine pivoted on his heels. 'We ought to investigate the place before night falls.'

'And find something to eat,' I added.

It took us a good hour to get to the top of the rocky circle. Although not high, the rocks were brittle. For every metre we conquered, we had to retrace our steps, falling three metres back, among clouds of a red dust that blinded and suffocated us.

As soon as we reached the crest, we saw the formidable chain of mountains that had given us that painful sense of oppression. It rose far away, at least several dozen miles distant. Despite the distance, we made out dark patches, surly woods stretching out at the feet of the mountains, as if the shadow had fertilised them. To reach the mountainous chain, we would have to cross a barren red desert.

'First we must find a way to carry water,' said Toine.

'How?' I cried. 'We've got nothing. Only our hands and our tattered clothes.

'That's why we must find something. Or the heat will kill us.'

We went back to the beach, choosing a spot other than the place where we had run ash.o.r.e. Unlike at the first tiny bay, everything was monumental here. A gigantic arc of red sand like talc.u.m powder bordered a thick red wall that rose toward the sky, flaunting the wounds of time. These furrows traced grimacing masks resembling mineral giants petrified during uncountable centuries.

No plant life was discernable on the vertical wall. The atmosphere reminded me of a sepulchre but without the odour of decomposition, as if time had consumed the compost made by the cadavers.

We followed this natural curtain of walls cracked by deep ravines similar to the one we had taken to come down to the beach. We remained silent, the hideous beauty of the place weighing down on us.

Arrived at the other end, we had found nothing that could be used to carry water. And now hunger bit at us. Toine kept swearing through gritted teeth. It was his way of expressing pain. We had to get past the cliff that stopped our advance. Retracing our steps was out of the question. We knew we would find nothing. Still mumbling, Toine entered the water first. I followed but lost my footing immediately. He pulled me up by the hair, saying with kindness, 'Sorry, son. I forgot you couldn't swim. Find holds in the cliff and stay near me. You'll be safe.'

I did not agree. The rock crumbled under my fingers, dust falling in the sea. The water became purple where the dust fell. We were wading in blood now.

'G.o.d-d.a.m.n f.u.c.king place,' said Toine, picking me up for the second time.

I kept gulping down mouthfuls, but what worried me wasn't the risk of drowning, only the filthy water that made me retch.

We dragged ourselves to the other side of the rocky talon. Seeing a beach similar to the one we had just left, Toine spat with barely restrained rage. 'I've had enough of this.'

'Look over there!' I pointed to black crevices in the red wall.

He squinted in that direction. 'Those are caves. Maybe we'll find something. Let's go.'

As we drew close, the crevices widened into gaping mouths; their dark hollows devoured the wall. It took us two hours to reach the first cave. Its proportions crushed us, making us feel as small as the specks of sand under our feet. From a narrow vault, the cave stretched to a hundred metres at the base. Its depth, impossible to gauge from where we stood, seemed to continue into an inscrutable night.

Fear took hold of me as I penetrated the cave. Toine must have sensed it because he grasped my arm firmly. 'Come on, son. Pull yourself together.'

The void swallowed his voice and, like a string of prayers recited inside a cathedral, his words echoed several times, sent back by the immense vault with gaping wounds of darkness.

Our eyes, still filled with the bright light outside, barely focused in that sudden night. We stumbled forward like blind men. Under our feet, the sand had given way to a solid rock as cold as a tombstone washed by the winter rain. Our movements, even our breaths, captured by the echo, ricocheted back and forth in the shadows at an uncanny speed. Seized by fury, Toine swore. The cavern shuddered with such a force a noise of fallen rock resounded like a peal of thunder. Then a loud cracking, followed by silence.

The silence wasn't total, though.

A strange hiss, like a m.u.f.fled beating heart, subsisted. We froze, incapable of speech. The rhythmic sound diminished and ended. Meanwhile, our eyes adapted to the darkness and we were able to see the fantastic walls of that subterranean place. I wish they had remained invisible.

Here and there, statues emerged from the shadows. Numerous statues in different poses. Their faces were contorted, expressing terror, and frightful to look upon, as though the sculptor had intended to ill.u.s.trate only one emotion: abject, deadly fear.

Men. Women. Each carved line, rough or elegant, looked as if they had been moulded into the rock itself. I made out mothers who clutched their children, visages turned toward their little ones, suffused with faint maternal smiles. Among these statues with human forms stood several figures of animals and birds, particularly albatrosses with their wings spread. Strange primitive tools lay scattered on the floor of this mind-blowing museum. A few bones as well. In places, darkened patches marked the spots where hearths had been.

We picked up vases shaped like rough amphorae made of baked earth, and swiftly turned our backs to the workshop of that splendid sculptor, as talented as G.o.d but devoid of His divine gift of grace, life and laughter.

Much to our relief, we finally stumbled out into the blinding light.

'Weird place,' Toine said after a long moment. Holding at arm's length one of the amphorae he was carrying, he added, 'Look, son. Whoever sculpted those statues wasn't able to mould an object as simple as this one. Strange, d'you agree?'

'You're right,' I cried. 'I hadn't thought of that.'

'What counts is that we have enough containers to carry our water until we get to the woods. Once we're there, we'll surely find something to eat.'

I remained unconvinced. I would never be able to get to the woods in my current state of extreme weakness.

We went back to the beach to fill our amphorae. Then we entered one of the ravines within the red wall. The ravine narrowed as we climbed. When we arrived on top, we were advancing sideways like crabs. A sound came from afar. The same m.u.f.fled beat that had frightened us inside the cavern.

We trod a desert of fine sand that a light breeze lifted in short undulating waves. At a distance, in the waning light, the dark strip on the foothills of the mountain mingled with the deep red of the sky an even more eerie sight.

We hoped to reach the woods before night.

Hunger made me stumble. Toine steadied me and whispered encouraging words, as if he didn't suffer as well. Our progress slowed further.

The sun set fire to the horizon, making it a blade of reddened steel. The sky took on a violet hue. Since dawn, not the tiniest patch of blue had been visible in that strange sky. Finally, the black curtain fell and unknown stars shone.

'Let's stop here,' said Toine. 'We risk walking in circles.'

We lay down on sand as soft as velvet. The light breeze blew it into our faces. The grains of sands brushed my face like the fingers of a little child.

We did not speak. I a.s.sumed Toine, like myself, was studying the sky to discern a familiar constellation. Was this the place a teacher had spoken about when I was little? If memory serves, he had called it 'Olympia,' the G.o.ds' abode according to the ancient Greeks. For a moment I was tempted to voice my thoughts, but then I said to myself that my thoughts were wandering, and I discarded the idea. I closed my eyes and thought only of falling asleep.

Sleep overcame me. The sentiment of fear that had been stalking me these past three days did not slacken its grip. My heartbeat thumped with an odd rhythm.

Toine's voice made me start.

'Can you hear something?'

'No,' I said, barely awake. 'I can only hear my heartbeat. Louder.'

'You're wrong, son. It's not your heart. It's the sound we heard in the cavern. I think it's coming from below. Stick your ear to the ground.'

Instead of complying, I let myself fall asleep again. As the earth swallowed me into a deep slumber, the rhythmic pounding resounded louder than ever.

VIII.

I awoke in the throes of stomach cramps. Dawn had just broken and the sun was still hidden behind those mysterious and frightening mountains, which were taking on their red hue. Toine tossed and turned by my side.

'So did you sleep well, son?'

'Yes, but I'm hungry.' I pressed my hands over my aching stomach.

Toine spread his hands, palms up. 'Ah. Don't think about it for now.'

He sat down, grabbed an amphora and handed it to me. 'Drink a little water. You'll feel better.'

I drank a few mouthfuls with scant enthusiasm, yet after an instant my cramps diminished.

Toine had turned his wrinkled face toward the mountains.

'Son,' he intoned, 'I didn't sleep last night and I've had a lot of time to think. A question's nagging me. I wonder if we're still on our planet, the Earth. See, a light like this, those unknown stars, I've never heard about in all my G.o.d-d.a.m.ned life.'

He fixed his small black eyes on me. 'Tell me. What do you think of it?'

I made a gesture of ignorance and he shrugged.

'Of course. How would you know? This is your first journey. You know nothing about the world.' He rose to his feet. 'Time to go.'

The dark patch at the foothills gained in clarity. We were still very far away but, to judge by its green hue, it was a forest. As we moved closer, the patch became more distinct. The sun burned us, making our constant struggle against weakness even harder.