all.
At dawn he was glad to be away from the place. He calculated that he might reach the base of the peak by midmorning and so he walked fast, chewing bits of snake as he went.
H IMBRADDA FOLLOWED THE Old Man, leaving Ha to lead the woman, and Nu-ah to crawl on his trail as he shadowed the Old Man who seemed in a hurry to meet the Dragon. The body of Gutch, his head beaten to a pulp, lay in the crevice where they had spent the night. He had been at the girl while Himbradda tried to get close to the campfire of the Old Man. The crows, hearing her cries as Gutch worked at her had almost given him away and Himbradda had fled in terror at the ruckus of the evil birds. Himbradda’s terror turned to anger, and when he made it back to the crevice, he bashed in the skull of the sleeping Gutch and had the girl for reasons he knew not.
Himbradda, crouching in the soft morning light, followed the Old Man, who arrived soon at the most sacred birthplace of the People and the lair of the Dragon.
Chapter 22
Picacho Peak’s three peaks rose up in rocky defiance over the Old Man. Like a great ship beached in the desert, its tallest point, a mast, soared overhead. The Old Man craned his neck back to see the summit but could not make out anything there.
Another abandoned gas station town sat astride the main highway in the shadow of the peak and the Old Man inspected the ruins. Fire had long ago collapsed the roof, but inside the main building he found walls covered in rust-red handprints. Older writing, done after the fire in paint, lay underneath the handprints.
“Laws of the People” adorned one wall. On another, “History of the People.”
The Old Man stepped across the rotten charwood of the room and read the one marked “Laws of the People.”
THERE ARE NO LAWS
THERE IS NO GOD
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS WRONG
DON’T HATE ANYTHING
YOU ARE THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE
The Old Man stepped to the side wall and read “History of the People.”
“On the day after we come. All those who heard and seen Phoenix go up in smoke and ash and those who seen the Cloud over Tucson. For many days we sat and cried. We didn’t no where to go. Then Professor said ‘This is our paradise.’ He gave us the laws and now at the end of our old world our perfect world has begun. It was laws that destroyed the old. It were hate that killed everyone. Now nothing is wrong and we is happy. We the People.”
But where did you go?
You know where they went.
He thought of the corpses stretched on the boards back at the Y.
The Old Man dropped his bandolier and stroked the whiskers he needed to shave. He took out the canteen and drank sparingly.
Laws. Rules. I think that’s what lets people get along. It must have been shocking once someone wanted something that was yours. Or murdered someone you loved.
The Old Man stepped out of the building. He walked toward the peak wondering if he should do what he was thinking he ought to do next.
If you fall.
Stop.
You won’t make it out of here alive.
Stop. I can’t think like that. I need to get to the top of the peak and take a look. I might be able to see Tucson from there.
They said they saw a cloud. That’s the answer.
Sometimes you’ve got to see a thing for yourself to know it.
He walked up a slope of scree and reached the jagged face of the peak. While it had looked sheer from far away, now he saw the cracks where he might make his way. Beyond that, leading to the highest peak, there seemed to be a trail he might take most of the way up.
He turned back to the valley, seeing the unbroken road heading south toward Tucson. The world was divided into blue sky and dusty orange dirt. Then he saw the flagpole and two flags hanging in the still desert air farther down the highway, near the base of the tallest peak. He hadn’t seen it from the ruins of the gas station town.
He slid down off the scree and walked in the afternoon shadow cast by the peak until he came to the
At dawn he was glad to be away from the place. He calculated that he might reach the base of the peak by midmorning and so he walked fast, chewing bits of snake as he went.
H IMBRADDA FOLLOWED THE Old Man, leaving Ha to lead the woman, and Nu-ah to crawl on his trail as he shadowed the Old Man who seemed in a hurry to meet the Dragon. The body of Gutch, his head beaten to a pulp, lay in the crevice where they had spent the night. He had been at the girl while Himbradda tried to get close to the campfire of the Old Man. The crows, hearing her cries as Gutch worked at her had almost given him away and Himbradda had fled in terror at the ruckus of the evil birds. Himbradda’s terror turned to anger, and when he made it back to the crevice, he bashed in the skull of the sleeping Gutch and had the girl for reasons he knew not.
Himbradda, crouching in the soft morning light, followed the Old Man, who arrived soon at the most sacred birthplace of the People and the lair of the Dragon.
Chapter 22
Picacho Peak’s three peaks rose up in rocky defiance over the Old Man. Like a great ship beached in the desert, its tallest point, a mast, soared overhead. The Old Man craned his neck back to see the summit but could not make out anything there.
Another abandoned gas station town sat astride the main highway in the shadow of the peak and the Old Man inspected the ruins. Fire had long ago collapsed the roof, but inside the main building he found walls covered in rust-red handprints. Older writing, done after the fire in paint, lay underneath the handprints.
“Laws of the People” adorned one wall. On another, “History of the People.”
The Old Man stepped across the rotten charwood of the room and read the one marked “Laws of the People.”
THERE ARE NO LAWS
THERE IS NO GOD
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS WRONG
DON’T HATE ANYTHING
YOU ARE THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE
The Old Man stepped to the side wall and read “History of the People.”
“On the day after we come. All those who heard and seen Phoenix go up in smoke and ash and those who seen the Cloud over Tucson. For many days we sat and cried. We didn’t no where to go. Then Professor said ‘This is our paradise.’ He gave us the laws and now at the end of our old world our perfect world has begun. It was laws that destroyed the old. It were hate that killed everyone. Now nothing is wrong and we is happy. We the People.”
But where did you go?
You know where they went.
He thought of the corpses stretched on the boards back at the Y.
The Old Man dropped his bandolier and stroked the whiskers he needed to shave. He took out the canteen and drank sparingly.
Laws. Rules. I think that’s what lets people get along. It must have been shocking once someone wanted something that was yours. Or murdered someone you loved.
The Old Man stepped out of the building. He walked toward the peak wondering if he should do what he was thinking he ought to do next.
If you fall.
Stop.
You won’t make it out of here alive.
Stop. I can’t think like that. I need to get to the top of the peak and take a look. I might be able to see Tucson from there.
They said they saw a cloud. That’s the answer.
Sometimes you’ve got to see a thing for yourself to know it.
He walked up a slope of scree and reached the jagged face of the peak. While it had looked sheer from far away, now he saw the cracks where he might make his way. Beyond that, leading to the highest peak, there seemed to be a trail he might take most of the way up.
He turned back to the valley, seeing the unbroken road heading south toward Tucson. The world was divided into blue sky and dusty orange dirt. Then he saw the flagpole and two flags hanging in the still desert air farther down the highway, near the base of the tallest peak. He hadn’t seen it from the ruins of the gas station town.
He slid down off the scree and walked in the afternoon shadow cast by the peak until he came to the
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