The Elder they called Zed hacked his way through the undergrowth of the forest, being careful not to damage the tribe’s last machete. The others followed him. They believed a ruined town which may have useful artefacts to help their survival lay in that direction. His blade hit something that clanged and made his hand tingle.
‘What is it, Zed?’
‘I don’t know, but it looks artificial. Something from the Old Days, perhaps.’ The men of the tribe helped remove the branches and leaves and at last the object lay revealed. It was a battered silver tube with windows in the side and a tall, thin rounded structure at one end. They peered through the windows, then leapt back, screaming. The skeletons inside grinned back at them.
‘I think I know what it is,’ said Ell. ‘My grandfather used to talk of silver machines that carried people high in the sky, before he was born. I never believed him, but perhaps this was one of them.’
Everyone laughed, except Zed. ‘My grandfather used to tell me the same story,’ he said, ‘and I thought it was one of his tall tales. He said it was before the Great Fire in the Sky, before our tribe fled from the cities that glowed in the dark.’ Everyone knew the story of the Great Fire in the Sky, which had been handed down the generations, varying slightly with each retelling.
‘Who’s brave enough to enter it?’ said Tee. ‘There could be something of use in there.’ Nobody spoke. The skeletons were there to guard whatever the tube held, and no-one dared defy them.
Zed led the tribe away from the tube to resume the search for the town. He knew it was fruitless, that there was no town. But the tribe lived in hope, hope of anything to ensure the survival of their dwindling numbers, and Zed always tried to feed that hope. It was all they had now their babies were being born deformed and sickly, living only a matter of days.
Zed wondered how long they would believe him, and what they would do when they found he had been lying to them.
‘What is it, Zed?’
‘I don’t know, but it looks artificial. Something from the Old Days, perhaps.’ The men of the tribe helped remove the branches and leaves and at last the object lay revealed. It was a battered silver tube with windows in the side and a tall, thin rounded structure at one end. They peered through the windows, then leapt back, screaming. The skeletons inside grinned back at them.
‘I think I know what it is,’ said Ell. ‘My grandfather used to talk of silver machines that carried people high in the sky, before he was born. I never believed him, but perhaps this was one of them.’
Everyone laughed, except Zed. ‘My grandfather used to tell me the same story,’ he said, ‘and I thought it was one of his tall tales. He said it was before the Great Fire in the Sky, before our tribe fled from the cities that glowed in the dark.’ Everyone knew the story of the Great Fire in the Sky, which had been handed down the generations, varying slightly with each retelling.
‘Who’s brave enough to enter it?’ said Tee. ‘There could be something of use in there.’ Nobody spoke. The skeletons were there to guard whatever the tube held, and no-one dared defy them.
Zed led the tribe away from the tube to resume the search for the town. He knew it was fruitless, that there was no town. But the tribe lived in hope, hope of anything to ensure the survival of their dwindling numbers, and Zed always tried to feed that hope. It was all they had now their babies were being born deformed and sickly, living only a matter of days.
Zed wondered how long they would believe him, and what they would do when they found he had been lying to them.
