He caught a trolley and took it west to the end of its route. He had very little money, so he had to be smart about what he spent. The money that he had was from Quentin’s desk. The currency there was strange but he guessed it was about $100. Not much.
He also had to very careful about his route. The Klopph were everywhere. Triana had described their uniforms and he spotted them patrolling the streets from the open window of the trolley.
From the last trolley stop, he took to foot. He stopped only briefly to buy some food and water at a small grocery store as he neared the edge of the city. He kept to streets lined with people, not wanting to stand out on his own. As he moved further west, however, the people began to thin. Soon, he found himself the only person on the deserted streets.
As he walked, the landscape become desolate. He entered clustered residential areas that were mostly shacks, built from whatever materials the owners could find. He saw a few people inside of the doorways of the shacks but no one approached him.
The city landscape died and soon there was nothing. He turned and viewed the city behind him. To his surprise, he could see tall buildings that stood off to the side of the city (he had passed by kudzu covered rubble to his north as he walked along the river from the Elder Quarter to the Garden Quarter and realized now the mounds were fallen buildings). Neither Triana nor Quentin had mentioned the buildings that he could recall and he wondered if those buildings were controlled by the Klopph.
He was now in the Outerlands and wasn’t exactly sure where to go. A mile in, the land wasn’t as barren as was described; in fact, it was lush. He was surrounded by trees and vegetation.
The road that was before broken concrete was now dirt and mud and continued west through the forest. He heard a noise and ducked behind a tree. He surveyed his environment and spotted a small building just ahead to the right. There was no mistaking the mark of the Keeper on the side of the building. It was a Klopph checkpoint.
He had no idea of the density of the forest (he didn’t want to get turned around and lost). He also recognized that there were probably Klopph positioned in the surrounding area. He didn’t think he could slip past them and he would be questioned when captured as to his deceptiveness.
Instead, he continued to walk forward. He was thirty feet from the building and still trying to decide what he would say when a Klopph stepped from the forest and stopped him. Soon that Klopph was joined by two others from the trees. Then, two more Klopph exited the building and joined the circle around him. Intimidation was one of their tactics and Babel had to admit it was working.
He didn’t have time to talk. He knew it wouldn’t do any good anyways. Anything he might say to them, they knew this world and he didn’t. He wouldn’t be able to lie with any success. Instead, he did what came natural to him. He started a fire.
The Klopph were in a circle ten feet from him and closing. Babel watched as they disappeared in a wall of fire that completely surrounded him. The flames were unbearably hot and he felt his skin begin to singe.
The Klopph screamed, first in surprise and then in pain. He pressed the flames outwards – something he didn’t know he could do until that moment. The flames chased and engulfed the five Klopph, roasting them alive as they ran. The heat lessened as the flames moved away from Babel and he watched as the Klopph screamed their way to expiry.
When he was sure all of the Klopph were dead, he extinguished the flames – something else until that moment he didn’t know he could do (he had always assumed the flames burned out on their own).
He knew he needed to make a hard decision on what he was going to do. The Klopph would know of the fire and they would respond. He couldn’t keep wandering. The road ahead turned northwest and would lead him further into the Outerlands, he had no doubt. But the road would also be watched. He didn’t expect that this was the only Klopph posting in the Outerlands.
He made up his mind. He would have to risk the forest. He did not know the makeup of the animals in the forest. He did not know if he would find any people in the forest. But he didn’t have much choice.
With the bodies still smoldering, he turned his back to the road and entered the forest.
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
As the world began to darken, Babel knew that he had to stop and find shelter.
So far he had not seen any of the swamps that he had expected which gave him a firm ground, but he was leery of that choice. On the ground, even hidden well, he would be exposed for discovery. Plus he would be open game for any animal in the forest, as well as the insects that dwelled near the coppice floor. Instead, he opted for the trees.
He made his way up a solid tree that he didn’t think was too obvious. It did not stand alone, rather was part of a tight cluster of smaller trees. Babel was able to collect some green limbs from the top of that tree and use these to weave a makeshift floor between the forked branches. Then, he filled in the underneath of the new platform with leaves so that it would be
