Harvest Time

4 - Liquidised

Ronnack jumped onto its top and I couldn't take a breath for a moment, so afraid was I that it would spring back to life and devour him in some manner.

But he remained solidly intact and, after a few seconds, held out his hand to me. So I leapt across – it was only a few feet and I had jumped before even considering the implications of the actions I was performing. Wanting to attain some measure of revenge for what this machine and others like it had done to us, to Joselle, to my parents, compensated for the fear that coursed through my essence.

We stood beside the buckled hatchway, which had been partly torn from its hinges. The gap looked as if it was only just large enough for us to climb inside. It would have been impossible for a fully grown adult. Peering down into the darkness I was certain something like a ladder could be made out. There was also a smell, which was unlike anything I had previously encountered. The closest comparison was that of a butcher's establishment after animals had been reduced from full carcases to smaller slabs of meat for distribution to the populace.

I managed to squeak out a question. "Has anyone ever tried to get inside one before?"
"I don't know," Ronnack said, shaking his head. "I've never heard of it. I've never heard of anyone ever wanting to. But, I've also never heard of anyone killing a Harvester before."

"Maybe we've done something impossible," I whispered.

"Yes," Ronnack grinned. "Shall we do more impossible things?"

The groaning came again. Ronnack frowned as if he was trying to come to a decision.

"I can see something like steps inside," he said.

I nodded. "Like a ladder," I said, knowing he had spotted what I had already seen.

"Help," came a quivering voice from inside.

"Oh no. That sounds like a breeder I know," he whispered. "Her brood hall was next door to the school." He glanced across to where one of the supporting walls had been crushed by the Harvester. I nodded – I knew where he meant.

The call from inside came once more and Ronnack sighed. He squeezed past the buckled hatchway and descended inside the monster.

"It's safe, I think," came his voice a few seconds later.

With trembling hands I followed him down into the machine, inching carefully past the hatchway as its damaged edges were rough enough to tear skin should I get stuck. The ladder down which we climbed was made for taller people as the rungs were spaced awkwardly. We initially descended a narrow enclosed tunnel made of metal. Then it opened out and, as my eyes grew accustomed to the lower light levels, I found it wasn't completely dark. Several tiny lights, whose origin could never have been sunlight, glowed just enough to enable the interior to be viewed. One area was even brighter where a flap to the exterior had been left open. I could see the tentacles that descended from the metal ceiling hanging uselessly out of that flap. I had a suspicion the other end of one of them might have been wrapped around the body of Tollito.

I could make out that we were in a narrow chamber that wrapped around a central construction that, unlike the squareness of the Harvester's external body, was cylindrical, smooth walled and rose halfway up the height of the machine. The cylinder had to be about ten feet in diameter and was pocked by several circular depressions large enough to climb into, not that I felt any inclination to do so. I reached out to touch it. It was like touching glass and, when I inspected it more closely, it was as if I could see right into it. Something was bubbling away inside, a reddish-brown liquid. The cylinder was almost full of the stuff.

Ronnack had reached the lower level walkway where the ladder ended. Below us, we could see the wheels, gears and pulleys that appeared to operate the caterpillar treads. The walkway upon which we stood was not solid but more like a metal mesh. I had never seen anything like it.
I heard Ronnack gasp and the plaintive voice again called for help.

Ronnack was physically sick and I, too, felt my stomach churn as I saw the breeder girl. Her top half protruded from one of the upper depressions in the cylinder, just above the level of the liquid inside. I could see through the glass of the cylinder to make out her partially shredded flesh and a splintered bone from her leg.

I cried out, knowing that this had been Joselle's fate along with that of my parents. But this poor girl had only been partially consumed. She was still alive because we had killed the Harvester when it had been halfway through eating her. There was no way for her to survive but we had to do something, even if that meant ending her pain as quickly as possible. Seeing us, her mouth made movements but she seemed to have lost the ability to speak. Her arms twitched sporadically and her eyes, gazing at us, were like lights going out.

Ronnack pointed out some apparatus near the top of the cylinder consisting of levers connected to various rods. One piece was further connected to a device inside the cylinder from which hung a head-sized sphere that floated on top of the liquid. He climbed back up a ladder – there was one attached to the inside of each wall of the Harvester – and leaned back towards the central cylinder. I had no idea what he thought he might achieve but he jiggled the levers and apparatus. Maybe one of them would help the dying breeder. When that had no effect he reached over the lip of the cylinder and pulled on the line that held the floating sphere. It lifted from the liquid's surface. Ronnack got it as far as the top of the cylinder when there was a click and something engaged in the sets of gears that were positioned above.

While we both jumped at that noise, it didn't seem to produce any change in the cylinder to help with the girl's fate.

"It's not doing anything," Ronnack shouted. "I'm going back to the top to see if there's anything else I can do."

"What should I do?" I shouted back.

"Stay with her. Try to help her if you can," he said, before disappearing further up the ladder.
I looked at the girl. She was no longer trying to call out. Her arms hung limp and drool dribbled from her mouth.

"He's gone for help," I said to her. But her staring eyes showed no recognition of my presence and I was beginning to think she was already dead. For her sake, I hoped she was and therefore no longer in pain. I raised a hand to her face but could feel no breath upon it. Her eyes no longer blinked and I swallowed the bile that rose from my stomach.

After a minute of silence, I was starting to become scared and began to climb back up after Ronnack. Entering the narrower tunnel just below the hatchway at the top I could hear voices. Ronnack was explaining to someone how we had toppled the mirror mount to crash down onto the Harvester and kill it.

"Ronnack," I shouted. "I think she's dead."

"Oh, Toquin, is that you?"

I recognised the voice of Master Vendel, one of the elder teachers from my school days. His distinctive high pitch and the nasal qualities of his voice were unique.

"Yes," I replied.

"Well done to both yourself and Ronnack here. This is a small but unprecedented victory against the Harvesters. Maybe we will finally find a way to disable them or fight back in some manner. I need to get inside but, alas, I am too large to get past the broken hatch. We are going to try to dislodge the mirror mount and open the hatch fully."

I heard them pushing against the mirror mount and, above my head, the hatchway moved a little.

"Can you push it from underneath?" Ronnack shouted from somewhere above me.

"I will try."

I applied my hands to the underside of the hatch and pushed. Slowly, the angle of the hatch changed and, as light filled the chamber, I could see that the point from the mirror mount free itself from a tangle of thin ropes that connected various metal boxes in this area.

There was a sudden humming sound and more of those tiny lights lit up. Then the sunlight from Sun Primary was extinguished and, for a moment, it was as if there was no air to breathe. A sensation passed through me as if I was being forced through a solid grey fog. Then, I was able to breathe once more but I fell to my knees as if my legs weren't strong enough to support me. Above the hatchway, the light was no longer bright and yellow, but from a source whose primary colour appeared to be green.

Thanks for reading. Please don't forget to comment and vote on this story! The next part will be along in about a week's time.