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im just a visitor .

the warped one snickered .

visitor , he says .

dont we all wish ?

so youre anomalous .

why do folks keep saying that ?

mistakes happen , said the asian .

souls sometimes arrive here a little messed up .

we should have known better .

color doesnt always mean anything .

dont worry kid .

youre in good company , said the warped one .

youre not alone .

somehow , i found that remark deeply comforting .

the asian gazed out across the dunes .

oh shit .

theyre on the move again .

coming after us .

hashers got a longbow .

without a word or even a glance , the pair again took off running , scales clinking with each stride .

i followed off after them without a second thought , trusting my fate would be better off with them than with the wranglers managing that mob .

and somehow , even though we were being pursued by an armed gang , my desire to leave this place became a tad less urgent .

the deeps didnt seem quite so intimidating now that i had some companions .

chapter 31 : lady an we hurtled though the dunes , my mind a storm of confusion .

in quick succession i had been honored , worshiped and feared by a mob of souls .

they had cast me out and now a detachment of their overseers were trying to hunt me down .

all because of the color of my skin .

this probably put a fork in my search for karla .

how was i supposed to find her if i couldnt go near any crowds ?

and the fact was , i had long lost heart .

i was a coward and a weakling .

i didnt deserve to find her .

she deserved better .

though , now that was a moot point .

so i was relegated to tagging along with this odd couple of warrior infidels in tinkling armor .

i had no idea where we were going .

they spoke very little to me or even to each other .

they just hummed and mumbled brief snatches of song that sounded like prayers .

they had a casual , disinterested air about them that i found oddly comforting .

i could tell that i interested them , but they were not invested in me following them or not , which made me want to follow them all the more .

i was like one of those stray dogs that attaches its loyalty to random strangers .

they gave up their names only after considerable prodding .

taro , the asian , hailed from manila .

brian had grown up and passed away in a suburb of san francisco .

both were clearly veterans of the deeps , though neither could say how long they had roamed these wastes .

years meant nothing to them now .

neither were suicides , so they had no knowledge of root apart from what they had heard from other souls .

taro , surprisingly , had the rougher life .

he had entered the deeps directly , after a criminal and violent existence cut short by an accidental overdose of heroin and alcohol .

brians path to the deeps was a bit more circuitous .

he was more reticent about his lives and deaths .

that he had been a pizza chef was about all he would say about his first life .

his first death was accidental and had involved a fall from a ladder .

before death number two , he had spent time on an island swaddled in fog , a place called lethe , apparently another kind of threshold world like root .

his time there had ended abruptly .

after an injury had left him immobile , a man with a scythe had come and cut him in two .

there was obviously more to his story , but that was all he would say .

we passed up the rumpled flank of the valley , which was basically a ramp of dunes piled on dunes .

we wound our way through a sinuous maze of sand , following their creases , trying to keep our heads out of sight of anyone who might be tracking us .

we kept finding footprints which i could swear were our own .

i was certain we were walking in loops , yet brian and taro never faltered , fully confident in their navigation .

we finally emerged from the dunes onto to a wind-scoured plateau .

there were no boulders or canyons , no place to hide , but at least we could spot any pursuers from afar .

we headed for the largest in a group of broad , gentle hills that looked like shields laid flat .

the curve of its domed summit was interrupted by lines and indentations where the natural contours had been modified by human hands .

it seemed to be some sort of settlement .

we paused when we reached its base , not because we needed to rest , but because the guys were nervous about a swirl of dust on the plateau that was obscuring the view back to the dunes .

that them behind that ?

said brian .

they using a screen ?

wouldnt doubt it , said taro .

doesnt look natural .

better get trucking .

there !

said taro , pointing to a dot and another curl of dust on a nearby hill .

a runner , said brian .

cmon .

lets get our ass home .

we slogged up a long , smooth incline .

about halfway up , we passed between two igloo-like structures of stone , with exits in the back and slotted windows arcing around their outer walls .

taro sang a brief , lilting phrase .

the melody was returned by someone in the nearest igloo , and then echoed and propagated down a series of other igloos stretching around the curve of the hill .

the igloos were bunkers and the song was apparently some sort of a pass code .

were inside the perimeter , said taro .

were safer now .

relatively .

though , if theres trouble coming , wed better get up and under cover .

got a tip for you , said brian .

get yourself on lady ans good side early , volunteer for picket duty .

lady who ?

an , said taro .

she heads the quorum .

the old souls that look after us infidels .

seriously , said brian .

take the watch soon as you can .

its the best way to convince the quorum to let you stay .

show them youre a good fit .

yeah , well .

im not actually planning on sticking around .

oh ?